 What does Mia discover about the people of the planet Tintera and why does it scare her?
The planet chosen for our Trial was called Tintera. We have a place in the Ship like that—the Third Level—but it's only a thousand square miles and any time it gets on your nerves you can go up a level or down a level and be back in civilization. When we reached Tintera, they started dropping us. When the sun disappears, somehow you wonder in your stomach if it's really going to come back. It was spring on Tintera, but it was December in the Ship, and after we got back we had five days of Holiday to celebrate. I don't know how many of those planets had animals that could have been substituted but, even if they had, they would have had to be domesticated from scratch.
 The Tinterans are free birthers. Free birthing is breeding without restraint, which is how the Earth became over populated. This is what catalyzed the wars that eventually destroyed the solar system.
 The Tinterans are free birthers. Free birthing is breeding without restraint, which is how the Earth became over populated. This is what catalyzed the wars that eventually destroyed the solar system.  The Tinterans have begun exploiting Losels for labor, which is against the laws of The Council. Mia knows she will have to report this back to the council, and that this will foster hostility between the scouts and the Tinterans.  The Tinterans have learned how to build a space ship. Successfully launching a ship means that they are now a threat to the people who live in space, like Mia.  The Tinterans know that scouts have invaded their planet, and are planning to round them up and put them in jail.