She laughs. "They live longer, they're taller, they have more delicate facial features, they're very lightly built. Not smarter or more talented, though those also wouldn't mean they deserved to rule."

"How would you have rulers be chosen?"

"We don't need rulers. People can manage their own lives."

"Um, how will you settle disputes? My world actually has a long history of people going 'No rulers! No rules!' every now and then, and it usually ends poorly when anything bigger than a town tries it. I have heard pretty good arguments for how to make it work from my more... Radical acquaintances. However, the weight of precedent is against it, so I'm super sceptical."

"The people involved in the dispute can have documents drawn up that establish how they want disgreements settled - a trusted friend, an arbitration board, a public debate and vote -"

"Every pair of possible disputants? That would be horrendously inefficient for a group of ten, much less a town of ten thousand. And what if someone just says 'fuck you, I'm not acknowledging the arbitrator's decision after all'? How are you going to enforce decisions?"

"People probably won't make agreeements with that person."

"And if they decide to use force to get what they want - breaking into houses and taking what they want - will no one retaliate?"

"I imagine lots of people will form agreements of the type 'if someone is known to use force to get what they want, don't trade with them' so such people would be unable to be part of a community."

"In a small town, yes, this would be enough to regulate behaviour. But in a city? Will information costs really be so low that everyone in a city of one million will know the name and face of every dishonest person? Will there be no one who can profit by being that one guy who sells to criminals and fences stolen goods? Or will everyone have to shun criminals and people who don't shun criminals and people who don't shun people who don't shun criminals, and so on? In a large enough population where not everyone's reputation precedes them, how could you possibly use 'scorn them' as your only enforcement mechanism?"

"The alternative is using state violence, which is much much worse. I'd rather some thiefs get away with it, and not for very long or to particularly good ends, than have even a single constable."

"Do you believe that the correct way for private individuals to acquire goods and services is to pay for them?"

"The one thing I really believe is that the things we do to prevent and punish crime are indescribably worse than the crimes themselves, and that most people wouldn't be criminals even if there was no chance of being caged for life or publicly whipped for it."

"It is true that most people would not be criminals, if your people are anything like mine. However, not having a strong system to deter crime leads to a situation where criminals are better off than non-criminals. Just as it is true that people don't want to be dishonourable themselves, they also don't want people who wrong them and act unfairly to get away with it. In the absence of an institution that effectively and consistently makes crime unprofitable, people will get pissed off and start one. Be they republics or kings or lynch mobs - something will pop up. Human nature abhors a power vacuum - or at least an order vacuum. People who think their society is safe and orderly and fair probably wouldn't care if no one was running it, but if it's disorderly, they'll pick a new ruler faster than you can say 'permanent revolution'."

"I don't think you're right about human nature. I think everyone wants to believe we need rulers to keep us in line, when in fact we'd be just fine."

"OK. I can't speak to a fundamental, underlying nature of people; because I am not an expert in such. However, I can speak to historical precedent, and if you try to use honour and respect as the sole mechanism of maintaining order in a settlement larger than a small town, you're gonna have a bad time. And even the towns I've read about that didn't have any state violence did occasioanlly errupt into personal violence in the form of duels, or mob violence."

"I'm not saying it'll be perfect, just much much better than the problems created by trying to stop that sort of thing."

"Eh, I'm pretty sceptical of that. My country has law enforcement, but it's rather limited and I don't find it all that objectionable. I'd rather have it continue that way than move to a small town, or continue living on the edge of a city, but have to worry about the 0.1% of people who are violent assholes."

"Well, I suppose we disagree. It's easy to find law enforcement unobjectionable when it's only wrecking the lives of people you don't know or care about."

"It is likewise easy to think law enforcement is disposable when you've never had to live without it." She yawns. "I'm tired, since I was studying your language all night. Is there anywhere I can sleep?"

"Right. Yeah. Uh, I doubt Izindal will mind if you crash on his couch, and I'm going to get started on step one of the plan here, catch you tomorrow?"

"Sure. I'll still have to check out the library at some point. Thank you for your help. Good bye!"

She has literally never met someone she liked more, and almost wants to ask for a kiss before she goes, but one really shouldn't mix business and personal life like that. Seducing girls is for reasons, not just because you're filled with glowing admiration for them.

Carmen inspects the couch to make sure she won't crush anything, and then plops down. Being around Gimlith is great. She feels energised by being around someone so passionate, and useful because she can help someone so brash to not get killed.

However, now that she's coming down from the energetic high, she is struck by how very alone she is in a completely new world. A world she knows almost nothing about. She misses her family and friends and the consistency of a life where she always knew what was going on. She sobs a little.

She needs to look like a little less of a scoundel if she wants to even walk into the nice part of the city without being stopped. She swings by a friend's house to borrow a washcloth, improvise a bath, get a nicer dress, put her hair up, and affect her most Elfish persona. Then she leaves.