* * * * * “It is fascinating,” Lisa said slowly. “They’ve done a lot of work on it the last three or four years, you know.” Chris shook his head. “I didn’t know. Anything really new?” “This fellow--what’s his name?--Potter,” she went on, as Chris held the book jacket up to the light. “He has a theory that all the different kinds of psi powers that have been proved to exist so far--” She offered the bait consciously, deliberately. “--all boil down to some form of PK....” “_Proved_ to exist?” Johnny asked coldly, taking the bait. “All right, _demonstrated_?” “Not to _me_.” He took the hook too. “Well, they’ve run enough experiments to show at least--all right, to _indicate_--” It wasn’t hard to do. Easier than if he’d had a chance to sit there reacting to the mention of the trip. Why in _hell_ hadn’t she remembered beforehand that Dr. Christensen was the one who’d been in charge of the whole trip? “Moon Lab” just meant some vague kind of research to her. But of course-- If she _had_ connected, what good would it have done? It was too late to stop him from coming. “--to _indicate_ that there are people who are--well, _sensitive_--” What was the book doing out there anyhow? She’d left it in the bedroom. “--and others who can control--All right, who _seem_ to be able to control--” She saw his smile loosen up a little bit, and found she could breathe again without thinking about it. “--to control the motion of inanimate objects--” _Damn!_ She’d done it herself. She’d left it--No she hadn’t. She’d left it in the _kitchen_. Johnny must have picked it up during the day.... Then he’d been reading it himself? “--‘non-physical’ isn’t the right word,” she said, still floundering half-deliberately. “That would put the whole thing right back on a mystical plane.” “Which is a fine place for it.” Johnny stood up. “Your glass is empty, Chris. Lee? You ready?” She shook her head. He went out to the kitchen with the two empty glasses. “You worked yourself into a hole,” Chris said, laughing, not knowing what had happened, or what had almost happened--maybe--either. “Back up about ten sentences, will you?” he asked. “You started to say something about Potter’s theory?” “Well, I haven’t finished the book,” she said. “Actually, I just got started on it last night. I wouldn’t want to try to explain it.” Her smile looked less nervous than it felt, she hoped. “Do you get down often?” she asked, stalling until she could come up with something better. If they could get onto something _safe_ before he came back.... “Not often enough, I’m beginning to think.” She liked the way he smiled: he _meant_ it. And he meant what he said. All the time. “You said something before about ‘PK,’ and I’ve been trying to remember--” _Oh, no-o-o-o!_ “--I told you, it’s been years since I followed the literature on this. PK is teleportation, isn’t it? Stuff like that?”