Chapter 2

One of the biggest problems that a D-Hopper has when he opens a new planet is his competition. ’Link-Hoppers’ are one of the risks that successful, independent D-Hoppers have to deal with. They can follow you when you hop, and you won’t know they are following you until you get to where you are going. Then it’s too late to lose them.

When I became an independent D-Hopper, I made a series of rules for myself to prevent my competition from finding a planet that I was opening. These rules are standard policy for most D-Hoppers that go exploring.

The first rule is to always travel through Home Universe when going from the object planet, to another destination, or returning to the planet. With the number of D-Hoppers resident on the planets of Home Universe, I can easily lose myself in the crowd before hopping to my next destination.

The remaining rules are to approach Home Universe on different Forth Dimension axes, leave Home Universe on different axes, and arrive at different planets within Home Universe. In other words, avoid creating departure and arrival patterns. By following these rules, any Link-Hopper that monitors me, will not be able to determine even the general direction in which my destination is located.

I also had several evasive diversions that I used during my early trips between Earth and the Multiverse. I created these diversions myself, and may need to use them in the future, so I will not describe them.

When I first arrived on Earth, I happened to select an arrival location in the United States. The main problems I faced were I could not speak any of Earth’s languages, I had no local currency, and I knew no one who could help me become established.

A D-Hopper expects these problems when they first arrive on a new planet, and the D-Hopping University trained us to cope with them. I experienced these types of difficulties on the planets that I had visited in the past, so I had some experience in overcoming them.

D-Hoppers, who go into exploration, prepare and carry an ’explorer’s backpack’. At the start of a trip, my backpack contained a twelve-week supply of concentrated foods. It wasn’t haute cuisine, but it would sustain life. There was also a selection of merchandise that could be sold in local markets, once I could speak a little of the language. Learning the language was the first thing I needed to do, but in order to do that, I needed a friend.

I located a place where I could sit and observe Earth’s inhabitants, and listen to their speech. You can learn a lot about how people communicate just by watching their body language. I learned the basic body motions for ’Yes’ and ’No’, and I learned the words that went with the motions. From there, I learned a little bit of the language by making brief contacts with people until I located Slim.

I suppose you could say Slim was my first friend on Earth. He helped me to learn English, mostly basic words and phrases that would enable me to get a room and a meal. Slim also helped me to sell some of the trade items that I had in my backpack. I think my trade goods supported Slim and me for almost six months, while I learned the English language.

I was only on Earth for about a week and eating only my emergency rations, when I made a very serious mistake. Slim offered me a can of soda pop. I swallowed one mouthful and promptly passed out. When I woke up, I was disoriented and Slim had me sip more of that drink and I passed out again. When I woke up again, Slim gave me water to drink. When my head cleared, I talked with Slim and realized that he had given me a drink that was very high in sucrose, and that I was now a sugar addict.

One of the first things I learned about Earth’s people is, they are all full-blown sugar addicts. It took me over two months of trial and error to condition my body to tolerate sugar. I should mention that when I say sugar, I am referring to sucrose, which is the common form of sugar on Earth. The other forms of sugar do not bother the people of the Multiverse.

The average Multiverse citizen can tolerate extremely weak sucrose solutions. Ingesting pure sugar, or something with a high concentration of sugar, will turn the person into a sugar addict. Sugar addicts require a continual supply of sucrose, but that form of sugar is rare in the Multiverse. Due to the limited supply and hazards of handling sugar, it’s extremely expensive. Sugar addicts cannot be cured, and they suffer side effects from their addiction. If they do not receive a supply of sucrose, their body deteriorates and eventually they die. The sugar substitute that they give addicts only delays the inevitable.

I was getting low on trade goods and had an idea of what was valuable on Earth. I made a trip back to Home Universe to resupply myself with suitable trade goods. That trip was the first trading hop I made from Earth. I carried eight ten-pound bags of granulated sugar in my backpack.

My first order of business on my arrival on Vora was to visit my parents and pay my respects. Stan and Marsha are close representations of their actual names.

When I first got home, the first thing I heard was my Dad shouting, “Doug! When did you get back?”

“I just arrived, Dad. Where’s Mom?”

