Chapter 38: Money! Money! Money! Money!
The next day, Atlas declared he would make an important official announcement from the Economic Institute. It was to be from his office. Yensid Media was there to film the announcement. The Hat Lady was present. She was standing next to the camera operator. She was holding up cards for Atlas to read.
‘Good afternoon, friendly folk,’ said Atlas into the camera. ‘I am Atlas. I’m the new head of the Economic Institute.’
Atlas gave the camera a double thumbs-up gesture. Then he smiled happily into the camera before speaking again.
‘I have some exciting and also very important news to relay to you,’ he said, sounding both confident and proud. ‘We are updating our currency. Currently, our coins have the face of our great former chief, Chief Waldo the Third. However, we have entered into a new era. This is the era of democracy. It is only appropriate that we change our currency to reflect that. Starting tomorrow, the new currency will come into effect. The old currency will remain legal tender for just another five days. During that time, you are required to take your coins to your local Economic Institute branch. We will exchange your coins one for one for the new coins. Tell everyone you know. This is really important.’
Atlas smiled into the camera. ‘Thank you so much for listening and watching.’
Yensid Media stopped recording.
‘How did I do?’ Atlas enthusiastically asked the Hat Lady.
‘You were magnificent,’ she said as she walked towards him. ‘You sounded strong and convincing. You looked great on camera. I’m very proud of you.’
‘Wow, I never knew I could do this job,’ said Atlas.
‘That doesn’t matter,’ said the Hat Lady as she ran her fingers through his hair. ‘I… knew you could do it.’
The next day, long queues formed outside the Economic Institute branches. Vehicles drove around the cities and towns, announcing the big news. Even temporary offices were set up in villages so that the country dwellers did not have to travel to a town.
In Carrington, Phallia, Jenna, and several employees were at the Alset main vault organising their coins to be exchanged. Jenna wanted to consult Locum, but he was feeling very ill and could not speak with anyone. Phallia was currently the most senior Alset in Carrington. She decided she would take charge of the coin exchange. Jenna was deeply convinced that such a huge operation of replacing the continent’s currency could not be done so quickly. Phallia was less concerned about the operation on the side of the Economic Institute. She was more concerned about ensuring the coins were swapped correctly. She wanted to create the impression she was a competent leader.
In the North District, Hadrian, Hamish, and their nephews and nieces were at the vault organising the coins.
‘It’s so weird,’ said Hamish to Hadrian. ‘We have only just received most of these coins, and now we’re sending them off.’
‘The timing is quite convenient,’ said Hadrian confidently. ‘We’re in the North to make sure nothing goes wrong. I couldn’t imagine leaving the minions here to handle our money.’
‘How is this possible?’ asked Hamish. ‘Not enough gold or even silver has been mined to replace all the coins without needing to melt down the old coins. Minting is also centralised in the Capital City.’
‘We’re the only ones who mine gold,’ said Hadrian, looking at his brother thoughtfully. ‘They’re trying to pull one on us.’
The two brothers looked at each other. They both frowned thoughtfully.
‘Let’s not hand over the coins,’ said Hadrian. ‘We can wait a week and melt the whole lot down into gold bars. We can sell the gold bars to get real coins.’
‘Yet another stunt that will get us into trouble,’ said Hamish in frustration. ‘Our family’s reputation is already trashed. Refusing the new coins will look very bad.’
‘So you just want to give away our wealth,’ said Hadrian angrily.
‘No,’ said Hamish as he started to grin. ‘We’ll give them the opportunity to steal it. Then we will catch them in the act. We will document the exchange in full. We will prove the coins they are giving us are counterfeit.’
‘What about the exchange in Carrington?’ asked Hadrian. ‘That’s where the bulk of our wealth sits.’
‘We’ll tell them to wait until we have proven they have tried to steal from us here,’ said Hamish. ‘Inevitably we will. Their exchange won’t take place until they have actually minted the required coins.’
‘I get it now,’ said Hadrian as he patted his brother on the shoulder. ‘This is huge. We’ll bring down the Economic Institute and Capital Government in one swoop. We will also restore the dignity of our family.’
Suddenly, Demadrian emerged at the entrance of the vault.
The Alset members stared at him for a few seconds, and then Hadrian ran over to him and gave him a big hug. The other family members followed.
‘Where have you been?’ asked Hadrian. ‘We’ve been worried sick about you, son.’
‘I needed time alone,’ said Demadrian. ‘I’ve done the unthinkable.’
‘It doesn’t matter. You’re my son,’ said Hadrian as he grabbed his son’s face. ‘I’ll make it go away.’
‘It does matter,’ said Hamish. ‘Tell us what happened.’
‘I killed Patricia,’ said Demadrian as he bowed his head.
‘It was an accident,’ said Hadrian insistently. ‘I know you, son.’
The others remained quiet. A few moments later, Demadrian looked up.
‘I need to turn myself in,’ said Demadrian. ‘I killed the guards too.’
‘I’ll protect you,’ said Hadrian. ‘You’re the future of this family. You’re the smartest of us all.’
‘What’s the point of intelligence if we only use it to benefit ourselves?’ said Demadrian. ‘If I turn myself in, at least I can help set an example.’
