Scania introduced a planned economy early on. It started with large-scale planning and control in order to make the massive construction project run on time and without unreasonable material waste, and grew from there, until eventually the entire Scanian economy was centrally planned and controlled.

Compared to the distribution challenges of the largest corporations of the time, the task was relatively minor, and although detractors and doomsayers predicted it would end in catastrophe, in reality the benefits were many.

--"Planned Economies: A Comparative Study"

***

The next day I woke up feeling famished. I'd eaten a snack the night before on the way home, but skipped dinner in favour of just crashing to bed, partially because we came home so late, but mostly just because I was feeling mentally wrung out. Turns out concentrating so hard for so long on all the data coming in from my swarm could be taxing. Imagine that. So, I went to raid the kitchen.

There I found Val busy grating potatoes to make rösti. She looked up as I entered and smiled at me. "G'morning Sylvi."

"Good morning." I replied, feeling a flush creep up. Dammit, why was she so... everything.

"Fancy giving me a hand with these? We can make a double portion." She said, and indicated the bag of potatoes on the table next to her.

I nodded, and started peeling some more potatoes. Rather a lot more. I was starving.

Next to me, Val laughed as I kept handing her peeled taters.

"Someone is feeling a bit peckish, hey?" She said. "Did they run you ragged in Gdansk? How did it go?"

"It went alright. We had some trouble with Thirteens, Katherine got hurt, but we pulled through."

"Ouch, not too badly I hope?"

"It looked bad to me, but I think she is alright now. Valkyrie medicine is amazing."

"It is that. We'd be hard pressed to do what we do if it wasn't. And Thirteens are tricky. Hard to put down."

I nodded. "I think I need a better solution for them, and other higher number models if they're all as hardy as that."

"That's not a bad idea. What do you have now?"

"A gun that teleports neurotoxins into them. It's pretty good, but it takes a while to kick in, like ten to fifteen seconds. They can still do a lot of damage before they go down."

"Maybe you could combine it with something that holds them in place? Or keeps them away? They're hard to hurt, but it sounds like you actually have that part solved."

"That... that's not a bad idea." I said. "I also need some better armour, I think. My current set got pretty torn up by a Nine that got the drop on me."

"Oh no. You didn't get hurt though?"

"No, there was only the one and it didn't make it through, thankfully."

"Thank goodness. Sounds like you had quite the adventure. Did you have any ideas for your armour?" She asked as she wrung out the grated potatoes in a cloth.

"I'm not sure. I saw Red Knight use these plates of light that appeared in mid air, blocking things. That seemed quite handy."

"Hard Light Projectors. They're a bit fiddly, and quite power hungry, but I think they'd suit you well. Not great against things you don't see coming, though."

"So you're saying I should still be wearing some actual armour."

At this point she had seasoned the grated potatoes with salt and pepper, had thrown them into two large heated pans with oil, and was now prodding at them with a spatula.

"Yeah, and have eyes in the back of your head. Both seem eminently doable, for you." She said.

I nodded at that. "I guess."

"Don't skimp on your defences, though. You can always come back to a fight with better gear and a better plan, but only if you survive in the first place." She admonished me.

"I-I'll keep that in mind."

"See that you do. I don't want you dying on me."

We fell silent after that, just waiting for the rösti to finish cooking. I made the table and prepared a few other things, like slices of bread, butter, cheese and some jam, as well as two different kinds of juices.

Val plated the rösti and brought them out to the table I had set, then paused as she looked over the spread. "Are we expecting guests?" She asked.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, who's going to eat all of this food?"

"Oh, uhm, well. I may have gotten a few gene treatments and need to eat, like, a lot." I said a bit abashedly.

"Ah, that explains it." She said and set down the plates she was holding. She looked at her serving of rösti, then at the rest of the table and all the other food on it and considered for a moment, before cutting off half of hers and putting it on top of mine, and pushed the plate towards me.

I grabbed it eagerly and started digging in.

We ate in companionable silence for a while, until she was mostly done and started talking about inconsequential things, making jokes. I was still busy eating, so contributed little except nods and hums of agreement. Eventually, Jens - Red Knight - sat down and joined us, munching on a leftover piece of rye bread with butter and cheese. We discussed our plans for the day, which in mine and Jens' case consisted of mostly doing nothing, taking a bit of a break, and for Val was meeting a friend out in the city. We cleared the table and cleaned up, then Val said her goodbyes and I drifted back towards my room. I met Katherine on the way there, who looked like she was heading for the gym. She invited me to join her, but I begged off, and instead sought some time to think and plan, while checking up on my plants.

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So, what do you think Eyon? What should I spend my points on next?

[I have some suggestions. Your chat with Ghost Widow was a good starting point, I feel. You could definitely use an upgrade to your defences, both passive and active. In addition, I feel I should point out that you could easily increase your power projection with a higher Yellowjacket to Wasp ratio, which would be best accomplished with a Class II Matter Reconfigurator.]

I see. And what would all of that look like, in terms of points?

Class II Matter Reconfiguration Machines Catalogue - 400 points, 1 token

Class II Light Armour Catalogue - 400 points, 1 token

Class I Force Projection Catalogue - 100 points

Class II Hard Light Emitters Catalogue - 400 points, 1 token

Class II Matter Reconfiguration Machine, Small - 1500 points

Class II Yellowjacket Mk 5 Warfare Drone Blueprint - 1000 points

Class II Light Armour Suit, Carapace - 1450 points

Class II Hard Light Projector - 400 points

Total points... 5650

That's... almost all of what I have. Wait, how many tokens do I have?

