February 14, 1608.
The cold showed no signs of breaking, forcing me to bundle up in an overcoat as I stepped outside.
I wonder how Elizabeth is doing.
Our plan was to save Ireland from the famine that would follow the war, while simultaneously rescuing refugees from England. That was the gist of it. There were other secondary operations, like giving cold-resistant potatoes to French merchants, but our influence was really limited to England.
This isn’t an era where internet cables cross the Atlantic and Pacific. It’s going to take a long time to find out if our plan was a complete success. Did she manage to provide relief in Ireland as promised? Was she successful in bringing refugees not just from Ireland, but from England too? To find out, we have to account for the time they need to prepare for the voyage, and the time it takes for the refugees to get here…
It’ll probably take three to five months.
Well, I just have to trust the Queen to handle it. It’s not like I have any other choice.
We have our own work to do here.
Clack.
“Ah, Lord Nemo? You’ve arrived? Please, have a seat here by the hearth.”
“It’s fine. My apologies for keeping you waiting. The roads were frozen over.”
“Not at all. I say, Manteo, let’s move over together.”
With the severe cold, we have to manage the supply of fur and firewood, and we also need to deal with the shipping routes collapsing as the rivers and sea freeze. And more important than anything else…
“I spent all day yesterday thinking about a new product.”
We need a new product.
What is our community’s biggest source of income? The grapes and wine from our community? Wheat and ships? They sell well, but no. The aluminum pouring out of my house? It’s hard for precious metals to be a primary export. Considering our community’s population is only about 100,000, the goods we produce ourselves aren’t quite enough to be our main source of revenue.
In other words, to put it nicely, it’s intermediary trade.
“According to Vicente’s report, the number of ‘Sapphire-tier’ tribes has increased significantly. We must also prepare for ‘Emerald’ tribes to appear soon.”
“Our influence around the Great Lakes has expanded greatly! The number of ‘Bronze-tier’ tribes has grown so large!”
Uh… right. Our main source of income is a multi-level marketing scheme.
Following the traditional gift exchange model, we trade ironware, cats, glass crafts, and various trinkets for furs. We take those furs and sell them in bulk to Europe, and the profit from that seems to account for about half of our community’s income. And that’s after it decreased; it used to be almost two-thirds.
In any case, our more moral, less exploitative, more symbiotic multi-level marketing, no, our “Network Gift Exchange”, roughly follows the system of those ‘invite-your-friends’ social mobile games that were all the rage.
‘Want the next tier of luxury goods? Bring in more “friends” (affiliated tribes)!’
‘Want more gift exchange opportunities? Introduce our community to more friends!’
.
.
.
I grimaced, momentarily recalling that barbaric era of getting 120 text messages a day demanding, ‘Log in now and get your hearts!’
…Well, we won’t have that kind of message pollution, at least.
***
“Go meet Lord Nemo and exchange gifts now!”
“…”
“This year is a special promotion period! If you don’t go now, you’ll only get one steel axe instead of two.”
“…”
“Acknowledge Lord Nemo as the Great Chief now and get a free steel axe!”
“Aaargh! Does sending an envoy 80 times a month make any sense! Fine! We’ll… we’ll acknowledge him, just stop!”
“Alright! We’re Sapphire-tier now!”
***
Anyway.
Those social games were fine, aside from being a little annoying, so our MLM scheme should be too.
We are, however, excluding the typical MLM tactics like dumping inventory, a rigid class system, or forcing people into debt, so I doubt any major problems will arise.
But.
There is one problem that our system does share with those MLMs.
“By the way, didn’t you call us here because you developed a new product?”
“I did. We need to devise new gifts for the Emerald, Sapphire, and Diamond-tier tribes.”
“Indeed we do.”
What is our gift exchange?
We give gifts to the tribes directly affiliated with us, who then give gifts to their affiliated tribes, and so on, distributing the goods down the line. It’s similar to how MLM members buy and sell products among themselves without a middleman or separate marketing.
At least, in the sense that the exchange is continuous. Though, our process doesn’t involve ripping anyone off or forcing sales.
‘See, Mom? You use toothpaste and soap every day, right? You get profits back just by buying what you use. Isn’t that a good deal?’ ‘Oh, my, I guess it is!’ ‘Mom, there’s no way you’re going to use all that toothpaste by yourse—‘ ‘Well then, you can just take some and give it to your friends!’ ‘Wh… what?’
…So, what kind of products should the “head office” in an MLM provide?
Things you use constantly. Things you use every day. Things you need every day.
