It's impressive that you learned one language as quickly as you did; for us it takes much longer. We did not expect you to have already done it fifty times. My Tapap is not very good, but fortunately you can work around that. What I said was 'hello, welcome to Tuviri'.

I am proud to be known as one of the quickest-minded Draak, and I have computers to help me. But thank you. The request said that a good reason to visit Tuviri is that learning about it would be difficult otherwise - in my experience, things that are difficult to learn are frequently worth learning, so I am very curious how you differ from Tapa and Shi Alassei.

Our primary difference, I think, is that we do not seek contact with the other nations of our world as an end in itself. While we have enough avenues of communication that we were able to send for you, we do not share our primary Internet with them, swap citizens, or have substantial trade. However, we have any Amentans' interest in learning our place in the universe and learning if there is a way to safely let our people grow.

I do not speak for all Draak and I'm not sure how much of our discussions Tapa has shared with other countries. We do not have a highly organized government at the moment, and we have been invaded by expansionist aliens once before and are wary, and we must have political discussions among my kind before technology sharing seems like a good idea. But I believe it will be possible to find a deal.

Please tell me if I should stop asking questions. Why does Tuviri isolate itself? Swapping citizens did not come up before, but perhaps I should ask another country about that institution. What is most important about your history and government? What is your job name, and why? ...Does your country traditionally use job names? It seems like some might not.

Tuviri doesn't use job names. My name is Artanvi Khare Otomor, where Khare Otomor is my personal name and Artanvi is the clan my family belongs to. We see it less as isolating ourselves, and more as seeing isolation as the default - after all, communication between nations requires studying each other's languages, traveling, navigating foreign customs - and having few reasons we need to look abroad for our citizens' needs. Our country was established with its current borders in 3220 out of a group of federated states, and we're a constitutional monarchy as of the signing of the constitution in 3284.

Interesting. Some Draak are like that - the Onyx subspecies are very private and secretive, preferring to keep to themselves. You have been stable in this system for a long time by your standards. That's promising. I find job names fascinating, but now I am curious how the clans work. I would like to read the constitution as well, or learn basically anything you might want to tell me about Tuviri! Of course, I will answer questions too.

Clans are a group of interrelated families. Most people in Tuviri marry within a clan; sometimes an entire family will change clans or if large enough break off into a new one, based on family politics. Clans collectively purchase credits to distribute amongst their members according to their own internal rules, as our method of population control. I am not sure if there is a good hand-translation of our constitution into Tapap. Should we be optimistic about the possibility of a faster than light space program with opportunities to settle other worlds?

It seems reasonably likely, depending on how much my kin decide they can trust Amenta in general and how much Amentan countries are willing to pay. I am optimistic. But I cannot promise anything. Much depends on how my people react to the news that I have found aliens, and what I learn in my time here - we remember a devastating lost war against aliens who seem quite similar to you.

...A program where Draak ships carry Amentans to other planets without revealing the method would be easier than agreeing to share the technology fully, now that I think of the option. For in its current form, it requires a skilled Draak onboard to provide the music to use the light-bridge. I understand if Amentan countries would be uncomfortable relying on Draak forever, but as an interim step to help my kin trust Amentans it may have merit.

That program might suit us more than it would most; I expect many countries would want to maintain sovereignty over their colonies, and we would expect them to self-govern as soon as possible, so the threat of lost contact would loom less.

That is an admirable attitude. Self-reliance and independence is good. As to the constitution, if I listen to radio transmissions and read text in your language I can learn it eventually, or if a good or bad Tapap version is found I can read that, and either way I will understand that there may be inaccuracy or loss of nuance. The constitution, or histories, or other things, are windows into what Tuviri considers important.

There is certainly at least a machine translated version. He speaks to his assistant, who pulls it up on her everything.

Can the everything Tapa gave me receive it somehow? So your assistant does not have to scroll through it for me or anything so inconvenient for her.

(Or tedious to read right now, or difficult to go back and refer to later.)

We have a different electronics standard, but we would be happy to offer you this local device. Assistant has it ready, sends the constitution to it, and hands it over.

Thank you! 

Same principles, different implementation! Excellent. He starts reading the beginning of the constitution while asking Khare Otomor, I want to learn all about everything, but important matters come first. Can you describe what international treaties Tuviri has complied with, and how? Those will be of greatest interest to us in determining how much to trust Amentan countries, I believe.

We're signatories to the war crime and population control treaties, and have kept nonagression pacts with all the major power blocs. We allow foreign inspection to assess the first two the same way everyone else does.

He keeps peppering the blue with questions for a while, occasionally asking if he has any questions or anything in particular to cover. (Oh, and: This seems like a pretty nice inland sea, he likes it!)

It's a lovely inland sea! They use it for intranational shipping and fishing.

The Seeker has Fishing Opinions, apparently. They aren't overfishing, right? And, Some Draak may wish to live in Amenta's oceans, arctic, or equator regions, eventually.

They aren't overfishing, they carefully regulate it and farm a lot of the fish. That doesn't sound infeasible.

That's very reassuring, good ocean management.

I think 'eventually' may end up being a while, but we will see. When I go home, I should be able to return after a month or two with more news.

How long of a while?

Until we are ready to work out deals with Amenta? We can probably begin real negotiations after a season, perhaps less. No promises. Until I trust that nothing disastrous would happen if I let some young kin work out a deal and find a place here? Two seasons, perhaps much longer.

What sorts of deals might they want to arrange?

Territory, art, gold and silver and gems, hunting and fishing rights, tutors, perhaps things I have not thought of, in exchange for whatever skills they might have. I worry that some young kin would not be interested in understanding Amentan laws, or in following them.

That would present a challenge.