Demeter by Dr. Alan D. Hansen Page A

Ryder paused, “exotic.”
    Mr. Small laughed. “If you want exotic I’ll take you to a Cryellian café in Europe. We would consider them vegetarians. They think our food is barbaric. They eat this stuff that reminds me of tofu, but it has no flavor. They would argue about that, but I’ve never been able to distinguish much flavor in any foods they eat. It certainly does have color though...purple, blue-gray, and a very bright pink. Anyway, remember that Demeter has no natural habitat. There are no native plants or animals. Every living organism from microbes to bovine, grass to dewsnips, is imported from somewhere. So we have imported a lot of things from Earth.” He leaned in and whispered, “We could have left these wild lettuces back on Earth as far as I’m concerned.” Then returning to a normal voice, he said, “Let’s see, there are cattle, sheep, and chickens here. No turkeys. They couldn’t seem to adapt to the lower gravity for some reason. There were challenges importing fish.”
    “What fish don’t handle the lower gravity?” Ryder drew in closer.
    “It’s the minerals. The Sea of Demeter is not a saltwater ocean, but it has a lot of minerals in it. It took a long time to develop species that could live in this sea. We do have a freshwater crab that can certainly compete with any burger.” He looked at his salad with a hint of disgust, then refocused. “There are a few fish varieties we’ve been able to adapt to the sea. Some are pretty ugly. We have orchards in the highlands with apples, peaches, nashis, plums, and more. Along the coastlines we have all sorts of citrus fruits. Some of the dwarf Cryellian varieties are better than oranges or mikans. The only thing I know of that is imported from the Sagittarius Arm is dewsnips. I’m surprised we don’t have any here today. Now that, as my older sister would say, is to die for. Great stuff.” He picked up his fork with resolve and poked at his salad again.
    "Dewsnips?" Ryder perked up. 
    "What is it?" Cynthia leaned into him and asked.
    "Something odd.  I've heard of dewsnips before," Ryder whispered back.
    “It is interesting that whenever mankind has moved out to new territories the first thing they want to do is bring their own food with them. There is a certain comfort to familiar flavors and textures in eating. So, if you want a hamburger, or a taco, or great French fries, we have them here.” Then in a lower voice, Mr. Small finished. “And of course we have this stuff too.”
     
    Although Ryder was not a great swimmer, he did enjoy the afternoon they spent in the pool. Miss Li had everyone swim laps. Ryder was surprised to discover that he could swim three times as many laps as he could at school back on Earth, and he still didn’t feel tired, although his arms and legs did start to ache.
    After working everyone out for almost an hour, Miss Li informed them that they would stay poolside until evening. “It’s time to unwind and enjoy not being cooped up in the Pegasus for a while.” She and Mr. Small wandered off to a cabana at the far side of pool seven. Randy, Joel, and Athena soon got into a water fight. Ryder considered joining them, but instead offered to get a drink for Cynthia.
    “I’ll have a Cherry 7UP.” Cynthia smiled. She looked great in a white, one-piece swimsuit that set off her dark hair and complexion.
    “I’ll have one too,” Debbie volunteered, then added, “Becky will have a juice.”
    Ryder enjoyed the afternoon as much as any he could remember. He found out that Cynthia and her family had immigrated to the U.S. when she was a baby. Her father had earned his citizenship just two years earlier. Her father was a trained engineer, but had received a teaching certificate and taught mathematics at Burnham High School. Her mother didn’t work. “If you can call staying at home and raising six children not working,” Cynthia said with a laugh.
    Rebecca had an older brother and a younger sister. Her