The Prince and the Programmer by Pierce Cassandra

Author:Pierce, Cassandra [Pierce, Cassandra]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Published: 2019-12-22T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 5

“This is wonderful,” Avo said after swallowing down a large spoonful of broth. “I wish I were a prince so I could have my own dishes individually prepared, too.”

“I suspect you would find the duties of a prince onerous, however delicious the food. I know I would.” Jasno smiled, enjoying the expression of pleasure on Avo’s face, now permanently free of the helmet. Over the course of the past few days, Avo’s duties had gradually evolved from serving as a guard to an assistant in the synth lab. For the most part, Hyrzon left them alone, which allowed Jasno to give Avo his new creations to sample and comment on. Already he had doubled his store of formulae, some of which he had been able to memorize. The rest he had stored on memory cards he kept in a special box Hyrzon had reluctantly provided. Hyrzon himself had no need of such boxes, having not developed any new dishes in years. Jasno had discovered a storeroom stacked with empty ones and a good many unused memory cards as well.

“I wouldn’t care. Plate after plate of delicious food, strong wine to wash my cares away, and live gravity-free wrestling in the royal arena would make up for any inconvenience as far as I’m concerned.”

“If you say so.”

Avo reached for a piece of spice cake and enthusiastically gulped that down, too. “More jixi nuts,” he suggested.

“You think?”

“I do.”

“Anyway, I already reprogrammed the mess hall synthesizer. Haven’t you noticed an improvement?” That particular task had been easy enough to accomplish, since the mass-produced menu resided on the same server as Tergus’s private dining choices. When he had seen Hyrzon’s haphazard programming there, he knew why Avo had complained about the crew’s food earlier. Some of the dishes were little better than the raw polymers Darex had complained about back on Port Equinox.

“Yes. It’s much better. Everyone says so. You’re a sort of hero down there at mealtime. I won’t deny that they gave me some of the credit, too.” Avo beamed. “Still, it’s not the same as a private chef, is it?”

“I guess not.” Jasno typed in the code for more jixi nuts and pressed the formulate key. The synth unit hummed as a fresh piece of cake took shape in front of them. “Go ahead. Try it now.”

Avo grabbed the cake from the slot as soon as it was finished. He took a bite and smacked his lips. “Perfect! But why don’t you try some, too? Don’t you like eating your own creations?”

“Well, of course I sample most of them at some point, especially before I store the final formula. I have to admit, I look at meals a little differently now. When I’m eating, it’s like I’m still on duty.”

“I guess that makes sense.” Grinning, Avo downed the rest of the cake. Jasno was glad that their friendship was growing steadily. He suspected that they could grow much closer, given time and a slight effort on Jasno’s part. At the same time, pursuing that angle would be unfair to Avo.

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