The Dervishis arrived in Trott Bailey Family Civilization about a year ago, and ever since then Luan has been teaching Grandma Mira and the rest of the family how to use Pacorips.

Arben and Elira Dervishi prefer to leave almost everything Pacorips-related to Luan. If something needs searching, comparing, finding or figuring out, Luan usually gets called.

Arben and Elira are much more interested in watching Wokumbakia Abundance features. They love seeing what is happening across the civilization: which foods are coming into season, which orchards are heavy, what growers are harvesting, what unusual foods are appearing somewhere, and what families might want to go and experience.

It was while watching Wokumbakia that they first came across the civilization’s food libraries.

Arben pointed out to Elira that there were literally libraries that were not libraries of books.

Arben just could not believe it.

The idea of tasting mangoes to learn about mangoes, rather than only reading descriptions of them, truly struck him. He would not stop talking about it.

Finally, Luan looked it up properly on Pacorips.

There were many Mango Species Libraries across the civilization, and families could visit them throughout the year. Different mangoes ripened at different times, so the experience changed depending on the season and which library you visited.

One of the libraries was showing a particularly good run of sweet varieties.

Luan told the family.

Everyone wanted to go.

So Luan looked up the different routes to get there.

Pacorips suggested Regional FEX if they wanted a slower land-travel experience. They could stop and enjoy other places along the way, sleep aboard Regional FEX, get off where something caught their interest, and reach the Mango Species Library region within about three days if they kept roughly to the suggested route.

The other option was air travel through a Care-Port. That would get them there in a few hours.

The family could not decide.

So they flipped a coin.

Luan searched the available departures and found their best option: a 5:00 p.m. flight, arriving around 5:00 the following morning.

That was it.

They were going to the Mango Species Library.

Luan had already spoken with the Godi family, who managed the travel homes near the Mango Species Libraries. They would leave arrival clothing for each member of the Dervishi family in several likely sizes and stock the home with food before they arrived.

If they wanted different clothing after they got there, they could walk into the local fashion network and be fitted and outfitted there. Fabric Nodes would take care of laundry.

This suited Arben perfectly because, by now, he had already begun asking his wife and son excitedly:

Luan could already see where this was going.

Arben had started looking at the map.

For almost a year, Luan had been trying to teach Dad how to use Pacorips properly. Arben was always perfectly happy to let Luan do the searching for him.

Fruit libraries changed that.

Now Arben wanted to know where they were, which fruits were in season, how far apart the libraries were, what routes connected them and what else might be growing nearby.

For once, when Luan started explaining Pacorips, Arben was listening to every word.

The Mango Species Library

The family travelled that evening, arrived the next morning and rested for a while at the travel home before heading to the Mango Species Library.

The first thing they discovered was that this was not simply a building with mangoes sitting on shelves.

The library was alive.

Mango trees formed much of the library itself.

Paths moved through collections of different varieties. Some areas were arranged by growing region or heritage. Others brought together mangoes with similar characteristics so visitors could compare them while the differences were still fresh in their mouths.

There were shaded tasting verandahs among the trees, washing points, tables for cutting fruit, and quieter places where families could sit for a while before continuing.

Some trees were heavy with ripe fruit.

Others were just beginning.

Some had already passed their strongest harvest.

There was no single day when the entire Mango Species Library was simply “ready.” Each visit depended on what the trees were doing.

Arben loved this almost immediately.

He had imagined tasting many mangoes.

He had not realized he would also be walking among the trees that produced them.

The Dervishis began with several varieties that were already being served that morning.

They tasted one, then another.

At first everybody tried to describe them carefully.

One was very sweet but still had a little sharpness near the skin. Another had a stronger fragrance before anyone even tasted it. One was so soft and smooth that Elira immediately went back for another piece. Another had more fibre and took longer to eat, but Grandma Mira preferred its stronger mango flavour.

They soon discovered that “sweet mango” did not mean one taste.

Two mangoes could both be very sweet and still taste completely different.

One sweetness arrived almost immediately. Another seemed mild at first and became richer as they ate. Some had a floral smell. Some were thick and creamy. Some were juicy enough that Dren had to be taken to wash his hands and face before he touched anything else.

They tasted Julie, East Indian, Bombay, Alphonso and other varieties that were ready in the library that week.

Grandma Mira slowed down around the heritage collections.

She wanted to smell the mango before cutting it. She wanted to look at the shape. Sometimes she asked to see the tree.

One mango reminded her of fruit she had known years before, although she was not certain it was exactly the same variety.

That started a longer conversation with one of the people caring for that section of the library about mango names, local names and how the same fruit can sometimes be remembered differently from one place to another.

Luan, meanwhile, had become interested in the growing information attached to the collections.

He could see when particular varieties usually ripened, what kind of tree they made, how their texture differed and where they had come from.

He began checking Pacorips as they moved.

Not because the family needed instructions to enjoy the mangoes, but because every answer seemed to give him another question.

Era and Dren were less interested in this part.

They wanted to taste.

And then taste again.

At one point Era was certain she had found her favourite. Twenty minutes later she changed her mind.

Dren did not bother trying to keep one favourite.

If the mango currently in his hand was sweet, that was the best one.

The family spent part of the morning following one of the tasting routes through varieties known for sweetness. Later they wandered away from the route and simply followed whatever caught their attention.

A brightly coloured fruit led them into one section.

The smell of freshly cut mango led them into another.

At one of the verandahs they sat with several varieties in front of them at the same time so they could compare them properly instead of relying on what they remembered from half an hour earlier.

That was when Arben became serious.

He started cutting tiny pieces.

Arben looked down.

He was, in fact, taking notes.

By lunchtime they had eaten enough mango that nobody was particularly interested in seeing another one immediately.

So they stopped.

They ate, rested under the shade and talked about what they had tasted so far.

Grandma Mira still preferred one of the stronger-flavoured varieties. Elira preferred one of the smoother sweet ones. Era had two favourites. Dren had several. Arben had started categorizing his.

After a while they went back out.

The afternoon was slower.

They spent more time walking among the trees and less time trying to taste everything.

The children watched fruit being gathered from one section. Luan talked for a while with people working in the library. Grandma Mira found a shaded place where she could sit and still see everyone.

Arben kept disappearing a few steps behind the family because he had discovered something else on Pacorips.

Nearby fruit libraries.

First he found another Mango Species Library with a different group of varieties in season.

Then a citrus library.

Then a banana library farther along another route.

By late afternoon, Elira caught him standing under a mango tree looking at Pacorips again.