Opening Earth Part 1Chapter 6
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My wives said I needed a new wardrobe for the office. Rita was the most insistent, and she had arranged for an appointment with a tailor at a men’s specialty store that Charlie had recommended. Charlie always looked good in the office while he had been with HS, so I accepted his suggestion. Rita knew exactly what I needed as office casual and my other wives agreed, but Charlie had said that whatever I got as off-the-shelf clothing had to be tailored to fit me properly. Cindy had some work to do and couldn’t go, but the rest of us headed into Greeley for my appointment.
When I finally got home from shopping, I was told Matt had come by the house to talk with Cindy, and since he was still here, I went and found them.
When they finished talking, I said, “Hello, Matt, our meeting with the construction company is tomorrow morning. Will you and Mary be there?”
“We hadn’t planned on it, Doug. We gave our input to William, and it is all in the blueprints and specifications.”
“I know, Matt, but I’m thinking that you and Bill should be the key people for coordinating the effort of our supporting William, and Bill won’t be available tomorrow. Tomorrow is about the interim living area, and you know more about the construction details than any of the rest of us except Bill. Mary needs to talk with William about the warehouse space that we will need at our interim living area. Phyllis will be talking about the main Embassy facility also, so I think it might be beneficial for you and Mary to be there.”
“That makes sense. Plan on us being there, but if Mary has a conflict, I’ll let you know.”
Matt needed to talk with Sereine before he left for home so he went looking for her. I was thinking about how I would be getting out to the center of the ranch, where I was to meet Phyllis Jones and Jack Tander the construction manager. It didn’t seem right to rely on Ken driving us places on what is now my ranch. I needed to get transportation for the Embassy personnel. We would need it once we were in the mobile homes. I reviewed the newspaper ads for pickup trucks, but that didn’t help very much. Then I tried the Internet. There I was overwhelmed with information, but it wasn’t organized in a way that helped me decide on what I would need and where to buy it. I went looking for Matt and he was still with Sereine discussing temporary and long-term workspace for the Trade Checkpoint. I waited until they finished their conversation before talking with Matt.
“Matt, I want to buy a pickup for use out at the ranch; my current car isn’t suitable for driving on a dirt road and areas where there is no road. I’ve been looking at the Internet and newspapers, and I’m confused. There are so many manufacturers, sizes, body styles, engine sizes, options, and other things that I know nothing about, and I can’t decide what would be best. Then, there are all the claims and counterclaims that seem to say opposite things. Where should I begin, and can you help me pick something?”
“Well the first thing you need to decide is what you plan to do with the pickup and what is the maximum number of passengers you intend to carry. You will probably use it for running around the perimeter road and for off road use as well as for hauling cargo. In other words, I think you want a 4-wheeldrive work truck. Is that right?”
“Yes, we will need something for all of those things.”
“What I would recommend is a 4-wheeldrive, crew cab with a bench seat, long bed, air conditioning, heavy duty suspension, and a winch. I can’t think of anything to do with the ranch that would require you to have both front and rear-mounted winches. If the security personnel are to drive it, skip the entertainment package; Bill will want their minds on their jobs.”
“Can we buy one today, Matt?”
“Yes, but personally I would wait until you get back from the Multiverse. We will want plenty of time to go to several dealerships to see what they have. Once we settle on a manufacturer, we can decide on what options you need. In order to get one configured the way you want it, we may have to special order it from the manufacturer. If you are thinking of multiple vehicles, it may be a good idea to go through the dealer’s Fleet Sales group.”
“I was thinking of a used truck, Matt, so we could use it right away. However, we will also need to buy a number of new vehicles later. What manufacturer do you prefer?”
“Oh, well for immediate, short-term use, a used vehicle will be a good choice for you, Doug. However, what often happens is, you end up getting the prior owner’s headaches. He traded it in for a reason and the dealer is not obligated to explain why the prior owner traded it in; assuming the dealer even knows the real reason it was traded.
