Static Reflections: Book 1 of The Mortal Guard Series

Chapter 6 - Nick: Intermission

Chapter 6 - Nick: "Intermission"

Nick followed the signs down the path until he was back at the Plaza, trailing the delicious smell of Chinese food right to the restaurant's door from earlier. He immediately appreciated the authentic look of a Chinese restaurant, with its pagoda-shaped roof and an intricate red wooden door that had dark glass between the weaving wood.

Nick grabbed the golden handle of the right door and pulled it open, hit immediately with the full force of the smell—definitely one of his favorites. A sign read "Please take your seat," so he did just that, going to a nearby booth and sitting down on the squishy fabric, looking at the black table before him. The hyena looked left and right for a menu, and when he looked back, his eyes widened. Walking over to him was a dark orange contraption with metal limbs, metal hands and feet, a glowing frozen smile, and two eyes that were just as bright.

On its sizable rectangular-shaped chest, a large screen showed many square icons with pictures of food items and some words under each food. To the right of the screen was a black device that Nick couldn't quite make out as the robot came closer. It walked up to his table and then froze in front of him, the hyena blinking in response. "Um, hello?" Nick tried.

"Hello, unregistered member," the robot spoke in a rather non-robotic voice that sounded like that of an older man. "We have only the finest authentic Chinese cuisine."
"Cool . . ." He was talking to a robot that was also his server. Wow.
"I have noticed that you are unregistered in the M.G.E.S. Would you like to register now?"

"M.G.E.S.?" Nick tilted his head.

"M.G.E.S. stands for Mortal Guard Establishment System. It is the system used for all members to purchase food and services from all Hephaestus Bots in Prostasia. The robots will also store your solvency card information, and you can check your balance at any time and extract cash from any Hepheastus Bot in the current vicinity. You will also be able to personalize the system to your liking with custom nicknames and colors. However, there are dedicated ATM bots located around the Plaza. Would you like to register now?"

There's that name again, Nick thought, continuing to stare at the unmoving face of the robot. "Uh, okay."

"I will first take your picture to use as your ID photo. Please be ready in five seconds." The Hephaestus Bot began counting down from five. Nick adjusted in his seat and had no idea what face to make. The machine put him on the spot! Should he do a blank face or a smile? Would anyone else be seeing this? How did he look, anyway? Ah, whatever. He opted for a small smile, and from an unknown place on the robot's body, there was a click. "Now, I will take some personal information."

"Okay."

"Full name?"

"Nicholas Flynn."

"Preferred name?"

"Nick."

"Date of birth?"
"February 23, 2000."

"Residence?"

"Uh . . ." Nick blinked, then shook his head. "None. Not here, at least."

"No residence detected. You will need to update your profile in the system once you have a place of residence," the robot told him.

"Alright. Go on." Nick waved his hand.

"Favorite color?" the robot asked.

"Pink."

Immediately, the UI on the Hephaestus Bot's torso screen turned from blue to light pink. "Confirm changes?"

"Yes. I like that," Nick grinned.

"Do you have your solvency card, Nick?" the bot asked.

"Oh, yeah," the hyena nodded, reaching into his pocket and pulling out the silver card Regis had given him.