The Galactic Gourmet

by James White

  Prilicla, who could not help but know of Gurronsevas's feel­ings, waited until the others were either off-watch or too busy to listen before drawing him aside so that they could speak privately.

  "I understand and sympathize with your feeling of irritation and uncertainty, Chief Dietitian," said the empath, the quiet, mu­sical trilling and clicking of its native speech barely audible above the translated voice in Gurronsevas' earpiece, "as you must try to understand those of the medical team. In spite of the things you have heard them say, they are not being critical of you so much as displaying self-irritation at their own professional inadequacy over the fact that a mere cook—my apologies, friend Gurronsevas, when they take time to think about it they will realize that you are much more than a mere cook—is able to help their patient in ways that they cannot. They can no more help their feelings than you can your own, but I shall suggest gently that they refrain from showing them to you. Until the problem of Creethar is resolved, please make al­lowances for them. I could not have asked this of the Chief Dietit­ian who joined the hospital a few months ago. You have changed, friend Gurronsevas. It is for the better."

  His confused feelings were clear for the other to read, Gur­ronsevas knew, so he said nothing.

  "For the present," Prilicla went on, "it will be more comfort­able for you if you spend as much time as possible with friend Remrath in the mine."

  That was not to be as easy as it first appeared. For some rea­son, Remrath, and to a lesser extent the rest of the kitchen staff and teachers, were acting in an increasingly unfriendly manner toward him. And Prilicla was too far away to read the subtle changes in their emotional radiation that would give him some indication of what he was saying or doing wrong.

  Fortunately, the young Wem did not share the feelings of their elders and remained respectful, obedient, curious, and continually excited by speculations regarding the strange culinary marvels their off-world cook would suggest next. Even the returned hunters were sampling his offerings with decreasing reluctance, although, as staunch traditionalists, they still insisted that meat was the only proper food for an adult and that they would continue to eat it.

  Considering the pitifully small amount they had brought back from their hunt—with careful rationing there would be barely enough to add a meat flavor to the standard Wem vegetable stew for a few more weeks—their personal shame must have been as great as their hunger. Gurronsevas did not openly disagree with them. He was educating ignorant palates and enticing them into trying new sensations, and generally winning their hearts and minds by a flanking attack through their stomachs. The pretense of los­ing the occasional battle was of no importance when he knew that he was winning the war.

  But the hunters, too, were showing signs of turning against him for no reason that he could see. Unlike Remrath and the other teachers, they had never been friendly or relaxed in his presence, but they had adapted surprisingly well to having an off-worlder in their midst. Over the past few days, however, their behavior towards him had verged on the hostile. In his presence the silences of the Wem adults were lengthening to the point where an attempt to open a conversation with a simple question brought only the briefest and most reluctant of responses, delivered in a tone that should have turned the running water in the kitchen to ice. He could think of no reason for their change of behavior and it was be­ginning to irritate him. In the circumstances, he decided, it would be better to forget the polite niceties of a first contact situation and ask a simple, direct question.

  "Remrath," he said, "why are you angry with me?" After several minutes without a response, Gurronsevas de­cided that the question was being ignored. He returned his atten­tion to the preparation of the day's alternative main meal which, in spite of being nicknamed by the Wem 'the off-world option', was one of several dishes he had devised that used only local root and leaf vegetables with an added sauce containing the barest touch of the native herb shuslish which had the effect of lighting a gentle fire on the tongue while stirring the olfactory senses with a warm ex­pectancy. From experience he knew that his dish would be chosen by the majority of the adults and all of the young, and it would be only a few die-hard hunters who would eat the native vegetable stew with its extremely light flavoring of meat. But that was fine, Remrath had told him when they were still talking, because the remains of the hunters' kill preserved in the cold running mountain water weighed less than two pounds, and the less the demand, the longer it would last.

  The dish complete, Gurronsevas stepped back to make room for the four young apprentice cooks on this shift, who moved quickly forward to begin spooning out and duplicating his presen­tation before moving the completed dishes to his newly introduced hot shelves to await serving. One of them—a youth called Evemth, he thought, although he still had difficulty telling near-pubescent Wem apart—had made a small rearrangement to the presentation by adding a few tiny sprigs of driss to the surface of the shuslish sauce, which would not do anything catastrophic to the overall taste but did add a certain visual attraction. The change had been made on only one platter, presumably Evemth's own.

  There had been a time when he would have verbally stripped the tegument from an underling who had dared to do such a thing without permission, if only to show the miscreant that The Master was alert and quick to see the smallest of unauthorized changes. But this young Wem was displaying culinary initiative and imagination and was beginning to think and experiment for itself. Evemth, if it was Evemth, showed promise.

  "I am not angry with you," said Remrath suddenly.

  And black is white, thought Gurronsevas. But this was not the time to start an argument. He felt that Remrath had more to say, and remained silent.

  "In a time that surprised us all by its short duration," Rem­rath went on, "and in spite of your horrendous appearance, we have come to feel at ease in your presence. You have gained our respect and, with one of us at least, our friendship. But we are very angry and disappointed with the preservers on your ship and, as one of the off-worlders, you must share in our anger."