“As far as a new vehicle goes, I don’t go by manufacturer. Every year the manufacturers make changes to their vehicles. I have found that those changes can have a major impact on the ride, handling, and other characteristics. What we will do is find the manufacturers that produce the basic vehicle we want, and then we will go test drive trucks. Once we get an idea of which manufacturer builds the truck we want, we can start looking for a specific dealer.
“However, if all you want is a single, used truck for short-term use, almost any truck will do, so we could go to a used car lot. When you are ready to buy a fleet of trucks for the Embassy, we will do it the right way, so you will get the right vehicles for the job; but that takes more time.”
“Alright, I suppose it would be best to do this after my next trip to the Multiverse. I can wait until then to get a truck for my personal use. Besides, it may be better for me to order a new truck tailored to my needs and preferences, after we return. That will give me time to think about what I want.”
Sensing that we were finished with our discussion, Sereine said, “Something just occurred to me, Doug. After we talked about me taking Coral and Sto to Toomby, I had the feeling we were overlooking something. When you mentioned the next trip, I realized what was bothering me.
“When I was stationed at Toomby’s Trade Checkpoint, the traders would check in and then go into town and rent a room and eat at the local restaurants. They would sometimes be there for two or more days to complete their trading trip.”
“Oh, Shit!”
“Yeah, I figured you would see the problem right away. Here on Earth, they won’t be able to do that. They can’t eat the local food, and they don’t speak English. They will also need some place to store their trade goods, until they can sell them, and a place to do business, since they can’t drive.”
“Your right that will be a problem if we don’t start addressing it now. Did you have any ideas on how to solve this problem?”
“It seems to me we will need to supply rooms that they can rent, food they can eat if they don’t have their own, and see that they have storage shelters. However, the Embassy shouldn’t engage in business. I’m thinking that your trading company could do this as a sideline. After all, you were talking about setting up a sideline of trading with the traders. This could just be an extension of that effort.”
“I see what you are saying. I need to give this some thought for I don’t want to get into a situation where my business activities conflict with my position as Ambassador. Trading with the traders is coming close to conflicting with my Ambassadorial duties, so I need to be very careful.
“Let me go find Cindy. I want the four of us to meet in my office so we can discuss this further. I’ll meet you and Matt there in about five minutes.”
Cindy was in her bedroom, so I let her know about the meeting and to bring her computer with her. Two minutes later, the four of us were in my office with the door closed.
“A few minutes ago, Sereine made me aware that the traders coming here to trade will need a place to stay, food to eat, and other support. While I was going to get Cindy, I was thinking about what the Embassy owed to the traders. My mission here is to promote trade and the Embassy has an obligation to aid the traders. But, the Embassy needs to avoid entering into a commercial venture.
“As a private citizen and D-Hopper, I have a trading business that I will be operating on what some will view as the Embassy grounds. I need to make sure that it is clear to everyone who comes to Earth that the ranch is my personal property, and the Multiverse Government leases a portion of the ranch for use as the Embassy. The lease with the Multiverse Government must clearly indicate that I have the right to establish personally-owned businesses on the ranch and to sublet portions of the ranch to commercial enterprises owned by others.
“As a businessman, I have been planning to trade with the traders. I can expand my business to provide them with different types of support, but, I need to be careful that my Ambassadorial and business interests do not come in conflict.
“My thoughts up to now have been to have the traders negotiate with my warehouse personnel to buy and sell merchandise, and if they wish, they can go trade on the local market. If they planned to trade locally, we would of course warn them of the dangers of becoming addicted to sugar and dealing directly with the local people. When I think about that, the traders might look on that as me the Ambassador forcing them to do business with me the trader. I need to think about this some more, but for now, I am planning to make my trading services available to them. If they want to run the risks associated with dealing with Earth’s citizens, they will be free to do so.
“Cindy, keep track of items that we will need to do as we discuss them. Before we leave for the Multiverse, I want you to review all of our lists and put together a list of things that we need to do in the Multiverse. Be sure to highlight the items to be done during this trip. Organize the list by planet, and include everything that needs to be done; even if we don’t plan on doing the items during this trip. If we have time, we may be able to take care of some of those additional items.
