"Something like that.  But that's the more finely detailed version of what Civilization in the person of myself wants to check, rather than 'how would that work out great for everyone if everyone did that'.  They want to know the downstream effect of everything correlated with that decision across all the probable realities, and not just the place where Keltham thinks he's most probably standing."

"It's the most complicated shard of all the shards of Law that everyone is supposed to learn.  One of the subshards is the one that underlies real oaths.  It's the only part of the fundamental Law underpinning Civilization whose math is actually, like, difficult at all as math."

Part of Keltham seems to think on some deep level that he needs to keep talking, to prevent the chained and naked Carissa from being scared about what is going to happen to her, because that would be needlessly cruel...

Or maybe the frightened person he's trying not to be needlessly cruel to is himself.

"Something like that.  But that's the more finely detailed version of what Civilization in the person of myself wants to check, rather than 'how would that work out great for everyone if everyone did that'.  They want to know the downstream effect of everything correlated with that decision across all the probable realities, and not just the place where one Keltham thinks he's most probably standing."

"It's the most complicated shard of all the shards of Law that everyone is supposed to learn.  One of the subshards is the one that underlies real oaths.  It's the only part of the fundamental Law underpinning Civilization whose math is actually, like, difficult at all as math."

Part of Keltham seems to think on some deep level that he needs to keep talking, to prevent the chained and naked Carissa from being scared about what is going to happen to her, because that would be needlessly cruel...

Or maybe the frightened person he's trying not to be needlessly cruel to is himself.