But there was a twenty-credit service fee to enter Talos, which crowded up against the spaceport boundary in classic Free Trader fashion.
Virtually anything could be bought on Atzerri, and no small part of the catalog could be had within five hundred meters of Talos spaceport’s three entrances. Every major trader in the city had at least one of the kiosk-size satellite storefronts that crowded along the broad boulevards leading to the cabs and hire shops along the flyway ramp.
The narrow little stores were aggressively gaudy and loud. Multistory display panels above their doorways graphically hawked their wares while door barkers made promises and entreaties shoppers were well advised to ignore. Every shop along the boulevard was willing to refund service fees and provide express transport to the sponsor’s main location. Some sent small armies of droids out to stand outside competitors’ doorsteps with even sweeter offers.
The entire purpose of Traders Plaza was to snap up as many newly arrived “greens” as possible. Once they were safely away from competitors, they could be worked at leisure or steered to other members of a trading alliance—a scratchback, in Atzerri argot. The scratchback networks were elaborate. There was nothing a Free Trader hated more than having a willing buyer and seeing a competitor get the sale.
Luke surveyed the offerings in Traders Plaza with a mixture of wonder and horror. The last time he had been on a Free Trader world, it had been to try to buy weapons for the Rebellion, and there had been no time for browsing the commercial districts. Few of the offerings in the plaza had any appeal to him now, but his curiosity went beyond the personal.
Information brokers offered religious, political, and technical secrets. The forbidden vices of ten thousand worlds were available openly and without shame. Traders who called
themselves
facilitators
arranged
personal experiences. Embargoed technologies
were
readily
available
alongside unlicensed copies of commercial products.
Librarians sold entertainments in every known medium without respect to content or copyright.
Though Luke ‘had prepared himself to resist the blandishments of the sellers on Traders Plaza, his resistance was broken down by one unexpected offering on the display board of The Galactic Archives. He accepted a credit tab from the barker outside, then stepped into the tiny storefront.
“Welcome! Welcome to The Galactic Archives, your one-stop source for everything that’s worth knowing,” said the hook, greeting him with a broad, oily smile.
“Whatever you want, we havemor we’ll get it for you, free. What did you say your name was?”
“Li Stonn.”
“Li Stonn, walking through that door is going to be one of the best decisions you ever made. When you leave us, you’re going to leave satisfied— but you’re not going to want to leave, because we have everything. Did you see something particular that you were interested in?
Don’t be shy about asking—” Luke pointed upward. “You had an ad up just a few moments ago. Something about the lost secrets of the Jedi—” “Oh, excellent choice—a real find. We just added that to our catalog, and it’s already a bestseller. Absolutely authentic material, answers all
the questions we all have about the secret masters of the galaxy.” The hook pressed a bright blue tab the same.
size and shape as the credit tab into Luke’s hand. “For security reasons, all our sensitive documents are available only at our central archives location. Just give these tabs to any trading agent when you arrive. Would you like a courtesy cab?”
Dual display screens in the back of the cab subjected Luke to a concentrated dose of Galactic Archives advertising-advertising that seemed to be tailored to the request he had made at the satellite shop.
The offerings included Emperor Palpatine’s Principles of Power, a private publication for Imperial Moffs; the Sith book of offerings and rituals; the H’kig book of laws; and the secrets of forming Bilar-type claqa group-minds, among others—with a special discount if Luke took any three or more. Most of the documents were undoubtedly frauds, and none tempted Luke beyond idle curiosity over the skillfulness of the fraud.
When Luke reached the traders’ central site, negotiating the price of his purchase required most of an hour, two attempts to leave empty-handed, and a promise to bring a friend back to The Galactic Archives with him.
The final agreement brought the price down from two thousand credits for the Jedi file to nine hundred for the file and a pocket datapad.
By then night had settled solidly over Talos, and the bustle of activity had shifted away from the commerce district, leaving the flyways and walks there nearly empty. Luke walked west, drawn by a bright nightglow in the sky. Twice he was approached from the shadows, but the weak minds of his would-be attackers were easily influenced by a simple projection of doubt, and they retreated to await’ easier prey.