On main server (portal), user selects a service and parameters for a service request, is advised how many seconds of script-time this is likely to consume, and user confirms how much labor-credit to transfer from user's main account into escrow to pay for the satellite task.

• Note the analogy with a cash-register transaction, where the customer hands over money which is more than the actual purchasse amount, and later the purchase is deducted from that amount, and finally at the very end a refund equal to amount paid minus amount of purchase is refunded to the user as "change".
• The difference here is that we're dealing with realtime services rather than on-shelf goods, so the customer must demonstrate ability to pay (by putting sufficient funds into escroll to cover maximum authorized service) before the services are performed, and can't know the exact purchase price until after services have been performed.

Main server moves that amount of credit from user's main account into an escrow record. TOP