Delphi Challenge

by Bob Blanton

  “It didn’t cost us anything.”

  “How’s that?” Liz asked.

  “Daddy had to pay for it.”

  “That doesn’t seem fair,” Liz said. “We can’t be taking charity from your father.”

  “It’s not charity. He needs a Skylifter on Artemis; it’s our design, so he has to buy it from us and pay us to deliver it. We’re giving him a break on it since we’ll be using it to load up,” Catie said.

  “And the next trip?”

  “The Paraxeans will need one, too. After that, we’ll have enough money to pay for one of our own.”

  “Where do we put it?”

  “It takes the place of one of the cargo pods and stays within the Dutchman’s profile. You can put it in any of the pod slots.”

  “Clever.”

  ◆ ◆ ◆

  “Damn that Miranda, where did she come up with the idea that everyone should have to work the sails?!” Catie thought as she struggled to pull the foresail up. She was one hundred feet above the deck with her feet balanced on a rope with her stomach lying across the crossbeam. The old sailors had conveniently removed the lines and winches that managed the canvas from the deck, forcing the cadets to climb up and claw it up into a bundle whenever they had to reef the sails.

  “About time,” she thought as she was finally able to tie the canvas. “Damn, I broke another nail.” Catie worked her way along the rope until she reached the mast. She had to wait while the three cadets in front of her made their way down the rigging. “I would wind up being on the team that has to manage the top sail.”

  Catie thought about how she would get even with Miranda for her brilliant idea, but then figured that since Miranda had actually been up on that rope with her, it might be a bit petty; she’d already paid the price for her idea.

  “Exhilarating, wasn’t it,” Miranda said as she and Catie met at the ladder that led to the crew quarters.

  “More like terrifying, and cold,” Catie said, rethinking her idea about getting even.

  “But it does teach you to coordinate your efforts with your fellow crew. You pull too early and you’re lifting the entire canvas by yourself, too late and your neighbor might kick you off the beam.”

  “So that’s what it was. I thought we all fell into a robotic stupor and just let our bodies be controlled by the sail master.”

  “Like you would ever fall into a robotic stupor,” Miranda said, giving Catie a big smile. “See you at breakfast.”

  ◆ ◆ ◆

  “ADI, can you connect me to the Paraxean minister who’s coordinating our trades?” Liz asked.

  “Yes, Cer Liz, . . . he is on your Comm now.”

  “Hello, Minister Hastara,” Liz said, allowing her Comm to do the translation to Paraxean.

  “Hello, Cer Farmer,” Minister Hastara replied.

  “I would like to confirm the cargo we are delivering to you and ask if there is anything else you wish to trade,” Liz said.

  “Thank you. We have agreed to trade ten thousand quantum relays for ten thousand kilometers of your quantum cables,” the minister said.

  “That’s my understanding,” Liz said. “We also want to exchange the container while at your fringe, which would be 60AU from your sun; we will be traveling at 0.16 times the speed of light. Can you accommodate that?”

  “Of course,” the minister said. “We will have our ship there as soon as you give us the coordinates and the vector for your ship.”

  “Good. Now is there anything else you would like to trade?” Liz asked.

  “We have been talking with Dr. Teltar, and he informs us that you have several grains and bean varieties that are very compatible with the Paraxean diet, as well as being good stock for our meat vats.”

  Liz pursed her lips as she thought about that, “Which ones?”

  “We like your wheat, corn, and soybeans,” Minister Hastara said. “We would be interested in acquiring as much as you can deliver to us.”

  “Our ship can carry thirty-two of those pods we sent you the spec for. Are you sure you want as much as we can carry?”

  The minister laughed a bit. “Yes, we are quite sure.”

  “What would you have to trade for them? More quantum relays?” Liz asked.

  “No, we would prefer to trade other goods. Based on the experience of our previous colony missions, one of the things that the colonists find most frustrating is how long it takes to make the larger fixtures they’re used to having. By that, I mean sinks, toilets, and bathtubs, as well as the fixtures that go with them. Also, the appliances used for cooking; I understand we use similar ones. We could provide those in exchange.”

