Hauntingly Beautiful Girls

"This Is How They Get You (Part 6)"

The experience has become of someone talking in a pressurized spacesuit.

"Let no one tell you that life as an asteroid miner is glamorous.

The smell alone is uncomfortable.

They promise you support of the [corporation] to make sure you are safe and profitable.

Stories of miners coming back with decades of pay due to lucky finds were common back on earth.

Not here. You do not hear the same stories here.

The pitch was this. Go out daily and inspect for valuable chunks. You get help bringing it back. You get a payout. Do that enough and you can afford the contract buy out and come back to earth.

The reality is. You go out. Somebody finds something valuable. They override your suit to create a retrieval chain. It moves the chuck into processing. By the time it is in, you suit needs fresh resources.

The corporation has many good statements about this situation. They supply the suits and the supplies to keep you alive. They can do it that way.

You do not make any money for it. Air and food, but no money.

You really want to be out in the belt looking for chunks of value. That luck is very rare.

There are rumors of special accommodation to get into promising areas first.

That is tough to be sure about. It sounds like complaining.

Not that there are time to talk much.

The suits all have [sound board] communication systems. Hit a button, it speaks a phrase for you.

The corporation says it reduces fights and saves lives.

Here inside the station, there are a few guys that got crushed. Big chunks that trapped the suit.

They are not able to afford the buyout to go home.

The corporation says arrangements are being made.

I hear what happens is: they wait for a lucky payout to a miner and ask him to front the cost of the return trip for the wounded miner.

That feels like they using the wounded miner as a [pawn] in an attempt to save money.

This concourse on the station is crowded there are a bunch of miners circled around something.

I tune in my [communication channel].

A well known wounded miner is there with small metal stick in his mouth. A collection of unusual sound board phrases plays.

"You all know how finding a valuable chunk is so important.

So many things to do.

This little stick has a magnetic end. Simply use your teeth and tongue. You use your fingers for speaking in these suits.

You can feel the valuable rocks before your sensors decide.

I have a limited supply.

Why this little beauty will reward you almost immediately in finding valuable chunks.

Do not delay. Supplies are limited.

See how easily I can detect the metal content in this small sample."