Yeah I don't know what income is.

'So - I'm going to just start with the basics - especially in larger societies, there's - not everyone can do everything for themselves. So it makes sense to have some people who make food, and some people who make clothes, and some people who make furniture, and so on. And one of the problems with this is how do you make sure the clothier has food and furniture, and the farmer has clothing and furniture, and so on. In a small society, that's easy, because the farmer can just trade with the clothier. If people get into larger groups, trading directly gets complicated. There's a lot of ways to try and solve this. The - sort of normal way here, is for the farmer to sell food to a person who specializes in trading, and the trader gives the farmer something everyone agrees is worthwhile, but that doesn't have - actual basic real world value? This used to be things like gold or gemstones, and now it's usually a number that just represents some potential thing you can get. The farmer can then buy clothes from whichever trader, and the clothier can buy food from traders. The thing being traded for goods is money, and income is the amount of money someone earns over a period of time.'

'The other problem that bigger societies need to solve is that not everyone can or should be working. Parents with small children, people with disabilities, students, children, artists who make things of cultural but not monetary worth... And then there's the question of how to make sure they have food, clothing, medicine, and shelter if they can't work, and if there's no one in their family who can care for them. Very large societies like the Empire solve this by just giving everyone money that they can buy things with. That's one kind of basic income. This place we're in solves this by making medicine free, and having systems for getting free shelter and food, plus some controls making sure everyone gets paid what their work is worth.'

I still don't understand most of that but it sounds... nice? Where I'm from everybody does whatever the Ainur tell them to be doing and most of the food comes from Melkor making it by magic.

'I think that's a command economy. Swarms tend to have them. They're hard to enforce, here, but if your area didn't have too many ring-makers it'd be... easier?'

"Ring-makers?"

' - The main type of magic?' He seems a bit at a loss. 'Some people just - have the ability to will magic rings into existence?'

"I don't think that's true on the monster's outside. Magic jewelry takes a lot of work and I don't think it's gotta be rings."

'That - sounds more like a different universe, than a different planet.'

"If you say so, I don't know how monster transportation works."

'Who made your world?'

"Eru."

'Ours was made by Inanna. She is - very clear that she was the maker of this world, and I think the theology around her mentions other creator gods. So, very different magic systems, likely.'

"Oh. I wonder if singing works here."

'Magical singing? I'd expect so, if your telepathy does?'

"I think that's different."

'Well, we can probably test it, either way.'

"Yeah, next time I see a pond or something."

'I think there's one on the university's grounds...'

"Does it look nice to walk on?"

"Kind of. Pond-ish."

"Well I've never seen a pond in real life."

"Usually they've got a mud or stone bottom and a bunch of green algae, at least around here. There's some non-natural water stuff with like mosaics under the water. Sometimes people put statues in ponds and stuff, though that's usually deeper water."

"Oooh, mosaics and statues."

"I know some nice intentional ones, then."

"I've barely seen any art in real life either! Pretty much just my art." She pulls up a sleeve revealing an admittedly rather artistic series of circular burns cascading down her upper arm from the shoulder, denser at the top and sparser toward the elbow.