  “I would have to check on that,” Liz said. “I actually would be surprised if that were a problem since we’re providing them the cabins they travel in, so they are getting those fixtures.”

  “I would be surprised if you were providing enough to make a comfortable living unit,” the minister said, “but by all means, check.”

  “What else would you have to trade?”

  “We can provide electronics, copper wire, and stainless-steel sheets that they could use to manufacture other fixtures.”

  “Okay, let me check on what matches their needs, and I’ll get back to you. Why don’t we plan on talking again in twenty-four hours?”

  “That works with my schedule. I look forward to talking with you again.”

  Liz closed the call and quickly messaged Catie.

  “Catie, can we talk?”

  “I’m free in twenty,” Catie messaged back.

  ◆ ◆ ◆

  “What’s up?” Catie asked when she and Liz connected again.

  “The Paraxeans are asking us to ship them a bunch of grain,” Liz said.

  “How much?”

  “They’re saying as much as we can carry,” Liz said.

  “Wow, that’s a lot of grain.”

  “How are we going to pay for it?”

  “How much would it cost to fill all the pods we need to fill?” Catie asked.

  “I calculated that it would be almost 200 million dollars,” Liz gulped.

  “Oh, that much,” Catie said. “That should impact the grain markets; which grains?”

  “Wheat, corn, and soybeans; they want as much as we can deliver,” Liz said.

  “Nice. ADI, we need to buy futures,” Catie said.

  “Yes, Cer Catie,” ADI said. “I’ll spread one hundred million across them.”

  “One hundred million,” Liz gulped.

  “Hey, we’re playing in the big leagues now,” Catie said. “If the Paraxeans want that much, we’ll put a big dent in the world’s stockpiles. Prices will start to go up. We’ll lock in big profits for the next few deliveries.”

  “What do you mean by we? We don’t have that kind of money.”

  “I’ll split the profits with our company since the information came from us,” Catie said.

  “That’s nice. When did you become such a big trader?” Liz asked.

  “Artie taught me,” Catie said. “He’s always talking about trading in futures. I thought he was just blowing smoke until he showed me his portfolio.”

  “I didn’t realize he had that much money.”

  “He doesn’t have that much yet, it’s his return on investment that’s impressive, you can just slide the decimal place to fit your needs.”

  “Okay, I’m impressed. Back to how we’re going to pay for the grain?” Liz said.

  “I’ll put five hundred million into the company,” Catie said.

  “Hey, it’s not fair for you to have to pay.”

  “Don’t worry, the company will pay me U.S. T-bill rate,” Catie said. “We’ll buy T-bills with what we don’t use, but we have to charge our customers for the use of our money. I suggest we add one percent per month to the shipping bill.”

  “Okay, that makes it easy, and you’ll make a good profit on your money. What's the price premium for the freight?”

  “The crew will cost ab
out five hundred K per week and we have to cover the amortization for the ship. I’m figuring one billion over fifteen years.”

  “Why one billion, I thought we only paid four hundred million?” Liz asked.

  “We owned the designs, but if someone else wanted to build one, it’d be close to one billion. Especially since we got great deals on labor and material. Anyway, that’s 1.2 million per week. We should figure one million for operating expenses per week; fuel, food, wear and tear on the ship.”

  “I thought with fusion and antimatter we didn’t have to pay for fuel,” Liz said.

  “Hey, it might just be water, but we have to get it into space, or mine an asteroid. Nothing’s free.”’

  “Okay. Wait, why is it just water?” Liz asked. “I thought we needed hydrogen and deuterium.”

  “When we load water, two percent of it will be heavy water that will take care of the deuterium for the fusion reactors. We separate the water into hydrogen and oxygen, we use the oxygen for air, pull the deuterium out and save it for the fusion reactors, and save the hydrogen for use in the antimatter reactor. Excess hydrogen and CO2 we’ll use for the thrusters. That way, we are the most efficient. If we have a problem in the middle of nowhere, it’ll be nice to have plenty of water.”

