“Yeah. Thanks for the patience, plant-man,” I say, “There was a lot of coordination to get working. Getting used to the new body takes time. You know if the wrists’re gonna stay stiff like they were, or is that one-time gettin’ the sawdust out? Oh. Right. I said I’d listen. Ok. Listening.

“Your wrists should be as good as new now, or after another practice session. If not, we can potentially spend thaums to upgrade them later. Continuing with my role as host for your first 4 weeks, you need a history lesson.

"It matters. In your old world, strength was fundamentally equal between people. Indeed, the transition from ape to human was a tool-using revolution. You may have noticed that male animals such as Apes, Boa Constrictors, Deer and Elephant Seals all fight among one another, primarily for mating rights. More interestingly, it is true that in fighting animals, the heaviest one wins almost all of the time. When deer clash, the heavier one wins almost all the time, so the other backs down. So too with snakes and seals. The heavier one almost always wins.

"The fascinating thing about human beings in the external strength dimension is that you built tools to support your fighting. And with the invention of weapons, the odds that the heavier, stronger, faster monkey would win dropped from 90% down to 60%. And the danger of injury rose. This led to a massive push towards egalitarianism. Indeed, a lot of human behavior can be explained by conflicts between two evolved psychological tendencies. First, the historical monkeybrain’s hierarchical tendency to bow to bigger, heavier, stronger monkeys. Second, the primitive human brain’s strong egalitarian impulses that led early hunter-gatherers to reliably murder their own chieftains.

"For half a million years, egalitarianism was ascendant, and then the pendulum swung back with the invention of agriculture about twelve thousand years ago. Food shortage and then storage pushed the structures back strongly in the direction of hierarchy, as effective food-hoarders and schemers could hire guards with excess grain, and then force others to obey. Personal firearms, and then accurate personal firearms pushed back towards egalitarianism in the sixteen to eighteen hundreds, while technological war pushed the other way in the 1900s.

"Overall, human beings have had a very complex relationship with hierarchy, and almost all of the complexity comes from the use of external tools and weapons to equalize the strength between individuals. Organization and technology dominated individual strength, and built your previosly modern world.

"This inner strength dimension removes that crutch. Human beings, as well as other species, have been freed from the constraints of technology here. Some folks will be far stronger than others, especially with the infusion of thaumic energy. New capabilities, like but different from your internal metronome, will allow vast improvements over baseline human capabilities. And we will see if humans have the strength and will necessary to face the world without the technological crutch. And we hope to see an abandonment of the primitive human psychology of egalitarianism."

"Dude. That’s deep. But ...

"What's it got to do with me? We’re alone here. No other people. And uhh history lessons aren’t really my thing. I’m more into drums."

“At the end of 30 days of acclimatization to this new dimension, you’ll be released from this transition zone, and into the actual new dimension. Onto the planet, if you will. Knowing that some people will develop fists that can break steel, and thaumaturgies that can control the forces of the universe may well impact not only your decisions for the next 3 weeks, but also your behavior once you leave this jungle."

“So, am I gonna have to fight people? I don’t like fighting. Peace and love and death metal, man."

“I’ve already laid out the conflicting issues inside human psychology. When you meet others, especially others freed from your historical egalitarian constraints, you will almost certainly have to either fight or submit to their rule."

“Can’t I just run off into the wilderness, and drum peacefully with a band?"

“Perhaps until someone finds you. Or something. This world is much wilder than your last. If you choose not to become stronger, then living under the protection of someone is better than allowing the wolves to eat you and your cabin. A demonstration may be in order."