Some of what they cultivate indoors is grown solely for seed. The inhospitable ground outside can't house tomatoes, for example, or water-hungry grains like rice, but the can grow enough to keep fresh, fertile seed available for a hopeful future, when they may be able to spread healthy plants far and wide across the Wasteland. Thor will see several types of rushes and cattails being grown in the hydroponic troughs, amongst the practical vegetables and herbs.

"Melothria," she says as he touches a delicate tendril, and points out the pinpoint-sized yellow blooms, and a tiny green fruit forming on some of the little vines. "They taste like cucumber and lemon. Dag says she thinks she can breed them a little bit hardier so they can be moved outside."

In response to the question, she grins and tugs at his sleeve, guiding him further down the line. "Most of this section," she tells him, gesturing to the back quarter of the chamber. "The greenthumbs are excited about these. We've got dill, coriander, several brassicas we didn't have before, bishop's weed, chicory and meadowsweet. I like this one best."

She touches one of the plants, a kind of mustard green that ought to look familiar to Thor. "I like bitter greens. These are good raw, and they don't wilt fast after harvest, so we've been eating a lot of them all over the Citadel. Roll them up with a little bean mash inside, and dip them in herbed vinegar, they're delicious."

It's hard to get enough food to go around with a population of thousands, but they're doing a decent job.