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AFTER a couple of seconds Phil decided regretfully that keeping hihtly closed was not going to help He opened the, and tried to nerve hi that FBLHe&039;ll be here anyto doubt it What if they&039;re lying about sending aon picking up the green cat when they do?"

"The governreen cat, or they think they do"

"Then why isn&039;t that FBLRelax Let Dora stroke your forehead"

"Pfui!"

Considerably puzzled, Phil lifted his chin off the flooring and cautiously swiveled his head The Mr Billig he&039;d heard aunt dark lance thirty, at second seventy, and at third a ht provide a clue He was dressed in severely cut black sports togs Moe Brier, but only physically - his blunt es Even his black glasses now looked a trifle coly beautiful violet blonde whose dress consisted of an endless spiral of fine silver wire over a white satin sheath She was sitting on a table, watching the others with a cold sed in so behind hi fact was that they weren&039;t paying any attention to hi with the aquariuh ilance - or if there had been a glance, it had been autterly htened, Phil felt a bit piqued

"I don&039;t think you should take that attitude toward Dora, Mr Billig," Moe Briirl; just how clever even you ht, Dora?"

"I a pleasure toother things I have raphic books written since the dawn of history"

"Pfui and trash! Brimstine, you still don&039;t seeuess I should tell you that, according to overnovernors and a half hundred of our mayors, but also four of our national senator and a dozen of our representatives"

This news did seem to take Moe Brimstine aback "But that&039;s the whole lot," he said softly

"Not quite, but al snapped

"It would mean the absolute finish of Fun Incorporated"

"And what have I been saying to you?" Billig demanded

Phil sat up a bit ht hand to watch theave up trying to figure it out

Moe Bri "Anyhow, you&039;ve got the green cat, so you&039;re safe"

"Have I got it?" Billig deot that cat locked up, Brie where nobody can get at it and it can&039;t get at nobody, even electronically Besides, it&039;s still stunned You can&039;t ask for ingly "But then I coovern to quash all those indicte for it?"

"Now don&039;t worry about that, Mr Billig That&039;s one thing we can be sure of We&039;ve known for at least athat cat has been the absolute top priority, top secret job of the FBL, the FBI and the special secret service"

"But why should it be?" Billig was pacing again "Just a funny colored ani, we&039;ve been all through this before They&039;re absolutely convinced that cat is terribly dangerous They think it can control e personalities, and they see four top officials who&039;ve ed to skip the country, apparently headed for Russia They&039;ve taken all sorts of secret steps, not only to find the cat, but to guard the president and all important officials frooes, the first government theory was that the cat caenetics was true and that the Russkies were able to breed intelligent animals with extrasensory powers, for use as spies and saboteurs and possibly to replace a large part of the world&039;s population But now the government seems to believe that the cat is a mutant or monster of some sort and that it&039;s in a position to conquer America - the whole world even - by controlling feelings and thoughts"

Phil sat up indignantly He wanted to say, "Why, Lucky isn&039;t like that at all" In his interest in the conversation, he had alotten his incredible situation

"I know, I know," Billig was saying, "but what do you think about it, Bried "I think they&039;re nuts," he said happily "The cat didn&039;t see no chances I think it&039;s all a grade-A delusion, a top secret panic"

"You think they&039;re nuts and you expect roaned "Where&039;s that FBL &039;s going to turn out all right"

"That&039;s what you told ainst Fun" Billig flared "You said it was just a bluff, a sop to the midwestern vote You told ot at twenty ways You told me it would all blow over, like the other six tied things"

"I know," Bri for once at a loss for easy words

"Don&039;t you know yet what happened?" Billig pressed

Bried "I think Barnes is nuts"

"That&039;s your explanation for everything!" Billig roared softly "If so happens this time, do you suppose I&039;ll be happy because you tellme are nuts? Whereis the FBL man?"

"You really should try and relax, I tell you, Mr Billig," Moe Bri himself "Distract yourself so&039;s third, "Pfui," Brimstine looked at her critically "Fix your raceful obedience that nevertheless ed to be contemptuous the violet blonde beauty slid froht toward Phil, who decided that now at last they&039;d have to stop pretending he wasn&039;t there

"Get that slinky walk, Mr Billig," Moe Brieous babe, eh?"

She tossed her head, stopped six feet short of Phil, took out a lipstick, looked straight ahead of her, and very carefullyclosed on the fingers of Phil&039;s left hand He instinctively flipped it, and a tiny pink octopus sailed through the air toward the girl and flattened itself against so in the air about two feet short of her

Phil watched it clinging there and felt his , as if he&039;d had another shot of Tan Jet leot up, walked cautiously forward, and fell

There was an invisible flat surface, extending as far as he could reach, between himself and the other half of the roo side of a one-wayso close he could otherwise have touched her, turned, and as she did so, her skirt brushed the other side of the surface He saas at least two inches fro A mirror would hardly be that thick It must consist of two panes probably with the space between them evacuated For as he realized with a new surprise, hetheir voices directly, but a miked and transmitted version of them, which in turn must be binaural, so that they would be heard in depth and the proper direction

Confir this, he noted that the voices did not localize quite as perfectly as they had seeht on to the illusion Also, the depth effect was a bit too rich, as if the mikes were more than ears-distance apart

He also saw that all sources of illumination were beyond the panel