Exactly: trivial daily necessities like toothpaste and toothbrushes.
Those are the kinds of things we should offer as our new products!
“Look. If you use the charcoal from our kilns instead of regular firewood, there’s less smoke, which is healthier. It lasts longer, the temperature is higher.”
“…”
“…”
“And, if you put bleach and water in an empty plastic bottle and stick it through a hole in the ceiling, it brightens the whole room! It’s good for your eyes, easy to install.”
“…”
“…”
Huh? Why? My brilliant ‘healthy charcoal’ and ‘PET bottle skylight’ are getting a cold reception.
“The charcoal seems like a bad idea.”
“Why?”
“Why would we need charcoal?”
“Well, to make the fire last longer, burn hotter.”
“It won’t be very effective if you just toss it in an open campfire, will it?”
“Ah.”
Charcoal’s low-smoke quality is only meaningful if you have something like a fireplace, where the smoke doesn’t escape easily. But the natives don’t have fixed structures like that. They aren’t fully sedentary.
“The skylight also seems useless.”
“Why do you think so?”
“The Americans don’t stay inside their homes for long in the morning. And it’s tricky to install in a tent.”
“Huh?”
Indoor lighting isn’t important either. Similarly, since the natives live a semi-nomadic life, their houses aren’t that important as a space.
So, both ideas are rejected.
“Were those two… the only new products you had in mind?”
“For now, yes. They were.”
“Hmmmm. This is a dilemma. What on earth should we make?”
There’s no reason to gift furniture or other tools to people who are always moving. Better to give them tools they can carry, but we already gave them steel axes and knives. Tools don’t break easily, so after three or four exchanges, nobody’s happy to get them anymore. They say they already have enough.
“Hmm, it’s difficult to think of a gift for people who live on the move. A life of moving with only your body and a few light possessions.”
“…”
“…”
In that case… what the hell do we give them…
“Ah!”
“What is it, Oitotan?”
“My, didn’t you just say it? That they move with only their body and a few light possessions.”
“Yes, I did, but.”
Oitotan snapped his fingers, a knowing smile on his face.
“Well then, shouldn’t we give them gifts for that body?”
“We’ve already given them plenty of accessories.”
“I’m not talking about accessories.”
“…”
“…”
“…”
“Ahem, something like those ‘vitamin pills’ that come from Lord Nemo’s estate.”
“…”
“Or snacks, or healthy foods, or simple medicines.”
“Aha.“
Health foods, simple medicine, nutritious snacks.
It’s like an AmwXy gift catalog is unfolding in my head.
Can it be used daily? Yes. Does it run out after you use it? Yes. Will the natives be interested? Yes.
Oh.
“We could sell ‘vitamin pills’ like the ones from our community, or maybe that Shine Muscat jam!”
Oitotan declared his idea triumphantly. Manteo thought for a moment, then clapped softly.
More ideas poured from Oitotan’s mouth.
“Grape jam, grape enzymes (‘When did that bastard see the enzymes in my pantry?‘), raisins… We can bundle them in plausible packaging and advertise them as perfect gifts for special people on special occasions.”
This… what is this guy?
Is he possessed by an AmwXy Korea employee? How does he know the business model so well?
Why am I listening to the principles of a holiday gift basket coming from the mouth of a 17th-century American native?
…Anyway.
I just nodded blankly, then, I snapped out of it and refuted his point.
“I understand the part about packaging and selling cheese and jam. But will the Americans buy it?”
The reason elderly Koreans buy all those nutritional supplements that look healthy is because of health anxiety and marketing about ‘all-natural (not really)’ and ‘domestically-produced (not really)’ ingredients. Why would the natives buy this stuff? And are you sure you’re not from the modern world?
When I asked him that, Oitotan let out a “Huhu.” and a deeply unsettling laugh before replying.
“First of all, none of these are hard to acquire, are they?”
“…”
“The things I mentioned are already available, and we can probably use the same equipment we use for packing grapes, right?”
“…”
“Let’s just give it a try.”
I uh…
Somehow, I found myself persuaded by Oitotan’s words and nodded.
A few days passed.
“They’re doing something here? Should we go in?”
“You can’t come in the tent without a name tag! Get out!”
We decided to “just give it a try,” as Oitotan had suggested.
We set up a tent in a high-traffic area between the Chesapeake settlements and invited people. Specifically, those who had only recently joined the Virginia community—natives who were still living in simple huts and had not yet received land.
Once the tent was packed, we gave them instructions.
