A Federal Relief Chip. A few inches of translucent plastic with a microchip in the center. The government issued these to poor people in The Gollum. You slid the card into a public food terminal and it spit out a brick of compact soy-based foodstuffs. You could break this stuff down using water and various cooking methods to make it stretch incredibly far. One brick could feed an entire family for days.

These were not carried by those who could afford to lose them.

“Laressa, we don’t steal from people on relief, those are the rules!”

“I didn’t mean to. Her purse looked expensive, I thought she was a richie,” she said. Her eyes were trembling.

“Show me the purse,” I said.

We ran back to the shelter where the pile of purses sat.

“That one,” she said, pointing to a shiny Obsidian shell handbag.

“That does look expensive. What kind of clothes did she have on?”

“I don’t know. I was only looking at purses. I didn’t even notice her clothes,” she said. “If she’s not a richie how did she get this?”