“She’s at the office. I came home to pick up some papers that I need for a client. Drop your things in your room, and come down to the office with me. Your Mom will never let me hear the end of it, if she doesn’t get to see you right away.”

“Sure. Just give me a few minutes to freshen up, and I’ll be ready to go.”

I dropped my backpack in my room and locked the door. Then I made a quick trip to the bathroom, and took a moment to comb my hair. That was all I needed. We went out and got into the hover car, and Dad headed to the office.

I should explain that the office was actually part of the warehouse where we stored specialty woods before shipping them to our customers. Our warehouse was just one of the locations on Vora where the family stored the wood we ordered for a customer until it could be shipped to the customer.

Dad said, “I noticed you locked the bedroom door. Is there anything I need to know about the contents of your backpack?”

“Not really, Dad. I found an extremely valuable planet that I am going to open. One of its very common and inexpensive commodities is sugar. I brought about eighty pounds of sugar home with me. I would not want someone to be accidentally exposed to it, and become a sugar addict.”

“You left eighty pounds of sugar in our house! My god, that’s a fortune! Aren’t you afraid someone might break in and steal it?”

“No. First of all, no one but you knows it’s there. If some unauthorized person enters the house, they deserve whatever happens to them.

“Secondly, it only cost me seventy two dollars to buy it. You have to remember, I’m a D-Hopper now. I buy low and sell high. I should net over a million dollars for that seventy two dollars of sugar. Before I go back, I’ll buy eighty pounds of platinum for about eleven thousand. On Earth, I’ll get about one-point-six million for it.”

Dad was landing in the parking lot when he said, “It sounds as if my son is making progress in his new profession. I hope you know the family misses you. We were looking forward to working with you; but I guess you’re going to make out better, financially, as a D-Hopper.”

Dad slipped me into the office and over to Mom’s desk without her seeing me. He stepped up beside her and motioning to me, he said, “Marsha, you have a visitor.”

“Doug! Oh my god! It’s been so long that we were worried something had happened to you. Let me look at you. You look pale and skinny. How’s your health? Why didn’t you come home and visit sooner?”

Dad interrupted, “Marsha, give the boy a chance. He can’t answer you if you keep asking questions.”

Mom looked back at me and I said, “Everything is fine, Mom, and I’m in good health. I found a new planet, and I found a friend. It’s taken me a long time to learn enough of the language to get around.”

Mom’s smile lit up the room, “How long can you stay?”

“Well, I don’t have to be back by any specific time. My friend Slim said he would be at our hotel for at least a month, so I’m not in a hurry. I have some trade goods that I want to sell, and I need to take care of some banking and investment business. Other than that, I’m all yours for a week.”

My brothers and sisters were serving their apprenticeship in a neighboring town under an uncle, so I didn’t get to see them that night. I spent the night with my parents and we talked late into the evening catching up on what we had been doing since my last visit.

I told my parents that I had located and was opening a new planet and it had several very valuable commodities. I let Mom know that I was carrying sugar to sell. I would have given my parents several pounds for their personal use, but uncut sugar is highly addictive in the Multiverse. While it’s not exceptionally dangerous, unless ingested, special handling is required until the sugar is properly diluted.

The next day I made an appointment to meet an independent trade agent. My parents had recommended that I use Carol Matts. She was a reasonably attractive woman in her early fifties.

I walked into her office and said, “Missus Matts, I am Doug Smith. My parents, Stan and Marsha Smith, recommended you to me. I am a D-Hopper and in need of an Independent Trade Agent.”

Author’s Note: Yes, I know Smith is not their name, but using my assumed name makes sense, since you can’t pronounce their real name or read Trade Speak.

“Oh, yes. Stan commed me yesterday to find out if I would be interested in a new client, and he told me a bit about you.”

“Yes, he mentioned that to me. Before we get into the specifics of what I have to trade, I would like to go over your fee structure.”

Carol handed me a printout that defined her services, and the fee for each service. After looking it over, I decided her fees were reasonable. She agreed to represent me, and we entered into a long-term confidentiality agreement.

“Now that the formalities are out of the way, Doug, what can I do for you today?”

