"And in general, Jehu," he pursued, warming to the subject matter, "I find the oppression of women in your time to be quite appalling. You seemed to think that the liberation of women consisted in transforming them into loveless, materialistic thugs, into workaholics whose only desire is wealth, into aggression driven beings that possessed little shred of real humanity, into, in a word, men. I think it would have been a much better endeavor to have attempted to change men into women." I was taken aback by his eloquent defense of the treatment of women in his society, and felt, I must admit, a little impressed by his arguments, seeing as how it did make more sense to wear a head covering than to paint on a face every morning. Still, I desired to let him see that traditions aren't all that bad, just as they aren't all that good, and, as I had still won one point out of two so far, I felt it safe to move on to my main argument against his humanistic preponderance. "You are right there, I admit, but tell me, your majesty," I said with a slow, scoffing voice, meant to show that I had a powerful point to make, and as if I had to go slow enough for him to comprehend the eloquence of my speech, "Why, if you are so enlightened and progressive, so humanitarian and merciful, why do you keep a whole race of people, of human beings, stranded on the far shore, able to see the goodness of Daem's plush lands, but unable to visit them? How can you justify the keeping of people in such conditions when it is in your power to relieve them?" He sobered up more than he already was and answered in his most dignified voice, one calculated to stop opposition by its very graces, "Their plight is unfortunate, but as they are not my subjects, it is none of my concern." "So you knew of them, but did not care. How typical of powerful men. What are they called?" "Munams," he answered, "Is what we call them, though people of your time had a different name for them, Neanderthal, if I am correct." My intrigue superseded my conviction and I asked interestedly, "But, how is that possible? The Neanderthals were the ancestors of men in my time, and the men of my time were the ancestors of the men of this time, how could they be living now?"