Business
Chapter 2
-VB-
3003 May
No Lyran wants to live off of the basic minimum social welfare the Commonwealth provides. No one would considering that it was intentionally made to be as unattractive as possible. The fuckers at the Social Welfare Department calculated the cost of calorie to the thousandth of a Kroner for the most bland but nutritious ration bars so that no one wanted to live on the welfare.
Because those bars? Those bars were literally soul crushing.
It wasn’t just bland. It actively tasted bad. Bad enough that the gag reflexes activated for a lot of people but not enough that they can’t swallow it. And if a Lyran lived on welfare, then that bar was the only food they could get on a daily basis.
Housing was also provided. But like my dingy apartment in the most compact and brutalist skyrise apartments that would make the Soviets proud, housing was not only limited but also cramped.
Allowance for social activities? The Commonwealth did not provide that for those on welfare. The Commonwealth, through subtle gestures and sometimes direct statements, more or less stated that the people on welfare were fucking lucky to be Lyrans instead of a Capellan, FedSuns, Leaguer, or, heaven forbid, a Combine, so shut the fuck up and get off the welfare as soon as possible BY GETTING A FUCKING JOB.
Suffice to say, welfare Lyrans were … not quite despised by other Lyrans but also held in the same contempt as trash. Trash that was inside a trash can, mind you, because all of the laws protecting a regular citizen still protected a welfare Lyran, so no one went around beating up welfares. Mostly. A noble kid and their crew might come around once or twice a year.
So let me tell you, System.
It was three long fucking years eating that goddamn gut wrenchingly disgusting ration bar so that I could sit in the library full time to “study.” The only reason I was able to stomach it was through a liberal use of the hot sauce, the infamous Tharkad Sriracha Sauce.
… And now, I was here.
I stared down at the very rough blueprint in front of me.
I did not end up choosing the asteroid laser mining ship as my first blueprint but rather a different thing.
Part of the reason, I’ve learned after spending a lot of time in the library, that the people of the Inner Sphere and the Periphery did not like to do space mining was because there was a cultural aversion to it. Not a total avoidance, mind you, but it came close. It was only “freaks” and “weirdoes” like the Sol Asteroid colonists and other “oddities” of society that chose to partake in such activities.
That was the “minor” concern, however. The two major concerns were thus. A ship that could be used for space mining could be used to haul battlemechs, which was an already closed case right there for most of the people in the Inner Sphere. The other concern was trade; a ship that can haul enough ores can haul more valuable goods between planets instead… like mech parts, gold, jewelry, documents, or high end electronics most planets cannot make.
Which was weird because being a part of a jumpship or a dropship crew was considered a good job but an asteroid miner wasn’t…?
Bah. Whatever. Something for me to solve later.
And so, that’s what led to me choosing the particular blueprint I did.
If space mining was not widespread due to that many factors, then I would just have to start with planetside mining.
That was the decision I made, and that was the decision that led me to research the blueprint, specifications, and the claims inside the large beige business envelope in my hands.
[Midas Explorer/Surveyor All-Terrain Driver (MESA)
Model: Midas (original)
Manufacturer: N/A
Production Year: 3003
Use: Exploration, Surveying
Type: Wheeled
Cost: 15,000 C-Bills
Mass: 20 tons base
Engine: 25 Fusion Engine
Crew: min 1, max 10
Speed: 60 kph
Communications System: standard radio
Armament: 2x Small Lasers
Cargo Hold: 20 tons
Unique: 2x Small Mining Laser (“Midas’s Hand”), 1x Terrain Scanner
Description: Designed here on Tharkad itself, The Midas Explorer/Surveyor All-Terrain Driver, or MESA, is a fantastic vehicle for small to medium mining companies. With all of the controls available to the driver at any time with scanners, computers, and visuals to assist the driver in collecting samples or even moderate hauls, this vehicle can reach anywhere and everywhere: the deep jungles, damp swamps, merciless tundra, craggy valleys, muddy plains, and all other terrains bow before this monster truck. It was also designed to be repaired cheaply with easily sourced commercial parts.]
It also gave me seventeen thousand hours worth of research for three years worth of research, which was a nearly three times multiplier in time invested. Now, I had not-quite-veteran knowledge and tech base on everything from vehicle design and temperature control to atmosphere-compatible mining laser technology and material compression. In fact, just a thousand hours had been good enough to meet the requirements for basic and intermediate Vehicle Design knowledge levels.
But that was enough internal monologue. I had a patent to file.
The good thing about living on Tharkad was that all of the important offices were easy for regular people to reach, including the Commonwealth Patent Office.
I walked up the stairs of the office. I ignored the LCAF soldiers stationed outside and walked in. The lounge was a brightly lit, marble-floored, and steel columned place that looked more like a temple than an office.
I swiveled my head around. More LCAF guards stood around or walked around in patrols. There were also people who I assumed were lawyers, prosecutors, businessmen, and other inventors coming and going, talking to each other, and talking to the receptionists.
There were people standing in a line, and I saw that they were in front of the main desk.
So I got in line and waited.
The woman I stood behind noticed me there and glanced over her shoulder to look at me. She looked me up and down once before raising an eyebrow. “You look out of place.”
I raised an eyebrow right back at her. “I guess I am. I came from the slums.”
Her demeanor didn’t change immediately. “And you think you have something worth submitting to the patent office?”
“Yes,” I replied but didn’t say anything more.
She snorted. “So a slum boy thinks he has something to prove?”
“Prove?” I hummed. “No. I’m just putting to use what I was taught before my family fell out of grace.”
That made her pause. “Well, good luck to you then,” she said and turned back to the front.
Our little conversation had, unfortunately, gotten me some attention.
