The overall story broadly concerns Thom, a depressive young doglike guy trying to work and live in the dystopian hypercapitalist spacefaring future where gravity is rationed, the value of money pinballs unpredictably from second to second, and patent trolling causes shortages of basic staples. Originally a gig worker for a last-mile space courier based on what was once known as Earth, he becomes a deep space rescue worker by default when the entire business that he was contracting for is bought out and shut down by REZQ, a new breed of ruthlessly profiteering company. REZQ putatively provides recovery services to people whose spacecraft get into trouble in deep space, but they are more controlling, ruthless, and . Alone and untrained aboard the giant empty vessel Angel Fish, can Thom keep his job - and his mind?
This excerpt concerns a short bit of context and scene setting on Thom's home planet (we would know it as Earth, but its name changes according to who happens to be sponsoring it at that time). I'd be really keen for any feedback or thoughts on any element of this. I'd like to continue it but it's obviously early days, and it's always hard for original setting things to find an audience if they don't conform to things that are already wildly popular. Thank you!
