• Date: May 25, 2440
Time: 12:20 PM CST
- “The roast pork is from a wild razorback, yes? Do you often source your meat this locally—or was this meal prepared specially for us?”
- They are an invasive species that descend from the pigs lost by Hernando DeSoto, that bred with feral pigs lost to colonizing farmers and even wild boar brought from elsewhere in the world during the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. They do more crop damage than any other species in the area. We do what we can to wipe them out, but I sometimes don’t think we will ever make a dent in their numbers.
- “The pheasant reminds me of country dishes in Japan—lightly gamey but delicate. Do you hunt it yourself or raise them here?”
- Like the European boar they were an introduced species. They also create a significant problem during the grain harvest. As they do serve a function that was once performed by other now extinct migratory birds we don’t regularly hunt them except during harvest seasons.
- As I knew I was having guests I sent out a call that I wanted several of them and a few dozen kids brought in about sixty of them last night all getting paid a fairly good price. Before anyone asks, I don’t know what they were paid. My kitchen staff took care of it. I don’t have the time or energy to micromanage my people.
- “These young vegetables taste incredibly fresh. Are they from your own fields?”
- We use a lot of poly tunnel green housing, which affords us fresh vegetables most of the year and a few of us who afford to the time or money to pay someone to tend them fresh vegetables all year round. I pay two dozen gardeners to make sure I always have them and part of their compensation is they get all the rest for themselves. A number of my relatives and several other prosperous families do likewise.
- “The shrimp ceviche surprised me. I did not expect to find seafood this far inland. Is it brought in by your logistics fleet?”
- That is one of my biggest secrets. We have a huge aquaculture industry and the price per kilo of that shrimp is even lower the local price of beef. That is not the only seafood we farm either. Some years our oyster production is so plentiful they go straight to the fields faster than the production line.
- “You paired lunch with both ceviche and a miso soup, it feels like a bridge between cultures. Was that intentional?”
- I had nothing to do with today’s menu. I have a very good staff though. The ceviche is all local save for the citrus, which I got a lot of from Spain yesterday. Having access to the idle cargo shuttles is what allowed me to put this event together on such short notice.
- “How do your V’ren guests respond to human food? Are there ingredients they avoid or especially enjoy?”
- So far they universally love cheese and hate olives.
- “When you cook for mixed groups, do you adjust recipes for physiology, or is the goal to share the same table regardless of difference?”
- I am no longer putting olives on the table and despite my reputation for drinking nothing but bourbon I do enjoy martinis and those aren’t getting olives either.
- “Do meals like this happen often here, or are they reserved for diplomatic occasions?”
- Wild game is an all the time thing, fancy parties a lot less often. We used to have a lot more parties but it was my late wife that loved hosting them and I haven’t had it in me since her death.
- “In my country, communal meals can carry unspoken social meaning. What does a shared meal symbolize in the Freehold?”
- It is how we come together. Whether it is an old holiday, marriage, birth, or death that brings us together we always bring food.
- “You serve your guests first and eat last. Is that habit from upbringing or position?”
- I like to make sure no one has poisoned me. I am also very much a product of many cultures where this is just the way of things.
🌾 Land & Life Questions
- “You mentioned earlier that much of Missouri returned to forest after the collapse. Are these gardens reclaimed from that land?”
- Not here on the homestead. I had very eccentric ancestors who often thought that bankrupting future generations should be their life’s work. The big glass building over there. That doesn’t just look like the Palm House of Kew Garden’s it is the Palm House down to the last measurement. In fact when they did their restoration nearly sixty years ago they came over her to examine ours since it is built on the original plans.
- “The produce tastes remarkably pure—no bitterness. Is this because of soil recovery or breeding work done since the collapse?”
- We are very good gardeners and the bitterness you are used to tells me that most of your produce is from a hydroponic producers and they are getting the nutrient mix wrong. I have my undergrad degree in botany in case you were wondering.
- “How much of your daily diet comes from the Freehold itself?”
- Other than spices almost all of it comes from the heartland, even the wine.
- “Your staff seems both formal and relaxed. Is there a ritual to these gatherings, or is it simply family habit?”
- They are relaxed because they trust I am a good boss.
- “We noticed laughter and teasing even during the meal. Would you say humor is part of leadership here?”
- There is so much uncertainty in life you have to take the time to laugh ith the people around you and as a leader sometime accept you are the source of that laughter.
🌎 Integration & Meaning
- “We’ve seen your people and the V’ren working side by side. Do shared meals help smooth the cultural boundaries?”
- My people don’t have a lot of sophisticated rituals. If you have ever seen a Filipino boodle fight, many these are the descendants of the people who came up with the concept.
- “Some in Asia are fascinated by how you combine modern logistics with deeply traditional hospitality. Is that deliberate, or simply how you were raised?”
- I have always had a bit of a flair for the dramatic, the fact I can now have a cargo shuttle anywhere in the world in as little as four hours lets me go over the top in creativity.
- “Your garden feels neither public nor private—almost communal. Who else uses this space when you are away?”
- It is a very communal space and intentionally so. The homestead is still a working farm, but also a business hub and community center for Arrow Rock. Part of my contract with everyone is the staff dining hall is always open for my people. We run regular meal services and keep after hour trays. I encourage people to enjoy the spaces out here.
- “There’s no obvious security presence. Is that a matter of trust, or are they simply invisible?”
- Both. The contracts I have with my people make it very clear if they break the peace I can order them out of their homes and off my land under pain of death. I haven’t had to enforce that in fourteen years, but everyone remembers the last time and it was ugly.
- It is also my people themselves. Arbitration is a guaranteed right. They would usually settle small things than involving me or other arbiters.
- What is invisible from the inside is just how secure my borders are. I have manned checkpoints, river patrols, people on horseback, and a very good drone fleet. Each of them do double duty, especially the drone fleet which monitors for wildlife, wildfires. necessary repairs, and people not coming through approved border crossings.
- “If someone from Tokyo or Seoul were to visit, what would you want them to understand about this place by the end of the meal?”
- How much we are tied to the land and our heritage. The first Freeholder named in the CCA of 2123 was also named Matthew Johnathan Boone Marmaduke born in 2101. I am the eleventh in his line of succession born in 2397. Among the families of my grandmothers were immigrants from Korea, Japan, the Philippines, China, Indonesia, Bangladesh, India, Morocco, Poland, Denmark, Ireland, Mexico, and many indigenous groups around the world. I was raised with strong ties to my Mindoro roots as were the last four freeholders.
