And not just corn, Dev learned when he finally regained his mental equilibrium. A large quantity of pentosans, which an equally dumbfounded Pavesi finally explained were polymers based on xylose and arabinose. The full chemical schematic of the second material the aliens stipulated was more complex, but Pavesi assured him it boiled down to—wheat bran.

There was more, all of it consisting of simple basic foodstuffs. All plant proteins, he was assured. Nothing derived from animals.

The imperious alien invaders were needy vegans.

No matter what the apparent reality, he reminded himself, don’t jump to conclusions. There might be more to the alien demands. There must be more. The longer he thought about it, the less sense it made. Sentient beings who could build a craft capable of making an interstellar journey in less than a lifetime and likely a good deal faster than that surely were capable of designing and manufacturing the means to synthesize food! And why ask for terrestrial food? Did corn and wheat and sorghum and the rest of what the visitors were requesting grow on their homeworlds? Equivalent plant evolution? It all gave new meaning to the phrase “seeding the galaxy.”

Unable to resist and imprudently dismissing any possible repercussions, he posed the query to Vantolos. How much harm could there be in asking about corn? As soon as he began to speak, everyone’s gaze turned to him. Reed looked particularly irritated. But Dev refused to be put off.

As it developed, Vantolos took no offense and replied to the question without hesitation.

“Of course we have the means to synthesize our own nutrients. What kind of primordials do you take us for?” The Zimmers looked uncomfortable, and Reed went from irritated to tense, but the single comment constituted the extent of the alien’s belligerence. “In order for our synthesizing mechanisms to work, they require suitable feedstock. This can take the form of numerous carbon-based materials. Did you think the only thing we researched before making contact with your kind were your languages? The need to obtain organic feedstock is the sole reason for our visitation here. There is nothing else we require from you. In truth, you have nothing else to offer us. Your technology is so unsophisticated as to be beyond comment, and your global social arrangements are laughable.”

Though the response to Dev’s guileless question had been withering, it did not keep a curious Pavesi from asking one of her own. “Of course we couldn’t begin to compare our technology with yours. That’s self-evident.”

The tentacle clutching the air writer writhed. “It is good that you recognize that, and important that you remember it.”

“Even so,” Pavesi continued, “you have come a long way, regardless of your point of origin. Might it be possible that, on further examination, there could be other items we could offer that might prove useful to you?”