"Have you never heard of blue grass?" the vendor asked, looking absolutely disgusted that she had never heard of the product.
She shook her head and opened her mouth to speak.
"She is visiting," Kolvin said and put his hand on her back to lead her away.
"He was not the nicest," she said. "I was ready to tell him how I felt."
"It would not have mattered. He would have pushed harder."
"So, what does that stuff do that makes it so valuable?"
"Unlike any other base for foodstuff, it has an almost completely unlimited shelf life. For space travel, it is essential. Most foods that are made have it in it."
"It's like a grain, then?"
"It is a universal food. It is infrequent to find someone who cannot eat it."
"Is that why it's so expensive?"
He shook his head. "It is expensive because it cannot be grown anywhere. There are certain agricultural conditions required to produce it, so the planets where it can be produced are valuable."
"Wow. It's the food version of gold. Gotcha."
"Gold is not an important element. While useful, it is not the most valuable of elements."
"In my world, it is precious. People pay a lot of money to have it, and it can take a lot of work to get it out of the ground."
"What is it used for?"
"Jewelry. Because it's pretty. Financial wealth because of its rarity. A conductor for electricity, as well for engineering."
"There are better choices."
She smiled. "Probably. But we really do like our pretty things." Her gaze roamed over him, and the smile she gave him energized his Craving even more.
He glanced around the area they were in and noticed a posting up ahead. "Come. I think I have found you a window."
The expression on her face shifted, and she started looking around. "Where?"
"Up ahead."
He took her around a bend and down toward a good spot, he thought, to view the space and the stars.
It was a waiting area for ships to dock.
As they walked down the corridor, she could see some, but not much around already docked ships.
"Look, it's a spaceship," she said. "And another one. And another."
He wasn't sure if she was mocking him or genuinely fascinated by the different kinds of ships they walked by.
From the down-turned corners of her mouth, he had a feeling she was disappointed.
Then he found what he was looking for.
An open port that did not have any ships nearby.
"Here, come, Tina, and see this," he said and led her to the window. It curved out away from the wall, like a bubble, and it was large enough that she could step out into the bubble shape and see almost all the way around her and see the stars.
