Credits (and apologies)to Kim Stanley Robinson. This is his book cover.

“You’re telling me there are seven new human-habitable planets, a mere 40 years away light-speed distance?” She looked at him, eyebrow raised.

“Yes! No more worries about ruining our natural resources here on Earth,” He squeezed his sweaty hands together. “We can leave today and arrive in time for retirement!”

“Once we fund and develop the advanced technology?”

“We can easily rewrite Universal Healthcare, and the tax code! It’ll be huge! What could go wrong?”

“Okay, Donnie,” she sighed, looking at the armed border patrol. She flipped open her copy of Kim Stanley Robinson’s Aurora.* “We’ll just wait here.”

© Liz Husebye Hartmann (2017)

Carrot Ranch Prompt (02/23/2017): In 99 words (no more, no less) write a migration story. It can imagine the dusty or arctic trails of the frontiers past or look to the travel across the galaxy. What issue about modern migration bans might influence an artistic expression in a flash? Migrate where the prompt leads you.

*With apologies and gratitude to Kim Stanley Robinson, who shows through his writing that though nothing is as simple as it seems, sometimes it’s the simplest approach that is the most elegant solution.