Cold as Ice by Charles Sheffield

Author:Charles Sheffield
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Science Fiction, Fiction, High Tech, Adventure, General
ISBN: 9780812511635
Publisher: Baen Books
Published: 1992-01-01T05:00:00+00:00

13

Sneak Attack

"I believe that for the first time in our acquaintance, I have caught Rustum Battachariya in an error."

Yarrow Gobel had been standing at the waist-high counter that separated the kitchen from the rest of Bat Cave. Now the inspector-general turned and went wandering off along the length of the room, finally pausing to pick up and marvel at the meter-wide helmet of a combined survival-and-assault suit—one of the Great War's most spectacular failures, a device that had performed neither of its intended functions and had killed almost all of its wearers.

Bat, busy with half a dozen covered pots and pans, confined his response to a noncommittal grunt.

"You have told me several times," went on Gobel, his voice echoing along the great cluttered room, "that there is nothing of old Earth that you would wish to have here on Ganymede. Forests, mountains, lakes, grassy plains, blue sky, green expanses of ocean, birds, butterflies, flowers, mist and rain and snow—you yearn for none of those."

"Quite right." Bat removed the pressure lid of a saucepan, frowned down at the contents, tasted them with a ceramic spoon, and replaced the seal. "I have truffles, I have mushrooms. I have garlic and saffron and fennel and capers, native-grown. Earth has nothing to offer me."

Gobel strolled back, to lean again on the counter and watch Bat's cooking rituals. "I am sure that you are sincere in what you say. But still, there is one natural feature of Earth that you would like. One thing that Earth people have, and take for granted, and are even perhaps unaware of, but which you desire." He paused, waiting for Bat's skeptical frown. "You wish that you had, here on Ganymede, the air pressure of Earth."

Bat gave a startled glance down at the stove, with its array of closed pans. He nodded. "Say no more. I admit my guilt. It is one of nature's mysteries why humans, who certainly did not evolve with a diet of cooked food, should find a water boiling point of one hundred degrees Celsius ideal for the purposes of cuisine. But it is so." He gestured with the spoon at his cooking vessels. "I am glad to see that you, if no one else, understand my predicament. If I cook with open pans, water at Ganymede ambient pressure has its boiling point thirty degrees too low. If I close them and cook under pressure, I cannot taste and stir as often as I should, and continuous tasting is essential in the culinary arts. That and stirring lie at the heart of subtle flavors and textures. The chefs of Earth are uniquely fortunate.

"However, we do what we can." He began to remove lids and hurriedly transfer the contents of the pans to heated serving dishes. "Five more minutes—of concentrated silent effort—then I leave it to you to tell me whether or not I have succeeded."

"There has not yet been a failure." Yarrow Gobel took the hint and walked away along the length of Bat Cave.

Bat returned to his labors.

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