Tech: Everything at onceJob: Employed by the futureAuthors: E. H. Ackerman & J. D. AckermanARQS Press
Reading band: Ages 6–11Headline tech: Everything at once — the future of workThe job: The whole crew, employed by the futureLocation: World Expo of Tomorrow, Harbor of Tomorrow Expo Island
The Hook
After their grandma-certified pitch, the Crew opens the World Expo’s First-Shift Pavilion. Every job mentor returns, and the Crew Bank makes its biggest helpful move.
Cast in this issue
Tray — 10-year-old planner with final ledger and schedule.
Jay — 8-year-old chaos engine, making it snack-positive.
Rae — 12-year-old engineer with full glorious tool belt.
Mizz Zee — Expo community-work coordinator.
Returning mentors — every guest adult, plus Coach Mom and Dad Mode.
Comic Pages
PAGE 1
PANEL 1Expo Island sparkles: solar mural, garden tower, reef tunnel, rocket, sky tram. Mizz Zee hands the Crew three bright badges. MIZZ ZEE: “Job title: the whole crew, employed by the future. Open this pavilion so other kids can try their first jobs.” JAY: “Bet. I was born ready. With less paperwork.”
PANEL 2Every guest adult returns: drone dispatcher, baker, ferry captain, night-market host, solar lead, farmer, cargo dispatcher, librarian, food chef, stage manager, recycler, tram engineer, guide, curator, marine biologist, beekeeper, data operator, convoy lead, Ms. Luma, Captain Voss, Nana, Mr. Pei. Coach Mom stocks snacks; Dad Mode calls “be careful!” TRAY: “Our resume has become a parade.” NANA: “And no one is leaving hungry.”
PANEL 3Rae clips on the Expo Multi-Key, for demo cabinets only. RAE: “Kid words: future work is people using new tools to solve problems, choose, and help. A tool is only as kind as its worker.” JAY: “Future humans need snacks?” RAE: “Not the whole lesson. Yes.”
PAGE 2
PANEL 4Rae fans her full belt: Route Compass, Dough Scraper, Tide Clip, Ring Light, Solar Swatch, pH Pipette, Cargo Tie, Prompt Cards, Food Nozzle, Beam Meter, Sorter Magnet, Wind Gauge, Phrase Pin, Scan Stylus, Coral Caliper, Pollen Brush, Coolant Sensor, Sun Reel, Bubble Bracelet, Magnet Grabber, Prototype Clamp, Expo Key. BOLD CAPTION: THE BELT IS SO FULL IT MAKES RAE LEAN SIDEWAYS LIKE A VERY PREPARED PIRATE.RAE: “Balanced.” TRAY: “Determined comma.”
PANEL 5Glitch hears “name tags” as “name flags.” BOLD CAPTION: A PARADE OF MINI BANNERS UNFURLS FROM GLITCH AND GENTLY WRAPS JAY, BOLT, AND A LIFE-SIZE CARDBOARD CARROT IN DIFFERENT LABELS. JAY, labeled “MUSEUM CURATOR”: “Vegetable historian!” BOLT, labeled “ROCKET”: “YIP!”
PANEL 7Translation earbuds welcome visitors; plant sensors check crops; a safe bot moves paper; holograms point to job cards. TRAY: “Different tools, same rule: people check the work.” A tiny student: “I watered plants and earned two coins!” JAY: “Real ones get paid!”
PANEL 8Jay uses a food nozzle, stage bell, and bubble tray at once. BOLD CAPTION: A HARMLESS FOAM ‘PIZZA’ PRINTS A TINY HAT ON HIS HEAD WHILE THE BUBBLE LEVEL BEEPS LIKE IT IS LAUGHING.JAY: “Multitasking!” RAE: “Chaos gremlin with garnish.” Kids giggle; Rae resets the demos.
PANEL 9A worried visitor has never had a job. Tray kneels by the Station. TRAY: “Start helpful. Ask rules, work carefully, and write what you learned.” NANA: “Confidence rises like good bread.” JAY: “And sometimes it gets a tiny hat.” The visitor chooses a plant-watering card and smiles.
