"What's your name, kid?" Lysander asked. "Kaan," Kaan replied. "Lysander. Nice to meet you. Have you ever worked at a factory before?" "No, sir. I am from the rural areas," Kaan lied easily. "I don't know the money system either. Can you explain it for me?"
Lysander sighed, a massive plume of white smoke escaping his lungs. "Ah, what a headache!" he muttered to himself. "Alright, pay attention. This is a Therum. It's the lowest coin in the city, made out of copper. Ten Therums make one Silrum. The Silrum is made out of silver, and ten Silrums make one Golrum." "I guess a Golrum is made out of gold?" Kaan asked. "Yeah, that's right," Lysander confirmed. "Your work is simple: organize these batches of fabric color by color."
It is great Therum is made out of copper. I can make wires out of it. And if I get a Golrum, I can sell it on Earth, Kaan thought, his inner engineer already calculating profit margins. "Okay! One last question," Kaan said, fighting to sound calm. "Do we get paid daily?" "Yes," Lysander said curtly. "Now, get to work, Kaan."
As Kaan started working, he immediately realized this was hard labor. "I never thought I would be a porter in another world," he muttered, shouldering a massive, roughly 25-kilogram batch of fabric.
Between lifts, he took quick glances around, observing the gruesome, first-generation textile machines that hummed as loud as a motorbike but operated at a terrifyingly slow twenty-five revolutions per minute (RPM). He noted the clouds of boiling hot steam and the heavy iron dynamos that powered them. I probably can make improvements on the machines here for some Golrum, right? he thought, his engineering curiosity sparking despite the exhaustion.
He finished his grueling shift, collected his first pay—four copper Therums—and immediately went to look for a place to live.
As he wandered the backstreets of Agarita, he spotted a small, secluded shack—a place perfect for making things in secret—and noticed a "For Rent" sign. He approached the old woman sitting outside.
"What is the amount of rent?" Kaan asked.
"Two Therums for the month, two Therums for the deposit," the lady replied without looking up.
So that damned deposit exists even in other dimensions, he thought, defeated. Helplessly, he paid the four Therums, leaving him with nothing, and unlocked the door to his new, temporary home.
He immediately went to bed and fell asleep.