The Travelers 3
Page 14
“What kind of currency is used?” said Jack. “Each world must have its own monetary system. It would make trading chaotic.”
Mac said, “When the worlds developed FTL over one hundred years ago and began inter stellar trading, the worlds got together and developed a common currency.
They realized they had to have an impartial entity to regulate the currency. There are a group of planets that are in close proximity to each other that we call the Swiss Confederation. They are the ones who regulate the monetary system. They use a currency called cryptocurrency. It is not physical money like a dollar bill or a British pound. It is an electronic currency.
Each planet bought into this system and now it is used throughout this part of the galaxy. The Swiss Confederation has trillions of accounts in their databases. Every planet has an account and every person that interacts with businesses or individuals on their planet or with the other planets has their own account. Anybody who wants to do business or buy a candy bar is implanted with a chip. When they get paid their salary is sent to the Swiss Confederation’s computers and they take care of all monetary transactions.
If an individual buys or sells something, the chip picks it up and transmits it to the Swiss.
The Swiss don’t do this out of the goodness of their hearts. They take a tiny percentage off all transactions. Keep in mind that there are trillions upon trillions of transactions going on each hour of each day.
The Swiss are the richest planets in the galaxy.
None of this could have happen without our help. We leased the FTL communication system to the Swiss and they lease it to every planet that uses the monetary system.
We get fifty percent of the Swiss take on all transactions plus the FTL communications leases. This transaction with the Swiss is all secret. We have told them if the secret is leaked, we will shut down the communication systems and the whole monetary scheme collapses.”
“Why would you need money,” asked Beth? “You want for nothing. With your replicaters, you can make anything you want without paying a dime.”
“That’s true but we are the only entities that have this technology and we are not letting it out. The rest of the planets need this monetary system.
It not only keeps the Swiss honest but it gives us a hammer to keep the rest of the galaxy in line. We can bring the whole system down in a matter of seconds. It would instantly destroy all of the economies that use the system.”
This gave the four teens and Victoria something to think about. Mac, Pete, Zoe, Gyro and Max were the richest, most powerful people and dog in the galaxy. They were virtually gods. They controlled the fate of every man, woman and child in this part of the galaxy.
Anne broke the silence, “The people who work here, you pay them. Do you house them also?”
Yes,” Pete answered “but we do it like Singapore does. We encourage them to buy, not rent their apartments.
In Singapore 85 to 90% of the populace have taken the government up on their offer to own their housing. The same has happened here except 100% own or are paying the housing loans off. We charge them 0% interest on the loan. We don’t give them their apartments. We allow them to buy them. This gives them a stake in the game. The apartments belong to them fee simple. It gives them pride of ownership.
If we gave the apartments to them out right, they wouldn’t have that pride of ownership and they now have an investment in this city. We do not want a welfare state.
People in our city either retire here with an income of their own or they work and earn a livable wage.
These apartments are by any standard luxury dwellings. The average size is 2,000 square feet with a patio overlooking the city. They also come with a service bot to clean, cook and do the shopping. On the roof of their condos is a park with play grounds for children, a swimming pool, picnic areas, a miniature golf course, baseball diamonds, basketball and tennis courts and a soccer pitch.
Just like Mac introduced pool and other games at his first bar, we introduced these games to this part of the galaxy. They became wildly popular and are played on most of the planets.
We surveyed the workers and the retirees. We have a 99% approval rating. The 1% that aren’t happy fall into the category of you can’t please everybody.
Face it. Some people would complain if you hanged them with a new rope.
The FTL planets cured aging and most diseases a couple of hundred years ago. If you’re healthy, well fed and live and work in paradise, what do you have to complain about?”
Anne said, “So this is what Sir Thomas More meant when he coined the word Utopia.”
“It is as close to utopia as you are going to get,” said Pete.
“What happens when you run out of housing?” asked Beth.
Mac said, “Right now we have about four million staff and independent business people living here but we have housing for a little over twenty million. If it ever looks like we are about to exceed twenty million we can do one of two things. One, we can limit the population and two, we can build more housing, more condos, more shops and recreation areas.”
“If possible, we’d like a tour of the casinos, the city and the rest of the facility,” said Beth. “I don’t know what to call this place so I called it a facility.”
“I’ll do it,” said Zoe. “They’ll get a better tour out of me than from you three clowns,” indicating Pete, Mac and Gyro.
Mac said, “If you do this, can you stay out of trouble and not lead our guests astray?”
Zoe put on a long face and said, “That hurts Mac. I am genuinely hurt that you think such a thing.”
“Don’t give me that crap Zoe. The last time you were here you put six German sailors in the hospital. If it wasn’t you, I would have banned you forever.”
Zoe looked aghast, put her hand on her chest and said, “I was just defending my womanly honor.”
A tear rolled down her cheek. “What was I supposed to do? They attacked me.” She wiped away the tear and sniffed loudly.
“Cut the histrionics Zo. I watched the tape. You provoked them.”
