His business with LS settled, Liam took out his drawing tablet and sketched a 3D model of the composting system he had just worked out in his head.
On Earth, hot composting took three months and cold composting six, which was far too long. Planet Cygnus could not wait that long, so Liam decided to use high technology to cut the time down.
This era had long since abandoned composting as a means of restoring soil, so naturally there were no machines built for the purpose. But who said only purpose-built equipment could do the job?
Wouldn’t it be better to buy something with a similar function and repurpose it?
He turned to Benjamin: "When we’ve finished up later, let’s stop by a farm machinery shop. There are a few things I want to buy."
Benjamin was blank for a moment, then came back to himself: "The machines at home are basically enough, there’s no need to buy more. Don’t go spending money on odds and ends. Keep it where it is. Another year and I’ll have gathered enough to add to it, and you can send it all back to the Hall family. If you want anything in the meantime, just tell us."
With that, Benjamin opened his smart watch and transferred six hundred thousand silver stars into Liam’s account. Only then did Liam realize that his brother and sister still believed the money he’d been spending had come from the Hall family. He laughed.
"That was my own money. I’ve already paid back everything the Hall family gave me."
Benjamin was not convinced: "Your money? Where would you get that much money? Never mind the house and the personal supplies, that cabinet of fresh food alone was a monstrous sum.
Liam, be good. I know you suffered at the Hall house, and I know it feels only right that they should compensate you. But we Martinezes never accept charity from anyone. Listen to me. If you’ve decided to cut ties with them, then there’s no sense holding on to their money."
Liam shook his head: "It really is my own money. Eldest brother, do you know how much I made from that livestream the other night?"
Benjamin didn’t believe a word of it: "How much can a livestream possibly make? A thousand? Two thousand?"
Liam laughed out loud: "Four million." He put weight on it: "In one session."
The ship lurched and very nearly drifted off course. A warning sounded from the cockpit system: [Major fluctuation detected in the captain’s mental power. Switch to autopilot? Automatic countdown initiating. 5... 4... 3...]
Benjamin said unsteadily: "Switch..."
[Beginning transfer... Transfer successful.]
Only then did Benjamin drag a hand down his face to steady himself and turn to look at Liam. Liam already had his Interstellar Connection transaction account open, and pointed out the transactions the original owner had made over the years, along with the most recent one from the night before.
"Look. I started earning my own money at thirteen. I’ve already transferred a full three billion silver stars of it back to the Hall family. Everything I have on me now was bought with my own money, including the house and the supplies I brought to Cygnus."
The look on Benjamin’s face at that moment could only be described as stunned into silence. Liam’s wealth and his capacity to earn went far beyond anything he had imagined. As Benjamin understood it, an Omega was supposed to be like Elijah, sitting still and waiting for the family’s money to land in his account.
Benjamin’s face changed back and forth like a paint palette. He asked thickly: "Did the Hall family treat you that badly? Badly enough that an Omega like you had to go out and scrape for money before you were even of age..."
Liam shook his head: "It wasn’t that. I’ve never liked leaning on other people, not since I was small. If they hadn’t stopped me, I’d have gone out and found part-time work as well. Besides, they never even knew I was working online for money."
Benjamin was astonished: "How could they not know? They obviously didn’t care about you, which is why you could work in secret without them noticing!"
Liam didn’t know whether to laugh or cry: "Brother, the Hall family isn’t that wicked. At least before they found out I wasn’t their son, they always loved me and indulged me. The reason they didn’t know is that I used a black account. And their work kept them very busy, which is what gave me so much free time to make something of what I was good at."
Liam launched into a stream of talk to pull Benjamin’s attention away from the Hall family:
"Let me tell you, I have a great many fans. They used to admire me because I draw well, and now they admire me because I cook well. Look at this, these are the messages and comments they send me..."
He turned on image sharing, and his broadcast channel and personal page came up in full view. He even showed Benjamin the new revenue-sharing contract that Interstellar Connection had sent him. Liam said brightly:
"Brother, when we get back you should start a vlog channel too. From now on, when you and Isabella are working the fields, I can film you, edit the video and post it online. I won’t film your face, only from the chest down."
Benjamin looked blank: "What’s interesting about farming that’s worth filming?"
Liam wagged his index finger: "Now that’s where you’re wrong. Competition for work these days is savage, and one slip and a machine takes your job. What people want is something that heals them, and scenes of farm work or quiet everyday life are exactly what they most like to watch."
Something wavered in Benjamin’s eyes. Seeing it, Liam pushed straight on: "And there’s more. Think about it. If we grow vegetables, everyone watching will want to eat them. They’ll ask whether you’re selling. And at that point you open an online cart and sell direct to your viewers. Isn’t that more income than wholesaling to a produce shop?"
Benjamin promptly imagined the scene, and his blood came to a boil. He said quickly: "How exactly do I do it? Teach me."
The Hall family? Benjamin had already flung them several star systems away. Liam quietly let out a breath and started walking him through setting up a vlog channel on the Interstellar Connection network.
He also quietly got in touch with the division manager from the other day and slipped him a little something to move his brother’s channel into the priority review queue. The manager didn’t waste words: he pulled Benjamin’s channel straight onto his own list and pushed the approval through in the space of a single note.
Benjamin was astonished at the speed of it, and Liam could only paper over it: "Channels like this are very popular right now, that’s why they approve them so fast."
Whatever Liam said, Benjamin believed without a shred of doubt.
[Ting! The ship has arrived at Altair Port. Please carry out landing procedure.]
The system’s announcement sounded, and Benjamin switched off his smart watch with some regret and began the landing. Once they were off the ship, the two brothers caught a hovercar to the Administrative Bureau of planet Altair.
As they came round a corner, Liam suddenly caught sight of a familiar figure. He pulled Benjamin behind a wall at once, and put one eye out past it to watch.
Under normal circumstances, being stared at like that, Alexander would have noticed. But his mind was in complete disarray, and he had no idea whatsoever that the person he was hunting for was standing right beside him, watching him.
Only once Alexander had boarded a hovercar and left, and was certainly not coming back, did Liam let out a breath. Benjamin asked curiously:
"Who was that Alpha, that you had to hide from him?"
Liam thought about it, and decided that if he had made up his mind to live properly with his own brother and sister, there was no need to keep hiding things.
"That was Alexander Hall, the Hall family’s eldest son. He’s probably here looking for some trace of me."
Benjamin’s eyebrows knotted into a single tangle. Liam took hold of his arm and said gently: "What happened between me and that family is complicated. I’ll tell you and Isabella everything when we get home tonight."
This time, Liam would tell them all of it, everything the original owner had endured over the past year, the drugging included. He meant to use the chance to cut through every last root and tendril tying the Martinez family to the Hall family.
Only with a clean break could he and his brother and sister live out a happy life with easy minds.