On 12 Apr 2020 at 20:00, xxxxxx@gmail.com wrote:
> 4. You're at a conference center to attend an event (possibly to gain
> more information about trading opportunities or whatever is
> appropriate to your group). You are going out for lunch and you notice
> a sign that points to another annex of the conference center. You are
> fascinated to see the sign indicates that there is a hand grenade
> trade show going on in this other annex. In theory, you probably
> aren't invited, but.... you are interested.
If it's a proper trade show, you either won't get in *at all* (with
unfriendly security folks to prevent you) or you'll have to buy an
expensive pass.
Travellers are persuasive and devious. And curious. And some have an affinity for grenades because they like to keep their options open (Jayne, Hero of Canton!). I suspect your answer is correct, but sneaking in could be fun.
We, mere mortals, at a sci-fi wargaming convention, simply were interested in new weapon systems. But yes, you needed a pass. ;)
> 13. You are trying to get through inward clearance so you can go to
> startown for a furlough. The local customs agent of the planet (let's
> call it Youessaaay) is making a fuss over a bag of orange-ish citrus
> fruits. You are not allowed to bring any form of fruit onto the
> planet. There are fears that they could cause infestations, bacterial
> issues, or drop seeds and start an invasive species incursion. You
> point out to him, quite calmly and with infinite patience, that the
> packaging *clearly* shows it is a native plant from his planet *and*
> was exported FROM his planet, but he seems unmoved and you are forced
> to surrender your citrus. You are gobsmacked.
Actually, he's *right* to do so. Those fruits have been off-planet,
the container is *not* hermetically sealed, so they could have picked
up *anything* since they were exported.
They got picked by migrant labourers and shipped around all sorts of places domestically in a supply chain identical to their own. Nothing likely to happen from that.
There is caution and paranoia. It's like selling me a water in one area of the airport, then making me dump it out in the next one or chug it. It does protect against an edge case, but mostly its just grit in the gears for everyone. We import stuff all the time to sell in our stores and it comes from places where it was sprayed with feces, urinated on by farm workers who can't leave the fields to pee, and possibly tuned up with dyes or protectants to help it have longer life. And that goes into our grocery stores.
It's like locking the barn door while the conveyorbelt to the outside is running full tilt and is a mile wide.
--
Leonard Erickson (aka shadow)
shadow at shadowgard dot com
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