If a product came up that they wanted, a gift they wanted to receive, they were to raise their hand when signaled.
That was the only information we gave them.
And then.
Oitotan unwrapped a luxurious silk cloth, revealing a sealed jar of Shine Muscat jam.
“This Shine Muscat jam is practically an essential item these days.”
“…”
“…”
“Ah, I suppose you wouldn’t know.”
…Huh? What is this? Why does… why does Oitotan’s spiel sound so familiar?
“This is a product called [Jam].”
Why
“It’s very sweet and delicious. But you probably don’t know that.“
…do I feel like shit?
I quickly looked at Oitotan’s expression.
Somehow… he looked like he was feeling ecstasy.
***
Nematanaux had come here with no particular expectations, just that they were giving out free gifts.
And now.
“Aah… this is a product called [Soap]. It makes your body smell wonderful when you rub it on. …But I suppose you wouldn’t know.“
What is this?
He was feeling an unidentifiable, creeping anger.
Wondering if he was just being petty, he looked around. Everyone else gathered here had the same sour expression.
He was sure of it.
“Using [Soap] keeps your body clean. It’s an essential item for becoming a distinguished member of our community.”
“…”
“…”
“…”
“And here, we have an oil for a similar purpose. You apply it to your body and hair after washing to give it a pleasant scent. It protects the skin in various situations and is excellent for those who wish to maintain their appearance. Lord Nemo calls this [Lotion]. …Was my explanation too difficult for you?”
This is, this is…
It was all so vague.
He seemed to be explaining it kindly, and there was no sense of malice.
“This… is a product called [Raisins]. It’s mixed with various nuts and feels good to eat. It also lasts a long time. You open the jar like this, pick one up with your hand like this, and eat it like this.”
But it’s so annoying.
Nematanaux wasn’t the only one; all the other natives were feeling it too.
“Surely you at least know what cheese… Ah, does no one know? This is a product called [Cheese]. It’s made from hardened cow’s milk and has a savory, salty flavor.”
“Would you like to come up and see? This time, I’ll open this glass jar… Ah, I see you don’t know what ‘opening a jar’ is. You [open] it… like this.”
“Good. And after that.”
I think I’m going crazy.
This feels so weird. It felt like his insides were twisting. He was overcome with the desire to punch that smug-looking man in the face.
But what was even stranger…
“Now, those who want this product called [Soap], please raise their hand.”
Fwoosh!
“Another unanimous vote. Lord Nemo, please record this.”
“Understood.”
…was that he just, wanted it.
No, he had to have it.
I swear to god I will get that thing. He had to. That way, if he ever ran into that man again, he wouldn’t have to hear him say, “Ah, have you still not tried [Raisins]?”
Seeing the way that man guzzled down that drink, exclaiming, “Haaa… this stuff is really good,” he felt he had to buy that [Grape Juice] just to see how good it really was.
Just.
Just how good could it be?
Let’s just see how great these damned things are, making him run his mouth and grate on my nerves like this.
With such thoughts, everyone, without exception, took the raisins, soap, jam, vitamins, grape juice, and everything else presented.
In an instant, all the products we had prepared,
“There’s nothing left?”
“No. As you saw, our tribe members had a hard time stopping them from fighting over who got what.”
“…”
“…”
—were completely gone.
These people, who until yesterday had no concept of soap, lotion, vitamins, or health food, had wiped us clean.
***
After clearing the stage, the place looked desolate. It was hard to believe this was the same spot where people had just been fighting, shoving, pointing, and cursing at each other to be first. It was pure chaos earlier.
Feeling mentally drained, I staggered to my feet. After helping take down the tent and clear the chairs, Oitotan naturally approached Manteo and me.
Look at that triumphant expression. If my public image wasn’t that of an angel, I would have decked him.
This… this man…
“How about that? They were all dying for it, weren’t they? Let’s select these food and beauty products for our next new product line.”
“…”
“Lord Nemo? Lord Nemo!”
“Oitotan.”
“Yes, Lord Nemo.”
“You will be the one to go north with Vicente next time.”
“What? Me? With Vicente Gonzales?”
“Yes.”
I looked at Oitotan’s bewildered face, hesitated for a moment… and then said, as if possessed:
“You are a genius.”
“Thank you, thank you very much, but, in what, exactly?”
“…”
“…”
“It’s nothing.”
I suddenly understood why our products were selling like hotcakes in France. I understood why Henry IV had never lodged a diplomatic protest or complaint.
This… uh… what do you even call this?
Seriously, what do you call this?