LAPINS

He abandoned himself to the smell emitted by each page and tried to figure out what to order. Anacrodon gizzard, crusty xeres, staphylogenes wings – there were so many temptations. Not to mention the real delights promised by the artistically prepared salads of alms, phytohelees, or morphostyls. And the sweets… The glazed lymphodocs…

He was pulled out of this olfactive delirium by the light and sound sign requesting his order and preference for the serving android. From the great number of culinary combinations, he chose the one having an indicative QI and then watched, on the table's little screen, the folder containing the personnel available. He went for the beautiful Task Me, nicknamed The Persian Cat after the actress had the role of the scanner Oldernon's adjutant in the serie of polemographic movies that made collapse, at least partially, prejudices, myths, governments.

In spite of the purists and even in spite of the laws that banned the use for commercial purposes of everything that could have something to do with the fighting instinct of the human race, polemography really gained millions of fans that used to block the communication lines with their recording requests, only to be able to admire, in short sequences, a 38 bullet or the stock of a tank, or, in the most innocent movies, a fist tussle… The firms that used to intermediate this trade established on the initial embarassment of the solicitants, had disappeared long ago, the records starting to be obtained by requests directly to the producers. Meanwhile, dozens, hundreds of clandestine magazines came out and the polemographic literature was printed in an impressive number of copies. The social phenomenon existed, and the sociologists predicted essential changes in the society's life.

The Final Ritual was taking place to a table next to his. The waiter, a copy of the psi-lifters' absolute champion, was assisting his customer who, at the end of the feast, was smelling once again, as a recap, the Stimulent – the natural equivalent of the meals he just had.

A gentle tinkling announced the presence of three copies having the looks of Task Me. They lined up in front of El-Eftis, presenting him the trays with the ordered dishes.

On blue Kaloghera porcelain plates, whose edges were engraved with a game of golden sparse lines representing stylized helioplantooshes, the Stimulent was offered to him. He sniffed the component dishes one by one, performing the Initial Ritual. Then he made the first Sign. They could proceed.

The first Task Me put the crucible containing the Total Soup in front of him. Steams and flavours of all soups in the Acknowledged Universe were charmingly rising from the plate with Stimulent-soup. He started to eat, without taking his eyes off the girl's face.

Hubbub all over the saloon. El-Eftis was eating the Stimulent.

The Persian Cat was reciting famous lines from "Maceta, mon amour", lines that, by the images they evoqued, were supposed to react with the consumer's gastric juices, increasing the Stimulent's effect. At the end, she handed him the linen napkin having printed on it, with golden letter, the words: "enjoy today's meal".

El-Eftis made the second Sign.

The next Task Me put the crucible with mushrooms' stew on the table.

All the customers in the saloon were staring at him in total stillness, as if they were dining in the garden with statues by Litowski, the sculptor who, embracing the Humanist Movement, initiated a real revolution in the art of those days, bringing the Man to the center of attraction.

This time, the Cat was wearing the outfit from "Gone with the Bombardier", one of the most expensive super-production of all Times.