〈Spread Seed〉
“I’m surprised that you’ve been unable to fund this, or that the CP wouldn’t have bought it from you,” Drim wondered as he studied the device in his hands.
It was called a Seed Roller: a device that would roll around, plow seedbeds, and plant seeds all on its own. The operator just needed to input coordinates for the area and collect the sphere when it was done.
While it could help for general farming use, the CEO’s main vision for it was to use the device to begin replanting and reclaiming irradiated areas. The Seed Roller would completely eliminate the risk to humans and allow replanting efforts to begin in earnest well before the radiation had cleared. Needless to say, Drim was very interested.
“Spread Seed is and always will be a non-profit organization,” the Spread Seed CEO explained. “For that reason, investors haven’t been interested, since they are only in it for returns and not the good it would do. We have received some investment as good-faith charitable donations, but that was mostly so those investors could receive tax breaks.”
“The Central Peace did approach us as well, as you said. But at least the person that reached out to us did not share the same vision. They wanted to buy the device to improve their food growth in their own headquarters, and also as something to sell at a discount to farmers to improve their labor.”
“While we are more than willing to go public and commercial with the product, it is a secondary objective. Our main goal is the restoration of plantlife and natural ecosystems for all irradiated areas across the world. Once we have stocked enough devices that we can realize our goal, then we will consider going commercial.”
“There is a very real possibility another product will have come along to fill the market by then, so there is a good chance this device will never be profitable. This is why we’re seeking out an investor who believes in our cause, and not in it to make money.”
It was a satisfying answer, and the product received a unanimous ‘Yes’. “Actually, I want to go ahead and use one of my tokens,” Drim added. “We will be tripling your funding, and I hope that in the future, you will continue to reach out to us with any other projects.”
“There is one—I don’t want to call it a caveat, but I hope it’s something you’ll consider. When there is an excess of devices, I’d ask that you sell them directly to Harth Boldur of the Central Peace. Say whatever you will about the rest of the organization, but the Restoration Department does good work. He’d make sure they were utilized to their fullest potential.”
《Hyper-Funded》
----------------------------------------
〈Curios City〉
“Normally, I’d say we shouldn’t do deals with someone from Zjiksa unless we wanted to lose all of our money,” Phon was less than courteous to their new entrepreneur. “But I guess that is kind of the point.”
“Hello, Rishaki. I didn’t think we’d see each other again,” Drim was slightly more welcoming. “I’d heard you become a Fiend. From your husband, I’m guessing?”
“Yes, that bastard,” Rishaki spat at his memory. “He did not heed your advice and kept his throne of cash and other stockpiles of money. After he lost it all, he tried to sell my precious jewelry to make it all back. So I bashed him in the head with a chest.” Her hair had turned Amber and her eyes now mimicked sparkling rubys. In a sense, she’d turned into one of the precious rarities she so desired.
“Well, I take it you’re not here to join our organization, so how can we help you?” Xard moved things along.
“Yes, even though I’m now a Fiend, I regret to inform you that I have no interest in joining your organization,” Rishaki feigned an apology. “Helping others—I would be terrible at it. Selfish desire runs deep in my blood, and my heart has turned to stone from the loss of my husband. But that does not mean I can not seek out something mutually beneficial.”
“I wish to set up a shop in your compound—one of many that will be scattered across the world, but this would be my main location. Fiends these days are the primary source of oddities and trinkets, yes? So I would not be a fool to come directly to you.”
“While I do not wish to join, I would also like to become a resident of your compound. I am plagued by suitors that I would like your barrier to keep away. They think that by marrying me, they can become the next Merchant King of Zjiksa now that there is a vacancy. Foolish boys trying to woo me instead of buying my love.”
Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.
“For my shop, I will be dealing in rare commodities, both buying and selling. I am expanding from just jewelry, and will now be brokering anything as long as it is rare: from materials, to one-of-a-kind art, to whatever else takes my interest. I’m sure you can see how this would be beneficial to you. Things these days are getting harder to obtain, and things obtained are getting harder to sell, if you understand my meaning.”
