"Good Taste" is a
science fiction short story by American writer
Isaac Asimov
yi, יצחק אזימאװ
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Petrovichi, Russian SFSR
, spouse =
, relatives =
, children = 2
, death_date =
, death_place = Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
, nationality = Russian (1920–1922)Soviet (192 ...
. It first appeared in a limited edition book of the same name by
Apocalypse Press in 1976. It subsequently appeared in ''
Asimov's Science Fiction'' (Fall 1977)
ISFDb
/ref> and in the 1983 collection ''The Winds of Change and Other Stories
''The Winds of Change and Other Stories'' is a collection of short stories by American writer Isaac Asimov, published in 1983 by Doubleday.
Contents
* " About Nothing" (1975)
* " A Perfect Fit" (1981)
* "Belief" (1953), novelette
* "Death of a ...
''.
Plot summary
Chawker Minor returns from his 'Grand Tour', including a visit to Earth, to his home on Gammer, one of several artificial satellites
A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioisotop ...
orbiting the Moon. The introverted society of Gammer specialises in artificial computer-designed food flavourings much in demand in Earth, to the point of shunning "natural" food grown in "dirt", and Chawker is inspired to enter the annual competition for flavouring, using something new and radical.
Despite the disapproval of his parents and elder brother, Chawker Minor does design a new flavouring which wins the competition. Asked by the Grand Master, who can taste and analyse flavourings to the smallest detail, to explain his successful and intriguing entry, he reveals that he has not used artificial computer-designed molecules, but an actual raw ingredient, garlic
Garlic (''Allium sativum'') is a species of bulbous flowering plant in the genus ''Allium''. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, Allium fistulosum, Welsh onion and Allium chinense, Chinese onion. It is native to South A ...
, maintaining that no assemblage of molecules may duplicate the complexity of a living organism.
The Grand Master, and all Gammer society, are revolted by this breach of good taste. Chawker Minor is disavowed by all and exiled from his home.
Relationship to other works
This story has links to three of Asimov's works, and ties together with the history of the Spacers. The Orbital Habitat, Gammer (a corruption of the Greek letter Gamma
Gamma (uppercase , lowercase ; ''gámma'') is the third letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals it has a value of 3. In Ancient Greek, the letter gamma represented a voiced velar stop . In Modern Greek, this letter re ...
), is one of "51 Colonies" making up an O'Neill Halo in Earth Space. More of the society of the colonies is explored in "The Nations in Space."
The 51 Colonies are imagined to be independent but united, a space-borne analogy of the United States of America. Not only this, but the emergent Spacers on the colonies are engaging in technology and lifestyle changes that mark them afterwards – dependency on Robots, use of Micro-foods, and an enhanced immune system.
The colonies later engage in interstellar exploration, and retain an antipathy for Earth and its ways; this is explored in ''Nemesis
In ancient Greek religion, Nemesis, also called Rhamnousia or Rhamnusia ( grc, Ῥαμνουσία, Rhamnousía, the goddess of Rhamnous), was the goddess who personifies retribution, a central concept in the Greek world view.
Etymology
The n ...
'' and the ''Robot'' series.
The mastery of microfoods, explored in this story, becomes the mainstay of the survivors of the Spacers, when they settle in Mycogen
The Galactic Empire is an interstellar empire featured in Isaac Asimov's ''Robot'', ''Galactic Empire'', and ''Foundation'' series. The Empire is spread across the Milky Way galaxy and consists of almost 25 million planets settled exclusively by ...
on Trantor ('' Prelude to Foundation'').
References
External links
*
Full text of the short story
Short stories by Isaac Asimov
Works originally published in Asimov's Science Fiction
1976 short stories
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