Jordan's Dilemma
Copyright© 2022 by SW MO Hermit
Chapter 7
After they were on course for the Hyper limit, Karen stood from the Captain’s seat and said, “Number one, set a normal watch schedule. Section two, announce the 0800 staff meeting, please.”
The meeting went well, and all participants, including the Lieutenant Governor and senior civilians on board, agreed the visit had been productive. Elsie said, “During the visit, you gathered 137 documents on various subjects and 26 replicator templates, including the large ones for the Archerfish and her various weapons, which were modified by the Atlanteans. Do you wish to view these documents?”
Karen said, “Not at this time, Elsie. Please make them available to those who might benefit from viewing them, however.”
The trip from Atlantis was again boring for most, though the few engineers didn’t find it so, as they spent much of their free time immersed in the technical files their new friends on Atlantis had given them. Their arrival at Harrad, however, was a surprise. As soon as they dropped from Hyper, they were greeted with, “Welcome to Harrad Colony, how may we assist you?”
“Thank you,” Elsie sent as she played her arrival song, “Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie.”
After the arrival announcement, Karen said, “This is Captain Karen Smith of the Cay ship Lewis & Clark. We request permission to approach and orbit. We would like to speak with your leadership about a potential trade agreement.”
As they approached the planet, Elsie kept talking to the local AI and learned that both Inkie and T’Bwinkel were in the colony. If an AI could show excitement, Elsie definitely did upon hearing that news. “Captain,” Elsie said. “Both Inkie and T’Bwinkel are in Harrad right now. We’ve really hit the jackpot, as you humans say. If anyone can get us permission to visit Trd’Ya, it’s them. T’Bwinkel is a skilled trader and recently made some great deals at Trd’Ya.”
After achieving orbit, Karen and the diplomatic team were transported to Harrad and greeted by Governor Michael, Inkie, and T’Bwinkel. After introductions and formal greetings, the Governor invited everyone to his office to discuss business. All of Lewis & Clark’s delegation was amazed that a Tu’ull had greeted them in person. They were even more surprised to see young Tu’ull running and playing with human children.
T’Bwinkel saw them watching the children and said, “You seem surprised to see our young ones playing together. We are learning to appreciate one another, starting with the young. Our different races can benefit from one another and live in harmony if we keep learning. We have many friends among humans. Tu’ull AIs discovered errors in Darjee CAP tests and in handling agreements made with humans. We seek our own agreements, but only with select humans, and we hope you are one of them. Every resident on Harrad meets the revised CAP criteria and, as you see, the colony is thriving and harmonious.”
After they reached the conference room, the Governor said, “I know your AI, Elsie, said you were here to discuss trade. What exactly did you mean by that? I would think that with replicator technology, you would have everything you might need.”
Carolyn smiled and said, “We do, as I’m sure you do as well, but what about luxuries? Or maybe different technology, or technological improvements not found in the database given to us by the Darjee, or newer technology than what was in those databases?”
“Hmm, I see. So you’re looking for luxury goods. What makes you think we might have them, and what could you trade for them?”
Carolyn chuckled before saying, “We all might enjoy some luxuries, but that wasn’t what I was aiming for. We’ve already visited Wayward and Atlantis to discuss trade and cooperation with them. Among the four colonies, Atlantis is the only one with regular contact with Earth and the Darjee, which supposedly represents the Confederacy. We discovered at Wayward that the contract between the Darjee and humanity is even more one-sided in favor of the Darjee than it is fair. We also learned that Wayward is obligated to provide handmade items to the Darjee, who then trade them to other Confederate worlds to help offset the cost to them of providing necessities to humanity.”
“I see. We might have something to discuss then. Before we start, how about some refreshments?” Hearing murmurs of agreement, he turned to a nearby concubine and said, “Run to the replicator and get drinks for our guests.”
The conk returned with frosty bottles of beer for everyone and said, “This is the colony’s favorite, but if you want something different, let me know.” The guests hesitantly opened their drinks and took a swallow while the locals watched. Every guest looked surprised, and Karen said, “That is excellent. It tastes just like beer brewed on Earth. How did you get the replicators to do this?”
Michael smiled and said, “We, or rather Inkie, traded for a replicator that makes exact copies of alcohol, leaving the impurities in rather than removing them as the Darjee’s replicators do.”
“Where can we find these Thring, and what do you think they’ll want in trade for one of their replicators?”
“The trading rendezvous at Trd’Ya is where we traded for it. Well, actually, Inkie and T’Bwinkel traded for the replicator. That is one of the Confederacy’s trading locations.”
“Could we get coordinates for Trd’Ya so we can trade?”
Michael looked at T’Bwinkel and said, “What do you think, T’Bwinkel?”
She looked thoughtful before speaking. “I do not believe there would be a problem with them going there, but they would probably need an introduction before they could make any significant trades.” She paused, then continued. “I do not see why Inkie and I could not accompany them to introduce them and facilitate their first trades.”
