As Shevek gets to know the Urrasti scientists he’ll be working with, the men carry on conversations about the vast differences in their respective societies. When the conversation turns to women, the physicists Oiie and Pae can only talk about women in terms of “possession.” They are taken aback by the way women are seen on Anarres—as equals who are given the same jobs and same weight in society as their male counterparts. Shevek is mildly disgusted by the Urrasti attitude toward women, but reminds himself to have empathy for these men and to go easy on them—they know nothing…