  “Okay, that’s smart,” Liz said. “I can figure out the cost based on that.”

  “Don’t forget about profit.”

  “How much?”

  “As much as you can get, but at least ten percent of the freight cost,” Catie said. “Since we’re actually trading the goods, we should be able to do better.”

  “Do you want to negotiate this deal?” Liz asked, feeling a bit overwhelmed.

  “No, you’re going to have to do it sometimes, might as well start now. Besides, I’ve had lots of time to think about all this, you’ve been busy. Once you’re in the middle of it, it won’t feel so complex.”

  “But I might not get as much as I should.”

  “Cost of learning,” Catie said. “Aren’t you the one who always says the painful lessons are the ones you remember best?”

  ◆ ◆ ◆

  “Marc, the Paraxeans are offering to trade plumbing fixtures and stuff like that,” Liz said.

  “Oh, that would be great, the colonists are all complaining about only having the one bathroom,” Marc said. “We haven’t been able to set up any manufacturing yet. Those are on our list.”

  “So, you’re willing to buy them?” Liz asked.

  “Buy them? Oh, I guess you two are in business,” Marc said. “How much are you asking?”

  “Cost plus twenty-five percent,” Liz replied.

  “Plus twenty-five percent!”

  “Interstellar freight, and we have to use our money to buy the goods.”

  “How are you going to figure cost?”

  “We’ll use the equivalent cost here on Earth.”

  “Okay, I guess we can stand that,” Marc said. “While we’re on the subject, what are you going to charge for transporting colonists?”

  “Since you’re keeping the cabins, the cost of the cabin plus thirty percent,” Liz suggested.

  “What?!”

  “We have to feed them and put up with them for the whole trip,” Liz countered.

  “I guess I should be glad that Catie is busy,” Marc said. “I’ll run some numbers, but I think we’ve got a deal.”

  ◆ ◆ ◆

  The entire crew on the Princess cheered as they made the final turn, finally rounding Pitcairn Island. They couldn’t see any of the other three schooners on the horizon and everyone was feeling pretty good. That was until someone asked Mayhew how they were doing.

  “I’m not happy,” Mayhew said.

  “Why not? Two schooners had to turn back and get their supplies. We beat the third out of port by at least an hour.”

  “But the number one rule of yacht racing is to stay in sight of your competition,” Mayhew said.

  “Why?”

  “The wind.”

  “Mayhew, I’m going to come over there and throttle you if you don’t elaborate!” Miranda threatened.

  “You always want to be sailing the same wind as your competition. If they hit a pocket of stiff breeze, you can get into the same pocket. If you are bestilled, so are they. The fact that we cannot see them makes me worried that they have found better wind. That can change the race by days, not just hours.”

  “Oh, you sure know how to spoil a party,” Julie said.

  “There’s nothing we can do but sail our best,” Miranda said. “We’ve had good winds so far, now we have to see if our navigator has selected the right course for our return leg.”

  “Thanks for putting it all on me,” Catie muttered as she headed to the navigation shack to recheck their course.

  ◆ ◆ ◆

  “Arrr!” Liz growled.

  “May I help, Cer Liz?” ADI asked.

  “Probably; I’m running the numbers on the freight, and we need to come up with some more freight to take to Paraxea, or we’ll have to leave there with half the cargo pods empty. It’s not like we can pay dollars for their stuff.”

  “And because the fixtures are so much more valuable than grain, you can’t bring enough to Paraxea to pay for a full load out?” ADI asked.

  “Yes, especially when you measure it by volume. We need to add some high value, low volume cargo to the Paraxean leg so we can trade for a full load of cargo for the Artemis leg.”

  “What have you offered them?” ADI asked.

  “Nothing yet, they only expressed interest in the quantum cables and the grains.”

  “Have you considered offering them some of the new Comms?” ADI asked.