  "I understand," said Gurronsevas.

  He knew that all of his conversations in the mine were being monitored by Rhabwar and Tremaar, but for many days they had paid him the compliment of not continually telling him what to ask or answer. There were times, as now, when he would have gladly done without both the compliment and the responsibility.

  "But the preservers, like myself, want only to help the Wem. You must all know and believe that. Why are you now so angry with them? And what must I do to regain your friendship?"

  In the angry, impatient voice of one who is speaking to a stu­pid child, Remrath said, "They are continuing to withhold Creethar from us."

  Gurronsevas was relieved. It seemed that the two problems had a single solution, the speedy return of their grievously injured hunter. Choosing his words carefully, he said, "Your offspring will be returned to you as soon as possible. I am not myself a preserver so I cannot say with accuracy how long you will have to wait. I shall ask the preservers for their best estimate. Or you could visit the ship and see for yourself what is happening to Creethar and ask them any questions you wish."

  "No!" said Remrath sharply, as sharply as it had done on the other occasions when a visit to Creethar was suggested. Angrily it went on, "You are most insensitive, Gurronsevas. It hurts me to say this but I, too, am beginning to suspect you, as well as the other off-worlders, of gross and selfish dishonesty. I want you to prove me wrong, and until you do we shall not speak again. Go back to your ship and tell your friends to return Creethar to us without delay."

  Remembering his last conversation with Prilicla, Gurronsevas set off for Rhabwar wondering if there was anyone anywhere who wanted his company. If it still lived, the Wem patient would talk to him and, hopefully, explain the strange behavior of Remrath and the others. Mysteries and unanswered questions were like heaps of trash littering a mind, and he liked to think that his mind was at least as well-ordered as his kitch
ens. He would suggest to Prilicla that he be allowed to speak to Creethar on his return.

  "I was about to make the same suggestion to you, friend Gur­ronsevas," the empath said, surprising him. "The situation with the Wem is deteriorating more rapidly than you realize, and for no apparent reason. Did you know that they have broken contact entirely, switched off the communicators we left with them, after telling us that off-worlders were no longer welcome in the mine? Creethar is the only channel of communication left open to us; but it, too, has said repeatedly that it does not want to talk to off-worlders."

  Prilicla indicated the patient's bed and flew slowly towards it. No other members of the medical team were present, Gurronsevas noted, possibly because Creethar was no longer in danger, or be­cause it objected strongly to them being there. It was nice to have his supposition proved true.

  "Clinically," Prilicla went on, "friend Creethar is doing very well. Since the application of your locally derived medication, its condition has advanced from critical to pre-convalescent. Its emo­tional radiation, however, is not good. There is a deep and contin­uing anxiety, a dread, that it is trying to conceal and control. It re­fuses to discuss the problem with us in spite of my attempts at reassurance..."

  Not only was Prilicla emotion-sensitive, Gurronsevas re­minded himself, the little Cinrusskin was a projective empath as well. Unless there was serious emotional distress present, it could make everyone feel better just by flying into a crowded room.

  "...During our last and very short conversation with it," said Prilicla, "it asked about its parent Remrath, the hunting party, and events at the mine. That was two days ago. Since then it has refused to speak or even listen to us, and it became extremely distressed whenever we tried to discuss the case in its presence, so much so that I switched off its translator whenever we were doing so. It is also refusing to eat. Unknown to it, we are continuing to feed it in­travenously; but, psychologically and clinically, we both know that the speedy recovery of a convalescent patient is improved by the in­take of solid food. In this case the patient is so gravely weakened by malnutrition that without it Creethar's termination cannot be long delayed.

  "But you, friend Gurronsevas, have four distinct advantages over us," the empath continued. "It has not yet met you while conscious. You are not a medic and will therefore not feel the tempta­tion to discuss the patient's clinical condition in its presence. You are a master cook who may be able to discover the patient's food preferences. And lastly, you have first-hand information on recent events in the mine. That is why I would like you to talk to Creethar as soon as possible."

  With its iridescent wings beating slowly, the Senior Physician drifted to a halt above the patient's bed before going on. "You have been accepted as a friend by these people, much more so than any of the medical team. But do not assume, because you have grown to like and respect one of them, that they are human. They are not human, whether your yardstick is Earth-human, Cinrusskin-human, or even Tralthan-human like yourself; they are Wem-human. That difference, compounded by something we have said or done wrong, is the reason why they are no longer our friends."

  "I will be careful," said Gurronsevas.

  "I know you will," said Prilicla. It extended a delicate forward manipulator and briefly touched a stud on the bed console. "I will monitor and report on the patient's emotional response on a closed frequency. Its translator has been switched on. Friend Creethar's eyes are closed but it is awake and listening to us. It is better that I leave you now."

  Creethar lay on the treatment bed in a position that allowed the casts enclosing its injured limbs to be suspended comfortably in a system of cross-braced slings that reminded Gurronsevas of the cordage on an old-time sailing ship. The remainder of the body and tail were immobilized by restraining straps, but he did not know whether these were to protect the patient against self-injury or the medical attendants from attack. The casts were transparent and there were no bandages, dressings, or Wem poultices visible, so that he could see that the many infected wounds that had covered the hunter's body were healed or healing. Suddenly it opened its eyes.

