"If you think of anything, do let me know."

"Yeah. So how did things go with Atuza and Sarunu in general?"

"Atuza decided to vote with the state of Nahun and they voted yes. Most of Sarunu is currently joined up except for a tribe in the south tip of this continent."

"Why didn't the tribe decide to join?"

"I'm not sure of the details, after Nahun joined I transitioned to the Integration department working with the locals and that brings us to now. The summary I've had is religious reasons."

"I see. Are you happy with how things have gone on this planet?"

"I try not to be complacent. There are things that could have gone better, and maybe we could have made that happen, with the right insights at the right times. But on the whole, yes."

"What makes you feel that way - like, is it because they mostly wanted to join, or for other reasons?"

"It's because the standard of living is higher, because Sarunubi are finding fulfilling opportunities throughout the cosmos."

"That does sound like a good thing. And have you enjoyed meeting them?"

"I have, yes. I've gotten rather good at one of the local sports and developed a taste for frog in berry sauce, they're a fine people and we're glad to have them."

"Is that a pretty typical way to feel about people you liaise with for a while?"

"It varies a lot. I think when Nelen's planet was first discovered a lot of people assigned there were pretty frustrated with the Amentans, they had high turnover."

"Huh. Did people stop being frustrated with them?"

"Yes, once the reds were all safe it was a lot easier to be patient and let other topics come to the fore."

"I'm glad, they seem really cool. Do you think there's a general tendency for tensions like that to get better over time?"

"Absolutely, yes. Remarkably quickly, at least as Elves count it, as long as there aren't ongoing problems."

"What do you mean by ongoing problems?"

"Well, if for some reason we hadn't been able to clean the reds to the Amentan theologians' satisfaction I imagine it would have been very difficult to navigate their respective needs and rights in accessing the rest of the multiverse. Especially if they'd also inconveniently decided not to trust prestidigitation, which I understand them to rely on quite a lot."

"That makes sense. So - when you recommended Ambassador Utopia and Zanro, what were you thinking that'd be like for the people who met them?"

"Well, the best case scenario is always that the envoys say what amounts to 'hello, we are here to make everything better' and the natives reply 'fantastic, we love it when everything is better' but of course, again, it has to be an adaptive strategy, so when I recommend someone to the role it's because I think they'll be able to answer questions and meet whoever they're speaking to more than halfway."

He looks slightly visibly startled at that. "...What made you feel that he was good at doing those things?"

"I don't personally have an eidetic memory, it was a sense built up over time."

"I see. Thank you for answering my questions."

"You're welcome, good skill with the book."