…Minus 077 and COUNTING… He left Molie’s at ten past midnight

Ben Richards leaves Molie Jernigan’s place just after midnight with forged papers and a disguise that cost him twelve hundred New Dollars. Molie has supplied gray hair, spectacles, mouth wadding, false buck teeth, and advice to add a slight limp so the disguise will look natural without drawing attention.

Richards’s new identity is John Griffen Springer, a forty-three-year-old widowed text-tape salesman from Harding. The papers give him no technico status, which Richards considers safer because technicos have their own specialized language.

Richards reenters the city streets at 12:30 A.M., a dangerous hour but one he understands from having lived south of the Canal all his life. He crosses the Canal far to the west near the lake, avoids police, and passes only winos and rats before reaching the north-side warehouse district.

By 1:30 A.M., Richards reaches an area busy enough with uptowners moving between dives that he can hail a cab without standing out. The cab driver does not recognize him, and Richards asks for the jetport.

At the airport, Richards limps past police and security guards without attracting notice. He buys a ticket to New York, passes the identity check smoothly, boards the 2:20 speed shuttle, and even dozes during the flight while the onboard cop sleeps. He lands at 3:06 A.M. and, by 3:20, disappears into New York City.