To Boldly Go to a Moneyless Future

There's no money in Star Trek; how does that work?

Carl woke up in a strange room. It was clean and white, with sunlight filling the room from a few windows. Carl looked out one window and saw a city unlike he had ever seen — sparkling and perfect. “Where am I?”

“Oh, you’re awake,” said a voice with an English accent.

Carl turned to see a bald man in a red uniform. “Who are you?”

“I am Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the USS Enterprise.”

“Is that a ship?” Carl asked.

Picard chuckled. “It’s more than a ship. I have some news for you that may be hard to hear: You’re now in the 24th century.”

Carl’s eyes went wide. “I’m 300 years in the future?!” Now the strange sights out the window made sense.

“Yes, as far as we can tell, back in the 21st century, you were caught in a temporal anomaly — that’s something we encounter a lot here in the 24th century. The USS Enterprise — my starship — found you floating in an energy field, but we freed you and brought you back to Earth — San Francisco, to be precise, home of the Starfleet Headquarters.”

Carl looked out the window at the perfect city again. “That’s San Francisco? It does not look like a place where people poop on the street.”

Picard smiled. “A lot has changed in 300 years.”

Carl hung his head. “Everyone I know is probably dead.”

Picard chuckled. “Probably. So, any questions about the 24th century?”

Carl thought a moment. “Well, what am I going to do now? I’m just a guy with 21st-century skills. Do you still have webpages?”

“I’m afraid I don’t know what that is,” Picard said. “But if you’re worried about getting a job to make money, don’t be. We don’t have money in the 24th century.”

Carl raised an eyebrow. “Then how do I get food?”

Picard had a mysterious smile and walked over to a panel on the wall. “Tea. Earl Grey. Hot.” A filled tea cup materialized inside the panel, and Picard picked it up and took a sip. “We have replicators that can make anything you need. So there is no need for money.”

Carl stared at the replicator. “So if I want the latest designer sneakers or a gold watch, it will just make it?”

“Yes, it will.”

Carl thought some more. “But what if I want an authentic baseball signed by Babe Ruth? How would I get that without money.”

Picard walked over to the replicator. “A baseball signed by Babe Ruth.” A baseball materialized in the replicator. Picard picked it up and tossed it to Carl. Carl looked it over, and it indeed had a signature from Babe Ruth.

“But this isn’t real; just a copy,” Carl protested.

“It’s exactly the same as an authentic signed baseball down to the molecule, so you’re just being petty,” Picard said. “I know this will take some time to get used to, but money is unnecessary in the 24th century.”

Carl nodded but then thought some more. “But what about getting a place to live?”

“There are larger replicators that can make houses,” Picard explained.

“Yeah, but what about the land for the house?”

“There’s plenty of land as we can travel to distant stars,” Picard explained. “Is there some planet other than Earth you’d like to live on?”

“The only planets other than Earth I know about are the ones in this solar system,” Carl said.

“Well... you don’t want to live on any of those.”

“But what if I really like this new, poop-less San Francisco?” Carl asked. “Could I get a place here?”

“No, it’s full,” Picard said. “Actually, if you’re better, we really need to get you out of this hospital room quickly.”

“And take me where?”

“Well, I asked the Central Housing Authority where they have room, and they have a one-bedroom apartment waiting for you in North Dakota.”

“I don’t want to live there,” Carl said. “Where do you live?”

“I have a vineyard in France.”

“Can I have a vineyard in France?”

“No. There are no more vineyards available,” Picard said sharply.

“I bet if I had money, I could get a vineyard,” Carl grumbled.

“Well, there is no money. If you want different housing, you’ll have to appeal to the Central Housing Authority.”

“I have to make a case to people who don’t know me or care about me on where I want to live?” Carl asked.

“It’s the best system we could come up with without money,” Picard said.

“That’s a horrible system.”

Picard shushed him and then whispered. “If you don’t want to live in squalor, you better not let them hear you say that.”

“I’m not sure anymore this is a happy future; this is starting to feel like a dystopia without money,” Carl said.

“No, it is great here!” Picard said loudly in all directions, like he thought someone might be listening. “I love our system. So good.” Picard then whispered to Carl. “The review on whether I keep my vineyard is coming up soon. Now, it’s time for you to leave here.”

“Isn’t a doctor going to check on me first?” Carl asked.

“It would be a long wait,” Picard explained. “You know how no one needs to work to get money? Well, it ends up not a lot of people are willing to be doctors just for fun and prestige.”

“How do you live like this?”

“Very happily, thanks to the Federation!” Picard announced to whomever he thought was listening. He then whispered to Carl. “Actually, I’m planning to defect soon to the Ferengi. They’re capitalists. You can come with. We’ll probably have to be indentured servants for a while, but we’ll be in a functional, capitalist society. You in?”

“I don’t know what Ferengi are. Is there any other option?”

Picard thought for a few seconds. “Well, I guess we could fly around the sun really fast to get you back in time to the 21st century.”

“That’s an option?!”

“Yeah, basically any craft can time travel if done right.” Picard thought some more. “I’m not sure why it doesn’t happen more often. Hey, and when back in time, you can warn them not to give up capitalism! Warn them! The future is hell without it! We spend all our time on the holodeck pretending it’s the glorious past!”

“The holo-what?”

“Never mind. Just warn them about not giving up precious money!”

“And that won’t cause a time paradox or something?”

Picard chuckled. “You watch too much scifi.”