1. Evans communication with the San-ti was ridiculous. Why didn’t he just explain that we have stories or allegories that are not literally factual but are meant to entertain or instruct, but not deceive? They are not lies because the readers know that the events are not reality.

2. The San-ti seem like a malevolent version of the aliens in “Galaxy Quest”, who also took every story literally.

3. The weapon deployed was truly monstrous and I cannot believe that it would have been approved for use, even given the circumstances. Why weren’t Evans and the item he carried completely shredded into microscopic bits as was almost everything else on board the ship, rendering the attack useless?