This talk is about an application of combinatorial algebraic geometry to complex dynamics. The n-th Gleason polynomial G_n is a polynomial in one variable with Z-coefficients, whose roots correspond to degree-2 self-maps of C with an n-periodic ramification point. Per_n is an affine algebraic curve, defined over Q, parametrizing degree-2 self-maps of P^1 with an n-periodic ramification point. Two long-standing open questions in complex dynamics are: (1) Is G_n is irreducible over Q? (2) Is Per_n connected? We show that if G_n is irreducible over Q, then Per_n is irreducible over C, and is therefore connected. In order to do this, we find a Q-rational smooth point on a projective completion of Per_n — this Q-rational smooth point represents a special degeneration of degree-2 self-maps.