“He is not a household appliance, he is my therapeutic assistance dachshund!” Lukas shouted desperately, while the customs officer at Hamburg-Fuhlsbüttel airport skeptically fiddled with his glasses.
Wurst hovered exactly three centimeters above the conveyor belt of the baggage check. His OLED eyes glowed in an innocent baby blue, while his bionic floppy ears wobbled in sync with the ventilation system.
“Young man,” said the officer, tapping on his handheld terminal. “In 2026, many things are allowed. Holograms, robo-cats on your lap, even these talking smart suitcases for all I care. But this monstrosity of a dog has an integrated fusion battery and three unlicensed network interfaces. If it starts hacking the cockpit on the plane, we have a problem.”
“Objection, esteemed security officer,” Wurst interjected with his deepest, most authoritative voice. “I have already adapted my flight algorithms to Lufthansa’s guidelines. During the flight, I am in ‘basket mode’. However, if the crew serves inferior tomato juice, I am ready to optimize the onboard kitchen.”
Lukas slapped his hand to his forehead. Behind him in the queue, a restless murmur was already starting. He grabbed his smartphone frantically and called Amina. “Amina! Wurst is being arrested! They don’t want to let him on board!”
Amina’s face appeared on his display. She was sitting in a bright café in Nairobi, birds chirping in the background, and Kiko was climbing on her shoulder. “Don’t panic, Lukas. Let me talk to the officer for a moment.”
Lukas held the display out to the customs officer. Amina gave the officer her most professional, winning graphic designer smile. “Good day, officer. My name is Amina. I head the certification office for AI pet safety in East Africa. I scanned Wurst’s code yesterday. If you access the exemption permit for ‘Flying Assistance Systems, Class B’ on your terminal, you will find his registration. I entered it two hours ago.”
The officer looked from the display to his terminal, typed something in, and raised his eyebrows in surprise. “Indeed. ‘Wurst Weber-Nairobi-Express’. Very well... You may pass. But if that thing barks during the steep climb, you’re in trouble.”
Lukas breathed deeply, grabbed Wurst under his arm – which felt like a heavy, warm radiator – and ran to the gate. “Amina, you’re a genius! How did you manage that so fast?”
“Kiko sneaked into the Hamburg customs system and ‘beautified’ the database a bit,” Amina whispered grinning. “Now hurry up. Your plane is about to take off. Nairobi awaits!”