When I left Morning Ritual I looked across the road at Carl's Automotive, just in time to see Jimmy catch my eye. He waved, but it wasn't in an enthusiastic kind of way. It was more of a resigned, you should probably come over here so we can have a serious discussion kind of wave.
I'd pretty much thought that was how this was going to go given the state of my grandpa’s old pickup truck, but it would be nice to know for sure exactly how deep a hole I was in. Once I knew the depth, I could figure out a way to dig myself out.
Carl came out from under the bonnet as I approached, he had a line of grease across his nose and a worried expression on his face.
“I did tell your grandfather that he needed to bring this beauty in here to be looked at many times over the last decade, but he was a stubborn old goat. I'm not going to mince words with you, Jackson. She needs a lot of work, and it's made a little more difficult by the age of the vehicle.”
“It's okay, you don't need to sugarcoat it. Just tell me what the damage is, and we'll figure it out.”
“I wish it were as simple as just giving you an amount. You see, the car is still in your grandfather's name. I know that he left everything to you, but the folks down at the transport department need a safety certificate to change the registration from the old owner over into the new owner’s name, even when it's passed down through an estate. The problem is not just the repairs that are needed, but the age of the vehicle. They stopped making these pickup trucks 25 years ago, and some of the parts you can only get on the secondary market. From other enthusiasts and collectors. I'm pretty sure I could source most of what you need, but the engine seals are leaking, and unless you get another genuine Matsuda Hauler engine seal from somewhere, she'll probably seize up in the next year or so.”
That was not really the news I wanted to hear, but I had a sneaking suspicion that it would be something bad. Still, I needed to know the full extent of what work was ahead of me. “Okay, what else needs doing?”
“I don't think you quite understand the severity of what I'm saying to you. There were only maybe a thousand of these Matsuda Haulers imported, and the chances that you're going to be able to find one with exactly the part you need in good working order is pretty slim. All of the other repairs will come secondary to that. Without an engine, there's no point.”
“I understand that, but I still want to know what else needs to be done. If I can get her all fixed up and work on finding that seal, I will. You said I’ve got about a year before it seizes up, right?”
Call whistled. “It's your money, boss. I think the shorter list would be what doesn't need work. You've got rust all through the body which needs to be cut out and patched up, your brakes are almost gone, the tires are so bald that if we even get a light sprinkling of rain you'll probably lose control and drive off the road. The seat belts are frayed, your tail lights aren't working, you've got a hole rusted in your muffler. Then there’s a genuine part that needs replacing in the steering wheel assembly, which is what's causing that shaking sensation that I'm sure you’ve felt. I just so happen to have a compatible part for that on hand. Also, I'm not sure how much longer your gearbox is going to last. And that's just the urgent stuff.”
It was my turn to let out a low whistle at the mounting list of issues with the car.
“Yeah, that's about the size of it,” Carl said. “Look, I hate having this conversation with people, and I hate the idea of seeing a classic like this taken off the road, but in its current state it's really not safe to drive. You'll be a danger to yourself and anyone else on the road, but I can't stop you from taking the keys back and making a choice for yourself.”
“I certainly don't want to put anyone else at risk, so is there a smaller list of jobs that we can do so we can make it safe enough for the next few weeks?”
“I think if we focus on brakes, the tires, seat belts, tail lights, and the steering wheel assembly, I think you'd be mostly okay for a few months. But I can't make any guarantees because I just haven't had enough time to really find out everything that's wrong with this beast.”
“How much are we talking about for those repairs to start with?”
“Given the age and the specialized parts we’ll need that I'm sure we can source, we're probably looking at the $600 mark. For me to be able to give you a safety certificate and have the car transferred over into your name, we're looking at probably around $1000 even, maybe a little less. If you can source an engine seal for a Matsuda Hauler of the same year, I'll install it as part of the general safety certificate repairs without any extra charge.”
I nodded solemnly. If $250 was enough to live comfortably for a month, then repairing the truck to a stage where it was safe enough to get me from point A to point B was going to cost the equivalent of four months of living.
That was a hard pill to swallow, and the last thing I wanted to do on my second day in this new world was get myself into that kind of debt.
“I'm really new to all of this, and I'm just kind of working through what my options are, but how much do second hand cars go for around here?” I asked.
“Well, you can pick up a little sedan like this one,” Carl pointed up at the car on the lift. “These will set you back about $1500, but there's usually some hidden work that needs to be done as well. But it’ll probably have a safety certificate. If you want something that you can drive around on the farm and go off road, you'll want a pickup or a big truck, and those can be anywhere from $2500 for a second hand beater all the way up to $30,000 for a brand new truck.”
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No matter which choice I made, it was going to cost me.
“Is there any chance we can work out a payment plan or something like that? I haven't got much money at the moment, but I'm looking into options while I'm waiting for my first harvest to grow.”
“Yes, of course. Your grandfather was a grumpy old bugger, but he's done more for this little town than a lot of people. I owe him, and most everyone else in town does for something or other. Working on this old beauty will be an honor, and you can just pay me a little every week until we're square. Although I do have some work coming up next week that I could use an extra pair of hands for, and we could work out a deal there.”
“You could always go and see Mister Ironside,” Jimmy said from nearby. I hadn't even realized he was listening into the conversation.
