Chapter 27 - Shopping
Raven and Anny walked side by side toward the cafeteria, the air between them relaxed despite the constant tension of their new reality.
“So,” Anny began, glancing at him with curiosity. “What exactly are you hoping to find? Ether storage sounds... vague.”
Raven shrugged. “Not really sure yet. Just figured having extra ether pools to draw from would be useful. Right now, we’re completely reliant on the Sink, and while that’s been great, we don’t actually know if it has limits.”
She hummed thoughtfully. “So, this is more about futureproofing?”
“Exactly,” he confirmed. “We’re setting things up, but long-term stability means having backup plans. If we can store ether somewhere instead of letting it sit in the Sink, we have reserves to work with.”
Anny nodded, seemingly impressed. “Smart.”
They reached the cafeteria, and Raven placed his hand on the market ledger, willing it to reveal anything related to Ether storage.
At first, the sheer number of options made him regret not checking this sooner. He should have done this days ago.
Containers, vials, crystals, reservoirs—there were dozens of methods for storing Ether. But one in particular caught his eye.
Tokens.
Small, flat coins that acted as a physical representation of ether. The ledger described them as an ancient form of trade that had been used across many civilizations. Different denominations held varying amounts of stored ether, making them functionally… currency.
Raven grinned.
This was huge.
Henson had been right—if they expected people to put their lives on the line, they needed a reward system. And now, they had one.
Without hesitation, he drained the remaining Ether from the Sink, purchasing 200 Ether’s worth of tokens in varying denominations. He’d bring these straight to Wilkes.
Anny, having noticed the shift in his expression, smirked. “Alright, what’s got you looking so smug?”
He held up one of the small, metallic tokens, watching it glint faintly under the dim cafeteria lighting. “I think I just solved a problem the leadership was having.”
Anny tilted her head, then understanding dawned in her eyes. “Wait. You mean, like, actual money?”
“Exactly.”
She gave him an approving nod. “Damn. You don’t waste time, do you?”
Raven chuckled, slipping the tokens into his pouch. “I try not to.”
As they turned to leave, something caught his attention—a familiar smudge of dried blood on Anny’s torn clothing. Despite the light-hearted moment, she still looked like she had just crawled out of a battlefield.
His ether reserves were mostly recovered, he wasn’t on empty.
“Hold on,” Raven muttered, flipping through the ledger again.
Anny blinked. “What are you doing?”
“Getting you clothes that aren’t ruined.”
She scoffed, crossing her arms. “Oh, so now I’m an eyesore?”
He shot her a dry look. “Yes. Exactly. You’re hideous.”
She laughed, nudging his shoulder playfully. “Ass.”
Ignoring her, Raven refined his search to something affordable. Most of the clothing options were well beyond his reach, but one stood out.
A skirt and blouse set woven with the same runes found on the constructs. The description mentioned that applying ether could clean and mend the fabric over time.
100 Ether.
Raven hesitated, then pushed his remaining ether into the purchase.
To his surprise, his reserves didn’t fully drain. He was close to empty, but not completely.
That was… interesting.
Before he could dwell on it, the clothing materialized before him in a neat bundle. He grabbed it and handed it to Anny without ceremony.
She stared at it. Then at him. Then back at the clothes.
“You just… bought me clothes?”
“Yeah,” he said, already moving toward the exit. “You’re welcome.”
Anny clutched the bundle against her chest, watching him with an unreadable expression. Then, with a soft laugh, she shook her head and followed.
He really was something else.
Anny split off, tucking the bundle of clothes under her arm. “I’m gonna get changed. Meet me for dinner?”
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Raven hesitated. “If Wilkes doesn’t have me running around again, sure. If I’m not there, don’t wait up.”
She grinned. “I won’t. Tabetha, though? She might send out a search party.”
Raven snorted. “I’ll risk it.”
Anny laughed as she turned down the hall, leaving him alone. Shaking his head, Raven adjusted the pouch of ether tokens on his belt and made his way to Wilkes' makeshift office.
He found Wilkes sitting cross-legged on the floor, eyes closed. Raven leaned against the doorframe, smirking.
“Carter got you grinding too, huh?”
Wilkes' eyes opened immediately, his expression neutral. “Raven. What can I help you with?”
“Oh, you know. Fixing problems. Trying to keep the world from falling apart. No big deal.” He tossed one of the tokens onto Wilkes’ desk. “You might want to see this.”
Wilkes picked up the small metallic coin, turning it between his fingers. “What am I looking at?”
Raven pulled out two more, placing a 10 ether and a 50 ether token beside the first.
“Currency.”
Wilkes' brow furrowed. “Explain.”
“These are physical ether tokens. Anyone with a core can store ether in them, and they can be used to buy things at the shop.”
Wilkes exhaled sharply. “Holy shit.” His fingers tightened around the coin. “You know what you’ve just done?”
Raven frowned. “What?”
Wilkes sighed, rubbing his temples. “The can of worms you just opened is going to take a whole lot of closing.”
Raven crossed his arms. “How so?”
Wilkes dropped the coin on the desk. “Right now, anyone with a seed core can generate ether. Meaning—they can print money.”
Raven blinked.
“…Shit.”
Wilkes nodded grimly.
Raven leaned against the wall, thinking. “Do we set up taxes? How would that even work?”
Wilkes shook his head. “We’ll need to figure out a way to regulate this. If we don’t, we’re looking at inflation, corruption, and a dozen other problems.”
Raven huffed. “Great. I come to give you good news and now we have a new problem.”
