<Oh, I don't think I'm very important to interspecies relations? Um, I don't want you to do anything horrible to me but if there's just some misunderstanding I don't think there will be a big problem.>

"We won't hurt you. I mean it is possible that something here is bad for you by accident, if you're from an entirely different planet, it's a bit weird the air is okay, but we won't hurt you on purpose and can maybe help with that if we identify it fast enough? Uh, you said, Oh, I don't think I'm very important to interspecies relations? Um, I don't want you to do anything horrible to me but if there's just some misunderstanding I don't think there will be a big problem."

<The grass seems all right. I guess maybe it's missing an important nutrient and I will die of selenium deficiency in a few years if nobody finds me. I'm not sure there's anything to spare to go looking for me even if there were a reason to think I might be stranded on an undiscovered planet.>

"I'm sorry. We will try to take care of you if we can. We have advanced aliens here who could maybe do something about selenium deficiencies - how are you eating. You don't have a mouth. Uh, this thing - we use it to eat."

<Andalites eat through our hooves. I don't actually know how to tell if I'm deficient in anything. I don't even know if I need selenium. I work at a lighting company, it's not a related skillset.>

"Makes sense. Well. We will do our best. Or the Amentans will, this one is more their skillset I think probably."

<Amentans?>

"Other aliens! Less alien aliens. They look like us except their hair is brighter colors, they mostly suck but they're working on it, and they're in charge. Kind of. They conquered us. Then we secretly conquered them back but no one knows about it."

<...secretly conquered them back?> There is the slightest of tailtwitches.

" - it's a bit complicated. We have magic and they didn't."

<Magic?>

- he pulls out his wand and floats a flowerpot.

<What makes you call it magic and not just a weird ability your species has, or a technology that's shaped like a stick for some reason?>

"You can't use the principles you use to describe how Muggle technologies work to explain it. Or at least no one has figured out how yet."

<The chip doesn't have "Muggle".>

"People who don't have magic. Is the chip just picking up what I say or does it have some other sources?"

<I don't know how it works. I make lightbulbs.>

"I guess. How does it tell you what it has?"

<When you say things it either gives me a translation or not.>

"Word by word?"

<I'm not sure what you mean? Sorry, I really don't know how it works and I've never needed it before today.>

"Uh, to me it sounds like you're talking in distinct words. Like, "I'm" is one - mostly - and "not" is one, and "sure" is one, and I was wondering if that is the unit in which it provides or fails to provide a translation or if it's something else."

<I can't hear a difference between the gaps between words and the middles of words when you talk.>

"Huh. Okay. Does everyone where you're from have translation chips?"

<I don't think everyone but they've been available for civilians for years now.>

"Is it dangerous or not, Minor?" says Ana.

<Oh, I'm not going to hurt anyone - sorry, I didn't know you wanted to be in this conversation ->

"- oh boy it's telepathic."