And then lawyers began to approach me.
“Great,” I muttered with a sigh.
“Guten tag, mister…?”
“Albert,” I replied. I did not give them my last name.
“Well, Mister Albert. I just overheard that you were submitting a patent!” the lawyer said. Slick hair, trench coat (apt for Tharkad’s weather), a slim suitcase, and a business card already in his hand. “I am Emmanuel Reumbrune of the Reumbrune & Gutenver Laws. I specialize in patent laws.”
“I see. But I know enough about the patent laws for what I need. Thank you.”
“I hope you do! Clients who know the law make for good clients. But are you aware that patents can take up to a year to process? If you hire me, then I can make sure your patent clears up in half that time.”
“Mister Albert, I’m Sarah Huggins of Tharkad Specialty Laws,” another lawyer, a brunette woman this time, stepped up next to Emmanuel. “I can get your patent cleared faster. In four months. I have contacts within the patent office.”
Sarah and Emmanuel glared at each other.
I looked at them both before shaking my head. “No thank you. I can afford to wait.”
The two of them stopped glaring at each other and turned back to me. “Mister Albert, I highly advise against doing that. There are people who would gladly steal your designs and submit it as their own. By taking either one of our services, you would be securing yourself against such actors, because part of our services would include being on the look out for false claims.”
“... I’m alright,” I replied and turned away from them.
Seeing that I wasn’t interested, they left.
But that left me with the woman in front of me who now looked intrigued.
“So.”
“... Yes?”
“What are you here to submit?”
“A few patents.”
“A ‘few’?”
“A few.”
“Really don’t want to talk about it?”
“No.”
“Fine, have it your way.” Then she pulled out a business card and handed it to me. “But just in case you might get interested.”
I hesitantly and gingerly took her business card and looked at it.
Jessica Yarri
Yarri Laser Incorporated
Chief Engineering Officer
I raised an eyebrow. “First time hearing about your company. Is it family owned?” I asked as I put the business card into my breast pocket. That was a business etiquette here in the Lyran Commonwealth; putting a business card in the pants pocket was a form of showing how little someone respected the other party while putting it closer to the heart, ergo the breast pocket, was a show of respect.
She smiled.
“It is. We specialize in manufacturing lasers for both the military and the civilian market.”
“Funny. I came here to register a laser as well.”
“Oh? You have a background in laser science?” she asked me, her eyes glinting a little bit with interest.
“Enough to know that we can’t use the lasers we use for our battlemechs in mining.”
“Mining,” she uttered in surprise. “You are interested in mining?”
“Yes,” I replied with a grin. “See, I’m not a battlemech fan.”
That brought more than a few glances turning toward me.
And I get it.
I did just utter a heresy.
I lived in the Lyran Commonwealth. This was where the biggest and baddest mechs were made. This was the nation with Hesperus, the biggest battlemech factory world.
Again. I didn’t explain.
But, mentally, I knew the reason why I chose to go after mining. People have just been too focused on the mechs that they forgot that one of the biggest reasons why the Star League existed in the first place was to get the periphery to provide the Great Houses with materials needed to build. That reality hasn’t changed. It’s gotten even worse, actually, but we haven’t improved on it. Not helped by the wars, of course. So my solution was to apply my work on mining. That and the fact that I chose Resource Extraction as my Gamer System.
The System did show me that I could make mechs. Miningmechs, that was. And if that mining mech needed a lot of armor and heavy weapons “just in case” it might get into fights, then well, that’s just how it was, wasn’t it?
But, of course, a miningmech would never be better than a dedicated combat mech.
For example, if I wanted to make a miningmech for combat, then it would, at best, be on par with mechs a full thirty to thirty-five tons lighter. So I would have to make an assault miningmech, and it would only be capable of matching a heavy mech. It would also lack a lot of the armor that an assault or heavy mech would have, so it would be an overall weaker mech. But it would also be capable of salvaging, mining, and repairing.
A versatile mech, yes, but not a combat-dedicated mech.
Again, this was just an example of what I could make, not what I wanted to make.
“Hmm. Once your patent goes through, give me a call. I am sure my family can offer to make your lasers.”
I raised an eyebrow. “I will… remember this offer.”
She smiled and turned back to face the front; it was her to turn to talk to the receptionist.
-VB-
3003 October
While it didn’t take six months, it did take close to five.
I received a letter from the patent office, telling me that my patent had gone through and I was now the proud owner of half a dozen patents.
Nice.
And in the past five months, I have done more research and was ready to submit more patents.
I hummed as I looked through the rest of the mails… and realized that I got a lot of meeting requests from industrial players. ‘It seems that my patents have gotten me a lot of notice.’
I began to read through the letters one by one.
The very first letter I got was an inquiring letter from Defiance Motors about the MESA and whether or not I would like to license the design to them. That was … a surprise. I didn’t think I would get the attention of the Defiance Motors, after all. I read the content of the letter, and they made claims about offering “generous” compensation, but I’ll believe it when I see it.
I set it aside and looked through the rest of the mail.
And then I found one that surprised me.
I recognized the name of the company on the … fifth letter I pulled out. Instead of immediately opening it, I pulled out my wallet and pulled out the first ever business card I got.
Jessica Yarri
Yarri Laser Incorporated
Chief Engineering Officer
I compared the name of the company with the name on the letter, and they were the same.
Fancy that.
She remembered me and sent a letter. In fact, this letter was the oldest out of all offers I’ve received. It was dated to just a month after my patent submission.
Interesting. Interesting. I expected industries and administration to be closely tied, but not so closely tied for them to be this close, especially for a business that wasn’t a big league name.
… Well, that’s just how we Lyrans were.
I might as well give them a call.