They walk quickly through the cold outer dock ring.
Vonish soon notices that Sagan is getting some odd looks. The dock
workers on the outer ring that pointedly ignored them on their last visit
are still lounging about and ignoring them, except that there's something
about them that indicates that they're looking at Sagan. The looks
are not friendly. Vonish warns the rest of the group.
They walk on through to the next inner ring.
This area consists of ship related businesses -- chandlers, sea and space
ship services and parts, and some bars. The lighting here is better
than the dimly lit outer ring. It's still obviously steel everywhere,
but an attempt has at least been made to make it look friendlier.
Ed checks the map (now scanned in for their personal
computers). He notes that they could go back to the ship in the other
direction around the ring. It would be longer, but it would pass
by different dock workers at least. He calls Mich to line up a gcarrier
ride for them in case they decide to do that.
This ring doesn't have a lot of people around, but
there are some. They are looking at Sagan strangely too -- some with
hostility, some with fear, others are just blatantly staring in astonishment.
Ed wonders if sie might resemble some native sea creature here. Ed
also checks around for any police or security personnel, and is surprised
to see none. Also most of the people here are not obviously armed.
Transactions seem to be carried out with some sort of cash.
They walk on through to the next pass-through, noting
the location of a chart shop -- sea and star charts. This artificial
island strikes them that it is really quite large.
The market area is similar, but different.
Where on the previous ring the stores took most of the width of the ring,
here there are stands occupying the center of the mall between bare ring
walls. Lighting is better, and the walls are often painted with abstract
designs in bright colors. At first some of the group feel a bit uneasy
in here, until they realize why. One is the noise, as of a far-off
hum resonating through the structure, and slight creaks as well.
The whole island is also moving slightly. In all, it's slightly disorienting.
The stands are selling clothing, some sort of food,
bits and pieces of household goods and so on -- everything really, as one
would expect in a bazaar. There are no furs, but there are coats
made from some leather-like material. The people here tend to be
short and stocky -- and so their clothes should fit Ed quite nicely.
Their skin is dark olive.
Ed picks out a long leather coat. He has a
bit of trouble communicating with the saleswoman, whose accent is quite
incomprehensible. Finally he pulls out ten credits. The woman
takes it, and hands him the coat. The coat is heavy, definitely insulating
nicely, and even seems like it would breathe as well. It feels good.
Robert looks around. It seems that haggling
is commonplace, and there is some bartering as well as cash exchange.
Some Imperial credits
are being used, as well as some sort of paper money with "credits" written
on it.
Ed decides to use hand signals for haggling from
there on. Sagan finds it very easy to follow Ed's "baby talk" signs
-- for once he won't need a translator to understand human
conversation.
On to food... Most of the food stalls seem to be
selling fresh seafood. Most of it looks like fish. Some is
whole fish, some are strips clearly cut from some larger fish. Alongside
the fish, there's also some red meat of some sort.
Vonish asks about preparation -- he wants to be
sure that he doesn't serve the crew something deadly. Perhaps there's
some part of the fish that has to be removed before cooking. The
salesman's idea of preparation is to "throw it int'pot." Vonish then
checks on storing -- the answer there is to freeze it or salt it.
The next stand has what looks like seaweed.
Some are long strands, fairly thick and meaty -- perhaps half a centimeter
thick. There are also strands with some sort of blisters or sacs.
Vonish asks about these too, but the person here clearly doesn't understand
a single word. He goes asks the fishmonger about it.
"'S weed," replies the fishmonger.
"What's it for? Is it a food?"
"Yar."
"I'm a stranger to this world..."
"Yar."
"...and I'm looking to freshen up our supplies."
"Yar. Ah. Well, you likes cooks it.
Throws some goarfig with... this. Inna pot." He gestures at
the food as he speaks.
Vonish is beginning to think that boiling is the
only sort of cooking these people understand. He sighs.
Ed's thoughts are on eating too, but in a more urgent
manner. He asks the fishmonger where they can actually eat here,
and is directed further around the ring. He leads the shore party
on around.
On the way, though, is a stand with books.
It even seems to include a cooking section, where Vonish eagerly starts
rooting through the books. Fortunately they are all in Galanglic,
although all locally produced. Just on the off chance, he checks
for anything on hiver food, but is not surprised when there are no books
on that subject. He picks out ten he thinks could be useful.
Ed's interest is in creatures of the deep, creatures
of the ice, even a children's book. He finds a field guide to the
northern wastes, and a fishing guide. He stacks his two books on
Vonish's ten, and asks how much. For once, the stall owner seems
to be comprehensible. They agree on sixteen credits, plus another
credit for a bag each.
Vonish pulls out one of the books and starts studying
it quickly. It doesn't take him long to figure out what foods are
for what. The blisters are explained -- the cook pierces the sac
and squeezes out the contents -- it's a seasoning, ingredient, a base for
sauce, also adds flavor and thickening.
Now they've reached the cooking area. Stands
are preparing food with electric cooking devices. In a break in the
row of stands is a common seating and eating area with benches and tables.
Fish sandwiches, fish stew, fish broth, fish, bread.
They collect the various dishes from the stalls, then beer from yet another
stand, and sit down to eat. Food is cheap. A credit is enough
for a meal. Seasoning is often shredded seaweed or some sort of flakes.
