The cue moved slowly and Fred (short for Freduolus) was getting slightly impatient. He had been told that transferring to Earth would be smooth and that he'd be settled down in no time at all. But this had been taking hours, and it seemed he would be here for longer still. Fred liked to think of himself as a patient being, but this was getting ridiculous. He made sure to stomp his foot hard on the floor, in the hopes that it would make a sound loud enough to catch someone's attention. To his disappointment, it was largely ignored. Someone closer to the front of the cue coughed, though probably not in response to the stomping. The cue moved one step forward. And then it stopped, and everything came to a complete stand still once more. Fred thought he would scream if things moved any slower. He sighed audibly, and then let his mind wander, as he did not see himself getting out of here any time soon.

 

While Fred was completely absorbed by his own thoughts he failed to notice a man, a human, walking up to him. He snapped out of his thoughts when he felt a rather rough tap on his shoulder.

"Yes?" he said trying not to sound snarky.  

"Could I have your full name please?" the man asked, noticeably irritated at something.

"Why?" Fred asked, having learned to be suspicious of everything. The man, named Morgan as Fred could see from his name tag, sighed.

"We've been ordered to speed up the immigration process and we're going through the cue doing background checks on everyone to make things smoother. So, again, I ask you, could we have your full name. Please." Morgan did not seem very patient at all. Fred thought he had earned the right to be met with patience, having waited for so long. But, apparently not.

"If you must know," he began and lifted his chin up somewhat. "My full name is Freduolus Boingo Boingii Wimsi II, Junior."

Morgan quickly entered the name into a computer that was little more than a screen.

"How do you spell Boingii?" he asked and looked up at Fred.

"As it sounds of course! B-o-i-n-g-i-i!" Fred rolled his eyes and sighed. Morgan shrugged.

"Let's see here. Freduolus Boingo Boingii Wimsi II, Junior, from planet Uugolon in sector AA-Y:451, in the Goulash solar system?"

"Yes, I believe that's what you call it."

"Previously working as a ship salesman I see here. Lost Galaxy ships to be specific."

"Yes?" Fred said, not quite sure how any of this was relevant.

"Didn't Lost Galaxy go out of business some time ago?" Morgan asked and looked up.

"Does it really matter?"

"I guess it doesn't. Not really no. Anyhow." Morgan looked down on the screen again. "I see you have a wife and two children back home. How do you intend to support them while you're here?"

Fred raised one of his artificially made eyebrows.

"Why do you care?"

"We want to know how responsible our immigrants are." Morgan said without looking up and tapping his foot lightly on the floor.

"If you must know I will be keeping in contact with my family, and have set aside funding for them that is guaranteed to last for as long as I'm away."

"And how long do you intend to stay?"

"Look," Fred was starting to get truly angry, "I was promised a smooth transfer. But this, this has been anything but! So I ask you, is this really truly necessary?"

Morgan sighed and looked up at Fred.

"I'm sorry I can't keep a promise someone else made. We're doing this for safety reasons, and to make sure that all who transfer here are hard working responsible beings."

"If it's really that important, I can assure you I have always worked hard, and I am highly responsible. And you should be able to see all of this in my background information."

Morgan nodded and returned to looking at the screen again.

"Well, everything seems in order here." he said, nose still pointed directly at the screen. "It shouldn't be long now before you are transferred. I'll see you when the time comes."

With that Morgan disappeared and Fred was left to ponder what had just happened. Something told him he would not at all be transferred soon and that it would be hours still before he saw Morgan again, assuming he ever did. He let out an audible yawn and rubbed his eyes. He was getting rather tired. He was not used to the twenty-four hour schedule of the humans. His home planet took exactly ten hours to travel around the home star. Thus, his species were adapted to getting approximately three hours of sleep, while the remaining hours of the day were carefully divided between different equally important activities. This made standing here seem absolutely wasteful. Back home no one ever had to stand in line for anything, as everyone had so little time anyway, and no one wanted to spend that time standing around doing nothing.

 

Fred yawned again and looked around to see what else was going on around him. He found that most other immigrants looked as bored as he was. Someone just ahead of him was snoring loudly, while another odd-looking creature was exploring his thumbs very thoroughly. Someone else had toppled forward and was now leaning against the person right in front of him. Just behind Fred stood a human-looking lady and three children, all three screaming at the top of their lungs. Fred felt inclined to stick his fingers in his ears. When all hope of ever getting out of this nightmare seemed lost, something finally happened. The cue shortened drastically, and the room got emptier and emptier. And then finally Morgan stood before Fred again.

"Welcome to New York. You are free to leave the building. Have a good day!" he said without really looking at Fred. Fred shrugged, took the suitcase he carried with him, and left the building, once and for all stepping out in to the streets of New York, where night had already fallen.