Antarctica
Scene 2
In culinary terms the Anctarctic had naturally little to offer. The light, odourless nothingness was largely the opposite of an Asian night market, somewhat like in Singapore. Sea lions and penguins were nowhere in sight and, moreover, these creatures were far too fat to be eaten with any degree of pleasure. Although one hears that eccentric gourmets in the south-Chinese segment of Guangzou lick their fingers at the very thought of penguin meat. But then, there is very little that is not cooked and consumed with relish in Canton, a fact that Maille found absolutely remarkable. Nevertheless, the image of a penguin dangling from a butcher's blade in tropical heat was sufficiently exotic – and Maille was also convinced that something in the animal had thereby perforce to melt down.