They ate; and then they thought. Nothing much seemed to come from all the thinking, though.
They were a long, long way from the spaceship. Ross commandeered all of Helena’s leftover cash. It was almost, not quite, enough for one person to get halfway back to Azor City. He and Bernie turned out their pockets and added everything they had, including pawnable valuables. That helped. It made the total almost enough for one person to get three-quarters of the way back.
It didn’t help enough.
Ross said, “Bernie, what would happen if we, well, stole something?”
Bernie shrugged. “It’s against the law, of course. They probably wouldn’t prosecute, though.”
“They wouldn’t?”
“Not if they can prove egalitarianism on you. Stealing’s against the law; preaching equality is against the state. You get the maximum penalty for that.”
Helena choked on her drink, but Ross merely nodded. “So we might as well take a chance,” he said. “Thanks, Bernie. We won’t bother you any more. You’ll forget you heard this, won’t you?”
“The hell I will!” Bernie squawked. “If you’re getting out of here, I want to go with you! You aren’t leaving me behind!”
“But Bernie——” Ross started. He was interrupted by the manager, a battleship-class female with a mighty prow, who came scowling toward them.