The
seasoned pros went straight for a locker, including Astoria and Gina. At an
auction this size there was usually a few first-timers who looked around
uneasily before finding lockers and opening them gingerly.
“Stick your Galax-ID card into your locker so that we know who is responsible for which locker,” rang out Greeley’s voice, though the veterans had already done so.
The crowd gathered near the exit, oxygen masks on their head and a spaceboard in their hand. Greeley gave a few spaceboard tips that most tuned out. Then came the speech that Astoria knew by heart and frequently dreamed about.
“This is an auction. When you buy an auction you are responsible for everything on the asteroid that isn’t the asteroid itself. You have four days to get everything off the asteroid. These asteroids can be filled with stuff, so dallying is not advised. We expect payment immediately from your GalaxID. Since we have your ID information, we will know if you are bidding out of your GalaxID range. Don’t overbid your ID card thinking you can call and transfer funds. What you have on your ID right now is what you have to bid with--period. Now stick together and let’s go.”
As the “let’s go” was proclaimed, most of the people’s attention snapped back Greeley. Those who were paying attention for the whole speech were looking faintly nauseous as they tried to remember exactly how much they had on their ID.
Once several years back Gina had told Astoria that it was worth going to auctions--even when they failed to make a good purchase--just to see how the first-timers were reacting. She had since abandoned that opinion in practicality, but still got a general amount of pleasure from watching their vexation, hesitation, and naivety.
The spaceboards were pre-programmed with the trip details and moved automatically. They were shaped like a surfboard and people could either sit or stand on them. Spaceboards were usually steered by puffs of air, but Astoria suspected that these were guided electromagnetically, not unlike a monorail--except without the rails.
The trip to the first asteroid took about 30 seconds. The spaceboards move at a surprisingly swift speed and the asteroid field that makes up Satellite Storage is highly artificial to provide prime conditions. While most free-range asteroid fields contained meteoroids--small debris useless for storage or most other things-- what asteroids were there would tend to be spaced hundreds of thousands of miles apart. Satellite Storage would find new asteroid fields when the objects were still large and harness them together to make a controlled, safe environment.
Not much time would be given to deciding if the asteroid was worth bidding on. A brief fly-by is all the information that would be given to the bidders. There were multiple things to look for on the fly-by. Obviously, any time you could see something of value, that is good. The harder a valued item is to see, the more likely that the other bidders missed seeing it. At the same time, when people want to store something of value they won’t often just dump it on the surface on an asteroid. It is relatively safe to do so--conditions were controlled within the asteroid field--and without the proper code no one can approach the asteroid. Yet there is a feeling of increased security when things are stored in something tangible. Certain people viewed it as worthwhile to build structures upon the asteroid to place their precious items in. And really special items might cause the asteroid renter to hide it deep within a tunnel.
The spaceboards were equipped with speakers and the crystal clear voice of Greeley said, “We’re now starting the fly-by of A-055.”
First-timers looked around to get their bearings to determine which asteroid they were beginning to circle while the veterans looked directly to the right-hand side of their spaceboard. While some bidders were there by themselves, others--such as Astoria and Gina--were there as a team. Those who were together promptly brought out talkies.
“Looks like a full planet,” said Astoria. Full planets were jargon for an asteroid which had the items exposed on the surface. She was using binoculars to try and get a closer look. “Mostly it looks like boxes--though some of them have logos.”
Logos were valued a bit higher simply because they might contain what was on the box. However, only a first-timer would drastically alter their bid based on a logo. If you’re lucky, the box contains what it says. If you’re not lucky, it’ll either have other things (clothes was a popular substitute) or the item advertised on the box--broken. Less common, but infinitely more frustrating, was the asteroid renter who stored empty logo boxes.
“I think I see some gliders,” suggested Gina, moving her own binoculars over the asteroid’s surface. Gliders were what their name described--they glided in space. They were catapulted off a planet with enough force to reach escape velocity, and then they kept going in a straight manner until they reached their destination. They were largely the toys of rich people who didn’t want to deal with a shuttle when going from a planet to a neighboring planet or satellite. While flights longer than that were possible in a glider, the lack of any real controls made the glider susceptible to being affected by gravitational pulls, making it hard to accurately judge the degree of launch. One person had correctly calculated the correct angle for a glide through the entire solar system, but few were up to such gravitational experiments.
In the blink of an eye the fly-by was over.
“Well, what do you think, Gina?”
“It’s a full planet, that’s for sure, but I only saw a few great items.”
“Same here. Those great items would be nice in a vacuum, but I’m not sure it’ll be worth cleaning out the rest of that junk for.”
“I think a first-timer will win this one, and good riddance.”
The spaceboards gathered in front of Greeley and he raised his hand to cut off the on-going discussions. The bidding started off slow, but as the first-timers started getting into the swing the process, the bids came faster and faster. Astoria simply watched with a smirk. She liked being able to watch her competition on an auction she wasn’t interested in. It allowed her to pick up on the nuances of their bidding style--nuances she could later exploit.
An obvious first-timer won, paying what Astoria roughly calculated to being equivalent to 3-times the actual worth of the items on the asteroid. “Poor soul,” she muttered to Gina, not at all unhappily.
