We have Vending Machines. We use the regularly to get stuff easy and convenient.
(If you want) This story can be about a vending machine for Deathworlders and Havenworlders alike with various Special Items. -- Anon Guest
They've had many names over the years. Dispensing machines. Conveniences. Some species add the suffix 'bot' to whatever their contents are, like "drinkbot" or "foodbot" or "findingsbot", but such practices have fallen by the wayside since the rise of the AI Alliance. It was the Humans who gave the automated commerce cabinets a permanent name, especially if there were arrays of them in one place.
"Vendomat."
It neatly encapsulates the concept in a minimum number of syllables whilst conveying the maximum amount of information. In this case, "a place where two or more vending machines can be found." Like all Human portmanteaus, it is both intrinsically useful and inherently ridiculous at the same time. It certainly takes a lot less time to say than the more complicated and clear sentence. Hardly any of that history mattered when one has just swallowed your last Seconds and not delivered the refreshing beverage or snack of one's aspirations.
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