Stephan Schwab

Stories, software, and a life lived across several worlds

Europe

A company can keep an ordinary business debt from following someone home, but only if they can meet the conditions to form one. In these stories, a silk dyer waits for royal permission while a wealthy family's new vats are already turning. Later reforms let smaller businesses through, yet a merchant can still insist on a personal signature. By 2026, a young couple can have working software, a company, and a willing customer—and spend their savings waiting for one more number.

  1. An ironworker makes a clamp at a workbench in a cramped family room while his pregnant wife and four children watch.A Hundred Clamps

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  2. A woman reads a fine notice at her desk, then embraces her father as movers clear her apartment.The Apartment My Father Bought

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  3. A lawyer reviews company papers with a young couple; later, the distressed couple face bills beside their laptop at home.The Customer Is Ready

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  4. A silk dyer waits over company papers beside his vats, then sits with his wife and child as a bailiff approaches their door.Waiting for the King

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  5. A wealthy family and an adviser study plans and sealed company papers at a desk overlooking an operating silk dye works.Father Knows Whom to Ask

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  6. A merchant presents papers beside a silk dyer's vats; later, the dyer's brother examines blue silk before signing the company papers.The Seventh Name

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  7. An older dyer and his adult son stand beside silk vats and company papers; later, the dyer studies two bills across a desk from a merchant.Two Bills on the Table

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  8. An older notary points to papers as two brothers sign at a desk. In a second scene, a man reads a letter while a woman carries a sewing machine past a chair holding a child's coat.The Date on the Bill

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  9. A notary reviews a cutting press valuation with two brothers; in a second scene, a shoemaker stands beside an old press as a man carries a hide away.What the Press Is Worth

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  10. A notary points to a document and an identity card as two people sit across from her; in a furniture workshop, the same two people review an order on a workbench.Too Old to Own Half

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  11. A brother and sister sign papers at a notary’s desk; in a woodworking shop, a timber merchant points to an older paper while the brother holds a cash envelope.My Name Stayed on the Bill

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  12. A tile supplier speaks to a man outside a shuttered café while holding papers; later, she counts cash at a stockroom table as three installers wait nearby.The Floor I Could Not Take Back

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