Translation State

Content Warning: This section includes brief discussions of sexual violence.

Qven is a juvenile Presger Translator. Eir upbringing has little structure, and e often eats other juveniles. When e is older, e is horrified to learn that e must match, or merge bodies and consciousnesses, with another Translator. Qven’s desire to avoid matching is the catalyst for eir journey of Self-Determination and Personhood. Presger Translators are meant to fulfill the needs of their society and cannot make their own choices. Qven wants to become human so that e can have a species designation that allows em to be free to make personal choices without being punished.

Qven’s opposition to matching gets more intense after they are attacked. This attack is framed as being similar to sexual assault, in that it robs Qven of agency and denies em consent. Because Qven will die if e does not match with anyone, e has to gradually learn to trust and love Reet so that e can approach the matching process without it being traumatizing. Reet teaches Qven about gender and about Familial Belonging, two more concepts that are not applicable to Presger Translators but are applicable to humans.