Hey Bobbart - really enjoying this so far! It's great to see some science in a LnC fic. I've always been in agreement - alien-human hybridization is just too fantastical for me to believe. Or it's just that little bit too much for me to suspend my disbelief.
Having a child in the first place is a miracle. Conception, implantation, differentiation of the embryo and growth of the fetus are such ridiculously complicated processes it's a wonder that our species exists at all. And yet it happens every day.
Look at all the people who have fertility problems. A certain percentage (I don't know the numbers) of people who want children are unable to have them. How many reasons are there for infertility? Numerous. Just do a little reading about it. And this is where both partners are
human.
So I have a hard time accepting the "human + alien = children" meme.
But with this fic, I'm glad to see a "Hey, it could happen." And the explanation - well done. Maybe it's technobabble, but it's
good technobabble. Kudos for drawing in the genetic markers, the paleontology, etc.
I think (although I've done absolutely no research) in the comic books they obviate this whole thing by establishing that Superman does have alien DNA - something like a 3rd strand which is responsible for the stuff that controls and generates and maintains the superpowers. And he is definitely not reproductively compatible with humans. Probably a good thing for the comic-book mythos - if Superman could have descendants that would set up several new cans of worms.
Certainly the "no children" status of the comic book hero is a, well, let's call it a
heartrending part of the legend. Yes, Superman has all these marvelous powers. But he doesn't have, and can't have, the thing that he most wants - a child. We humans are ants compared with Superman, and yet we can rejoice in our families and our children. Superman, of course, has his Clark Kent identity, to live as one of us and have the ups and downs of daily life, but in the comic book mythos he cannot have children. In a sense, (as they said in the "Iron Man" movie), he's a man who has everything - and nothing.
Different in the TV show - if LnC had gone on to Season Five, where would they have taken the baby story?
Sidebar: I like the way you begin each chapter with a particular character's view on luck. That's a very interesting, and revealing, way of introducing each character's worldview and how it shaped their life. Are you going to continue this theme?
Re: the biofield and the KE's: It's been established throughout Superman canon that the hero does have an "aura". The "biofield" you're describing is right there with it.
I read a great fanfic on Kryptonsite.com, in the "Fan Fiction" forum, the "Chloe and Clark" section about how it all works. The fanfic is in the "Smallville" universe but it doesn't matter. It's called "The Interview" and it's written by RichardAK. (I would put in the link here if I knew how.) Here's a bit from the story - Clark is being interviewed about his superpowers and he's explaining how they work:
“Well, I guess I should explain that Kryptonians absorb solar energy, but in a much more efficient way than Earth’s flora. Kryptonian biologists believed that this adaptation helped our prehistoric ancestors survive when food was scarce. You see, Krypton orbited a red dwarf star, a star that gave off much less high-frequency light than earth’s sun. while Earth has a relatively small liquid iron core surrounded by a thick mantle, Krypton had a much larger liquid iron core with a thin mantle, which meant that Krypton had a much stronger magnetosphere than Earth has.”
“The magnetosphere? You mean the magnetic field that blocks high-frequency solar radiation from reaching the surface of the earth?”
“Exactly. Also, because of its hotter interior, Krypton also had much more volcanic activity than Earth, which propelled large amount of ozone into the upper atmosphere.”
“Which gave you a thicker ozone layer. So between the stronger magnetic field and the thicker ozone layer, what little UV and X-radiation your sun did produce….”
“Never actually reached Krypton. And since the photoelectric effect relies on high-frequency radiation, our ability to absorb light never mattered that much once we had discovered agriculture.”
“But here on Earth….”
“Under a yellow sun, I absorb so much energy that it gives me these amazing abilities.”
“That explains the source of your power, but how do each of your abilities work?"
"I can convert the energy my body stores into other forms of energy, including kinetic energy. That’s why I'm so strong and so fast. Also, the energy field my body generates absorbs kinetic, thermal, and electromagnetic energy, among other things. That’s why I’m invulnerable. Flying’s an interesting one. See, gravity’s a force like electromagnetism, and it’s also a wave and a particle. I can neutralize gravity’s effect on me by emitting a gravity wave that perfectly cancels out the gravitational waves that Earth emits at me, and then by emitting kinetic energy for propulsion.”
And it goes on from there, explaining all the powers. Excellent technobabble in that story.
Now I'm off on a tangent, but I wanted to let you know that I'm enjoying your fic very much. Please keep on posting.
By the way, if you're an engineer, great! We need more people with practical experience, both here on the webs and in real life. It's good to see someone coming with a practical, believable (well, in fanfic terms) explanation! Also, you write very well. Not just the mechanics with spelling, grammar, etc., but in terms of flow, and telling the story.
Keep it up. I want more. Soon.
