Humans Are Encountered

Five Tastes

"Alright! We were able to cultivate many of our favorite crops in the specialized greenhouses." Carrie was speaking from inside a small, rectangular food preserver. Zork'ak had seen the multiple linked buildings that the human researchers had been visiting. Carrie slammed the front closed and spun around.

Adam grabbed a device to set these growths on. "Here, there's some flavors we want you to try."

Carrie crossed her extremities under her, sitting on the ground. With the other humans still at third meal, xe was alone with Adam and Carrie. "So there's different kinds of tastes. The cupcake is what we call sweet'" Zork'ak nodded. "We want you to try something called sour."

Adam was attempting to conceal a smile. "Here."

He handed Zork'ak a piece of a yellow, spherical crop. "Its scent is strong, which commonly indicates danger."

Adam turned his head side to side . "No, it's safe. It's called a lemon."

"Adam, why are you laughing."

Adam expelled air with a harsh sound. "I'm not. Just try it."

Zork'ak bit into the wedge, immediately pulling it away from xer lips. "This creates a harmful filling within my mouth!"

The two humans laughed as Zork'ak wiped away the remnants of the food with a thin material Carrie handed xem. "I'm sorry, Zor, but we had to see your face."

"What is this?" It assaulted Zork'ak's senses, both taste and smell. It even burned like Brak'yr acid when it came in contact with xer scales.

"I told you; it's a lemon. It's extremely sour." There was a circular green object in Adam's hand, and Zork'ak cautiously took it in xer talons.

It was less intense and tasted slightly different, even burned less. "This is not the same." Zork'ak, though, was able to finish this item as well.

"Well, no. They have their own individual flavors. But do you taste that tang?" Zork'ak nodded, able to place the taste with the word. "That's sour. There can be more flavor besides the broad one." Xe was still uncertain how one of the tastes, this sour, could hold as the same one among growths despite their changing flavors.

"Don't worry about it, Zor. Try this." Carrie handed xem a small, abnormally formed growth, and, when xe bit into it, xe detected that the material was hard and noticeably lacking in liquid unlike the previous items. "It's called salty, the strong flavor, not the nut." She held up another brown object. "Do you see the outside bit here? The clearish crystals. That's salt."

"It is a mild flavor, comparatively."

"Yeah, it can be. Some people like to mix it with sweet. I might be able to work with Kai to see if I can show you that combination. It has a nice contrast."

"You can combine these tastes with the individual flavors to make a new taste?"

Carrie looked to Adam, who answered, "Uh, yeah?"

"Yeah. The most common is bitter and sweet food, but I don't have anything bitter. It's kind of like that really intense taste like the lemon without the tang."

"How many tastes have been created?" Zork'ak was concerned that there would be too many, and xer senses would be exposed to too much in a single setting.

Adam was now lying on his side on the floor, propped up on his bent extremity. "So there's the three we've done: sweet, salty, and sour, and, like Carrie said, there's bitter. The fifth one is called savory, but we don't have anything growing. We do have this snack, though, called jerky from our trip here. It's a form of dried meat and, with salt, that stays good for a while."

Carrie extended a sealed package to Zork'ak, which xe tore open with xer talons. The item inside was a dark color and a long piece of thick material. Xer sharp teeth shredded it without difficulty, but in comparison to the other foods, it was a stronger material to bite into. "This tough material is savory?" Considering the resistance to xer teeth, xe postulated that the growth would be much too difficult for the humans to consume.

"No, no. The texture is different from taste. But do you taste the meaty flavor? It's pretty strong without being overwhelming."

Zork'ak chewed slowly to observe the taste. "This is my preferred taste."

Adam laughed. "Not the lemon."

Zork'ak turned xer head in answer. "No. I would prefer not to eat that crop again." Adam laughed, and xe turned away, ending the discussion on the harmful crop. "Now, what is the purpose of having these tastes?"

Adam's lips pressed together to form a line. "Because it tastes good?"

"Yes, but what is its purpose?"

"It's pleasant?" Carrie offered.

"Does this not provide beneficial products for your species?"

They both shook their heads. "No. We just like it."

"Well," Adam looked at Carrie, "sometimes it helps us determine if something will be harmful to consume. It'll help us tell it has gone bad."

"Yeah, but it's really only because I like chocolate; not when the expiration date is."

"Like it?" The two turned back to look at xem. "Is this similar to enjoyment?"

Adam nodded and pushed up into an upright position. "Okay, so the food was pleasant. That means you would taste it again just for the enjoyment of tasting it. Does that make sense?"

"So your species eats other species because this food is pleasant?"

"Yeah. Like when we told you at dinner so people eat too much? This is why. Even when you eat the right amount, though, we like to flavor it so that the food is pleasant and nutritional."

Zork'ak chewed on the jerky. "This might be an addition the Commander will have you introduce to the Klyl researchers. I will report to xem during my upcoming conference."

"Oh, yeah. My and Kai's research is already uploaded to the main system so they have access to it. It would benefit your species to see how it interacts with your body, but I think you should teach Klyls about taste and pleasure."

"It's like the main drive behind people: pleasure and food." Carrie sipped from one of those plastic cups.