Then he remembered the grain peak he had skirted on the way home. It had extended high above the infrared and ultraviolet shields—into the naked, hot zone where restless winds had wafted the kernels eastward.
He picked up one of the "flakes."
Popcorn!
III
Many light years away, the Emperor of the Eastern Cluster whirled around, kicked his bejeweled train out of the way and faced his chief adviser. "So they've opened up a new aid offensive?"
"And a most vital one." The adviser blew on his spectacles and burnished the lenses against his sleeve. "A place called McWorther. Our intelligence got its coordinates from their consignment documents."
"Never heard of it."
"That's what's so insidious about this whole capitalist plot. They've kept it under their hats."
"And why is it so vital?"