The census polls had just come in, there were now 788 billion people living on the planet earth. The people in charge of the polls found this to be odd, as there had only been 4 billion the previous year, but it was before them in black and white, and a little bit of green at the top of the sheet (it had cost them an extra 56 billion dollars, but it was well worth it).
The real estate folks went mad. Houses on top of houses. Apartment buildings on top of apartment buildings. Cities on top of cities on top of cities. They anticipated the largest boom in real estate ever imagined.
Two months passed, and nothing happened. No boom. Not even a significant rise. The real estate firms contacted the census doers, and asked them to re-check their facts. The census was reconducted, with the same results. The world was completely baffled. Except for one man, who laughed quietly in the corner of his bedroom, having told the census bureau that there were 784 billion people living in his attic.
