There was a long tense half hour wait before Mannion copied out the reply that came in a stuttering nasal. He handed it to me.
As I had hoped, the message, after a preliminary recital of the indifference of the Mancji to biological processes of ingestion, recited a list of standard biochemical symbols.
“Can we eat this stuff?” I asked Kramer, handing him the sheet.
He studied it, and some of his accustomed swagger began to return. “I don’t know what the flowery phrases are all about, but the symbols refer to common proteins, lipins, carbohydrates, vitamins, and biomins,” he said. “What is this, a game?”
“All right, Mannion,” I said. I was trying to hold back the excitement. “Ask them if they have fresh sources of these substances aboard.”
The reply was quick; they did.
“Tell them we will exchange electric power for a supply of these foods. Tell them we want samples of half a dozen of the natural substances.”
Again Mannion coded and sent, received and translated, sent again.
“They agree, Captain,” he said at last. “They want us to fire a power lead out about a mile; they’ll come in close and shoot us a specimen case with a flare on it. Then we can each check the other’s merchandise.”
“All right,” I said. “We can use a ground-service cable; rig a pilot light on it, and kick it out, as soon as they get in close.”