Entrepreneurship in Space

"This ducking blows!" My brother spouted, as he belligerently stormed down the sidewalk.

"If you at least try to get a real job like a social media influencer or a streamer, I'm sure dad will let you come home." I attempted to rationalize with him to try and calm him down.

He threw up his arms, frustrated. Then he began pointing all around us. "Listen here little bro, don't you ever get the feeling that life is just too boring. The year is 3024 and everything has been done. The world, space, aliens, pretty much all the secrets of the universe, it's all been explored and discovered already. I mean heck, we live on a floating city that orbits the Earth. What's the point of living without adventure?"

Despite what he was saying, I couldn't relate. Why would somebody have a problem with a comfy carefree life? Jobs people did like a thousand years ago, like construction workers and doctors were completely obsolete now that Robots could handle those tasks.

"I'm not following in dad's footsteps! Content clipping just isn't for me." He protested.

"But Randy, where are you going to go? What are you going to do?" I didn't necessarily have to go after him, but I was genuinely concerned for his well-being.

"Don't know. Who cares though, there's a universe of possibil-." He stopped mid-sentence as something caught his very short attention span. "Woah, you see that!"

He directed me to what looked like a piece of crap rusted step van with rocket thrusters haphazardly strapped to the back of it. It was parked in front of a sketchy used spaceship dealer. There was a large orange sign cut out into the shape of an explosion with thick black letters that read, "Explosive Deal."

"But you don't have any-." There was no point in speaking to him when his mind was set on something. He was already walking over to speak with the salesbot.

"How can I help you, good sir. Beep bop." The salesbot broadcasted from its box shaped monitor head, as it tipped its pointlessly small brown fedora. Its lanky humanoid body was dressed in a pinstripe suit that matched its hat.

"Yo! I'm curious about that spacecraft out front. Ya mind showing it to us."

"Who said anything about 'us'." I mumbled under my breath.

"That's a hot deal on that one. You have a very good eye. Beep bop." The robot buttered my brother up with its monotone voice.

The salesbot walked us over to the rust bucket. When it went to unlock the door, it pulled out something I didn't even think they made anymore...

"What's that thing?" Randy naively wondered.

"It's a key. This model uses a simple vintage locking mechanism. You just put it in this slot, turn and the door unlocks. Beep bop."

"That seems a bit obsolete." I chimed in.

"Nah little bro, like the robot said, it's vintage. They don't make quality like that anymore."

"But what happens if you lose the key?" I continued trying to play devil's advocate in hopes my brother would come to his senses.

The sales bot pulled out a second key. "That's what the spare key is for. Beep bop."

Randy obnoxiously smacked my shoulder. "See, you worry too much little bro." He snapped his finger and pointed at the salesbot. "Let's take a look at the interior, robo man."

The front driver door, which looked like it was on the verge of falling off its hinges, opened, revealing an interior that was just as unappealing and rusted as the outside. The two black leather front seats were completely tattered with springs and foam popping through them. It didn't even look like there were any sort of safety harnesses. The main control was a chewed up looking steering wheel with a handful of buttons in the center. On the floor was a bare metal accelerator and a bent up looking brake pedal. Both my brother and I were ushered in by the salesbot. As expected, there wasn't an ounce of cushion on the seat. It felt like sitting on broken glass.

"It's not that bad. Toss a seat cover on and it'll be as good as new. Not to mention, all that cargo space in the back." At this point my brother definitely had rose colored glasses on. The back area was spacious, but there was also a bunch of open wiring sticking out from the battered up walls and ceiling. Even worse was the dead animal covered in flies in the corner. It deteriorated to the point where I wasn't able to make out what it was. All I knew is it had brown fur and was as flat as a pancake.

"How do I fire this bad boy up, robo man?" Randy asked as he excitedly grabbed the steering wheel.

"There is a slot beside the steering wheel. Use that same key from earlier to fire the ignition. Beep bop."

My brother did as the robot told him and twisted the key in the ignition slot. The craft let out a loud grinding noise as it attempted to start.

I turned to my brother. "That doesn't sound good."

"Nonsense, that's just how old spaceships sound." He said, as he repeatedly kept cranking on the ignition starter. He turned back to the salesbot. "So, what kind of engine is this baby packing anyway?"

The salesbot proceeded to slap the roof of the vehicle. "This bad boy has a nuclear fission core that will easily top out at 0.001 light years per hour. Beep bop."

