you might tell a lot about a science fiction story and its world by sharing a meal with it.
When I see one, the first thing I want to know is whats going on in the kitchen.
And this is nowhere more evident than the kitchen.
Take a look at your own kitchen.
What appliances have you got?
A kitchen-bound time traveler could quickly determine when they are with a look at your microwave and fridge.
The kitchen is a microcosm of everything else that is happening in a place or time.
And with good cause.
It doesnt even take place in its many spacious air shafts.
It all happens in the kitchen.
This is where we meet theNostromocrew for the first time arguing about percentages.
This is also, of course, where John Hurt has the worst case of indigestion in film history.
It is where plans are suggested, argued over and agreed on.
Everything has its place, its premade slot.
One of the most illustrative elements is the food itself.
There are no ovens or hobs visible, and certainly no fresh meat or vegetables.
This is a place for out-of-the-packet living.
TheSerenityhas a lot in common with theNostromo.
It is a blue-collar spaceship in a setting so retrofuturistic that it borders on being just plain retro.
The kitchen of that spaceship is in many ways its hero set.
ButSerenitys kitchen is not your workplace cafeteria; it is the dining room in the homestead.
Comparing the two, the differences are immediate.
Instead of pin-up posters, the walls have flowers painted on.
This is a domestic space as much as a workplace.
People here tell stories and celebrate birthdays as much as they argue percentages on the latest job.
TheNostromos kitchen belongs to the Company, its crew just eats there.
Yet once you start looking for differences they start to mount up.
The lighting is softer, and the crews well-being is more of a concern.
But the really revealing bit of worldbuilding here is the food.
The crew of theIcarus IIgets to dine on things that theNostromoandSerenitycrews could only dream about.
It shows us how a spaceship can be many different things.
TheSerenityis hopping job to job, resupply to resupply.
In this way, acceleration draws everything toward the engine-end of the ship, creating a simulation of gravity.
That is reflected in the way theRocinantes dining and kitchen area is laid outeverything is functional and compact.
The kitchen fittings and implements can tell you a lot about technology as well.
Are the kitchen crowded with cups and jars, plates and sharp implements?
Then this is a spaceship that has real faith in its artificial gravity and inertial dampeners.
Alternatively, is everything locked down and strapped into place?
One of the best examples is the kitchen of theUnreliablein the video gameThe Outer Worlds.
But all-out luxury can be just as revealing of a setting and its characters.
Lets thus take a look at the kitchen in Captain Pikes quarters aboardStar Trek: Strange New WorldsEnterprise.
Its ships are, first and foremost,a living room-centred environment.
It is a leisure activity and a luxury.
But as well as being a social location, it also serves a work function.
This is not the family table we see aboardSerenity.
Here people are expected to stand, and more importantly, to mingle.
Pratchett reportedly answered that you should think about how the clean water gets in and the sewage gets out.
