"It’s very rude to say that someone’s parent is a slave, so you won’t ever hear about that happening."

"So what happens is they're so totally normal that it'd be rude to ask them about it?"

"Oh, well, even if anyone like that existed, as I certainly can't confirm that they do absolutely everywhere all over Sesat, babies are different from adults."

"That is true. I wonder at exactly what age they would hypothetically stop being one way and be another."

"The wisdom of those who work with slaves has presumably informed their choice of the age at which to mark them."

"You could sure presume that if you were so inclined."

"I have no doubt that they've considered all the factors. - And incidentally you shouldn't talk like that where anyone outside our household can hear you."

"Well, I don't know how to do it like grownups do."

"Mm... I think there are things you mustn't say the wrong way and things you mustn't say at all and I think this is the second kind."

"But then people won't know, and they'll be wrong."

Feris grimaces. "Perhaps they will. And you'll be alive. And another thing you mustn't say is what it says about you if you would make that choice."

"How is anybody supposed to stop being wrong about things like this? What if I'm wrong about things and nobody will tell me??"

Feris clenches his fists hard. "They aren't."

"That's a thing they're wrong about and they can't stop!! I hate that!!"

"Ha. No, little one, it's much worse than that. There's a thing they think and a thing you think. You can't tell them you're not convinced, so you can't have a real conversation about it, so you don't know."

"...huh?"

"It seems like you think we mark slaves too young. And - don't ever repeat this, don't even repeat it within this household or I'll be beaten for having trusted you - I think that the choice of age was made based on what would be convenient for people, which might not be the same as what's right, and at any rate some of the most important considerations are unspeakable. But we don't either of us know - there might be a great reason why things are done this way. But it's hard to ask prying enough questions without sounding like you're accusing people of something, and it's especially hard to ask why some specific thing you're thinking isn't true. So if there's a great reason for slaves to be marked at the age they are, we don't know."

"If somebody did have a great reason, could they just write a book about it?"

"Assuming they're literate - they're probably literate, but it's not a certainty - they could just write a book about that. Or they could just write a book about some other thing someone else who's never even seen a slave might be confused about. Or they could write themself a diary so they can hold onto their own life. Or instead of buying writing materials, they could give the money to the poor. Or they could spend it on meat and cake. Perhaps one day you can commission a whole book about this question, if you can think how to ask it safely and don't have some other question you want a book on."

"Why would their own life be a problem here, though? If they were just writing, hey, I made these observations."

"It'd be paper and ink not used to write down observations that might be more important to them."

"So you think maybe there aren't books about this because everybody who could write one was busy?"

"And because there's not enough paper in the world to write every book it would be good to write. There aren't books about almost anything."

"If perfectly good people are getting enslaved because there isn't enough paper that might be the worst thing in the world."

"Perfectly good people probably also get enslaved because their mothers don't want to admit to having had them. Also, someday we'll all die - maybe not you, but I sure will."