She dropped her gaze and said in a low voice, “They said mean things to me.”
“Enough! Can you behave yourself when you show Vicky and the kids around?”
In a low voice, “Yes.”
“Ok, have at it.”
Zoe brighten up, waved her arm and said, “Follow me.”
Max jumped off the couch and went with them.
As they entered the elevator Pete, Mac and Gyro could hear her saying, “Let me show you Mac’s hotel and casino first. It’s amazing.”
To get to the casino they had to pass through Mac’s bar and lounge. As they walked through the bar, they saw it was larger than their first impression. It had a very large dance floor.
It was about a third full of customers. Zoe said, “About two o’clock in the morning this place will be packed. There will be a DJ playing music and a line to get in. It is really something to see.
For me, it is too big, with large crowds and the music is too loud. You can’t hear yourself think much less have a conversation.”
At the back of the bar was the entrance to the casino. They walked down a wide carpeted path towards the gaming tables. On either side of the path were slot machines. They passed through thousands of them and they seemed to all be occupied.
Zoe said, “At any time of the day or night there will be at least ten thousand people here gambling. If you look up, you will see the ceiling is twenty stories high. The inside bedrooms with balconies overlook the casino. On the floor above the casino are two more casinos. The rooms and the casino are for planets that have different gravities and atmospheres than the more Earth like planets. These rooms and casinos have the same amenities that we have here. This is the biggest casino and has the most suites in the building because most of the planets more closely resemble Earth than some of the other planets. All of the rooms are suites.
For the very rich and pretentious the top floors have large
r suites with more amenities like more staff and better booze. These are the suites that have access to the roof and exclusive bars, restaurants and entertainment.”
In the sea of machines there were oases of restaurants, lounges and buffets. Zoe explained the high dollar restaurants were on the upper floors with a view of the city. “We have the best entertainers from all over this part of the galaxy perform in auditoriums in each casino. There are singers, magic acts and circus performances.
Enough of the casino, let me show you the city.”
She showed them the outdoor markets, shops, bistros, restaurants, theaters, community parks and showed them a typical condo apartment. The layout, furniture and amenities blew them away. It was style, comfort and luxury all rolled into one. Each apartment had its own service bot.
There were separate condos and neighborhoods in climate and gravity controlled environments for the races that had different planetary conditions.
As the artificial sun began to set, Zoe said, “Let me take you to my favorite part of the city. It’s the rougher side of town especially built for people who feel more comfortable in that environment.
I think it has the best restaurants and bars in town. My favorite eateries are the Choke and Puke and The Greasy Spoon. My favorite bar and grill is the Skull and Cross Bones. The food at the ‘Skull’ is good but not as good as the Choke and Puke or The Greasy Spoon.
There are some other restaurants, the Salmonella Saloon, E. coli Eatery and the Botulism Buffet. They are OK but not up to the demanding standards of the Choke and Puke or The Greasy Spoon.”
Zoe took them a few blocks away from the main part of town. As they approached their destination, they could see the area getting more run down and dingy. As the sun went down, dim yellow street lights flickered on giving the place an even dirtier look. The buildings looked like they hadn’t been painted in years. There were small shops and grocery stores that sported dirty, fly specked windows. In the alleyways there were drunks sleeping it off and people living in makeshift shelters.
The teens and Victoria looked around nervously. Zoe said, “Lighten up. It just looks rough. Your perfectly safe here. Mac doesn’t tolerate muggings or thuggery. This place just looks like a dump. Like a neighborhood you wouldn’t want to walk through without an armed guard, but it is relatively safe.”
“It’s the ‘relatively’ that makes me nervous,” said Victoria.
“Don’t worry. I shouldn’t have said ‘relatively safe’. We are safe.”
The few people they saw on the street looked pretty rough, adding to their concern.
On one street corner under one of the flickering street lights were half a dozen women in various revealing dress. Two were in body suits that looked like they had been painted on leaving nothing to the imagination.
The boys were walking a few steps behind the women and as they passed, one of the street women called out, “Hey boys, come over here and we’ll show you what real women are.” They all laughed.
Jack turn his head, smiled and winked at them.
“You don’t know what you’re missing.”
Anne started to turn around but Beth grabbed her arm and shook her head. Anne jerked her arm out of Beth’s grasp but continued to walk ahead. She glared at Beth, “They needed an ass kicking.”
“They were just having a little fun on a slow night. Don’t get your panties in a twist. Lighten up. We’re on a new adventure.”
The prospect of a new adventure seemed to calm Anne down. She smiled, “I’m up for a new adventure.”
Jack said in a voice loud enough for the girls to hear, “Thought the blond was kind of cute.”
“No, the girl with green skin and purple hair had her beat hands down,” Sonny laughed.
Beth held her hand up with her middle finger extended and Anne said, “Sonny if you say one more word I will come back there, reach down your throat and pull out your tonsils.”
“Yes dear,” said Sonny.
“That’s more like it.” Anne was beginning to have fun with this.