“Don't be an idiot, Jimmy. Trust me Jackson, you do not want to get involved with that crazy old coot.”
“Who's Mister ironside?” I asked.
“He's already wearing a sword, Carl. He's young, he's in good shape, he's got time. Not like me, who has to come here five days a week… It might be a good idea for him to go and talk to Ironside. He'll make some money, that's for sure.”
“Yeah, but it's not going to pay our bills if Jackson dies in the next week, is it?”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” I said. “Who's dying?”
Carl sighed. “Benjamin Ironside runs an old monster hunting club. It's probably nothing that you've ever had to worry about in the city, because you guys have your own official big city monster hunters, but out here in the country we don't have anything of the sort. Well, unless people from town volunteer, and monsters of interest are usually tracked by Ben Ironside and his helpers. Jimmy has dreams of being a big shot hunter himself. There is good money in it, but it's dangerous.”
“My Dad wants me to learn a trade so I have something to fall back on,” Jimmy said. “But hey if you work for Mister Ironside, we might be able to go on some weekend hunts together. That would be fun.”
I couldn't help the smile forming on my face. So this world wasn't just the same as the one that I had come from. There were monsters here that needed hunting, and people carrying swords with them was not such a strange thing.
“It can't hurt to have a conversation, can it?” I asked.
“I guess not. Besides, Ben and your grandfather were good friends, so I guess you'll have to meet him eventually,” Carl said.
I slipped my hand into my pocket and pulled out my wallet. I took a $20 bill out and handed it over to Carl the mechanic. “Here's my first deposit. If you could write me up an invoice and put down your contract terms on it, I'll make sure that I stick to it. How long do you think it'll take to do the repairs?”
“Plenty of hours left in the day,” Carl said. “Why don't you keep yourself busy, go and see Mister Ironside, and come back here around 3:00 o'clock. We should have all the work done by then.”
“Great,” I said. “I'll see you all later then.”
Jimmy gave me some instructions on how to find the Monster Hunter’s Guild, and I left them to work on the Matsuda. there were a few more stops I needed to make while I was in town today and I thought it would be a good idea to head over to the bank. I really did need to get a handle on whatever finances my grandfather left behind.
The bank was just down the street towards the town hall. It was called the RCU, which stood for the Rural Credit Union. If they were specialists in banking solutions for rural folks, it would probably be a good place to manage the accounts for Second Chance Farm.
There were three bank teller booths towards the back, but there was only one clerk sitting there. The whole place was empty, and she looked up at me with an expectant smile. Her name badge said that her name was Courtney.
“Good morning sir, how can I help you?” Her tone was all business.
“I've been told by a couple of people that I need to come down here and talk to Mister Stern. Sorry, let me explain.” I gave Courtney the whole spiel about who I was and why I was here. I'd be really happy when I got to a stage where I didn't need to vomit that information out whenever I met someone new.
“Yes, you will definitely need to talk to Wallace, but I'm sorry. He's not here today. Besides, we will need to see your power of attorney or the will so we can change all the details of the accounts into your name. Don't worry if you don't have that today, come back tomorrow and I'll book an appointment for you to talk to Wallace Stern. How does 10:00 o'clock in the morning sound?”
“That sounds just fine. Tell me, do you folks do loans for farmers who need to buy more equipment? I've inherited my grandfather's old truck, but I don't know how long it's going to last.”
“Yes, we absolutely do. Although I don't have the authority to start or approve any loan applications. You would definitely be better off talking to Wallace when he gets back tomorrow.”
“Okay, sounds good. I guess I'll come back tomorrow.”
“Great, we'll see you then.” Courtney turned back to the computer at her desk, and I did a double take.
This world not only had actual harvest spirits and monsters that needed hunting, but it had computers as well? If it had computers, then maybe it wasn't so far behind technologically as the world that I had come from. The monitor sitting on Courtney’s desk looked like an old, thick CRT monitor, the kind that I remembered my mother and father having the very first time we got a computer.
“I'm sorry, can I ask you something else?”
Courtney looked confused but intrigued. “I guess. What can I help you with?”
“The computer that you're using there, how big is the hard drive on it? How much RAM does it have?”
Courtney curled an eyebrow up over the rim of her glasses. “The hard drive is pretty large. It's down under the desk but it's about this big?” She made some motions with her hand to indicate a relatively large computer tower, but that's not really what I meant. “I'm not really sure what RAM is either, I'm sorry. These only came in a few months ago and I'm still trying to get used to them.”
“No, that's fine. I just like computers I guess, and was interested. So they're pretty new are they? Before the computers, were you using typewriters?”
“Yes, we were. I'm a good typist but it's strange to be able to make mistakes and just delete them. I was so used to having to type perfectly, but now I can be a little sloppy and nobody cares.”
Well, that answered that. These were probably similar in power to the same computers that my father brought home from work. Those had been the kind that had a two megabyte hard drive, and all they could run was word processors and other business software. If the internet was going to be a thing in this world, it was probably another ten to fifteen years away from being rolled out to everyone across the world.
My knowledge of the trajectory of my own society might allow me to position myself in a way that I could capitalize on this new technology when it finally came in. I thanked Courtney and told her that I'd be back in the morning.
I headed back out onto the street, towards the Monster Hunter’s Guild.