There's a lot that can be said about the history of the various races,
and others out there that we may not yet know about as of the time of the
series...unfortunately, I'm not at liberty to comment.

Re: the "joke"...this is what people say after the fact to excuse stupid
or mean-spirited behavior. When they're caught out and exposed, they come
back with, "Hey, I mean, I was only joking." I don't buy it. Nor does it
reconcile with other information.

jms