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[RFC] The Vitamin Man
[RFC] The Vitamin Man
#1
Just a little idea I've had kicking around the back of my brain for the last few weeks. It's not really complete, but there's enough here to get
the idea across.


(Sidebar on Food/Trade page?)

===== The Vitamin Man =====

An unfortunate fact of life in Fenspace is the regrettably

limited diet available to most of its inhabitants. Although the

variety, quality and quantity of food produced in Fenspace have

both been increasing over the years, and imports from the Danelaw

have likewise increased, it is still very easy for a careless Fan

to suffer the effects of malnutrition. The problem is even more

critical for fenkinder.

It didn't take long after the first diaspora of Fen into space

for someone to recognize this need and act to fill it. In early

2008, Antonio Mendoza of Austin, TX 'waved a large panel truck,

filled it with all manner of vitamins and dietary supplements

purchased wholesale from a local supplier, and took off for

Fenspace. He was the first Vitamin Man, and became a familiar

face to the first wave of Fen colonists as he traveled from

settlement to settlement (and sometimes vehicle to vehicle)

selling his wares both retail and wholesale to those who needed

them.

As awareness of Mendoza grew in Fenspace, so did demand, and soon

several Vitamin Men were running their own routes. Most were

like Mendoza, being honest businessmen, but several became

infamous for price-gouging, and allegedly one was spaced when his

stock was discovered to be worthless sugar pills. Despite this,

by 2012 the Vitamin Man and his truck have become a regular and

welcome sight to Fen throughout the solar system.

Unlike some of his less-scrupulous competitors, Mendoza charged

little more than his wares would cost Earthside. Initially he

accepted American currency, but as it grew in short supply and

Fenspace's native economy evolved, he became willing to take

almost anything in trade, refusing anything he felt was

disproportionately valuable. When his customers had nothing to

offer was he was willing to let them have his wares on credit; he

claims proudly that almost none of the credit customers ever

defaulted on him.

For his first few restock runs he returned to his native Austin,

but after the United States grew hostile to Fen he was forced to

seek out suppliers elsewhere. After trying several outlets in

Europe, Mendoza eventually became part of the wave of Fen

activity which established Australia as Fenspace's "home port" in

the Danelaw. While his vitamin route has not made him rich, he

is comfortable and content, and as of early 2012 finalized a deal

with an Australian pharmaceutical company to license "Vitamin

Man" brand vitamins and dietary supplements for sale both on

Earth and in Fenspace.


I'd probably want to go into a bit more detail about Mendoza and his truck, plus I want to include a bit about him adding spices and herbs to his stock.
But this is enough to see if people like the idea.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.
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#2
Sounds cool to me. Vitamin C pills will be important until people start growing citrus trees/tomatoes, and even after.
___________________________
"I've always wanted to be somebody, but I should have been more specific." - George Carlin
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#3
Benjamin is always happy to see another fellow Tejano/Texian and patronizes Mendoza as often as possible. ^_^
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#4
Okay, it may take me a while to move this out of first draft, but I'll smooth it out and repost when I do.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.
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#5
Hmmmmm... Mendoza's taking barter instead of cash in some markets. It would be foolish to lug all that stuff down a gravity well, especially since most of
his 'Danelaw suorces likely don't accept barter... He's going to need a storefront somewhere, to raise cash from most of those barter items.

Luckily, Fenspace already has a shopping mall - The Island...
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012
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#6
Pretty much one of the options I had in mind. Although I hadn't followed it through to its ultimate conclusion, which you have -- vitamins on one end,
pawnshop or thrift shop on the other.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.
Reply
 
#7
Quote: blackaeronaut wrote:

Benjamin is always happy to see another fellow Tejano/Texian and patronizes Mendoza as often as possible. ^_^
As half the crew of WW1 are also native Texans, they always have a six pack of Shiner Bock for the Vitamin Man when he makes it past the
Roadhouse. Although, after the base is officially transferred to Deimos and the Savage Amphitheater is opened, they grow a lot of their own vegetables (not for
sale, though). Still, a traveling salesman is a good source of information.
Ebony the Black Dragon
http://ebony14.livejournal.com

"Good night, and may the Good Lord take a Viking to you."
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