"I'm grateful to you fer seein' me, P'fessor, honest I am," she began, seating herself immediately, and crossing her--um--quite shapely legs ... er, limbs, that is. "Well, Miss--uh--LaTour, wasn't it?" "Yeah. Helen LaTour. You heard of me 'way up here on Venusian Heights?" "The--ah--name has a familiar ring. But I must remind you, I have restricted my practice to native Venusians." "Yeah, sure, Doc. Still, I figured you, bein' an Earth man, and me a Earth woman, well--patriotism...." Her eyes were indeed lovely, gazing at me so appealingly, and I must confess she aroused my--um--sense of Earthy--that is, Earthy--um--patriotism. "Uh--just what can I do for you, Miss LaTour?" "I dunno yet, doc. I'm happy in my work. I got a swell boy friend, name of Luigi, maybe you heard of him? No? Well, I got no reason to be unhappy, and yet--" "Just a moment, please. What is your work?" "Doc, I been known in the strip tease game as the Queen of the Solid Shake." "You are--er--a night club dancer?" "Night clubs? Nah, I never leave the boards, Doc. I got my own circuit, my agent takes good care of my bookings, and my wardrobe is the envy of ingenues from Mercury to Pluto." "You--act?" "Yeah. Plenty of action, Doc." "Just what type of--er--roles do you play?" "I'm a tease artist, Doc. I take it off. Strip." Every word this remarkable young lady uttered was punctuated by the most fluid and expressive movements of her--um--agile--um--body, but I must confess I was becoming more and more--er--confused. "Want a demonstration?" By now, I had begun to gather what she meant, and hastily asserted that such a procedure would be unnecessary. "Well, Doc, I'm solid sender, see? Hep with the jet.... Right out of this world." "Yes?" "That's just the trouble. I _been_ right out of this world." "You have dreams?" "I dunno. Lemme explain. I'm opening next week after a layoff on Earth, see? Them Earthmen are gettin' sorta tame, but we figure these Venusians will appreciate what I got to offer when they come in after a long, muggy day at them cold uranium mines, see?" I commented that I had made some notations about the working conditions of the native Venusians comparing them, especially atmospherically, to the phenomenon of what is known on Earth as ACM--ancient, California smog. "Yeah, sure, sure, Doc. Well, they got the whole show at the Little Venus Theater built around my number. I got my whole new wardrobe, with the special anti-gravity zippers, some classy plastic bubbles, and a special arrangement cooked up by Ziggy, the trumpeter from Mercury. They're billing me tops, and I figured out a routine that's a sure sensation. I been practicing it all during my vacation. "I even been holding off Luigi so I could practice," Miss LaTour said. "Luigi--that's your boy friend's name?" "Yeah," she laughed, and added, "I been practicin' by myself so much he thinks I been cheatin' on him." She winked her lovely eye at me.