A bit over two weeks after ChaoLi and JieMin left the clinic, Star Courier arrived in orbit around Tahiti. They took note of it overhead one evening, out on the balcony of their hotel suite.
“How long is unloading and loading?”
“A week.”
“So David and YongLin will depart with us?”
“Oh, yes.”
That was all the more note they took of it, as they were both otherwise busy, JieMin with his analysis, and ChaoLi with Jixing Trading.
The trading company had new ships coming on line monthly, a pace which would soon double. As ships came in, they left with a third of their original crews as a backbone, the other two-thirds being new hires just out of training. The other two-thirds of the incoming experienced crews were split up as the seasoned hands on two more ships, new from the shipyard.
Jixing Trading had exercised its options on the Four Charter Square building, and now occupied the entire building. Plans were underway for a new, larger, companion building in the block south of it, with a connecting pedestrian bridge over A Street.
The old hyperspace headquarters had expanded as well, into two more properties along the eastern shuttleport boundary. A new, larger, operations headquarters was being built. When it was complete, the old facility would be replaced with a passenger terminal. Containers for Arcadia shipping in both directions were now handled at a truck-to-space intermodal facility. That facility was also handling transfer traffic at the moment.
Ultimately the transfer traffic would all be handled in orbit. The interstellar freight transfer station was coming along well and would likely be operational by the time JieMin and ChaoLi arrived back in Arcadia.
At the rate traffic was growing, it would never be ‘complete.’
David Bolton and Chen YongLin were discharged from the clinic the second last day before they would all take the shuttle up to Star Courier. They had dinner that night in ChaoLi’s and JieMin’s hotel suite. Bert provided service from the carts the hotel restaurant staff brought up.
“I’m sorry we couldn’t be much help the last three weeks, ChaoLi,” David said. “They were trying to make sure we got out before Star Courier left, and they really piled on the treatments. We were never up to doing much.”
“Well, they did a nice job, David. You guys look great. Not so much of a change for JieMin and I.”
David and YongLin had both dropped almost ten years from their physical age, and now looked to be about fifty.
“And we feel a lot better, too,” David said. “It’s amazing, really. Give us a couple days to completely recover from that last push, and we’ll be able to help.”
“In the meantime, why don’t you bring us up to speed, ChaoLi?” YongLin asked. “Where do things stand?”
“I had a couple of conversations with President Wang. He closed the loop with Planetary Chairman Nieman, and is enthusiastic about Oliver’s plan. They’re planning on calling that meeting.”
“When would that be, ChaoLi?” David asked.
“Not until JieMin’s paper is finished. They want to distribute it to the invitees.”
David looked to JieMin and raised an eyebrow.
“About a month,” JieMin said. “Before we reach Earthsea, in any case.”
“Excellent,” YongLin said. “You’ve really advanced the game, ChaoLi.”
“Hank was very receptive to the idea, YongLin. He was very much aware of the issues. I’m hoping that’s a sign that other planetary executives will be receptive as well.”
YongLin nodded, and ChaoLi continued.
“He also brought up something I didn’t expect, but which JieMin has verified. Without an external value system, like a universal or reserve currency, trade is always in balance.”
David’s brows came together, and JieMin elaborated.
“A trade imbalance cannot be maintained. If trade becomes unbalanced, the surplus partner scales back his trading.”
“Ah,” David said. “Stated that way, it seems obvious.”
David paused for several seconds before continuing.
“So no universal or reserve currency. I wonder what the Bank of Earthsea will say about that.”
“We should discuss it with Director Laurent while we are on Earthsea,” YongLin said.
The conversation having taken place between mouthfuls, they were beginning the dessert course.
“I must say,” David said. “I am going to miss the apple pie here.”
“And the apple sauce, and the apple fritters, and the apple juice....” YongLin said.
Bert made a slight noise in his throat.
“Yes, Bert,” ChaoLi said.
“If I might, ma’am.”
He turned to David and YongLin.
“Star Courier is stocking food items while here on Tahiti, sir, ma’am. And my associates aboard ship have availed themselves of the recipes available on the local network. You will have all the apple dishes of Tahiti available through to Arcadia.”
“Bert,” ChaoLi said, “you guys broke into their recipes?”
“No, ma’am. All the recipes we accessed on the local network were in the public domain or publicly accessible.”
“Oh, all right. You know, thinking about it, we should probably be collecting recipes on every planet, and using them aboard the hyperspace liners no matter where they are.”
