"Can't people tell they aren't me by the way they act?" Archy asked June. "Cheeky, bossy—OBVIOUSLY they aren't me."
"Obviously, huh?" said June. "Let's go, or we'll miss the conference."
President Conklin opened the discussion with general remarks.
"In the first place, the Attorney-General informs me that Mr. House is legally responsible for the behavior of these projections—they are his agents, insofar as they are beings; his possessions, insofar as they are things. If Mr. House cannot rid the country of them, he is liable to extremely grave consequences."
"Hold on," blurted Archy, with a dark glance at Otto. "My master-scrambler was sabotaged. I can't be held responsible for that."
"Do you know who did it? Can you definitely prove it was sabotage?"
Archy reddened. "I can tell you I'll find out."
"Until you do, it's your responsibility. Now today we have two reports. Mr. Otto Kahler—a very capable man, and I understand he is the real inventor of the full-projection process—has discovered how the projections manage to survive although cut off from studio power. Also, he has some comments on their nature. Before we hear from him, there is a report from the Secretary of the Interior."
The Secretary was a bald, tired, paunchy man who reminded people of a banker. Perhaps because he had been a banker. He opened his mouth to begin.
"Tell your mother,