"Television is, sort of," he said. "Anyway, there is a three-way scan taking in the volume to be reproduced. Each atom in the original has its own characteristic charge and mass: this charge and mass is registered. When the reproducer replaces the real people with the image, the same scan forms real atoms where the real atom was in the original. The follow-up scan wipes the atom clear to make room for the next frame." "How about this building atoms?" puzzled the girl. "Doesn't that make for radioactivity?" "Uh-huh," he said, "but the radioactivity is really energy that we use to operate the machine." The scene on the stage switched to a close-up of Martha and the picture's villain, one Jack Vanders whose leer was known across the continent. The woman on the other side of Tim Woodart stood up and called "Cut it!" in a low contralto. The stage cleared in a twinkle and the lights went up. Martin Hammer leaned across the seats and spoke to the standing woman. "What's wrong, Mrs. Foster?" "That won't do," she said. "Bad shot!" Hammer thought for a moment. "There's nothing wrong with a close-up," he said. "It's done daily." Jenny Foster smiled. "Yes," she agreed, "the screen fills up from top to bottom with the face, and the eyes look softly into the camera lens as the girl murmurs, 'I love you' and it is effective because in the two-dimensional cinema, the trick of looking into the camera lens makes it appear as though the girl were gazing softly into your own eyes--no matter where you are in the theater. But this is solid, Hammer. When the gal looks at you, I can tell that she's looking at you from here." "So?" "So I'm resentful of the guy who has the preferred seat," she said. Martin Hammer smiled. "You can't have all the seats in the theater within a two-foot circle," he said. "But there must be some way to lick it." "You'll remember what I had to say?" she asked. Hammer nodded. "We'll work on it," he said. "Like all other media, solid performances require their own techniques. But until we locate the techniques, people will take to solids for their novelty." They all sat down. Mrs. Foster turned to Tim Woodart and asked him how it was done. "You mean the whole thing?" "No, the job of making enlargements." "Easy," he said. "We just have a repeat-scan that repeats the same atom in between true signals. Same like cramming a whole twelve-story building on a busy street. We cut out certain patterns--sometimes every other signal, sometimes every third, sometimes four out of five are eliminated in the recording. The number cut is a definite statement of the 'times-size' of the reproduction." "Sounds simple when you say it fast," she smiled. "I'll tell you about it later--?" he suggested. "I'd like that." He was too silent for a moment, and Jenny Foster knew it. "Tim," she said, "if you're worrying about the ... the--" "Well," he admitted slowly, "I was. Not that I care, but you--?"