Buying Shares In Our Future

20250623

Prompt from PrideOnThePage

“Future shares! Future shares! You there, sir, would you like to buy shares in a future?”
Zack swallowed a sigh. The wheelchair meant he couldn’t dart into the market crowds. And the seller had stepped into the lane such they were just in his way.
Shooting a glare at the unmarked stall they’d emerged from, Zack growled “I can’t even tell what company you’re hawking for.”
“Company? Dear friend, you have me all wrong! I’m not selling paltry investments! No, I’m selling shares in futures!” The seller deftly grabbed one of the wheelchair handles and spun Zack to face the stall, the sudden motion disorienting so Zack’s punch went wide. “See here!”
“Why you-” Zack faltered, grimacing at the paintings the seller was lining up. “Ugh, those are ghastly!”
“These are our bestsellers!”
“Who’d want to buy those?”
“People tend to view them as a safe investment. Dystopian futures are pretty much always on the up!”
“Dys…?” Zack’s eyes narrowed. “Waaaait. You mean you’re selling actual futures?”
“Not futures themselves, my boy, shares in those futures.” The seller tapped one painting, a mess of cold grey and harsh neon. “If you buy shares in the robot overlord future, if that comes to pass, you’ll be one of the lucky ones!”
They coughed and added in a barely audible undertone “Comparatively.”
Zack stared at the paintings. His lips curling. “Nah. I’ve seen how that goes. Once people think they’re insulated from horrors, they just let them happen. Tell those of us suffering that we should’ve been smarter. Like them.”
He huffed through his teeth. “Show me your best future.”
“Oh, our oracles say the most likely payout is-”
“No.” Zack slammed a hand on the counter, making the ghastly paintings tremble. “I don’t mean your highest selling, or biggest payout, or most likely. Show me your best future. The one that’s happiest. Nicest. Where everybody wins. Even if some people don’t win as much as they want to.”
The seller stared blankly. “But… sir, shares in that future wouldn’t mean anything. If everyone already ‘won’, then-”
“If you don’t have it, stop wasting my time.”
The seller scoffed and started rummaging around in the crate. Stacking varied horrors left and right to get to the bottom. “Here you are, sir.”
The painting was, at a glance, chaotic. Dabs of every colour and tint overlapping in no clear order. But the more you looked, the more peaceful you felt. Everything was there. Everything had its own space, while sharing the space. Distinct yet together.
Zack grinned and fished out his wallet. “Yeah. That’s the stuff. How many shares for a fifty?”
“Oh, shares in this future are very cheap.” The seller’s tone was faintly disdainful.
“Worth every penny.” Zack slapped the notes down. “How many people do you get buying here?”
The seller smirked. “Quite a few, quite a few.”
“Most of them comfortable folks, right?”
“Well, I suppose these are considered luxury purchases-”
Zack leant forward, his gaze hard. “And if all those comfy folks bought shares in good futures and then put their actions where their money is, how would that shift your oracles’ table, eh?”
“Er…” The seller’s gaze flicked from the best sellers to Zack’s future. “I… don’t… know.”
“Well, think on it.” Zack took the shares note, folded it carefully, and tucked it in his breast pocket. “Bet on hope, pal. It’s the only thing that’s ever worked.”
The seller silently watched him go, then started packing the extra futures back into the crate. They reached for the future Zack chose, then paused. Their immaculate fingernails gently tapped the frame.
Then they moved it to the centre of the display.
“Future shares! Future shares! You there! Would you like to buy shares in a future?”

Prompt was “Future”
[This is technically a failed microfiction, because it’s 128 words over the 500 word limit. I did trim a lot, but decided that cutting anything else weakened the story. Normally when that happens I split it into multiple microfictions but I don’t want to miss any of the Pride prompts, so… have a jumbo microfiction. 😄]