They’d want that quiet for at least a good couple of weeks.”
“Guess I ruined their well-laid plans then?”
“Guess you did. They’re probably not too happy about it, either.”
“No. I don’t think they would be.”
They stood silently for a minute.
“Omad, if I’m stepping on any toes let me know, but I need to ask you a personal question.”
“Shoot.”
“I read a contract for the standard incorporation for payment of debt. I understood the legalese, and the numbers are easy to understand, but something’s just not clicking.”
“There’s a question somewhere in there, right?” Omad asked.
“Yes,” Justin said, unflustered. “How could you not control your own life?”
“But I do.”
“You do now that you’ve made majority. But you didn’t yesterday ? What’s that all about?”
“I didn’t have as much control for sure, but I still had enough.”
“How can you have enough control? Either you have control or you don’t.”
Before Omad answered he stopped for a moment, giving Justin a second once-over.
“Did I say something wrong?” Justin was genuinely puzzled.
“No. It’s just such an odd question… I mean, I figured you’d been down for a while, just didn’t figure how long that while was. Not that I was particularly interested. So exactly how old are you?”
“Three hundred years… give or take.”
“Damsah’s ghost! Are you serious?”
Justin nodded.
“Your stock is going to be worth a fortune!”
“I’m not sure the companies I had stock in are still in existence. But yes, if they are I would imagine the stocks will be worth quite a lot.”
“Not company stock. You. Your personal stock.”
“Ahh, right.” Justin paused a bit to let the next part sink in. “I’m not incorporated yet.”
“Damsah’s ghost!” Omad’s face had contorted into a steady look of shock.
“By the way,” Justin asked, “what exactly does this ‘Damsah’s ghost’ you keep referring to mean?”
“Uh… yeah. Just an expression. Sort of like ‘Jesus Christ,’ I suppose. But with Tim Damsah instead. You’ve heard of him, I suppose.”
“Omad, I’ve not only heard of him—I’ve actually had the pleasure of meeting him.”
“You’ve met Tim Damsah?!”
“Yeah, if it’s the same guy. He was some young, minor elected official from Alaska.”
“Yeah, that’s him alright. Can I touch you?” Omad asked.
The question, Justin realized, had been rhetorical.
“Now it all makes sense,” continued Omad. “You’re not only an exceptional find, you’re not even friggin’ incorporated! No wonder they cleared the crews out!”
“Really, Omad, I’m not sure I understand yet why that, in and of itself, seems to be such a huge issue. Or why, for example, Mr. Damsah has achieved apparently godlike status.”
“It would take a while to explain, Justin, but needless to say, you gotta understand that around here, Tim’s the man. After the Grand Collapse only his vision seemed to get us all back to square one.”
Justin furrowed his brow. “Lot of info here, which I guess I’ll get to eventually. But if you don’t mind, I’d like to get back to what we were talking about, because, I have to say, it’s really bothering me.”
“OK. But forgive me for gaping, Justin. You’re… well, you’re one of a kind in an all-of-a-kind society.” He took a breath. “Look, Justin,” he said, leaning up against one of the crate’s supporting walls. “Your question was, how could I give up control? Part of it was I had no choice, and the other part was that I did it voluntarily. The ‘no choice’ part is parents and government. The ’rents get 20 percent, the government gets 5. Can’t do nothing about that. The other part is real simple. I wanted things, and people or corporations gave me things. It was my decision about how much of a percentage of me those things were worth. But what don’t you understand? In your day and age, and correct me if I’m
“Guess I ruined their well-laid plans then?”
“Guess you did. They’re probably not too happy about it, either.”
“No. I don’t think they would be.”
They stood silently for a minute.
“Omad, if I’m stepping on any toes let me know, but I need to ask you a personal question.”
“Shoot.”
“I read a contract for the standard incorporation for payment of debt. I understood the legalese, and the numbers are easy to understand, but something’s just not clicking.”
“There’s a question somewhere in there, right?” Omad asked.
“Yes,” Justin said, unflustered. “How could you not control your own life?”
“But I do.”
“You do now that you’ve made majority. But you didn’t yesterday ? What’s that all about?”
“I didn’t have as much control for sure, but I still had enough.”
“How can you have enough control? Either you have control or you don’t.”
Before Omad answered he stopped for a moment, giving Justin a second once-over.
“Did I say something wrong?” Justin was genuinely puzzled.
“No. It’s just such an odd question… I mean, I figured you’d been down for a while, just didn’t figure how long that while was. Not that I was particularly interested. So exactly how old are you?”
“Three hundred years… give or take.”
“Damsah’s ghost! Are you serious?”
Justin nodded.
“Your stock is going to be worth a fortune!”
“I’m not sure the companies I had stock in are still in existence. But yes, if they are I would imagine the stocks will be worth quite a lot.”
“Not company stock. You. Your personal stock.”
“Ahh, right.” Justin paused a bit to let the next part sink in. “I’m not incorporated yet.”
“Damsah’s ghost!” Omad’s face had contorted into a steady look of shock.
“By the way,” Justin asked, “what exactly does this ‘Damsah’s ghost’ you keep referring to mean?”
“Uh… yeah. Just an expression. Sort of like ‘Jesus Christ,’ I suppose. But with Tim Damsah instead. You’ve heard of him, I suppose.”
“Omad, I’ve not only heard of him—I’ve actually had the pleasure of meeting him.”
“You’ve met Tim Damsah?!”
“Yeah, if it’s the same guy. He was some young, minor elected official from Alaska.”
“Yeah, that’s him alright. Can I touch you?” Omad asked.
The question, Justin realized, had been rhetorical.
“Now it all makes sense,” continued Omad. “You’re not only an exceptional find, you’re not even friggin’ incorporated! No wonder they cleared the crews out!”
“Really, Omad, I’m not sure I understand yet why that, in and of itself, seems to be such a huge issue. Or why, for example, Mr. Damsah has achieved apparently godlike status.”
“It would take a while to explain, Justin, but needless to say, you gotta understand that around here, Tim’s the man. After the Grand Collapse only his vision seemed to get us all back to square one.”
Justin furrowed his brow. “Lot of info here, which I guess I’ll get to eventually. But if you don’t mind, I’d like to get back to what we were talking about, because, I have to say, it’s really bothering me.”
“OK. But forgive me for gaping, Justin. You’re… well, you’re one of a kind in an all-of-a-kind society.” He took a breath. “Look, Justin,” he said, leaning up against one of the crate’s supporting walls. “Your question was, how could I give up control? Part of it was I had no choice, and the other part was that I did it voluntarily. The ‘no choice’ part is parents and government. The ’rents get 20 percent, the government gets 5. Can’t do nothing about that. The other part is real simple. I wanted things, and people or corporations gave me things. It was my decision about how much of a percentage of me those things were worth. But what don’t you understand? In your day and age, and correct me if I’m
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