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"My father was a master mechanic; I grew up with a screwdriver in one hand and a pair of pliers in the other."
- Frank Herbert
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| Science Fiction Restaurant | ||
| Established by aliens, its waiters and food are out of this world! |
Tongue in cheek story provides an unusual place to meet and eat - the Nebulae Science Fiction Restaurant.
| This native, Jim Hollis, is what is known on this planet as a “science fiction fan,” that is, he is a fanatical follower of a group of theorists whose advanced thinking has been able to find expression only on the level of literature-pretense. In a way this is a magnificent find. Within the confines of this group we can discover all we must know in a short space of time, and should be able to proceed with our exploitation of these natives efficiently.
Our plan is as follows. Using Jim Hollis as our agent, controlling him through drugs and autosuggestion, we are going to establish ourselves directly in one of the large cities and observe the natives at first hand.
 (Science Fiction Restaurant from 'Expedition to Earth' by Robert Zacks) We are going to establish a restaurant — a dining place — for these science fiction fans. It will be decorated in such a way as to appeal to this group of advanced thinkers and there will be the pretense that our crew members are really earth inhabitants who are cleverly made up as creatures from other planets. Crew members will act as servants (waiters, they are called,) and will be in constant contact with natives drawn by curiosity to this venture... It is estimated the restaurant, which will be named, the NEBULAE, can be established in six months (one-third unit of time). |
| Technovelgy from Expedition to Earth,
by Robert Zacks. Published by Space Stories in 1953 Additional resources -
|
Of course, there's a restaurant review:
WELL, now I’ve seen everything! ...But now I’ve finally left this old planet (figuratively speaking) and eaten stuff right out of this world. I refer to the new science fiction restaurant off Broadway where there’s a Venus Room complete with a giant wall tank containing (no kidding^ a live octopus, said octopus staring at you as closely as you stare at him (it gives you the willies ) ; there’s a Mars room where the carpet is red sand, the chairs and tables are carved of solid rock and you are served by two characters dressed in Buck Rogers suits complete with closed helmets whose faceplates are polarized glass, I think...
The headwaiter will scare hell out of you. Who the taxidermist was that cured the skin he wears I don’t know, but the guy’s dressed like a giant tiger-cat, six feet eight inches tall, standing on hind legs, color of the hide purple and gold. Instead of paws he has eight fingers hidden in a sort of rubbery glove and he writes with two of them, the others hang limp, as if stuffed.
There’s no conversation, all business is transacted by scribbling messages to the customers on pads of paper, but you, dear customers, can talk freely, ordering whatever you wish from the incredible menu.
I had a snake-egg souffle a la Pluto, a weird dish that had the same effect on my sense of balance as a shot of gin with no chaser. There was a luminous vegetable soup which strangely bothered my eyes until I actually thought the miniature stall s of celery in it were trying to crawl out of the bowl, were alive and could move.
Delicious. Then I ordered something called Breesk which looked like a plastic black cube three inches square. Most astonishing thing I ever ate. It’s hard until you pour a violet sauce over it and then it gives off smoke and a heady food perfume, turning soft and gooey. Tastes like a cross between filet mignon and peanut butter, believe it or not.
Compare to the interplanetary restaurant from Asteroid Pirates (1938) by Royal W. Heckman, the multispecies hotel from Hotel Cosmos (1938) by Raymond Z. Gallun and the Draco Tavern appearing in that story series by Larry Niven.
December 12, 1952
The Tasty Dish Column — bv Mike West
SCIENCE-FICTION EATERY PACKS THEM IN BUT GOOD (Broadway, N.Y.)
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Additional
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More Ideas
and Technology from Expedition to Earth
More Ideas
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Tech news articles related to Expedition to Earth
Tech news articles related to works by Robert Zacks
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'He had travelled the space-lanes of the solar system for the greater part of his life...'
'The dinner was excellent. It was completely vegetarian — grown in specially prepared gardens in this Moon base...'
'Telepaths had their sensitiveness enlarged to an immense range by the pin-sets, which were telepathic amplifiers adapted to the mammal mind.'
'It was a relief to enter one of the comfortable autos, whisper a direction down the tube, and just know that you would be taken to your destination in the quickest, safest, and cheapest manner.'
'But he didn't get very far with it before another noise in his ear radio scattered his thoughts. George winced...'
'The vast spinning sphere of Factory in the Sky loomed above and ahead of us, gleaming white against the unfathomable jet depths of surrounding space.'
'And if it doesn’t work,' inquired Lazarus, 'what does that make us? Sunspots?'
'The Dillard people had performed a miracle and put all the works in a girl-modeled case.'
'Our study of your race has convinced us that you are not fitted to leave your planet in the present state of your civilization.'
