Friday, November 16, 2012


The writer had another science fiction story in progress:

Beings from another world discovered the tiny Planet Earth millions of light years (but just a thought) away. The beings didn't quite know how this planet worked, and spent some of their time and energy studying what they thought were Planet Earth operating instructions: sitcoms from the 1950s and the game, Monopoly. They spent lots of time playing Monopoly. (Their favorite token was the little flat iron which they reproduced for good luck on their own planets. Giant irons dangled from parapets and monoliths, the latest in decorative Earth chic.)

Meanwhile, the beings were ready to visit Earth, and put what they had learned to work. They played Monopoly. They bought lots of land, and charged lots of rent. When a player had a whole block of property, he or she built big buildings of plastic and wood, adding more and more buildings as the rent poured in each month. And then, they'd increase the rent.

There were no people on the streets of Monopoly, and so the beings thought the buildings were supposed to be empty. They were only constructed for show, to increase the money-making value of the property so...they could buy more property and build more empty buildings. They added houses and hotels with the hope of winning the game.

Meanwhile, the human beings, swept aside as nonessential, got pretty teed off; the visiting beings had become Masters at Monopoly, and didn't know what they had done wrong.

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