“I am in the process of opening a new planet. Today I have eighty pounds of pure uncut sugar that I would like to sell. I would like to obtain a Letter of Introduction to a local spice trader. I would also like to purchase some platinum, so I want a Letter of Introduction to a local metals trader, also.”

Author’s Note: In the Multiverse, a Letter of Introduction is a legal document, which states that the issuing agent is placing their customer in the hands of a specified trade agent. It also establishes a legal agreement between the two agents. If the specified agent accepts the Letter, they are agreeing to treat that customer in a fair and honest manner. The penalty for failing to fulfill the agreement can be as severe as a fine, plus banishment from the Trading Guild. All reputable trading agents in the Multiverse belong to the Trading Guild and the majority of the Multiverse’s trade goes through the hands of Guild members. Loss of Guild membership can financially destroy the trade agent and possibly his trade agency and the reputation of its other agents, as well!

“That’s no problem, Doug. You do realize that you can get better prices by hopping to Spice World and Metal World.”

“Yes, but I would prefer to not have to spend the additional time that that would require.”

Carol excused herself so she could prepare my Letters of Introduction. Before she started that, I also asked her if she could provide me with a list of readily available, inexpensive trade goods that could be easily carried in a backpack.

After giving me two data chips containing the Letters I requested, we discussed the general types of merchandise I was willing to handle, and she cut a data chip that provided me with a listing of valuable merchandise, its grading criteria, and the average approved price quoted by the respective trade guilds during the past three months.

Author’s Note: In the Multiverse, each Trade Guild is responsible for one or more types of merchandise. The Trade Guild defines the grading criteria of the merchandise and sets the approved price for each grade. Trade Agents and their customers use the Guild’s approved prices as a guide when buying and selling merchandise.

Sugar is classified as a seasoning in the Multiverse, so Carol contacted a local Spice and Herb Guild agent. She described the merchandise I had for sale and indicated the quantity to the agent. They negotiated a price of 1.43 million for the sugar, assuming the weight was accurate and the sugar was 99.999% pure. She also arranged for her commission to be paid directly to her by the agent from my sale price. Carol set up an appointment for me for just before lunch. She then contacted a local metals trade agent letting them know that I wanted to purchase about eighty pounds of platinum, and negotiated a price for me. We left the time of the appointment open, since I wasn’t certain when I would be able to meet with the agent.

When my business with her was complete, I gave Carol my financial data chip and we transferred her transaction fees to her financial data chip. Her commissions would be paid to her by the Trade Agents. Carol was quite willing to go the extra mile, as the Earth saying goes, to have me as a satisfied customer. Very large fortunes can be made by those who are involved in opening a new planet, and her future commissions on my trades could be sizable. As I departed Carol’s office, I let her know that if my business went smoothly I planned to use her for all of my future trading ventures.

Note: An Independent Trade Agent’s commission is the sum of the standard commission and a ‘bonus commission’. For the standard commission, the agent and customer agree upon a percentage of the actual sale or purchase price. They also agree on the percentage rate of the ‘bonus commission’. The bonus commission is only paid when selling, if the negotiated sale price is above the price recommended by the guild; or when buying, if the purchase price is less than that recommended by the guild.

I left Carol’s office and went directly to the spice agent’s office. I had to wait for him to finish with another client, but once I was seated in his office, our business went smoothly and quickly. We took the sugar to his lab where it was weighed and tested for quality. Within an hour of my arrival, I was headed to my bank with a guaranteed funds data chip containing 1.2 million dollars. The quality was slightly lower than expected, but the weight was slightly higher than I estimated.

At my bank, I deposited all of the chip’s funds into my bank account, and obtained enough cash to pay for my day-to-day expenses for the next week. I stopped at the bank’s accounting department to let them know the financial details of the sugar sale and give them my copy of the sale’s paperwork.

I had been dealing with this bank for several years and had found that their accounting group saved me more money when it came time to pay my planetary taxes than a commercial tax accountant. At my request, the accounting department recommended an investment counselor and they made an appointment for me.

I had enough time for lunch before my appointment at the investment counselor’s office. I found a sandwich bar near the counselor’s office and ordered the daily special, which turned out to be a bowl of soup and a sandwich.

