For a while, Hive watched the starfield in contemplative silence. “I don’t get it.” They buzzed, at last, admitting defeat.

The ambassadors were enjoying a temporary reprieve from their human handlers, resting in a private booth in the special Departures section of Earthhome Station before the long trip out.

“I think that SHRIMP may be the only one of us who had the proper recreational experience in the humans’ casino.”

After Brainslug had finished its thought, the ambassadors looked over to SHRIMP, ensconced in a tower-like structure built of useless casino chips he hadn’t bothered to cash in.

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“Not true,” Snips said, pecking at a bowl of grapes and crickets. “Snips had fun.”

“But not their kind of fun.”

“True. Snips did not have human fun. Human games too easy.”

“Much too easy,” Hive concurred.

“Were they even games?” Brainslug thought dryly.

A short silence was broken by the tapping of crabclaws against typewriter keys. The message printed.

“I DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU’RE TALKING ABOUT...”

Another message followed.

“I TOTALLY GET IT!”