Read Redwood: Servant of the State for Free Online

the story of the State kicking most Scientists and everyone else out of Redwood several years back. So, for the sake of simplicity they’re classified in the Bos genus. At least for now. They’re similar to Old Earth’s Bos taurus of course, just much larger. And tastier. I can tell you there was a lot of disagreement over whether they should even be in the same family as Old Earth cows, let alone genus.”
    It was the longest train of thought I heard him utter. I figured out later he only really opened up on talking if the subject interested him. But I wasn’t thinking about that at the moment.
    “Redwood cow? But that’s … that’s …”
    “Illegal?”
    “Heck yeah it’s illegal. We could …”
    He nodded. “I know. Go to the penal colony on Orange for it. Look, m’boy, you’ve already left Redwood City without permission, stolen a QC, eaten import restricted fruit, aided and abetted an admitted tobacco farmer, and who knows what else you’ve done. Enjoy your steak.”
    -+-
    After supper he excused himself, saying something about a humidor. He came back with two cigars and motioned for me to follow him outside. Once settled on the lounge chairs, he clipped the ends off the cigars and showed me how to light them.
    “They’re made in different sizes, both length and gauge. Some people like the Churchill, named after Winston Churchill. It was his favorite size: seven inches with a forty-seven ring gauge. The ‘standard’ size is the corona: six inches with a forty-two ring gauge. My favorite is this one, the robusto. It’s four and seven-eighths inches. I think the smaller size enhances the flavor, at least with Redwood tobacco.”
    After several moments letting flame kiss the cigar, developing a good glowing tip, I took my first forbidden puffs.
    “Don’t inhale into your lungs. Mouth only. Cigars are meant to be tasted, not inhaled. These have a maduro wrapper. Lots of flavor.”
    He was right. The taste and aroma of the smoke was slightly sweet, mixed with strong spices.
    It was delightful.
    We puffed a long time in silence.
    “Well m’boy, what do you think?”
    “I can see why these are banned. They’re wonderful.”
    His laughed barked out. “You’re starting to catch on.”
    “I always heard … well, maybe it was State propaganda or something, but I always heard cigars smelled awful. This smells really good.”
    “Well, most cigars sold back before the State banned tobacco were cheap. Cheap cigars stink. And the majority of cigars sold were cheap. They still are when you can find them on the black market. Good cigars that taste and smell good have always been expensive. They take a long time to produce. Years if done right. Then they’re hard to ship, and hard to keep in shape for consumption. All of that adds to their cost.”
    He paused to take a puff, then continued. “It’s one of the reasons cigarettes were so popular back in the day. Each cigar may taste different, even from the same box. Cigars have to be conditioned properly, spend lots of time in a controlled environment like a humidor. And you typically have to spend lots of money to get good ones. Cigarettes pretty much taste the same, one after the other. They can be consumed a lot quicker, and don’t have to be stored so carefully. So if you want to get addicted to nicotine, cigarettes provided the cheaper, easier solution for delivery.
    “When tobacco was banned, addicts suffered the most. Cigarettes go quick. They’re designed to. The supply dried up fast, soon after the factories shut down. You still see some enterprising souls manufacture a few thousand cigarettes and sell them somewhere. The State hunts them down with a vengeance, they never last very long. Most nicotine addicts have gone over to other delivery methods or just kicked the habit.”
    The stars twinkled, the night birds and insects sang their noisy choruses. My first cigar burned down near the end. The flavor had changed after a couple inches were