Project Boussh: Money Matters by Nick Coghlan "So what have you guys been doing for money anyway?" Nick was clattering around in the small kitchen, attempting to concoct something that resembled a palatable dinner. Piggy stopped chewing long enough to answer "Why would we need money?" Nick turned around "I don't know. Supplies. Bribes. Stuff that AFWers wouldn't have lying around their homes." Picking up another piece of bread, Piggy thought for a while before continuing "Well, I guess it isn't really a secret. It's standard operating procedure to carry a small stash of gems and precious metals when visiting a planet with an unknown economy. We make our best guess as to what will be valuable, without being too unusual, based on the type of planet and what we know of its industrial level. Many agents are reluctant to crack open the cache though - trying to exchange the contents for local currency has an annoying tendency to attract unwelcome attention. If you have local allies, it'is usually easier to see if they're good for a loan. Either that or see what your nearest slicer can do." "You didn't really answer my question though. What _are_ you doing for money?" "To be precise, we aren't doing anything. Nothing that's going on really requires any money - except for eating your food of course. And you'll end up being reimbursed for that. If the situation comes up, though, the computer setup here has enough computational grunt to crack your standard encryption algorithms by simple brute force. Using the right techniques makes it even easier. We can arrange for someone to cash in something, somewhere, and then transfer the money to wherever it is we need it. And, since that involves an element of risk, even with the low standard of the digital competition, we won't do it unless we need to." "Here, stop eating the bread. Try this instead." Nick dropped a plate in front of the hungry Gamorrean, before sitting down himself. "It's hardly fine cuisine, but its edible." The two dug in to the heaped plates of spaghetti bolognaise. Surprisingly, it didn't taste that bad.