This is a story in exactly 81 words. Originally written in 2014 for the (now defunct) website 81words.net. Find more of these stories here
The presentation was over. He'd done a good job. Surely, he had convinced them.
But the audience remained silent. No applause, nothing.
"So ... what is your invention actually good for, then?", one politician asked.
"It solves every problem on Earth. Hunger, war, diseases, everything!"
"But - can we make money with that thing?"
Frustrated, he grabbed his invention and ran out of the room. Those people had no idea what his machine could be used for. Soon, they would know.