Cowboys and Aliens

39. Trash Converters

The next day, Annabelle received hundreds of emails through the website, thanking her for taking on the task of cleaning up the oceans. There was only a couple of negative ones, but they were so poorly written that they were just chalked up to uneducated people trying to cause problems. If you can't even spell or make cohesive sentences, no one is ever going to take you seriously!

After going through her fan mail, Annabelle was in a good mood and eager to do more.

Mark suggested checking in with the breakfast club and Jacob to see how close the recycling business was getting to launch. They hadn't seen the breakfast club at the pavilion, so after they had finished their breakfast, they decided to walk out to their office.

They ran into Cass and Beth on the bridge, so they turned around and walked back to the meal pavilion with them. This time though they just grabbed some coffee and sat down with the girls. They were both a bit depressed and when Annabelle asked why, it was because Zack had been arrested again. That group of activists he had gotten involved with wasn't giving up their push to create a pride parade, although this time they were trying to paint a rainbow crosswalk on one of the bridges and were arrested for vandalism.

Mark asked if they had someone else to work on the backend programming, since he was obviously having issues.

They admitted they had a new programmer that had moved here from Atlanterra, Beth said he was 'next level' with the stuff he was able to do, he just needed more help on the front end stuff. Cass teased Beth about giving him a lot of personal attention and Beth was blushing.

It had also helped that they had moved to hosting everything on Atlantean servers instead of Earth-based servers. Everything was faster, more reliable, more scalable and way more secure.

When the conversation came to Jacob's recycling business, they invited Mark and Annabelle to come back to the office with them, as they were supposed to be sitting down with Henry and Jacob to go over the new recycling business and choose a name. They had been holding a contest for their staff to suggest business names, with the winning submission receiving a weekend at one of the Lunar Adventures hotels.

They were going to decide on the name this morning, finalize the logo and website and they were hoping to do the launch soon after.

The girls quickly finished their breakfasts and the foursome started walking back to the office. As soon as the office came into view, the conversation came back around to what to do about Zack.

The girls really didn't know what to do, they had been best friends since they were kids, but it was almost like he was someone else now that he got involved with that group. His work had become very shoddy, he rarely even came to work anymore and, when he did, he just constantly complained about the Federation suppressing their freedom of speech. Cass and Beth even mentioned how they wished they'd taken Mark's initial advice and built their own houses.

It sounded like Zack had went off the deep end with the brainwashing that those activist groups do, but Mark didn't really know what to say about it.

Fortunately Annabelle had an experience to tell, "My bridesmaid, Lindsey, had an older brother that had gotten involved with a bad crowd. After numerous arrests, he didn't change his ways and just became toxic to be around. I remember mom and dad even telling me not to go to Lindsey's house because it wasn't safe and to invite Lindsey to the ranch if we wanted to play. They had tried to do an intervention and even therapy, but it didn't work and they eventually had to disown him for the good of the family. It's been years now, I've never heard the family ever mention him since and I don't even think they know where he's at or if he's still alive. It was a tough decision, but it made the rest of the family more cohesive because of it. I don't think you're at the point of disowning Zack, but he needs to be sat down and talked to. If he continues down the path he's on, you may have to make a tough decision."

They eventually reached the office and raised voices could be heard from inside the meeting room as Cass rushed inside.

Zack was yelling at Henry about supporting an oppressive regime and how he wants to refocus HIS company, and that they were going to cut off Internet access to the Federation and so on.

Annabelle had kept Mark outside the meeting room and as Jacob showed up for the meeting, Annabelle suggested he stay out as well.

Cass pushed Zack down into a chair and yelled at him to stop it!

He did settle down and then he started to cry. Beth then entered the room and stood beside Cass, as he asked why they were not supporting him?

Cass simply stated, "We would support you, if you were making sense. All this stuff your new friends are trying to do is not even an issue in the Federation, so they're manufacturing a cause to give them purpose. You need to stop and think... you're smarter than this!"

