18th December 2012
20:35 GMT
I can tell from the way Kal-El's eyes are focusing that he's taking in the damage on the planet below.
"I never asked how you felt about Ms. Lane getting augmented.
"
He blinks, clearly experiencing a violent change in mental gearing.
"Ah. I like that she's safer and will live longer. The.. Danner Formula has a history of reliability, and I know if there
was a problem you'd work at it until it was fixed."
"Yes.
" I sigh.
"There
might be a problem.
"
He stops in the air, giving me his full attention.
"The Accala… They all have the Danner Formula. There's actually a ceremony when an expectant mother gets the injection to augment her foetus. Because… Just like how it's not easy to nurse a super strong baby with normal breasts… They're not sure how safe it is to give birth to a normal child with super strong vaginal muscles. I mean, I don't
think humans and kryptonians can breed naturally
anyway-.
"
He relaxes a little. "But Lois would need a C-section."
"That would be a good idea. Unless your child could absorb solar power in-utero, which seems unlikely. And would be very bad.
"
"But Lois would be okay, wouldn't she? Her womb's tougher, too."
"I think -and this is an impression I have based on what I know about Danner babies, not something I've got actual research on- that she'd be fine with the foetus moving or kicking, I'm… Just not sure what happens with heat vision.
"
"Would they
have heat vision?"
"I have no idea. Humans can breed with things we biologically shouldn't be able to because the Earth's thaumosphere is firmly of the opinion that sex makes babies, but I don't know what that does for the baby's biology.
"
"I don't have a lot of luck when it comes to magic."
"I suspect that's mostly because you weren't born here. Or it could be that kryptonians aren't evolved to use magic in the way that humans are.
" I shrug.
"The only way to find out in advance would be to try and teach Mitchell magic, and he hasn't shown any interest.
"
"What would happen if they
did have heat vision?"
"Whether it would kill Ms. Lane or not would depend on the angle and energy output. All but the weakest shots would boil the amniotic fluid and cause a miscarriage or.. at best a premature delivery. And the child might be killed due to their brain not being able to handle the power discharge.
"
"
Dear
Lord."
"I'd suggest either growing a child in a tank, or spending the whole pregnancy off Earth and away from yellow suns.
Second suggestion would be to give Ms. Lane an environmental shield set to filter out the wavelengths which empower kryptonians.
"
He nods, clearly relieved. "That sounds like the smart option."
"And without wanting to be crude, if you're trying for children then she needs to wear it from the start and at all times.
"
He breathes appreciably easier. "And… How does it work with
you?"
"If you're relying on a magic mechanism, in-vitro fertilisation-.
"
"No. I mean, if you and Jade try and have children. I know you said that you didn't have a soul when you came here, and it sounds like magic plays a big part in the process."
"If Jennifer-Lynn Hayden and Todd Rice are anything to go by, any child I have has a fifty percent chance of coming out orange and with an innate connection to the orange light. There's no record of Ms. Canton having a difficult labour, and… Miss Hayden's abilities didn't come in until adulthood. If Jade and I had children and they
did have a strong connection to the orange light, then I would be able to moderate it and communicate with them by it. More or less.
"
"Don't other Lanterns have children?"
"Yes, but none of the human Lanterns have, and most of the Lanterns who have children aren't as far into their light as I am. Enlightened Green Lanterns usually aren't interested in anything not associated with the Corps.
"
"Guy doesn't seem to have that problem."
"Guy is a special case. And he met Ms. Olafsdotter before it happened, which probably helped. Ah!
"
I lead the way down towards ground level, where humanoids of various species are working at clearing rubble.
"These people were The Spider Guild's trading partners. Pirates and slavers of the blackest stripe. Now-.
"
His face stills.
"Now they're slaves."
"Now they're
prisoners with
jobs, which I'll remind you is entirely legal in the United States of America. And this was an alternative to the death sentence they were going to get from every civilisation in the region.
At best, the Green Lantern Corps might have marooned them somewhere to spend the rest of their lives as hunter-gatherers with no doctors.
"
"What do they do when this job's finished?"
"Depends. None of the Guild's neighbours want them to go free. Once the initial clear up is complete, those with specialist skills can get work using them, and it's not as if the Spiders care about their people-trafficking history.
"
"And those without?"
"They worked on board spaceships. They've all got at least basic astro-engineering skills, as well as combat experience. Amalak will probably offer them jobs eventually, if they stick with it, and then they're out of the region and gainfully employed.
"
His eyes rest on a squad of armed overseers in the uniform of Amalak's organisation.
"How are they treated?"
"Pretty well for people-gastronomes?
"
Clearly not what he meant. Reminds me of a meaningful quote at the start of an episode of Andromeda. Something about
the best way to judge the morality of a society being to look at how it treats its weakest: the elderly, children and prisoners. Which is nonsense. The elderly are your parents, people who've done their time maintaining your civilisation. Children are your civilisation's future. Prisoners -assuming that they're guilty of things it's reasonable to
call crimes- are a drain on your society, unwilling or unable to work within it and draining its resources by existing. I prefer to fix that by rehabilitation so that they can
start contributing, but plenty of civilisations don't have the resources to invest in the chance of that sort of thing working.
"I have concerns that the system in which they have no rights could be open to abuse."
"Amalak's people are professionals, and a good chunk of them are ex-slaves themselves. There are very clear rules for prisoner-guard interactions and constant remote monitoring. And while the prisoners aren't
paid, they are rewarded with better conditions if they perform well, so they're motivated to keep at it.
"
"And if they don't?"
"Then there's a brief hearing, and then the suspended sentence of death is carried out. Want to talk to some of them?
"
Orange Lantern!" Shirt.
