Friends in the Stars

by Mackey Chandler

  “I have no idea, but we’ll certainly find out,” Wilson promised.

  Chapter 6

  “I’m not really sure what we are looking for,” Born admitted.

  “Neither am I,” Musical agreed, “but we know the material we’re trying to replicate will display gravitational effects when manipulated the correct way. There are only so many inputs we can try. We can subject it to an electric field, a magnetic field, move it in some fashion or illuminate it with some portion of the spectrum.”

  “Or a combination of those,” Born said.

  “Well, we know Lee said the acceleration canceling devices in the Central ship made a whining sound of increasing pitch. That suggests there is something in at least one sort of device that spins as do the Badger gravitational devices.”

  “Then we should make it easy on ourselves,” Musical suggested. “We have the option of freezing glassy-metal on a spinning cryogenic disk. That’s faster than laying down layers and building up a solid block of material anyway. We can build a safety enclosure with a drive to spin them up and leave our sample on the disk where it was sprayed to test it. I think we can get a centrifuge maker to build us something locally that will fit in our own lab. I’d rather Leonardo didn’t observe our testing.”

  “Do you want to try to strip the disks that don’t test out to reuse?” Born asked.

  “Not unless we get so many it’s a problem storing them. I bet it would cost almost as much to cut or grind the glassy layer off as making a new disk, and you’d have to make them extra thick so they don’t become too thin to reuse. Some of the material we’ll use would make hazardous dust if we ground it off.”

  “Fine, then we need some cabinets, and cheap off-site storage too,” Born said.

  “There’s a new commercial warehouse about three kilometers away over the west ridge that will rent lockable rooms,” Musical said. “I wonder if Lee would mind paying the rent for that?”

  “She hasn’t been cheap about anything. For something so small I’d just forward the contract to her bank with an explanation and I’m sure she’ll cover it,” Born said.

  “You’re right. If she has an accounts manager with them she might never even see it. I bet she gives her personal help as much freedom as us. She’d probably rather not be bothered about a payment that would buy her a nice lunch.”

  * * *

  Walton was joined by a small Derf nutritionist who had the darkest coat the Foys had ever seen. She wasn’t black, but a deep chocolate brown that would look dead black in low light. She had no customary nickname for dealing with Humans. That surprised Eileen. She’d somehow come to the conclusion there was so much contact between the species everyone would have a short name. Walton corrected her and explained that was even less true of clan Derf than city Derf. The dark female seemed amused and invited them to give her a name if they had a preference, as she didn’t.

  Eileen suggested Casimir was appropriate if she liked the sound of it. Upon saying it aloud a couple of times Casimir allowed it rolled off the tongue nicely and accepted it.

  Vic was looking up something on his pad, and Eileen didn’t ask what. Undoubtedly he was trying to find the Casimir Eileen chose for a namesake.

  The process engineer was bigger so probably a male. He even had a little more excess padding around the middle than was common on Derf. He had and offered a short name of Waller and hurried to explain he hadn’t chosen that to relate to his profession but rather his love of music. It was Vic’s turn to nod that he understood the reference, and Eileen’s turn to be mystified. But she didn’t want to make her ignorance obvious by immediately going to her pad.

  “Waller asked to speak to you first about packaging options,” Walton said.

  “Just to give you a little historical perspective, Derf used the same preservation methods of salting and drying Humans did. Smoking was not common because our woods tend to be resinous. The woody bushes suitable for smoking are not widespread. Before Human contact, the Derf weren’t big users of glass containers. Clear glass was difficult to make and expensive. Reinforced ceramics were much more common and lighter than the customary ceramics I have seen humans use. Think in terms of fine porcelain, but much tougher. This is because of the differences in our mineral feedstocks.

  “Our metallurgy is heavily slanted to copper-based alloys for the same reason, so we had food storage containers of tin coated copper very early. Such containers crimped shut easily and though the copper was relatively expensive recycling it was easy. Since the tin coating didn’t matter in scrap being processed into bronze that was the favored recovery path.

  “When Humans came, they of had their own supplies. We both quickly found out that the metalized plastic films you favor were easily bored through by several sorts of common Derf insect analogs. So we never adapted that packaging.

  “Aluminum was known, but as a rare and expensive novelty, not a commercial material. So the human process to produce another soft ductile metal that we could work with many of the same techniques we used for copper was very welcome. The mature tech that you evolved from the soda can is just amazing. It’s both unbelievably light and strong. We’ve adapted it to the same sort of food storage we did in copper. Tin lining or no lining works just fine with aluminum, but the addition of plastic and graphene liners has improved them too. Besides the long cylinder form, Derf have used the shorter cylinder that I am told Humans favor for fish, and the rectangular form I understand is favored for small whole fish.”

  “Yep, I know what you mean,” Vic said. “The short can is common for tuna fish and the little flat can for sardines. Do you use the pull tab?” Vic asked, mimicking the motion of using such a tab.

  “Oh certainly. If anything we can use them easier,” Waller said, and copied Vic’s pantomime but with a single claw daintily extended.

  “That looks like it could open an old-fashioned can just fine,” Vic said.

