Originally Posted by ModelPerfect

Well, I suspect it wouldn't have worked out that way. The humans wanted to use the technology and was testing every alien artifact they could find. Even if the didn't know the transformation effect of the fluid, they likely would have kept the fluid for further studies, and being that it took twenty years to find the materials and process, then that's quite a gamble to take. Since his people had been mistreated and stuck in concentration camps, I think he'd realize the humans wouldn't say, "That one once of fluid can power that massive ship carrying 1.6 million prawns through the galaxy for at least 1.5 years; that's cool, and we have absolutely no interest in it, so we'll just let you walk away with it and supply you with enough food to feed 1.6 million prawns for that 1.5 years! No problem!" There's just no way that would have happened, and I think he'd have figured that out...