Page 53 of Music of the Ocean

They entered the dining chamber, and Callie sat at a table with glowing veins beneath its surface. There was a spread of transparent enclosed bowls with pale disks and iridescent cubes. Saxby thought it was food, but it sure wasn’t the orb thingies from before.

Callie waved. “Hey! Look at you—full transition. Not bad.” She gestured at the food. “Hungry?”

Saxby nodded. He slipped into a seat beside Indigo, and Callie handed him a cube. It pulsed faintly at his touch. He turned it over in his palm, studying it.

“It’s called allium,” Callie said. “You eat it like fruit. Kind of a cross between mineral and protein. You’ll see.”

She bit into a disk. The membrane split, releasing a plume of tiny bubbles. Callie chewed and hiked an eyebrow at Saxby.

Taking up the challenge, Saxby followed suit. The cube gave way easily. The taste was sharp, almost metallic, but grew sweeter as he chewed. He glanced at Indigo, who was considering his own piece before taking a bite.

Callie watched them both, her head cocked. “It’ll take a while before you stop craving whatever human food you liked from before, unfortunately. Trust me, it wouldn’t taste the same now, anyway. This stuff’s got everything you need, though. The city won’t let you starve.”

So, did that mean the city provided them with food? It sure sounded that way. And what they ate had to come from somewhere. How very interesting.

Saxby took another cube. Indigo reached for one of the larger disks, dissected it with a flick of a tentacle, and set a portion on Saxby’s plate. It wobbled, then settled.

They ate in silence for several minutes. The table’s surface changed color as they worked through the food. Saxby noticed there were also pod-like things, their surface slick and patterned with swirling metallic lines.

“You gotta try one of these, too,” Callie said.

She twisted the top, and a seam split open with a faint hiss, releasing a thread of sweet-smelling gas. Inside, a cluster of spongey, iridescent plates lay stacked in a spiral. She broke one off, bit into it, and handed another to Saxby.

He examined the food, then bit down. The texture resembled a dense, springy bread, but the taste was bright, tart, and then faded into a deep richness that lingered.

Indigo picked up another pod that glowed sightly, then sliced it open with a fingernail that was suddenly much longer than it had been. Saxby made a mental note about the retractable claws. For research purposes only, of course. Yeah.

The pod opened to reveal a mass of wriggling, noodle-thin tendrils. Indigo lifted several that were clumped together, then coiled them between thumb and forefinger… and ate them.

Then, Indigo offered the pod to Saxby.

Saxby’s stomach dropped. “Yeah, that looks like worms. Live, wriggling worms. Hard pass.”

“That is because they are live, wriggling worms, but they are delicious. I bet you like them,” Indigo said. “Will you at least try?”

There was that word again. Indigo had asked him to try something before, and Saxby had trusted him. Looks like he was going to again. Saxby gulped, then pulled a worm free.

Slowly, he put it in his mouth and bit into it, ready to spit it out in an instant if he started gagging. Huh. It wasn’t half bad. Surprised, he kept chewing. The taste was mild and seasoned, with a tender texture.

“I’ll be damned. Tastes like chicken.” Saxby took the pod and started picking worms out of it.

They ate in silence, the only sounds the pop and tear of the pod skins and the faint hum of the city’s power grid. A wall display flickered to life, showing the ocean above, now clear and undisturbed. No ships, no red hazard grids. There was only tranquil blue rippling outward.

Callie wiped her hands on a strand of kelp and leaned back. “So, now that the drama’s over, what next?” she asked, looking at Indigo.

“That depends on Saxby,” Indigo said. “But it might be best if he took a re—”

“If you’re going to say I need to rest, don’t. I’ve rested for two standard days nearly. I feel great.”

“How about we show him the city? I mean, really show him the city, not just around this main building,” Callie asked. “Let him meet people.”

Indigo frowned. “That—”

“Sounds like a great idea,” Saxby said.

Callie rolled her eyes at Indigo. “Stop being so protective. He’s ready. Look at him. He’s glowing and looks healthy.” She pushed her chair away from the table and stood. “Finish up, then. We’ll show you the working gardens where we get our food first, then venture out.”

“Can’t wait.”