THE MOMENT
"$100 for the phone...," the clerk nodded after he checked his numbers. "...$1.00 for the memories."
David had no idea what to expect. He anticipated a low-ball offer, but that was rock bottom. He needed a lot more money than that; except, he wasn't sure exactly how it worked.
"A dollar for my memories? That seems extraordinarily low."
"A dollar for your memories associated with the phone," the clerk replied with a smirk. "You don't really have a lot of them, the phone was unopened."
"Oh," he should've expected that. He found himself in a financial bind and needed money fast. The phone was a gift from his sister, and his birthday was only two days ago. He'd been unexpectedly busy since then and didn't really have any time to set it up or anything. "So, you pay more for bigger memories?" he asked.
"That's how we operate," the clerk nodded. "We buy not just your belongings, but the memories attached to them. Of course, you'll lose the memories forever, but it wouldn't make much difference since you barely have any."
Memories were all he had left worth anything, it seemed. Except, those weren't particularly helpful. He didn't have anything to sell them with. This latest emergency was part of a years-long trend of bad luck. It all started with a sudden, necessary move back home. He ended up having to sell or leave a lot of his belongings behind, and he hadn't felt a need to replace them.
"You're fairies, right?" David asked. The clerk looked entirely human, and he might've been. But, that wasn't what David was asking.
"Our owners are," the clerk nodded. He wasn't planning on trying to pawn anything that day; but, the shop almost jumped out at him as he headed home. He vaguely remembered seeing the ads on TV promising to buy memories. And, they'd touted 'fairy magic' as the source of their ability to do so. David didn't have any valuable memories; but, his desperation highlighted other options in his mind.
"You buy memories... do you buy souls?" he asked.
"That depends...," the clerk narrowed his eyes at David. "What's your favorite number?"
"I need $10000," David answered as sincerely as he could. He assumed they were negotiating, but he didn't know the going rate for souls. He hoped it was a fair offer.
"Place your hand here, please," the clerk moved the digital scale closer to David. It was the same one he'd used to determine the value of his phone and memories. After a moment, it beeped.
"$100 for the soul," the clerk nodded again and David felt instant doubt for a split second, until he finished his thought. "$100000 for your memories of it."
"Wait...," David chuckled. It had to be a joke, at least on some level. "You're only offering $100 for my soul? You're saying it's worth the same as a smartphone?"
"Well, economics is usually centered around scarcity," the clerk nodded. "Almost everyone has a smartphone these days, and even more people have souls," he chuckled. "Truthfully, its priced to be intentionally discouraging. We buy souls, but that's more headache than it's worth. Memories are our main focus."
"Well, why not just buy the memories separately?" David asked.
"We do," the clerk nodded.
"Oh.. I thought it was a package deal. You said you buy not just the belongings but the memories attached...," David clarified just to stall for time. he wasn't thinking too carefully about what he was saying and instead focused on deciding what to do next.
"That's right," the clerk shrugged. "We buy your belongings, and if you want to sell your memories we'll buy them too, not just the belongings. But,.. it doesn't mean it has to be a package deal. We're still a pawn shop," he said.
"So,... I can sell you just the memories of my soul for $100000? And still keep my soul?"
"Correct," the clerk nodded and kept his answer short to make it as clear as possible.
"What's to stop me from making new memories?"
"Why would we want you to stop? We're only buying your current memories up to this point. If you go out and make more, you can come back and sell them again in a few years; we do have a few regular customers that do that."
"Oh." It wasn't anything like he expected at all. "But.. how does that affect me?" He assumed he'd get a biased answer; but, it was still helpful to hear however the clerk chose to explain it.
"When was the last time you made a conscious memory about your soul?" the clerk smiled. It wasn't like David thought about his soul every day. Almost never, in fact. His soul was a part of himself that he was realizing he'd been taking for granted all his life. If he never really noticed it, did he need to? He could get rich, take care of his sister's hospital bills, and he'd still get to keep his soul.
His sister was the only family he had left, and that was hinging on whether or not he could find $10000. He found the money and he only needed to finalize the transaction. Then, his sister would get better and all would be well.
"Okay, I'll sell you the memories of my soul," David nodded.
"Great!" The clerk grinned and gathered the appropriate forms. Five minutes later, David was about to sign his name for a final time, and the clerk placed a transparent glass card down in front of him.
"Just so there are no surprises before you sign the last one; this will be your payment," the clerk said. "It's called a 'node' and it works like a super advanced smartphone."
David picked up the glass card and the time appeared when he touched it. The numbers floated in mid-air as he inspected the card, then he swiped up. The time disappeared and the screen turned bright, solid white with several icons. It was impressive, but the hospital wouldn't accept it as payment.
"So.. not cash?" David asked. The clerk nodded.
"It functions as a credit card," he said. "You'll have a limit of $100000 available. And, beyond that, it has multiversal capabilities. There's a lot to learn, but there's a tutorial there too," he added.
"Okay," David replied. More than anything, he was looking forward to the peace of mind he was about to have. And, it'd make his sister smile; her smile was worth it. He signed his name the last time to complete the contract, and he didn't feel any different. But, after a moment, he couldn't remember why he was expecting to feel different. He was rich now, he knew that much. He knew why he was there, and he was aware that he'd sold something. But, whatever it was, it wasn't important. He had enough money to do everything he wanted now.
"Pleasure doing business," the clerk nodded with a broad smile. "So, you're quite wealthy now, what are your plans?"
"Well, first I have to stop in and see my sister," David nodded. "She's been feeling extra under the weather lately. I'll take her some flowers or something," he explained as he planned his day. He didn't feel obligated to inform the clerk of her terminal diagnosis; it seemed like a downer to bring it up.
"Ah, it's nice to see people sharing wealth with their family, don't get that much in my line of work," the clerk chuckled. "Gonna plan a big trip when she's feeling better?"
"No," David shook his head. She wasn't going to get better, and there was nothing he could do about that. It was a depressing thought, and the clerk noticed David's expression even as he continued to answer the question. Except, he didn't know how to answer without dwelling on his sister's problems, so he skipped it with a lie. "She doesn't like traveling much," he shrugged. "Besides, it's my money. I'll share some of its sure, but she likes flowers. That's probably enough."
"Well, thanks for stopping in. Enjoy your day," the clerk waved at David and encouraged him to leave.
"Thanks, I will," David nodded as he walked out with a loaded bank balance. He realized he was hungry as soon as he stepped out, and by the time he got into his car, he'd already narrowed down his choices.
"A burger, I guess...," he decided first, then hesitated as he started the car. "No, forget that. I want pizza, and I don't care if I have to wait a little longer for a good meal," he said. He was leaning toward fast food to get to the hospital quicker; but, that was silly. He had money, and he had time, so why shouldn't he get the good meal that he wanted? He was patient enough to wait, and so he was sure his sister could wait a little bit longer, too.