Chapter 377 - 377

The movie was great, though no one here understood movie etiquette, talking over parts of the movie. Then again, people in the old world did that too so maybe it's a case of the more things change, the more they stay the same? Either way he was certain now he needed to find a popcorn machine… and popcorn. Midway had some, so it must be produced somewhere. Regardless when the movie was over he spent the remaining portion of the day quite leisurely. Getting a workout in with Deccanus and Salvatore and getting into a small debate with Mira about the best way to deploy power armored units. All in good fun, of course.

Finally he settled down for the night in his bed, having gotten far more work done that day than he ever expected.

The next day came with a bit of a surprise. A merchant. This time it was someone Adam didn't know, but apparently he had heard that Adam had set up a Vault and came to see for himself, excited to open new trade routes to a new settlement. Adam was more than happy to welcome him inside to sell his wares, but Captain Cortland insisted that his brahmin be left outside at the brahmin pen. Instead Adam offered up Buddy, Rivet, and Sgt. Fyre to help carry his boxes of goods inside so he could set up shop in the main common room.

The people in the Vault were eager to trade with the merchant, however some comments he had made, offhandedly, brought up a number of questions in Adam's head. Specifically when he joked about moving in. Surely the promise of a safe room, free food and healthcare and amenities would be attractive to almost anyone. Adam had only taken in refugees up to this point for the sake of giving them a place to live, but if there were people who genuinely asked to move in without being in crisis how would this situation be handled? The thought was outside of Adam's scope so, despite only founding it yesterday, he called together the members of the council to debate this topic.

"I don't know what you thought would happen." Karla said within a scoff as she, Peyton, Cortland, Eric, Deccanus, and Mira all gathered in the Overseer's office, or rather Adam's office, to debate this topic. "I mean with all the benefits of living here there is no sane person who wouldn't want to move in. Especially when the rooms are free, the food is free, the activities are free, the doctor is free… need I go on?"

"No… I get it…' Adam said with a sigh as he leaned back in his chair, rubbing his forehead.

"How serious is the merchant to begin with?" Mira asked, eyebrow raised.

"Serious enough that we are having this conversation. I know he said it offhandedly but after only a few hours here he was already joking about moving in, sending in his application, or putting a downpayment. So it's at least a thought in his head. I expect before he leaves I will be asked about the conditions for him to move in, at least. Karla sighed loudly but said nothing.

"So would you turn him away?" Mira pressed.

"I… don't know… I think so right? I mean we don't want freeloaders…"

"He wouldn't be a freeloader, he's a merchant, that's something, at least." Peyton chimed in.

"A merchant we don't know." Cortland said skeptically. "Pardon my suspicion, but we were all, at one time, people without a home, it's a minor miracle everyone here is at least somewhat a good person. If we start letting in unknown strangers the peace we have down here could be shattered. I don't want the Vault Guard to start having to police people."

"Thats a fair point too." Peyton conceded.

"You will never be able to weed out malcontents entirely without intense psychiatric evaluations." Mira added in. "its just a danger of working with people from the wasteland. It's why there as always so much pushback from the Brotherhood old guard to not interact with outsiders." Cortland seemed to frown at the mention of the Brotherhood but the thought on his mind seemed to just as quickly go away, letting old grudges go, presumably.

"We do not need freeloaders." Deccanus added in after a silence took hold. "However there are many jobs that could still use extra manpower, extra work that could be done, roles to be filled. If we are to take in more people. Beyond Adam's own judgement, I think they should have to prove their worth." He said resolutely.

"What kind of worth?" Adam asked back.

"That I do not know, but perhaps a skill they have we lack, or perhaps they simply have a lot of caps."

"An entry fee?" Karla mused at Deccanus' suggestion. "A flat rate fee that a newcomer would have to pay to get a home here, it would cover the cost of purchasing the room, the free food, and all the other things…" Karla thought aloud, almost entirely speaking to herself.

"Would… that work?" Adam asked back.

"It would do nothing to prevent those with ill intentions." Cortland said again.

"No." Karla conceded before adding: "However just being able to buy their way into the community means that they have enough capital to do so. If they earned that much they aren't likely to be the raider types who spend on drugs and booze, or the drunkards who spend on drugs and booze, or the gamblers who spend on drugs and booze." She said with disdain for the imaginary people she was speaking of.

