The Customs Lounge

In a cramped, humming lounge that serves as the gateway between worlds, a ragtag crew of alien customs officers passes the time swapping tall tales and nursing lukewarm kasser. Old Grag boasts about a youthful sting operation involving sticky sweets from the Venusers, while Inspector Flimp recounts the chaos of the first wave of Earth arrivals, their garbled language and surprising smuggling tricks. The banter is peppered with absurd bureaucracy, giving listeners a taste of the everyday absurdities of interstellar immigration.

The atmosphere shifts when the Four Council announces that Earthlings will soon be rerouted through the Livestock sector, sparking wild cheers and nervous mutters among the inspectors. A pair of younger officers slip away to tinker with a malfunctioning robot, hinting that the new policy may not be as smooth as the officials hope. Their clandestine repairs set the stage for a fresh round of clever Earth schemes and inter‑species misunderstandings.