2. Liabilities

  Aristonicus brought a few vegetables and a low quality curry, buying some coconut water which immediately brought Matho’s admonishment.

  “Who the fuck, you are half a million in debt, do not buy this stupid shit.”

  “Sure,” Aristonicus said, “thanks for helping me out,” he said sombrely.

  “I would be a shitty person and a worse leftist if I didn’t even help my friend,” Matho said, “just please don’t get me and yourself killed, I want to have kids one day.”

  “Kids huh?” Aristonicus breathed, “that would be nice.”

  “You know that Reform has a chapter here?” Matho said, “these fucks are just absorbing the conservative party here.”

  “Reform is a funny name for a reactionary party,” Aristonicus smirked, “I suppose ‘reform’ is vague enough to hide their true intentions.”

  He scratched his back, breathing in, tapping his leg on the floor as Matho stared at his friend’s nervousness.

  “What happened?”

  “I am fine,” Aristonicus said.

  “If you say so,” Matho said, clearly skeptical, “what happened to… never mind.”

  Matho stared at the black mould growing on a part of wall.

  That’s not good.

  “Jesus…” Aristonicus whispered.

  “Fuck, I just cleaned that shit.”

  He got some bleach and put on a mask and began wiping down the black mould off the wall. They had a beanbag sofa that they could sink in, but it was spewing white beans, Matho looking at the thing with anger.

  “Another thing I have to do… I swear.”

  The apartment was shitty by any stretch of the imagination. A council flat that now had a private landlord. ￡1750 pounds sterling a month in rent was a ghastly price for Matho who worked his butt off to stand still. His apartment in Cambridge Road was a piece of shit, an extremely expensive piece of shit. Matho began to repair the bean bag when his girlfriend Thera walked in. A brown haired shapely woman with a nice plump round rear, she worked in a bar and made semi decent money, she looked at Aristonicus with a lot of suspicion.

  “Can we talk?” She said to Matho, “you know that guy is a loafer? He hasn’t made any money. I understand he’s your friend, but he’s dangerous,” she whispered.

  “He’s my friend so I will help him,” Matho whispered resolutely, “we’re not doing too great anyway. I am not going to give up my friend.”

  “Alright, just be careful,” she warned.

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  Aristonicus didn’t quite hear the conversation, but he understood the vibe. He looked at his phone, seeing something quite intriguing on his phone. A perpetual motion electricity machine.

  Nothing quite like a good scam to get my blood pumping.

  The post had thousands of people making fun of the project, and they were right to do so, perpetual motion was a scam, but the people that had made the machines had in fact invested millions and themselves got into debt, they were selling their company for ￡1, a token payment, but in reality anyone who bought the enterprise would be in debt, massive debt. His phone was fully charged and he stared at his friend and his friend’s girlfriend who had no faith in him.

  These people really got themselves ￡11 million in debt. They tried everything to make it work? I feel sad for them. I know how that feels. I am sorry Matho, I understand you are trying your best for me, and I must be difficult.

  “I’m going to make something to eat,” Thera said, “I hope you like nachos and beans,” she said.

  They ate, Aristonicus taking care to not eat too much.

  The house creaked as Aristonicus went to help with the dishes, his small contribution to the household. Thera and Matho went to their room to make love, holding hands and walking away, closing and locking the room.

  “I am going to go on a walk!” Aristonicus said.

  “Sure,” Matho said.

  Matho half undressed Thera, putting his hands through her top, grabbing her plump round rear.

  “Sure,” she purred into his ear.

  She dropped into his lap, ready to unwind after a long day. They kissed and kissed, Aristonicus went outside the apartment. Along the concrete corridor and down the even colder stairs.

  “The fact that he pays ground rent to a company for this is genuinely criminal, I guess he has to pay his landlord for it, but still, what a scam,” Aristonicus said half quietly.

  No one heard him, he walked down three flights of stairs, seeing other people who quietly came back from work. He was about to go to his new work site. He had a ￡1 in his pocket and was willing to spend it on his new site. It was quite late at night, but he arrived at the site after a 30 minute walk. It was an old warehouse connected to the grid, they would use electricity, funnel it through the machines and hope that the machines would somehow produce more than it had been given, this of course did not happen, and the project managers, and had just resulted in a lot of debts. Then came in Aristonicus to the astonishment of all, he signed off the debts to himself for the measly sum of ￡1.

  “Even if you sell the warehouse, you realise it’s not going to be more than the debt right? Most people deem these machines worthless,” a blonde woman explained to him.

  “Thanks,” Aristonicus said simply, “it’s true, but I will be fine. I just need the technicians, everyone else, well you can go.”

  He signed the papers, and the initial investors could not believe their luck and ran out the building. At the end of it all, a technician stayed, a muscly bald man who had not been paid his salary.

  “I want my wages, my salary, I know how to operate the machines.”

  It was a giant recently cleaned warehouse, with a bunch of silly machines connected to the grid and even having a computer to compute the selling of electricity.

  “It tells you inputs and outputs, of course so far, all our inputs have been more than the outputs,” he said scratching his head, “well I hope you don’t get put in prison, or get killed by some gangsters,” the guy said.

  “Aristonicus,” Aristonicus introduced himself.

  “Alex,” the guy said, “you are crazy you know that?”

  “Sure,” Aristonicus said, “how much percentage of the company do you want?”

  “Nothing, are you kidding me, that’s just a share of debts!” Alex said in a panic.

  “I know you think, but believe me you will regret not having at least 20%,” Aristonicus said.

  “Oh god, why am I cursed with such shitty luck,” Alex said clasping his head in his hands.

  In the meantime, one of Thera’s friends spied on Aristonicus and told her what was going on via text:

  He currently bought a totally in debt company. I think it’s at least 11 million in debt, quite famous online for a lot of people were making fun of it.

  “Oh my god Matho, that idiot has gone crazy, he’s apparently bought that company with the perpetual motion machines!” Thera exclaimed to him.

  “Maybe he’s lost it,” Matho thought, “I hope he knows what he is doing.”

  Alex had no hope in him, but nonetheless he signed himself as owning 20% of the company, completely in despair and questioning his own moral judgement; Matho was in despair, Thera was in despair, but Aristonicus had a hint of hope in his heart.