“Good purchase,” said Greeley, beaming at the first-timer. “Alright, hang tight everyone.”
“Stick your Galax-ID card into your locker so that we know who is responsible for which locker,” rang out Greeley’s voice, though the veterans had already done so.
The crowd gathered near the exit, oxygen masks on their head and a spaceboard in their hand. Greeley gave a few spaceboard tips that most tuned out. Then came the speech that Astoria knew by heart and frequently dreamed about.
“This is an auction. When you buy an auction you are responsible for everything on the asteroid that isn’t the asteroid itself. You have four days to get everything off the asteroid. These asteroids can be filled with stuff, so dallying is not advised. We expect payment immediately from your GalaxID. Since we have your ID information, we will know if you are bidding out of your GalaxID range. Don’t overbid your ID card thinking you can call and transfer funds. What you have on your ID right now is what you have to bid with--period. Now stick together and let’s go.”
As the “let’s go” was proclaimed, most of the people’s attention snapped back Greeley. Those who were paying attention for the whole speech were looking faintly nauseous as they tried to remember exactly how much they had on their ID.
Once several years back Gina had told Astoria that it was worth going to auctions--even when they failed to make a good purchase--just to see how the first-timers were reacting. She had since abandoned that opinion in practicality, but still got a general amount of pleasure from watching their vexation, hesitation, and naivety.
The spaceboards were pre-programmed with the trip details and moved automatically. They were shaped like a surfboard and people could either sit or stand on them. Spaceboards were usually steered by puffs of air, but Astoria suspected that these were guided electromagnetically, not unlike a monorail--except without the rails.
The trip to the first asteroid took about 30 seconds. The spaceboards move at a surprisingly swift speed and the asteroid field that makes up Satellite Storage is highly artificial to provide prime conditions. While most free-range asteroid fields contained meteoroids--small debris useless for storage or most other things-- what asteroids were there would tend to be spaced hundreds of thousands of miles apart. Satellite Storage would find new asteroid fields when the objects were still large and harness them together to make a controlled, safe environment.
Not much time would be given to deciding if the asteroid was worth bidding on. A brief fly-by is all the information that would be given to the bidders. There were multiple things to look for on the fly-by. Obviously, any time you could see something of value, that is good. The harder a valued item is to see, the more likely that the other bidders missed seeing it. At the same time, when people want to store something of value they won’t often just dump it on the surface on an asteroid. It is relatively safe to do so--conditions were controlled within the asteroid field--and without the proper code no one can approach the asteroid. Yet there is a feeling of increased security when things are stored in something tangible. Certain people viewed it as worthwhile to build structures upon the asteroid to place their precious items in. And really special items might cause the asteroid renter to hide it deep within a tunnel.
The spaceboards were equipped with speakers and the crystal clear voice of Greeley said, “We’re now starting the fly-by of A-055.”
First-timers looked around to get their bearings to determine which asteroid they were beginning to circle while the veterans looked directly to the right-hand side of their spaceboard. While some bidders were there by themselves, others--such as Astoria and Gina--were there as a team. Those who were together promptly brought out talkies.
“Looks like a full planet,” said Astoria. Full planets were jargon for an asteroid which had the items exposed on the surface. She was using binoculars to try and get a closer look. “Mostly it looks like boxes--though some of them have logos.”
Logos were valued a bit higher simply because they might contain what was on the box. However, only a first-timer would drastically alter their bid based on a logo. If you’re lucky, the box contains what it says. If you’re not lucky, it’ll either have other things (clothes was a popular substitute) or the item advertised on the box--broken. Less common, but infinitely more frustrating, was the asteroid renter who stored empty logo boxes.
“I think I see some gliders,” suggested Gina, moving her own binoculars over the asteroid’s surface. Gliders were what their name described--they glided in space. They were catapulted off a planet with enough force to reach escape velocity, and then they kept going in a straight manner until they reached their destination. They were largely the toys of rich people who didn’t want to deal with a shuttle when going from a planet to a neighboring planet or satellite. While flights longer than that were possible in a glider, the lack of any real controls made the glider susceptible to being affected by gravitational pulls, making it hard to accurately judge the degree of launch. One person had correctly calculated the correct angle for a glide through the entire solar system, but few were up to such gravitational experiments.
In the blink of an eye the fly-by was over.
“Well, what do you think, Gina?”
“It’s a full planet, that’s for sure, but I only saw a few great items.”
“Same here. Those great items would be nice in a vacuum, but I’m not sure it’ll be worth cleaning out the rest of that junk for.”
“I think a first-timer will win this one, and good riddance.”
The spaceboards gathered in front of Greeley and he raised his hand to cut off the on-going discussions. The bidding started off slow, but as the first-timers started getting into the swing the process, the bids came faster and faster. Astoria simply watched with a smirk. She liked being able to watch her competition on an auction she wasn’t interested in. It allowed her to pick up on the nuances of their bidding style--nuances she could later exploit.
An obvious first-timer won, paying what Astoria roughly calculated to being equivalent to 3-times the actual worth of the items on the asteroid. “Poor soul,” she muttered to Gina, not at all unhappily.
“Good purchase,” said Greeley, beaming at the first-timer. “Alright, hang tight everyone.”
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