Wilkes smirked. “Welcome to leadership.”
Raven waited patiently while a runner went to grab the others, Wilkes had decided this was a matter that needed immediate attention.
Once everyone was gathered and bought up to date on what he had discovered, Wilkes asked if anyone knew enough about economics to make a plan, no one volunteered.
Liu cleared her throat “I know someone that might be able to help, she was an accountant before all of this, she’s very good.” “Go and find her, explain the situation and see if she can help.”
A short time later Liu returned with a diminutive Asian woman who looked like a librarian, stern vibe and big glasses. She introduced herself as Susan Miller, Wilkes explained the situation in full and Susan declared she could probably help requesting some paper to work with.
Susan began creating notes, pen scratching against paper. The room gave her space, the tension thick as they waited for her to piece together a system that wouldn’t implode before it even began.
While she was focused, Wilkes cleared his throat. “Anyone got any other updates while we wait?”
The group exchanged glances, but no one spoke. Nothing major had happened in the last few hours—no new threats, no significant developments.
Carter, however, took the opportunity to glance at Raven. “Actually, Raven, would Anny be willing to help teach people how to develop their seed cores?”
Raven frowned. “I can ask. She seemed like a quick study, but that doesn’t mean she wants to be a teacher.”
Carter sighed, rubbing his temples. “You have no idea how draining this is. Teaching a couple of people? Fine. But guiding a whole group, explaining the same thing over and over while half of them barely get it? It’s exhausting.” He exhaled sharply. “It’s like trying to teach a blind man to paint.”
He’d talk to her later; she’d picked it up fast, and she might enjoy the challenge.
Before the conversation could continue, Susan tapped her pen on the table sharply, breaking the silence. “Alright,” she said, voice steady, eyes sharp. “I’ve got some ideas.”
The tension in the room shifted. Wilkes leaned forward, Carter stopped rubbing his temples, and Raven crossed his arms. Everyone was listening.
The room straightened, attention shifting to her.
“First off,” she began, “We need a shopkeeper. Someone to act as the sole point of interaction with the market ledger.”
Wilkes raised an eyebrow. “Why?”
“Two reasons,” Susan explained. “One, oversight. We can’t have people going in and buying dangerous shit without some kind of regulation. Two, taxes. If we’re going to manage an economy, we need a way to control the flow of ether.”
Raven exchanged glances with Wilkes. That… made sense.
Susan continued. “Right now, everyone who forms a Seed Core should exchange their ether for ether coins. They’ll receive 50% back in tokens, and the rest will be taxed into the community pool. If someone wants to sit around meditating all day, that’s fine, but they’ll be capped at 50 ether coins per day. That way, the community still benefits from their efforts.”
Henson crossed his arms. “What about the gardeners? They use their ether to keep us all alive. Taxing them seems… counterproductive.”
Susan nodded. “Agreed. Gardeners get an exemption. They don’t pay tax until after 50 Ether coins. That way, they can fuel the farms without being penalized.”
Wilkes leaned forward. “And our fighters?”
Susan glanced at him. “They need to be separated into officers and recruits. Officers—those capable of leading teams—should be paid a higher wage. We can afford ten officers at 30 Ether per day. If we’ve got around 40 recruits, they should get 15 each per day.”
Carter let out a low whistle. “That’s a lot— I just hope we’re not setting up something we can’t control.” He rubbed his temples again. “Teaching is one thing, but trying to keep order in a system this new?" That’s another battle entirely."
Susan shrugged. “It is, but they’re keeping everyone safe. And since they’ll eventually form seed cores, they’ll have higher tax thresholds before being deducted—same as the gardeners.”
Raven was impressed. She had figured out a system in minutes.
Susan tapped her pen against the table. “All of this still leaves us with roughly 1,400 Ether per day from the Sink itself.”
Wilkes nodded. “Enough to keep us running.”
“Exactly. But another reason we need a shopkeeper is to convert the sink’s ether into coins. If we let it overflow, we waste resources.”
Silence hung over the room as everyone absorbed the information.
Wilkes finally spoke. “Any concerns or questions?”
No one responded.
Wilkes nodded. “Alright. Let’s give this a try. It should be a good incentive for people to develop a seed core.” He paused, tossing one of the ether coins in the air before catching it.
“But let’s not fool ourselves,” he added, watching the coin spin in his fingers. “No system is perfect. If we don’t keep a close eye on this, it’ll spiral out of control before we even realize it.”
He turned to Raven. “Raven, if you can ask young Annastasia to assist Carter, that’d be appreciated.”
Raven nodded. He’d talk to her.
Wilkes turned to Liu and Susan. “You two oversee finding a shopkeeper. Choose someone trustworthy."
As Wilkes was calling the meeting to a close, an officer burst into the room, breathing heavily.
“There’s a large group approaching the plaza,” he reported, his voice urgent. “At least fifty people. They look desperate.”
The room fell silent for a beat. Then, everyone moved at once.
Wilkes was already on his feet, heading toward the hospital entrance with Raven, Carter, and Henson close behind. The others followed; the meeting abandoned in an instant.
As they reached the front doors, they saw them.
Beyond the newly constructed fountain, a crowd of worn, hungry-looking survivors stood fifty meters away. A smaller group—likely representatives—stood at the front, separate from the rest.
Raven stopped cold. His stomach twisted, a dark chill creeping up his spine.
Brad.
And right behind him… Sky.
His fingers clenched into fists as a low, quiet rage simmered beneath his skin. Of all the people that could have walked back into his life… it had to be them.