Suzanne and Cecil entered the kitchen, where Merlin had already set the table for two. Very clean looking cutlery and drinking glasses were arranged on a square table made of dark, thick wood. On it stood a glass pitcher full of lemonade, condensation dripping down its side.

The servant stood in front of a blocky device that looked like a cooking range with a gleaming white stone surface. As they watched, a faint light emanated from it, and tendrils of steam puffed into the air from the center of the rectangular top. Something rose from the surface; it only took a few seconds to fully appear: a fragrant, hot dish on a large oval ceramic plate. The precisely sliced chunks of meat covered in thick brown sauce smelled fresh and spicy. As far as she could judge with her extremely limited experience, it wouldn’t have looked out of place in an expensive restaurant. Cecil looked impressed.

“I hope you like East-Asian food,” he said, addressing Suzanne.

“Yeah, I do,” she answered. She noticed the cutlery included some chopsticks; Merlin had thought of everything, apparently.

“Won’t you sit down please, madam and sir? It will only take a moment longer,” Merlin said in a pleasant, precise baritone voice, taking the hot dish from the top of the machine and gracefully setting it on the table.

“So, how does that thing work?” Cecil asked, pointing at the machine. “Does it put the food together out of individual atoms or something like that?”

“Unfortunately I am unable to answer questions about the working principles of the dispenser, sir. Please rest assured that it is in perfect working order, and your food is absolutely safe to consume,” Merlin answered. In another few seconds, another dish appeared on the dispenser, this time a large porcelain bowl of cooked rice. Steam wallowed as the servant put it beside the other dish on the table, followed by two small bowls containing salad. Suzanne and Cecil sat down.

Cecil waved his hand over the plate of fried duck in sweet and sour sauce, testing the scent. Suzanne caught some of it too; she wasn’t sure what she had expected, but there wasn’t anything that seemed off about the smell of the food. It had been a while since her last meal; she found her mouth watering and her stomach rumbled a little. Cecil seemed to have developed cold feet when it came to actually eating the food. He’d picked up a piece of meat with his chopsticks and was looking at it from all sides, staring at it intently as if inspecting a strange new species of bug. She grabbed the fork, ignoring the chopsticks which she never had got the hang of. 

“Well, here goes,” she said, sticking the fork into piece of meat and putting it into her mouth before she could change her mind. She chewed with her eyes closed, ready to spit the mouthful out at the smallest sign of there being something wrong with the food. There wasn’t anything wrong with it; it was absolutely delicious. She sighed contentedly, and then blinked in surprise that she had done it. Cecil looked taken aback at her reaction.

“How is it?” he asked.

“It’s good. Amazing, actually,” she replied, eating some more. She tried the salad: leaves of fresh, green lettuce and cherry tomatoes covered in a lightly herby vinegar dressing. Any fears she might have had that the food created by the strange machine would taste bad or artificial in some way were blown away. The salad tasted as if it the vegetables had been plucked mere moments ago. Merlin stepped closer to the table and poured the lemonade from the pitcher into their drinking glasses. Suzanne sipped a little of the ice cold liquid; it was sweet, but not overpoweringly so, with a natural lime flavor. She thought it might be the best lemonade she had ever had. Cecil seemed convinced by now and was also tasting the food, first gingerly, then started gulping it down ravenously. They both didn’t talk for a good while as they ate their meals. Only when they were down to the last shreds of salad and finishing off the lemonade did they speak again.

“Wow,” Cecil said, wiping his forehead where a little sheen of sweat had formed. “That was incredible.” Suzanne nodded, feeling sated and slightly sleepy from the carb-rich meal. Merlin made an “ahem” noise and addressed Cecil. 

“Sir, there is someone at the front door. Would you like me to escort them in?” the servant asked.