[You currently have three tokens.]

How did I get those?

[You got them while in Gdansk, doing deeds worthy of them.]

What does that mean?

[That tokens are harder to get than points.]

You're being quite cryptic right now, you know.

[Yes.]

I huffed. If that was how it was going to be. I sat down on my bed as I considered the list. I still had some questions.

I see you've decided I should keep with the Light Armour? You don't think I'd benefit from something heavier?

[You might. But first, the 'Light' is more about bulk than it is about sturdiness. Of course a heavier suit made of the same materials would offer better protection, but it would also cut into your mobility and, perhaps more importantly, cost a lot more. A large portion of the proposed suit's cost lies in the Hard Light Emitters I have integrated into it, and the improved sensor suite from your Advanced Sensor Catalogue. These should do much to keep you safe.]

Hmm. Speaking of, what's with the Force Projection Catalogue?

[It is a prerequisite for the Hard Light Emitters. Hard Light Emitting technology is not available at Class I. For what it is worth, Force Projection allows various forms of force projection and manipulation, although not as flexibly or strongly as the Hard Light Emitters.]

You seem to have doubled down on those Light Emitters then. Both in the suit and a projector?

[Yes. The suit has passive projectors that respond to ambient pressure changes monitored via your improved sensors, to stop incoming blows and projectiles. The Hard Light Projector is for, as Ghost Widow said, "Keeping them away". It can project planes of force up to fifty meters away, and lock down most things you are liable to run into. The only downside is the power drain. It cannot hold powerful entities indefinitely, nor project in quick succession. An upside is you will be able to literally walk on the air.]

I, wait, what? That sounds amazing!

[Yes, the tactical implications are... You weren't thinking of that at all, were you?]

I coughed and returned to reality from my dreams of walking across the sky, enjoying a sunset with Val from above the clouds.

Of course I was! Tactical! Yes, the possibilities are endless.

[As you say.] Eyon sounded quite sarcastic.

Ehem. Oh, last thing. The Yellowjacket blueprint, shouldn't it be 900 points?

[I took the liberty of finally upgrading their sensor suite.]

I see. Very good, seems like a solid investment now that I'll be able to manufacture them myself. Ooh, will I get to pick a new design for my armour?

[You can, if you prefer. Although, I had already picked out a...]

Yes please! Show me!

[Very well.] I got the impression that Eyon was slightly miffed with this.

Regardless, in my augs I saw a number of suits flickering past, of quite similar design to the one I had already. The colours were still black with yellow highlights and armoured plates, but they settled on more angular designs as they flickered past. I saw some with much more wasp inspired themes with mandibles and antennae, and even one with a bulbous tail-like protrusion, but quickly sorted those out and focused on less cartoonish versions. I was quite attracted to versions with a shinier, harder look, and after that choice was made, the flickering quickly settled down to a final selection of suits.

That one. I thought at the one I preferred, and the others disappeared. It was black and yellow, boxy but sleek armoured suit, more hard-shell than cloth-with-plates, with a full helmet and a hint towards mandibles in the paint job. It was subtly reflective and shimmered slightly in the light. Glorious.

Okay. I like it. Although, I am not really in a rush to buy all of this, am I?

[You are not. I might suggest you buy the Matter Reconfigurator and the Blueprint sooner rather than later, though, in order to get production started.]

A very good point.

[Oh, I should mention. The Class II Drones require the purchase of materials that are not readily available on earth. The cost comes out to 2 points per Yellowjacket.]

That is unfortunate. But still, a lot cheaper than buying them outright.

[As you say.]

Let's do it then. The Matter Reconfigurator and the Blueprint to start, with enough of that material for 50 Yellowjackets.

[Very well.]

Wait! How big is it? Where should I put the thing?

[It is somewhat larger than the one you have already. It should fit fine on the floor over here.]

A wire-frame model appeared in my augs, taking up about a one meter cube of space. I walked over to it.

So, let's get started.

Catalogue Unlocked: Class II Matter Reconfiguration Machines Catalogue - 400 points, 1 token

New Purchase: Class II Matter Reconfiguration Machine, Small Drones - 1500 points

New Purchase: Class II Yellowjacket Mk 5 Warfare Drone Blueprint - 1000 points

New Purchase: Class II Exotic Materials - 100 points

Points reduced to... 2734

The wire-frame model was overlaid with an actual machine, then flickered away. I was left with a machine somewhat similar to the Class I model, but quite a lot bigger. It still had a power cord, though, so I had to plug it in before I could use it.

I did so and loaded up the Yellowjacket blueprint on the machine, to see what fifty of those would require to make. I then went on a supply trip for the more generic materials in the production hall, and had to haul two loads back to supply both the new machine and the Class I one, which I was still having make Wasps.

It turned out I could make Yellowjackets at about one per hour, a which was roughly half as fast as I could make Wasps. Still, looking at my points and the purchases I still wanted to make, the real limitation was going to be there. I had just returned from an incursion, being rewarded with what felt like heaps of points, and I was already running low again.

...was this what living under capitalism was like?