For context, the author (who lurks around here) is a sci-fi author who has some background in online banking (from the first dot-com boom!) His novels often fea

For context, the author (who lurks around here) is a sci-fi author who has some background in online banking (from the first dot-com boom!) His novels often feature aspects of economics, and in particular his novel Neptune's Brood [1] features a slower-than-light interstellar economy (and scam!) [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neptune%27s_Brood https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neptune%27s_Brood