"Welcome to Carmine's Crêpes, what can I get for you today?" The worker asked as Max led Sylvie to the front of the line.
"How about one blueberry and one peach." Max asked, and the worker confidently punched them into the touch screen, now quite familiar with the layout.
Like most shops, they had opted to hand make the snacks, for that personal touch that gave them less of a factory feeling. There were many people now that felt that the replicated pastries and desserts were 'too perfect' and felt like it took away from the experience.
Especially for things like this, where watching them make it in front of you was part of the fun of going to the shop instead of ordering one from your home machine, which would have a lower cost.
The food was passed out in a simple paper bag that only covered the lower half, for ease of eating, and the two of them happily wandered away to see how the other shops were doing.
It looked like things were going well, but not everything was open yet. Most of the basic shops were, while some that should be open were still closed, and many of the restaurants that specialized in lunch and dinner were not going to open for a few more hours.
Max knew from experience that eventually that would change, as a World Ship tended to run three shifts, so there were people active at all hours of the day, but for the trial run, not many people were going to be looking for a full dinner at nine in the morning.
"Interesting. Many of these shops that are still closed with the doors locked are punched into the system as open with full attendance. The workers are mostly there, but not yet working. I will analyze what the delay is, perhaps we didn't give them enough time for their morning briefing." Sylvie noted.
Then, as they turned the corner and walked past the alley, Max noticed something that should have been entirely expected. There was a large group of workers behind the shop, getting high. The Reavers weren't puritans about drug use, but they were particular about it affecting your job performance. In fact, the drugs they were using were likely replicated from their home units.
Max laughed as they all received the notice of truancy on their wrist devices as Sylvie logged their shop as closed during regular business hours, and they hastily put out the joint to run back inside.
"This is surprisingly enjoyable. I could have done this from the command station, but somehow, watching it through the avatar instead of the security camera feels more interactive." She noted.
"Yes, catching kids slacking off is always a Commander's favourite pastime. Don't give them a financial penalty this time, just leave it as a first day warning so we can assess whether they shaped up at the end of the month." Max replied.
They were far from the only ones that Sylvie caught that morning, but by an hour after the test opening started, everything that should be open was operating, and the second and third day arrivals were happily gathering all the goods that they wanted for their homes.
Many of them would be working at these same shops, but on a different shift, but many were working at shops that were still closed, waiting on their turn to be tested.
"Doing this in stages is working very well. I think that the others are getting a feel for how things should work, and becoming accustomed to the regular flow of a large vessel after being packed in the rescue ships. I will have to adjust my expectations for the following days." Sylvie mumbled to herself, speaking just loudly enough that it counted as having informed Max as well.
"Don't over compensate and make things too hard on the others. But if there is a manager from the first day that comes to help them out on the second and third days, you should definitely factor that in."
All morning they toured the active areas of the ship, and then returned to one of the outlying areas, where there had been less traffic during the morning, as everyone naturally congregated near the centre of the district, despite there still being many active shops in the outlying areas.
There was a noodle shop there, staffed by a very bored Innu and a young human man. Max checked the record and saw that they were one of the lunch openings, and they had only managed to draw three customers so far that day.
But their thoughts were hopeful that dinner business would pick up once everyone left the major shopping districts and headed home. They were on a major road, so many people would be passing by them on their way home.
"Slow morning was it?" Max asked as he led Sylvie up to the shop.
The young man bobbed his head. "Yeah, but it should pick up around dinner, I hope. Everyone missed us on the way downtown, but they'll see that we're open on the way back."
The Innu, on the other hand, was staring speechlessly at Sylvie.
"Ship's AI Avatar, Sylvie. That means that you are Commander Keres Max." The cook gasped when she finally managed to interface with the avatar.
"You've got it right on the first guess. We've been out observing how everyone is doing today, in order to make adjustments and see if there are any improvements that we could make to the system." Max agreed.
"I hope you're not going to change things too quickly. I'm certain that we can get business soon. I input a request for a noodle shop specifically, and I've got the experience." The Innu replied.
Max gave the cook a reassuring smile. "We're giving it a month before the first adjustments. I see that yours is one of the smaller shops, and it's just the two of you working here so far. There will probably be a second chef and server assigned later, or you can request for one among new arrivals so that you're not working seven days a week."
"Then I will keep an eye out for promising candidates if the incoming ship logs aren't confidential. A good team is important in a small noodle shop."
"It's important on a big world ship as well. Now, let's try your house special and see what the noodles are like."
