| abstract | - Eric was a sales representative for Superior Solar. He was a dweeby-looking guy dressed in a company uniform consisting of khakis and a blue polo shirt with a company logo on the left breast. In addition, he had an plastic ID badge on a lanyard around his neck and a clipboard in his hand. One evening Eric was going door-to-door in a neighbourhood where an installation crew were working. He rang a door and a man answered. Eric went into his sales pitch stating that with a tech crew in the neighborhood, he could offer various solar systems at a very attractive discount. The man, after checking with his wife, confirmed they could use a new system and invited him in. Eric was led into the dinning-room and spread out some pictures of systems and a price list on the table. The man was interested in one system and his wife confirmed they could afford it. When asked when Superior Solar could install it, Eric replied since there was crew in the area, they could start the following morning and if it was a straightforward job, they could finish by that afternoon. He then asked if he could go up onto the roof to check out the current installation and get a better idea what the tech crew would need to do. The man and his wife agreed to this. Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow. They stepped outside and the man leaned a ladder against the side of the house. The two climbed up and Eric was careful to step over the oorts and kuipers as he approached the system. He then bent over to examine the power unit more closely and concluded that they could do with a new one since this one was 5x109. The man became defensive and said that it came with the house. Eric replied that ones this size don't usually last past 1x1010 and that he was smart to replace it while it still kinda worked. Eric then took out a loupe and examined the sixth wanderer. He asked about the ring and the man replied that a couple of outliers had smashed together a while ago breaking up. Since it didn't seem to hurt anything, he left it alone. Eric tutted about the poor workmanship and pointed out the grit between Five and Four as another example. He added that they were built a lot better now and that the new one would be much cleaner. The man then asked him to take a look at Three since it had looked kind of funny recently. Eric did and announced it had gone mouldy and that it would need to be sterilized before before they could recycle it. He added that sometimes it spread to other systems up and down the block. He then made some notes on his clipboard. Eric fiddled around a bit until the man invited him for supper. Eric got the hint and declined saying he had more houses to cover. The two climbed down and told Debbie what they had found about wanderer three. She was was grossed out and then asked if it would cost extra. Eric replied that it was all part of the installation fee. He added that the crew would arrive between nine and eleven the next morning and while it would be a little noisy, it wouldn't be too bad. He gave them his card and then left to sell more solar systems.
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