Warehouse

Jun 20, 2025

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One thing that Fenestra particularly Job on this planet was liked about her job on this planet was that she very rarely had to go ‘into work’. Most of her clients came to her, the ones that didn’t feel comfortable doing everyting by snip and screenie. But in this case she wanted to see for herself.

She stepped out of the skimmer onto the grass verge around the warehouse, waved goodbye to the ride-sharers (there was a concept that had taken her a while to get used to) and stared at the warehouse for just a minute. It was simply enormous, and had a hover track coming out of the middle of it and headed straight off toward the shuttle port. And she was the Trade Master! Even after all this time she could hardly believe it.

She walked in the ‘employee’ door… so different from the huge delivery doors, and up the stairs to the third floor, which overlooked the entire warehouse, and into her office. The warehouse secretary came in and they kissed… sister to sister, which Fenestra herself had instituted, oh, a hundred days or so ago. She was comfortable enough being trade master that she didn’t need it confirmed with every greeting or leave-taking.

“Here you are, Ska,” the secretary said, putting a large package down on the desk.

The package was sealed very oddly, with some kind of sticky substance on a strip of fabric, and it took the two of them to open it. Then Fenestra slowly pulled one block after another out of it, all of them wrapped very carefully, handing the first one to the secretary.

“Well, what do you think?” she asked, after she had the last block out on the desk and was staring at it herself.

“It is definitely handmade,” the secretary said. “In one sense, that lowers the quality but…”

“But it means that each one is a unique piece of art.” Fenestra started putting them back in the box. “I see that I have my work cut out for me this afternoon. Snip me a list of the best art galleries or appraisers or whatever.”

“Yes, Ska. But what about the other package?”

“That my daughter will take care of. I have a plan! Oh, and get me a free worker, will you? I have no desire to lug this around by myself.”

“Kesh or Kesh-i, Ska?”

“Oh, a young Kesh would be fine if we have one working. They will have to spend all day holding this box, I doubt me not.”

A minute later, the box was packed, and a kesh younger than her daughter was just coming into the office. “Take this box, please,” Fenestra said, and then, remembering just in time, “Fenestra Korvau, Trade Master.”

“Borden Jones, General Work,” he said, kissing her back and picking up the box.

She felt very odd, kissing a staff member that was that low on the chain, but… code and custom! She would have to kiss the janitor if it came to that. Which she hoped it wouldn’t!

She called a skimmer on the way down the stairs, but they had to wait outside as it was still a few minutes away. But she didn’t mind, because she got to see a hover truck take off from her warehouse and hover off toward the shuttle port. Her warehouse, her goods, her trade… she was the Trade Master!

The skimmer came and she hurried onto it. Bother, “Ska Fenestra Korvau,” she said, and kissed a ska-drek-a and four kesh-u that were already there. She was so glad that Jellia had her kesh-u. And, of course, it would make the skimmer ride cheaper.

It was a good fifteen minutes before they got to their first stop, and she had to kiss two more kesh-u, no doubt students on their way to school. Or perhaps to some job. It still made her quail a bit, thinking of Jellia working!

Well, this was nice! The skimmer had pulled up in front of a beautifully designed building, with dark wood accents and a wonderful job of landscaping. No windows which, of course, made sense for an art gallery.

She hurried in and up to the front desk. “Trade Master Fenestra Korvau,” she said. “I’m hoping to see a curator, or an appraiser?”

“General Manager Xiao Bestin,” the kesh at the desk said. He was armed, too, which she still found very odd. But his kiss was nice enough, and he shook hands with her employee. “May I ask about what? We have several ska which might answer the case.”

She turned to the box and carefully got one of the sculptures out, and handed it to him. He took it almost reverently and soon had a crowd gathered round.

He looked at the others. “I think that Master Appraiser Xien No’made might be best. Certainly, we don’t have anyone who is an expert in this particular kind of piece, but he handles a lot of our sculptures. What is the provenance?”

“It comes from a planet that I am just beginning to deal with…”

“Yes, but this piece?”

“Oh, that is an important question for art, isn’t it?”

“Indeed.”

“Let me snip.”

Fenestra: Is there a way of telling who made each art piece?

Trader Xosta: Yes. It should be on the base.

Fenestra took the piece from the appraiser and looked at the base. Well, there was some flowing script.

Fenestra: Can I get translations?

Trader Xosta: I would have thought your comp would recognize it, but if not I certainly can send down a translation.

