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Post by elizar on Nov 26, 2008 17:38:06 GMT -5
"I could have use of some equipment to catalog what I got, but I wager it is published stamps collection between about 1995 to blow-up. Common when they came, but probably the ones in the best shape at the moment. No rare stamps or the like." Stefán said, even though it could lower the price tag. Having that kind of money would help him greatly to liberate a number of Icers. While Zoe had expressed some contempt of actually buying slaves, that was exactly what Stefán had to do at the moment.
"Would that help us or kill us?" Babel asked.
"I've never seen any seal pelt before." Aron said. "Too bad Delfina is slightly against hunting animals just for their pelt. I doubt she would soon realize that some actually eat seal meat when I would bring one back home."
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Post by Evangeline on Nov 26, 2008 18:13:24 GMT -5
"A few might be put off, but most farmers realize that this protects them as well as us." Margo answered. "They know exactly where they stand here, and the scale is inspected by the local authorities like everyone else's should be."
Julian nodded. "So you probably wouldn't get much for them on this side. We could catalog what you've got on a database, and show it to collectors over there. Would that be good?" Julian was already guessing the man's motives.
"They probably eat the meat." Zoe said. "I would bet that they don't let anything go to waste." Among other things, items of scrimshaw and craft items carved of bone were being unloaded.
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Post by elizar on Nov 26, 2008 18:26:06 GMT -5
"How does this protect the farmers, even the dishonest ones?" Babel asked. She was more used to the large-scale discussions than the minor ones like this one.
"So, should I get those stamps over here or do it back in Misturflói?" Stefán asked.
"Especially in these times." Aron said. "I' m probably going to change into a tourist and get some of those trinkets."
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Post by Evangeline on Nov 26, 2008 19:11:02 GMT -5
"How do the players at the larger negotiations ensure a protection of mutual interests?" Margo asked.
"If we printed you out some form documents that could serve as the basis for a catalogue, and one of the aircraft picked it up on their mail runs, would that work?" Julian asked.
Some dock workers and others were already inspecting the bonework, to have first go at it before it went to the shops and markets on the street. There were a few market buyers there as well, mostly for the brined fish and the pelts. With most synthetic materials now a memory, leather of any kind was appreciated. There were also some other items being unloaded - antiques, curios, found items and relics, mostly the small and easily transportable variety.
The bonework, for the most part, consisted of practical things carved into decorative shapes - pipes with polar bears, letter openers shaped like narwhals, keyfobs fashioned like owls, keepsake and snuff boxes, pen and inkwell holders, and other such items. There was also some jewellery - rings, bracelets, pendants, some carved of bone and some from shells. Lighters were offered as well - found items, cleaned, refilled and refurbished with scrimshaw fittings. Finishing out the selection were shark's teeth and jaws, some loose, some fashioned into jewellery, and some bundles of what appeared to be fossilized ivory.
Zoe curiously inspected the shark's teeth, looking them over with great interest. "The live ones must be an awesome sight."
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Post by elizar on Nov 26, 2008 19:20:02 GMT -5
"While the rule is generally to look out for number one, most of those in the same business get their heads together and negotiate." Babel said. "Before meeting the buyer. That way if they offer the same thing at the same price, they only need to out-advertise each other, or if they offer different services, one can offer the lesser one at lesser price, and the other better one at a better price."*
"That could help." Stefán said. "I would just have to set up a proper workshop. If you got any stamp books or the like to give me, I would take that, would keep the stamps in better shape."
"Some of them are." Aron said. "But most are like kids with their greens. They actually dislike the taste of human meat, the times when they do bite us is when they want to see what we taste like, or they think us seals or something else."
((*Same service, same price = Oil companies here.
Different offers, different prices = grocery stores here.
Number of convictions in either case = 0))
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Post by Evangeline on Nov 26, 2008 19:37:37 GMT -5
"Mark has some archival supplies for whatever he gets for the university collections." Julian said. "He could probably be persuaded to give you a couple of botanical specimen books that would suffice."
"Price fixing." Margo nodded. "We see some of that from the larger wholesalers, not so much from farmers who just want to get rid of their surplus before it goes off. I've already had a couple try try the bait-and-switch on us, but we let them know we weren't having any of that."
<<< Oil and gas prices differ some over here, depending on conditions and the companies. Not significantly, but enough to make one decide in favor of Canadian Tire over Irving. >>>
Zoe looked over a set of shark jaws. "Wow."
A wizened crewman came up to them as they were inspecting the goods. "You buy now, you get 20% off street price."
Brett, back from some errands down south, had joined Bree in checking out the newcomers, smiling politely in response to the WHAT-THE-HELL looks from the Inuits.
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Post by elizar on Nov 26, 2008 19:50:00 GMT -5
"That would be good." Stefán said. He was getting to know everyone better by bouncing back and forth.
"I still got a lot to learn." Babel said. It was painfully obviously she was behind everyone when it came to education. Even basic economics seemed to escape her.
"Zoe, if you start to speak their language, I would figure you get more discount." Aron said, what he said could mean in two ways, and he figured that the seller would figure it to be the more obvious one than the one that Zoe could understand Inuit language.
