Zoo uncrossed her graceful legs and leaned forward on the mechanical knee. "Why," the blonde woman broke in, "does she sit on a thing like that? It--it's so suggestive of sitting on a man's lap." Zitts smiled indulgently. "Miss Claustinkelwickwellopiandusselkuck," he said, "attended an oldfashioned secretarial school. The reason for their training to sit on a man's lap is lost in antiquity. But I have a feeling there was a good reason for it. In the twentieth century when bandits stalked the cities, when detectives were popping in and out of every second doorway in pursuit of murderers, and wiping off fingerprints in their wake, it is to be presumed that a man and his secretary undertook many things of a confidential nature. As a preliminary to such confidential things, a session of lap-sitting might've been just the thing. Of course we'll never know for certain. But it is an honored custom in the old schools, and, of course, we cannot go against the dignity of the past. "Now, with your permission, I'll have Zoo go ahead." The woman nodded assent and the Venusian girl touched a lever on the side of the desk which Zitts could not reach without stretching. Instantly a round white globe, lighted by a faint yellow glow at its center, rose out of an opening in the desk. The blonde woman, sitting close, drew back with a gasp. "That's me," she said. "Inside the globe." "Of course." Zitts cocked an eyebrow at Zoo who pointed at the vision. "Notice closely," Zitts went on. "Right there at the tip of Zoo's claws. You are standing on the moving carpet in a lower corridor of this building. As I lay beneath this desk I was looking into that globe which was then visible below. It is now reproducing exactly what I saw." * * * * * The woman had somewhat recovered her poise and now leaned close and watched herself glide along the corridor on the moving carpet. "But I still don't see--" she began. "You will when I explain," Zitts informed her. "Look closely at your features. They are beautiful!" "Yes. But--" "It has been known for centuries," Zitts declared, "that every thought has a physical reaction. Sometimes it is only glandular. But it is a short step from observing the reactions to reading the thoughts. The reactions, of course, differ in different people. It would be necessary to catalogue your reactions before I could specifically read your every thought. But certain key reactions are fairly common, such as grief, fear, love, hate. In a glance you can tell whether a person is grieving, fearing, loving, hating. A study of reactions advances this talent remarkably. A little intelligent deduction, judgment, putting of two-and-two together, and it is possible to come fairly close to what anyone is thinking without knowing the catalogued reactions. Am I making myself clear?" "Go on," the woman urged with interest. "But don't read my exact thoughts. I wouldn't want anyone to do that."