Fenestra: I’ll look it up.

Sure enough, her wrist comp, after a rather long think, translated

Hnrt Ngng YOOL:27-29

A little more work translated YOOL into ’Year of our Landing’ but

Fenestra: What does 27-29 mean after a year?

Trader Xosta: It means it took the artist three winters, the winter of 27 through the winter of 29.

“Oh, my,” the appraiser said, after hearing that. “That is… incredible.”

“Can you give me a price?”

“Indeed I cannot. If you told me that they sold for a platinum hex each, I would have believed you.”

“Well, I’m trying to decide whether to sell them here or back on Ephemera.”

“If you will take my advice, I would advise both. We certainly would be pleased to take a few examples, perhaps as many as three… although of course we would take as many as you cared to give, but I think three would be best. And put them on a month-old second-price silent auction.”

“But Libertas is a fairly new planet and the market for art is not voluminous. Sending some off to Ephemera would no doubt be good.”

“I will, apparently, be responsible for selling several hundred of these,” she said, and he sat down with a thump.

“Then you will not be able to settle for Ephemera. You will need to scatter your seed far and wide. Oh, what an opportunity.”

“Well, have your lawyers write up your proposal,” she said, waving her wrist at him. “I can see I am going to have a busy few days.”

Fenestra: Darlings, I would like Jellia to make dinner later. I have a new ingredient I want her to try. And, Darling, I will want you to take some to school with you and have all of the kesh-u-i, and kesh-u for all I care, try something out. Ingredients free, but will need to report back on how it went.

Jellia: What is is? Everyone is excited.

Ska-drek: We can survive on snacks until a later dinner. Perhaps feed the kesh-u early

Gregory: Looking forward to it!

Jellia: No, seriously, what is it?

Fenestra: I’ll show you when I get home. You will need to have a benth of a few different types of oils.

Jellia: Oh. Have to do a store run, then.

Contract Marriage

Contract marriage is an adult dystopia examining the issues of marriage. Like 1984 and Brave New World, Contract Marriage treats the relations between the sexes as a fundamental aspect of how a society is formed and, thus, how a society can go wrong.

Unlike those dystopias, Contract Marriage isn’t all horrible all of the time. The characters for the most part have a good time and get along in their society. But the issues of sexuality, of marriage or not, monogamy or not, faithfulness or not, and gender roles… keep coming up and causing tension and conflict and joy and pain.

My desire is that my readers would be thinking along with my characters about these issues and perhaps even arrive at the same place (minus the flying cars).

Thank you for reading Von’s Substack. I would love it if you commented! I love hearing from readers, especially critical comments. I would love to start more letter exchanges, so if there’s a subject you’re interested in, get writing and tag me!

Being ‘restacked’ and mentioned in ‘notes’ is very important for lesser-known stacks so… feel free! I’m semi-retired and write as a ministry (and for fun) so you don’t need to feel guilty you aren’t paying for anything, but if you enjoy my writing (even if you dramatically disagree with it), then restack, please! Or mention me in one of your own posts.

If I don’t write you back it is almost certain that I didn’t see it, so please feel free to comment and link to your post. Or if you just think I would be interested in your post!

If you get lost, check out my ‘Table of Contents’ which I try to keep up to date.

Von also writes as ‘Arthur Yeomans’. Under that name he writes children’s, YA, and adult fiction from a Christian perspective. His books are published by Wise Path Books and include the children’s/YA books:

The Bobtails meet the Preacher’s Kid: A Christian historical fiction chapter book about four orphans who go to live with their aunt on a dairy farm.

The Bobtails and the Cousins: The sequel to Preacher’s Kid. The aunt has married, and the cousins come to visit. Meaning town kids dealing with chores and manure and…

The Bobtails go to France: The sequel to cousins. The Bobtails, and Preacher’s Kid, get to take a trip to New York, London, Paris, and a small town in France. To get some cheese.

and

No Ordinary School: A brilliant but socially clueless boy gets recruited for a special school. Where he makes a lot of money, gets a girl, and solves a mystery.

As well as GK Chesterton’s wonderful book, “What’s Wrong with the World”, for which ‘Arthur’ wrote most of the annotations. And…

Without a Word: A young woman, betrothed against her will to a disreputable older man. How will she honour God and her husband in this difficult marriage? (Published on Substack exclusively.)

Arthur also has a substack, and a website. On the substack you can listen to some of his published books. Free.

Thanks again, God Bless, Soli Deo gloria,

Von