More than once, Gawain had sensed a strong and obvious personal, emotional quality in the replies sent by the Noi people. Whether it was joy, urgency, unease, or anticipation, the Noi people seemed to express these emotions quite directly when sending messages. They never seemed concerned that such emotional openness would put them at a disadvantage in "negotiations"—though Loren truly had no intention of deceiving the other side. Still, Gawain felt that this characteristic of Noi communication was somewhat subtle in the context of official exchanges between two civilizations.
The reason was simple: in every situation Gawain knew of, contact between two powers—especially early contact—should have been an extremely cautious and restrained process. Both sides ought to conceal the emotional fluctuations of their negotiators, conceal the psychological weaknesses of their people, and conceal all genuine intentions unrelated to the negotiations or not yet appropriate to reveal. Only then could they ensure their own initiative in the negotiations and avoid letting the other side seize upon weaknesses and loopholes.
In this regard, Loren had always done well. The Alliance had assembled a vast Star Resolver translation team and an Advisory Group of scholars covering nearly every field. It had even employed behemoths like Synthetic Brains and Calculation Centers to assist personnel in analyzing intelligence and consulting records. Loren's messages to the other side had always been measured and cautious. Behind every "communications officer" directly responsible for the talks stood hundreds of eyes watching every letter they sent—yet the Noi people did not seem to operate that way.
This often made Gawain curious, and he could not help wondering what had caused this "unusual frankness" in the Noi people. Perhaps it was related to the vastly different cultural environments of the two races. Perhaps it was forced by the current urgent situation.