[He is a delight and she grins at his perspective on the questioning. She knew it had sometimes been a bit much during her training on the Tradelines, and here there's the risk of diplomatic errors, but if that's his attitude, Ari thinks maybe she won't go wrong.]

You're going to regret telling me that someday, Master Warden. [Teasingly] You'll have more questions than you know what to do with. Like... [she tilts her head] what use is there for this energy? Can you manipulate it, use it as a power source?

[His point about genetics sounds completely reasonable to her.] It can be like that on the smaller colonies. If you're measuring your population base in the thousands, you've got to be careful about it. Although it does suggest a degree of isolationism, so - you can have a child with someone from a different House, but your people prefer endogamy?