The Space Spoon novel Chapter 90

To avoid making a mess out of things, the Space Spoon remained hidden behind RK10’s moon, Rurar.

C1313 was a bit upset that they wouldn’t land on the moon. Instead, she and Jackeye took a shuttle toward the planet and docked safely at the edge of the outer ring. The sky above their heads glinted gold, with bands of pink, lilac, and silver.

When the shuttle docked, the pair disembarked and headed toward the spaceport. Only a few hovercars appeared in sight since most of the beings around here didn't need one. They left the docks behind and strolled through the crowd.

"It looks like it's not a normal day on RK10," Jackeye commented. "We should have come earlier. It might be too late to attend the event."

“Oh, don’t worry about that."

It was difficult to move through the swarm of entities that went back and forth. Each robotic component glittered in the sun, so it appeared that the conference was going to be aluminum-ating.

C1313 had a comprehensive map of RK10 in her memory bank, so they had no trouble getting to the gates to the inner core. Outside the entrance, a line formed.

The robots scanned each individual with a metal detector. Once the device detected metallic objects, the machine announced, "You are clear to proceed."

A new security protocol, or so C1313 guessed.

A droid greeted everyone just outside the gates, repeatedly asking the same question.

“Are you a robot, or do you define yourself as a robot?”

“Yes,” C1313 answered immediately.

The reception droid pointed for her to enter. Then it turned to Jackeye. “Are you a robot, or do you define yourself as a robot?”

“Y-yes,” Jackeye muttered.

The gates led him into the inner core of RK10. A dome-shaped region was densely populated there. The majority of residents did not require sleeping, so there were no normal living spaces. Instead, the whole location seemed to be a cross between a gathering place and a party bar.

C1313 waited for Jackeye near the entrance. “Wow, long time no see!”

“We were together just a few seconds back.”

“It all depends on the unit you use for measuring time.” She shrugged. “If I were to count it in zeptoseconds, then the number would be quite large, thus a long time.”

(A/N: A zeptosecond is a trillionth of a billionth of a second.)

Once inside the event hall, the duo saw that the place was packed. Robots of all kinds gathered to listen to the speeches. A hologram of various solar systems projected onto the ceiling above them, and stars shone brightly.

"Another round," C133 said, putting a credit bar into the bartender's grasp. "Oh, and do you know where I can locate a man called Rahul?"

The guy at the bar, a brawny android, maintained the same emotionless expression as C1313.

“Not on RK10,” he replied. “But there’s one named Rahul on Rurar. He's the only one able to come and go as he pleases from the moon jail.”

“Moon jail?”

"Yeah. Didn't you know?" The bartender slid another fossil fuel shake toward her on the countertop. "All completely biological organisms that dare to land on RK10 are thrown there. No one ever leaves Rurar. Except for Rahul."

"Thanks." C1313 nodded. She then turned to face Jackeye. "Are you exhausted? Do you want to go, or should I just send a message to the ship with the information, and we remain a little longer?"

“Do I look tired?”

“Good point. You’re a tough cookie.” Seeing his befuddled stare, C1313 continued. “Sorry, since I've taken to become the ship's chef upon myself, I started coming up with a slew of cooking references. Let me send the data stream, and we can continue our date.”

Jackeye blushed. He had to keep repeating to himself that C1313 didn't realize that she was flirting with him.