"Why's that?"

"We're very low-tech, and we don't have a great history of getting along with other species - it usually goes pretty poorly for us if they know we're around at all."

"Oh, why's that?"

"Partly cultural differences and partly that most kobolds don't talk, so other people assume we're animals."

"I'm sorry, that sounds very difficult. - Is there anything you'd advise looking out for in species that seem like they might be animals to make sure?"

"I'd expect different species to handle it differently. We avoid other people, like I said, so there's not much to notice; even if you're trying to figure it out you're not going to see us avoiding your traps or whatever."

"I suppose someone might notice if they were trying to catch a lot of alien animals to study and one species never got caught."

"If you know they exist in the first place, yeah. We try not to let people know."

"That you exist or that you're people?"

"That we exist, or that we're living in a particular place."

"I suppose that's not necessarily lonelier than being the only species of people on a planet, which most are until they develop space travel."

"Hm?"

"The Federation as a matter of policy doesn't contact anyone who is pre-warp. Other civilizations don't have this policy but in practice usually don't anyway."

"If that's lonely I wouldn't expect having more people to fix it."

"There are a lot of people who find it nice to know that there are other kinds of people out there."

"I suppose."

"I suppose they could all be lying but I don't see why!"

"Oh, it makes sense, I just wouldn't call it loneliness."

"I suppose I don't know how your translation pendant handles this sort of thing."

"You were using the word for the problem people have when they're away from other people too long, right?"

"Yes, but in the language I'm speaking it also gets applied to situations like being in a crowded place and feeling ignored, or not having an adequate sense of other people being separate beings with distinct experiences."

"Yeah, that's the word. Just having more people around doesn't fix it if they aren't doing the right things. For kobolds and I think humans, anyway, I don't know about your species."

"I suppose some species would not be satisfying neighbors in this sense. The Federation is made up of many species who get along well. I'm half human and half Vulcan."

Nod. "Kobolds wouldn't be very interested, anyway; I'm weird like that. Is there anything you'd be interested in trading for that I can watch for?"

"I'm comfortable enough myself - although if you have anything that does immortality I'd be interested in that - I'm mostly trying to figure out how to get opportunities for people who aren't as comfortable."