A minute later, Zack seemed to have calmed down a bit, so Annabelle, Mark and Jacob entered the meeting room.

Zack immediately stood up and started ranting and raving at Mark about the Federation suppressing his freedoms and that HIS company was no longer going to do work for the Federation or give them Internet access.

Mark thought to Cricket, "

Can you limit his access to all our systems?

"

"

Are you asking if I can or are you asking me to do it? I can and will if you want.

"

"

Please remove his access to all systems immediately, if he wants to redeem himself he's going to have to start at the ground level.

"

Mark stared at Zack and firmly stated, "You don't own this business, I do!"

Zack then said, "When we first asked you where you wanted the office, you said it was our business now, so we could set it up wherever we wanted. That makes it our business!"

Mark said, "True I did say that, but I was referring to it being your business to run, the business ownership is still in my name, you don't sign the paycheques, and it isn't your money supporting this company! So, no! You can't stop doing business with the Federation, nor cut off Internet access.

In fact, effective immediately, I'm placing you on a medical leave of absence. You have two weeks to change your attitude or you're fired, I'd highly recommend going to see a psychologist or finding some new friends.

Didn't you hear what Cass just said? You're smarter than this! Your new friends are trying to make an issue out of something that's not an issue in the Federation. That is never going to work! If you, or your friends, want to live in a place where those sort of issues exist, so you legitimately have a cause to support, you are welcome to move there, but it's not in the Federation."

Zack was in a state of shock, realizing he might potentially lose his job. So he solemnly walked out of the office.

Henry then stated, "He has root access to all our systems, having an upset employee with that kind of power could cripple the company."

Mark shook his head, "I've already suspended all of his access, since we rebuilt that software we had been using with our own version on Atlantean servers, Cricket is the only one with true root access! If, in two weeks, he wants to redeem himself, he is going to have to start at the bottom."

Cass and Beth were sitting there quietly, contemplating what just happened. Cass eventually said, "Thank You! He needed to be slapped with some reality and put in his place. I don't think I could've done it!"

Henry then said, "I've never had to deal with a situation like that either! Thank you!"

Mark then said, "I DO still own this company, if anyone is having issues, please make sure I know about it!"

Jacob then quietly asked, "Do we need to postpone our meeting?"

Henry said, "No, of course not! Cass? Beth? Are you two OK? Do you need a few minutes before we start the meeting?"

The girls indicated they were OK for the meeting, even though there were tears in Beth's eyes as Mark and Annabelle gave both girls hugs.

Henry promptly started the meeting by outlining the entire business plan they had worked out, for Mark and Annabelle's benefit.

There was three tiers to the system, if they opted to have their own conversion facility it was 100,000 credits or about $1 million US dollars for the facility and then the collection bins and hopper liners were 100 credits each. If they opted NOT to have a conversion facility, the collection bins and hopper liners were 500 credits each and the matter would be teleported to the storage facility on the moon and then returned to the surface as a variety of other products.

It was worth it for a city to have its own conversion facility as it would create a revenue stream to recuperate the costs of the facility and bins. The conversion facility would accept the raw material and then convert it into other raw materials to be used for manufacturing or landscaping. The company would take 50% of the conversion sales, the rest would be transferred back to the city.

Mark thought that sounded like a good business plan. They then asked Annabelle if she could do the announcement of the new business.

Annabelle said she would, but then asked, "What is the name of the business?"

Henry laughed, "I guess we should probably have decided that first. I'm glad you and Mark are here, we'll get better point distribution."

Henry then printed off the list of names from his spreadsheet and gave a copy to everyone in the room. Then explained that they had 6 points to assign to 3 names. Put a 3 beside your preferred name, a 2 beside your second choice and a 1 beside your third choice. Hopefully the scoring system would produce a clear winner.

Everyone looked over the list of names and after a few minutes and numerous scribbles, everyone handed their sheets back to Henry, who then entered the numbers on the spreadsheet, which was displayed on the screen.

