I can tolerate crowds and cramped spaces for this. It's important.

Ruan assesses Vines's size.

Perhaps six inches taller and a couple of feet longer than the Draak who toured Tapa, River - like a large horse. He could fit in an elevator but he might have to be the only one in that elevator.

"I'll let them know."

Vines is glad and excited!

I still need either some water and vegetables and shelter here, or a way to move my pets to the warehouse. Also, I think bringing all eight of my students people-watching in public like I did at first would be a bad idea. But they do need to watch Amentans, preferably with me while I explain what they should be looking at.

"We can arrange separate trips. The estimate on a water pipeline here is two weeks, which sounds like it might not be fast enough, but if your pets will tolerate a helicopter it'll fit in the warehouse lot."

I think they won't be much more discomfited by helicopters than they were by the starship. I should fly with the helicopter the whole way and reassure them. I hope to not have to move them around very often. Moving them to Amenta is a commitment to live here for years, maybe decades. And I am not sure if 'pets' is the correct interpretation of my relationship with them, thinking of them like that is a bit discomfiting, though it's closer than any other word your mind readily accepts...

I am also not sure if they are intelligent enough to count as people.

"I'm... not sure. How smart are they?"

More so than dogs, less so than Draak or Amentans. I have not met animals noted to be particularly intelligent besides dogs and cats. I've never been to a zoo. They are all quite strongly Enkindled, however - it seems to have diminishing returns in terms of the expansion of the mind, but there is a lot of magic in them all.

"Hm - do they match some age of Amentan child, maybe?"

Tail-flick. Not really? They're intelligent in different ways than an Amentan child. More intuition, better memory, more physicality, less introspection, less social understanding, less abstract reasoning. I would say they are like a one year old, or one and a quarter, if you forced me to make such a comparison despite the differently-shaped minds.

"I... think I'll kick the question to the theologians. Will it be a problem to treat them like they have person-level capacity for pollution?"

I ensured they know how to use toilets and understand that they must. Many of them can't be autoclaved without the Seeker's absurdly flexible magic protecting them but I could probably help them through a shower.

"I'll get you the guidelines on that."

Sigh.

Perhaps you should talk to some of them. Or the theologians can. Or perhaps they should simply stay away from Amentans. Once again I should have considered things further before making the leap...

"How can I talk to them, are they telepathic in their own right?"

Yes. Not nearly so loud or clear as a Draak but enough Enkindling magnifies their song to such heights.

"I can talk to them, then, and some greens will probably want to also. Helicopter's on the way."

Bloom shows Ink how to use a pocket everything map feature and has her lead the other students in a flight to the warehouse. Her pets include two animals that can be approximated as bears and a giant sloth that's probably as heavy as Bloom herself is.

They're guardians. I recognize that their bulk is inconvenient but I was not going to leave them.

"It's a big helicopter, it'll manage."

At length, everyone is at the warehouse. Bloom's students are already a little grumpy.

I'm going to keep them busy and less grumpy by insistently teaching them until a better place is found. Can you put dividers in this warehouse? Sleeping within line of sight of another Draak would be - impossible.

They can get cubicle walls and stack them.

Better than nothing.

Bloom teaching her students looks like everyone gathering in a circle in the loading area and staring at each other late into the evening.

Ruan gets all the things he said he would, from fried chicken to a meeting time with the food scientists.

Fried chicken is delicious! Vines is looking forward to his meeting!

I can go back to de-springing a few people a day non-heritably if that helps you somehow. It'll be an excellent demonstration after I yell at them that they're not ready to try it themselves and to NOT interrupt me, if anyone is willing to be watched by extras. The heritable change - I recognize that is probably the only true path to giving this gift to all Amentans. So, I will try it again... At some point.