"There hasn't been peacetime in my reality for ten thousand years," Thace says, with a touch of bitterness, "my childhood seemed peaceful, but looking back I see how it was certainly not. Every part of childhood education or "fun" groomed us to become soldiers."

Then his expression goes blank. "I understand that ten is extremely young by human standards. And yet, the children are encouraged to take up an...occupation that teaches them strategy, command, and how to treat battle as fun and games."

"Worse, they do it by capturing and owning other sentient beings. The balls are usually escapable, in my limited experience, but storage is not. I care for my new... family here deeply, but I also look at them and wonder how deeply their thoughts and desires have been molded by generations of social and cultural pressure, much as the humans likely have."