"Give up my jewelry?" scoffed Linna. "What sort of a tramp deal have you got into this time, Keg?"
"No tramp deal, Linna," he said. "I've just sold the spaceline."
"So—you've sold your spaceline. That should have brought you in a pretty penny. What do you need more for?"
"I want to buy Fabriville."
"Who or what is Frabri ... what-is-it?"
"Fabriville. A fairly large manufacturing village south of Canalopsis, here. They have a complete village, assembly plant, stores, and all that's needed to be self-sufficient if you permit a thorough income and out-go of fabricated articles."
"Never heard of it."
"Well," said Keg dourly, "there are a lot of things you have never heard of nor taken the interest to find out, Linna. Better shell out the baubles. They won't be worth an exhausted cathode inside of a year."
"Why?"
"The economic structure of the system is about to be shot to pieces in a box. Nothing will be worth anything in money. A diamond as big as your fist will be just so much carbon crystal. I want to butter us up, Linna, before the crash. That's the way to do it."