Everyone's top choice varied quite a bit and spread the points out drastically, with no two people choosing the same name, however many of them had chosen the same name as their second choice and then the third name was quite varied again.

So the winning name ended up being the commonly chosen second name, which was 'Trash Converters', a play on the international pawn shop chain. Jacob wasn't aware of the reference, but it was a name he had assigned a point to, but now that he understood, he was in favour of it.

The girls had a website designed for the business already, there was just a bunch of {company logo} and {company name} placeholders all over it. So they pretty much decided to use the same logo as the pawn shop chain, except changing the colour scheme to have the word trash in green and converters in blue, with the dynamic atom molecule symbol in white with arrows instead of protons, electrons and neutrons.

The girls asked for the day to finalize the logo and finish the website, then Annabelle could make the announcement tomorrow.

It was around 11:00 when the meeting finished, and Annabelle indicated she wanted to go to the ranch for the afternoon. So they went to the transit stop by Cleito's Temple and called for a lift for two to the ranch.

When the lift arrived, they boarded and it rose into the air, just like it always did. However, after a few minutes of flying it slowed down and stopped at the port and a family of four got into the lift. Then it rose into the air and continued on its way to the ranch.

Mark asked Cricket, "

Since when did the lifts start picking up people along the way?

"

Cricket said, "

It's pretty much been that way since the beginning, you've just never noticed it, since the only place either of you go is the ranch and there's usually no one else going there. There have been a few changes to the transit system though, the 10 person lifts are pretty much for private, local, resort, port and some travel between municipalities, but most of the travel between the municipalities is handled by the larger 50 person lifts, it all depends on time of day, events, request queue, etc.

"

The family must have just arrived on Atlantis, as they didn't seem to recognize Mark and Annabelle, but since they were both wearing cowboy hats the two pre-teen kids asked if they were going on a trail ride too?

Mark and Annabelle both laughed, as Annabelle rubbed her belly, and said she probably wasn't going to go for a trail ride today, but Mark might.

The kids then dominated the conversation, talking about horses and centaurs and the fancy camping gear and how this was going to be the best vacation ever... No one else got a word in edgewise and eventually the lift slowed and descended toward the ranch.

As the lift landed and the rear door opened, the kids exited first, eager to start their adventure, so Mark offered to carry some of the family's luggage, which they gladly accepted. The parents exited next carrying some of the luggage, then Annabelle and Mark followed, with Mark carrying the rest of the luggage. Joe welcomed the family to the ranch and led them to the cabin they would be staying in, with Annabelle and Mark following along. As the family were putting their stuff into their cabin, the kids came running up with Candy and Dany chasing them.

The parents came out to see the kids, as Candy and Dany stopped and gave Mark and Annabelle kisses and hugs. Meles then came up, bowed and said, "It's good to see you again, my King," as he then bowed to Annabelle and said, "my Queen."

The couple suddenly felt ashamed that they had let the King carry their luggage, but Mark and Annabelle just waved off their apology.

Joe went over the family's itinerary, which included a riding lesson and then a quick trail ride up to the waterfall and back for a late barbecue tonight. Then tomorrow was going to be a ride up to the Meteor Plateau, where they would camp for the night and then ride back the following day.

As the review was completed, Kat rang the dinner bell at the cook shack. So everyone made their way there, with Lydia and the sisters joining from the schoolhouse, they had constructed on the ranch. It was a little log building that had a craft bench, two desks and a teacher desk, but it also had a washroom and drink dispensers.

Seeing Mark and Annabelle prompted another round of hugs, as everyone grabbed something to eat and then sat at one of the picnic tables in the shade of the trees.

Mahasin and Imaren sat next to Annabelle and they all talked just like good friends. It was nice to see the girls happy and doing well, they were especially excited that next semester they would be joining the school at Baronville, which was the town about 25 kilometres west of the ranch in Atlas.

After lunch, Kat and the centaurs went to the arena for their riding lessons, while Mark, Annabelle and Joe cleaned up the cook shack and then sat on the porch and watched the riding lesson.

