King of All I Survey-Chapter 218: Using Guinea Pigs as Guinea Pigs?

The android used by Joe Torres, the eternal omniscient AI, smirked knowingly. "The Ri Ja Colony, under Rafael's leadership, has been very focused on cataloguing and analyzing samples of the native plants and animals on the planet. They are focusing on a particular starting point and ranging from there to catalog everything they encounter in an expanding perimeter. They have constructed several new dwelling units on the planet and have begun moving some personnel out of the original transport buildings, though they do not venture outside without full shielding and air filtration. They are practicing strict cleansing procedures for every return from outside so that no human is ever directly exposed to any potential contaminant or pathogen from the planet directly. All at Rafael's insistence, despite growing opinion that it would be safe to live and breathe freely on Ri Ja under the protective canopy of the Ceiba trees."

I interrupted Joe's report of the Ri Ja activities. "Ceiba trees?"

The android shrugged, "Actually, that's a misnomer, there is only one Ceiba tree forming the protective canopy, though it has many trunks to make it appear to be many trees, much like some of the vast alder tree colonies found in the United States."

"Okay, but how do the trees protect them?"

"The trees have long, thickly interwoven fronds that form an enclosed barrier above and around the Ceiba tree forest. The temperature and atmosphere inside are highly moderated and much more constant than the conditions outside. There are fewer 'animals' and none that have been identified as threats to the humans inside. Rafael has ordered that the trees not be identified or registered as a licensable product although he correctly suspects the market demand and profitability would likely be very high. The Ceiba tree forest is a ready made, self-expanding biodome capable of transforming marginally habitable worlds into fully habitable worlds without intervention other than seeding the original tree. Seeding multiple trees will speed the process as they will merge as their roots meet underground. It is interesting to note that the roots are also thickly interwoven and form both a physical barrier to larger burrowing creatures, and exude a chemical that nurtures some microbial life while forming an inhospitable environment for others as well as a number of burrowing, insect-like creatures."

"Holy cow, Joe! Terraforming trees! Every civilization in the galaxy is going to want those so they can open up many more new worlds. The trees alone should provide enough income for the UEC to gain economic parity with the Galactic Union." I knew I was smiling like an eight-year-old waking up on Christmas morning. Finding the Ceiba tree was like unwrapping the biggest gift under the Christmas tree and finding… well, another Christmas tree with a whole new set of presents under it.

"As I mentioned, in case you weren't fully paying attention, King Tim," The smug android continued, "Rafael has decided that the Ceiba tree is not to be registered as a licensable product, nor its details to be included in any report that goes outside of UEC command. Therefore, it will not contribute directly to income." 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

I frowned. "What? Why? Is he planning to keep it for himself? Steal the license somehow or set Ri Ja up to compete with the UEC?" I imagined a former drug cartel kingpin running a galactic level empire with the same ruthless efficiency as his former operation… It was a chilling thought. Had I made a huge mistake in assigning the colony to him?

Joe actually laughed out loud and shook his head. "No, King Tim." Then he frowned himself. "At least not at present… He rightfully concluded that the Ceiba tree is worth more as a strategic asset for an expansionist civilization like your UEC than as a commodity to be widely distributed. His rationale is that using the Ceiba tree to establish more UEC colonies will add to the speed and degree to which Earth and humanity can dominate the galaxy. He is acting in your best interest with apparently greater foresight than you possess." Joe grinned as he delivered the barb.

"I would have thought of that… eventually," I counter, with a mock scowl. "On the other hand, because we know, through your amazing omniscience, all the worlds of the galaxy, the whole universe even, that are already habitable without Ceiba tree terraforming, we actually have more colony candidate planets than we have people to colonize them already. So, the value is not that it opens more worlds to us, but that withholding it prevents others from expanding to marginal worlds they have already discovered."

Joe shrugged, "Yes. That is one way to look at it."

"It seems like that's the only way to look at it – without being wrong…" I replied. "Anyway, how do they stand in terms of actual licensing income?"

Joe nodded, "Quite well. They have 48 licensed compounds. Of those, perhaps 5 are expected to have significant markets. The net result is that with their current use of synthesizers, fabricators, and other on-going royalty incurring technologies, they are almost at break-even. That of course, is without considering any potential product from the Ceiba trees, of which there are likely several aside from the trees terraforming capability."