The beer is weak and frothy, but with a very good flavor.
Sagan notices that some of the seaweed-derived food,
and some of the bread, seem like they would be quite edible. Some
of those boiled seaweed strips, for example, smell really good. Sie
walks up to the stand and buys bread and seaweed strips (from the same
stand). Compared with Ed's experience, the hiver has no problem at
all with the transaction. He takes his plate over beside the table
where the others are sitting, places the plate on the ground, and settles
down on it to eat. It is indeed very good.
Vonish, who has been sampling a little of everything,
notes what his alien friend has chosen. His goal of expanding his
knowledge of hiver cuisine is definitely in reach. Not only that,
but he can replenish supplies well from here. He's even planning
to set up a smoker unit -- to smoke food, that is, not the black tar-like
substance that is sold near the beer for the pipes some of the locals smoke.
Here it's a lot warmer. A lot of the stall
owners are in shorts and light shirts, clearly hot in the 10 degree temperatures.
They talk about the starport building -- perhaps
it was once a colony ship, and there's a jump drive and fusion reactor
somewhere buried in it where they get their power.
Ed is surprised not to have seen any booth selling
weapons of any sort. Robert is similarly surprised to have found
no technology -- no radios, no clocks even; perhaps back in the ship equipment
section?
Helia wonders on the absence not only of toy stores,
but of children. They have seen no children at all. If she
were not in the same group as the hiver, she might be getting odd looks
too.
Robert now has a sample of the local currency.
It's printed on fine cloth. It does not name a bank or the issuer
of the note. It just says "1 credit" and has a fanciful fish design.
Lunch over, they move on around the ring. Here Ed finds his weapons booth. Shotguns, rifles, pistols, knives. With the exception of knives, it's all regular chemical round firearms. There are no air powered guns, or harpoon guns. All are quite bulky. Some of the guns are of mixed material, where the use of metal has been minimized.
By now they're reaching an open area that continues
on around the ring. The stands just stop, leaving the ring empty
beyond. They've been walking for a good while. There are numbers
on the bulkheads and doors, but none on their map to show them where they
are exactly.
Ed suggests finding a bar; Vonish would prefer to
find an upmarket restaurant. Ed then checks back with the ship, and
finds as he suspected that their commdot signal is very weak.
Ed walks up to the last stall. "Where are
we, please?" he asks.
The stand owner points out where they are on Ed's
map. They're to the east of the south quarter, having travelled about
an eighth of the way around from the docks on the south. This circle
does not go all the way around the starport; in the center is an area with
no markings on their map, and no marked ways in. Inside from the
bazaar ring are hotels, residential areas, some restaurants, some bars;
that ring does not go all the way around either. If they continued
further in still, they could eventually in fact travel all the way around.
There are two outer quarters, to east and west, that interrupt the outer
rings. Only one vertical level is marked on the map, but from what
they've seen it's very clear that there are other levels above them.
Vonish says that up there must be the upper-class areas.
Ed leads them off to a bar in the next ring.
As they walk, they look carefully for any ways up -- stairs, elevators,
or whatever. They see no sign of any of them.
At the bar, the beer is similar to that on the stalls,
but a little stronger and somewhat cloudy. It tastes different, but
isn't bad at all.
Robert walks up to the bar and asks for the hardest
stuff they have. The bartender produces it for him. It smells
rather like rotting fish, and is a clear liquid with a yellowish tint and
an oily texture. It's served in a test-tube style of glass, with
a round bottom and about 4 cm across and 10 cm tall; the glass of course
can't be set down.
Ed has experience in biology, chemistry, and forensics.
He takes a scientific whiff and recoils in disgust. It must be quite
an acquired taste. He suggests not smoking too near it. His
scientific curiosity more than satisfied, he looks around for gambling
-- seeing none, he gets the bartender's attention.
Ed asks, "Where can a gentleman find a friendly
game of chance?"
"A friendly game?" asks the bartender slowly.
"A game of chance, then. Other than walking
back through the dockyard on the way back to the ship."
The bartender replies, "That's where you'll find
the best games. There on the docks. That's not friendly.
But if you've got money you can play."
"Any organized gaming areas?"
"No."
Further round the bar, Robert sticks his finger
in his drink and licks it. It tastes better than it smells, but he's
not sure what it tastes like. He asks if he can buy a bottle to take
back. The bartender produces a bottle the size of a small keg.
The one drink Robert had cost him ten credits, and the man wants a hundred
for the bottle. They settle on eighty, and get a leather strap carrying
harness thrown in.
Robert sips more of it, holding his breath a bit
to start. It's very cold -- ice is forming on the glass -- and retains
the cold well. It goes down very smoothly. He's not quite sure
of its effect on him, but he's getting used to the stuff. It's quite
odd, very odd in fact. It's totally unlike anything he's had before
anywhere else. One thing he's fairly sure of is that it'll make his
breath smell bad -- and it seems to give him an occasional urge to belch.
It does slide down well, though, and when he takes a big slug of it, it
feels pretty good. It has this cold warm feeling that has a strange
aroma to it, and gets up into his nasal passages sort of like mustard or
wasabi. In some ways it reminds him of the sort of coffee Mich likes
to drink.