With only two stops left to make, Estrella and Admiral Slout stop off to visit planet Schpleefti.  There they arrange a meeting with the High Chief Dipodomys, also known as The Commensal.  It is a backward society they encounter when they arrive, with citizens living as peasants in an otherwise technically advanced world, complete with modern roadways, electricity, sewage, and running water.  But that's only because Schpleeftii as a people have always relied upon assistance from extraterrestrial visitors in order to catch up with the rest of the galaxy.  

Aliens have been visiting their isolated planet for over a century now, bringing with them both their money as well as their know-how, providing opportunity by the shipload.  Factory jobs created by these beings have led to regular employment for the masses and the money has flowed.  Yet the beneficiaries to this?  Besides the aliens themselves and their wealthy investors back on Suidonj and Zorgolong hoping to make a quick profit, the most obvious recipient would have to be the Commensal himself!  (And his nobles of course).  It's the way things have always been and there's little chance of things changing.  The average Schpleeftii gains nothing in the grand scheme of things; subsequently millions have emigrated to other planets as of late.  That said, Estrella finds the leader of the Schpleeftii to be both charming and accommodating.  They immediately become friends.