Like mice in a cage, no? Or rather perfectly replicated consciousnesses of those mice in a reality simulated around us, in the form of a cage, [ he shrugs, then; that is his running theory in any case.

and then, a nod; she has a mind he is beginning to like. ]

Yes, that is a solid hypothesis, based on the selection. Is any non-human race here alone? If not, it could simply be a mistake in the selection process. It must be easier to replicate those who share a similar background, which means there are many here who share both the world and the timeline — a few mistakes in replicating non-humans instead of humans is, eh, within reason. Especially considering the decay of the simulation protocol.