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"Most societies," she went on, "practice both exogamy and endogamy -- a man must marry outside his family but inside his nation, race, religion, or some large group, and you Free Traders are no exception; you must cross to another moiety but you can't marry fraki. But your rules produce an unusual setup; each ship is a patrilocal matriarchy."
"A what?"
" 'Patrilocal' means that wives join their husbands' families; a matriarchy . . . well, who bosses this ship?"
"Why, the Captain."
"He does?"
"Well, Father listens to Grandmother, but she is getting old and --"
"No 'buts.' The Chief Officer is boss. It surprised me; I thought it must be just this ship. But it extends all through the People. Men do the trading, conn the ship and mind its power plant -- but a woman always is boss. It makes sense within its framework; it makes your marriage customs tolerable."
Thorby wished she would not keep referring to marriage.
"You haven't seen ships trade daughters. Girls leaving weep and wail and almost have to be dragged . . . but girls arriving have dried their eyes and are ready to smile and flirt, eyes open for husbands. If a girl catches the right man and pushes him, someday she can be sovereign of an Independent state. Until she leaves her native ship, she isn't anybody -- which is why her tears dry quickly. But if men were boss, girl-swapping would be slavery; as it is, it's a girl's big chance
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