"Mmm. Some countries here do things that way but Cheliax doesn't. Obviously."

"I noticed."

And if they have to in order to make things work with Ibyabek that would be awful and maybe she doesn't care to tell people about Ibyabek after all. "You might like Osirion or Qadira, though. Women don't have any rights at all there. They can't own property and they don't get custody of their children and their husbands are allowed to beat them and I can't imagine they have the slightest problem with anyone being careerist."

"I wasn't trying to be rude." She asked! What was he supposed to tell her? He doesn't know what kinds of lies fly well with magic women who worship aliens!

"I'm not upset that you said so I'm upset that apparently even in places that have starships and can go anywhere in days people still think - that it's wasteful if someone could be available to a man to impregnate and isn't, but not wasteful if people spend their whole lives appeasing whoever they happened to get glued to and throwing up a lot."

Kyeo doesn't see what having starships has to do with gender??

She does not explain herself since this would involve admitting she's reading his mind. 

Well. If she's content to leave it at that Kyeo doesn't want to, like, hurt her feelings or anything. He's very good at being quiet.

"...say more about the not having to buy things? Presumably everyone doesn't just get whatever they want?"

"...well, not if they want, uh, statues of themselves or something stupid, but food and medical care and water and electricity and things like that."

"Huh. That's cool. How do you have enough you can do that?"

"Well, first electricity had to be invented. Now the people whose jobs it is to produce all those things... do their jobs."

"What part does electricity have in things?"

"Ibyabek's a warm planet so in the summer we need to keep buildings cool, and it also does lighting and charges things like - communication devices, and stuff."

"Does it make making things more efficient?"

"Yes, factories use it too."

"Factories?"

"Buildings where things are made, like - shoes."

"Why would you make all the shoes in one building instead of at home?"

"Most people aren't any good at making shoes! I haven't specifically spent any time in a shoe factory but most things are easier to make a lot of if you do them in batches."

"Huh. I wonder if that's related to why it's a problem for women to do things, I think a lot more women can sit in their own house making shoes while pregnant than go to a entire other building to do it."

"I don't know."

"Who is in charge of Ibyabek?"

"Glorious Leader Lut Naar Am."

"Is Glorious Leader Lut Naar Am - an inherited position? Chosen by, uh, not by gods, by ....fate? Chosen by a council?"