Challenge #01997-E173: With Understanding

Considering many herbivores on earth are gigantic and fully capable of hurting us “predators”, how would a group of humans handle a diplomatic encounter with a council of large, all herbivore, prey-species, in order to convince them to join the larger space society?

We need them to trust us but also respect us.

Fear is a powerful tool indeed. -- Anon Guest

Havenworlders amble gently into cogniscence and cautiously dip their toes into space travel. They are, by nature, the species most likely to have millennia-stable civilisations that expand slowly and graciously into the universe. And they are also, understandably, the most likely to be absolutely terrified of any species tougher than them.

Herbivorous civilisations are more likely to come from Havenworlds. Deathworlder assumptions that only omnivores can properly become cogniscent are just that - assumptions. Havenworlders just take longer to progress towards cogniscence than they do. But, since they have an earlier start, both kinds often meet in the field. Which, as you might not guess, is disturbing to both sides of the encounter.

"It was a troll," said Salvager Grisket in deadly seriousness. "Nine feet tall if it was an inch."

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