This is book 2 of the "Fuzzy" series.

This note contains spoilers for the book.

Well, actually a paperback under the alternate title Fuzzy Sapiens.

Less tightly plotted than the previous book. Ben is having trouble as governor, the problems are too big, and the only big organization he can turn to for help is what's left of the Zarathustra company, whose executives he hates.

That problem is solved by Fuzzies finding Victor Grego and making him their Big Person; eventually this convinces Ben to look at Victor again. Victor did consider some drastic actions, but mostly he didn't order them.

There's also great sub-plot using Fizzies to steal from the sunstone vault; in fact it's the Fuzzies doing that taking the wrong route out and ending up in Victor's apartment and the police station that kicks off the plot.

We also find that fuzzies have language. They're learning ours fast, but their own talk is ultrasonic by human standardes, we just hear a "yeek". Two kinds of converters solve that different ways, and after a while it's discovered that Fuzzies can learn to talk in human frequencies without technological assistance.

Fuzzies turn out to have a biochemical problem that has them on the road to extinction. Their fondness for land prawns and for Extee-Three is because of the titanium content—which is accidental in the emergency food, an artifact of the vessels it was cooked in. This is found out by intuition and investigation (while the top biochemist resists strenuously this disorderly approach).