"Dang, there's no beating that price to performance." My brother looked like his mind had been blown by that number. To be perfectly frank though, that speed wasn't all that great compared to modern standards.

Finally after about five minutes worth of attempts the engine finally fired on.

"Would you like to take it for a test drive? Beep bop."

My brother didn't even need to be asked twice. "Duck yeah!... Little bro, get in back so robo man can ride shotgun."

"But there's no seats back there." I complained.

"You'll be fine. We're just going around the moon and back. Just hang onto something."

My concerns went into one of my brother's ears and out the other. There was nothing in back to grab onto. I had a feeling this ride wasn't going to be pleasant.

"Count me down, robo man!"

"3...2...1... Lift off. Beep bop."

Right at the words "lift off", Randy pulled a lever and punched it. Immediately, the ship's thrusters fired and tilted us up at a 90 degree angle and shot the ship upward toward space. I flew backward, smacking my entire body against the rear wall of the cargo hold.

As we exited the artificial atmosphere, Randy abruptly lurched the ship sharply with zero consideration for my well-being. This time I flung upward, smacking my head into the metallic ceiling.

Out the front windshield I managed to catch a glimpse of the blue and green sphere known as Earth. This really wasn't all that big of a deal considering we see it all the time since the city we live in orbits it. In reality, it's just a ball of water and rocks, with some plants and animals sprinkled around. There's really nothing all that special about it, considering there were millions of planets in the galaxy just like it.

We zipped right past the earth and did a u-ey around the moon. The entire time I continued to be shook around like a set of dice in a game of craps. Only when the city of Space Chicago was back in view I began to feel relieved. The landing was not pleasant, since my brother nearly crashed, but at least this hellish ride was over. By some stroke of luck I managed to walk away with only a couple of cuts and bruises.

"So what did you think? Beep bop." The salesbot inquired.

Randy simply responded with, "how much?"

"But Randy, you don't have any mon-."

The salesbot interrupted me. "How much do you have? Beep bop."

"Little bro, how much you got?"

"I have about five thousand stollars in savings, but-."

The salesbot interrupted me again. "What a coincidence. That ship just so happens to cost that exact amount. Beep bop."

Something told me this salesbot was desperate to get rid of this ship.

"Can I have a word with you, little bro?" Randy nudged me out of the spacecraft and off to the side. "Let's buy it!"

I immediately objected, "No way! That'll drain my entire bank account."

He put his hand on my shoulder. "Alright, just hear me out before you shoot me down... What if we start a business!"

"Neither of us know anything about running a business. What does that even have to do with buying a spaceship anyway?"

"Alright little bro, look at that ship and envision this..." He turned me toward the vehicle. "Two brothers traveling the galaxy, serving the greatest burgers in the universe to all sorts of exotic alien species in our very one space food truck!"

I bluntly shot him down. "No."

"Aw come on. Where's your entrepreneurial spirit? Think of it as an investment. Before you know it, five thousand stollars will be pocket change to us with all the money we're going to make. Besides, everyone knows vehicles retain their value." He continued to try and sway me.

Other than my brother being slightly taller and wearing his hair in a spiky style, we did resemble each other a fair amount, especially our cyan colored hair, which we inherited from our dad. However, that was where our similarities ended. I’ve been cautious and rational since the day I was born, while Randy has always liked to go against the grain and take chances.

"I'm sorry, but I'm not like you Randy. I just can't bring myself to do something so erratic."

At that moment, I never saw my brother look so shattered in his life. He hung his head and began to depart the dealership. "I just thought this was something we could do as brothers... I guess I'll go find a dumpster to live inside of or something."

If he was actually serious about what he said, that would make him the first and only homeless person in Space Chicago. Could I really let him go through with that? I felt conflicted as a feeling of guilt started to overwhelm me. Maybe I could just humor him to keep him off the streets. Once he got bored, we could sell the ship and I could at least recuperate some of my money.

I let out a sign and went after him, "Wait Randy! I'll buy the spaceship for this business idea of yours."

He immediately changed his tune. "I knew you'd come around! Now let's go talk with that salesbot."

After signing my name, Ralphy Rodgers, on the dotted line and draining my bank account against my better judgment, my brother and I (mostly me since the vehicle title was signed under my name) were now the proud owners of a piece of crap step van like spaceship. Thus beginning my journey of running a food truck in space with my older brother.