  “That’s a good idea, but how many do we have?”

  “We have fifty thousand in stock,” ADI said.

  “Why so many?”

  “Cer Kal and Cer Blake want their people to carry two. And we have been building ahead in anticipation of the colonists needing them as well.”

  “Are we talking about Catie’s Comms?”

  “Yes.”

  “Okay. Warn Marcie that we’re taking them so she can schedule more production,” Liz said. “What else?”

  “The Paraxeans here on Earth are really enjoying watching Earth movies, especially the old ones. And books, perhaps you should set up a service in Paraxea to give access to digital content from Earth.”

  “How would we do that, use the quantum relays?”

  “No, they do not have enough bandwidth to be able to afford to stream entertainment.”

  “I thought the quantum relays had infinite bandwidth.”

  “They have zero delay, but finite bandwidth. One pair can only support a data rate of 250 megabytes per second.”

  “Okay, I get it. So we would have to copy the database. How would we stop them from just stealing the data?”

  “We have to trust them a little, but we can install a server that mirrors those here on Earth. We would bring database updates when we fly there. They would just need to have the appropriate apps on their Comms.”

  “Where would we host the database?” Liz asked.

  “We could make a satellite with a large computer in it. Mostly it would be data storage. If you had the Paraxeans put it in orbit around Paraxea, we could set up the service.”

  “How much would that cost?”

  “Approximately forty-two million dollars,” ADI said.

  Liz gulped, “Forty-two million?”

  “Yes, plus you would have to pay for the licenses you need from the various Earth services.”

  “But wouldn’t that be a pay as you go deal?”

  “They would want upfront money,” ADI said.

  “Can you go over it with Catie to see if she’s interested? She’s got the money to make the deal, and she might want to form a separate company instead of bringing it under our umbrella.”

  “I will work on that for you,” ADI said.

  “Thanks.”

  After another
day of research and two hours of negotiation, Liz finally had a balanced load for the trip. Coming back from Artemis, they would be full of the new grain Samantha was promoting and a lot of ore from the platinum metals group. Catie had decided to form a separate company for the data service, and was going to include Liz, Samantha, and Kal. She offered it to the other members of the inner board, but they turned her down.

  ◆ ◆ ◆

  “Mr. Morton, I’m Elizabeth Farmer. We talked earlier about my company purchasing your corn.”

  “Glad to meet you, Ms. Farmer. Call me John.”

  “Okay, John. You said you wanted to meet to discuss the price,” Liz said.

  “Yep, I like to meet the people I deal with,” John said. “You said you’d pick it up here on my farm. I don’t think you’re going to get much into that there Tahoe.”

  “We have a cargo lifter,” Liz said. “It’s flying overhead and can set down whenever we reach a deal.”

  “Well, why don’t you bring it in and then we’ll talk.”

  “It’s pretty big. About the same footprint as a football field, thirty-four by eighty yards, and it’s heavy, especially when loaded.”

  “There’s plenty of room in front of those silos. And that ground can use some compacting.”

  Liz had the Skylifter set itself and the cargo pod down where John told her.

  “That sure is a funny looking ship,” John said.

  “It’s a cargo pod with the ship, a Skylifter, on top of it. The pod is placed on our big ship. Then Skylifter takes a place next to it,” Liz explained.

  “How do you fill it up?”

  “You can see the access panels here on the side. We can start at the top and fill from there, or we can work our way up. Depends on what you have for lifting the grain. It’s about sixty yards to the top access.”

  “Them silos over yonder are full. We can pull from the bottom and fill her right up. We’ve got a portable conveyor system we use. How do we weigh the grain?”

  “The Skylifter can weigh the pod to within ten kilos,” Liz said.

  “Do you mind if I test that?”

  “Not at all.”

  The farmer pulled out his phone and made a quick call. “Jamie, you still have that feed in your truck?”

  “I’m just getting ready to unload it.”

  “Well, don’t. I want you to drive over here by the silos.”