PAGE 4
PANEL 10Mizz Zee reveals the $773.00 Expo payment. Mentors cheer. MIZZ ZEE: “You fixed flags, made work possible, and noticed people.” RAE: “Pay us properly?” MIZZ ZEE: “Already done.” TRAY opens the jar ledger: “$1,227.00 plus $773.00 equals $2,000.00.” JAY: “Two thousand! Biggest number in the whole series! No cap!”
PANEL 11The Crew chooses. TRAY: “We spend $2,000 on forty First-Shift Kits: job cards, safety checks, savings jars, tool-lending, and adult-approved boards.” RAE: “Plus small paid-task match funds, so another kid can earn a first honest payment.” COACH MOM: “Snack-logistics contract!” BOLD CAPTION: NANA OPENS A CELEBRATION ROLL BOX SO BIG THAT BOLT POPS UP FROM THE CENTER WEARING A PAPER ‘HIRING!’ HAT.
PANEL 12Sunset turns the harbor gold. New kids carry kits; the jar reads: “MONEY MOVED. FUTURE STARTED.” TRAY: “Plan first, panic later.” JAY: “Snack break, then world domination.” RAE: “Tomorrow problem?” TRAY: “Nope. Tomorrow opportunity.” A new job-board card flutters onto the wall: “WHO WILL YOU HELP?”
Tech Talk with Rae
RAE’S PANEL-IN-A-BOX: Future work combines sensors, robots, translation, energy, maps, tools. People notice problems, choose fairly, learn, care. A machine sorts; it cannot decide kind rules. TRY IT: What tool helps one chore, and what choice stays yours?
The Job Board
Job title: The whole crew, employed by the future
Who hired us: Mizz Zee and the World Expo Board
Rules of the job: Welcome everyone, pair kids with safe adults, explain tech, and make pay fair.
What went wrong: Glitch made flags, and Jay ran every demo at once.
How we fixed it: Tray reassigned, Rae reset demos, and Jay welcomed one worker at a time.
What we got paid: $773.00; ledger: $1,227.00 to $2,000.00, the biggest total. The Crew spent it on First-Shift Club for other kids’ first jobs.
Slang Decoder
Bet** — yes; I am ready to do it.Vibe check** — a quick feeling check.Chaos gremlin** — loving name for an energetic mess-maker.No cap** — honestly true.Real ones** — dependable people who help each other.Snack-positive** — better with planned snacks.
The World Expo needs its most experienced young workers. With every mentor back, future tech, and the biggest Crew Bank total, can the Crew show new kids that work is safe, fair, helpful, and fun—then spend every coin on someone else’s first shift?
Create a full-colour comic cartoon at sunset in First-Shift Pavilion, with clean ink, saturated mustard, teal, lime, purple, orange, coral, harbor light, and reef, rocket, farm, ferry, library, solar, and job-card callbacks. Show Tray exactly as locked: warm brown skin, short curly black hair with a lightning-bolt shaved part on the left, chunky blue smart glasses with camera dot on the right lens, mustard-yellow gear-patch hoodie, teal cargo shorts, orange sneakers, and slim backpack with drone zipper pull; Jay exactly as locked: lighter brown freckled skin, wild black hair, missing front tooth, lime rocket shirt, red shorts with gadget pocket, one striped and one polka-dot sock, purple glowing-lace sneakers; and Rae exactly as locked: dark brown skin, two long black braids with gold bead cuffs, purple rolled-sleeve utility jumpsuit, goggles on forehead, smartwatch on right wrist, silver-and-pink high-tops, and a full belt visibly carrying all twenty-two named tools, including Expo Multi-Key. Include Mizz Zee, Nana, Bolt’s paper “HIRING!” hat, Glitch, mentors, new kids with kits, and the $2,000.00 ledger.
Issue 22 appears in the collection Tray & Jay: World Explorers with its full-colour comic
illustration, Tech Talk page, Job Board card and Slang Decoder.
