PART V.

EARTH

15. THE HOLY WORLD

72

Amadiro bit his lower lip and his eyes flicked in the direction of Mandamus, who seemed lost in thought.

Amadiro said defensively, "She insisted on it. She told me that only she could handle this Giskard, that only she could exert a sufficiently strong influence over him and prevent him from using these mental powers of his."

"You never said anything of this to me, Dr. Amadiro."

"I wasn't sure what there was to tell, young man. I wasn't sure she was correct."

"Are you sure now?"

"Completely. She remembers nothing of what went on - "

"So that we know nothing of what went on."

Amadiro nodded. "Exactly. And she remembers nothing of what she had told me earlier."

"And she's not acting?"

"I saw to it that she had an emergency electroencephalogram. There have been distinct changes from the earlier records."

"Is there a chance she will recover her memory with time?"

Amadiro shook his head bitterly. "Who can tell? But I doubt it."

Mandamus' eyes still downcast and full of thought, said, "Does it matter, then? We can take her account of Giskard as true and we know that he has the power to affect minds. That knowledge is crucial and it is now ours. - In fact, it is well that our roboticist colleague has failed. If Vasilia had gained control of that robot, how long do you suppose it would have been before you, too, would have been under her control - and I, as well, - assuming she would think I was worth controlling?"

Amadiro nodded. "I suppose she might have had something like that in mind. Right now, though, it's hard to tell what she has in mind. She seems, superficially at least, undamaged except for the specific loss of memory - she apparently remembers everything else - but who knows how this will affect her deeper thought processes and her skill as a roboticist? That Giskard could do this to someone as skilled as she makes him an incredibly dangerous phenomenon.

"Does it occur to you, Dr. Amadiro, that the Settlers may be right in their distrust of robots?"

"It almost does, Mandamus."

Mandamus rubbed his hands together. "I assume from your depressed attitude that this whole business was not uncovered before they had time to leave Aurora."

"You assume correctly. That Settler captain has the Solarian woman and both of her robots on his ship and is heading toward Earth."

"And where does that leave us now?"

Slowly Amadiro said, "By no means defeated, it seems to me. If we complete our project, we have won - Giskard or no Giskard. And we can complete it. Whatever Giskard can do with and to emotions, he can't read thoughts. He might be able to tell when a wash of emotion crosses a human mind, or even distinguish one emotion from another, or change one to another, or induce sleep or amnesia - dull edged things like that. He cannot be sharp, however, cannot make out actual words or ideas."

"Are you sure of that?"

"So said Vasilia."

"She may not have known what she was talking about. She did not, after all, manage to control the robot, as she said she was sure of doing. That's not much of a testimonial to her accuracy of understanding."

"Yet I believe her in this. To actually be able to read thoughts would demand so much complexity in the positronic pathway pattern that it is totally unlikely that a child could have inserted it into the robot over twenty decades ago. It is actually far beyond even the present-day state of the art, Mandamus. Surely you must agree."

"I would certainly think it was. And they're going to Earth?"

"I'm sure of it."

"Would this woman, brought up as she was, actually go to Earth?"

"She has no choice if Giskard controls her."

"And why should Giskard want her to go to Earth? Can he know about our project? You seem to think he doesn't."

"It is possible he doesn't. His motivation for going to Earth might be nothing more than to place himself and the Solarian woman beyond our reach."

"I shouldn't think he'd fear us if he could handle Vasilia."

"A long-range weapon," said Amadiro icily, "could bring him down. His own abilities must have a limited range. They can be based on nothing other than the electromagnetic field and he must be subject to the inverse square law. So we get out of range as the intensity of his powers weaken, but he will then find that he is not out of range of our weapons."

Mandamus frowned and looked uneasy. "You seem to have an un-Spacer liking for violence, Dr. Amadiro. In a cast like this, though, I suppose force would be permissible.

"A case like this? A robot capable of harming human beings? I should think so. We'll have to find a pretext for sending a good ship in pursuit. It wouldn't be wise to explain the actual situation - "

"No," said Mandamus emphatically. "Think of how many would wish to have personal control of such a robot."

"Which we can't allow. And which is another reason why I would look upon destruction of the robot as the safer and preferable course of action."

"You may be right," said Mandamus reluctantly, "but I don't think it wise to count on this destruction only. I must go to Earth - now. The project must be hastened to its conclusion, even if we don't dot every 'I' and cross every 'T.'" Once it is done, then it is done. Even a mind-handling robot - under anybody's control - will not be able to undo the deed. And if it does anything else, that, perhaps, will no longer matter."

