by Sean Adami
Rufus strayed the opposite way, and Andrew opened the red door. The cafeteria was assorted with many white tables and chairs. Lab researchers ate and talked amongst their table groups. 20 lab researchers waited in line with plates in their hands. A giant holographic blue screen filled up the right corner from Andrew’s eye. The spectacle enumerated various graphs with numbers and charts displaying the foundation of the Spirit World. Enhanced projections of the Spirit World showed the forest biome and the bees that transferred dopamine through their vibrant stingers.
When Andrew reached the line of sight of the lab researchers, applause and cheers intensified to Andrew’s dismay. He heard many cheers such as “great job buddy,” “congratulations,” and “a spectacular venture for mankind.”
Not really sure on how to react, Andrew put his hand up as a gesture of modesty and said, “Thank you.” He walked past the tables to reach the food servings. Having arrived at the line of people, Andrew received a pat on the back from several lab researchers, whispering solemn complements to him.
Curious of what food they were serving, Andrew tapped the shoulder of the lab researcher in front of him. She turned around and said assuringly, “Anything I can help you with, Andrew?” She had pale white skin and blondish-brown hair with proportionate facial features. The nametag on her white lab coat read “Harriet.”
Reckoning that all the lab researchers knew his name, Andrew said, “Yeah, I was wondering if you could tell me what they’re serving today.”
Harriet said, “Only the best food that you’re taste buds could desire. They’re serving perfectly-cooked steak with assorted condiments, such as mashed potatoes, yams, and luscious wine. They cook the steak to your very liking .”
Slightly chuckling to her over-detailed response, he said,“And when you refer to ‘they,’ you mean the cooks, right?”
“Of course not. How could you cook such perfect foods without the use of the Spirit Intercom’s very own Chef Bots Inc. We would not be able to solve our very complicated calculations without the food fuel that they serve.”
Andrew looked over her shoulder and did not see the Chef Bots. She said, “Oh, the Chef Bots are in the back preparing more steak.”
Andrew pondered if they appeared as a grotesque or a human-like figure. The condiments that Harriet proclaimed were displayed on a long gray counter, barricaded by a heat-resistant red-stained two-inches-thick plastic barrier.
Harriet said, “My name is also Harriet. Please excuse my inability to address my name to you sooner.”
“I knew your name already. It was on your nametag.”
Releasing a mild blush, she answered, “Yes, of course.”
After being in the presence with her for a decent span of time, Andrew felt a bit attracted to her looks and even her pretentious nature. He admired her blue eyes and smile. She did not wear thick glasses like all the other lab researchers wore. The line began to move as more food was served.
The Chef Bots finally emerged from the back and met Andrew’s eye. The robots had a central red orb on its blocky head figure. Having the height of a normal human being, they obtained glossy white arms with small metal rods that held pots, pans, silverware, and all other sorts of kitchen equipment. Each Chef Bot had eight arms, and each arm did a different task. Small bent antennas rose from their blocky heads. Two small wheels laid under the bottom of the robot for motion around the kitchen. The red orb carried multiple cameras and sensors for motion sensing.
Andrew saw them cut the steak thinly but proportionately. They worked at a rapid rate and would lay their finished plates onto the gray counter for pickup. A tip jar expressed a message that read “Chef Bot Appreciation.” A lab researcher in front of Harriet slipped in a $10 bill to the jar.
Harriet, having her turn to order, said, “I will require two thinly-cut slices of medium-rare steak. My assorted condiment will require one cup of your luscious wine and two perfectly-cooked yams.” She dropped a $20 bill into the tip jar.
The Chef Bot blinked it’s red orb twice in retaliation and moved his blocky figure alongside the gray counter. Harriet followed the lead of the bot, and Andrew was next up to order.
Another Chef Bot rotated from the back of the kitchen and brought itself to the vision of Andrew. Unsure on what to exactly order, Andrew said, “I guess I’ll have medium-rare steak with mashed potatoes.”
The Chef Bot beeped once and said in a robotic manner, “Please specify the numeric value of your designated entree and assorted condiments.”
