Hunger

It was almost time for your third meal of the day, which would normally be called supper or possibly dinner. However, with your new schedule having four meals per day, you'd now need four unique names to refer to them instead of three. Considering that dinner could refer to both the mid-day or evening meal, that was probably the logical choice to refer to a meal between lunch and supper. Thus, it was time for dinner.

Already, you'd become quite familiar with the layout of the 3rd and 4th levels of the ship, as well as operation of the elevator and door controls. As you headed to the medical bay, you wondered when you might be able to enjoy meals in the dining hall instead. By the time you reached the medical bay, the hunger pangs in your abdomen were even stronger than before.

The Grey doctor was there, and he seemed almost oblivious to your presence. However, after a few moments, he made a small gesture with his hand, and a silver bottle rose from a nearby panel. Then he continued focusing on the screen, ignoring you.

"Um...I've got a question about my new stomach," you began. "Is it normal for it to feel hungry? I mean it's a machine, right? So I wasn't expecting it to be able to generate that kind of sensation."

The doctor turned toward you and seemed surprised. "Your matter-to-energy converter does not connect to your synaptic pathways, nor does it produce any chemicals that should trigger that kind of response. I will need to examine this more closely to ensure that there isn't something wrong with the converter or your other transplanted organs."

"Let me guess - another excuse to use the probe?" you quipped.

"Since you're about to eat, I will begin with an external sensor to check the converter behavior. If that doesn't identify any issues, then the probe may be needed." He moved to a nearby console and activated a control. "This will monitor your power converter. Whenever you are ready, you may consume the semen."