Perhaps he should not have said that, then.  "She mentioned lunar eclipses that granted powers to 1 in 1,000 of your population; that seemed like relatively technical information and I will not prioritize it for perspective-checking.  She claims that our world, from your world's perspective, has a central intelligence factor roughly three standard deviations above yours, though with three-quarters the variance; such comparison across worlds would seem potentially fraught, but ultimately guesstimable.  Still, if that is false, it is a priority to say so."

"But primarily, what I would wish to ask you is this: assuming Thellim was able to describe accurately to you dath ilan for purposes of contrast, how would you describe to us - the differences between Earth and dath ilan, especially as they relate to how dath ilani try to coordinate groups to achieve more of the goals of the individuals in those groups?  Has Earth chosen a way unlike ours deliberately, whether or not for reasons we would understand as wise?  Is it indeed true that there is nobody on Earth whose job it is, and rightfully so as seen by Earthlings, to deal with such as I, in the way that it is my own acknowledged duty to treat with you?"

Perhaps he should not have told Helorm that, then.  "She mentioned lunar eclipses that granted powers to 1 in 1,000 of your population; that seemed like relatively technical information and I will not prioritize it for perspective-checking.  She claims that our world, from your world's perspective, has a central intelligence factor roughly three standard deviations above yours, though with three-quarters the variance; such comparison across worlds would seem potentially fraught, but ultimately guesstimable.  Still, if that is false, it is a priority to say so."

"But primarily, what I would wish to ask you is this: assuming Thellim was able to describe accurately to you dath ilan for purposes of contrast, how would you describe to us - the differences between Earth and dath ilan, especially as they relate to how dath ilani try to coordinate groups to achieve more of the goals of the individuals in those groups?  Has Earth chosen a way unlike ours deliberately, whether or not for reasons we would understand as wise?  Is it indeed true that there is nobody on Earth whose job it is, and rightfully so as seen by Earthlings, to deal with such as I, in the way that it is my own acknowledged duty to treat with you?"

Perhaps he should not have told Helorm that, then.  "She mentioned lunar eclipses that granted powers to 1 in 1,000 of your population; that seemed like relatively technical information and I will not prioritize it for perspective-checking.  She claims that our world, from your world's perspective, has a central intelligence factor roughly three standard deviations above yours, though with three-quarters the variance; such comparison across worlds would seem potentially fraught, but ultimately guesstimable.  Still, if that is false, it is a priority to say so."

"But primarily, what I would wish to ask you is this: assuming Thellim was able to describe accurately to you dath ilan for purposes of contrast, how would you describe to us - the differences between Earth and dath ilan, especially as they relate to how dath ilani try to coordinate groups to achieve more of the goals of the individuals in those groups?  Has Earth chosen a way unlike ours deliberately, whether or not for reasons we would understand as wise?  Is it indeed true that there is nobody on Earth whose job it is, and rightfully so as seen by Earthlings, to deal with such as I, in the way that it is my own acknowledged delegacy to treat with you?"