Chapter Three: The First Reservation—One Billion Credits

“Under the interim operating agreement, thirty percent of revenue derived from hotel technology belongs to the manager.” Zhou stood and straightened his soaked, wrinkled suit. Ten minutes ago, he had been a bankrupt manager waiting to be reclaimed. Now he held the throat of the lunar industrial economy in one hand. “Build one.” Behind the low silver door was not a factory but a well filled with blue light. Zhou placed the crystal in a recess. Regolith flowed through a pipe, disassembled and reconstructed by invisible hands. Three minutes later, a silver disc rose from the work surface. Still skeptical, Chen attached it to the base's worst maintenance rover.