Most Popular Choices
Share on Facebook 28 Printer Friendly Page More Sharing
Life Arts   

Short Story: "Bankers from Outer Space"

By       (Page 1 of 3 pages)   No comments
Follow Me on Twitter     Message Philip Zack
Become a Fan
  (13 fans)

"I don't understand, Captain Gruthner. You did what?"

Irwin Polk, Vice President for Interstellar Affairs at UniBank, Earth's third largest financial services conglomerate, was busy looking through the balance sheet of a recent acquisition, and was only peripherally aware of the conversation he'd been having with the man he'd sentenced to an extended contract in the farthest reaches of space for reasons he'd long since forgotten. He glanced briefly at the distorted image hovering over his desk, frowned, and dug in his pocket for the memopod he'd offloaded it to, along with lots of other unsavory memories. That's right, he thought as the gadget reflashed his brain, Gruthner was plagued by a case of ethics.

"I sold them a mutual outsourcing scheme, sir. They're each going to sub out the work they're not good at to the other. UniBank will serve as intermediary."

Having been snared once or twice in bad deals, Polk knew the importance of conducting background checks on any new clients. "Who are you babbling about, Lester?"

The truncated image of a balding nebbish composed itself and leaned towards the camera. "The Ghrilsjorm and the Plurfl, sir. The system you sent me to has two planets in the Goldilocks Zone. Both worlds developed commercially viable civilizations, but because their environments are so different, they never bothered to visit one another, preferring instead to be what you might call planetary pen pals. They talk a lot, but they'd rather stay home and knit than go exploring."

"And you've sold them something they both need."

"Well, not exactly need, Mr. Polk. But we've convinced them it would be to their advantage, and they agreed to our terms."

The VP laid his hands over the spreadsheet, his attention now wholly on his former protà ©gà ©. "Which are?"

"For one thing, all of their transactions will be conducted through accounts I've set up for them. Since they have different currencies, each one gets converted to ours first, so we can keep an accurate and unbiased tally of their balance of trade."

"What kind of work exactly are they trading" these" what are they called?"

"They call themselves Ghrilsjorm and Plurfl, respectively. The Ghrilsjorm, are better at science and math related enterprises; the Plurfl at artistic ones. It's a pretty ordinary match-up, really. We've done it before, even back home on Earth."

"And I suppose we're raking off some service charge?"

"No sir. Both races consider that to be unethical. As far as they're concerned, the role of an intermediary is nothing more than a glorified bit of wire, so they balked at the suggestion that they pay for our assistance in the transaction."

Polk snorted contemptuously. "If that's how they feel about it," he said, "why hadn't they set up an arrangement like this on their own already? All it takes is money, after all."

"And some communications gear. Yes, sir. That is true. But they'd never be able to afford the kind of hookup we're using. I would imagine that the cost of buying this gear and keeping it running would easily bankrupt them. They'd be limited to far more rudimentary means of contact. But that's not the essential difficulty."

"Then what is? I do hope you'll get to the point soon, Lester. I have better things to do with my time than listen to your incessant whining. What is their problem?"

Next Page  1  |  2  |  3

(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).

Rate It | View Ratings

Philip Zack Social Media Pages: Facebook page url on login Profile not filled in       Twitter page url on login Profile not filled in       Linkedin page url on login Profile not filled in       Instagram page url on login Profile not filled in

Ever since I learned to speak binary on a DIGIAC 3080 training computer, I've been involved with tech in one way or another, but there was always another part of me off exploring ideas and writing about them. Halfway to a BS in Space Technology at (more...)
 
Go To Commenting
The views expressed herein are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.
Follow Me on Twitter     Writers Guidelines

 
Contact AuthorContact Author Contact EditorContact Editor Author PageView Authors' Articles
Support OpEdNews

OpEdNews depends upon can't survive without your help.

If you value this article and the work of OpEdNews, please either Donate or Purchase a premium membership.

STAY IN THE KNOW
If you've enjoyed this, sign up for our daily or weekly newsletter to get lots of great progressive content.
Daily Weekly     OpEd News Newsletter
Name
Email
   (Opens new browser window)
 

Most Popular Articles by this Author:     (View All Most Popular Articles by this Author)

Short Story: "Forced Inquiry"

Short Story: "Health Care Reform"

Short Story: "Terrifying Vindication"

The Dance of Consent

First Followers; and Tiptoe-Caused-Avalanches of Change

Short Story: "The Phoenix Narrative" (6th in a series)

To View Comments or Join the Conversation:

Tell A Friend