Emergency Rations




Article Contents

These Regalti Military and Emergency Rations were developed in the year 175 After Exodus to replace older versions and are very necessary as a food supply on star ships, as fresh food doesn't last very long unless your ship is large enough to hold a freezer.

The goal with these calorie blocks was to have an easily edible block of calories and nutrients that would supply most of the nutritional needs of a Regalti. The other goal was for this calorie block to be able to last almost indefinitely in dry storage. Some of the originally packaged rations are still opened every few decades to test if they are still edible. This food is so well preserved, that even if the box is open and the metallic packaging is unsealed in a wet environment, antibacterial coatings on the rations will keep them preserved for up to a year.

Regalti are able to survive on eating one calorie block a day, though if moderate or greater physical activity is done, then consuming two is recommended. Each block contains 60% of the daily value for all vitamins and minerals, as well as a little caffeine. If only one calorie block is consumed, then taking a vitamin supplement is also recommended. If a non-regalti consumes these calorie blocks, then consumption of a species specific vitamin supplement is always recommended. Usually a box of emergency rations has several small containers containing the necessary vitamin supplements for several alien species that are allies of the Regalti, including Maorians, Vusinor, and Yil.

Nutrition

Amount per bar (400g)
Calories : 1400
Fat
Carbohydrates
Protein
30g
280g
40g
Contains 60% daily value for all essential vitamins and minerals. Contains 20mg of Caffeine.
The unfortunate tradeoff is that like most food made to be preserved for very long periods of time...these rations taste rather terrible to many Regalti. While some tolerate it, most hate the bland flavor and think there's just something not right about the texture either. Newer versions over the last century have been released with different flavors, but other than one or two flavors, most Regalti widely agree the taste is poor.

Nearly every ship in the Delvi System has at least a one week supply of these rations in case of emergencies. Even smaller personal craft have at least one box in emergency kits. The boxes contain eight calorie blocks each and are small enough to be stored without taking up a significant amount of space.

The Starship Void Chaser is a military scout vessel that is designed to spend long periods of time in the outer reaches of a star system, and it is expected to last long periods of time without resupply. Because of this, there is around 3,000 kilograms worth of these rations on the ship, enough for roughly a year worth of nutrition for all 20 crew members if they eat only one calorie block a day.
"I'm telling you! They taste terrible!"
- Elya

Elya was confident that Ryan was going to hate the taste as much as she did. Ryan ignored Elya's words and bit into the black and white block of...something. At first Ryan was visibly disgusted at the texture of the food, but after he chewed for several seconds, his disgust turned into a smile. Ryan swallowed the mouthful and was sastified.

"Mmh! Tastes like peanut butter with a hint of honey! These aren't bad at all!"
-Ryan

"Wait, what? What the hell is Peanut Butter?"
- Elya


Cover image: by Textures from Annie Sprat and Christopher Bill

Comments

Author's Notes

Several of my food articles I made last year during World Ember mentioned how bad the emergency rations taste, how they taste even worse than the food made with the 3D printer, and they will likely be mentioned in the eventual story I write, so I figured they deserved a short article of their own. Also, I was thinking about how calorie bars would look, appear, and tast in my world while I was reading about nutrition blocks in Dylonishere123's The Lebha article.   While many Regalti hate the default flavor of these rations, it turns out that humans quite like the flavor of what is essentially a peanut and honey flavored energy bar, at least once they get through the strange texture. I might make a chart explaining different flavors in the future, using the food items I already outlined on this page: Glossary 01 - Food, but I don't think it's necessary.   Also, if you liked the article, please consider leaving a comment or clicking that like button. If you didn't like the article, please leave a comment and tell me your criticism so I can improve as a writer.


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Jan 27, 2022 10:47 by Thicc Shrek

It'd take me 3 seconds to have eaten all of these the moment me and the homies are stranded somewhere.

Jan 27, 2022 15:14 by Adam Roberts

I really like the quote boxes to the side - they add a lot to the description.