"Thanks."

"Anything else I can do for you before I get in touch with the reds?"

"How did you start doing reds things?"

"Aitim wants to win an election someday and if you do reds stuff you just - can't, you're radioactive, no one will work with you or acknowledge they ever met you. So he asked if I'd do it - I don't really want a political career. And I looked into it and - yeah, someone was needed. So."

Nod.

"I'll get back to you when I hear from them."

"Thank you. I would also like - advice about how to talk about it without being - 'radioactive'. What is that -"

" - really complicated to explain. Uh. Poisonous. You have a lot of latitude, you're an alien, but - people don't even like thinking about it, they just get stupid on the topic even if they're generally sensible...I think you could definitely get away with 'one consideration as we decide in what order to terraform planets is who has humane policies towards their reds and plans to humanely transition away from using them. Bids to be the first to get a terraformed planet should include a discussion of how your reds are treated, rates of police violence against reds, red mortality rates, and legal protections reds in your country enjoy and routinely are able to exercise.'"

Maurabel needs some of that repeated so she can look things up.

She repeats it several times and rephrases where it's still confusing with a dictionary.

"Yeah, that sounds okay," Maurabel agrees when she understands it.

"Great!"

And she writes the reds:

As I imagine you heard on the news, there are aliens. They're upset about the treatment of reds and want to bribe people with planets to get better about that. Can you think of simple, concrete reforms that are worth demanding and that'll be a good idea in other countries as well as here? We're discussing getting somewhere to put Biyan's reds - a rainforest now, a planet later. Suggestions are welcome there, too.

Why are they upset about us?

Everywhere should do our social worker replacement scheme and the cameras.

Delivery chutes.

The aliens can do planets? That's the first I heard of that for sure besides just guessing because aliens

They are upset about the treatment of reds because the treatment of reds is very bad. Planets aren't straightforward but we're negotiating for something.

Can Biyan stop now even for a planet?

My contacts who work in foreign affairs don't really think so but the aliens are going to try. 

Will they still be able to help the rest of us if they do that?

Even if they can't get Biyan's reds to the rainforest they're still going to own the rainforest, and own a planet eventually. 

How long in the rainforest?

No idea, I'll ask. Anitam's not going to try to get rid of you guys until there's a planet to send you to, the right people came out ahead on all the alien stuff and anyway we want to keep the aliens happy.

Thank you.

Was it you who told them about us?

They wouldn't let me near them, and everyone they did let near them would have been in a lot of trouble for saying anything that made the aliens upset. But the aliens flew around a bit and noticed and then confirmed on the internet. 

Nobody saw them.

They can go invisible. I told them you'd be terrified if they tried to say hi.

Oh.

Thank you that would have been horrible we have no idea how to not offend aliens.