“Of course, ma’am. That process is already in progress.”
“I see you’re way ahead of me, Bert.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Bert thought about it a few seconds.
“Thank you, ma’am.”
ChaoLi laughed with a sound like little bells.
JieMin smiled. With anxiety about the pending treatments gone, her laugh was back.
He loved her laugh.
The trip to Star Courier was without incident. The big ship started to spin as soon as the shuttle with the passenger container was aboard, and left orbit by accelerating in the orbit direction. After about an hour, the gravity was up to two-tenths g and the passengers were led to their cabins.
Star Courier made a precession turn away from the planet and headed for the hyperspace limit. In two days, she fired up her hyperspace field generator and disappeared from normal space.
Bert was as good as his word. Dessert in the first-class dining room that night included Tahiti apple pie, with Amber coffee. There was none better, of either.
ChaoLi continued to do her office work for Jixing Trading, while JieMin worked his economic simulations, tuning the outcomes.
In their fourth week outbound from Tahiti, JieMin published his paper.
ChaoLi sent advance copies to Henry Wang and Oliver Nieman, as well as to Paul and JuPing, MinChao and Jessica, and David and YongLin.
After six weeks in hyperspace, Star Courier emerged in the Earthsea system. Two days later, all the passengers were transferred to the surface in the passenger container.
David, YongLin, ChaoLi, JieMin, and Bert took up residence for the week-long layover in hotel suites in Bergheim.
The four Arcadians entertained Director Laurent, her chief of staff and her aide, the Arcadian ambassador to Earthsea, Gregory Prentiss, and his aide, Bill Thompson, and Thompson’s wife, Chen JuJong, the Jixing Trading factor for Earthsea, in the same rooftop dining room that Laurent had used for her luncheon with Paul Chen-Jasic and Chen JuPing on their way to Tahiti in Hyper-1 the year before.
Bert was in attendance, standing to one side to offer service. Hotel staff was waiting to one side as well. While waiting for Laurent to arrive, ChaoLi got curious. She walked over to Bert.
“You and the human hotel staff seem to be getting along, Bert. Any problems there?”
“No, ma’am. You see, I taught them to make apple pie.”
“You taught them? They didn’t know how to make pie?”
“I taught them to make Tahiti apple pie, ma’am.”
“You have Tahiti apples, Bert? I didn’t think Star Courier was unloaded yet.”
“No, ma’am. But I did bring a bushel of Tahiti apples down to the planet in my personal cubic. And I have the Tahiti recipe.”
“So you taught them to make Tahiti apple pie, with the Tahiti recipe, and Tahiti apples you just happened to bring along in your personal cubic?”
“Yes, ma’am. They were very grateful.”
“I didn’t know robots got personal cubic, Bert.”
“It was apparently mis-marked on this last shuttle trip, ma’am.”
“Which you had nothing to do with.”
“I didn’t claim that, ma’am.”
ChaoLi laughed.
“But there will be Tahiti apple pie, with Earthsea cheddar cheese and ice cream on the side, and Amber coffee, for dessert at luncheon today, ma’am.”
“Oh, my.”
Laurent and her people arrived, and there were greetings all around. They all took their seats at the table. The wait staff began lunch with the soup course, a delicious cream of potato made with, of course, Earthsea cheese.
“Thank you for coming to our little lunch, Valerie,” YongLin said.
“Oh, I wouldn’t miss this, YongLin. While we’ve never met in person before, we’ve talked in the display a number of times. I just had to see how your treatments on Tahiti went. I have to say, you look like you lost ten years.”
“Nine or ten, they said. And it feels like it as well. We were definitely starting to slow down a bit. That’s gone.”
“Excellent. I was thinking I would have to get over there myself at some point, and now it appears I might not have to.”
Henry Wang had sent a copy of JieMin’s analysis to planetary executives several days ago, so Laurent’s staff had had a chance to look at it by now. The returning Arcadians would be able to answer any questions and intercept any trouble while they were here.
Communicating in the display was excellent, but in-person was always better.
Laurent turned to ChaoLi.
“With you and JieMin, the effect is not so profound, ChaoLi, but I think I can see the difference.”
“We can definitely feel it, Valerie. It’s well worth doing, if more than a little uncomfortable going through it.”
“And now it looks like the best thing is to take the treatments to the patients, instead of the other way around.”
