Finney Vol. 1 - Immutable Journey - Flipbook - Page 36
Mr Shift stood up and Finney followed suit.
As Mr Shift led Finney out of the office,
he paused to tap, softly but aggressively,
on his gorilla’s glass cage. “Can’t have
Rolo getting complacent,” he said when
Finney gave him a questioning look.
Obsolete factories. It was going nowhere,
and I brought prosperity to the people.”
“Prosperity?” asked Finney. “Is that why
you do crypto? For prosperity?”
“Elaine?” called Mr Shift loudly as
they left the office and approached the
elevator. “I’m going out. Feed Rolo for
me, will you?”
“I do everything for prosperity,” said Mr
Shift. “But crypto is a special case. There
are big risks and big rewards involved.
The trick is to get other people to take
the risks while you reap the rewards.”
“Doesn’t Rolo get bored just sitting in a
glass room in your office?” asked Finney
as the elevator doors opened.
Something about this statement bothered
Finney. “How do you do that?” he asked.
“Do other people like taking your risks?”
“He keeps busy,” said Mr Shift, stepping
into the elevator after Finney and pushing
the button for the ground floor. “Now,
tell me, what do you think of my city so
far?”
“They must, because they keep doing
it,” said Mr Shift, pausing to point at a
gold cobblestone in the road. “Here.
You see that? That’s gold. My gold. Built
right into the roadway, proving to all the
world that Shift City is on top of things.”
“I don’t know,” said Finney. “I guess it’s
big and complicated.”
“You know I had it renamed after me
some years back,” said Mr Shift. “
Finney didn’t know how to respond to
that. When the elevator doors opened, he
followed Mr Shift out, through the lobby,
and out into the bustling metropolis. Half
a block down, they came to a homeless
encampment where dingy tents and
broken shopping carts encroached upon
the sidewalk from the empty lot they
populated. Finney had never before seen
so many sad, tired looking people. He
wanted to stop and talk to them, but Mr
Shift quickened his pace and didn’t even
glance in their direction.
“Let me tell you what I’ve done for this
city, besides naming it,” said Mr Shift
when Finney caught up. “All this,” he
said, spreading his arms wide. “All this
used to be cheap little houses and lowrent apartments. Mom and pop stores.
36
“I saw those gold stones on my way to
your building,” said Finney. “I thought
they were just decoration.”
“Everything has a purpose,” said Mr
Shift. “Even decorations. This whole city
runs on Shift Gold. Security forces and
drones prevent people from stealing the
gold cobblestones. Nothing gets by us.”
“What’s that?” asked Finney, pointing
to a pale, slumped-over woman in a
doorway.
“One of my buildings!” said Mr Shift
enthusiastically. “I own hundreds of
them.”
“I meant the lady,” said Finney. “She looks
really sick. Does she need a healer?”
“Some people would rather ignore
the world than make something of
themselves,” said Mr Shift dismissively.
“But now that you mention it, she probably
FINNEY VOLUME ONE - IMMUTABLE JOURNEY