Dani Kollin - The Unincorporated Man

the unincorporated man

the unincorporated man

Dani Kollin and Eytan Kollin

A Tom Doherty Associates Book

New York

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously.

THE UNINCORPORATED MAN

Copyright 2009 by Dani Kollin and Eytan Kollin

All rights reserved.

A Tor Book

Published by Tom Doherty Associates, LLC

175 Fifth Avenue

New York, NY 10010

www.tor-forge.com

Tor is a registered trademark of Tom Doherty Associates, LLC.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Kollin, Dani.

The unincorporated man / Dani Kollin and Eytan Kollin.1st ed.

p. cm.

A Tom Doherty Associates book.

ISBN-13: 978-0-7653-1899-2

ISBN-10: 0-7653-1899-7

I. Title.

PS3611.O58265 U55 2009

813'.6dc22

2008046472

First Edition: April 2009

Printed in the United States of America

0 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

TO MOM AND DAD,

who assured us with theirunflinching belief, who steadied uswith their unending support, andwho inspired us with their undying love.This book would not exist without you.

TO MY BELOVED DEBORAH,

without whose patience, encouragement, andendless supportthis book could not have been written. I love youmore than thestars in the sky and the sand in the sea.

TO MY CHILDREN, ELIANA, YONATAN, AND GAVRIEL,

thank you for giving me the best job in the world.

Table of Contents

Writing a book aint exactly easy. These people helped:

Paul Lance, who let us know we were on the right track. The unnamed intern (really, we still dont know her name) whose passion describing the concept got our manuscript into Tor. Denis Wong, for having the presence of mind to say, We need to buy this book. David Hartwell, for not only agreeing with him but also for changing the manuscript from a worthy concept into a worthy read. Stacy Hague-Hill, for patiently guiding us through the straits and narrows of first-time authorship. Howard Deutsch, our agent friend and fellow provocateur. (Dude, really. We so landed on the Moon!) And our test readers who kept us on course and off stupid. (Sorry about that original sex scene. What can we say? We were just starting out.)

To Bond, George, and Sasha. Many of the things Ive done that are worth remembering (and some Im still trying to forget) revolve around the three of you. If friends are the family you choose, weve been family for a long time. Uncle Harvey, who once made up a science-fiction story for a wide-eyed, seven-year-old boy who then grew up to become a science-fiction author. (I still want to know how it ends, damn it!) Eric, whose intellect, conversations, and comic book collection have enabled my imagination to grow in ways it might never have otherwise.

Eytan

If youre fortunate in life, youll secure a group of friends that, although not always near, somehow manage to feel ever-present. Im blessed to have seven. Alan, Dan, David, Evan, Leo, Mike, and Yoni. Im honored to be your friend, brother, and co-conspirator.

To the Insomniyakkers: Barry, Larry, and Lisa. As if road-biking at 4 A.M. werent hard enough, you have to listen to me rant, rave, and filibuster about everything under the Moon. (Some of which I really know nothing about! P.S. Dont tell Larry.) Thanks for the endless miles and the invaluable insights.

To the Wolverines: Albert, Mark, and Jason. Your smarmy wit, dry deliveries, and wonderfully self-deprecating humor mean more to me than you could ever possibly know. Thanks, dudes. Go gym kata!

Dani

the unincorporated man

The counterpart for education (financing) would be to buy a share in an individuals earning prospects; to advance him the funds needed to finance his training on condition that he agree to pay the lender a specified fraction of his future earnings. There seems no legal obstacle to private contracts of this kind, even though they are economically equivalent to the purchase of a share in an individuals earning capacity and thus to partial slavery.

MILTON FRIEDMAN, CAPITALISM AND FREEDOM, 1962

T hough he was filthy from head to toe, bloodied, and his skin shredded as thoroughly as a cats scratching post, Omad couldnt suppress a grin. He was a miner with a knack for finding veins of valuable material even in old, worked-out quarries, and he felt in his bones that today was his day. Today hed find something valuable enough to achieve his dream, and achieve it at the respectably early age of sixty-nine. His stock was selling for 183 credits a share, and all he needed was one more good find and GCI would owe him enough credits to enable him to buy a majority of himself. Even if his stock price rose, as was often the case with personal success, he could still make majority. Hed just have to pray that his personal valuation wouldnt go over 200 credits a share, and that hed take home at least 20,000 credits from this venture. Yes, Omad was 100 shares away from controlling himself. He could taste it. The thought of being able to choose his own vacation times and consume whatever substance he wanted, when he wanted, almost made him too excited to work. But he quelled his feelings of joy and concentrated on the task at hand.

He was walking into a mine on GCIs property that hadnt been worked in centuries, and he was walking in without a corporation mine car or drill-bot. The less of GCIs equipment he used, the less of a percentage theyd be able to claim of his profits. It wasnt the norm, and hed never have been as successful without corporate sponsorship and equipment, but this was different. Though it might take a little longer, this excavation would have to be done carefully and in person. Maximum allowable risk for maximum profit, and the risks were real.

Still, it was in these old mines that sometimes one got lucky. The technology of mineral extraction had improved greatly in the four centuries since this quarry had been actively worked. More important, the science of mineral transmutation had been born, and some metals were easier to transform from one into another. Many a decrepit lead mine had been reopened to turn its once worthless innards into a marketable commodity. And when this one was closed and forgotten in the late 1800s, it was done so out of prudence. It had been stripped bare, and there was simply no point in keeping it open any longer. Whatever possible riches lay in waiting now, Omad was sure of one thinghe would be the first to find them.

He took his time with the mine scan. Impatience might make him miss something, and even walls as old as these left hundreds of chemical and structural clues. Know before you go, he reminded himself. The first part of the morning was spent insuring that the caverns were sound. He need not have worried. The mountain was formed of igneous rocka type of hardened molten lava that had lasted eons and would last for eons more. By the time Omad finished his tests he was convinced the dig was stable. His safety assured, he now began looking for the telltale clues of wealthwealth that could be shared with his investors, his employers, and himself. If he was right about this place, all would benefit from the investment that individuals and society had made in himas it should be. Omad would also be pleased to gain 51 percent of himself, which was also as it should be.

His thoughts were interrupted and his dreams almost shattered by what appeared before hima tunnel shaft in abject disarray. It was blocked by a few large boulders among hundreds of smaller shards in all shapes and sizes. What had he missed? The sight of such instability alone almost made him turn back and choose a new mine. He had just conjectured that this one would last eons, and now here was proof that it was coming down a lot sooner than expected. Clearly a malfunction on the part of his hardware, he reasoned. Perhaps a costly one. But his years of experience told him what he already knew: The type of rock hed ventured into didnt need a reader to give up its historyonly to verify it. He would exchange the mine-reader when he returned. But against his better judgment, or perhaps because of it, he decided to venture a little farther.