"Almost half a season. We were on a waiting list for a confiscation but there aren't many of those blue caste, but there's a handful of war orphans about recently - his birth father just died in the hospital, it was drawn out, he was in foster care for a month in case he pulled through -"

"Confiscation?" he asks mildly.

"People who overload their allocations. They don't get to keep them, then anyone who could afford whatever fine was associated would just treat it like those Tapai child credits and anyone who couldn't would be bankrupt and have a child."

"That makes sense," he says even more mildly. 

"A lot of people sneak visits, that's not really policed, we went back and forth on it - Savo's such a softie - but now we have this one, won't come up practically again for another two years minimum."

"And by then maybe there won't be population controls, since colonizing other planets will be underway."

"You'd probably have to still do something to keep the caste ratios right, but yeah, I read an opinion piece about that the other day."

"Softer incentives, maybe. What was the opinion piece's take?"

"Everybody'll have five kids, it'll be just like the ancestral environment, we'll all be psychologically healthier or something."

"I hope that's so."

He could probably conceal from Avalor that he's upset but he does not. "Hey. I wanted to get your leave to share your interaction with Melkor with the Tapai, who are investigating his role in the red rash mess."

"Unless they seem unusually paranoid this season that's probably safe."

"Thanks so much. They struck me as the correct amount of paranoid given the circumstances."

"What I mean is that if they assume Melkor talking directly to me has implications for Voa's neighborliness so immediately postwar."

"How do you want me to navigate that?"

"Oh, put me in a long list of other people he talked to if you have such a list, emphasize I came to you promptly and haven't collaborated with him..."

"Certainly."

"Thank you."

Nod. 

"Whatever it is, say it."

"Do you have to take babies away from their parents. Now that space colonization's an option, I mean."

"An allotment increase is under consideration pending somewhat more concrete optionality of space colonization."

He nods tightly. "Thank you for your time."

"Feel free to speed up the availability of a space colony if this is a concern."

"How do you think you'd handle alien societies you run across?"

"Carefully."