Diana and Vin sat outside the medical centre - Vin in a plastic chair and Diana in a wheelchair provided by a nurse. Diana sat quietly reading a book about a man so powerful he could defeat any foe with a single kick. Vin sat with his face buried in his hands, neck and shoulders tense with worry. Eddie did not sit. Instead the old man paced back and forth, clenching and unclenching his fists every few seconds.
"Hey guys, I brought back some drinks. I had to trade some ammo for it but thought it might help the mood." greeted Nathaniel carrying a tray of bottles of water and juice. He attempted a weak smile at Eddie as the older man scooped an orange juice off the tray.
"This better have vodka in it." muttered Eddie as he began to drink deeply from the bottle.
"Sorry," replied Nathaniel, "they have a no alcohol policy here. I figured something with flavour like juice was better than nothing."
"Yea it is better than nothing," Eddie sighed before placing a hand on the younger man's shoulder and switching to a more serious tone "Thank you, Nathaniel."
Before Nathaniel could reply Diana looked up from her book and saw the tray of beverages. "Did you get my Roka Cola?" she asked, "I haven't had one in days."
"Sadly no - no soda, soft drink, fizzy drink or whatever you call it here either. Literally just water and juice." answered Nathaniel with a shrug, "I'll find some Roka for you next time we go out though."
Diana sighed and took an apple juice from the tray. Giving a short nod towards Nathaniel and Vincent took a bottle of water from the tray. "Cheers" thanked the old man.
"Any news?" asked Nathaniel as he opened a bottle of orange juice and sat down beside Vincent.
"No none yet," said Eddie, pausing his pacing, "I'm not sure how-"
Eddie was cut off by a nurse carrying a clipboard who had walked up to the group saying "I have some news about your friend."
The nurse wore a crumpled white uniform marked with a red cross above an ArmSys Logo. Bags of exhaustion hung heavily below her bloodshot eyes. Despite this the nurse, whose worn nametag read Pam, smiled broadly while speaking to the group. [She's putting on a happy face for us], thought Nathaniel, [it must be hard to work in healthcare - especially in the apocalypse].
"Your friend, Mister Brandon Mathers, has a few minor injuries. Bruises, cuts, and some lacerations largely around the chest area. These will heal with some time and treatment, however we are concerned about his lungs." began Nurse Pam in a melodic voice.
"What's wrong with his lungs?" asked Eddie, through his clenched jaw.
"Mister Mathers has a punctured lung. Most likely from his recent fight where it also seems he broke a rib although we cannot be certain yet since most medical equipment is still nonfunctional." replied Nurse Pam, reading from her clipboard.
"Can he be treated?" asked Nathaniel.
"Collapsed lungs can heal on their own. However if he requires surgery due to damage or internal bleeding we unfortunately lack the facilities to treat him. We would like to keep him here for at least the new two weeks for proper care which will greatly increase his odds of survival. We may not be able to perform surgery but we can do everything else to help him heal.", Nurse Pam paused before continuing on while smiling "Newcomers are granted a healthcare allowance of up to 10,000 ArmSys Credits or approximately $6,900 USD or 5,700 Pound Sterling. This will cover his medical costs for 5 days however beyond that you will need to provide payment to continue."
The group all stood in silence for a moment.
"WHAT THE FUCK? You want to charge us to look after him? You can't even treat him!" roared Eddie, muscles straining underneath his skin.
Vincent quickly put his arm across his friend's chest - restraining the man.
Nathaniel turned to the Nurse who stood still smiling sweetly. "How do we earn Credits?"
Nurse Pam nodded before explaining, "You can earn Credits a number of ways. Most people start off by trading items they own at the Market and then get a job if there is one available. Anyone with technical skills like nurses or engineers will usually be hired. The Administration Office is the best place to start if you want a more formal job. You could also offer services to others in exchange for Credit - it is a free market after all. Oh and you can exchange any paper or coin currency for an equivalent amount of Credits without any exchange fee - so that is another option for you."
Vin led Eddie away from the group, presumably to speak in private, while Diana piped up.
"Nurse Pam, how does anyone know how many Credits each other has?" inquired Diana, "and why can things only be purchased using Credits?"
Nurse Pam smiled and elaborated, "ArmSys produces physical coins of different values which are what we call Credit. Each Coin jumps up in value by a single digit, starting at One Credit and working up through Ten, One Hundred and so on to the Million Credit Coin. Although I haven't heard of anyone except Mr Sharpe himself possessing a Million Credit Coin."
[Why did Mr Sharpe create his own currency,] thought Nathaniel, [and who the hell is this guy?]
"Thank you for your time Nurse Pam." said Nathaniel with a small smile before the nurse turned on her heel and headed back inside the Medical Centre.
Nathaniel pushed Diana's wheelchair and the pair rejoined the old men before heading back to their room.
***
"Romeo, please read out today's Income Report for me." asked Mr Sharpe, sitting in a leather chair inside Heathrow's Traffic Control Tower.
"Today we earned approximately $10.7 Million United States Dollars. Sixty-two percent of income was from cash exchanges, twenty-one percent from item exchanges. The remaining seventeen percent was from liquidating assets found by scouting teams." read Romeo from a report on a clipboard.
"Better but a far cry from what is required, Romeo." replied Mr Sharpe before saying "Display Balance."
Immediately in front of Mr Sharpe appeared a semi-translucent blue square displaying information;
Date: 19/12/2019
Account Balance: $179,974,725,402.45
Daily Deduction: $1,000,000,000
Days Until Bankruptcy: 180
Theodore Sharpe's abilities had increased since he first received his powers. After many negotiations with his Patron God he managed to get an interface to make buying, selling and seeing his bank balance easier. Additionally he could now show other people the interface, making it much more convenient when purchasing items. However he had not managed to negotiate a reduction in interest. Every day Sharpe was being charged a billion US dollars and upon bankruptcy would immediately die.
Sharpe rested pressed his index finger against his temple, leaning against his arm as he often did during deep thought.
"Romeo, do you know why I created the ArmSys Credit?" asked Sharpe as he gazed out of the tower towards the airport's closed hangers - watching the snowflakes slowly fall down.
"Vaguely, Sir." replied Romeo, standing to the left of Sharpe also looking out the same frosted window.
"I created it because per my Merchant System it has very little value aside from the material it is made from. Whereas cash and coins are still worth their exact amount. My goal was initially to try and obtain as much physical currency as possible. It is far easier and scalable for me to make income from cash like that compared to people selling me random trinkets - especially since they have to own the item. I still have not figured out how ownership is detected or understood by my powers, but either way cash is easier. Eventually I hope to profit from owning mass amounts of resources, property and services in the new world… however there is no economy outside of Heathrow for me to profit in yet. So I am stuck trying to syphon as much cash as possible to extend my lifespan" explained Sharpe, sighing before continuing, "I am a shark in a fish tank. I can only grow as big as my environment allows and I am starting to crack the tank my dear Romeo."
"I think I understand Sir…" said Romeo, "you need to find ways to make more, you are being held back here. Are you planning to expand?"
"You're a good listener Romeo. I am planning to expand and fast too. My ability as you know means I must literally grow or die. So I shall grow." replied Sharpe, a smile starting to form at the corner of his lips.
"What are you going to do about the Undead though?", questioned Romeo "They outnumber humans at least eleven to one plus it is likely other groups or factions have formed or will form. For you to make a billion every day Sir you will need tens of millions of people relying on ArmSys, Sir."
"I am glad you asked Romeo," began Sharpe with a smirk as he looked up at his subordinate, "ArmSys has been a military contractor for a long time, now it will become its own military."