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Post by Evangeline on Nov 26, 2008 20:17:20 GMT -5
"As long as I stick to the linguistic elements common to both worlds. Some are unique to mine." Zoe looked up and addressed the man in Inuktitut. {"What is your quantity pricing, sir?"}
The man who had addressed them blinked - first these helicopter and car-creatures that appeared to him to be refugees from a children's book, those cat-whatevers and now this tanik* woman speaking Inuktitut with native fluency. {"I'll have to get our chief for you, please excuse me a moment."} He told a boy on the ship to sit and watch the goods and went off to fetch someone with more deal-making authority.
<<< *white person >>>
"Sure, I could spare a couple." Mark was saying to Julian and Stefan. "They gave me a gross of the things anyway. Lemme go and get them." A few minutes later, he had a couple of album-sized, comb-bound books made of botanical mounting paper. "These are acid-free and won't hurt your stamps." He hooked his antenna into loops at the top of each spine and gave them over to Stefan.
"You've only seen a small part of the picture so far. There's plenty of time to learn." Margo reassured her.
Misty had recently returned from a small mail run, the weather being calm enough for her to fly. In less than clement conditions, she became a "watchdog" for the airport. She smiled to Margo and Babel. "That guy knew he ripped ya off for the last time, didn't he?"
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Post by elizar on Nov 26, 2008 20:24:32 GMT -5
"What was that?" Aron asked.
Stefán inspected the books. "Not like the ones my dad kept, but I can put them into use, especially when it comes to the arcs that are 2x2 or larger." He said. "Thanks."
"Margo didn't even need me telling her that he had been doing this before." Babel said.
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Post by Evangeline on Nov 26, 2008 20:49:05 GMT -5
"You're welcome." Mark smiled.
"I just asked him about quantity pricing." Zoe said. "I was looking at the shark jaws and the fossilized ivory, and some people back home would pay top dollar for those."
"She's been buyin' stuff of one kind or 'nuther for years." Misty said. "But you stick with her an' you'll learn things. Thing is, ya only saw the fancy rooms an' fancy suits an' they never even touch money let alone what they're sellin'. Somebody else always does that for'em." The autogyro woman scratched an itch with the leading edge of her blade, then grinned slyly. "I smell Jeff n' Marisa comin' back. No question what they been doin'."
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Post by elizar on Nov 26, 2008 20:57:50 GMT -5
"His reaction was just kinda off." Aron said. "I guess he didn't expect anyone here being able to speak their language. Good thing Babel is not here or she would be adding further confusion."
Stefán wanted to learn more before it would go into the business of printing out the forms. "So Julian, how long have you been around the group? Zoe told me of your origin."
Babel quickly squared herself to block any incoming mental noise. She didn't want to be reminded of what she has been starved for for the last two months.
Marisa landed nearby, having smelled the near-rotting produce. "Need any help hauling this to the airport?" She asked Margo and made way for Jeffrey.
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Post by Evangeline on Nov 26, 2008 21:27:24 GMT -5
"Not to mention that she's been on a "drought" for two months." Zoe answered. "When she turns eighteen in a bit, she's going to have to come to terms with living with herpes. Someone - one of the nurses who was working on Rachel's wound - was telling me that the local STD clinic - they still have those - has meetings and counseling for people who live with the disease." She turned as the old man came with an even more ancient woman whose face would put one in mind of a dried apple doll. {"My mother."} he said to Zoe.
"Almost as long as they've been in the carsverse." Julian answered. "Yeah, I don't really look it." He could still pass for a college student.
"I think Jilly and Nat have it licked, but thanks anyway." Margo smiled to Marisa. "We should be set up for the next couple of days."
Jeffrey turned his gaze to Babel. "G'afternoon, Babel. Margo's teaching you all her tricks?"
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Post by elizar on Nov 26, 2008 21:37:47 GMT -5
"Why eighteen and not now?" Aron asked, then the great-grandma entered the stage.
"No kidding." Stefán said. "I guess long-livety is included with teleporting."
"I'm getting restless. Clyde wants me to stay put as much as possible." Marisa wriggled a bit to show her frustration.
"Enough to be utterly confused." Babel said.
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Post by Evangeline on Nov 26, 2008 21:53:28 GMT -5
"Another two weeks and you won't have to worry about that for a while." Jeffrey nuzzled his fiancee. "Now our biggest worry is finding someone to marry us."
"That was me when I was following Chuck Beazley around." Margo said to Babel. "Wholesale buying seemed like a whole other planet at the time. I don't think you'd even want to see a commodities market or a stock exchange."
"It's kind of a family thing." Julian nodded. "Though our family politics would make Zoe's look tame."
"At eighteen, she's a legal adult for a lot of things." Zoe said. "But you're right, we should look into that now." She turned to the ancient crone and addressed her respectfully in Inukitut. The woman's eyes were seemingly almost buried in wrinkled skin, but seemed to glow like embers as she squinted at Zoe, as if sensing something not quite human. {"You are more than just another tanik, I see."}
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Post by elizar on Nov 26, 2008 22:14:01 GMT -5
Aron decided to hang back at the moment, as he didn't speak the language.
"How has the carverse colony been growing?" Stefán asked. He figured that asking about the family was perhaps not the right approach at the moment.
"Jennifer and Mairi are contacting one that they figure that will be willing to take our case." Marisa said.
Babel quickly opened up her mind for a moment to get a a translation for the terms Margo threw up. Though she quickly closed back as soon as she had gotten it, as she realized that Marisa was complaining too much while she got her extraneous physical exercise often enough.
"I don't think they are here any more. Especially the latter." She said to Margo.
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