I arrived at the counselor’s office a little early and relaxed in his waiting room until he returned from his lunch. After completing a confidentiality agreement, I told the counselor that I was a D-Hopper, and we discussed the types of investments that I would be interested in making. I gave my financial data chip to him and we decided on how much money I should invest in each of the investments he recommended. We transferred the money I wanted to invest from my bank to his company’s bank.

Before leaving his office, I completed the paperwork necessary for appointing my parents to act as my agents. My parents and I anticipated that they would need to expend a significant amount of time tracking my investments, so I had made a financial arrangement with them for handling my investments.

My day had been a bit tiring, so I decided to defer purchasing the platinum until later. I decided to do a bit of personal shopping instead of going directly to my parent’s home. I had decided that the persona I wanted to project on Earth was one of wealth and power. Gold and diamonds are very plentiful and cheap in the Multiverse, but expensive on Earth, so I decided that I would buy myself several elaborate gold chains to wear around my neck and several diamond rings for my hands.

I wandered through the commercial district looking for a jewelry store that handled high quality costume jewelry. I finally found one that stocked mass produced jewelry. I located three heavy gold chains that complimented each other and almost exactly the type of ring that I wanted. I wasn’t very happy with the ring’s style, but I would become accustomed to it in time. The stone was a clear, flawless, rectangular, 12-carat diamond that gave off lots of sparkle. I liked it, and for mass produced jewelry, the workmanship was excellent. I was almost ready to leave when I saw a second ring that really grabbed my attention. It had a brilliant red, 3-carat, faceted rectangular stone, mounted in a platinum setting. On each side of the red stone was a similarly shaped and faceted clear bluish green stone of about 2-carats. The light scintillating off the three stones really grabbed your attention. My total cost for the five items was under a hundred dollars.

It was the busy time of the year for my parents, so we weren’t able to visit during the day. My parents had arranged with my uncle for my siblings to visit, so a couple of days later I had the chance to visit with them. I told them about some of my D-Hopping experiences and opening up a new world; and they were enthusiastic over their new professions. They told me a great deal about the different woods that they were buying and selling. I told them that I would bring them some sample chips of the common and exotic woods of Earth the next time I visited.

My week at home was over, so I let my parents know that I would stop in the next time I hopped into the neighborhood and we said our goodbyes. I had stored my costume jewelry in my backpack when I had returned home. I didn’t want to be seen in the Multiverse wearing cheap costume jewelry.

I was ready to return to Earth, so I went straight to the office of the metals trade agent. I caught him at a good time, so we were able to conclude my business, quickly. I left with eighty pounds of platinum in my backpack.

The next day, I said goodbye to my parents and returned to Earth.

After reaching Earth, I discussed selling the platinum with Slim. The amount that I had to sell surprised him, and it took him awhile to recover.

“Doug, me boy, you have a veritable fortune in that backpack of yours. We need to do two things. First of all, you need to open a bank account, and secondly you need to sell the platinum.

“To open a bank account requires an ID. If we try to get you ID through the normal channels, the government will get involved. For people like us, that would be a disaster. I know a man who can get you a driver’s license and a Social Security card. You will also want to sell off your bullion through several different dealers, in small amounts. They and banks are required to report large transactions to the government.”

“Thanks, Slim. I want you to have a share of my profits for helping me.”

Slim helped me sell a small amount of platinum, and I took the proceeds in cash. I used the cash to pay for the driver’s license and SSA card that Slim’s friend had gotten for me. From what I know now, I suspect Slim’s friend was a forger who made the license and card for me. With those documents, I went to a bank and opened a checking and savings account. Slim told me that we would go to several banks and open at least a checking and savings account at each bank.

“Slim, why do I need so many accounts?”

“Doug, you need to stay off of the government’s radar. They have many different ways of finding people like you and me. If they find you or get on your trail, they will be a major pain in the ass for you.

“Banks are required to report transactions of ten thousand dollars or more. If you keep each transaction to about eight or nine grand, they won’t have to file a mandatory report. We will need to devise a way to explain your income to your bullion buyers and the banks.”

Over the next ten days, Slim and I opened bank accounts at fifteen different banks.