Once the lesson was over, the family got to walk around and stretch their legs, while Joe got Chief saddled and grabbed the restroom kit.

The restroom kit, or shit kit as Joe called it, was another one of Solara's reusable construx disks that could create a washroom with an external water dispenser.

After about 15 minutes, the family mounted their centaurs and Joe led the group out for a quick trail ride.

Lydia and the sisters eventually went back to their schoolhouse, leaving Mark, Annabelle and Kat visiting on the porch.

It was a nice lazy afternoon, the sisters and Lydia joined once school was done. With the trail ride expected to be returning around 17:30, once Kat and Lydia went to prep for the barbecue, Mark and Annabelle called for a lift back to the city.

Upon exiting the lift at Cleito's Temple, Zack and his troublemaking friends were there and seeing the King and Queen they immediately started making a scene. Security had already been watching the group, waiting for them to break a law, but as soon as they started moving towards Mark and Annabelle, they made their presence known.

The outspoken leader of the group wasn't a very intimidating looking person, and he immediately started ranting and raving about how oppressive Federation society is, and that they were trying to show the world how the Federation doesn't allow freedom of speech, etc.

Mark just smiled as the guy ranted and raved. When the guy finally stopped talking for a second, Mark asked, "Name one incident since you've arrived on Atlantis where you have been discriminated against because of your sexual preference."

The guy said, "We've been discriminated against or arrested every time we try to hold a rally or parade."

"That's not discrimination, that's because you're breaking the law. Discrimination would be when members of the general public shun you or say something derogatory towards you without you doing anything. Name one incidence since you came to Atlantis where that has happened."

The group thought for a bit, but the only incident they could think about was something that happened the other day when they were trying to paint a rainbow crosswalk, when someone called them weirdos.

Mark laughed, "That's it? And that wouldn't be classified as discrimination anyway, since you were causing a public disturbance and vandalism. Can you not name a single incidence where any of you were just minding your own business and someone said something derogatory to you?"

The group thought long and hard for a bit, but when no one was saying anything, Mark continued, "What you are trying to do is create an issue, where there is no issue. That does not work in the Federation! We aren't limiting your freedom of speech or expression, we are enforcing our laws which have been in place for thousands of years. The Federation does not allow these kinds of public disturbances, it's not limiting your rights, it's protecting them!

In the rest of the world, when people protest, it does very little to bolster support for your cause, except from the weak minded people that are just wanting to get involved because it makes them feel important... in fact, inconveniencing people actually grows angst and hatred against your cause. Yes, it makes governments take notice, but that's only because traditional Earth police and governments don't, or can't, fully enforce their own laws.

That's not the case in the Federation, by not allowing you to inconvenience people, we are protecting you and allowing you to be yourself, free from discrimination. People judge you based their interactions with you, your personality and your attitude, not because of your race, skin colour, sexual preference or whatever. They treat you as you treat them! If you're not an asshole, they won't treat you like one!

If you have legitimate proof of any discrimination, all you need to do is contact security. Our legal system has technology that allows them to tap into your memories and actually witness the incident your mind is referring to, if it's a legitimate claim then it will be handled accordingly. All you have been doing is breaking the law, which is not productive and will get you nowhere in the Federation, except into a holding cell.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for you holding an event to celebrate whatever, but do it legally by renting a community hall, or stadium if you need more space, then advertise through the proper channels."

The leader was trying to think of a comeback, but all he could come up with was, "But that will cost money."

Mark smiled, "It's a celebration... sell tickets."

"But that doesn't promote our cause to the public!"

"Like I said, it's not a problem in the Federation. If you want to have a cause, move somewhere else where it is a problem."

The leader obviously wasn't able to come up with anything intelligent to say at that point, so Mark and Annabelle wished them a good evening, as they turned and started walking toward the meal pavilion, where they had a small selection of items available for supper, but Mark and Annabelle, both opted for some chili and corn bread.