Karl's New Threads. (quick read)

By -
"Hey Karl, over here!"
The big man pushed through the bustle of the early morning market towards the man shouting his name.
"I've got those boots you wanted!"
"Yeah? Did you get the other things I asked for too?
The big man is sweating already and it's only 6:30 in the morning. Once the sun gets up, this old converted cattle shed it going to be unbearable. Better get business over and done with quick.
"Some of it yeah, but it wasn't easy. You got the stuff?"
The black market trader is pawing through the pile of goods on his table, sorting things and arranging items of clothing. He seems not to be paying attention.
"listen. You wanted this junk and you said you could get me what I need..."
"Of course, of course. I just want to be sure we both get what we want."
"..cos if you haven't got it, there are a lot of other traders here."
Karl sweeps his arm around to indicate the market hall. It's really busy, anyone from Utopia Green with something to trade is there, and maybe a few just to look.
"Wait up, Karl, of course I've got what you need. Let's..."
He brings out a big box from the back and puts it on the folding table that makes up his stall. "...just compare to see that we're both happy."

In the box is a heavy duty outdoor work suit. It has a thick waterproof coating on the outside and soft, natural materials on the inside. Pipes twist through the material like intestines, ready to deliver coolant to the most important parts of the body.

"OK, that's the suit I wanted, and here's your server."
Karl dumps the big ugly institutional beige box on the table.
"Hey, be careful with that, it's expensive!"
"You mean valuable, right? Money has no value anymore, so expensive doesn't come in to it. Remember, you're getting the custom software loaded on to this thing, written by yours truly, not just the hardware."
"Yes, and I hope it works like you said it would. The government blocks are still up and if I can't get online, I can't access my inventory."
Karl stroked his chin.
"I don't know if it's going to help you. I haven't heard of any deliveries coming out of the warehouse. But you're welcome to try, and this will do what you need."
"What's next?"

Karl takes an anti-static bag out of his carry all and places it carefully on the table.
"A control card for that excavator that's sitting in front of the dump. I hope you've got everything else you need because this won't be very useful without the right connectors.."
"Don't worry about that my man. I've got most of what I need. And here's what you were looking for."
He places a battered looking portable coolant exchanger on the table. Karl checks the connectors for the work suit.
"Good it fits. Are you sure the exchanger is in working order?"
"As far as I can tell, if it's not, bring it back tomorrow and we'll have a look at it together."

"Last of all, the boots."
He places some old, leather work boots on the table. The brand name is from a company now out of business.
"No one's going to be making any more of these. Better look after them."
Karl reaches down in to his carryall and brings out a cardboard box. He's even more gentle this time.
"Twelve healthy birds. You count 'em if you like. Got to be quick though, they move around a lot."
The baby chicks are milling around in the box making a mess of the wadded newspaper. The trader does indeed count the birds, and finds all are present.

"Nice doing business with you Karl."
"You likewise Jethro. Keep me informed if you get any of the other stuff on my list, and tell me if anyone needs any programs or back-end work OK."
"Will do, Karl. And here, take this as a freebie."
He hands the big man an ugly looking hat, covered with gold reflective foil.
"I couldn't get the hood that goes with the suit, but this should keep the sun off your head. There are sockets in there for the coolant hoses round the back of the headband. Just plug it in the exchanger and try not to bend the hoses too much when you're working. They can snag or fold, and then the coolant doesn't flow."
"Thanks, man. The hood would have been nice, but this will do. It's gonna get hot in the farms, right? But the workers get first pick of the produce and that means the best stuff."
Karl puts his purchases in to his carryall and slings it over his shoulder.

As he turns to leave, the old trader calls out to him.
"Your daughter doing OK, she getting all the vitamins she needs?"
"Will be once I start work. Now the UN care packages have dried up, we're going to be even more dependent on the farms."
Jethro looks downhearted.
"You think it's true then, the government isn't coming back? We're on our own now?"
"Yep. That's the end of capitalism and government and all the rest of it."
The old trader shakes his head and wipes a tear from his eye.
"Damn. I liked capitalism. It was good for business."
"We'll figure something out man, don't worry. Keep on hustling!"
"Yep. See you around Karl."

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Disorder

By -
Image
An excerpt from today's writing. Last night, the guard returned to my cell. In fact, there were three of them. All masked and dressed in those rotting, moldy robes. One replaced the great clam shell, one searched my room and the other placed a stack of papers on my desk. Two of them left, and one remained. It indicated that I should sit, and then it stood behind me, clicking and chattering. I looked at the papers. It was my writing. But it wasn’t what I had written. The great clam shell spoke in its flat, empty voice. “There is confusion in your narrative.” The carved ivory device was translating the clicks and clacks of the guard. The breathy, percussive sounds that issued from beneath the mask were speech of a kind I had never heard before. But such details barely registered at the time. I just sat at the desk and stared at the story, feeling the walls pressing tighter around me. Never had I been so aware of the suffocating reality of my imprisonment. My text had been conver...
Read more

Community Contribution: Spring.

By -
Spring Jensen looked about her, aware of the beauty that was bestowed her. The gentle breeze of the mid afternoon forest she called home blew gently through her hair, caressing around her body. The air was sweet with the smell of fresh water, pollen, and the life of the forest all about. Her home, a small building nestled into the side of a hill was simple and functional. A roof hung over two artificial walls, and then against the hill itself. Inside she had a small stove, a bed, and some simple furniture. Some bowls, cups, and simple utensils adorned her table, along with candles, flint sparks and picture books. Currently Jensen sat outside her small home, enjoying what she had to view. The ruins of what was once a dense apartment complex sat not far away, had been overrun by the forests as nature reclaimed what was always hers. Trees and vines had quickly moved in after the coming of the end, followed by the animals of the wild. Currently some small chitters were galloping ...
Read more

Future imperfect.

By -
Image
Do you know the futures cone ? It's used to give an understanding of what we mean when we talk about the future. Anything "could" happen. Even the preposterous and impossible ;  Aliens landing.  The second coming.  President Biden.  A successful Brexit.  The AI singularity.  WW3.  A new ice age...  Preposterous. The one we usually worry about is the "projected" future. The default outcome if we pursue business as usual. That one has pretty unpleasant results even within the next few decades.  BAU If anything, some of our earlier projections were too optimistic and too cautious. Scientists wanted to be absolutely sure of their findings, so they erred on the side of caution.  Now we face a projected future that's even worse than we previously imagined.  Unlikely? Paradoxically, this future is probably the most unlikely. The very nature of that future will force us to move away from busine...
Read more