"No! Sometimes I think it goes to the very core of human existence. Perhaps this is the central import of all philosophy: the way things are done is more important than the ends that are obtained."
At that point, Ge-Ge arrived breathlessly. "Shamar, quickly! We must go!"
"Huh? I'm having this interesting little talk—"
She tugged him from the floor. Baffled, he followed her. As he did so, the fighting broke out in the far corner of the room.
"Quickly!" she said. "Let's get out of here before the police come."
They fought their way, hand in hand, to the door. There they paused for a moment to look back.
"It's a couple of rival socialist parties fighting," she explained breathlessly.
"What about?"
"God knows. Hurry."
They were in the street. "Don't run, walk," she cautioned. After a block, she said, "I didn't even need to watch you at the end. Everybody got so drunk nobody noticed you much."