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Vian had a particular fondness for complex and expensive foods when he was sixteen or seventeen, having almost sampled all the renowned delicacies by name throughout the Federation.
These included the gigantic lobsters hauled from the Storm Sea, the ice goats living on the endless ice fields north of Anksai City, and the caviar produced by Lake Yierga, the Federation's largest inland lake...
Prices for these foods typically started in the tens of thousands,
but now his breakfast usually consisted of a synthetic steak that could be bought for two to three federal coins, along with some fresh milk.
The nutritional values of these foods were not substantially different.
He Ao sat down at the dining table, picked up the utensils, and asked in a soft voice,
"Danny, how long have I slept?"
"A day and two nights, Master Vian,"
the elderly butler answered quietly.
"And Doctor Ike?"
He Ao cut a piece of steak.