Part 34: 13:23-13:50: Supply-Side Economics

Chapter 34: 13:23-13:50: Supply-Side Economics



When last we left our cop, he was… look, I don’t actually have any idea what’s happening to our boy Harrier right now.

ARIST: [Heroic: Failure] You should probably… investigate? Edge closer to this anomaly, I guess. Oh, wait, what if it’s a black hole?!
LOGIC: [Medium: Success] If this was a black hole, you’d already be dead. Or worse. But you definitely need more data. Get closer.



ARIST: [Challenging: Success] …Are you getting richer just from proximity to this guy? Holy shit!
SAVOIR FAIRE: [Medium: Success] I’d say we should stay as close to this guy as possible, but you know the taxman’s gonna make it hurt.
ARIST: Your curiosity is winning out. You need to talk to this guy.



RHETORIC: [Medium: Success] Blech.



MEGA RICH LIGHT-BENDING GUY: Something’s amiss. The light beams bend around his face and scatter in a thousand directions. It seems the laws of physics do not apply here. They are suspended, distorted, an echo.
VISUAL CALCULUS: [Impossible: Failure] Trying to visualize the physics at play is liable to give you an aneurysm. Don’t think about it too hard!

Read you loud and clear, devs. No thinky. Understood.



MEGA RICH LIGHT-BENDING GUY: “Welcome! Come in, make yourself at home. Sorry I’m not better able to receive you—I wasn’t expecting visitors today.”
PERCEPTION (HEARING): [Trivial: Success] You can’t *hear* him, exactly, yet you’re able to understand every word he says. It is very strange. An overwhelming hum covers everything—voice doesn’t escape from him.



MEGA RICH LIGHT-BENDING GUY: “Who *am* I? Oh, I haven’t been asked that question for such a very long time.” There’s genuine surprise in his voice. “I don’t meet a lot of people outside my circle these days…”






KIM KITSURAGI: “Oh, nothing. It’s just that we’ve got this *murder* to solve, and yet you go around asking everyone about *money*. And every time I ask ‘Are you sure this is related to the case?’ You say, ‘Sure, Kim. I think it is…’ And yet it never seems to get us any closer to solving the case.”
MEGA RICH LIGHT-BENDING GUY: The man chuckles. “It’s quite alright. I’m used to the question by now. To be blunt, I inherited my fortune from my grandmother, who, herself, was an extremely high-net-worth individual back in Graad… All I did was take her fortune and invest it prudently. Believe it or not, it takes more than a bit of skill not to blow a vast fortune on sailing boats, bad choices and *unsupervised* state policy.”



MEGA RICH LIGHT-BENDING GUY: The man exhales with a whistle. “I gotta tell you, at first, being rich is a lot of work. You’ve got to work hard because everything’s so darn expensive. You know, prices increase exponentially at this income level… But then, once you’ve reached my position, it’s nearly impossible for me *not* to make money. My assets are so diversified that I’m bound to come out ahead no matter what…”




MEGA RICH LIGHT-BENDING GUY: “*Dozens*, at least. Of course, in the future it’ll all be automated. But my point is this…” he says, jabbing his finger into the air a bit…



MEGA RICH LIGHT-BENDING GUY: “It is, truly. It’s almost entirely care free.” He nods. “It really leaves you time to better yourself spiritually.”



ARIST: [Legendary: Failure] Oh, right. The whole… light business. You were so entranced by all the *money* you forgot all about it.




MEGA RICH LIGHT-BENDING GUY: “Oh, *that’s* what you mean. Yes, I’ve heard of this effect, though I’ve never witnessed it myself, of course. It has something to do with our Weiss-Wiesemann coefficient.”



ENCYCLOPEDIA: The Weiss-Wiesemann coefficient for you and this individual appears to be…






KIM KITSURAGI: “I see nothing of the sort. To be frank, all I see is a gentleman who’s unusually well-dressed for Martinaise. In a cargo container. Which, I admit, is odd.”



MEGA RICH LIGHT-BENDING GUY: “Travelling! This is a great way to get around—it’s fun, it’s safe, and it gives me lots of time to think…”

ARIST: [Legendary: Failure] You are too enamored to question any of those descriptors—even “safe,” which did puzzle you there for the briefest of moments.



MEGA RICH LIGHT-BENDING GUY: “Ah, Revachol. I remember walking its streets as a teenager. There used to be a bowling alley in Stell Maris… I wonder if it’s still there?”



MEGA RICH LIGHT-BENDING GUY: “There simply aren’t enough hours a day to hand out all the handouts. It’s like feeding seagulls. There are always more, and they never seem to do anything interesting with it—except more seagulls.”



MEGA RICH LIGHT-BENDING GUY: “Smart, no? It also provides a means to hide from all the targeted advertising we extremely high-net-worth individuals are constantly subjected to…”



MEGA RICH LIGHT-BENDING GUY: “Don’t get me wrong: They’re nice things, but once you achieve a certain level of wealth your time and mental space become *much* more important than material goods.”





MEGA RICH LIGHT-BENDING GUY: “It’s perfectly alright. Based on your appearance I can tell I’m dealing with a smart man…” As you may know, us high-net-worth individuals do not has a lot of cash on hand. Investments and liquidity are enemies of one another—I think I only have coins for coffee machines.”



MEGA RICH LIGHT-BENDING GUY: “That’s the idea, my friend! You’ve got to work for the rest. Maybe you can make that money grow? Come up with an investment plan? How’s that sound?”
EMPATHY: [Challenging: Success] This is a proposal, not a question.




Not a good chance of having a good idea…




And barely any better a chance of having a bad idea. Eh, fuck it. This should at least be funny.



...Huh. We failed at having a bad idea, so we had a good idea? That was… totally the plan all along, yes! So smart, I am!



It’s pretty embarrassing that the “present a good plan by incompetently presenting a bad plan” thing almost went full Springtime for Hitler here because we almost rolled *too well*.

ARIST: [Challenging: Success] What is it with Martinaise and youth centres???

MEGA RICH LIGHT-BENDING GUY: “A youth centre, huh? What *kind* of youth centre?"
EMPATHY: [Medium: Success] A place to teach them practical skills like teamwork and self-discipline.



RHETORIC [Easy: Success] I’m disgusted with you.
ARIST: [Challenging: Success] Yeah, yeah, yeah, it’s betraying everything we stand for, yadda yadda, it’s gross, whatever. Shut up dude, we’re conning a capitalist!




CONCEPTUALIZATION: You’re deep into ultraliberal territory now. Good work.



MEGA RICH LIGHT-BENDING GUY: “I don’t normally do this without a formal pitch deck, but to hell with it, what’s the point of being rich if you have to follow all the rules?”



ARIST: [Medium: Success] It’s not, but whatever. Following through was never the goal. Oh, yes, give us those sweet, sweet dollarydoos!

MEGA RICH LIGHT-BENDING GUY: “Remember: it’s not a *handout*, it’s an investment. And I expect to see returns.”
KIM KITSURAGI: The lieutenant stands there, dumbfounded. His mouth opens slightly, then closes again.



KIM KITSURAGI: “No, I am *not* having a stroke. You’re just… still full of surprises. Most of them bad, but some good…”



MEGA RICH LIGHT-BENDING GUY: “The pleasure was mine. Unfortunately, I must be away soon. The next time we meet, I’ll be expecting an update on my investment!”




Well, that was… something. Let us never speak of this again.