“Sereine, since you have the most experience with a Trade Checkpoint and visitors to a Provisional Member World, what do you see as my Ambassadorial obligations to someone who visits Earth, and how would you recommend my satisfying those obligations?”
“For an average visitor Doug, you are required to provide them with information about any dangers and hazards that are unique to the planet, and how to avoid those dangers and hazards. For traders, you need to give them the same information and you need to see that they are briefed on the rules for trading on Earth. If you are thinking of implementing your plan for imposing an import/export tax, then you need to get it defined and approved. You will also need a Twixt System to support both the activities of the Embassy and your personal business. The traders may also want to use it.”
“Alright Sereine, but as a businessman, what types of support would you see me providing to my competition?”
“Well on a business level, you aren’t obligated to provide them anything. However, they will need a variety of things that you as a businessman could make available to them at a profit. They will need a point of arrival for themselves and their trade goods, which should be near the Trade Checkpoint at the Embassy.
“Once they have arrived, they will need an area to store their trade goods, until my people can clear them to begin trading. If they choose to trade with the local merchants, then they will need transportation, guides who can act as translators, banking services for acquiring local currency, and some means of paying their import/export duties. If they are to trade with your business, they will need a place to do their trading. For general support, they will need a room, food, medical care, and other day-to-day needs.
“The one difficulty I see in this is, tracking the traders’ sales and purchases for tax purposes. The techniques we use on the current Provisional Worlds won’t work here on Earth. On our Provisional Worlds, the traders and local merchants both have to file transaction reports with the Trade Check Point authorities. These reports are spot checked against the individuals’ bank and tax records, and any glaring discrepancies are investigated. We do have some degree of tracking the sales and purchases made between local merchants and traders when they are on the ranch. But once the traders leave the ranch to make their sales and purchases, the local merchants don’t have to file a report, so we have no means of cross-checking the information the traders provide on their sale and purchase reports.”
I said, “Yes, we do need to consider that, Sereine.
“Matt, if I put together a company to support the needs of the traders, do you think Mary is capable of running it, and do you have any thoughts on how I can set up the business?”
“I don’t know, Doug. It isn’t the type of work that she is used to doing, and what you will really need is someone who can speak Trade Speak.
“The first thing that comes to my mind is, the traders won’t start doing business until after we are moved into the Embassy. You own all of the mobile homes and portables that we will be setting up as our temporary living location, so you could rent them to the traders as lodging, storage, and trading space. You can also establish transportation and guide services at the location. That way your business with your family’s trading activities will be kept separate from the business that you do with the traders. Since the guides will also be their translators, the guides can be required to file a report on what is sold and purchased, the amount, and the price. That may be the way for you to cross check what the traders tell you.
“That sounds like the basis for a good plan, Matt. With Mary running the warehouse operation, all I need to do is find a staff for the Trader Support operation.”
Sereine added, “Well it seems to me that you have a problem with what to do with all the sugar addicts on Slave World that you promised to try and help. If you get them to Earth, they could go through the sugar transition, learn English, the local area, how to drive, and everything else that they would need to know to support the traders.”
“Hmm. That may be a good solution to the problem of what to do with them on Earth, Sereine. What about it, Matt, would we be violating any Earth laws or customs, if we operate a Multiverse business from the Embassy that does business with local merchants?”
“I’m not sure, Doug. I’m not aware of anything, but you would need a lawyer to advise you. The only things that come to mind that may cause you a problem, is licenses and taxes, especially import licenses if you are going to sell Multiverse merchandise on Earth. Are you planning to register your businesses with the Multiverse, Earth, or both?”
“I haven’t thought about where to register the Earth half of my family’s trading business. The way my family and I are setting up operation of the Earth and Multiverse warehouses, they are essentially separate businesses. I will have to check with Kendrick to see if it is legal in the Multiverse for me to register a business on Earth, and if so how that would affect my Multiverse taxes. I will also have to check with my Earth tax lawyer to see how my Multiverse income might affect my Earth taxes.”
