The aliens promise that, if we give them all our stuff, they will simulate a bunch of super happy copies of us.

Do we give them stuff?

If it were up to Thud, he'd say "no", since he doesn't care about simulations. However, he's a soldier, not a politician, so that decision wouldn't be part of his job.

In retrospect, perhaps I should have done the story with that premise and "President Thud" instead. It would have allowed me to show an example about inappropriate care about simulations, but without the confusing issue of how to deal with extortion situations.