Reproduction in the GFFA Part Two:

[klcthebookworm]

or The Problematic Implications of the Existence of Jacen Syndulla

Nothing against you, Kid, since you are the product of a loving relationship between two consenting adults, but your existence at the end of Rebels TV show has some harrowing implications for your mother's species.

So when I wrote Reproduction in the GFFA, I figured that no matter how well tab A fits into slot B, human sperm and Twi'lek ovum would need help from someone with medical training/programming to turn into a fetus. Rebels unveiling Jacen Syndulla proved that wrong, but a conversation I had over the weekend informed me that human/Twi'lek genetic compatibility was old news in the Star Wars canon instead of new development like I thought. "That's why everyone wants to get with them," I was told by another fan.

"No, that's because they're exploited," I snapped back. To his credit, the other fan agreed that the Twi'leks are exploited, but I don't think he shared my horror. Honestly it didn't fully hit me until the next morning.

"It's horrible that in canon, they (Twi'lek females) are enslaved and forced into sexual slavery, but I though they had the small consolation that karking human males would not get them pregnant."

And that's exactly what their situation is. Don't offer birth control is an option, because would a slave owner really prevent the birth of more product?

I'm irked but resigned to the disregard to science. (Star Wars is fantasy in outer space, but come on. Can't we all recognize that humans and Twi'leks have two different evolutionary trees rather than really close branches on the same one?) But heaping more of the real world issues that trafficked women have to deal with onto a fictional species and still don't give them a helpful or hopeful future? Read Bloodlines by Claudia Gray. Leia's investigation is started because Ryloth is STILL being exploited and she's the only one in the New Republic Senate that gives a damn.

Kriff you, Disney-Lucasfilms. I'm joining the Free Ryloth Movement.

Comments

[atamascolily]

I have a couple theories about the genetic compatability between humans and other species in the GFFA. My personal favorite is along the lines of Ursula K. Le Guin's Hainish novels - once upon a time, humans spread throughout the galaxy in a pre-FTL era, and evolution took different populations in different directions. Then, once someone had invented the hyperdrive, the different groups met up with each other again, and the Galactic Republic was born. In this scenario, the different populations have diverged enough so their physical appearance is quite different and they appear to be different species, but they're still sexually compatible (at least along the lines of dogs/wolves/coyotes, or even horses/donkeys).

I guess the biggest question I have about Jacen Syndulla is if he can have kids or not, and how many chromosomes Twi'leks have compared to humans. Plants can get away with viable offspring even if the parents have markedly different numbers of chromosomes, but it tends to kill animals in horrific ways and many embryos are straight-up spontaneously aborted because they can't function.

I still cry over Oola's death. Especially since in "Tales from Jabba's Palace," she had the opportunity to walk away when Luke Skywalker offered her a way out, and chose not to take it because she thought that performing for Jabba would make her a star and she truly didn't know what she was getting into. She ends up dancing for Luke in her final performance, and standing up to Jabba because she thinks that's what a Jedi would do. If she'd only managed to stay alive for one more day, Luke would have come back and freed her a second time. MY HEART.

It's also worth noting that in Young Jedi Knights, Oola's half-sister, Nolaa Tarkona rises up in rebellion and takes control of the Ryloth government in revenge. She then goes on to start the anti-human Diversity Alliance movement, with the intent of ending human control of the galaxy via targeted plagues. It's a pity the books never stop to examine this more closely, as I thought there were a lot of interesting implications that never got fully explored in a relatively short YA novel.