Before I could continue, Sereine interrupted me, “Doug, you own the ranch and it will be your home. You can certainly operate a business from your property. But, the ranch will also be the Embassy. So is it legal for you to operate a commercial business, especially one registered on Earth, on Embassy property?”
“Ah, I don’t know, Sereine. As I said, I am looking at a lease arrangement that gives the Multiverse use of the property, but does not prevent me from personally using it for other things. Cindy, add that to my list of things to check on, and if you haven’t done it yet, add an item to my Ambassadorial list to define trade duties, taxes, and procedures and to generate a tutorial for first time visitors that warn them of the planet’s dangers and hazards. For the Trade Guilds, I will also need to prepare a description of the hazards on Earth, procedures for trading with Earth, and a caution for the trading parties to not bring weapons to Earth. Kevin will need the details of the Import/Export Duties, so he can get approval from Maribel’s Committee. We may want to consider importing hover trucks for our security personnel to use for their perimeter patrols instead of pickups. Add that to the list also Cindy, but I think it may be better to use a pickup truck. Add another item to our Multiverse list, if not already listed, to locate people who can aid me in establishing a currency exchange rate and in establishing an agreement between Earth and Multiverse banks. It would be nice if we could get a branch of a Multiverse bank here at the Embassy.”
“Matt, will using our temporary living area to house the traders who come to visit impact the plans for our temporary living area or the design of the Embassy Compound?
“I don’t see how it would impact the Embassy Compound. I have no idea of how many traders we will need to host at any one time, so I don’t know if we will have enough mobile homes for lodging. The same thing applies to the use of the portables for storage, trading space, offices for your businesses, and Sereine’s people. Your trading support effort may require parking space for Earth vehicles, and may need additional portables. We will also need parking space for when we are living there. If additional mobile homes or portables are needed, I don’t think it will be a big deal to add more at a later time.
“Doug, you talked about relocating the equipment Sergei’s people will be installing around the temporary living site to the Embassy after it is constructed. Do you see a need for a similar security perimeter around the Trader Support area?”
“That is probably a good idea, Matt. They will be within our outer perimeter, but too far away from the Embassy’s inner perimeter to protect them without a force field. I don’t think it is necessary, but it wouldn’t hurt. We can leave the equipment that we use at the temporary location in place, and replace it with additional equipment for use at the Embassy. I’ll talk with Sergei about doing that, but I don’t want to provide them with weapons to protect that area, unless the weapons are under remote control of our security personnel.”
Sereine had been silent for a while, and then she said, “Doug, will the temporary living area really be suitable for a Trade Center? I can’t see my Trade Check Point, a trading area, the living and storage space, and the Guide Service all being collocated at our future temporary living compound. It would be nice if we could separate the Check Point and trading area from the rest of the items, and locate them in a single Trade Center building. The traders could stay at the temporary lodging area, store their goods there, and the Transportation and Guide Services could be collocated at that area. Local merchants could come to the Trade Center to conduct business with the traders, and my people would be handy to process new arrivals and trade transactions. If you need someone to collect import/export duties, they can also have an office in the Trade Center.”
“That sounds like a good idea, Sereine. I will have to look into which area would be best for a trade center location. I can see the force fields of the temporary living area and Embassy being a problem. I don’t want to give the locals identification badges that would allow them to access those areas at any time of the day or night. We could possibly build a Trade Center near the temporary living area. We will have to give that some more thought.”
Our conversation had addressed everything that we could think of, and we ended our conversation, so Matt could go home. Sereine, Cindy, and I returned to our other activities.
Betty’s cooking had been improving all the time. It really improved after we got the Multiverse herbs and spices she wanted. Lately, it had improved even more as she started mixing Multiverse and Earth seasonings. Mac and his family really complimented Betty on the dish she made that used Jalapeno peppers. They said it reminded them of the cooking on their home planet. Most of us found that we had trouble with the burning sensation it created in our mouths and throats. Now Betty fixes the dish for Mac and his family, and sometimes a few of us will have a very, small amount as a side dish. After dinner, Sereine and I discussed what we would be doing during this trip, so we could coordinate our schedules.
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