1. A method, comprising: receiving, at a processing unit of a knowledge inference engine, via an inquiry interface, user input representing a query; processing the query to obtain available data from a relational meta model that organizes and stores information in multiple dimensions organized in a hierarchical fashion, wherein the relational meta model comprises an assembly of meta names, their aliases and dependent terms, along with relationship information associating the terms to one another, that collectively describe a meta data schema, wherein the relational meta model comprises categorized and generationally-related meta models, each generation having a specified relationship to its prior generation(s); utilizing associations specified in the meta data schema to derive inferences among data stored in one or more data stores; and presenting a response to the query, the response incorporating inference-derived knowledge whether or not terms used in the query match keywords used in the relational meta model.