Warped

"You flatter me," Rui smiled.

"No no, I'm quite optimistic about your prospects of successfully completing this diplomatic mission based on our discussion up to this point alone," The man shook his head. "Coming back to the main point, as I said, you are correct about the means by which we identify how well a third party is able to fulfill primary interests such as food security. However, I did choose food shortage as hypothetical for a reason. It is, by far, the easiest to identify and recognize through the means that you have identified and more. However, identifying the degree to which other interests are fulfilled is not nearly as easy. Even other primary interests such as national security are more complicated than the hypothetical that I gave you, mainly because it is easier to hide."

Rui nodded. He was aware of this fact.