"The Oahk Empire does not sound spectacularly nice to people they decide to bother and if we were far behind you you might decide it'd be very easy to bother us."

"It would be completely reasonable for you to have trouble doing physics experiments that get you results about baseline physics because the gravity is fucked and you can't get anywhere it isn't fucked, and still have functioning engineering!"

"We have very little information about physics when gravity is not being fucked with."

"Okay, so there's a constant force proportional to -"

He explains gravity, and then how planets are supposed to be and be lit.

He is so delighted. He takes copious notes, by hand. 

Yeah the visitor is definitely forming an impression of the tech level in spite of reticence on physics competence.

Well then maybe the Oakh Empire will try something stupid. He has questions about gravity and implications thereof.

The visitor does not consider gravity sensitive information. Physics per se is not one of his primary areas (those are astronomy, metrology, speculative xenoanthropology, and ancient poetry of the southern hemisphere) but he has plenty of it as background.

Astronomy is of interest! Speculative xenoanthropology seems potentially relevant!

Yes, that is why they sent this polymath and not, say, the music history/etymology/historiography/butterflies one.

"You haven't actually asked many questions about our society, though -"

"If I ask one more burning question and the answer is 'the King says it's a secret' I am going to be entirely too annoyed to have any fun explaining physics, I'm picking up bits from - everything." The handwritten notes the curtains the light the way Fëanáro is picking words his clothes how he's got his hair done up. (The visitor's is tied back but not braided.)

Everything in the room is handmade with extraordinary care. He has endless physics questions. 

The visitor is sneakily using obscure vocabulary in unhelpful contexts.

He asks for word meanings.

The visitor frowns at him. "Oh come on, you were doing it an hour ago just fine."

"Doing what, guessing out of whole scratch? Look, if you can assure us that your emperor's not going to try anything stupid which prompts the Valar to sink a continent then I'll explain everything, we're not a secretive people, it's just that 'emperor tries something stupid, Valar problem-solve with brute force and an absolute disregard for Oakh lives' is a very plausible outcome and it'd be so frustrating. And I have young children and will be annoyed if they die even if it's only for a few hours, children shouldn't have to put up with that kind of thing."

"I don't speak for the Emperor, he does as he likes. Look, getting your understanding of geopolitics from a two year old girl is maybe a bad idea."

"You're welcome to try to give us a better one."

"It's not my area either. I'm sure someone could locate a two-year-old Oahkar whose family was killed by Voans, can't be hard to come by."

"Oh, we're not under the impression that Oahkar like killing people and Voans are nice, just that all of you want more space quite badly and don't really mind killing innocent people to get it."

"Our planet is way too crowded and it's getting worse, everybody's trying to get their populations to quit reproducing so much but nobody'll stand for a genuine population reduction rate and people will cheat under any system."

"And we're inquiring of the Valar whether they'll fix you up with a new one and they probably will - could probably even be persuaded to make it a normal one with gravity working normally - but this one they are protective of and their created species they are very protective of and so if you try an invasion they will take another angle on reducing your population."

Fidget. "The Emperor does what he likes."

"Yes, I know that. It's a bit frustrating. The King does what he likes but what he likes is what is best for the flourishing of his people."