"So you could make lots of exceptions and still hit your target, probably."

        "Earth doesn't even have reliable access to birth control everywhere," Ajoril says. "Population wasn't even mentioned in the summary of social and political issues - they've got a greenhouse gases problem, they've got miscellaneous minor wars and some nuclear standoffs -"

"...standoffs relating to the middles of atoms, or is that a translation issue -?"

" - standoffs related to a fairly low-tech way to destroy the world. I hope you'll forgive us for not elaborating further, if your researchers have wisely avoided going there."

"We don't want to destroy the world," she agrees, "we live here."

"And yet societies with the technology frequently decide they want to, say, commit to ending the world if something goes sufficiently badly for them."

"I suppose I can see some people posturing like that. As long as no one else is doing it I don't see any reason to pick up the option."

"Very wise of you."

Smile.

Harmless strategy games!

And she keeps him engaged in conversation as they play for the benefit of the folks back home.

Who continue to be not sure what to make of the whole thing. "Though if they - correspond - and their father's dead I can definitely get somewhere with Kefin's counterpart. If they were somehow separated."

"Just from Matirin or do you need him separated out -"

"Just from Matirin."

Would Matirin like to see some more places? He can duplicate someone's form exactly to go unnoticed, right?

"Yes, though spending more than two hours straight in morph risks complications which here we have no means to remedy."

"That's enough time to get a look around the city and get back."

"Then I would be delighted."

So when he has a fresh morph as one of the soldiers she gets him on a train to go look around downtown and pick out snacks for the Andalites to try when no one's looking.

And he comes over to talk to the Andalites! Which Andalite in particular has been pointed out to him but he sort of scowled down efforts to give him more specific instructions than that. He wants to know how the translation software works.

The Andalites profess ignorance.

That is okay they can figure it out. Say he starts in on a constructed language, how long does it take the translation software to start picking out words and offering translations, how confident does it have to be in a word meaning to offer a translation, how does it tell which sounds are differentiated in the target language if he is deliberately obscuring that a little with his accent - why do they have sounds associated with their names if they are telepaths - how does telepathy syntax function and why can it be understood as ordinary language -

"- okay now I'd like to meet Matirin."

"Kalana has location sharing with me, we can bump into her -"

Here they are.

"Kalana! Hello!"

"Good morning! Aitim, Eko, this is Matirin; Matirin, Aitim Neli and Eko Shenla -"

"Are you enjoying the city?"

"I am! So many people."