OPENING SCENE Days before the Tribe launch at the Helsinki store. Hannu has his laptop open on the counter and the face of a man who hasn’t slept since Thursday. Kalle is bouncing like Tigger, a small Pomeranian tucked under one arm. Riitta is holding a coffee somebody else made, as she does not touch the coffee machine.
KALLE: “The Tribe. It’s happening.”
HANNU: “Soon.”
KALLE: “Soon is basically now.”
HANNU: “Soon is not now. Not yet. Hold your horses.”
KALLE (lifting the Pomeranian): “This is the only horse I’ve got.”
HANNU: “Then hold him. And wait for the email.”
The Pomeranian does not look like he’s waiting for anything.
RIITTA: “What email?”
HANNU: “When it goes live, everyone gets an email. That’s how they’ll know.”
RIITTA: “And then they do what?”
HANNU: “Nothing. I place everyone in their tier.”
RIITTA: “What’s a tier?”
HANNU: “Levels. The longer you’ve been with us, the higher you go.”
KALLE: “And the best part. Refer a friend. Our customers have been our marketing department since day one. Somebody loves their shoes, tells a friend, the friend walks in. No Meta taking a huge cut. No algorithm deciding who gets to hear about us.”
HANNU: “Soon we can actually say thank you for it.”
KALLE: “About time.”
RIITTA: “And people who already bought shoes?”
HANNU: “Placed automatically. They don’t lift a finger.”
RIITTA: “Automatically by whom?”
HANNU: “...Me.”
Riitta looks at the laptop. Looks at the cash register. Looks out the window.
RIITTA: “You know, I’ve been thinking about retirement.”
KALLE: “Mum. This is your retirement.”
RIITTA: “Then I’m retiring from this one.”
KALLE: “You can’t. You’re basically the oldest Tribe member.”
RIITTA (sighing): “Fine. But I’m not learning the levels.”
HANNU (quietly, to the laptop): “Nobody is learning the levels. That’s my job.”
KALLE (beaming): “Long time coming.”
HANNU (yawning): “Long time coding.”
