"That's good. I think there are still people alive who remember the last war, I'm just not one of them, and glad of it." 

The rest of the mermaids make it to the scientists' camp and start setting other things up, one of which being a big boxy piece of equipment of some kind. Several of the mermaids, including Councilor Aoieaaue, begin suiting up to come on land. Others fuss over setup and the boxy equipment. 

"The next time we have an equipment run we'll get diving equipment so we can come to you. It looks uncomfortable for you to be up here."

"It isn't entirely comfortable," the councilor admits, "but the ability to make contact with a new civilization from another planet more than makes up for it." The councilor turns to confer with one of the other mermaids, who hands them a box. "As a gesture of friendship, I am authorized to present to you as a gift from our people to yours, the mosaic Tears Conquered, an archetypical example of the work of Kikikea."

The xenobio green opens the box.

"Many Amentans enjoy going underwater recreationally. With the right equipment we'll be comfortable," the Amentans assure the merpeople. "We are honored by your gift."

The mosaic depicts a mermaid with an expression of disbelieving joy on her face, surrounded by a swarm of six babies. In the background, other mermaids, some in pairs, some alone, are greeting a swarm of infants rising from a depression in the floor. 

"That seems most efficient, then. In the meanwhile, my assistants are setting up a temporary transmitter station, so that we will be able to communicate with the wider world until more permanent cables have been set up."

The Amentans take pictures of the mosaic.

"If it would be more convenient for us to land somewhere else, we can also do that," the Amentans say. "What is this piece about?"

"It was created in the early days of the modern creche system," the councilor explains. "Before then, it was common for nearly all of one's offspring to die, but since then, the majority have been adopted out to other families. It revolutionized our civilization. The mermaid in the foreground is the biological mother, and the other adults are adoptive parents." 

"That must save you so much grief," say the Amentans. "We hope we'll be able to help with the rest of it somehow, but we don't know how much a fresh look at the problem will help given that we don't have much background in your medicine."

"So much," the councilor agreed. "Even before the modern creche was invented, just having children indoors with medical professionals who could euthanize the extras instead of leaving them to die of exposure--" they broke off, shuddering. "We're all incredibly grateful for modern civilization." 

"We found our own population grief much alleviated by the prospect of settling more planets," say the Amentans. "Since you prefer water and we prefer land it seems not impossible in principle that we could one day share planets, but because your problem is lack of parents and not lack of living space, that can't be the whole solution."

"Indeed," the councilor agrees, "although those of us whose professions involve keeping an eye to the future were certainly starting to worry about what would happen in as many generations as it takes to start running out of room."

"Our planet has a bit more land area than this one but not by very much. There are about thirteen billion Amentans, but that will rise now that we have room to spread out."

"Oh? I would have expected terrestrial sentient life to have evolved on a planet with much more land than us, I admit I'm a bit surprised." 

"We don't yet know which is more common! You're the first extramentan sapients we've found. Other planets with any life at all mostly stop with microscopic organisms and things like moss and coral."

"How peculiar. Although perhaps not, considering how long it took more complex life to evolve." 

"It's early in our space exploration program."

Nod. "We're very excited. Friendly aliens are something parts of our civilization have been dreaming of for as long as there's been science fiction."

"Do you have anything like a space program in the works, or has starting underwater been too much of a disadvantage there?"

"The latter, unfortunately."

"We're so glad we found you."

"We're so glad to hear it! I hope that this may become the start of a long and beautiful relationship between our two species."

"We hope so too!"

There is some muttering amongst the Amentans. The grey who did the photo op with the babies nips off to take a shower. "Is this a good time for a question that might be delicate?"

"I don't see why not."

"We're wondering how you keep yourselves clean when you're always in the same broader body of water."

"Oh, we're very careful about that. Bodies are sealed and removed to uninhabited areas extremely quickly, and our waste disposal systems are completely watertight; unless something goes incredibly wrong no bodily waste touches the general water. Wars have been started over shallower civilizations accidentally dropping a corpse into their deeper neighbors."