#naltorians

[theblanddcu2021]

Many millennia ago, The Dreaming had a visit from a young Naltorian girl which gained the attention of Lord Morpheus. Initially defensive of the damage those of the waking world could do to his realm, he nearly sought to remove her. However after being contacted by Death who informed her brother on her Naltorian heritage and potential to help lives as her ancestors did, Dream let the girl be free to enter and leave as she wished. The Naltorian was Nia Nal's distant ancestor.

[amneris-hermione-violet]

I’ve been doing some thinking about Nia Nal and some of the implications of what the show has said about her. Disclaimers: This is my attempt at some science-y thoughts combined with storytelling thoughts, but I am not an expert or even particularly well-informed about genetics, so if anyone else has more or better info, please share! I am also not an expert on trans friendly language or attitudes, so while I am very supportive of trans people, I may make mistakes. Please correct me so I can learn! Thank you. I also hope this is in no way offensive to the idea of adoption, which I think is a beautiful thing. Long-winded rambling after the cut.

The show says that Nia’s mother’s family, from the planet Naltor, has a power that shows up once a generation in a woman, and is passed along the matrilineal line. They’re surprised when Nia, a trans woman, inherits the ability rather than her sister Maeve, a cis woman. They also say that sometimes the power skips a generation, for unknown reasons. My theory is that the family has assumed it is passed to women only, and men cannot inherit it, but that this is actually an incorrect assumption on their part. In humans, as well as in almost (but not all) other mammals on Earth, males and females receive half their DNA, including an X gene, from their mothers. Females receive half their DNA, including a second X gene, from their fathers, while males receive half their DNA, including a Y gene, from their fathers. I’m guessing the aliens from the planet Naltor follow the pattern of humans, since Nia and Maeve, whose father is human, already show that Naltorians and humans can reproduce together successfully. So similarities are more likely than differences in this process. Anything that can be passed down to a girl by her mother can be passed down to a boy by his mother: they both receive the same type of genetic material from their mothers. I think the family must have assumed that two X genes were required for the power to present (but not for the genes donated by the father to have the trait, since it is passed along the matrilineal line regardless, just for the second X gene to be present). But Nia shows that this is not the case: just one gene with the trait present is enough, and the X or Y from the father doesn’t matter. This would explain why sometimes the power skips a generation: these are the other times it was (unknown to the family) inherited by a boy. So why does Nia present with the power when no cis males in her family ever have? I have two theories. One, I think the family has failed to consider that perhaps hormone levels have an effect on the appearance of the power. Nia has received female hormone therapy, which is what has allowed the trait to be expressed, whereas other males in the family did not. Their male hormones, or their lack of female hormones, caused the trait to be suppressed. Second, it could be the other biological difference between Nia and Maeve and others in their family, that being half-human somehow affects this trait, and the Y gene from Nia’s father somehow acts like a second X gene from a father from Naltor. I’m leaning more towards the hormone theory, just because I think it’s more interesting. What none of this helps to explain, however, is why males in the family did not act as genetic carriers and pass this trait on to future generations as well, as can happen with many traits. I suspect the reason for this is related to the fact that the power is said to present in only one person per generation, rather than being passed on to all descendants each generation: something magic-y or science fiction-y would have to be involved to explain that. Perhaps some kind of dominance exhibited by one person that somehow suppresses the trait from presenting in others in their vicinity? Pheromones perhaps? This would be outside the realm of real world science.

