A charity asks to get A LOT of the "sweetheart paper". They wish to sell it at a premium in order to fund a program that was building ships to better help smuggle deregger escapees from their polities to safe alliance harbors.
@internutter/challenge-03445-i157-artistic-enthusiasm -- Anon Guest
The first efforts were gifts to Thal's crewmates and friends. It did not take long for the word to get out from there. All it took was for one Companion to show someone else what their dear Human had done as part of their hobbywork. Thal considered the paper experiments as a byproduct of their hobbywork with sugar as an edible polymer[1]. They grew sugarcane to make their supplies from scratch.
Thal was more interested in what they could create with the sugar. The paper was just something interesting to do with the biodegradable waste. But, like any artistic type, they had made a good effort with their experiment.
The heart-shaped paper smelled sweet, and had been coloured red, pink, and at least one was a shade of magenta. Thal had also been experimenting with handmade dyes. Pink was a favourite, as it was decidedly non-threatening. Pink was too light to be the colour of anyone's blood, and not as eye-burningly harsh as magenta[2].
Paper was expensive even when manufactured by material printers. Cellulose had many other uses and flimsy was easier to make. Hand made paper was a small fortune... and Human Thal considered their products to be roughly worthless.
The CRC agent found Thal in one of their workshops, mincing the crushed sugarcane into pulp. With a hand-cranked machine. Her terror at the evaluation of Thal's work shot up into astronomical figures.
"Hello, uh. I've heard about your work," began Agent Glen. "I'm from the CRC and we're always looking for avenues to earn the Hours to pay for all our efforts. We'd like to auction your Sweetheart Papers to various souls interested in them."
"Auction them... individually?"
"Depending on availability, of course," offered Glen. "I understand that your work takes priority and this is an entirely voluntary position."
"Oh no, that's not why I'm doubting at you. See..." Thal journeyed over to a cupboard and opened it. It was stacked high with bundles of Sweetheart Papers. "I have loads of them."
[1] Sugar is a polymer. It is a long-chain hydrocarbon much like any other petrochemical. The only difference being that sugar is not sourced from fossilised plant deposits.
[2] Your experiences with magenta may vary.
[Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash]
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