“Because we’re from the future.” Ashok spun around again. “They were past people from the disaster times. Send a Neanderthal to rob a casino and he’s not going to get too far. The pretty lights and ringing chimes and short shorts on the cocktail servers are going to get him all dizzy and distracted. But send a bunch of hardcore jaded future folk like us, with the right hardware of the killing kind? We’ll win for sure.”

“Could we even keep the generator for ourselves?” Drake said. “Aren’t there guidelines about the discovery of unknown alien technology under the rules of salvage?”

Ashok made another buzzing noise, this one indicative of derision. “You mean those rules nobody would ever know if we broke, but for some reason we follow them?”

“We’re not pirates, Ashok. What is the legal status, computer?”

That damnably familiar voice said, “The TNA statute says that if unknown Liar technology is discovered within their sphere of influence, it should be promptly surrendered to the authorities. The person or persons who discovered the tech will be paid either a flat rate, as determined by an appraisal AI, or receive a variable percentage of profits if the technology can be successfully reproduced and monetized. The relevant words here are ‘sphere of influence’: this bridge generator was apparently found by Elena in a system far beyond the reach of the Trans-Neptunian Authority, or indeed any polity based in this system, or any of the twenty-nine colony systems. Elena subsequently brought the device to Trans-Neptunian Space, but that doesn’t give the TNA a claim on the technology, at least, not as the statute is written.”

“Which isn’t to say an industrial espionage squad won’t come vent us all into space and steal the generator anyway,” Stephen said. “We’re not talking about finding a slightly more efficient insulating material or a way to hard-boil eggs faster or a more coherent laser cannon. This device is world-altering, and there will be extralegal repercussions if we aren’t careful about how we deploy it.”

“See?” Ashok said. “Nobody follows the rules except us. It’s like wearing handcuffs and a muzzle and a straitjacket, except not in the fun way.”