Bounty Hunters, Map Makers Gold Miners | Page 9

isn't my problem, Galen. The law is fair. It lets anyone buy those rights. If you want to buy them, and you have the money, you can."
"But I'm trying to prove that we can bring in the bad guys for a lot less money, and you change the system to favor whoever has more money and can afford to buy land to collect bounties."
"Well, I can't feel too sorry for you when you're a member of the trust you're giving money to. As far as I can tell, you're just creating a pyramid scheme to make yourself rich. At the very least, you're making the same amount of money as Irving here per bounty, you're just moving it around on paper."
"I can't touch any money in the trust without everyone's approval, same as any other bounty hunter who wants to borrow money. And the trust started paying out benefits to victims of crime two months ago. So we're not keeping all the money to ourselves. I still live on my pa's old place. But Irving here is one of the biggest land owners in Eureka."
"So Irving kept his money and you didn't. That ain't his fault."
"I'm trying to bring in the bad guys without Eureka paying so much money in bounties."
"If that's what you want to do, Galen, then that's perfectly legal."
"Yeah, but now this Bounty Rights thing is going to make it so that only people who keep all their reward will be able to buy Bounty Rights and stay in business. I can't do it for less money without getting squeezed out by Irving and his great land grabbing machine of IP Inc."
"What's wrong with rewarding bounty hunters with land rights?"
"Because it encourages and rewards a monopoly. And it ain't natural. Before this law, I could chase after a bad guy anywhere he went. Anyone could. Competition was encouraged. Success was rewarded."
"This is rewarding successful bounty hunters."
"Sure, by giving them a permanent monopoly. By outlawing competition on their land. Now, I might flush some bad guy out of hiding, and if he happens to run onto Irving's land, I lose out because of some artificial rule you made up. And Irving gets to collect after I acted like his bird dog. My success is punished every time a bad guy runs onto Irving's land. And the fact that I'm Bounty Hunting for less money is punished because I can't afford to buy land and compete with Irving."
"The law isn't meant to punish, Galen. It is meant to be a reward."
"A reward for you. Irving keeps making more and more money. And you keep getting more and more fat, brown envelopes full of cash. And all of it paid for by the people of Eureka paying far more for bounties than they need to."
"Eureka pays what it considers to be a fair price for bounties."
"Whatever happened to getting the lowest professional bid for a job? Isn't that what Eureka should pay? Shouldn't it be the lowest bounty that will get the job done? The bounty that keeps Irving here in silk cowboy hats and a thousand acre ranch is corporate welfare."
At this, Irving finally spoke up.
"Galen, you're starting to sound like a communist. Is that what you are? Someone who doesn't believe in property rights? That's all these Bounty Rights are, after all: property rights. Are you anti-capitalist? Is that it? Because you don't seem to like the fact that I make money off of my work."
"Irving, you haven't slung lead in years. You're lazy and comfortable and you're using your position to keep yourself cozy. In itself, I wouldn't care a plugged nickel about you or how you live. But the thing is that you're living the way you are by enforcing a monopoly on the people, granted in part by the purchase of a few political offices. And that really burns my bacon. Capitalism is about competition. And in that sense, I'm all capitalist. I know my bounty hunter trust is growing. And I know we're doing the same job as you for a hell of a lot less money. And that means only one thing..."
He pointed a finger at Irving in a flash of movement and Irving flinched.
"In the long run," Galen finished, "I'll beat you."
Galen turned and walked out the door.
3 Art Imitates Life
It's a lousy place to end a story. But unfortunately, the story of Eureka and it's bounty hunters is a metaphor for the history of intellectual works. The current state of affairs around intellectual works places Irving in the mayor's office, sharing a drink and a cigar. As much as I'd like to write a happy ending for the good people of Eureka, I can't.
How does Eureka act as a metaphor for intellectual works? In the early days of Eureka, crime is