The Data Traders

Guild Apprentices

All perspective members of the guild will enter with the title “Apprentice Trader” until and unless the guild master of their ship confers additional titles or rank. Apprentice traders will be assigned to one and only one master trader. Master traders are responsible for the training and development of apprentices assigned to them but may delegate those duties to Journeymen or other qualified specialists at their discretion.

Excerpted With Permission

Data Trader’s Handbook

Copyright 3250, Interstellar Data Trader Guild

“We need more traders.”

Ollu held her head in her hands. This conversation was becoming very annoying. “Yes, Leo we do.”

“I want to recruit more aggressively in the next system.” Leo was looking at her intently, focused on his argument.

“Leo, we discussed this. We can’t hire a hundred new traders like we did with crew. There simply are not enough traders running around the average system. I agree we should talk to any traders in system, but how many will there be? Craig was our ONLY candidate in the last system.”

“Then we take on apprentices.”

“And who will train them? Craig?”

Leo looked shocked. “Certainly not.”

“Right.” Ollu took a deep breath. Leo knew how to run a trader desk but had little experience outside of normal trader duties. He had been very sheltered before taking the leap of faith on the new ship with Ollu and Ramona. “Leo, let’s have this discussion once and for all. I don’t want to discuss this at every port of all for the next two years.” Leo nodded, he wasn’t enjoying the argument either. “OK. The Trader system is built around masters, right?” Leo nodded again. “So the number of total traders you can have is a factor of how many masters you have. We only have you and Craig. I’m a master in name only and Ramona is still learning how to be a trader herself. Since Craig is not to be trusted with young impressionable minds, that means that we can only take on as many apprentices as you can personally supervise.”

Leo shook his head. “You and Ramona could take on apprentices.”

“No, Leo. We can’t.” Olu sighed. “As much as it pains me to admit it, being a trader is really hard. I know how the ship should run and how to efficiently manage it, but that’s not the same thing as being a master trader. Ramona knows space and weapons but she’s only made a couple of trades. It just doesn’t make sense for us to train anyone.”

Leo nodded in defeat. “OK, I get what you’re saying. It’s just frustrating. I’ve never been budget constrained like this before. We’re making less than ten percent of what we should be making and most of that is coming from Craig.”

Ollu shrugged. “Did you think we would be making the same amount of money as the Reggie?”

Leo looked abashed. “Well, yeah. I did. At this rate it will take me YEARS to earn my money back.”

Ollu just shook her head. “That’s how it works Leo. Anything worthwhile takes effort. On the ships I worked before the guild, we would have gladly given a kidney to clear a million guilders in a single system. Most non-trader ships barely make that in a year.”

Leo looked confused. “Non-trader ships? Do you mean banned systems?”

Ollu smacked the table. “Leo, this is getting old. I’m going to make you read some books or something. No, not banned systems. I mean ships that move things that can’t be reproduced with IP. People, biologicals, art. Things like that.”

“Oh, I gotcha. I know about all that, I’m not dumb. I just don’t consider that trading.”

“No, Leo, we called it cargo. It does exist, just not as profitable as moving data.” Ollu looked up at the overhead and counted to three. “Leo, we need to talk about income inequality. Your privileged upbringing in the guild means that you don’t really think about what life is like for regular people, outside the guild.”

“I didn’t have a privileged upbringing. I worked for every guilder I have. My parents didn’t give me anything.”

“Except automatic admission to the guild.”

“It’s not automatic. I had to pass my boards.”

“Did any of the kids you grew up with fail to pass their boards?”

“Of course not!! The Connie is a respectable ship, we wouldn’t have allowed that!”

Ollu just waited.

Leo looked confused again. “What?”

“Leo, what percentage of dirtyfoots pass their boards and become traders?”

“How should I know that?”

“The data is in the system Leo. How many?”

“I have no idea.”

“Less than 1% who attempt to join the Guild successfully pass their boards and become traders. Less than 1%.”

“OK, but it’s the same test. We don’t get a pass or anything.”

“Leo, if you grow up on a trader vessel, asking about trading is like asking if water is wet. You’re just born into the life.”

“Yes, right. Of course.”

“That’s called privilege. Others don’t have the advantage that you had.”

“No, no. It’s not like that. We are just in the right place at the right time. You know, we’re lucky to be born into a trader family.”

“Come off it Leo. You’re born to privilege.”

Leo stood his ground. “No way, I earned my spot. I worked for those guilders.”

Ramona entered the room just as Ollu started her last sentence. “Jesus Leo, Traders control almost half of all wealth in the systems where they operate but only compose less than one tenth of one percent of the total population. I literally took a class in high school about how the Guild creates the most income inequality of any human society in history. Earning money with the guild isn’t work, it’s just taking advantage of your position.”

Leo looked at her and blurted out the first thing that came to mind. “Yes, well of course they would say that. They’re Banned.” Ramona looked at him like he had physically struck her.

Craig laughed out loud. “Damn kid. Should I take notes or something? I didn’t realize it was ‘acting like an asshole’ master class today.”

Leo started, he hadn’t seen Craig come in with Ramona. “Craig, you of all people should understand, being born a trader isn’t privilege. We have to work to earn our spots.”

Craig laughed even harder. “Who the fuck told you that, kid? Being trader born is the winning the lottery of winning the lottery. Just look at me, I have almost no practical skills other than being able to read people and I’m worth a stupid amount of money.” He sat down and placed a large coffee mug on the table. “I’m living proof that being a trader isn’t actually work. It’s more of a lifestyle.”

Leo looked at three people sitting at the table with him. He was truly shocked at the turn of conversation. “Well, if being a trader is so bad, why do you all want to be one?”

Craig sobered. “Nothing wrong with being richer than God kid. We aren’t saints. I assume Ollu and Ramona here just want to get rich like the rest of us.” Both women nodded. “I think the point is that acting like your shit don’t stink is getting old and you should get over yourself.”

“I don’t do that!”

“Sure you do.” Craig took a long slurp from his coffee. “Don’t take is personal, kid. Most traders do.” He cleared his throat dramatically. “Ahem.. ‘To be accepted as a Journeyman in this honored profession is one of the highest honors any human can aspire to.’ It’s in the FUCKING HANDBOOK, son.”

“How do you remember the exact text of the handbook? Haven’t you been a master for over a hundred years?”

“Hell kid, I wrote that shit about fifty years ago. It was supposed to be a joke, but some moron took it serious and put it in there. No sense of humor, most of the masters.”

“Wait, you wrote the Data Trader’s Handbook?”

“No kid, I redlined the thing to fix some of the more messed up shit in there. That bit just stuck in my head because I was just joking but it made the final edit anyway. Still there to this day as far as I know.”

Ramona nodded. “It is.”

Leo looked at her.

“What? I’ve read it you know.”

“The whole thing?”

“Of course.”

“What is that like eight hundred pages?”

Ollu shook her head. “Nine hundred and fifty.”

“You too?”

“What do you think, Leo?”

“Yeah, you’ve read the whole thing.”

Ramona smiled. “Ironic, isn’t it?”

Leo looked confused. “What?”

“You’re the only one at the table who hasn’t read it.”

“OK, OK…. I get it. I’m a privileged asshole who hasn’t even read his own guild’s handbook.”

Ramona looked at him intently. “You’re forgetting one thing.”

“What’s that?”

“You’re OUR privileged asshole and the master trader of this ship.”

Craig smiled. “Couldn’t have said it better myself. Coffee anyone?”