Adam Brodie and the monster from the dark planet

Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven

Adam boarded a buggy and a chatty android drove him to the beehive structure which held the canteen. Adam was feeling hungry again. Despite his fears and upset he needed a good dinner. Entering the canteen he looked about for a vending node. The buggy dropped him off outside a very large beehive structure. Adam looked around him at the city complex, it's towers, its sky walkways its beehive buildings. Here he was able to hear the noise of the city, all fused together to sound like a pulsing drone. The ground appeared like a white sheet spread out in all directions, looking almost like an ice rink, mirror smooth, but it gripped the soles of his shoes as well as any concrete or stone surface. He turned and entered the beehive.

Jake had filled him in on what to expect in the canteen and it was one of the few times Adam had paid attention. The canteen was gigantic, so large the outer regions were shrouded in a white haze, and as usual for such a place in the Nexus where large numbers of students gathered, there was a barrage of noise and smells.

Adam located one of the numerous vending nodes quickly. Jake had told him it would look like a silver pillar bent slightly in the centre. Adam took his place behind a que of students. The student in front had a head that appeared like a human skull and he or she wore a long black gown and at his or her neck was a white frilled collar.

Whatever the student was he or she took their tray of food and glided silently away. Adam stood up to the vending node and was scanned by a red laser light. When it finished a free floating hologram of Winston Churchill hovered above the top of the node.

"And what may I serve you with, young man?" said Churchill.

"Cod and chips and chocolate ice cream and orange juice."

"Hmm, good English fare. Not sure about the orange juice. Would you care for dandelion and burdock instead?"

"No thanks."

Churchill took a hologram cigar from his hologram mouth and blew a hologram smoke ring at Adam.

"Very well," said the great man.

A panel opened on top of the pillar and a tray of food emerged from it. Adam took it.

"Bon appetite," said Churchill.

Adam walked away with his tray and looked for an empty table. Brigitte strode up with her tray.

"How was your group meeting?" she said.

"Wonderful," said Adam, heavy on irony. "Our house leader is Captain Trinity, a superhero."

"Can you see a free table?"

A table came bounding up on its four legs, accompanied by two chairs.

"Ooh, choose me!" it said.

"We have ourselves a table," said Adam.

Adam and Brigitte sat down at the table and put their trays on it. Just about everything in the Nexus was made of smart materials, and all the furniture were robots so a talking, moving table and chairs did not surprise them.

"What have you got?" said Adam.

"A cold meat platter," said Brigitte. "Iceberg lettuce, cold cuts, snow peas. For desert, baked Alaska and ice tea."

"I had Winston Churchill serving me. Who did you have?"

"Krampus."

"Who?"