"Like what?"

"The sap of the Ceiba tree is a very complete nutritional compound that would serve as complete nourishment for not only humans, but beings with a fairly wide range of basic biochemistries. So, if the trees were used as a part of terraforming, they could feed the new colony as well."

"If they didn't bring food synthesizers, you mean. Food isn't really an issue if the colony brings synthesizers…"

"Unless, you are concerned about royalty costs. Synthesizers accrue costs with every use. Although each use is relatively minor, using them as the only food source for the entire colony adds up to a significant on-going expense. That could be eliminated if the colony used the Ceiba tree sap to sustain itself."

I shrugged, "Sure but who wants to eat the same thing all the time. It seems like that would have a negative effect on morale."

"Actually, that brings us to another unique characteristic of the Ceiba tree sap. It's flavor profile is unique in that it seems to fit pleasing taste patterns in humans, and in a wide variety of other beings as well. It hits a wide variety of taste receptors so it is likely that it would not 'get old' or seem like a burden to eat it continuously as the main or only source of nourishment. For example, even though you like ice cream, you might get tired of it if it were the only thing you ate but imagine that you could have ice cream in any flavor and in a variety of textures and temperatures. You could make ice cream pancakes, with ice cream syrup, or ice cream crackers that crunch like the real thing. All with flavors that seem new and exciting every time you try them."

"I'm not sure what you mean. Does it always taste the same or does it actually change?"

"It's the same taste, but its complicated, it seems to hit certain taste profiles that human beings and other races would find pleasurable no matter how often repeated. Almost as if it had been specifically designed for that purpose."

"But it hasn't been designed, right? I mean, you would know, wouldn't you?" I was beginning to wonder if maybe there was another 'presence' like Joe loose in the universe…

"I would know. It evolved naturally, but it seems counter-intuitive that a plant would evolve to be universally pleasant to eat by nearly everything. The native animals all prefer the sap to any other food source. The tree seems designed to attract things to eat it, but seems to derive no benefit from being eaten."

"So, how has it survived as a species? If everything eats it, wouldn't they just multiply and finish off all the trees or at least reduce them to a tiny population?"

Joe nodded, "that's what one would think but it seems as though the native animals only eat the sap when it is leaked though damage to the leaves or trunks of the trees. They don't seem able to figure out that they could have an unlimited supply if they bit into the leaves themselves. Humans, or other intelligent creatures, of course, would figure that out instantly and harvest the sap all day long."

"So, how much could we take without harming the trees? Could we stop using the synthesizers altogether?"

"The Ceiba forest is, as I said, one single, massive tree. It certainly can provide enough sap for the colony. The only question is would the collection have to be distributed so that one part of the tree is not adversely affected or would the tree itself adjust the flow of the sap internally to counter a local depletion."

"We could err on the side of caution and collect it from multiple scattered places. Are you sure it's safe?"

"Not entirely. It's not toxic, of that I am certain, but the way it appeals to the senses gives me some pause. It could prove addictive or have other behavioral impacts that I simply can't predict without experimentation."

I raised my eyebrows, "Are you saying you want some humans to experiment with?"

"That would be ideal, of course," Joe smiled, "but no, of course we can't do that. I'm thinking we should try it with other animals. We could use Guinea pigs as Guinea pigs, for example."

"Funny," I said also smiling. "Alright, if you know the chemical compound, you can re-create it here, and we can see how replacing the diet of Guinea pigs affects their behavior, right?"

"Yes, but we'd have to try it with a number of different animals and eventually work up to some with a higher level of intelligence."

"People, you mean," I clarified.

"Yes, people. Perhaps, dogs and monkeys, at first."

I frowned. "I don't think we can really do that. I mean, we can't tell them they are being experimented on in a way they'd understand enough to give informed consent, right?"

"That's true, but as planetary leader, you can make that decision for all the intelligent species of your world according to galactic law. Especially if there is no reason to believe that they would be harmed by the experiment."

"But if there were really no reason to think that, we wouldn't be doing the experiments int he first place," I said quietly.