Wait staff changed out the empty soup bowls for entrees, fettuccine alfredo with grilled chicken and broccoli.
“Did your staff have a chance to look at JieMin’s analysis, Valerie?” David asked.
“Yes. Henry Wang distributed it a couple weeks back. Staff believes JieMin is probably right. Oliver Nieman’s plan will lessen the impact of the colonies’ technological advances being introduced on other colonies by spreading them out over time, while at the same time making them universally available.”
“And the trade imbalance question, Valerie?” YongLin asked.
“Again, staff thinks JieMin is right. Henry Wang’s essential insight is true. There can be no long-term trade imbalance as long as there is no reserve currency or other reference to external value. They point out that the Bank of Earthsea is likely to be a little miffed, though.”
“They were hoping for a universal currency,” David said.
“Yes, or at least a reserve currency,” Laurent said. “The Earthsea credit, I imagine, would be their favorite candidate.”
“What do you do about that, Valerie? Are they going to be a problem?” David asked.
“No, I don’t think so. There’s going to be a currency market, because if currencies exist, people will trade them. And people are still going to need Earthsea-based accounts for Earthsea transactions. Jixing Trading ships arriving here will have to be able to buy and sell products in the local currency, and not actually trade two containers of this for three-and-a-half containers of that. Other planets will need local accounts, too, to buy and sell things for which they hire Jixing Trading to do the shipping part of it. So there’s plenty of business to be done.”
“And you’re good with it?” YongLin asked. “It’s not the same as being the central interstellar bank.”
“I’m good. If there were going to be a central interstellar bank, then I wanted to be it. We’re good at it, and I didn’t want to deal with a situation where some other institution in that role wasn’t good at it. But no central bank is OK with me, too. Especially given the benefits.”
“So you’re on board?” David asked.
“Absolutely, David. And I’ll help Oliver and Hank sell it. We need to get around those societal disruptions, and I’ve been more than a little worried about balance of trade issues.”
The entrees were gone, and dessert appeared. Tahiti apple pie, Earthsea cheddar and ice cream on the side, with Amber coffee. One bite was all it took for Laurent.
“This is incredible,” she said.
“Tahiti apple pie,” ChaoLi said. “We brought the apples and the recipe with us.”
“Didn’t I just mention the benefits of interstellar trade?” Laurent asked. “Well, there it is, right there.”
The four Arcadians sat out on the balcony that afternoon. Bert had gotten them a pot of tea – Chen ‘Oak’ – and it was a little taste of home after all the interstellar fare they had been eating.
“I couldn’t understand how Loukas could say there was no good climbing here, but looking at those mountains, I know what he means,” ChaoLi said. “How much fun can it be going straight up on ropes?”
“They’re breathtaking to look at, though,” YongLin said.
“Yes, if you don’t mind getting a crick in your neck,” ChaoLi said, craning to look up at the jagged, towering peak just five miles away.
“Such a strange place to locate a colony,” David said. “It makes you wonder what colony project headquarters was thinking.”
JieMin said nothing. David and YongLin had not yet been told that Janice Quant was the colony project headquarters – all of it – or that she still lived. That time was fast approaching, though. When MinChao and Jessica retired and David and YongLin took up the roles of Chen Zufu and Chen Zumu.
ChaoLi had not been told either, for that matter.
“Maybe they had limited choices,” YongLin said.
“Or wanted to force something,” ChaoLi said. “Like with a plant.”
“It’s good that Laurent is on board with the plan, though,” David said. “With Nieman, Wang, Milbank, and Laurent, that gives us four out of twenty-one, right off.”
“Speaking of which,” ChaoLi said, “has anyone talked to Rob about it?”
“Yes, I sent him a copy of JieMin’s paper as soon as it was done, and spoke to him about it a week or so later,” David said. “He’s on board. He was enthusiastic.”
“They’ve all been worried about the unemployment and treatment issues,” Chao Li said. “The combination has the potential to cause massive unrest. Just about everyone has mentioned them to me at some point.”
“You would know, ChaoLi,” YongLin said. “You have more frequent contacts with the planetary executives than anyone else.”
“Yes, and I suspect there will be wholehearted support for Oliver’s plan. We’ll just have to see.”
“When will the meeting happen?” David asked.
“In the next two or three weeks, I would think. They’re going to be in a hurry to get this resolved.”
Seven days later, they were back aboard Star Courier and headed for the hyperspace limit.