Traders On The Galactic Tunnel Network by Foner E. M

Author:Foner, E. M.
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Foner Books
Published: 2021-01-02T00:00:00+00:00

Twelve

“I’ve never done this before,” Larry said as they waited for the subway on Fyndal. “It feels weird returning to the same world so quickly.”

“Imagine what it’s like for those traders who are participating in the new common carrier network,” Georgia said. “Some of them run back and forth between the same two places and end up spending most of their time in a Stryx tunnel. They must live on the exercise equipment.”

“I think it’s a backlash against the mortgage fraud scheme you and Ellen uncovered. Traders used to take their time paying down their loans, but now there’s the whole Debt-Free-By-Thirty-Three movement, where young traders pledge to live like monks and take every job to pay off their loans as soon as possible. It’s ironic because repossessing ships to use for a package delivery network was the ultimate goal of the criminals behind the mortgage scam.”

“If my educational toys keep selling the way they did on Break Rock, we’ll have your mortgage paid off in no time, and then I’ll start with the back payments.”

“That’s just an old-fashioned tradition, Georgia. I don’t want your money.”

“But I want to give it to you, and I’m the one in this family with two income streams now.”

“I have three income streams,” Larry retorted as the magnetically levitated train pulled into the subterranean station.

“No, you have three jobs, two of which cut into your trading and only pay an honorarium. When your dad was head of the Traders Guild, his only responsibility was organizing Rendezvous. Now you’re representing the Guild at the Conference of Sovereign Human Communities, plus you’ve got that Human Empire nonsense.”

“It’s not nonsense, and it’s not that time-consuming,” he protested as they took their seats in the nearly empty train car. “If my time wasn’t my own, we wouldn’t be here now. The academy was the only place I could think of to learn something about these map crystals before the artifacts competition at Rendezvous, and you can restock your educational toys.”

“But I don’t have any salt cod to trade,” Georgia said.

“You’re loaded with creds—cash is king.”

“Half of that money is set aside to repay the chandler for the salt cod when we get back to Union Station. And I wanted to put the rest towards the mortgage.”

“We’ve already got next month’s payment saved on the programmable cred, thanks to that featured interview about the stolen stained glass you did for the Galactic Free Press. If I knew being a freelance journalist paid so good I would have learned how to write myself.”

“So you’re saying I can spend the rest of the money on new educational toys?”

“And if you run short, bill it to the ship’s account,” Larry said as the train soundlessly hurled down the tunnel. “We’re partners, remember?”

“Then you should let me start paying you until our equity shares in the ship are equal,” she said in frustration.

“I’d rather have kids.”

Georgia drew in her breath sharply, and then asked, “Are the two mutually exclusive?”

“They are if you believe you have to be working around the clock to pay off the mortgage.

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