fandomhigh | Freelance Treasure Hunting, Monday, Period 5, Class #5

As the students gathered, they'd probably notice Vala studying a large piece of floor plan very intently. That it looked like the Natural Museum of History in Washington, DC was probably just a fluke. As was the glass cutter she kept playing with. She glanced up as the students approached and rolled up the blueprints quickly.

"Good afternoon, class. Now, assuming you've gotten your treasure, and either not gotten caught or talked your way out of your incarceration, you're going to want to sell this merchandise, and you're going to want to do it quickly. So, the first thing you're going to need is a resale artisan. They are the people with the connections to the market you're looking for--you may get a generalist, or you may get someone who specializes. What's important is that they have access to a large number of buyers without a lot of publicity. Trustworthiness is nice, but not essential."

"When establishing a relationship, you're going to need to provide authentication for whatever it is that you're trying to sell--to prove that you are who you say you are and that you acquired your item in a lawful manner, with the papers and receipts to prove it." She cleared her throat, "Unfortunately, however, sometimes these papers get misplaced and have to be produced on very short notice, without time to get a replacement from the proper authorities or selling agents. In which case, it becomes necessary, to, uh, recreate the documentation from memory. Yes. Which is what we'll be doing today."

"Over there," she pointed to some tables with various computers, printers, and art supplies, "are some very crude implements for creating documentation from scratch or for altering already existing documentation. I expect you to produce something to prove to me either that you are who you say you are or that you have rightful ownership of whatever it is you're selling me. Go to it!"

[OCD is up ~~in a sec~~! Thanks to

vkandis_son for the inspiration!]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Once he pings in, of course

Dean was willing to help anyone who had questions or problems with making fake IDs. Not that he had a lot of experience with them or anything...

"Dean? My Driver's License looks... wrong." Evie was flailing a bit, because she'd typed in all the words correctly. And there was a State seal on it. But it still looked more like a library card than anything else.

Probably because Evie's never bothered to master different fonts, spacing, margins, and her driver's license photo is ... yeah, it shouldn't look like a profile mug shot.

Dean took a look at it. "Yeah, that's probably not going to get you by anybody but a blind guy," he agreed, then smiled kindly at her. "Let's see what we can do to get one that will, okay?"

"Please," Evie said with a sigh. "I'd like to get a real Driver's License, but they require a birth certificate, and anyone not from this Island will laugh at the birth date on mine."

"Could always make up a fake birth certificate for you too," Dean pointed out. "Actually you might want to start with that, it's a little simpler than a driver's license."

"Oooo," Evie said, charmed at the idea. "Really? Oh, that would be perfect. But don't we need baby footprints or something to put on them?"

"Nah," Dean said. "Just the info in the right format with the right bells and whistles, and you're laughing."

"Splendid!" Evie paused. "Well, except for the information being completely false, but that isn't my fault, so I think that's all right." She smiled cheerfully. "Do you think I should be born in Cairo, which is the truth, or London, which is easier to explain?"

"Whichever works best for your story," Dean said. "Though Egyptian birth certificates are probably less well known than British ones so you would probably have an easier time of faking one."

"Ooo. Right then. Oh! Oh! We can give me double citizenship, like I have in my own time. That would work, wouldn't it?" Evie looked hopeful. "Egyptian birth certificate, then." She started happily paging through the seals. "I do so love official looking foils and things."

"Like the shiny things huh?"

"Well, yes," Evie admitted. "Especially old shiny things, after you've had a chance to clean them up and really get a good look at them. They just don't look like anything else, do they? Old shields and swords, and things that last forever...."

Dean chuckled. "This is so the class for you."

Re: Talk to the TA

bookyeve.livejournal.com - 2007-06-12 04:49 (UTC) - Expand

Rikku went up to Dean and looked around a little suspiciously. "Uh, what if I need one of these for real? Like, uh, Turtle was saying, for a bank or whatever, that I need one, and she thinks I should talk to the government? But I'm kinda ... not really ... fond of the government."

"Who is?" Dean asked rhetorically. "I might be able to help you out. My family spends a lot of time off the grid so fake ID is kinda a necessity."

"Ooooh, really?" Rikku bounced a little. "I just, uh, nobody would believe me, like, where I'm from? And then you need that to get anything else, so I'm kinda ... screwed, I think. You know?"

"Yeah. It's no problem. I like staying in practice. What did you want?"

"There are different kinds?" Rikku considered. "Whoa. Okay. I, uh. Just something that ... says I'm supposed to be here? I guess? And if I went into a bank or whatever or tried to do something, they would think it was okay and just go with it and not be all 'you're not really a citizen, you have to go home' and deport me or something?"

Rikku had watched a few too many cop shows this past weekend.

"Driver's license usually works in most situations," Dean said. "Though we probably should see about getting you a social security number too..." He started jolting down notes.

"Social ... security?" Rikku shook her head. "Okay, I don't know what any of that means, but, uh, I'll trust you? I don't even have as many names as you guys do. Turtle said it would be okay but ... I don't really want to tell people where I'm from, you know?"

"Yeah we'll make up somewhere in the States for you to be from. You got any preference?"

Rikku laughed. "I don't think I know any places. Uh, Jude's from Toronto, but that's Canada, right? And New York, but people said they were mean there. Is there some place with a lot of sand? I grew up in the desert."

"Arizona," Dean said promptly. "Tucson maybe?"

Rikku nodded. "It sounds pretty. I like it. Do I, uh, how do I make up a second name? You guys don't use tribes."

saltandammo.livejournal.com - 2007-06-12 05:49 (UTC) - Expand

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