‘Come, let’s talk in private,’ said Hadrian as he placed his arm around Demadrian’s shoulder. ‘There are no problems too great for us to solve.’
Hadrian and Demadrian walked out of the vault together.
Hadrian turned to his brother and said, ‘I trust you will have this sorted by tomorrow.’
Hamish nodded.
‘I say we turn him in,’ whispered Hermon to Hamish after Hadrian and Demadrian were out of sight.
‘I say, help your cousins load up the truck,’ said Hamish as he looked at Hermon scornfully.
Early the next morning, Hamish arrived at the North Economic Institute’s branch to exchange the coins. Accompanying him were his two nephews, two nieces, and two financial advisers.
The head of the North branch rushed out to meet them.
‘Welcome to our humble branch, Mr. Hamish Alset,’ said the head of the branch as he bowed his head in respect.
‘Before we make any exchanges, I would like to take a look at these new coins,’ insisted Hamish.
‘Not a problem,’ replied the head of the branch. He gestured to one of his employees to hand him some coins. The employee handed him two coins.
‘This is the new coin,’ said the head of the branch as he held up a goldish-looking coin.
‘May I hold it?’ asked Hamish.
‘No problem,’ said the head of the branch as he handed the coin to Hamish.
‘Lightest gold in the world,’ said Hamish as he grinned. ‘I’m surprised. I would have thought you would have handed me a real coin at this stage.’
‘I’m sorry, sir,’ said the head of the branch apologetically. ‘I think there has been a misunderstanding. None of the coins are made from gold anymore. They are made from a combination of copper, zinc, and sometimes nickel. We sent out a booklet explaining the changes around a week ago.’
‘This is ridiculous,’ said Hamish angrily. ‘Coins are made from gold. One-twentieth of a coin is a silver coin. I shouldn’t have to explain this to you.’
‘I’m sorry, sir,’ said the head of the branch. ‘Our currency is coins and not gold coins. It is tradition to mint coins in gold. However, we are not compelled by law to do so. Our Government is committed to reducing dangerous mining practices, such as the ones practiced by your company, sir.’
‘How accurate is this information?’ demanded Hamish as he turned to a financial advisor.
The financial advisor pulled out the booklet. ‘The information appears accurate, sir,’ said the financial advisor as he pointed to the third page, which had been signed by Atlas, Twaldi, and Ryan.
‘How about we come back in a few days?’ suggested Hamish sheepishly. ‘Just so we have time to absorb all the information.’
‘Seems like a lot of effort,’ said the head of the branch. ‘Ultimately, you’ll be back here. Why waste time?’
‘We might just take our coins to another branch,’ interrupted Hermon.
‘That would be ridiculous,’ said the head of the branch. ‘If you didn’t return, I’d suspect you melted them down. And if you did, it wouldn’t be hard to prove.’
Hamish stared hard at the head of the branch. Then he turned to the others. ‘Let’s get this over with,’ he told them.
Around an hour later, all the coins had been exchanged.
‘I’m sorry I was a bit snappy with you earlier,’ said Hamish to the head of the branch. ‘I know you are just following instructions.’
‘Not a problem, sir,’ said the head of the branch. ‘I’m here to make the transition as smooth as possible. I also understand that you are incredibly busy.’
‘Yes, indeed,’ said Hamish.
‘Would you like me to call your family in Carrington to explain the process to them so that they are a little more prepared when they exchange their coins?’ asked the head of the branch.
‘No need, I’ll give them a call,’ said Hamish. ‘I’m pretty sure I know how it all works now.’
‘Superb,’ said the head of the branch. ‘I hope you have a wonderful day.’
Once they returned to the Alset facility, Hamish called up Jenna and explained everything to her. She was not pleased by what he told her, but she felt there was very little they could do.
Hadrian and Demadrian had stayed up all night talking. Hadrian could not convince Demadrian not to turn himself in. Instead, they reached a compromise where he would return to Carrington to face trial.
Several days later, all the coins had been exchanged. All the collected gold coins were now being transferred back to the Economic Institute in the Capital City.
James had just returned home. He was in a jubilant mood. The Hat Lady was at his home to greet him.
‘What a week! What a week! What a week!’ cried out James as he held his glass of pineapple juice up. ‘First we took their assets, and then we took their gold.’
‘Tomorrow will be even more fun,’ said the Hat Lady. ‘Ryan and the lovely Saliyah will be giving millions of coins away to literally everyone and anyone on the streets of our great Capital City.’
‘I’ve never been the giving type, but the thought just makes me feel all warm inside,’ said James as he shrugged his shoulders.
‘The fun is all just starting,’ said the Hat Lady as she sipped on her pineapple juice. ‘The day after, we put our wonder children on display. Ginger has got them talking, playing their instruments, and even showing off their math skills.’
‘Our civilisation is on the verge of the greatest upgrade in history,’ said James as he leaned back on the sofa. ‘Thanks to your cunning and my 8D chess.’
The Hat Lady sighed.
Sapien Loop: End of an Era
Sapien Loop: Frozen in Time is the sequel to the book Sapien Loop: End of an Era. Sapien Loop: End of an Era is available on Amazon, in collection series on my @spectrumecons account, and in individual chapters in my @captainhive account.
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