Page 38 - The Perpetrations of Captain Kaga

Resolving the Mechanalog Ambiguity

A few seconds later three other Mechanalogs rolled into place
beside the king. “Colonel Krif and Captain Kaga, may I present
Tormot, Minister of the Interior; Halzurni, Minister of Applied
Technology; and Loppa, my new Minister of Foreign Affairs.”
“Pleased to meet you,” said Krif.
“Uh, yes, pleased to meet you,” said Kaga, a bit uneasy in the
presence of these strange entities. Krif, he noticed, showed no signs
of discomfort. I guess that’s what comes of experience, he thought
enviously. His attention shifted back to the king, who was speaking
again.
“Fine. Now that introductions are over, let’s get down to business.
According to the leader of the first group, he was not authorized to
make a formal agreement regarding trade between our planet and
your organization. That was acceptable to us, for we needed time to
formulate our ideas on the subject. We are now prepared to open the
negotiations. Does this suit you?”
“Yes, it does,” replied Colonel Krif. “I have been advised that your
need for certain chemicals can be met by suppliers within our
commercial network. I have with me a list of those compounds and
their specific properties.” He took out a sheaf of hardcopy and
handed it to the king. “You’ll find that the information has already
been translated into your language.”
“Thank you,” said King Flobonda. “I’ll leave this to my Minister of
Applied Technology to decipher. I’m not really as up on these things
as I should be, you know.” He handed the documents to Halzurni,
who tucked them into a compartment in his side. “Now, what can we
offer you in exchange? Mazinoza has a wide variety of minerals, many
of which we are already mining ourselves. Which would you like to
have?”
Krif, without hesitation, said, “Bintillium.”
The king swiveled his head to the right. “I suppose that’s all right,”
he said. “But the Minister of the Interior knows the state of our
resources better than I do. What about it, Tormot?”
“Your majesty,” said the Mechanalog minister, “I’m afraid
bintillium is one thing we cannot spare. Small quantities of it are
consumed each time we use our backup transference generators, so
we can’t afford to jeopardize our supply. We do, however, have
abundant quantities of grizlon, owatanite, and other minerals.”
36