Aperitif

They came in peace. They came hungry. The distinction is ours. Max Reznik is taking out the trash when the ship arrives. A hundred metres of mirror-hull settles over the Superfund lake behind the Terminal Diner, and the delegation that descends walks straight past the state troopers to bow at the man who smells of the griddle. They call him Master of Matter Preparation. They take his hand in both of theirs and hold it a beat too long. The Hospitality are a galaxy-spanning civilisation whose religion, law and art are all cuisine. They bring cures. Clean energy. Peace. All of it real, all of it free. Within a week a hundred and ninety-three governments have signed the Merger Accords on folding tables in a diner parking lot, and a burnt-out cook with one dead restaurant behind him is humanity's ambassador to the stars. The ship is a paradise. Max believes that. He also can't stop noticing that the gift centres are laid out like prep stations, and the guest quarters are warm and humid as a proving drawer. The Hospitality have never lied to anyone. Not once. They simply answer the questions they are asked. The Aperitif opens The Universal Menu trilogy: first contact, dark comedy, and the terrifying cost of perfect hospitality.