  “Indeed it can, but it’s as stupid a trick to attempt as Humans opening a bottle with their teeth,” Waller said. “You can rip a claw tip off and have to file it down shorter. It takes months of favoring it before they match up again. If one claw is short I can’t play piano four-handed very well. It throws my timing off just enough to be really irritating.”

  Vic blinked, trying to picture that. The fellow must be able to do a duet single-handed. Well, quad-handed if you wanted to be literal.

  “Somebody actually brought a piano to Derfhome?” Eileen asked.

  “No, but we got the fabricator files for the parts and assembled one. I understand tuning it the first time was more of a challenge than assembling it. There are six pianos on Derfhome now that I know of, and I’ve played three of them,” Waller said.

  “But to get back to our business,” Walton suggested, “Casimir also has information for you and some samples.”

  “Capital Provisions makes both storable and short shelf life goods for Humans and Derf,” Casimir explained. “The biggest differences are that Humans have a need for vitamin C, and Derf need a particular stilbene that Derfhome plants use as a protection against our insect analogs. Derf don’t need vitamin C but can tolerate its presence in food at levels that meet Human requirements. On the other hand, many humans find they experience a response similar to antihistamines eating Derf foods with sufficient levels of stilbenes to satisfy Derf nutrition. They experience very dry nasal passages and reduced saliva.

  “There are some other specific foods and flavorings with alkaloid analogs which are toxic to Humans, teas in particular. Derf can also tolerate food that has fermented to a point Humans would never be able to tolerate not only for toxic byproducts but for palatability. There are differences in mineral requirements but they can be met for both species in one product without detracting from flavor.

  “Derf like sweet foods over starchy foods and can tolerate levels of carbohydrates Humans can’t long-term without damaging their insulin response. Humans like foods that are saltier than Derf usually care fo
r, but they can tolerate them even if they don’t particularly care for them. For some reason, most Derf get a horrible allergic reaction to Kiwi fruit, and travelers going to Human space are warned of that.”

  “We are more interested in emergency provisioning for Humans,” Eileen revealed. “Likely the entire lot would be transported elsewhere but stored here until needed. Thus your warnings about your boring insects are still valid. You’ll find however most of the people from Central and its allies are now heavily gene modified and almost all of them took the opportunity to have a gene edit that gives them the ability to make their own vitamin C.”

  “I didn’t realize that,” Casimir said. “Then you can include the C or not as you please. It’s not a significant expense. If you find you must supply the rations to Derf you will need to supplement them with a couple of capsules of stilbenes a day. Then, beyond nutritional necessity, all we need to address are matters of taste. Walton has a number of items for you to taste. Derf have taken to growing Earth sugar beets for sweetener, and we have both maize and wheat available in quantity, but he also has some unique Derf flavors to introduce to you.”

  * * *

  “I can see why you suggested Casimir instead of Funk,” Vic said back home. “Now I have to research how being in a funk came to be such a negative thing.”

  “You’ll probably have to ask them to research in the next dispatch home. We have such a tiny web fraction it’s heavily biased to practical things,” Eileen said.

  “Have you reported about the spies we are holding with Lee?” Victor asked. “Heather might send us some better software than the basic stuff I had.”

  “I’m waiting until I have a fuller report on the food. By then we may have the basic questions cracked and not need fancy software.”

  “Or not need to tell Heather the story at all?” Vic asked. “I wouldn’t suggest that. It might look devious if she found out down the road.”

  “It’s not like we are torturing them or anything to hide,” Eileen said, “other than giving them ten-year-old videos to watch.”

  “I might give them some of those little black peppers to eat,” Vic warned. “That’s probably considered chemical warfare under the rules of war.”

  “Don’t think I didn’t know you were showing off when you took a second devil’s horn pepper and chewed it thoughtfully. They were expecting you to run in circles screaming you know.”

  “I know and I wouldn’t give them the satisfaction. But those little black seeds were really good. I could see making a strudel roll similar to poppy seed with them.”

  “That would fit in a tall can just fine,” Eileen said. “That would be about four servings. For a normal person,” she hastened to add at his expression. I’d drop Walton a message and suggest that as a recipe to develop.”

  * * *

  “Well I don’t like this at all,” April said.

  Heather and Jeff looked up sharply. When April got that tone of voice it usually meant whatever she didn’t like was about to experience a reversal of existence, sometimes by violent disassembly if not outright vaporization.

  “What has occasioned your displeasure M’Lady?” Jeff asked.

  “The Claims Commission has changed its schedule of payments.”

  “Well, yeah. We knew they were going to cut out the smaller states as soon as they refused to step up and meet their obligations,” Jeff said. “No more charity.”

  “They are changing the payouts to the explorers,” April clarified. “It’s being presented as a matter of fairness. The payments are far beyond amounts any reasonable person needs and puts too much wealth in the hands of individuals.”

  Jeff thought on that a moment. “Do they get more taxes from the corporations?”

  “No that would make sense. They get less tax than from small crew explorers, and the small explorers are only about ten percent of the hulls working, but make close to seventeen percent of the significant discoveries,” April said.

