[He rewards him with a look that seems to say he understands Alvin's point, even if he doesn't necessarily agree with it.] The thing about being adaptable is that if you're adaptable too long aren't you sort of signing yourself over to having to deal with beings more powerful than yourself? I'm not saying a tantrum's the way to go, but I've got a feeling most people here don't know the difference between "adaptable" and "pushover."

[Really, the only reason he's saying any of this to Alvin in particular is he has a feeling he might understand.]