This post is inspired by a writing prompt in the Worldbuilding community - Worldbuilding Prompt #490 - Storing funds
"Okay Vred, is that the last of the taxchips ?" Fedric asked his colleague in a bored tone.
Vred lobbed the last box into the crate. "It is now. I've never got why we have to get the tax on separate chips. Why can't people just pay through the Imperi-Web just like when they go shopping ? Doing it like this makes for a lot of hard work, and the taxpayers always whine and kick up a fuss when we collect from them."
Fedric nodded wearily. "Yeah, but if they paid by 'Web, they could do stupid stuff like try to reverse the transfer, or claim we took too much, or overpay by a millionth of a crescent knowing it would mess all our systems up. It's better to separate it out like this."
He thought for a few seconds, and added, "If it was just Imperi-Web based like any other transaction, there's a risk it could get hacked. Doing it this way, we stick all the chips in a crate, stuff it in this hatch, set the co-ordinates and send it off safely to extra-dimensional storage."
As he spoke, he sealed the catches on the extellium strong-box and pushed it into the transfer hatch. They both inserted a key into the control panel, one at each end. Then Fedric dialled in the co-ordinates and, on the count of three, each simultaneously pulled down on their lever to initiate the transfer.
It was the same process the two of them had used every year at the end of the tax collection for the last decade. In a few seconds, the screen above the control panel would come up with the words "Transfer complete" and they could log off and go to the pub.
Ten seconds later, the screen was still blank.
"Being slow today, Fedric," said Vred.
"Yeah, perhaps hyperspace is busy or they're doing some maintenance or something. Give it a moment, I'm sure it's just being a bit slower than usual."
That was when the message flashed up on screen. It wasn't the message they'd seen previous years.
It read;
Transaction co-ordinates randomised on behalf of People Against Tax Stealing Yobs (PATSY). If we can't have our money, you can't either. No-one can. Long Live The Revolution !
Image created by AI in Wombo.art
After a few seconds the message moved down to the bottom, and the bulk of the screen was filled by the image of a skull, laughing over and over again.
Both men's faces went white. Vred was first to speak.
"Umm... what are you going to say to Management, Fedric ?"
Fedric looked sick.
"I'm going to say nothing, then get another job offworld before they try to retrieve the box at the start of the next tax year. A long, long way offworld..."