Chapter 10
The Vikings
They turned down a dead end side street. At the end of the street was the Skull and Cross Bones.
Zoe pushed open the bat wing doors and led them in. The place was almost empty. Zoe said, “Oh shit, Vikings.”
Sitting at the bar were ten men and women, six men and four women. They were all dressed in leather... leather pants and leathers jerkins. Both the men and women were all tall and well muscled. They all had long hair. Some with a pig tail that went to their waist.
They all turned to see who had come in. One of the brutes sneered and laughed, “Look. Fresh meat.”
The rest laughed and turned back to the bar.
Zoe led them toward the bar. Behind the bar was an eight foot monster covered in what looked like scales. The monster vaulted over the bar and embraced Zoe in a crushing bear hug. “Hey Zoe girl, I haven’t seen you in forever. What took you so long?”
“You know Pete. When he’s on the hunt, he’ll stay away for years.”
The monster let Zoe go, reached down and gave Max a pat on the head. “I’ll have to speak to Pete about that.”
“It’s good to see you too Joyce. I’ve missed you but you don’t have to speak to Pete. We’ve decided to make Mac’s Place our home port. We’ll be here for a long time.
Oh, and Joyce will you tell these yahoos we don’t want any trouble.”
“I’ll subtly explain that to these clowns but you know that won’t mean a thing to them. It’s who they are.”
“I know but maybe it will hold them off for a few minutes or so.”
Joyce pivoted around and tapped the largest Viking on the shoulder.
He snarled and turned and when he did, Joyce grabbed him with one hand by the front of his jerkin. She lifted him off the bar stool which fell to the floor. She raised him off the ground and above her head.
“Listen asshole, these are friends of mine. All they want to do is drink in peace. Do I make myself clear?”
He was wriggling like a fish on a hook trying to get away. He snarled at her.
She slammed him to the floor and put her foot on his chest pinning him down. “If you cause any trouble, I’ll rip your arms off and stuff them up your ass.”
She lifted her foot. He grumbled, staggered to his feet, picked up the bar stool and sat back down.
Joyce turned back to Zoe. “That’s not going to help. I beat these jerks to a pulp every night and throw them out. They come back the very next day and we start it all again.
That’s why this place is almost empty. Nobody wants to be around a group of sociopaths. I charge them right up front every night a small fortune just to drink and fight here. It more than makes up for the lost business.
Belly up to the bar. I’ll take your drink orders.”
She vaulted back over the bar and took their orders.
They picked their drinks and walked over to a table. As they began to sit down, one of the thugs got off his bar stool and walked over to them. “This is our table.” The rest of the thugs started to snicker.
Zoe knew what was going on but she said, “That’s OK. We’ll find another table.”
“All of these tables are ours.”
Zoe set her drink down and turned to face him. Before she could do anything, Anne grabbed her arm and said, “I’ll take care of this.” She stepped between Zoe and the thug.
He was one and a half feet taller than Anne and weighed about three times what she weighed.
Before anybody could act, she buried her fist half way between her wrist and her elbow into his solar plexus.
The thug’s eyes got as big a saucers. His mouth flew open and he tried to breath but couldn’t. All he could do was make loud squeaky raspy sounds as he tried to get air into his lungs. He began to double over and as soon as his head got to a level where Anne could grab him by the hair, she grabbed a fist full and dragged him staggering over to the table.
When she was finished, she walked over to her chair and calmly began drinking her beer.
This happened so fast all the Vikings at the bar could do was watch. Three of them got off their bar stools and looked like they were going to walk over.
Zoe said, “Think very carefully about your next move. You saw what the smallest of us could do. What do you think the rest of us can do?”
That stopped them in their tracks. Zoe could see the wheels slowly turning. Smart wasn’t their long suit but they considered what she said and turned to sit back down.
“Don’t sit down. Come over here and get your friend. Put him back on his stool and get a rag to clean his face.”
Two of them picked up their friend and did what Zoe had told them to do.
Before Zoe could sit down, the bar’s doors flew open and a seven foot tall Adonis stepped in. He had long white hair that fell mid way between his shoulders and his waist. He was wearing all leather but instead of a jerkin, he was wearing a vest that fell open exposing his chest and abdomen. His pectoral muscles looked like armor plates. He had well defined lithe arm muscles. His stomach looke like a rock hard wash board.
All eyes were on him. Victoria thought, “My God this guy makes Fabio look like a wart hog. He’s gorgeous.”
Beth and Anne had similar thoughts. He certainly grabbed their attention.
In three quick steps Zoe was on him. She hit him in the chest with the heal of her hand, lifting him off his feet and sending him back outside through the doors.
In no more than five seconds, he was back. He wrapped his right arm around Zoe’s waist and with his left hand he viciously grabbed Zoe’s hair and jerked her head back. Her mouth flew open and he swiftly kissed her.
Victoria’s body went flush and weak at the knees. Fortunately she was able to put her hands on the table or she might have slumped to the floor. She snatched up one of the menus off the table and began to fan herself.