Fortunately, the alien engineers had the self-awareness not to wander too far, and instead hovered near the Crux. Since Centaurus was nearby and Pikachu's bar was prominently located near Venus, it couldn't help but attract some visitors in spacecrafts.
On a desolate planet, a bar that rose up from the ground was still quite eye-catching. The building didn't look like any kind of den of dragons and tigers, so quite a few aliens decided to navigate their ships over for a look.
Shiller was wiping a glass behind the bar when he heard the hum of a spacecraft landing. He looked up towards the entrance and saw a tall, purple-skinned alien walk in. They exchanged glances and both were momentarily stunned.
Shiller was wondering how there could be aliens here, especially since he knew that construction had already begun over at Cross Two, but he hadn't expected anyone to wander over so soon. As for the alien, he seemed to feel like he'd seen a ghost — how could he not feel this place wasn't a den of dragons and tigers?
"Hello, would you like something to drink?" Shiller asked out of professional courtesy.
"Uh, hello, are you human? Don't get me wrong, it's just that my personal terminal's race scan result indicates you are..."
"Yes, I'm human, and also the bartender here. Would you like something to drink?"
"Uh, is this a bar? As in a place for drinking?"
"Yes. You can drink here, and if you need a place to sleep off your drink, there are guest rooms upstairs. The menu is on the table, and I can also introduce some options if needed."
The tall alien sat down cautiously, glanced at the menu, and seemed to not understand the colorful array of drinks but hesitated to ask, so he randomly pointed to one.
"Alright." Shiller went to grab a pint glass. The alien had ordered a stout, so Shiller filled the glass up from the tap with a full serving of stout and placed it on the table, then asked, "Would you like something to eat with that?"
The alien was indeed a bit hungry but hesitantly said, "I'm not sure if what you humans eat is something I can eat."
"Can you eat meat? Or vegetables and fruit?"
"Uh, I'll take a serving of each," the alien said. "May I ask how much that is in total?"
"Altogether... 22 universal coins. Just connect your personal terminal to that machine over there to make the payment."
The alien paid, and soon the rich aroma from the kitchen wafted over. In no time, a steak, a serving of roasted vegetables, and a fruit platter were brought out.
He first sniffed with his nose, which was shorter than a human's, seemingly to confirm whether the food was edible for him, then cautiously pinched a fork that was much smaller than his hand to stab a piece of steak and put it in his mouth. As he chewed, flavorful juices exploded in his mouth.
In fact, in the universal language, aliens don't call Earth "Earth," but rather "Water Planet," meaning something more akin to "that planet full of water."
This name alone suggests that aliens find Earth's abundance of liquid water quite astonishing, as such planets are rare in the cosmos.
Many planets are arid, at least on their surfaces, with liquid water underground. Some planets have no liquid water at all, only ancient, inexhaustible ice layers. On many seemingly liquid-bearing planets, those fluids are not water, like the liquid metallic hydrogen on Jupiter. Such "oceans" are typical on many giant planets.
Earth, with its surface largely covered in water and only small areas of land, is in the minority. It is precisely because Earth's water elements are so abundant that many of its things have high water content, like animals and plants. Earthlings are accustomed to juicy steaks that burst with flavor with each bite, vegetables with a refreshing zest, and fruits mostly composed of water, which are scarce on many barren, arid planets. Civilizations from such planets seldom enjoy foods that are extremely water-rich. This is different from directly drinking water, as the juice within any food provides a unique aroma.
For instance, the juices from steaks are often a result of fat accumulation, and the aroma of fat needs no further explanation.
The alien took a deep breath, savoring the aroma of the fats spreading in his mouth. The civilization he came from was fairly prosperous, and he had enjoyed plenty of rich foods, but the flavor of this steak was still quite captivating. His race had undergone genetic modifications, rendering their taste buds more sensitive than humans', allowing them to perceive all the nuances of flavors.
Just one bite wasn't enough, so he took another, then devoured the whole steak in a few bites. Then he moved on to the roasted vegetables, which, though a bit dry, formed a slightly charred crisp shell on the outside while still bursting with juice inside. It seemed this alien couldn't handle the heat, burning his mouth on a potato.
He quickly took a large gulp of the beer, then tried a piece of fruit. It was a watermelon, a fruit made mostly of water — sweet and juicy, and chilled. The moment it entered his mouth, the fragrance went directly through his olfactory system and into his brain. He then took another sip of beer. Looking at the three dishes before him, the alien ultimately found the fruit to be the best tasting.
