The ceiling light in the living room was dimmed to the lowest setting, casting a pale white halo over the dining table. The sauce from the synthetic steaks had congealed into dark red lumps at the bottom of the plate, with a delicate texture. The 3D-printed vegetables remained extraordinarily green, even if stir-fried, exuding a fresh taste.
Feng Ju sat at the dining table, mechanically picking up a piece of meat with his chopsticks and chewing it, yet his taste buds seemed to detect no flavor at all.
His gaze never left the television screen, as if the flickering images were his true sustenance.
"Ladies and gentlemen, here is today's weather report."
The female host showed a standard smile with eight teeth visible. Her skin had an unnatural pearl sheen under the strong light, obviously a result of the latest nano-level cosmetic mask.
The voice also seemed synthesized with precision tuning, each syllable timed to the millisecond:
