"...a non-abstinence way? Then what's the problem?"

" - we want children. Very very badly - I don't know if there's anything humans experience which is comparable..."

"...why do you want children?"

"I really do not think it can be explained to people who don't experience it. Why do you want food when you're hungry, why do you want water when you're thirsty, why do you want company when you've been alone with no one to talk to for months and months..."

"Well, the first two if you don't get them they'll kill you. I guess the company one might be a good analogy, although I might be too introverted to really get it."

"Amentans want children badly enough that most people will work under unacceptably terrible conditions for about twenty local years if that is the best way to get permission to have a child and consider this wholly worth it in retrospect."

"What the fuck."

"Like I said, I really don't think it can be explained to people who don't experience it."

"Okay. Well. We don't have this psychological malady and can do whatever seems sensible for minimizing starving babies in the wilderness once we have any statistics about that."

"And mining metal is really really important regardless, even if it does not make sense for you all to have cities."

"I don't know enough about mining to have a great angle on that without either totally changing my research priorities or just going ahead with 'talking golem' so they can just go learn from miners."

"What is a talking golem particularly useful for?"

"A lot of golems can understand instructions but it's pretty limited. One that can talk can clarify how it's understanding its commands and it requires enough underlying complexity that it can be a good generalist - if you're making a good generalist you might as well let it talk."

"Could it learn to mine as easily as a person, or not really?"

"Easier, probably, it won't be creative but it can have a perfect memory. And golems are strong."

"That sounds like a good project. How far out is it?"

"Years."

"A specific number of those? Is there a way to make it faster?"

"Depends on some reading I have yet to do and how much other stuff I have to do to support myself in the meantime."

"I'll cover expenses."

"I didn't even solve all your math problems."

"I think this is plausibly a good investment. If someone sweeps in who solved them all and can have a mining robot by the end of the month if I give them money, we can talk."

"I do need to know if the money's good enough that I can move out of my teacher's place; as long as I'm there I'm expected to help with the rugrats."

"I will talk with my roommate about what we can afford and get back to you on that tomorrow, how's that."

"Sure."