        When he was a kid—before the fiasco of the Vietnam War—there was a time where he had been an avid reader of war comics and war stories.  In those days, in what was an unfortunate tradition leading back to when man first took to the seas, fresh fruits and vegetables were scarce or impossible to come by.  Was it possible that these aliens had no better skills and her food was earthly in origin?  Or did they have hydroponic gardens aboard their vessel? They could even have food replicators, a device which—like so many other sci-fi staples from his childhood—actually existed.  He really wanted to get a closer look, but was worried that it would be misinterpreted.  What might she think if he came over and started to nose at her food?