We told the bullion buyers that we had located an old wooden sailing ship off the New Jersey shore, and when we explored it, we found a large amount of bullion. We informed them the ship was in deep water, so our dive time was limited, and we could only bring up a small amount of bullion every few days. We made sure that we let them know that we were trying to keep the government from learning about our discovery, because they might finagle some way to claim our find.

“Doug, I had some trouble with the government a while back with some of their financial laws. I’m not what you would call a very honest man. I can smell a crooked dealer a mile away, and the bullion dealers we are dealing with are crooks. However, they are our kind of crooks. They know there is something wrong with our story, so they are giving us less than full value for the bullion. But in exchange, they are not reporting us to the government.”

Selling eighty pounds of bullion in small amounts and depositing the proceeds is not as easy as it sounds. Slim and I were both selling the bullion. I gave him a cut of the profits, and deposited my checks in my different bank accounts. Slim advised me to use their automatic teller machines so my face wasn’t well known around the bank.

“Doug, I was thinking about things the other day. The banks are going to question you making so many large deposits over time. I believe you need a cover story to explain these deposits. I decided that you should create the persona of a bullion buyer who purchases bullion from private sellers.

“We will call your business Smith’s Bullion Buyers. Use your main account for most of the business deposits and withdrawals. Periodically go to the bank and withdraw a large amount of cash. Talk with the teller during the transaction, and let them know that your customers prefer to be paid in cash for the bullion they sell you, but don’t make them suspicious by being too obvious about it.

“We can use the cash for living expenses and you can give me my share in cash.”

I was able to sell the platinum for a net profit of one point seven million dollars. I would have to pay taxes here on Earth, but at least I would not be double taxed. In the Multiverse, you always pay taxes on the planet where you sell the merchandise.

Slim and I had been selling bullion for almost six months and I had completed twelve trading trips. Every time I sold bullion to a dealer, I got a bank check. I felt very uncomfortable with all that money on nothing more than a flimsy piece of paper. It could easily be lost, stolen, or destroyed. I prefer the security and simplicity of financial and guaranteed funds data chips.

I returned from my thirteenth trading trip and went to the hotel where Slim and I were staying. He wasn’t there and the hotel clerk told me he left several days ago. Slim told the clerk said that he had called his sister and she had an emergency. He had to go there to help her, and he said he would call me in a month. The hotel agreed to store my personal belongings until I returned.

I rented a small private room for a week and collected my stored belongings. I then began selling off the bullion. I made six more trading trips and disposed of the bullion from those trips. Slim had not called and it had been over four months since he left. I was worried and feared that something had happened to Slim. I kept hoping that I would hear from him, but I never did.

In retrospect, I think Slim believed that the government was close to learning of our bullion selling operation. I think he was afraid we were going to be caught, and he decided to leave while he still had a good chance of getting clear of the operation without having to answer any questions that the authorities might ask him. Slim had always been paranoid about the government and very superstitious; perhaps he feared the thirteenth trip would be bad luck.

I finally gave up hope of Slim returning and I decided to find a place where I might like to live when I retired on Earth. As a sugar addict, I had to remain close to my supply of sugar, but I didn’t care for the East Coast. Perhaps it’s more accurate to say, I didn’t like Boston. I decided that Southern California or Colorado might be more to my liking. Vora was mostly flat land and I thought something different might be nice. The mountains of Colorado appealed to me, so I decided a trip to Colorado would be appropriate. For the next few days, I spent most of my time in a library researching Colorado and its cities. I eventually settled on Denver. When I asked the best way to get there, the hotel clerk suggested that I fly. I thought it would be a novel way to travel, and decided to try it.

I decided to close all of my bank accounts, so I transferred all of my money into my main checking account. I withdrew a large amount of cash and accepted a cashier’s check for the remaining balance.

The following morning, I checked out of the hotel and caught a cab to the airport. The young lady selling me a ticket wanted to see my ID. I reached for my wallet, but it was not in my pocket where I carried it. Fortunately, the majority of my cash and the cashier’s check were in my bag. However, the young lady told me she could not sell me a ticket without ID, and I had no ID. She wouldn’t accept the name on the check as identification, although she was shocked by the amount of the check. Somehow, the Transportation Security Administration got involved.