Well, at a guess Himring will stop having an inflexible planned economy that's oriented entirely towards turning out magic weapons and armor and defenses and that's extremely demanding of its citizens' time. I don't think my cousins will desire that in peacetime.

That's true, although I don't think it'll completely close the gap.

I think it'll leave Men and Elves with different strengths, instead of with one subsuming the other.

The Men have mostly been able to keep up in new fields that Quendi haven't dominated by virtue of centuries of experience. And even then they're inhibited by lack of prerequisite background - electrical engineering took a lot of math they're just too young to have absorbed as well as their counterparts, although some of them managed it anyway. That part should sort itself out a little with time alone, though. The only unambiguous advantage of Men is that they have kids around - Quendi rent them - and that discrepancy will disappear postwar.

Well, there's always new fields being invented, and Men work faster - perhaps not faster than the house of Fëanor, but faster than most Quendi - which lends itself to many fields - journalism?

Ooh, I like it!

I'm sure there are others I won't think of, being myself Quendi - shipping, maybe, if teleportation had not obviated it.

Well, I could teach them to teleport. I'm planning to share that around a lot more after the war.

It seems like it's needed more in wartime, no?

The problem is I can't transmit the spells bare, they'd all come with the ability to reverse-engineer them.

Ah. He nods.

But once I can do the part where I can get back to my own galaxy it's much less of a problem, my galaxy can roll with that kind of capability readily.

You have our trust, don't worry.

That's always nice to know.

Care to dance?

Sure. Dancing is nice.

"Water." Slightly iced water. Yum. "Anything in particular besides the air filtration song you wanted to bring up?"

"No, just that. We treat our Feanorian and his Silmaril more agreeably, so we get to see less of you."

"Well, you also didn't get the one I play Governor with. But I can come by more if you like."

"It sounds like your time is very thoroughly laid claim to. You play Governor with Maedhros? How does that go?"

"I win about half the time."

"I am not saying he rigs the games and I doubt that he does, actually, and I'm not even really talking about Governor, but the thing about Maedhros is that the people working with him tend to win half the time and also he wins every time."

"Well, commenting strictly on Governor, I don't think he lets me win."

"It's meant for four people, you know."