How to say this without sounding critical when he doesn't really intend to - <I imagine you would run for office if you had figured out what you wanted to accomplish and it was best accomplished by running for office, and then you would track public opinion because it was one of the resources you were using in this context? As opposed to - believing that people mostly know a lot about what is good for them and are supporting what is good for them and the people they elect ought to deliver it?>

Leareth stops pacing for a second, surprised and thoughtful, before he continues. It's a while before he speaks.

<I - do not disagree that one of the reasons democracy as a system of government is valuable, is because of what you said. In theory, at least; in practice, many people lack information, or the right concepts to reason about the world, and thus are not very good at goal-oriented behaviour. Earth's democracies are rather imperfect, I think largely for that reason. Andalites likely do better on this due to being post-scarcity. Anyway, I am not sure what I would do empirically because I have never run for office in a functional democracy in Velgarth. Our gods seem to hate the concept, I tried to set this up in the Eastern Empire a long time ago and faced massive interference about it, so - mostly the way I think about taking leadership roles is not premised on a democratic process at all.> Tail-wave. <I suppose that would lead to us thinking about it differently.>

<Yes, I think so. I - believe that everybody is equally important, but when I am a commander I have a special obligation to mine in particular. And similarly when I seek office in a country I am seeking a special obligation to - those people in particular.>

<I think I follow what you mean? I do not really reason about the world in terms of obligations or duties, just - what will lead to good outcomes - but I understand the concept, I know many people use it in their reasoning. Vanyel does. He believes all sentient lives are important but considers that he has a particular duty to Valdemar, as a Herald. That does not stop me from - feeling that he is an ally I can trust.>

Now, at least. One of the secondary good outcomes of this entire mess is how it got them past the hump of not being able to trust each other. 

<I very much hope and expect we will continue to trust each other. I am not trying to talk you out of trusting me, I promise.> Swish swish.

<Good! I would be very confused if you were!>

He walks for a bit. <...You are trying to give me relevant information. You expect that otherwise I will be confused about something if I accompany you to the Andalite homeworld. I am not sure what the information is but I think there is something there. Related to - how we think about leadership differently, or about duty and responsibility...? Are you worried that my warm feelings toward you personally were predicated on you - placing a sense of responsibility toward working with me and keeping me happy? Because I do not think that is true at all.> 

<It seems like that is how things usually work, that people have warmer feelings about people who are working full-time on an alliance with them. It would be sort of surprising if that had no effect!>

<I mean, having worked closely with you is probably related. If that had not happened, I would have much less information about who you are as a person. But - I have that information now. I think I would still feel warmly toward you even if I did not see you at all for the next decade.> Also the thought of not seeing Matirin for the next decade sounds miserable, but that's not the point. 

<That's fair enough.> Swish swish. 

<I still feel as though I have not quite communicated what I appreciate about you. It is similar to what I appreciate about Vanyel. I remember the first time I told you that I cared about the Yeerks' lives and wellbeing as well as the humans, and you were very displeased. Which makes perfect sense, given the Andalites' history with Yeerks, but...I think many Andalites - and many humans placed into your circumstances - would have continued to feel on an emotional level that Yeerks all deserved to die. And you did not. You changed your mind. You met actual Yeerks and actual voluntary human hosts and you updated. And you adapted your strategies and goals to what would be correct in the world where Yeerks matter because they are sentient beings. It did not even take you very long. That is...actually quite rare, I think.>

Tail-wave. <And...just, I am lacking information too? There are probably facts about the world that, if I knew them, would change my goals. Before you landed in the north, the existence of other worlds was one such fact. And...I can predict, that if we part ways and end up on opposite sides of the galaxy, and you learn something I do not know, you will update on it, and adapt your goals to - what is in line with your values, in that world, even if it is a goal I right now disagree with because I do not have that information. And I share your values. That is what it means that I trust you.> 

<I don't think I was upset because I thought Yeerks did not matter. Just because I feel that - if you enslave people then you do not get to be counted, anymore, everyone should figure out how to do right by everyone who didn't enslave people. Vanyel thought that you would also have noticed that this is generally a feature of galaxies that work out best for the most people and then I was less worried. I do think I probably take less evidence than average to notice that something is important, and can maybe set aside more evidence that points the other way, but - I think everyone can get there reasonably promptly if it's presented right.>

<I hope you are right. It seems likely. But - you are still the person who did notice, and who has - taken it upon yourself to do the presenting right, that matters to me.> Tail-shrug. <You have a fair point about the incentives, the fact that - fighting for all the people everywhere to be able to achieve their goals, means stopping those whose goals are to prevent that for others. Anyway. I still do not feel that I grasp where we actually disagree, here?>

<I was not expecting us to disagree! Just to agree that I would be changing who I was trying to serve and this would be a significant change in how we relate to each other.> Tail-shrug. <Maybe it will not disturb anything that was important to you.>

<I would not have expected it to, but - maybe I should try to figure out what is important to me, here.> He walks for a bit. <It is important to me that you are clever and competent and care about people. I do not expect that to change. I would also not expect it to change if you went to the other side of the galaxy, but - there is something I would miss greatly and be sad about, in that case, so I suppose there are other aspects.>

Leareth pokes at it for a minute of pacing before speaking again. <Having you as a close friend is important to me, I suppose? I enjoy seeing you and speaking to you and tail-fighting with you, and...I suppose none of that is really about the strategic situation, or whether we are working on the same projects, it is just that I like you, as an individual. I think Melody is right that I was very lonely before and it was not ideal for me, and - well, I expect she would say that being friends with you is a slightly different relationship from being allies. I...think I would, in fact, be sad if the shift in your duties meant that we could no longer relate to each other as friends.> 

<I don't expect that at all. It sounds like you - do want to come back to the Andalite homeworld with me?>

<I think I want to, yes. Whether it is correct for me to is a different question, but - it is tempting.> 

<Why might it be wrong?>

<Mostly I have not thought ahead about what sort of work I could do from there - or even what it makes sense for me to work on now that the war is over. It would preclude helping Cayaldwin and Mhalir with research, since Mhalir is definitely not going to be welcome there. I suppose I could work on getting an interworld permanent Gate.> 

<You could get yourself a conventional education in planar mathematics and engineering and so on. I know you've picked up a lot working with Cayaldwin but there are benefits to going through it systematically.>

<Oh. That is also very tempting. It does seem very valuable for someone with an existing magical background to formally study it, and I might be best placed for that. I should talk to Nayoki about it.> 

<You should!>

Tail-nod. 

<...Would you like it if I came to the Andalite homeworld?> Leareth says finally, almost tentatively. It's not quite the question he actually means to ask, because he doesn't know how to ask if - what, if Matirin also cares that they remain friends? If Matirin would be sad if they were on different planets, and if he would weight that at all relative to the galaxy-scale considerations all around them? 

<Yes. I would like that very much.>

...And apparently Leareth is willing to weight that as a factor in its own right. <All right. As long as Nayoki does not think it is stupid for me to leave Earth, I think I will.> 

<How did seeing Alloran go?>