"Would you explain on my behalf the consequences of providing untrained youths with high-level military and espionage technology? As well as the risks that are involved with morphing?"
Arhareli closed her main eyes waited for the humans to finish making their respective remarks, keeping her stalk eyes on Tiberi and the Hork-Bajir, and occasionally flicking around to the Descendant and the human who carried the gun.
Finally they all settled a bit, and she opened her main eyes to look at the main body of the group.
<The laws regarding Seerow's Kindness are exceptionally clear on the matter of morphing technology. The morphing technology remains exclusive property of the Andalite people, to distribute to other governments on a regulated basis. Among Andalite citizenry, it is an expensive technology, but it is legally accessible to all law-abiding members of our population, over a certain age. Since five years after the Yeerk-Human war, all instances of morphing on non-Andalites has been on a registration basis: you need a government permit, and the femtotechnology that allows you to morph will be regulated so that it expires after a specific number of weeks, months, or years, depending on your reason for using the technology. Only Andalites and very specific instances of other species are permitted permanent license to the technology, and again... it is only on an individual basis, for non-Andalites. Sharing morphing technology in an unregulated manner carries risk of severe punishment, and depending on the species to whom it is released, that punishment can vary from inprisonment or exile to being forced into an undesirable nothlit form or, in the very extreme case of releasing morphing technology to Skrit Na, Yeerks, Yedd, Yoort, or Descendants... public execution and the exile of all direct relatives within one generation.>
Arhareli paused to let that sink in.
<However...> Arhareli reached into the pouch on her utility belt, on the side opposite her Shredder, and pulled out a cyllindrical silver vial. She twisted off the stopper and tipped out a small bluish shard into the palm of her other hand, and then closed her palm and sent the command,
<Expand.>
She opened her palm and revealed a perfect one-centimeter cube, palest blue and utterly smooth on all faces, glowing faintly. Arhareli spoke slowly, almost as if she were talking to herself, trying to convince herself that what she was about to do was right, and that it wouldn't destroy everything worth having in her life.
<...however, I happen to be in possession of the last half of my winnings from last year's tail-fighting exhibition. I- well, to be very frank, I had intended to sell this on the Andalite infra-comm system. It would have been an extremely lucrative action for me to take; it would have sustained all my expenses for many months consecutively. That being said, for this mission I would be willing to diminish its resale value.> Am I willing to diminish the value of my life? I put myself at risk of death every day, even IF the risk is low, in an absolute sense, compared to soldiers facing noncompetitive combat, but-
Arhareli closed all her eyes tightly and shivered once, almost invisibly, extending the palm holding the tiny cube toward the middle of the room.
She spoke in a rush, reciting by rote the specifications of the cube, which she had memorized to be advertisement in preparation of its intended sale.
<This Portable Trial-Basis Escafil Device is designed to be ready on-the-go, wherever you are. It is functional for fourteen individual uses, each use lasting one full moon cycle - that's about eight months for Earth - and expiring at the end of the cycle, taking with it all morphs acquired during that time. Perfect for families who have a history of Hereth Elint morphing allergies, tourists who want to experience other alien forms first-hand without permanent retention of alien DNA, and anybody who wants to "test drive" the morphing experience without the risks of military conscription. Use of the PTBED does not prevent later use of the Permanent Escafil Device, so if you like it, you can upgrade at the end of your moon cycle! Escafil Technologies Incorporated and the resaler are at no legal liability if the user experiences negative reactions resulting from misuse of the PTBED; it is the user's obligation to adhere to the included instructions. Instructions: 1. Touch the device while it is held by an already morph-capable Andalite. 2. Touch and focus on a form of intelligent life in order to acquire its DNA. 3. Focus on the form of that intelligent life in order to assume its form. 4. Focus on your own original form in order to resume your original form. WARNING: A time limit of 0.015 rotations ... that's two hours for Earth... is placed on every incidence of assuming a form other than the original form. Should the user stay in an unnatural form beyond that time limit, including the time it takes to leave that form and assume the original form, the user will permanently be trapped in whatever form was held at the last parallax-meter of the time limit.>
Arhareli drew another deep breath and finished,
<In short, this technology is extremely dangerous if misused; it is unlawful to give to anybody here. It is unethical by the standards of my race to give it to a specific being here. It is immoral to give it to juveniles. In offering this, I am sentencing all of us to death and my own family to disgrace and exile, so PleaseSomebodyUseIt NowBeforeIChangeMyM ind.>