Andrew said, “Two and one.”
The bot questioned, “Two medium-rare full steaks or two medium-rare slices of steaks?”
“Two slices of steak.”
“One cup of mashed potatoes or one spoonful of mashed potatoes?”
Irritated on the constant questions, Andrew completed, “One cup of mashed potatoes, please.”
Thinking that the Chef Bot was done with him, he saw that the bot did not travel down the gray counter. He was waiting for the two beeps of the red orb. After a moment of silent pause, the Chef Bot asked, “Tip?”
Andrew was about to say “a big no” until he saw Harriet glancing at him from the end of the gray counter. Unfortunately, he took out his brown leather wallet from his right pocket and pulled out a $50 bill. Dropping the bill into the jar, the Chef Bot blinked its red orb twice and continued down the gray counter. Glancing at her glance, Andrew saw what seemed to be a minor smirk from Harriet. Andrew strolled down the gray counter and saw a big steak where his Chef Bot stood. The Chef Bot that was designated to Andrew took out its knife from one of its eight arms and precisely cut the steak two times. With one of its other hands , it reached to the left side of the counter and grabbed a plate to put the steak on. Further down the gray table appeared a big bowl of mashed potatoes ingrained into the gray counter. The Chef Bot’s hand that held the knife retracted and a spoon sprung up from that same rod. The spoon dug into the mashed potatoes and the spoon was flicked into a metallic cup. 15 more spoonfuls were required to fill the rest of the cup. Suddenly, the rest of the seven arms retracted their kitchen gadgets and sprung up spoons for each hand. The Chef Bot dug into the mashed potatoes with the seven other arms and poured the seven spoonfuls into the cup. The Chef Bot plopped the remaining eight spoonfuls with all eight hands at once.
The Chef Bot triggered its red orb three times and said, “You’re desired meal is done, sir. Please feel free to rate our service on your hand one through five.”
Andrew slowly displayed a high five with his right hand. Scanning the hand with the motion sensors in its red orb, the Chef Bot said, “Thank you for your generous rating, and enjoy your meal.”
Marked by the highly-advanced engineering, Andrew became more impressed with the technology of Spirit Intercom. Looking for where Harriet was, Andrew saw her sitting alone at a table on the opposite corner of the cafeteria. Why would she sit so far away from m e, Andrew thought. He travelled the whole length of the cafeteria until he reached her table. Harriet had her attention focused on her thinly-cut steak.
Andrew asked, “Mind if I sit here?”
Harriet focused her attention on Andrew and said, “Affirmative. I will welcome any former Spirit Intercom participants to accompany me.”
Andrew said, “I’ll take that as a yes then.” He sat down in a chair right next to Harriet, and studied the food on his plate. Taking a bite out of the medium-rare steak, he felt as if his taste buds couldn’t taste any of the steak. He asked himself, why does this steak taste like nothing? After small thought he realized that the food tasted so much richer in the Spirit World. He missed the enhanced senses. The bite of a purple apple tasted very sweet in the Spirit World while medium-rare steak, which he normally loved, tasted very bland.
Trying to engage in small talk, Andrew said, “As a prosthetic engineer myself, the structure of the Chef Bot hands are a work of art.”
Harriet said, “Indeed. It is quite superb how the Chef Bots can partake in eight task
s all at once.”
“If you don’t mind me asking, how do they focus their attention to multiple things at once?”
“Through the use of eight control units that are communicated through coded motor neurons, just like the ones that travelled to your brain when you were sent to the Spirit World.”
Andrew grew confused. He said, “I’ve always heard of coded sensory neurons, but I’ve never heard of coded motor neurons. Does that mean they code the movement of the robots?”
Harriet said, “Yes. Sensory neurons affect what you perceive, and motor neurons are used for muscle contraction and movement.”
Genuinely feeling intrigued, Andrew said, “Wow, that’s amazing! Are all the robots in the labs controlled by coded motor neurons?”
“In fact, yes. With the use of Robert’s findings in neuron coding, we can replicate it onto every robot in our labs.”
