Chapter 176

  William was close in dreams to Ellie, but completely detached from weight and purpose. Of course, he got there were people who wanted to help anyone simply because they wanted to. Making a difference was fine, even in little baby steps.

  That made them close or distant depending on the common perspective, or they might be small teammates or friends.

  Ellie caught his pondering face as she talked a lot more than she had anticipated. After all, she didn’t even remember the last time she had talked with someone like this outside of the library. In fact, wasn’t this whole walk kind of weird and new?

  “Hey, what are you so willy-nilly keeping yourself silent? Are you not enjoying the food I’ve chosen?” Ellie mumbled as she munched on a baked dough roll filled with meat, vegetables, and sauce. Called a kebab, it was a wonderful but still unfamiliar meal to William.

  “Ah? No. No. I like this thing called… bab-something. I’ve never had this before. Meat is meat. Bread is bread. They don’t come together like this outside. I mean, this isn’t bread. Just some…thin layer of bread. Is this bread?” William questioned it quite a lot and chewed right beside her.

  A while ago, she had forced him into a restaurant called Peace Kebab. It had a Turkish establishment and a bit of history. Many such businesses were all over the Federation, creating a little foreign and old cultures in this new era.

  To William’s satisfaction, this restaurant wasn’t really one. It was more like an open area outside, so he could enjoy breeze and starry sky.

  The smell of food was as great as it looked.

  Ellie was also a pleasant accompaniment, but he didn’t even think that far at the moment.

  His mind speculated about the whole day, and he wondered if that previous anger and ideas felt genuine or not. He kind of remembered to not forget things, and coupled with thin layers of heated emotions deep within him, he didn’t like many of them.

  And this food wasn't so otherworldly to make him forget his worries. The one sitting beside him could.

  “It is cheap and marvelous food. Two credits might be above average, but this roll can be cut in half and eaten for two meals. I’ve done that when I didn’t have a very stable income, when, well, it was a different time. Now, I can eat it all day, every day.”

  For some reason, William considered those prepped bowls from Mi-Yung as a much better alternative. Luke let him have them, and they left a very deep impression on him.

  From meat and quality, this kebab was inferior, but he would never in millions of years belittle it. How much effort did it take to prepare, let alone support everything in it?

  “Credits... Work. What do they amount to? I still don’t get their appeal. It sounds strange to value food for paper. Hunger is a basic human need.”

  “I know. It is a thing that does a lot for this place. I grew up here, so it is normal for me. For you, it is not. Take this kebab, for example.” Ellie stopped chewing and showed a ten-inch-long roll with meat as proof.

  “Everything about this food is a product of the Federation’s workforce and resources. Sure, most come from Outside, yet we call it for what it is here. It belongs to the Federation and its people. None of this would be here without this land. Probably.”

  William looked at her, so thoughtful that he stopped eating.

  “Meat comes from farms, and processing of the wheat into flour takes time and multiple places. Parts of it are done out there, but most is here. Then we have the flour going to restaurants or further productions, and the same goes with milk, sugar, and who knows what else. All of it is mixed and then processed into thin circles to wrap around the whole package. Everything inside this meaty roll is a work of art and economy, and everyone involved deserves its piece, so it isn’t excessively priced. Though there are foods like it. Business does that, and some people need money to run their business or support their whole business.”

  “Uh, that sounds… complicated,” he agreed with a nod and one bite.

  “Don’t tell me the Outside doesn’t have its share. I don’t believe that.”

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  “They do. Many do. Some not. It is what it is, right?” he spoke as he chewed, so he wasn’t overly good at it or thoughtful about how he sounded.

  It didn’t offend Ellie, who believed Outside never fully opened to someone like her, or a lot of those like her. Many didn’t know how large it was, as they lived in this caged community for many good and clever reasons.

  “It makes sense to give credits back. It is a basic principle of the nation. Even spices were seen as treasures in the past. Like the very, very old past, either in the colonial era of humanity, or where nations started to see each other for the first time. I found the seventeenth century thrilling for that reason, and god knows what else is even in the undocumented or lost histories.” Ellie asserted her opinion and felt she had explained everything.

  “I feel you would find rocks thrilling...”

  “Maybe. Some rocks are pretty. Who am I to judge something pretty or interesting?”

