Of
Tryslmaistan Trilarity, Vlax, and the Ionic Nature of Mundis
Biological Systems
The Rampant Speculations of a Young Biophysical Alchemist
Herein I propose some hypotheses regarding the multiversal translation of ionic charges and the stability of Mundis biological systems when translated to the Tryslmaistan universe. As my source materials have been scattered and not easily searched, and furthermore as I am a novice to the field, I unhesitantingly acknowledge any inevitable inaccuracies and outright misconclusions you may find. Nevertheless, I hope this document assists in our discussions and understanding of Mundis-Tryslmaistan biology. I humbly submit these hypotheses to the alchemical society for review, commentary, and criticism.
What Is Known So Far, and Inferences From Such
We have been told that, unlike the dipolar nature of Mundis electricity, the Tryslmaistan equivalent is tripolar, consisting of Pii, Nin, and Yse. We also know that Pii cancels Nin, Nin cancels Yse, Yse cancels Pii. In the opposite direction, Nin boosts Pii, Pii boosts Yse, and Yse boosts Nin. In addition, we learned that Pii and Yse radiate out of either side of the veils, and Nin perpendicular to these, from the edge. (We might guess that this is related to the grain of spacetime.)
We can also surmise from Chou's close encounter with Unicron JLY's electanic weapon that there exists some related repulsive force. (Her hair stands on end, much as static build-up would cause that in Mundis.) From this we will hypothesize that, as like charges in Mundis repel each other, like electanic charges are also repulsive. Thus Chou was covered with a single type of electanic charge, leaking from the weapon. As we saw later, the electanic particles disrupt her crystalline components, which might explain why she was having an unusual trouble thinking clearly.
What does it mean for one electanic charge to cancel another? Here we will make a logical leap upon which further speculations will depend: Cancellation describes each charge type cancelling the repulsive effects between collections of another charge. This cancellation would need to be a greater than one-for-one effect, else flooding the area with Yse to cancel Pii repulsions would only result in the same harmful amount of uncancelled Yse. Similarly, the boosting effect of Pii on Yse repulsion would be less than one-to-one. These differences might be what allows for the stable tratonic structures (working under the assumption that tratons, like atoms, form bonds with electanic interactions much as some molecular bonding occurs with ionic interactions).
(Working through this, the author notes that the ratios would need to be significantly more/less than one-to-one. One might guess "threefold", in keeping with the ternary nature of the world).
A few plausible further speculations must be made: We believe that different electanic charges attract each other in the same way that Mundis ionic charges do. In addition, these attractive and repulsive forces follow the same force equation of F = q * q' / (d^2). Thus the ionic attractive aspect of molecular bonding is preserved. Without this, it is difficult to imagine translated Mundis biological molecular structures being viable.
Of the Ionic Nature of Mundis Systems, and Instabilities Created by Translation
A central hypotheses of these rampant speculations is the following statement: The two types of ions, positive and negative, were translated to two of the three electanic charges.
First we will address the ionic aspects of Mundis biology that we expect to be unimpaired by translation, that of ionic gradients. Ionic gradients are used by almost all Mundis life. Many bacteria utilize the creation of proton gradients across their cell membrane to generate ATP. Similarly, the incorporated organelles of chloroplasts and mitochondria (which are, as you all know, believed to be efficient remnants of ancestral bacterial symbiotes) also use proton gradients to generate ATP and NADPH (which chloroplasts then use to fix carbon in glycogenesis). These are simple one-ion-type gradients, so we will guess they translated easily to the Tryslmaistan electanic universe.
In addition, animals utilize ion gradients in their nervous systems, which rely on voltages created across the neuron membranes. Unlike the proton gradients, both positive and negative ions are pumped across the channel. But, because we believe the attractive natures of electanic charges to be the same, we can surmise that these ion gradients should be just as functional.
Now we concern ourselves with the aspects of Mundis biology which will be adversely affected by the translation. This is the general concept: In Mundis biology, ionic charges balanced each other such that the repulsive effects like charges might exert were negated. Because of the trilarity of Tryslmaistan electans, only one of the two charges will have its repulsive forces negated. The other charges will have a repulsion, weakly increased by the other charge!
At this point, the author would like to introduce the following naming conventions for the electanic equivalents: positive charges translated to Yse, and negative to Pii. Reasons for this convention are the following:
a) Nin electans are the only ones to radiate from the edge of the veils, rather than the plane. We will guess that, were we to choose two charges to translate to, they would be those that are mirrored on either side of the veil - rather than the Nin charge, which seems to have a different relationship with the grain of spacetime.
b) We will choose positive charges to be the "unnegated" charge in translation, with weakly increased like-charge repulsive effects. Because Yse cancels Pii repulsion and Pii reinforces that of Yse, Yse would correspond to the positive changes.
