Spinning Diamonds

By Steve S. Grant

When the opportunity to come out of retirement and go on one last space mission presents itself, Vincent Lambert jumps at the chance to go down in history as the first belt miner. Unfortunately, dealing with corporate greed one hundred million kilometers away from Earth was not in the mission outline.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Steve S. Grant
• Release date: Oct 26, 2013
• ISBN: 9780991739363

Steve S. Grant

Steve’s love story with fantasy and Sci Fi goes way back to childhood, where his passion for comic books eventually evolved to novels. After being chief editor of a high school newspaper, he graduated from University with a deep knowledge of the used book stores in the Montreal area.The desire to write came on gradually, sporadically, over the next years. It was done in spare time, on table corners, during breaks, after nights on the town or whenever the mood struck. Stories took shape, ideas were committed to paper and eventually to computers. It was all done in a disorganized way, as an artistic release.And then life changed. Steve left a secure employment and left Canada, working at countless jobs that he never knew existed. He traveled extensively through Europe, visiting many medieval cities along the way. Contracts eventually led him to Japan, Australia, and even to North Korea, where Americans are perceived as Imperialists Evildoers.Steve’s writing also changed, becoming more structured and oriented. He wrote two novels, that he peddled half-heartedly to agents and publishing houses. Alas, it was not meant to be, the books were not published and Steve quickly got discouraged. He kept on writing for his personal enjoyment, without serious motives or expectations, but always with the afterthought that his work had never really had a decent shot.Back in Canada, Steve now raises a family and enjoys a sedentary life. His love for reading and writing is still strong, and the evolution of the electronic book market is making his head spin.

Book preview

SPINNING DIAMONDS

by

STEVE S. GRANT

Copyright © 2013 Steve S. Grant

ISBN: 978-0-9917393-6-3

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Illustration by Frank Garoufalis

SPINNING DIAMONDS

The tall and burly salesman threw the kitchen bowl down with all his strength, like a running back spiking a football. It bounced to the ceiling and back to the floor with a clatter and a roll that ended near the president’s shoes.

It won’t break, it won’t crack, it won’t change color, it’ll last forever, said Vincent Lambert. Same thing for all our products. An absolute must when working in space. Trust me, the last thing you want after recompressing a temporary shelter that’s been idle for decades—and last used by a bunch of greasy astronauts with questionable hygiene—is cold food that tastes like paint or plastic.

He roughly slapped a microwave before pushing it off the table. The rugged exterior absorbed the impact with a satisfying crunch. Evidently it could take much worse. Vincent kicked it hard across the room, taking full advantage of his steel-toed shoes.

"Forget baby-proof, army-proof, or whatever else passes for durable on the market. The Eclipse product line is space-proof, made to work in the worst possible conditions. You can overpressurize this thing, or expose it to vacuum; it’ll work like brand new. Boil it? No problem. Freeze it? No worries. Roll it in moon dust, the fine powdery stuff that can’t be wiped off, and it’ll still do what it’s supposed to do. Of course it will; it’s an Eclipse! Same thing for our lamps, electric converters, power generators, power tools, heaters, fans, and furniture. Maybe there’s a race of aliens out there with more reliable equipment, but I wouldn’t bet on it."

The salesman brought the microwave back to the table and quickly made himself a cup of tea.

The durability of your ‘appliances’ is commendable, said one of the engineers across the room. But, your prices are… extremely steep. It’s not like you invented these things.

Not invented, reinvented, corrected Vincent. Reengineered. Oh, you can go to the corner store and buy all of this at very low prices, but nothing will work in vacuum. On the off chance that it does work—anything’s possible—it would never work the way it is intended to and would quickly fall apart. Like I said, nowadays, pretty much everything being manufactured is disposable garbage with an expiration date. Built-in obsolescence is at the heart of our economy. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining. It’s a business model that works well on Earth. But—as we’re all aware of—not on the moon. That’s why Eclipse products are so popular with off-world workers. Vincent raised his steaming cup to his lips.

A short silence ensued.

Well, this is certainly something to think about, said the president, before standing up. Thank you very much for this excellent presentation.

The executives of XL Propulsion followed suit, and Vincent stepped forward to shake hands with everyone. Although all these men and women were younger than him by at least a decade, he was careful when wrapping his big paw around their thin knuckles. Thank you for your time, he repeated.

He rarely pitched his products to such a large crowd; when it did happen, it was usually after repeated marketing efforts that bordered on harassment. Three days ago he had never heard of XL Propulsion. A personal call from its owner, Harry Long, had quickly set up this presentation. Maybe Eclipse products were finally getting word-of-mouth publicity, since clients were now contacting him.

They all left and Vincent, with practiced movements, placed the cups and plates inside each other before stuffing them in the microwave. As he gathered the rest of the scattered equipment, the president of XLP walked back into the room with one of his engineers. They were both middle-aged men in their early forties.

Mr. Long, anything else I can do for you? asked Vincent.

Harry Long smiled and waved his hand negatively. You were very convincing, Mr. Lambert; I’m sure that our employees will end up working with your products. In fact, your energy and general health condition are remarkable.

Vincent raised an eyebrow.

I’m sorry, this is out of context. After reading about you and your work on the moon, I thought… this is delicate, I thought you would be somehow physically diminished.

Ah, a common misconception.

Obviously. You look ready and able to kick these poor appliances across a football field, joked the engineer, who