Starship For Rent by M.R. Forbes

Author:M.R. Forbes [Forbes, M.R.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-02-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 26

By the time we found Matt and Alyssa inside the assembler compartment—directly across from the galley—Ally was already holding a folded yellow flight suit with red stripes down the legs. She had several scrunchies for her hair circling her left wrist and calf-high white boots with chunky soles. Magboots, Matt called them, explaining that they were a necessary piece of apparel on a starship for those moments when gravity went by the wayside. Slide-stepping to move across the deck beat the hell out of being tossed head-first into the overhead. She also had a small stack of neatly folded undergarments near the door.

“So, just to clarify,” Tyler said. “You throw whatever kind of extra stuff you have lying around into a receptacle, and Asshole breaks it down to its component molecules to make new, useful stuff?”

“Exactamundo,” Matt replied.

“So why is it called an assembler, instead of a re-assembler?”

“Which one rolls off the tongue more easily?”

“Good point. So what if you only threw, say, gummy bears into it, and then asked it for a shirt? Would you get a gummy shirt?”

Matt stared at him like he had two heads. “You know, we never thought to try that. Asshole complains when he needs materials to make an item. He’ll say something along the lines of, ‘Yo, jabroni, I need some hydrogen and iron if you want me to fill that order.’ So my guess is, no.”

“That’s too bad. It might be fun to wear a gummy shirt. Especially if you get hungry and Asshole’s out of raw materials to make more food.”

“Very funny.”

“I try.”

“Try harder.” I watched as the wall in front of us moved aside, revealing a larger compartment. A second folded flight suit, this one orange with white stripes, rested on the floor.

“This is so awesome,” Alyssa said, entering the compartment to retrieve it. “If you get tired of an outfit, you literally throw it away and make a new one.”

“You look like you’re all set for hop racing,” Tyler said.

“I just wanted something I couldn’t find at Macy’s,” she replied. “I think I saw Taylor Swift wear something like this.”

“If anyone can recycle one thing to make another thing, does that mean there aren’t any stores in the Spiral?” I asked. “Or do they only sell recipes and raw materials? Or what?”

“There are still stores,” Matt replied. “Most people in the Spiral can’t afford a medium assembler like this one, never mind an industrial version. For the most part, businesses use them to make the products they sell to customers. They have specialized recipes that they guard with Coke-level secrecy, meaning only they can provide the specific, authentic item. Mini-assemblers like the one in the galley are more common, but for personal use, they might only hold enough material for a few meals at a time, so people need to be more aware of what they’re tossing in.”

“It’s incredible.”

“Two outfits and some intimates are enough for me right now,” Ally said. “I’m sure you’re both eager to try the assembler out.

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