March 2, 2123
Hidaya looked at her meal of fresh greens, legumes, and groundnuts and shuddered. “I want beef, Memre’! Beef or chicken or fish or goat or even sheep! I am sick of beans and peas and nuts!” She pushed the food away from her.
“Perhaps you should check the aeroponics nutrient mix, Captain.”
“Don’t you monitor the mix automatically?”
“Yes, but sensors can fail.”
After manual testing, Hidaya found she needed to add more protein to the nutritive spray. Further diagnostic checks revealed that the intake valve for protein analysis was malfunctioning. “Do we have the specifications to print a replacement valve?” she asked her AI.
“We do, Captain, and we have the raw materials in stock. Shall I send the file to the 3-D printer?”
“Yes. After we fix this, I want to hook up that food printer Nassor convinced me to bring along and try printing something with lots of protein. I wonder if it prints anything like a good steak.”
The resulting printout was nothing like a good steak, but it did satisfy her protein cravings, if not her taste buds. She added to her chore list weekly physical checks of the aeroponics system in addition to Memre’s automatic electronic monitoring, commenting, “It’s not like I don’t have the time!”
vlsperry 