Andrew asked, “Are you a robot flowing with coded motor neurons, Harriet?”
Releasing a small chuckle, Harriet said, “I sure hope not.” Andrew and Harriet continued eating their food with occasional smiles at each other.
Andrew asked, “So technically, couldn’t Spirit Intercom program human movement with coded motor neurons?” Andrew grew a bit haunted by this question.
Harriet said, “Technically they could, but that would be awfully scary. Spirit Intercom would never do something that inhumane.”
Wanting to change the subject, Andrew said, “What are your thoughts on pre-registration? I mean—it is kind of unfair in my opinion.” Andrew put a spoonful of mashed potatoes into his mouth. “Especially for the poor people who are dying from the earthquakes.”
Harriet said, “From my standpoint I feel that it is a bit unfair that only the rich have their hands on this state-of-the-art technology. With all these ‘natural’ disasters happening, the world is in complete turmoil right now.”
“Could Spirit Intercom produce enough Contrivances for everyone in the world to use?” asked Andrew.
“Highly doubtful. It would require an astronomical amount of money to create millions of chairs. But maybe if you can bring a pitch to your father, we could implement a realistic increase of chairs for higher volumes of people to enter the Spirit World.”
Enlightened by her idea, Andrew said, “That actually could work. Maybe I could somehow convince him to make more chairs so that ‘more rich people’ could enter the Spirit World.”
Harriet said, “Yes. Give it your best shot.”
Andrew finished his “desired” meal and said, “It was a pleasure talking with you Harriet. I’ll see you around.”
Harriet said, “Take care. Maybe next time I can show you the ins and outs of my job.”
“Sounds great. Lastly, do you know where we place our dishes?”
“Just hand it in to one of the Chef Bots, and they will take care of it for you.”
Andrew finally said, “Alright, hope I can chat with you another time.” Andrew left the table and walked back towards the gray counter. Standing behind the counter, the Chef Bot grabbed the metallic cup and plate that Andrew handed in.
The Chef Bot stated, “Thank you for eating with us. Have a great day.”
Before Andrew placed his last step out of the cafeteria, multiple lab researchers gave him cheers and one of them said, “Go make history Andrew!” Several other applauses set off, and Andrew finally left the cafeteria.
Unsure on where to set his next destination, Andrew didn’t exactly know where his brother and father were. He figured that he ought to visit the black room with the Spirit Contrivance. Andrew also figured that he shouldn’t wait for Marco since he really wanted to explore more of the Spirit World. Because all the lab researchers were on their lunch break, he could access the Spirit World without supervision.
Before making any moves, Andrew thought, I better tell my roommate Kevin of all the shit that went down in these labs. He’ll freak when I tell him through Mindcord. Opening up Mindcord, he saw three messages. The first two messages were from his kids Matthew and Lisa.
Lisa wrote, “Excited to see you this weekend Dad. I hope we can play more Jenga when you get home.” Before reading the next message, Andrew realized that he had lost complete awareness of what time and day it was. He opened up the calendar from Mindcord and saw that today was Wednesday, and the time was 1:01 a.m. Having left his apartment Tuesday afternoon, he had been at the labs for a solid 12 hours. Sighing with relief, he was thankful that he was not out until the weekend. He opened up the next message from his son.
Matthew wrote, “How come you didn’t check in with me today like you usually do? I want you to go over with me on how to make a prosthetic thumb this weekend. Mom wanted me to go to bed early, so that is why I am writing this message to you at 9:03 p.m.” A bit touched by their messages, Andrew saw the last message. It was sent by Kevin.
Kevin wrote, “Dude, where have you been? It’s 12:43 a.m., and you’re still not here. What the heck even is Spirit Intercom? I read a message from your computer (sorry for invading your privacy), and it said for you to visit their labs to reach the ‘Spirit World’ or something. Let me know what the hell is going on.”
Andrew immediately wrote a message that said, “You have no idea what is going on here. I am able to travel to a dimension through the nervous system with the help of coded neurons. I had a huge bee almost attack me, and it’s been a crazy day! I am not sure when I am coming back. These labs are unbelievable, and I want to figure out more.”