He devoured the fruit platter in one go, settled the bill, and then cautiously asked, "Can I buy another serving of this?"
Shiller wasn't sure why he was so cautious, so he nodded and said, "Sure. Do you want it packed? Packing costs 10 cents. But be careful, this stuff is easy to damage and it won't stay fresh overnight..."
The alien nodded eagerly. Shiller packed him a box of fruit platter and as he headed out, the alien seemed joyfully content, not entirely due to the culinary delight.
When pricing all the products, Shiller actually checked online; the prices he set were already quite high. For civilizations involved in interstellar society, almost all races don't have survival pressures; basic necessities are priced very low. As long as you don't mind the taste, drinking nutrient liquid is enough; there's no one unable to make ends meet.
Moreover, most foods that require cooking are not expensive. Carbon-based life forms only need certain nutrients, and planets specialized in producing things like grains and oils ensure supplies, although with varying quality, the best ones aren't pricey.
Fruits are indeed more expensive, so the fruit platter is the priciest of the three dishes. However, the interstellar universal coin has a high value; a basic meal at a regular restaurant costs just over a coin. Pricing a fruit platter at ten coins is already exorbitant; the portion isn't large, just three or four slices of watermelon, a few pieces of melon, alongside some pineapple and banana. Even on Earth, in any country, pricing a fruit platter at ten coins would be quite outrageous.
Yet this customer's reaction was peculiar, so Shiller checked online again and discovered that in civilizations with distinct class divisions, money alone doesn't necessarily guarantee access to fruit.
For instance, the Shi'ar Empire is noble-based; while the citizens can eat fruit, they're limited to three types; other varieties are reserved for nobles alone. It's similar to medieval systems—wildlife is aristocratic property, poaching is a capital crime.
In such civilizations, lower-class fruits are often those not very tasty but high-yielding, like the Boduo Fruit in the Shi'ar Empire. Though Shiller hadn't tried it, images showed it resembled an underdeveloped primitive watermelon, seemingly unappetizing.
Nobles, however, can eat honeydew, a fruit that, when cut, exudes nectar-like juices, which looks delicious; or purple bulbous fruits, akin to Earth's fiery dragons, juicy and not lacking in sugar.
Some fruits are royal exclusives, like ones growing in the heart of odd flowers resembling lychees, or green fruits similar to Earth's watermelon. These are beyond civilian reach, sometimes even nobles; obtaining one could host a grand banquet.
Now Shiller understood why the alien was so happy. Off-world fruits are scarce, coupled with class monopoly; civilians often eat less distinguished varieties which aren't necessarily tasty.
Shiller reflected on why these civilizations are so advanced, yet neglect large-scale greenhouse production for fruit. Ultimately, fruit isn't just food; it's a status symbol. If everyone had affordable access, nobles would lose their prestige.
Electronic life is perhaps superior to emotional life because it lacks class distinctions. Almost all emotional life civilizations are class-divided, hindering progress; developing civilizations to interstellar travel stages, yet secretly delighting over a piece of fruit.
Shiller sighed, hoping Pamela could expedite efforts to establish an orchard, ideally for interstellar fruit exports.
Just contemplating this, Pamela entered, sat at the bar, sighed, and said, "The soil we acquired from Earth isn't suitable; under the radiation from this star, seeds can hardly sprout."
"What's your plan?"
"I'm considering returning to Gotham for some soil."
"Huh?"
"Moreover, our Gotham isn't viable; pollution there has been mostly remedied. To clarify, I have to steal some soil from the Prime Universe; their strong soil might withstand the radiation."
Shiller looked bewildered, and Pamela waved dismissively, "You know how Gotham soil welcomes all foreign elements, no matter acid rain, heavy metal contamination, chemical pollutants, nuclear radiation or others; they seemingly pollute, yet achieve a strange balance maintaining basic soil functionality."
"Are you certain?"
"Indeed, I've tested it," Pamela said, "And the Prime Universe isn't the strongest. If it doesn't work, I'll have to explore the dark universe for Batwoman; maybe the millennia-old Atlantis mud would be better."
"I mean, are you sure using such soil will yield edible fruit? I'm not trying to poison all the aliens!"
"Relax; they'll develop antibodies if consumed frequently." Pamela was nonchalant, "Gothamites eat it daily without issues?"
Shiller was speechless. You can't treat aliens like Gothamites!