"That sounds complicated. Is there any benefit to doing it that way?"

That's certainly not a direction she's ever thought of it from.

It's not really about benefit; it's a - status thing. You can't be a Beta and born a slave. Similarly only Iotas and Omegas can be sold into slavery by their families.

"How many of each of your strata are there?"

Across the world it varies. (In general a lot of societal things she's been telling him are about the Empire she's from in specific). Different cultures did different things with strata.

In the Empire there are relatively few Alphas, more Betas than that, then more Iotas than that. There used to be then more Omegas but the numbers have changed some in more recent history. She doesn't remember what they are in relation to Iotas now.

"Why are the alphas so powerful?"

Historical reasons. In the areas where the Empire originated, they took power as monarchs and nobility centuries ago and held on. The Empire started by conquering its neighbors, who had similar structures, and that remains the structure and the system in the Empire.

This is actually the reason there's fewer of them too - there was a lot of killing each other, during that era.

In the Empire it is said that Alphas are suited to taking power and to wielding it. The former isn't without basis, but it's not an inevitability thing - cultures around the world have done different things, as she said.

"...Your empire doesn't rule the world? That must be horrible. The Hari Empire rules the world, you don't have to worry here."

? (horrible? worry?)

"Because you have to pay high taxes so your government can fight a lot of wars, that must be horrible. You don't have to worry that there will be a war here, we never have those."

Ah. Yes, wars are pretty horrible.

They don't have uprisings and things?

"It's happened but the empire always wins and everyone knows the empire will win."

Understood.

...she also thinks the Hari Empire has some better qualities than the Empire she is from.

"I'm glad. What do you like here?"

She likes things like caring about linguistic diversity and money saved by not having wars. It not being illegal to criticize the government. The lack of the system used with strata. Voting sounds potentially good. Things like publishing the laws for everyone to see and providing some language learning facilitation.

"I like those things too. Do you miss anything about your empire?"

She thinks what she misses and what she thinks are good qualities are different questions.

She misses some technological conveniences, and knowing things about people and things she looks at. And some people.

She does think not enslaving all children is a good quality. And not doing suspicious-implication things with disabled children, not that where she's from gets so much credit on that one.

"What do you do with children instead of slavery?"

She's not sure exactly what he's asking about. (This is certainly an interesting formulation/direction to think about it in, she thinks.)

Children are raised by their parents by default, but sometimes by other people, who have responsibility and (this seems likely to be relevant, given context) certain legal rights over them. They're supposed to get an education at the right age and such. When they reach the age of majority they are adults.

Is there an age of majority here? Does anything happen when a child reaches it?

Does she understand correctly that children here belong-as-slaves to their parents? To both (all?) of them, or somehow else?

"Children here belong to their mothers. It's illegal to free them because they can't understand the law. There's an age of majority, you're allowed to free your children after that but don't have to. Do you mean that people are automatically free when they become adults? So they need to learn the law before then? Do I understand right?"

What's the age of majority here? (In the Empire she is from it's 17.)

People in the Empire she is from are born free. There's rights parents or guardians have over children but it's not the same as for a slave. Once someone reaches the age of majority parents/guardians no longer have said rights over them.

The approach to law is less all-at-once than it sounds like it is here? While how much and how one will be held to account for it does depend on age (and some other factors), children under the age of majority can still be arrested and punished for breaking laws.

"It's the same age for us. How is slavery different than the rights parents have over children in your world?"

If you compare them - different scope, different aim? Theoretically at least the point of parental rights over children is getting those children raised to be part of society and such. Slavery's not like that. You can't sell your children to other people for money (unless you're an Iota or Omega and sell them into slavery). You have some legal obligations toward children you have. There's legal constraints on punishment and other treatment of children there isn't on slaves.

If a slave says no to their master and the master doesn't have the resources to punish them enough the government will - help.

As some elements.

What happens if an under-17 breaks the law here?

"If someone you own breaks the law you can be punished for that. In your home, if an Alpha has a child they can't raise to follow the law, what happens? Do they have to kill them?"

Punished how? What if you have a child who keeps breaking the law and you don't think you can keep them from it?

Theoretically, you're not supposed to murder your children. In practice, Alphas in fact will often get away with this, if they do it.

Also in practice, what happens is often that the family covers for the child, pays their fines, etc, maybe tries various ways to improve their behavior. Then when they grow up they either figure out how to stay out of that kind of trouble, or the family keeps covering for them, or they figure out how to cover for themselves, or they eventually end up dead or in the slave Alpha 'route'. (The bar for the slave Alpha 'route' is also considerably lower if the government already doesn't like where you come from very much, or you're less in favor.)

"...Here you just kill them... why aren't you supposed to do that? Do you need more people?"