The show says that in the 31st century, Brainy knows a descendant of Nia’s named Nura Nal. No other information about her is known, other than that she is part of the Legion. There is a lot of other information available about Nura in the comics, but since Nia doesn’t exist in the comics, it isn’t very helpful in reflecting on the relationship between Nia and Nura. Nura is known as Dream Girl and also has dream-based powers, but it is unknown how similar those powers are to Nia’s. Based on the assumptions of the family, Nura would have to be a matrilineal descendant of Nia, but as a trans woman Nia is not part of the matrilineal line. If we use one of my previous theories that anyone can inherit the power, but that expression of the trait relies on other factors, then it makes sense that Nura could have the power despite not being descended from Nia’s mother’s matrilineal line. I’m reluctant to assign a lot of importance to Nura’s last name being Nal. As modern members of western society, we are used to last names being patronymic: passed down through the patrilineal line, with children taking their father’s last name, with exceptions being made for unwed mothers or cases where the father’s name is unknown. That would make Nura a direct male-line descendant of Nia, with the exception of Nia passing on her last name to her child instead of the child’s father’s last name. This is possible, but it’s a pretty limiting theory. I think it’s more likely that aliens from the planet Naltor do not follow patronymic conventions. In the comics, the last name Nal is said to mean “from the planet Naltor” and actually does not function as a family name at all. On the show, we just do not know if Nia got her last name from her Naltorian mother or her human father. Western naming conventions suggest the latter, while the name itself suggests the former. So as I said I’m not putting a lot of importance on Nura’s last name to determine her relationship to Nia. We just know that Nura is Nia’s descendant. This has led me to wonder (in a nosy way that would be none of my business if Nia were a real person and not a fictional character) how Nia is going to go about having children. As a trans woman, she has several options. The first, adoption, is not likely because of Nura presenting with the power, unless Nia adopts from someone else in her family. The second option would be for Nia to find someone to be an egg donor and for her to donate the sperm. The sperm would have had to be collected and preserved before her gender confirmation surgery. This option is very possible. so long as Nia is able to pass on the half of her genes that come from her mother and contain the trait, rather than the half from her father that do not. The third option is for Nia’s sister Maeve to be the egg donor, and someone else other than Nia to be the sperm donor (to prevent the obvious complications of genetic siblings reproducing together). This would work better with the observed pattern of the trait only being passed on the matrilineal line, but it would mean that Nura is actually descended from Nia’s sister. That is totally possible, but personally I find it less satisfying (in a storytelling sense) than having Nia be the actual genetic ancestor. Nia herself has already defied convention by displaying the power, and I would like that pattern to continue and for her to defy convention by passing on the gene for the trait despite not being part of the matrilineal line. A fourth option, and my personal favorite (from a storytelling sense), isn’t possible yet with modern technology, as far as I know, but here goes. Nia is dating Brainy right now (I am a huge fan of this ship), so it is reasonable to guess (although I admit it is only a guess) that Nia will someday have children with Brainy as her partner. Brainy is from the 31st century and is a Coluan, an alien race that is part biological and part cybernetic (cyborg). He might have access to or know of technology more advanced than in reality. He could be the sperm donor for my third theory above, where the egg comes from Nia’s sister Maeve. Or in this fourth theory, he could be the sperm donor, the second half of genetic material could come from Nia by the DNA being extracted from her normal cells, separated in half, and then implanted in the egg along with Brainy’s contribution, and literally anyone could be the egg donor. Again, Nia would have to be passing on the half of her genes that come from her mother and contain the trait, rather than the half from her father that do not (in order for Nura to later inherit them, but also to prevent the possibility of a non-viable YY embryo). They would only use the outer structure of the egg itself and not the genetic material from the egg donor. This is sort of based on modern cloning technology, which I believe was first performed with sheep in the 1990s, in which the egg has its genetic material removed and is replaced by the complete genetic material of the mother, who is the sole parent. Using that idea of an egg for just its outer structure, and the genetic material inside replaced, both Nia and Brainy could be the parents of the child. This is what I think is the most interesting and emotionally satisfying theory from a storytelling perspective. Parents are parents of their children no matter what, of course, adopted or otherwise, but with Brainy’s knowledge of future science I think this would be a fun and romantic way for them to have children in the story.

Please, please let me know if I got something wrong or said anything offensive. I want to learn, and I am very open to being corrected.