I stand at attention near the servants door in the dining room. My master sits alone at the head of an obnoxiously long table eating his breakfast and reading an article on his portable holo projector. The whole room silent save for the light clink of his silverware meeting fine porcelain. He has already finished his scrambled egg, hash brown, chili concoction, and is sipping lightly on his coffee. That is a relief, he will only do this for twenty more minutes. My back is complaining from standing still for so long. I catch a quick glance at the holo image to see what news there is in the world today. The construction of the new speed tram is finally finished. The young girl who disappeared last month was found to be just fine in her family's own home. The same a usual. I let my eyes slip back down to the floor before anyone notices. It is only me and my master in the room and he is turned away from me, but it is a force of habit.

        He takes another slow sip of his coffee and scrolls down, but something catches his eye and and he chokes on the sip. The cup clicks back onto the table and he stands so forcefully he knocks the chair to the ground. By the time I look up he is already out of the room. Something must have upset him. I brush the thought away and set the chair back upright. I gather the dishes and napkin and disappear through the servant's door. After the dishes are dispensed into the washer and the table is scrubbed and shined I start on my usual daily chores, but before I get very far my master flies down the main staircase and grabs his coat. He struggles a little getting it on and his arm gets stuck for a moment. He doesn't seem to notice this as he throws the front door open and slams it behind him.

        "Yes, master Connely." I say in the absence of an order. I don't mind, though. He doesn't know I exist and I want to keep it that way.