The Solution

"Okay, we've got our flight crew assembled."

The CEO nodded. "Very good," he said. "Then we're ready to go to space?"

"Not quite," said his adviser. "We have a ship large enough to take the entire one percent of America to space, but who's going to maintain the ship?"

"It surely won't be us!" a member of the board spoke up. "We earned our right to not have to do any work while we're in hibernation, getting off this god-forsaken rock."

"But where will get a work force willing to leave their homes and families behind?" another board member asked.

The CEO slammed his fist on the table. "I've got it!" he cried. "It'll solve a problem we've had for decades, and give us the labor force we need.

"We don't take people away from their homes," he continued. "We take the people that don't have any homes, and we take their families too. They'll breed with each other, and we don't have to hire a single one. It's a never-ending supply!"

"Wait, wait," said the coffee-carrying intern. "Are you suggesting that you use the homeless population as a space slave labor force?"

"I couldn't have put it better myself," said the CEO. "We don't need to pay them, we just have to give them quarters and food. They'll be so pleased just to have running water, they won't even notice they're working for free!"

"I don't know, sir," said the intern, sounding braver than he felt. "There are a lot of people that would be opposed to bringing back slavery."

"Why?" asked the CFO. "It's not racist. I've seen white homeless people."

The CEO said nothing, but looked at his adviser.

"We don't have to pitch it as slavery," said the adviser. "We just have to say that the homeless population, along with their families, is being given the opportunity to live a glamorous life in space, while being provided with jobs that will be able to sustain them forever."

The intern gulped, steeling himself. "I'm afraid I can't let that happen," he said.

The CEO looked at him, eyebrows raised. "You want the homeless epidemic to continue?" he asked the young man. "You don't want them to have jobs, and be able to support their families?"

The intern shook his head. "No, sir, that's not what I meant." His eyes darted from face to face, all eyes gazing with an eerie hunger at him. "I just meant..."

The CFO, grinning across the table, cut him off. "I think we found our first sanitation officer for the ship."

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Ooh...this one could definitely become a longer piece of work. Thanks to Thomas, Bobby, Heather, Chris, Carlos, Jen, Chris, Dale, Zack, Cyndi, Fay, Jennifer, Heather, Kelsey, Brenda, Denise, Shayna, and Laura for their additions to the pot.

For next week, what is your favorite quote? It could be from a movie, a TV show, or just something someone once said. Post your responses in the comments section below by Thursday at 6 pm, and please subscribe!