Hidden Empire - Kevin J. Anderson [36]
Sarein began sliding platters toward her, rattling off the names and derivations of each dish. She pointed to one after another after another. "Rindberries, splurts, puckers...hmmm, seedberries—you have to be very hungry or very patient to put up with these things." She pushed the plate aside without even letting Rlinda taste one.
"Jigglefruit, sweet and gelatinous, but it makes a big mess. Dangoes. Napples—very crunchy, but you might get sleepy if you eat too many. These white things are pair-pears, because they grow double on the branches. We've also got eight kinds of our best nectar, and urns of pollen used for spices, spreads, even as candy."
The plump merchant valiantly tried to keep up with tasting each item Sarein offered, bowl after bowl of varieties of nuts. "Perrin seeds, saltnuts, crackles. Here, these spreadnuts have a very creamy interior. The Caillié colonists named everything in a rush during their first years of sampling the foods on Theroc. Later on, they figured out the detailed scientific taxonomy...but who really needs it?"
Since Theroc had no native mammals, the people ate caterpillar fillets, insect steaks, lightly browned and covered with a tart sauce made from fermented fruits. Rlinda hesitated at the thought of eating insects, then shrugged and fell to her meal with gusto. One delicacy, equivalent to the richest veal, was sliced cutlets from a pupating condorfly larva.
"I'm glad you've done all the experimentation for me already." Rlinda smacked her lips and closed her eyes to savor the taste as she chewed.
She removed an electronic pad and began to detail her favorite selections, itemizing the fruits, nuts, and spiced beverages according to her estimation of potential markets. The cloths and meats, mushrooms, scented oils and botanical perfumes would find customers. In her own mind, since she was such a well-versed gourmand herself, she imagined how some of these exotic flavors would combine with other cuisines and ingredients from far-flung planets on her trade route.
Finally, Rlinda sat back, enormously satisfied. The drowsy effect of the food was counteracted by the stimulants she had consumed. Dizzy with the possibilities, she heaved a long sigh and reached a beefy hand to pat Sarein's wrist.
"I can't wait to meet with Father Idriss and Mother Alexa so we can discuss trade. I think Theroc has a lot to offer Hansa customers."
Content but ambitious herself, Sarein nodded. "Chairman Wenceslas and I understand each other very well. I'm certain I can make the necessary arrangements, for both of us. Just leave everything to me."
17 BASIL WENCESLAS
When Chairman Wenceslas met with representatives of a dozen colony planets in the Terran Hanseatic League, he eschewed boardrooms and formal reception chambers. More often than not, he brought the representatives to his private suite that covered the top floor of the Hansa headquarters building, where he could better conduct business.
An enormous trapezoidal pyramid, the headquarters was filled with thousands of offices staffed with important delegates, bureaucrats, and clerks. Angled planes of polished windows made the commercial building look like a Maya artifact. The architecture had been chosen to suggest permanence, playing upon deep memories of mighty empires from Earth's past.
Serviceable rather than opulent, the headquarters sat back from the magnificence of the WhisperPalace, separated by a lush arboretum. Given tall enough trees, complex topiaries, and lovely statue gardens, ground-level spectators paid little attention to the squared-off business building in the background. The Palace dominated the skyline, but Hansa headquarters exerted the real power.
Basil contemplated his agenda for the discussion, avoiding the trivial premeeting chitchat. As the twelve well-dressed planetary envoys took their seats in comfortable lounges or at crystalline tables where they could take notes, silent assistants walked among