"How much money are we talking about?" Adam asked back, choosing not to question Karla's last statement.

"A lot." She said back quickly. "Enough that they could live a moderately comfortable life in Midway I'd say." She paused, seeming to stop to think for the moment. "Consider this a preliminary number but… I think 7500 caps is a good low end, no lower though."

"7500?!" Adam said back. "That's an insane amount, how will most people pay it? I know I earn that much but most people aren't scavers."

"First of all, not my problem." Karla said back with a deadpan tone. "We are trying to prevent a housing crisis. Money is a filtering system and it adds more caps back into our circulation. However I want you to consider this: in Midway to buy a house you might find in Naper you are paying upwards of 10,000 caps. However, not only are you paying for your house but also still need to pay for food, for activities, for doctor visits, it adds up quickly."

"Well… truth be told I don't know how people afford that either." Adam said a bit crestfallen.

"Usually they don't." Karla said as she pushed her glasses up. "Most take out loans from the Guild to pay for the house, or the house and debt is inherited through the parents. In most cases the home is a generational mortgage that the children pay off through work, just as their parents did."

"That's… awful…" Adam said with a deep frown.

"It's just business." Karla said, with not one ounce of compassion. "Besides, those that can pay off their loans own the house, no strings attached. The Boss was very clear about making deals and not breaking them."

"So… what are you suggesting that we do something similar?" Mira asked, quizzically.

"Yes and no. The Guild's practices are predatory. While they are effective I know those types of measures would not fly with you, mayor." She said to Adam specifically. "However low to high interest loans over a span of several years would both incentivize the individual to work as well as give them a home in the meantime. They owe a debt to the Vault that they pay off by working for the Vault." She then paused and then added: "Or perhaps they could come into some sort of large inheritance." She said, perhaps in an attempt at a joke.

"But 7500, huh?" Adam said solemnly.

"That is on the low end." Karla reminded him. "I would need to work out the numbers, this meeting was rather sudden after all. However I think we could allow some adjustment of the price if the individual in question brings valuable skills to the Vault we are in need of."

"If we allow them to take out a loan that will just allow malcontents to get in again." Cortland said back. "A raider wouldn't care about a loan because he has no intention of paying it back, but once he was living inside he would have opportunities to cause trouble."

"Then I suppose it will be up to you to vet them." Karla said with a small sadistic smile. Cortland frowned before Mira put a hand on his shoulder.

"I have some techniques to help you see through people telling lies that I can teach you and your men when you guys have time, if you want. Nothing too grand, just tricks of the trade.

"That… would be most helpful… thank you, Miss." Cortland said back to her.

"Okay, so it sounds like we have a plan in place but we don't have everything set yet, so should we just say, for now, no new people can move into the Vault until the rules are established?" Adam asked.

"That seems most fair to me." Deccanus said back to which most of the others nodded.

"Unless they are rich. And I mean filthy rich." Karla grinned maliciously. Adam let off a single chuckle.

"Okay well then I think thats-" Adam began before Karla cut him off.

"And until the rules are fully established I think visitors to the Vault are charged for their meals and anything else they do down here."

"For safety I think no visitors would be allowed to stay in a room down here, if they wish to visit during the day they can, but at night they will need to sleep outside the Vault… We have enough manpower we can ensure their safety outside too, but I don't want to endanger people inside the vault because of some visitors." Cortland added. Adam nodded slowly.

"I guess we will need to make visitor housing outside then too." Adam let off a soft resigned chuckle.

"I can tell people about it, so it can be done quickly. There are enough hands down here looking for work that I'm sure a bit of manual labor won't seem too bad." Peyton added in.

"And we will charge for the stay, even above ground, of course." Karla added in, bluntly. Adam didn't deny her comment but chose to ignore it for a moment because, honestly, he didn't want to argue. She was right.

"And what about the merchant we have here right now? We don't have visitor housing yet."

"Charge him for a room." Karla said quickly. "Let him stay down here as a special exemption but charge him out the ass for the room. You and your… fake army can just keep an eye on him." Karla said with a dismissive wave of her hand to Cortland. Cortland seemed to scowl but reigned it in and sighed.

"I guess… we can do that…" Cortland admitted.

"Okay well I think that's everything." Adam said, hopeful. "I think we can call this first council meeting for the Vault a success!"