  William couldn’t refute that and took a big bite.

  Her reasoning was simple and working out for her well enough. Farms and agricultural fields Outside were right there in William’s mind, located in many places, closely connected to what he was doing as part of the camps. Yet here, they served with those credits, and in Outside, there were no such things.

  A substantial toll proceeded away, accomplished by leadership, protections, and work.

  And this here was why. In the polished ground rocks, buildings, and the matters of hundreds of people in the streets. It was a popular street, so that could be why it was so great, yet that wasn’t the truth. William saw the luxury and proper concept of the old era around him.

  It was here, whilst Outside did not have it. At least his ”Outside” was like it. That posed an interesting question as to why credits weren't part of camps.

  William understood why fairly recently. They wouldn’t work at all. Barter was more pleasant and workable in most camps, where many people preferred immediate gains. It wasn’t about time or effort. Adding places with barren resources, marked by thievery or bandits, then living day by day was common.

  In further recollection, being in the camp could be like a heaven-sent choice for many people. After all, there were places far dangerous and foolish than camps. In the end, it pointed to the Federation. The biggest paradise of them all.

  “I see. It is like the past, isn’t it? We, as humans, used money in a lot of ways. Riches. Trearues. Resources. People are greedy and clever and easily exploitable by desires or others.”

  “Exactly. Wait, aren’t you clever? What happened to that beat up boy?” Ellie joked around and got what she deserved. A simple, annoyed grunt from William huffed by yet another bite.

  “He listened,” he spoke poorly again, but didn’t care, “to you, and to books and people. The boy is not as stupid as he looks. Not that Kaufman disagrees with that, or agrees. The boy is also less angry, right?”

  “How shocking indeed.” Ellie nodded and bit into the kebab. She chewed and gulped the food down until another talk.

  “Money worked before and still works. It makes people work, societies more stable, and while the government can get an idea about what people need and do, their act upon their needs. Of course, what I mean is relatively big and my words are negligible. I can’t fathom how much work and thoughts go into everything like this Federation, let alone camps. I can read about it, but that is that.”

  William nodded and took a big bite. He knew even less.

  “That sounds good. So, how about a simple explanation of credits? I know what to do in the library, so how about something bigger? Life, I mean.”

  “I feel like I am lecturing you, even after getting out of there. Ah… whatever,” Ellie sighed and didn’t feel much different either. Sitting there with a young Walker right before her, bearing quite brazenly open Emblem in his arm, she was still teaching him. After work, of all things.

  Just what the hell was she doing and thinking she was not doing?

  Taking an even bigger bite than William, she felt great and wanted to forget her worries with more food.

  After they chewed, both of them took a sip of water provided for free and sighed.

  “Credits. They are rewards for work on a weekly or monthly basis, depending on the job. Credits are part of the military, library, or any sort of company here. Walkers have it too, but they also have a bunch of other Walker-related salaries. On its own, credits are everywhere and work because of their set values and regulations. People live for them and this Federation, and jobs delivers back to people. It is cycling like the sea and rain. Companies and people are making businesses and creating goods and more business. Humanity isn’t all about it, of course, but a large portion of development connects to this subject.”

  “How many credits are usually within those jobs? For example… with Enginists? Salary! That’s the word I am looking for.”

  Neither of them was polite about words, their faces, or tone.

  “Enginist? That is quite a haughty profession with hundreds of credits a week at a low start, but that depends on how well or where they work. Some could even have jobs or income depending on machines, products, or maintenance. It is kind of tough, but they could be richer than Walkers. I don’t know the full numbers, but the average salary for common people should be around thirty credits a week. Factory workers and farmers are that. Scientists, facility workers, factory managers, teachers, and so on, have higher salaries because of the requirement to become one. It could go up or down, but much of this talk goes back to the cycle of money. Inflation isn’t really a thing, you see.”

  “I don’t know what that word even means. Also, weekly...” William mumbled and contemplated the credits Luke had given him.

  Then he remembered the pricing scheme of meals and figured it wasn’t actually that complicated, or small. For six weeks, though…

  A hundred credits alone were equal to a lot of meals, yet how many meals could he eat in a week? William realized it wasn’t all about food, but since he didn't have a lot of expenses, he didn't have to worry about it.