“My Curse can help with both of these things. It is called Hoarder, and it is similar in concept to the one you call Roque. The Slimiest Slug, as my people call him. He has long since been banned from Zjiksa, though I saw him there just recently, and we’ve kept in touch.”
“Back to the important part, the Curse allows me to turn any storage container into an… how do you say… infinite pocket dimension? I believe were the words. Anything I put in can be accessed from any other container of mine, anywhere in the world. Of course, I only use the fanciest of chests. Damned will I be if I let my precious belongings fester in some cardboard box.”
“Right now, I have set up one in each country, and hope to expand that to each city soon enough. Anyone is allowed to access these containers with my authorization, and I can also use them to make transactions. It is like being able to sell directly from the comfort of my own palace… err, apartment now, I suppose. I will still be tending to my own shop here, since I prefer to do some business face to face.”
“What this means, is if your people find anything interesting out on their jobs, they can just sell it to one of my chests instead of having to cart it all the way back here. Vice-versa, they can buy any rare goods they might need anywhere in the world.”
“While I don’t want peasantries in my possession, as a gesture of good will for allowing me to establish my shop and doing business with me, I will allow you all to make use of my chests to transfer any bulk resources that may need to move quickly around the world. I will not be sending your personal belongings, however. Well… I may be persuaded, for a price.”
“By investing in my business, it will allow me to purchase or commission more exotic chests. Then I could set up more and more shops, and my reach, along with my network of assistance, will grow even further. I also need to obtain larger ones, since if an item can not fit into the container, it can not be stored. Also, it can not be retrieved if that container is too small. Quite frustrating.”
“I believe I have laid everything out well enough for you to understand its value. Do we have a deal?”
“That is quite a useful power, you’ve obtained,” Drim admitted. “But I would like to add one caveat. We are allowed to use your power for our organization's benefit in emergency situations. I promise it won’t be abused in day-to-day situations, but it’s hard to give examples until one arises. If we can count on you in a pinch, then we have a deal.”
“Fair enough, but I do not want anything dirty touching my things,” Rishaki wretched at the thought. “Please keep that in mind!”
《Funded》
----------------------------------------
〈Moment To Memory〉
“Have you ever seen a stunning view that you just wanted to view forever,” the next entrepreneur tried to paint them a picture. “A memory that will sadly degrade the moment you look away. With my new Painting Press, it takes out the hassle of preserving the perfect moment.”
She held up a large picture frame with a blank canvas already inside. After aiming it at the Fiends, she pressed a button on the side and then there was a flash. She turned the frame around, and a perfect painting of impressive quality was already framed and ready to hang.
“That’s pretty neat,” Kada was the first to jump on it. “But… wouldn’t that be kind of cumbersome? It’d be fine at home, but who’s going to carry a giant frame to the top of a mountain?”
“While I understand the novelty, wouldn’t a photo just do the same thing?” Xard added. “You could just have it printed later.”
“I knew you’d bring that up!” the woman immediately went on the defensive. “Yes, photos are nice and all, but their quality is inferior. And by the time you’ve gone through the hassle of printing them out and getting them framed, the memory has faded or your interest has waned. This lets you preserve it perfectly, ready to go up on your wall while you’re still in love with it!”
“The tech behind it is intriguing,” Drim couldn’t deny. “But could it be adapted to import already taken pictures and then print them to the canvas directly? That would solve the cumbersome issue, and then people could do it at home without having to get a printing studio involved.”
“I actually do have some questions about the process,” Phon tacked on as she looked over one of the blank canvases. “There’s no viewfinder on this or display. How do you know when you’ve got the angle right? And there’s no redo either. If you mess up, you’re left with a worthless portrait. For what you’re charging, that would be too costly of a mistake. Any plans on adding or improving these?”
There was a long silence after Phon’s perfectly reasonable questions, but then the woman started screaming. “You all just don’t get it! You can’t understand the beauty of my process and how important this is! Children shouldn’t be allowed to invest in things when they don’t understand how people really think!” She grabbed the painting she’d taken of them earlier, snapped it in half, and then stormed out of the room.
《Withdrawn》