It's a wonderful feeling, I should think, to find out 'we are not so different after all' from others in the galaxy. They have their methods and bureaucracies, too. I considered this review right after watching part of Independence Day when the Prez /tries/ to understand the aliens, make peace, and discovers 'they're like locusts, so nuke 'em.' It's nice to see your story play out as it did. :)