For the next two hours or so, we reviewed what to include in our paramilitary training curriculum. How much should we tell our operatives about our goals? What equipnt should they have on hand. What items should we prioritize for the fabrication ch, currently hiding in a fake production machine in Sacapulas? We agreed that shield rings should be a priority, which led us to finances, because they were quite expensive. The warehouse shield generator had been expensive, but the miniaturization of the sa principles used several more royalty bearing technologies, making it several tis more expensive. We made a wish list, and a list we could afford. We had Joe get started on the smaller list of equipnt imdiately since we were also ti-limited by the capacity of our single fabrication ch.
I left the dining room to relax for a few minutes in the lookout tower. Looking out over the landscape sohow always made feel better. Even there, though, our financial issues continued to roil around in my head.
We were already in debt, paying loans with the inco from those Earth items we had licensed. I wanted to hold as much of Earth’s value back as I could to leverage against the GU letting us be raided, but we needed cash, Galactic Credit cash, now.
If only I could get paid now for things we would offer in the future. Well, we could, Earth traders do it all the ti. They sell futures against commodities which are to be delivered at a later date. They might sell tons of corn before it is grown, gasoline before it’s refined, and so forth. Could I sell futures against Earth products? Maybe a bundle of rights for the molecular patterns of ten edible fruits... to be delivered in two years’ ti. Then, we’d be giving up royalties for a lump sum paynt. Quick cash, delayed delivery, but long-term loss of future inco. Still with the present value... No. What I really wanted to do was sell our future royalties for a set period of ti, after which they would revert back to us. Bonds? Could I sell bonds against the next ten years of chocolate profits for so huge amount, then let the chocolate royalties pay off the bonds for a decade then start collecting them again, if Earth was still around by then? Yes, but how to price them? Would GU investors be interested in such an arrangent. Obviously, if it made them money, they’d be interested.
The interest rates on our debts were roughly equivalent to 8% per Earth year. It was actually compounded every 31 hours per so GU standard ti asurent, but it worked out to 8% per year. I had no doubt that our unproven little world was paying a higher rate than full GU mbers with proven economic strength. So, if our bonds, using product royalties as surety, could return that sa rate for the investors, we could probably find buyers for our bonds. In the few short weeks we had been marketing chocolate, coffee, and now bananas, we still didn’t know the full potential, or the risk of the GU growing tired of the new flavors and the royalties drying up. Too many variables, I thought. Of course, I had access to a hugely powerful quantum AI with access to GU economic data, product introduction histories, lifespans, fads, marketing campaigns, and a host of other data. I sent him a ntal bundle of the idea, with reference to the one example that I recalled: David Bowie selling bonds against his future music royalties. I asked Joe to search for other examples, then co back to with a full report and a recomndation for products rights packages, durations, rates of return and so forth likely to maximize our value while guaranteeing full subscription for a price that would fully fund the equipnt purchases we needed or would likely need, in the next two years. Furthermore, to provide at least five different packages of products we could offer that would fetch that price, over a range of term durations, between 5 and 30 years.
I returned my attention to the matters at hand, expecting a report in a few days. Exactly 12 seconds later, I found the full report and recomndations in my mory, transferred from Joe. "We are underutilizing you, Joe..." I comnted out loud. The packages all contained a varied list of Earth flavors or experiences that would be new to the Galaxy at large. By mixing disparate items in a bundle, we could balance out the risk, the report said. So one package contained, among other items, the entire mint family flavor suite, sturgeon caviar, coconuts (tree and all), iguana at, patchouli, and birch syrup. The other packages were equally diverse, and each had between 18 and 51 different base products.
"Joe, how quickly could we make such a thing happen and get funds to start producing?" I asked.
"About 13 minutes," was Joe’s imdiate answer. "Quantum computers using interdinsional communication with essentially zero lag across galactic distances, get business done quickly. Unfortunately, however, we have to wait for a biological decision-maker to assess the opportunity as summarized by his AI, and decide to pull the trigger, as you say on Earth. 90% will be held in escrow until the samples are collected here by us, analyzed and the patterns duly recorded with the GU Trade Association. If the bond buyers agree that the patterns provided have properties matching the description detailed in the bond offering, the balance will be released."
I blinked, then blinked again.
"See what I an about biological delays?" Joe said, chuckling out loud.
I smiled. Joe, it seems, had quite the sense of humor. "OK, bond package number 3, twelve-year maturity, yes, that will do. Keep updating the other packages based on market conditions and have them ready if I need more cash. Confirm to when the transaction completes."
"Maribel will be ready in three minutes, she will be in a state of limited consciousness, until she exits the LITV booth at her house in country to avoid creating new confounding mories of this place while she is Maribel. I will send the LITV booth directly to the simulation room so there is no contact between Maribel and you or your father as seeing people associated with strong prior emotions might corrupt the imprinting. Luis will not be ready to et her with the car for another 20 minutes. Maribel will remain here, in ntal stasis, until he is ready. You should distract your father, so he does not try to see her," Joe told .
I sent a ntal acknowledgent and rode the elevator back down. He was in the status room. I sat down in one of the adapting chairs beside him. "I think I have a solution to our equipnt problem," I told him. I explained about the bond offerings, and suggested we get started on a second fabrication ch, as soon as the funding hit our account.
"We should send one to Maribel’s house to secure it with shielding and external weaponry while she’s out. The vehicles need to be shielded as well," Dad began, going through what he saw as the highest priorities. "Unfortunately, her car will be vulnerable today."
"Wait on that," I interrupted. "If the car is attacked, it’ll have to take damage like a normal car, or we risk giving away our shielding capabilities. The shield ring will protect Mom, and we’ll get rings to Luis and the other paramilitaries as soon as we can make them."
Dad frowned, but nodded agreent. "You’re right. I just want to make sure Mom stays as safe as possible."
"We all do. And she is," I said with more confidence than I felt.
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