O autor refere-se mais tarde a ' plantas voláteis ', uma tecnologia que transforma diamantes, ou qualquer outra forma de carbono, em produtos úteis e até em comida e bebida. Sem voláteis (como gelo de água), o sistema não funcionará.
O autor também aponta que sem minérios metálicos, construir novos navios e manter a frota existente seria quase impossível.
Pham snagged a bulb of the brew. The container was new plastic. Benny had some kind of in with the crews that ran surface operations on the rockpile. The little volatiles plant gulped in airsnow and water ice and ground diamond. . .and out came raw stocks, including the plastics for drinking bulbs, furniture, the zero-gee pool game. Even the parlor’s chief attraction was the product of the rockpile—touched by the magic of the temp’s bactry.
This bulb had a colored drawing on the side:DIAMOND AND ICE BREWERY , it said, and there was a picture of the rockpile being dissolved into suds. The picture was an intricate thing, evidently from a hand-drawn original. Pham stared at the clever drawing for a moment. He swallowed his wondering questions. In any case, others would ask them. . .in their own way.