  “So, unhappy with shooting themselves in the foot with Lee and her fleet, they are now taking aim on the other foot,” Heather said. It seemed to amuse her.

  “Apparently it is a matter of social justice. The people who have that sort of wealth and nothing restraining them, such as a board of directors, have been a problem. They not only incite jealousy, but they also have the means to interfere in politics and promote their own causes. There are apparently video series that follow the antics of several explorers. For some reason, their pet projects don’t always match the perceived national interests. Also, the number of explorers from space nations has gone way up compared to those that are Earth citizens,” April said. “They generally don’t get any personal taxes from them, and they spend their cut off Earth.”

  “I seem to remember they were returning fifteen percent of the development fees for their protection and blessings. That already seemed a stingy cut to me before. They never had any serious piracy to subdue. What have they cut it to now?” Jeff asked.

  “They didn’t cut the percentage,” April said. “I think they are making some effort to look reasonable about it, but they are capping it on the claim holder’s lifetime. You no longer have a claim in perpetuity you can pass to your heirs. Some of the choice early claims look like they will be paying significant fees well into the third generation. Also, they are no longer granting system claims so you can grab mining rights on secondary planets and fuel rights from system gas giants all in one go. You have to spend millions to file separate claims on each item.”

  “That looks to me like it is aimed at folks with life-extension,” Jeff said.

  “All that will sound reasonable to most Earthies,” Heather said, “however, it misses the most important point. Once they establish something as a source of revenue then it never decreases, it’s just a foot in the door and you can expect they will inch it up a little every time they feel they can get away with it. The rates aren’t actual law of any of the Claims Commission member nations, so some of the protections that would offer aren’t there. They can pretty much change them on a whim.”

  Jeff looked up sharply. “Do you think they would repudiate previous awards?”

  “They could adjust payout rates,” April said, “far easier than governments have done on occasion for pensions. I think it would be a lot harder to claw back land to which titles are granted.”

  “Most explorers have no leverage to object. But I can see a problem if they would try to do that to Lee and her large furry ferocious father,” Jeff said. “They might take their claim back and repossess Providence.”

  “It’s a breach of contract. I couldn’t blame them,” Heather agreed. “But there are some explorers without the means to object any other way, who might just decide to put a rock on Vancouver or Beijing.”

  “Great… that’s one more thing to worry about,” Jeff said.

  * * *

  Lee timed her visit back to Red Tree to arrive in time to share a meal with the Mothers. The Mothers would talk business over a meal if there was a need, but they needed a genuine emergency to do so. Lee wanted some time to gauge their mood and calm herself. She was nervous about discussing the spies with her Mothers.

  She felt a little less certain of their approval, sitting in front of them, than she had while talking with Eileen and Victor. She’d been pressed for time to call Garrett back then, and now that it was over, and he was relieved of his prisoners safely, it was hard to reconstruct the urgency she’d felt back then. When she had her fill of the meal offerings she pushed her plate to the center of the table so the servers would ignore her.

  “Has Garrett been telling you about the baseline we established with the invaders he captured on my ship?” There, that set just the right tone, Lee decided.

  “He explained the concept,” the First Mother said. She didn’t seem upset. “It seems like Humans always find a more complicated way to do things. The old champion, William, would have probably cut those two down with no attempt at discussion. Perhap
s we set the model for him by negotiation with the North Americans. It appears we may get useful intelligence from them, but I hope he doesn’t hesitate to use the ax another time when hesitating would be fatal.”

  “Do you know,” Lee said, surprised at that turn in the conversation, “I had a very similar discussion with Gordon about not taking too long to over-think it when it comes time to launch those missiles I bought.”

  “Good, we’re glad to hear it,” the First Mother said.

  The other Mothers nodded too.

  “Garrett explained the concept of a lie-detector, and that the same things can be observed with remote sensing. Of course, any smart person with a little experience in life does similar things. But not down to the level of analyzing a whole list of words, even the response to words spoken by others. I’m sure we could do the same for Derf, but I hesitate to do so. It seems distrustful and invasive.”

  “Not all Human’s inventions have brought them happiness,” Lee admitted. “But they are like things said, once loose you can’t pull them back. We did learn the spies were working for Earth, not Fargone, and the Fargoers were pretty upset to hear that. I think they’d have been happier to find they were just home-grown criminals.”

  “But do you know which faction on Earth?” the Second Mother asked.

  “We had conflicting signals. Victor is pretty smart. I think what he decided is correct. One man was working for North America, but betraying them for pay to the Europeans. The other man was working for the North Americans, but his real loyalty was to a strange religious cult in China, not the Chinese government nominally in power.”

  “Nothing is ever simple,” the Third Mother complained.

  “Especially with Earth Humans,” the First echoed.

  “The Foys don’t think they will get any more useful details, and are wondering how they should dispose of them,” Lee said. “They are depressed, and endless captivity is cruel. Fargone passed on having a turn at extracting any more from them.”

  “Well, I know enough about Humans now to guess just shooting spies out of hand as proven enemies would probably upset some of them,” The First Mother said.