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General survey: is there anything people on the fifth level really desperately want? Clothes, dry shampoo, toilet paper, scrap metal, whatever? Anything besides better food, because duh.

[Locked to Albert Hillsborough]

Also, Albert, we need to talk, brother. I need your oh-so-savvy input.

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How about some art that doesn't move around when you look at it?

Never pictured you as an art guy, Zou. You're just full of surprises. I'll see what I can do.

Well, it's more like... when I go to look at a picture, I'd prefer if it didn't shapeshift to recreate parts of my past. It's pretty disturbing.

Ditto. I'll make a mental note not to swing by that place. Sounds like a lot of people on this ship will want to avoid it.

What do you need my input for?

What you're good at, Pennywise. Starting a business. You in?

What kind of business?

Salvage.

Like I said, you in?

Sure..

What would we be salvaging? Nothing dangerous, or illegal?

So much for a business relationship based on trust, right?

Scrap metal, so far. Some weaponry, but you can get that for free on Stacy anyway. I know this is just going to kill you, Alberto, but we'll be giving stuff away for free. I can hear your wallet weeping from here.

How about we create a business contract? Getting everything in writing is important.

It isn't about my wallet, it is about demand and supply. Besides, currency itself is nothing if there is no set exchange rate. I am sure most people on Stacy use different forms of currency, and all we have is a few 'bertos.

Is there a large demand for weaponry if it is already free? Do we have a large furnace or something similar in which to convert scrap metal into something useful?

Before we put it in practice? Do you think I'm stupid? We don't know how this thing will work. I prefer flexibility.

There is no currency yet. I checked. It's - what do you call it? Barter.

Not everyone can get free weapons or knows how. Yet. There's a forge we can talk to about the scrap metal. I hear the person in charge makes deals.

But a contract would ensure the best interests of all, and it would be in writing. That way nobody could back out of the deal. We just need to lay out what we want plainly in the contract.

But bartering is highly inefficient. Say you have one person that wants a..knife and only is "selling" guns, and then you have a second person that wants a gun, but doesn't have a knife to give that first person because he only has...burgers. Then there is a third person, who has a knife, but doesn't want a gun, he wants burgers. If you had something was valued by all, the process would be smoother. After a while, a system would be set up for how much each item is worth in said currency. Maybe if we melted some of the scraps of metal..

What kind of deals does this person make?

Yeah, no. I'm not letting you screw me out of my fair share with some legalese loophole just because you've been hitting the law library. I've got the sellable stuff, I set the terms. Come on, man, basic negotiation here.

Look, I didn't make the rules. If I did we wouldn't be waking up in snot baths, alright?

Beats me. We'll have to talk to her. We'll have to talk to her. I don't want you pulling anything shady behind my back.

We can have multiple nonbiased people, hopefully proficient in legalese, take a look at the contract to make sure that both sides are fairly represented. I did not go to the library to screw you out of your fair share, I went there to study.

Besides, you clearly need my help, otherwise you would not be so persistent with regards to this merger.

Yes, we will talk to her, together. With your...special morals, I'd rather we go together.

Yeah, because if you learn something for one purpose, there's no possible way you can use it for others. Thanks for clearing that up for me, Pennywise.

The only other guy I really know here kills zombies. Not really the workerbee type. I'm only one person.

I have no idea what you're talking about.

Exactly, there is no possible way to use it to benefit yourself. This is why we need some sort of solid agreement.

Sounds like successful networking. In any case, you still need me.

Right, of course you don't.

I don't need you. I just think you'd be useful. And since you're probably bored out of your skull, figured I'd extend the offer, since we're pals.

So you are doing this out of the goodness of your heart...

Jeez, Albert, your faith in me just touching. You can't tell but I'm tearing up a little bit over here.

I am sure they are buckets of tears, because we are such bosom buddies.

If you find, or someone trades you, any Ninth Empire storage boxes (example sketches and description here (http://community.livejournal.com/trans_channel/276635.html)), I would very much like to know.

Sure, I'll keep an eye out.

They explode if you try to talk to them? What the hell is wrong with your world?

Thanks, I appreciate it. Let me know if you need any help setting up an inventory database - I seem to be doing a lot of that. Or maybe a 'What People Want' list.

It's more likely to destroy its contents than blow up, and only to keep those contents out of the hands of 'aliens.' My species were not known for their open-mindedness. But if you find a storage box, you can have the contents; I only want the box.

Unless the contents are immediately inimical to the ship, that is. Or sentient. Or both. We'll have to negotiate at that point.

Okay, great. I've got a lackey to do the organizing, but I'll keep you in mind.

I'll just like gag myself when working around black and blue boxes, then. What species are you?

So long as you don't argue with the box, you should be fine. I'm of the Living People, from the planet Fle, and I'm fairly certain I am the only one of my species currently awake. If there was another of my species here, they'd probably kick up a ruckus about not being in charge by default.

And you haven't kicked up a ruckus because...no self esteem? All of the other Fle kids wouldn't let you play in their Living People games?

Because I'd make a terrible leader, that's why. And I know it. I don't think I'm superior to everyone else because I was born on a certain planet during a certain empire's rule. Besides, that was mostly self-promotion based on past exploits - the Living People were pretty rotten as rulers.

Why so? Most people don't admit that sort of thing.

Experience. Living People society is very stratified: everyone is either stomping on the people under them, fawning over the people above them, or bickering with the people on the same level. Trying to apply this model of social relationships to other species is not recommended, unless you dilute it a lot. And I haven't done well at that.

I'm really not interested in being number one and having everyone after my spot, or jockeying for the number two or three or four position. I'll just stay in the background.

You forgot to tell me how this is different than human relationships.

Good to know.

Humans (and I speak here on the gross average, with exceptions made for people and societies above/below the baseline) don't maim and kill each other quite so enthusiastically over these sort of arguments. That's what I meant by 'dilute.'

It's worked for me so far.

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