chapter 3

People in low paid manual jobs were made redundant first. Once all the blue collar jobs were gone, the bots took over the white collar ones.
At first, the humans did not mind. They were being made redundant with a generous package. Companies no longer had to pay any salaries, so they could afford it.
Prices stayed the same to maintain competitiveness. The government even started making a profit. They paid off the national debt first, then with almost all of the human population not in work, they could afford to give every citizen a monthly payment.
At first, the humans loved it.They could catch up on all the household jobs that they had been meaning to get around to and not had time because they were too busy working. They had time to meet their mates for that round of golf they had promised each other.
The leisure and sports industries blossomed as many people flocked to them for entertainment.
Extreme sports were also possible for thrill seekers.
Some people decided that finishing work was the ideal time to get slim and fit. They booked in at the gym and managed to go every day for a month, but the next month, it dwindled to every other day, then it became twice a week and then not at all.
The whole of society changed. Social events and parties occurred when there had previously been very little demand, simply because people had more time to socialise.
Fast food restaurants closed. Only humans ate and humans had more time to sit down and eat leisurely. What might have been a quick ten minute stop for a burger was now a long drawn out meal of several courses over several hours. Convenience food at the supermarket disappeared as people had their own bots at home to prepare meals from scratch every day. Bots had impeccable time management as they did not need to sleep.
They would be busy early in the morning, so that when a household was woken in the morning (by their bot) the whole house was spotlessly clean, all the washing had been done, dried, ironed and hung up neatly, in a rational order in the wardrobe. All the human had to do was to get up out of bed, go into the shower (the bit was on hand if they needed assistance to scrub their back or fetch a new bottle of shampoo.) then they would get dressed, wearing the clothes selected for them by the bot. The bot would help the ladies with styling their hair and applying makeup. Nevertheless, when they emerged from the bedroom, breakfast was ready waiting for them.
Most bots laid on a hotel style breakfast every day for their humans. They could have a choice of cereals, with a selection of milks, they could then have a selection of cooked foods, such as sausage, bacon, bacon in maple syrup, haggis, hash browns, fried tomatoes, fried mushrooms, fried bread, baked beans in tomato sauce. They could have eggs cooked however they liked them - fried, poached, boiled, scrambled or made into an omelette. They could have as much toast as they liked with whichever spread or jam they wanted on it. They could have a healthy bowl of fresh fruit if they wanted, followed by a selection of cured meats and cheeses. They could have bagels with cream cheese and smoked salmon, or a stack of American pancakes dripping in maple syrup. Or they could have French croissants or a pain au chocolat. Danish pastries were also popular.
To drink, there was a choice of fruit juices, coffee, tea, fruit tea, herbal tea, milk shakes, or fizzy pop.
Everything was freshly made. Everything tasted fantastic.
Breakfast became a long drawn out affair lasting two hours or more before leaving the table.

Meeting freinds over lunch was extremely popular. This could be done at home, in a restaurant, or they could go out for a picnic. As with breakfast, there was lots of choice, with the emphasis on having a slow leisurely meal of several courses that could last up to three hours.

Dinner in the evening often did not start until eight o'clock and could go on until midnight, or later. Again it was a multi-course affair. A five course dinner was the most fashionable, served with a different wine for every course.

Afternoon tea became popular because not only was it sociable, but it was a convenient time to have a snack between an early lunch and a late dinner. It consisted of dainty sandwiches with various fillings, scones of different flavours and cakes.

It was not surprising that the humans started to put on weight. During the day they were often so bloated that they could not consider doing any exersise.

Etiquette changed to match the new society. Leaving food on a plate was frowned upon, no matter how much that particular food was disliked. Humans could often select the quantity of food they chose from serving cloches. It was expected for them to eat everything on that plate.
Napping between meals was the in thing. Restaurants added back rooms with loungers and beds for people to be more comfortable after a large meal.

As their meals were so spread out throughout the day and they were enjoying themselves, humans did not know how much they were consuming.