"That is a possibility," Anderson agreed. "However, since we have only one Super-Sonic Projector, I'm afraid we cannot wage a successful war against the entire population of Callisto."
"Not very well," Verger had to admit. "Nevertheless, I still have a hunch that your little dohickey is going to enable us to make our getaway."
Professor Anderson was about to ask Verger what he had in mind, when he heard a knock on the door of the stateroom. In response to his invitation to enter, one of the women came in. It was Helen Green, the bass-drummer.
Startled by the expression on her face, the scientist said, "What's wrong, Mrs. Green? Why aren't you playing with the rest of the band?"
"I got fired!" was her astonishing statement.
"You got fired?" Anderson exclaimed. "What in the Universe are you raving about?"
"You know how it is," she grinned. "Unskilled labor is always the first to feel the pinch of unemployment. Anyone can play the bass drum. That's why I lost my job."
In a tone of exasperation which he tried hard to disguise, the professor said, "Please be more explicit, Mrs. Green. This is no time for facetiousness."
"I'm not trying to be funny," she assured him. "If you don't think I meant it when I said I got fired, take a look at the individual that copped my job!"