It was hard sometimes, to get the lighter drugs in Harmony. Sure you could get gellcaps of Fry in almost every back alley and if there was a club that didn't have half a dozen Roatso dealers he had never heard of it. But if you wanted something simple and natural, like weed, you had to know someone that could get you access into a surprisingly large secret underground culture that had more scientists and gardeners than it did criminals and dealers.
Weed was one of the last surviving natural plants. It had long since been adapted to a large number of possible growth opportunities. That didn't mean it was easy, or cheap to find. The growth community's survival depended on secrecy and trust, doing business in private and keeping absolutely calm in public.The good stuff was expensive, the great stuff could only be traded for favors.
The first time Aaron and his friends had smoked, it was a reward from a job he had been volunteered for. All four of them swore off all other drugs the very first night they got high. Over the years all four of them had slowly built themselves a reputation within the community. It was known among the the lower levels that there was no favor to difficult for them, and their success had become their currency.
The growth community traveled beneath the cultural boundaries that existed within Harmony. It didn't matter if you worshiped Pop or Nu Wave Jazz Metal, everyone loved weed.
As the night had gone on a waitress stopped by Aaron's table and given him a card requesting that he come back to the club owners office. He extracted himself from his friends and made his way over to and down the dark hallway that ended at the club owners door. There was a red light above the door handle and a small sign asking him to knock.
He felt but couldn't hear his knuckles bounce off the door. The light above the door handle turned from red to green and Aaron reached for the handle finding the door heavy, but smooth to the touch and easy to open. It also shut solidly behind him.
The first thing he noticed once the door shut was the near absolute silence in the room. He took his head phones off as the club manager nodded at him. "I know right?" He said with a smile.
Aaron nodded and left his headphones around his neck. He stood for a second in awe of the silence. The only sound he could hear came from a small water fountain on the club owners desk. The owner noticed him looking at it. "Oh." He waved his hand through the middle of the hologram "Just a hologram, I've got money, but not enough that can waste water." He said with a sad smile.
Aaron nodded to the empty chair on his side of the desk and the club owner nodded. Aaron sat as the owner started talking. "So, word on the street is that you're not just a great DJ but that you know, people." The club owner veered into the end of the sentence as casual as he could, which wasn't much at all. Aaron nodded once. "So if you did me a, favor, what kind of favor would you expect in return?" He awkwardly asked again.
Aaron had been through this process many, many times. "First, I'd need to know just how big a favor you need me to do." He asked.