  "Great Shavrah!" Creethar burst out, its whole body fighting the restraints. "What kind of hulking, stupid beast are you?"

  Gurronsevas ignored the insult and responded only to the question.

  "I am a Tralthan," he said reassuringly. "That is, I am a mem­ber of a species larger and perhaps more visually fearsome than the others you have met on the ship. Like them, however, I mean you no harm. Unlike them I am a cook and not a healer. But I, too, wish only to help return you to full..."

  "A cook who isn't a healer?" Creethar broke in. Its voice was quieter and the body was beginning to relax inside the restraints. "That is strange, off-worlder. Were you incapable of completing your education?"

  "My name is Gurronsevas," he said, unable to ignore the sec­ond insult in spite of Prilicla's voice in his earpiece observing that convalescent patients were notoriously argumentative. "My early training and subsequent life have been devoted to mastering the culinary arts, and I have no other interests. I am, therefore, a good cook, and that is why I have been asked to help you. Creethar, you must eat before you are returned to the mine, but you refuse ship food. If it is unpalatable to you, explain why and I shall provide an alternative."

  Creethar's body moved restively but it did not speak.

  "There is an adverse emotional response," said Prilicla, "a re­turn of the feelings of fear and personal loss. I don't know why this should be, but it peaked at your mention of returning it to the mine. Please change the subject."

  But the subject was supposed to be food and the necessity for making Creethar eat some, Gurronsevas thought angrily. Then, re­alizing that the empath was receiving his anger, he calmed himself and went on. "What did you find wrong with the ship food? Did the taste displease you?"

  "No!" said Creethar with surprising vehemence. "Some of it tasted like meat, better meat than I had ever tasted before."

  "Then I don't understand why you refused..." Gurronsevas began.

  "But it was not meat!" the patient broke in. "It looked and tasted like meat, but it was some strange, other-world concoction from what the winged one called a synthesizer. It is not Wem food. I must not eat it lest it poison my body. You as a cook will under­stand the importance of meat to the adults of a species, any species. There can be no survival without it."

  "As a Tralthan cook," said Gurronsevas firmly, "I know no such thing. The majority of my species has not eaten meat for many centuries. They do this out of preference, not because we have the stomachs of grazing animals. My home world, Traltha, and the many Traltha-seeded planets, are well-populated and thriving. You have been believing an untruth, Creethar."

  The patient was silent for a moment, then it said slowly, "Your preserver friends have said this to me many times. By your stan­dards the Wem are backward and pitifully uneducated, but we are not stupid. Neither are we small children listening to the wondrous stories told by parents to give us pleasant dreams. Do you expect a grown Wem to believe an obvious untruth because it is told to me by off-worlders?"

  Gurronsevas had not been expecting a response like this from a being weakened and still recovering from serious injuries. He thought quickly, then said, "I am aware of the difference between intelligence and education, and that of the two intelligence is of vastly greater importance because it aids the acquisition of educa­tion. But there are adult Wem in the mine who are beginning to believe our stories."

  "The minds of the aged," said Creethar, "too often resemble those of the very young. I do not know why you are trying to make me eat your strange, sweet-tasting meat from a machine. You are not a friend or family or even a Wem, you do not know or do not care what damage it will do to my body, and you do not have my responsibility towards my people. No matter what you tell me, I will not eat your off-world food."

  Plainly Creethar had very strong feelings on the subject, too strong for logical argument to change
them, and Prilicla's emotional reading was in agreement. It was time to change the approach.

  He said carefully, "The last time you spoke to Doctor Prilicla, who is the beautiful one who flies, you asked about your friends at the mine. I have spoken to Remrath and many of the near adults while working in the kitchen. What would you like to know?"

  Even through the translator, Creethar's tone sounded incred­ulous. "My mother allowed you in the kitchen?"

  "I am a cook," said Gurronsevas.

  It was without doubt the greatest understatement of his long and distinguished professional life, but the patient did not know that.

  When Creethar did not respond, he began talking about his impressions of the life and people in the mine. Briefly he described the initial off-worlder contacts with the aged teachers and the Wem young, his decision to spend most of his time there and, after the passage of a few days, the increasing acceptance of his advice by Remrath.

  Well did Gurronsevas know that a kitchen and its serving staff was the center for all of an establishment's gossip, scandal and cur­rent events. A table server was obvious only when he, she or it was doing something wrong, at other times remaining an inconspicu­ous part of the background, which meant that diners rarely felt it necessary to guard their tongues. Gurronsevas did not believe in training clumsy food-servers, so the intelligence available in the Wem kitchen was both up-to-date and accurate.

  He did not always know the precise meaning, degree of scan­dal, or humor contained in the conversations he was relaying, but several times Creethar made untranslatable sounds and its body twitched inside the restraints, and gradually Gurronsevas was re­turning to the subject of food. The purpose of the conversation was, after all, to make the patient eat.