"Is that common?"

"Defectors, or movies about defectors?"

"Real ones."

"Sometimes. Some people convert, some people want kids and can't afford them."

"Do you allow missionaries here?"

"Yes. Everyone is allowed to advocate for their point of view."

"...even though this means sometimes people decide they believe in imaginary things and want to move to a different country."

"Well, I mean, I think I'm right, and they think they're right, so that doesn't settle anything about what's imaginary. But people are more likely to be convinced by true things than false things, so if we argue about it, then we're more likely to both have true beliefs. --Gilead doesn't let people argue against their religion which in my opinion is evidence it isn't true, if it was true they wouldn't be so threatened by disagreement."

Kyeo blinks politely, not sure where to begin to address this perspective.

"No one forbids you to say that the sky is green or the earth is flat because those things are actually false and we think that we can persuade you out of them."

"Well, those you can... see."

"You can't see the earth being round. --I guess maybe you can see the earth being round, because it's the future? Here we have to prove it through logical argument."

"I had not previously visited Earth in person but I have seen Ibyabek from space and it is round."

"Right, see, that would help, we have to prove it with lunar eclipses and ships sailing off to the horizon."

"You have very famous eclipses."

"Oh! Yeah. We should show you one."

"I'd like that. Is there one soon?"

"You're in luck, there's one in Cascadia in six weeks."

"I'll look forward to it!"

"--You think a lot of things are frivolous."

"I imagine there are cultural differences there as anywhere."

"There's-- obviously a lot of disagreement about the topic but one popular theory is that the entire point of society is that all the important stuff is taken care of so people can do frivolous things."

"I'm... not familiar with that theory."

"Well, frivolous things are things that people do for no reason other than wanting to do them, right? That's what the word means. So if it's good for people to do things they want to do then... the whole point is to let people do things that have no point other than that the people want to do them."

"My understanding is that it is not a sign of good character to be very drawn to activities with no point. Common, but in much quantity a vice."