Caroline smiled and said, “Thank you so much, T’Bwinkel. Now, if only we knew what they would be interested in trading for.”
Inkie laughed and said, “Well, we traded a six-pack for the replicator.”
“What! Six beers! That’s all?”
“Yep. We traded them the right to make and produce the beer for their people, and in return received the replicator, along with those same rights for Pern.”
“Damn. And we have people creating art objects, like the Wayward colony, hoping to trade them. Please don’t tell me that’s a waste of time. We were told the Confederacy races want handmade objects.”
“Oh, they do, without a doubt, but the Thring were interested in the beer we used for testing. Many races, including the Tu’ull, also enjoy Earth music and are willing to trade for music rights or concert tickets. Basically, trade now involves templates of objects, small physical quantities of items (like the dart game we traded), or intellectual property such as music. You need to specify any limits on the use of intellectual property or other items you trade, as we did—limiting usage to the Thring only or, in their case, restricting our use of the replicator to humans.
“We made a few other trades. We traded a dartboard, a set of darts, and instructions and rules for the game of cricket to the Loaka. Their species loves to play games, so I suspect you could trade other games to them.”
Carolyn turned to Karen and said, “We definitely need to go to Trd’Ya. If they’re willing to come with us, is there any reason we can’t take Inkie and T’Bwinkel along?”
“None that I can think of.”
“Well, then, we’ll do it,” she said, then turned toward T’Bwinkel and Inkie and asked, “If you’re willing to accompany us and provide the introduction, when can we leave? We’ll adjust our schedule to yours, within reason.”
“The day after tomorrow works for me,” Inkie said, “Assuming that’s okay with you, T’Bwinkel.”
“Yes, I can be ready. I would also like to bring some of the young ones. Will there be room on your ship, Caroline, or should we take R’Stbkt as well?”
“How many extra persons do you wish to take?”
“Including Inkie and me, there would be seven of us. The other five are young and can live in one room, as they do now.”
“Then yes, we can accommodate you easily,” Karen said.
Their remaining time on Pern was spent getting to know each other better and laying a foundation for future cooperation. They loaded their guests’ minimal luggage the night before departure, and the guests teleported aboard the morning of departure. The five children, though not novice travelers, were new to trading, so they were excited about their upcoming adventure. When the Lewis & Clark broke orbit, all five young guests were glued to the vid screens in the wardroom, watching Pern as it floated beneath the ship and began to shrink as they accelerated away.
The voyage didn’t feel as long for the adults as it normally did because they spent time with the young guests, teaching them about ship operations, diplomacy, and trading tactics. When they reached Trd’Ya and dropped out of hyperspace, they were challenged. After T’Bwinkel established their bona fides, they were directed to a parking spot. Almost immediately, they began receiving trade inquiries—what they had to trade and what they were looking for. Soon, discussions and bargaining began with several other traders.
During the bargaining, they were contacted by a Thring ship asking whether they had varieties of beer other than those traded during T’Bwinkel’s previous visit. Caroline glanced at Karen and raised her eyebrows. Karen sighed and shook her head.
Caroline said, “I’m sorry, but we have no beer with us. We do have some examples of other alcoholic drinks. Some are wines, and some are various varieties of a drink we call whisky or bourbon. Would you be interested in those? Or perhaps you might be interested in some other games we play?”
“We Thring are always willing to trade for the right item. Let us see or sample these items. Interested in what, are you?”
“We have many interests, all related to technology. A particular interest of ours is your replicator technology. During our visit with T’Bwinkel on Pern, we were served replicated beer that tasted as good as any on our ancestral world. We would like to be able to replicate our alcoholic drinks so they taste just as they should.”
“Ahh, sorry, I am, but we cannot trade the replicator to you. Those on Pern hold the rights to it in Human space.”
Inkie interrupted the negotiation and said, “Honorable Thring, I am Inkie. I traded the Honorable Frtrdr Baslim the beer for the replicator technology. In this instance only, I release you from the restriction on replicator trading.”
“Ah, good, that is. Honorable Caroline, send us a sample of this whiskey and wine so we may taste it and determine its trade value.”
“Thank you. I will send samples of all the various wines and whiskeys we have.”
While Caroline was negotiating with the Thring, Karen was negotiating with a Loaka ship. The trader said, “I am Loaka, called Ply’r. The Honorable Spd’r traded with the Honorable Inkie for a game of darts. Do you have more games to trade?”
“Yes, we do. We have another game similar to Darts called Cornhole. Allow me to show you a video of it. Another game you might be interested in is Archery. It’s also similar to Darts, but I have to warn you that it can be very dangerous, even deadly, if played carelessly. The pieces used in the game were once weapons on Earth.”
Karen heard a significant change in Ply’r’s voice when he said, “I do not think we would be interested in a weapon! I will consider the corn hole game, however.”
“As you wish. I apologize if mentioning Archery offended you. Many people on Earth have Archery competitions, just like with darts. I am having the AI send the Cornhole video as we speak.”
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