"Uh, hi. I'm I- I'm Susannah."

<Caranth. Have you all figured out what's going on?>

"We know that sets of the three of us are showing up."

Swish swish swish. 

"None of us did it."

"Do you have to wave that thing around? Looks awfully sharp."

<Sorry.> He stops moving it. <I won't hurt you if you don't attack me. It's just concerning to have been kidnapped.>

"We were pretty surprised Ismea said you were a soldier."

<Why?>

"Doesn't seem like it'd really be your thing. We all study economics."

<There are no men my age who aren't soldiers.>

"I guess that'd do it. - rough on your demographics, one imagines."

<We used to permit two children per family and now permit one daughter and as many sons as people want.>

" - ah huh."

"War not going well?"

<It is not.>

"That's the second alien species with population controls. - no men your age or just none you're not ignoring in a pasture somewhere?"

<There are probably people not competent to fight. All Andalites live in... pastures... though, we're a grazing species.>

"Ismea wasn't very specific about the kind of pasture."

<I do not know anything about the living conditions of men who are not capable of fighting. She might. I would expect that they are unhappy even if their living conditions are the same as everyone else's.>

"...sounded more like an isolation thing. But I wasn't planning to bug you about it, sorry."

<You're a version of Ismea?>

"Seems like. I think you met her in a bad mood, I suppose she's always in a bad mood."

<I got that sense. Is she moving to your world?>

"That's this one, I don't know where she'll wind up."