 O'Rielly starts to talk about "venus dames" unprompted and acting strangely. Why?
IMAGE OF SPLENDOR By LU KELLA From Venus to Earth, and all the way between, it was a hell of a world for men ... and Apprentice Burnerman O'Rielly particularly. The intercom roared fit to blow O'Rielly back to Venus. "Well, Mr. O'Rielly, you better know before we orbit Earth!" A dozen burners on this ship; why did something crazy have to happen to O'Rielly's? Not enough to cause serious trouble this far out from Earth. Ever since Venus blast-off O'Rielly had been in Four's watch room. By now the Old Woman herself, Captain Millicent Hatwoody, had probably inquired what was in charge of Burner Four. Well, ma'am, O'Rielly searched every cranny where even a three-tailed mouse of Venus could have stowed away. That male character trait, however, did not seem to be the overpowering reason why O'Rielly, instead of laying violent hands upon this one's person, heard himself saying in sympathetic outrage, "A shame you had to go to all that bother to get out here!" Yes, ma'am, O'Rielly was floating on a pink cloud with heavenly music in his head. Except on the Venus layover when he'd been roped into a dice game with a bunch of Venus lads who had a jug to cheer one's parting with one's money. Somehow he doubted that Burner Chief Terrence Callahan's mood, or Captain Millicent Hatwoody's, would be improved by knowledge of she who was in O'Rielly's shower now. "Venus dames," O'Rielly said dreamily, "don't boss anything, do they?" "Well, that's when Earth dames took over like armies of wild cats with knots in their tails. Before the guys who'd brought the Venus dames to Earth could say anything they was taken apart too small to pick up with a blotter. Earth dames wound up by flying the Venus ones back where they come from and serving notice if one ever set foot on Earth again there wouldn't be enough left of Venus to find with an electron microscope. "Venus boys rared up and served notice that if Earth ever got any funny notions, right away there wouldn't be enough Earth left to hide in an atom's eyebrow. "No Venus dames allowed within fifty miles of their port. Any dame caught trying to leave Venus thrown to the tigers for supper. Same for any Earth guy caught around a Venus dame. Wasn't like the real thing, but good enough to flimflam Venus guys." Only tried to clear your mind about Venus dames so you could put your brain on your control mess.
 It's the effect that Venus women have on Earth men. The woman's presence changes his focus.
 He's out of sorts from working on the controls. The heat got to him.  He's had an experience with them in the past, and wants to discuss is with Callahan.  It's the effect that Venus women have on Earth men. The woman's presence changes his focus.  He's embarrassed about the controls malfunction and is trying to change the subject