Now we can understand why hemoglobin, which utilizes positively charged iron ions, is unstable in Tryslmaistan biological systems. Hemoglobin is an allosteric enzyme, in which four different heme groups cooperatively bind oxygen. Each of these heme groups contain a positively charged iron ion - or, shall we say, Yse charged. Because the repulsive forces between the four ions are only amplified by the neighboring negatively charged amino acid ligands, an overall repulsive force interferes with the folding of the hemoglobin. Oxygen can bind, but is not held as well is the destabilized molecule.
Hemoglobin is not unique; many biological systems use positively charged ions and will be destabilized by Yse repulsion after multiversal translation. In particular, the negative/Pii charges of DNA's phosphate backbone are negated and bound by positively/Yse charged histones, yet these Yse charged histones will suffer from repulsive effects, disrupting the packing of DNA.
But first we will address the panacea that is Vlax.
Vlax and the Provision of Biologically Absorbable Stabilizing Nin Ions
The best way to remedy biological systems destabilized by repulsive Yse interactions is to introduce Nin ions that will cancel the repulsive forces. Ideally the ions would be small, able to associate closely with Yse ions without introducing steric effects. In fact, because the stabilizing interactions would produce the closest equivalents to Mundis structures, we believe that such ions must have existed in the first multiversally translated systems.
Biological systems exclude ions that are not specifically imported into cells, however. This is because ions cannot cross the lipid bilayer, so ion channels exist to regulate the import and export of various ions into cells. The translated Mundis biologies only have pumps for their equivalent Pii and Yse ions, however, so no mechanism exists to import Nin ions into the cell. Thus, while these hypothetical Nin ions would slowly be lost through various degradation processes which shed elements in the cells, they would not be replenished.
We propose that Vlax provides a rich source of biologically absorbable Nin ions. No Mundis biology would be equipped to fix the Nin ion into molecules which can be absorbed and imported into cells. The Vlax-fixed Nin ions can them be absorbed by the translated Mundis life, from bacteria to dandelions to humans. These Nin ions replenish the lost stabilizing presence of Nin ions within cells.
It is a curiousity that Vlax would be creating molecules absorbable by translated Mundis life in the first place... It is wildly fanciful - yet plausible - that Vlax is a hybrid lifeform created by the colonizing humans to provide biologically absorbable Nin ions.
And Lastly: Yse Repulsive Destabilization of DNA, and Vlax
It has been hinted that experimentation with Vlax has resulted in teratogenic effects in organisms, manifest in the different morphologies of "ogres" and "elves". It is likely that this is because Vlax plays a vital role in stabilizing chromatin structure by negating the repulsive forces between histones. While too-low levels of Vlax may result in low Nin ions and poorly packed chromatin, too-high levels may result in over-compensetory stabilization and denser chromatin packing. As histone packing plays an important role in gene expression, it is not surprising that varying levels of Vlax would cause differences in gene expression and different body morphologies in children developing in such an environment. Vlax variations may have played a role in mutations in other translated Mundis life.
Conclusions and Appreciation
Many thanks to my fellow alchemists, and to our hostess, for providing this forum for discussions. I can only hope that you will not take offense at the persumptious nature of these speculations. It was personally satisfying to have a reason for why Vlax may be such a panacea to translated Mundis life, and to have an integration relating the ionic nature of Mundis life to the trilaric nature of the Tryslmaistan universe. Hopefully you have enjoyed it as well.
Madeleine Price, 2002
___________________________
Trilarity is the Tryslmaistan equivalent of polarity here on earth.
We have 'positive' and 'negative' in our electronics, in our magnetism, even in our philosophy (!). In Mundis, opposites compe in pairs.
In Tryslmaistan, as can be expected, everything comes in threes. Thus trilarity instead of polarity.
Trilarity works like, as Li Rowfro mused, 'rock-paper-slicer' (Scizzors for us on earth) It's yet another game of Jan-Ken-Pon, so typical of the Tryslmaistan universe. They have three 'polarities', thus trilarity, and each beats the others in turn, round robin.
There is Pii, Nin, and Yse. Pii charge beats Nin, Nin beats (cancels) Yse charge, and Yse....negates Pii.
The problem for the Arkship occured because a Veil is a two dimensional structure. Two sides, two charge polarities...trilarities. One side is Pii, and so the Ark electanfied the hull with Yse charge. This blocked most of the charge energy from the Veil, wich would have fried them slowly. But, the Ark crossed the Veil, and on the other side, was suddenly overwhelmed by Yse charge...since the Ark was generating Yse, and the Veil was emitting it as well, the effect was doubled....and thus everyone was flooded with tryslmeric radiation, Shatterel formed at an obscene rate, and general mayhem ensued.
Li had to rotate the charge that the Ark generated, and the lever was stuck for a bit, thanks to ice and Shatterel. With help from the bulky Wai-Wai, they managed, and the ship began generating blocking Nin charge.
-Jennifer Diane Reitz
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