THB-033: Dharma Cube
Based on: Pocketful of Dharma by Paolo Bacigalupi - source: Pump Six and Other Stories (2008).
- Poor desperate POV is wandering through a place, situation, or event where the ultra-rich exist. Witnesses a wrong time, wrong place thing and is given a job to deliver a mysterious MECH.
- POV tries to do job but the receiver (of MECH) is a no show, so POV tries to sell/exploit MECH (without figuring out what it is), fails.
- The receiver of the job finally appears, but it’s fishy. POV chooses not to complete job and escapes, and tries to figure out what’s really going on with the MECH.
- REVEAL of MECH. It’s worth a lot of money and/or can take down powerful people. POV is attacked, many around them are dead, but POV escapes.
- The “real” receiver of the job (and not the rival faction) arrives to complete job. They take good care of the POV. But POV distrusts all this power infighting and takes the MECH and runs.
Story Tags
| TAG | Notes | |
|---|---|---|
| DSR | dsr: MYSTERY BOX | sees crime, gets job |
| QST | qst: DELIVER | has to get it to white gloves |
| INQ | inq: NEW TOY | what does the box do? |
| NTW | ntw: FLEE | run away from power |
| ARC | arc: WISE UP | understands value, runs with it |
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