I've got a list of names | Glowfic Constellation

Afen is disappointed in the universe. He bounds back and forth across his room explaining why to his wife, his infant granddaughter, the end table, and a reporter flabbergasted by her good luck and cringing silently against the wall in the hopes he won't remember she's there.

"There is no reason to suppose that a species evolving independently of Amentans, with their own evolutionary history and living mammalian species likely related to theirs, would end up looking like us. None. Every explanation every scientist has ventured to the press has been unimaginative and unconvincing retroactive refitting of bad models to baffling data. Aliens shouldn't look like us but with different hair colors. Aliens that are not made out of carbon at all would be unsurprising; aliens with only as much physiological dissimilarity as exists between us and animal species on our planet would be mildly surprising; aliens with opposable thumbs would be truly remarkable. This is not remarkable and biologically enlightening; this is just inconsistent with everything we understand about the universe. It doesn't teach us new things about evolution; it should make us rethink evolution. - don't quote that part, they'll take it out of context."

Reporter nods rapidly.

"All of that said, I've picked up three of the languages and I'm working on building a good machine translator, it's a challenge with as little as they've produced in the way of electronic records. I'm absolutely going there to meet them as soon as the politicians figure out what to do with themselves."

"Do you have any predictions about that?"

"About politics? Why would I have predictions about politics? They deliberately obscure relevant information, for one thing, and for another it's deathly boring."

"- I mean, sir, surely you hear from your son about -"

"I have seven children and some of them are very dense indeed but not quite dense enough to try to interest me in politics."

"I was referring to -"

"I know who you were referring to. If you want a statement from Aitim go bother Aitim."

"Thank you for your time."

"I did not alter my activities in response to your presence and therefore you can't yet be said to have wasted any of my time though you should go before you do."

...out skitters the reporter.

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"Enh. There are women who work, because they have to - there are also children who work because they have to - it's not a sign of wealth that everyone who could does, those aren't prosperous families, and most people who work do it because they have to."

wealth-of-nations

"Yeah, but if you're allowed to work then you're better off, because your worst-case if whatever you're currently doing doesn't work out or gets too awful is 'work' instead of 'starve'."

"Yes. There are people who do it, though - I needed to be taken seriously but maids and laundresses don't have that obstacle."

wealth-of-nations

"And now it's easier, what with aliens. I'm annoyed with them about lots of things but they have made the worst-case less bad for most people."

"Most of them, yes."

wealth-of-nations

Aaron glares at the Boston cluster of tall buildings. "All ready? You touch this."

They touch it.

wealth-of-nations

Then they can go off to see alligators and flamingos and tropical birds and unicorns! Not all in one place.

Kitty is enthralled by unicorns! Susanna likes the flamingos best.

wealth-of-nations

Aaron keeps his distance from the unicorns because of their gender preference. Are they confused by Susanna?

Nope. They like her fine. They do prefer Kitty but that's possibly just because she is more willing to endlessly ply them with sugar.

wealth-of-nations

He can duplicate sugar cubes.

Kitty and unicorns are delighted! Susanna laughs.

wealth-of-nations

"In an ideal world wizards who buy things would pay, like, a licensing fee on top of the purchase price to account for how we can duplicate endlessly. Unfortunately no one except me thinks this is a good idea."

"Anyone who offered the product without the fee would outcompete anyone who offered it with and they could do that because it wouldn't cost them more in the short run."

wealth-of-nations

"Yep. Also because it's not enforceable but even if it were enforceable people don't plan a year in advance when they want to put food on the table today."

"You'd get maybe a luxury line, with the duplication priced in. Maybe if it were known fashions would change faster."

wealth-of-nations

"Wizarding fashions are actually slow to change, but I don't know if that's persistently so."

"How do your clothiers make any money, then? You're not buying all those robes and dragonhide this-and-that from regular stores."

wealth-of-nations

"Things wear out, or you get richer and want something more expensive. Or they sell to tourists, I suppose."

"Not everyone has the foresight to make ten of a thing when they get it new?"

wealth-of-nations

"Or it gets mildewed or you get a Boggart in your closet and light things on fire trying to be rid of it."

"Still. I hope they have side businesses. Or they make all their money on growing children, I suppose."

"What's a boggart?" Kitty asks.

wealth-of-nations

"Closet-dwelling magic critter which takes the form of whatever frightens you most. They're not hard to dispel but if you think it's, dunno, a dragon or a home invasion or Anitami bombers out the window levelling London then you're not going to think of the countercharm."