Your shop

Your shop
Location:	Seedy Casinos

Open a shop in the mall?

In this economy? You've got to be nuts. Still, if you're serious about peddling your wares with the rest of the costumed wackos you'll need to apply for a business permit with the city.

And be sure to give your shop a proper name that people can pronounce. Call us xenophobic but our old typewriters in city hall don't have all those new fangled characters to them. Just keep it simple and at least 8 letters long.

City Vending Permit Application

Shop Name:

• Entering a legal name:

Oh, that sounds like a winner. '<name>', I like the way that rolls off the tongue. Go ahead and submit your application.

Commission Work on <name>

Somebody at City Hall tipped off the Twilight Carpenters' Union, Local 408, that you were thinking about doing some renovations to your shop. From what the papers say, the union has been locked in negotiations with the City over the proliferation of DIY permits among residents in Somerset. Nobody can remember when the talks started, but the union has been work-to-rule since, and the City has been unable to grant any permits for scab-work. The Local 408 has sent a representative to talk to you about "your needs."

With a confident swagger the Union Rep walks into your shop and looks around the place without caring that you are there. After he grunts and makes a few notes in a pad he pushes the pencil behind his ear. When he finally talks to you its close and its business. His nicotine breath is only a few inches from your nose. He says, "Looks like you already have N shelves. If you're gonna want 10 more it's gonna costa ya, bub."

He issues you a stack of forms that look like a contract. Bobbing a meaty finger over a line at the bottom he says, "Sign here."

You look at the price and hope the strike ends soon.

After you pay:

A union carpenter from Local 408, named Robert Villa, arrives with two helpers who spend all day trading around the sports section and sipping Mister Tea. They let you know they're here in a strictly advisory capacity. Even so, the only guy swinging a hammer is finished in no time flat.

Hmm, that seemed simple enough. Robert sure made it look like you could have done that yourself.

You pay him out of pocket and step back to admire your N+10 shelves.

Notes

• Opening a shop costs 10,000 chips, adding shelves starts at 5,000 and doubles each time.

References

• The name of the carpenter who builds your additional shelves is a reference to Bob Vila, who has hosted several home improvement television shows.