"Exotic on Eta Ceta, anyway. Not impossible to get, but scarcely a staple. Like - pomegranate, which I've also had only once."

"I don't think I've had pomegranate even that many times," Miles says thoughtfully. "Is it any good?"

"Not enough that I asked the kitchens to bring in more. It's all right, I'd eat it again if it were around."

He nods.

"Besides groats and maple, any interesting planetary cuisine I have to look forward to?"

"Maple mead," he suggests. "Uh - meat that comes from animals instead of vats; Mother still won't eat any, which is a good indication that it's especially weird. I think a lot of our common traditional dishes ultimately derive from pre-colonization Earth foods, but I haven't made an extensive study of which ones are and aren't still mutually recognizable with their various galactic counterparts..."

"Huh, animal meat. I'm not entirely sure I'd be able to work up the nerve to try that myself. Maybe if I were really hungry and it was very appetizingly presented."

"Vat protein's just not the same," opines Ivan. "It's all made by people who've never had the real thing."

"Yes, I've found it's often only possible to tell the difference because the real thing is tastier," says Miles. "I mean, in cases more subtle than 'whole roast pig'. But if you'd rather avoid it regardless, Mother's example makes it clear you won't have all that much trouble."

"Is there vat meat around and it simply hasn't caught on, or is it unavailable altogether?"

"Mm, more the former. It's caught on in some places, but it's still not all that much cheaper except in a few areas and the taste difference is, as Ivan mentions, noticeable."

"Are you sure animal meat is better, and not just what you're used to?"

"I sure think so."

"It's certainly different. I don't know, maybe some people prefer vat. I'm not one of them."

"I wonder if there's anyone in a position to give both a fair trial? Who doesn't go in finding the one kind grotesque or the other too unfamiliar."

"In theory I should be such a person, actually," says Miles. "Thanks to Mother, I've had vat protein - just not as often as the other kind... do you suppose that's disqualifying?"

"Not necessarily, and you're probably the best example ready to hand regardless. Interesting."

Predictably by this point, Linya finishes eating first, kisses Miles on the head, and absconds.

Ivan doesn't make any leading remarks at all! Wow!

Miles gazes adoringly after his wife. To no one's surprise.

"...Was that a good sound?" inquires Miles, pausing in his braiding.