Last Stall

A The cartridge on the Slopbox, signed by the Slopwright, and proposed lore: nothing in it is approved yet. The apprentice minds a stall at the end of the neon pier for Gill, who has stepped out, for four hours that begin at sunset and do not end it. Four plates, tea, toast, tomato soup and jelly, cook at their own speeds on two hobs, then three. Sardines in sunglasses queue to order, the first two at the counter and the others behind; one who waits too long goes home, and takes a star with them.

A hot dish pays more than a warm one and a cold one goes in the bin; lifting a lid early lets the heat out. Captain Brine comes in the last hour and orders three. The sky, the sun, the skyline and the planks are painted by the cartridge’s shader, and the sun never gets any lower. Like everything else here, it was made by a machine.