- Cmdr. Saru: [referring to Species Ten-C] It is possible they do not yet see us as sentient beings.
- Federation President Laira Rillak: We have a spaceship. We warped here. Clearly, we are sentient.
- Dr. Hirai: Compared to them, our technology's primitive. They've achieved Level 2 on the Kardashev scale, maybe beyond. It's like comparing a human to a monkey with a rock.