came to America?
Apparently.
It took the auctioneer ten more minutes to get through my ancestral lineage up to my parents, and he wasted no effort giving the bidders a full report on their activities, politics, and status in the East, which boiled to the upper portion of the middle of the pack with most of their value being in the diversity of their genetics and my birth.
“This will be a last bidder standing auction. The winner of ties are determined by the first person to have registered their bid of that amount. The bidding will be silent, and only bids submitted through the digital system will be counted. You may verify your bids on your phones. In the case of a tie, the first bidder of the tie will remain anonymous. If you are tied for top bid and you do not bid again, and you were not the first bidder, you will lose the auction. Bidding will conclude with the first round in which nobody increases their bid. If you have any questions, submit them through the bid system. You may question Miss Tamrin if you would like.”
Someone strolled in through the side door and brought a large tablet over to the auctioneer, who accepted it. After a few minutes, he referenced the device. “There are no questions. Bidding will open at a hundred thousand dollars per the initiator’s request, and the minimum increment is twenty thousand. Please place and submit your bids. You have two minutes.”
Huh. I’d been told the bid would likely open at five hundred thousand. I wondered if the lower starting bid meant anything or if the so-called initiator just enjoyed drama.
Two minutes went by a hell of a lot faster than I thought it should. I also questioned the initiator’s sanity. I assumed the initiator held responsibility for my bounty. I searched for the silver linings as Dr. Dorothy had suggested. A hundred thousand in my pocket would go a long way towards finding those responsible for the storms killing Tulsa.
When I framed my situation that way, being sold at auction didn’t bother me all that much. They used me, and I would use them.
Unlike them, I’d be smart about it.
Dr. Dorothy proved freedom could be earned one way or another, although our circumstances varied. I swore to remind myself of that no matter what happened.
Then again, stupidity might be contagious, and I feared I was surrounded with severe cases of stupidity. Had I been one of the buyers in the auditorium, I would have been grilling my new acquisition on everything from my sex life to personal hygiene habits. What sort of world did these people come from, that they would bid on someone without being aware of the little details about me?
Crazy rich people.
“There are no ties. The new leading bid is now two hundred and fifty thousand. Please place and submit your bids. You have two minutes.”
Huh. The auction was a great deal more cordial than I expected, as silent as a grave and disturbing in a way, especially considering everyone in the room, save for myself and the auctioneer, bore some resemblance to a grim reaper.
I’d done a little too much flirting with death to appreciate the similarities.
“There is a tie. The new leading bid is now four hundred and twenty-five thousand. Please place and submit your bids. You have two minutes.”
Somehow, I kept control over my expression. The tie could be two people, three people, or everyone in the auditorium for all I knew. Over four hundred thousand would put me in a good place.
I understood, at that moment, why some Americans would accept—no, embrace—being enslaved. The rich would pluck the destitute up, give them enough money to feel secure, and fill the cage with enough finery for them to accept their new circumstances. With the amount of money being thrown my way, I could survive for the rest of my life without worry.
After the next three rounds, which ended in ties and the bid increments shrinking substantially, I understood how the auction could take so long. While efficient, when the number ticked up in twenty thousand dollar intervals every two minutes, time dragged.
It took an hour before the streak of ties broke, and the number, a little over seven hundred thousand, defied my comprehension. Four hundred thousand had been surreal enough, but seven hundred thousand? The bidding continued, and the auctioneer maintained his somewhat disinterested and bored tone.
I admired his cool temperament, especially as he oversaw the sale of