Closing the Mindcord interface, he wanted to now visit the black room. Andrew was still amazed with how cutting-edge the technology was. Andrew had a problem: he was unaware how to go back to the black room, considering how many hallways and floors there were. He reckoned that he find a lab researcher to lead him to the room with the Spirit Contrivance. After a couple minutes of searching, Andrew found a lab researcher.
Trying to not sound too abrupt, Andrew asked, “Would you happen to know where the room with the Spirit Contrivance is?”
Turning his body around, the lab researcher just realized who he was talking to. He said, “Hey, it’s Andrew! It’s good to see you. Where is your father and lab crew?”
Andrew said, “They’re busy on their lunch break, and my father told me that I could visit the Spirit World by myself.”
Puzzled, the researcher asked, “Are you sure that he said that? He ordered all the lab researchers to not open the black room for anyone else but ourselves.”
“Do you want me to tell my father that you are not obeying my orders?”
“No please! Sorry, I was lost in which command I should follow. I’ll grant you access to the room. Come follow me.”
Andrew felt confident in this interchange. He said, “Good.” The lab researcher walked; Andrew followed. Andrew hoped that Rufus or his father wouldn’t catch a glimpse of him walking. After walking for about a span of five minutes, they finally made it to the locked door of the black room. Remembering that his father entered with the use of an eye recognition, Andrew was confused on how the lab researcher would handle this. The researcher dug into the left pocket of his lab coat and pulled out a one-inch by one-inch small black screen. He put his finger on the black screen for three seconds and a picture of an eye appeared. Raising the black screen to the eye recognition of the door, the lab researcher opened the entrance of the black room.
Andrew asked, “How in God’s name did you do that?”
The researcher said, “With a screen of Robert’s eye , we can open the door through the recognizing of his eye. He gives all the lab researchers a diagram of the eye so that we can use it for contrivance entrances.”
Andrew said, “Impressive.” They both entered the black room, and Andrew made sure to be in front of the lab researcher.
Andrew said, “I think I’m good from here. You can go now.”
The researcher said, “I think it would be better if I supervised you.”
Not wanting the researcher to be in his pres
ence, Andrew said, “I command you to leave now. Don’t disrespect my authority.”
The researcher looked alarmed and said, “Very well then.” He left the room, but Andrew caught him off guard before he left.
Andrew asked, “Please make sure to shut the door on your way out.”
“At your command, sir.” The researcher closed the door, and Andrew was alone in the black room. Andrew immediately took action. He walked up to the interdimensional communicator system and still saw that it was on, just like what he had thought. No lab researchers in sight, Andrew sat on the chair, attached the Spirit Emissary around his head, and felt ready until he realized something important. He needed the ignition key to start the machine up, and he had no knowledge where it could possibly be.
Thinking that the lab researcher couldn’t have gone that far, Andrew escaped out of the black room and looked for him. Running down the hallway that they came from, Andrew saw him walking down the hallway. He tapped on his shoulder and asked, “Could you please come back to the room? I need your help on something.”
The lab researcher was disgruntled and said, “I thought you didn’t want me back there before. You told me to shut the door on my way out. What could you possibly want, Mr. Rutano?”
“I need you to ignite the machine so that I can go to the Spirit World.”
“No way in hell, Andrew. I can’t just send you to the Spirit World without permission from your father. It’s against our code.”
Andrew said, “Please, just do this for me.” He tried coming up with a scheme to convince him. “My father wants me to do a task there, and he told me to do it myself.”
The researcher said, “Yeah right.”
“Do you want me to tell my father that you're not obeying his orders.”
“Don’t pull that card on me again. You better supply me with a better reason if you want me to ignite it.”
“Please—” Andrew looked at the researcher’s name tag. “Bradford, I need this. I’ll owe you one.”
Bradford said, “Alright. You owe me a favor during your time here. I’ll ignite the interdimensional communicator for you if you come through with my favor.”