Page 56 - The Perpetrations of Captain Kaga

Cooking the Cannibals of Kek-lawa

“Here it is,” he said breathlessly. “It’s in pretty good condition for
last year’s crop.”
“Fine,” said Captain Kaga. “Now, just let me put these electrodes
on your head. Don’t worry, they won’t hurt. Good. Now, bite off
some of that root and start chewing on it.”
Tchorposk hesitantly did as he was instructed. As he began
masticating, Kaga said, “Just go on eating. Indicate with your
forelimb when the taste seems to improve; if it gets worse, shake
your head.”
Soon the Kek was waving vigorously, his eyes popping with
pleasure as he took bite after bite of the spongy pulp. Kaga kept
feeding his responses back into the device, until Tchorposk stopped
signaling. Then he switched off the current. The Kek immediately
stopped chewing.
“What happened?” he asked indignantly, with his mouth full. “All
of a sudden it has no taste at all—and was so good before! I’ve never
had anything so delicious.”
“That,” said Captain Kaga, “is how Bezinflib caused Kek sauce to
be created. Now we are going to turn the tables. Instead of stopping
the sauce, we’ll change the formula to give Ulgalga root a taste at least
as good as Kek meat with the old sauce. If the new sauce is put on
Kek flesh, the result will be nauseating. I’ll get a new shipment started
immediately, so you better begin encouraging the Ulgalga planters.
Perhaps in a few years we can provide you with seeds for some new
crops that will be tasty without any sauce.”
Tchorposk was excited, hopping back and forth and rocking on his
tail. “Wonderful!” he said. “Now the Gorzon can restore order to
Kek-lawa. The cannibals are in for a big surprise when the next batch
of sauce arrives.”
“Indeed they are,” said Kaga, “and you’ll be able to have your Kek
and eat it.”

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