A Rare Commodity

Photo by: Ted Strutz

Mika ate the last bite. “Best tuna sandwich ever! But still, $500 is too much.”

“I know,” said Bill. “But there’s chipping charges. It had to be shipped into Earth orbit.”

“Yeah.”

“Then through the hypergate to Ross 154. And through that hypergate to Groombridge 1618. Finally arriving at the colony here. There’s charges at every point.”

“Oh, no wonder.”

Bill sighed, “Problem is, tuna is really hard to get out here. Moving it through the New Tokyo colony customs officials was the worst.”

“They demanded bribes?”

“They didn’t ask for money.”

“So what happened?”

“Well, this one-pound tuna sandwich…used to weigh five pounds.”
_______________________________
Written for the Friday Fictioneers: https://rochellewisoff.com/2020/06/03/5-june-2020/

Author’s Notes:

The stars Ross 154 and Groombridge 1618 are real stars:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_nearest_stars_and_brown_dwarfs

It wasn’t easy to be funny after the tragic events in Minnesota. There’s a lot heavy things going on in our country, and the world just now. I hope you all are dealing with it as well as possible. I’m offering a little levity, not to ignore our travails, but to offer a brief respite from them. Hang in there and stay safe.