Amadiro said, "Don't speak in the singular. I will go as well."

"You? Earth is a horrible world. I must go, but why you?"

"Because I must go, too. I cannot stay here any longer and wonder. You have not waited for this through a long lifetime as I have, Mandamus. You do not have the accounts to settle that I have."

73

Gladia was in space again and once again Aurora could be made out as a globe. D.G. was busy elsewhere and the entire ship had about it a vague but pervasive air of emergency, as though it were on a battle footing, as though it were being pursued or expected pursuit.

Gladia shook her head. She could think clearly; she felt well; but when her mind turned back to that time in the Institute, shortly after Amadiro had left her, a curiously pervasive unreality swept over her. There was a gap in time. One moment she had been sitting on the couch, feeling sleepy; the next there were four robots and a woman in the room who had not been there before.

She had fallen asleep, then, but there was no awareness, no memory, that she had done so. There was a gap of nonexistence.

Thinking back, she had recognized the woman after the fact. It was Vasilia Aliena - the daughter whom Gladia had replaced in the affections of Han Fastolfe. Gladia had never actually seen Vasilia, though she had viewed her on hyperwave several times. Gladia always thought of her as a distant and inimical other self. There was the vague similarity in appearance that others always commented on but that Gladia herself insisted she did not see - and there was the odd, antithetical connection with Fastolfe.

Once they were on the ship and she was alone with her robots, she asked the inevitable question. "What was Vasilia Aliena doing in the room and why was I permitted to sleep once she had arrived?"

Daneel said, "Madam Gladia, I will answer the question, since it is a matter friend Giskard would find difficult to discuss."

"Why should he find it difficult, Daneel?"

"Madam Vasilia arrived in the hope that she might persuade Giskard to enter her service."

"Away from me?" said Gladia in sharp indignation. She did not entirely like Giskard, but that made no difference. What was hers was hers. "And you allowed me to sleep while you two handled the matter by yourselves?"

"We felt, madam, that you needed your sleep badly. Then, too, Madam Vasilia ordered us to allow you to sleep. Finally, it was our opinion that Giskard would not, in any case, join her service. For all these reasons, we did not wake you."

Gladia said indignantly, "I should hope that Giskard would not for a moment consider leaving me. It would be illegal both by Auroran law and, more important, by the Three Laws of Robotics. It would be a good deed to return to Aurora and have her arraigned before the Court of Claims."

"That would not be advisable at the moment, my lady."

"What was her excuse for wanting Giskard? Did she have one?"

"When she was a child, Giskard had been assigned to her.

"Legally?"

"No, madam. Dr. Fastolfe merely allowed her the use of it.

"Then she had no right to Giskard."

"We pointed that out, madam. Apparently, it was a matter of sentimental attachment on the part of Madam Vasilia."

Gladia sniffed. "Having survived the loss of Giskard since before I came to Aurora, she might well have continued as she was without going to illegal lengths to deprive me of my property," - Then, restlessly, "I should have been awakened."

Daneel said, "Madam Vasilia had four robots with her. Had you been awake and had there been harsh words between the two of you, there might have been some difficulty in having the robots work out the proper responses."

"I'd have directed the proper response, I assure you, Daneel."

"No doubt, madam. So might Madam Vasilia and she is one of the cleverest roboticists in the Galaxy."

Gladia shifted her attention to Giskard. "And you have nothing to say?"

"Only that it was better as it was, my lady."

Gladia looked thoughtfully into those faintly luminous robotic eyes, so different from Daneel's all-but-human ones, and it did seem to her that the incident wasn't very important after all. A small thing. And there were other things with which to be concerned. They were going to Earth.

Somehow she did not think of Vasilia again.

74

"I am concerned," said Giskard in his whisper of confidentiality in which sound waves barely trembled the air. The Settler ship was receding smoothly from Aurora and, as yet, there was no pursuit. The activity onboard had settled into routine and, with almost all routines automated, there was quiet and Gladia slept naturally.

"I'm concerned for Lady Gladia, friend Daneel."

Daneel understood the characteristics of Giskard's positronic circuits well enough to need no long explanation. He said, "It was necessary, friend Giskard, to adjust Lady Gladia. Had she questioned longer, she might have elicited the fact of your mental activities and adjustment would then have been more dangerous. Enough harm has already been done because Lady Vasilia discovered the fact. We do not know to whom - and to how many - she may have imparted her knowledge."

"Nevertheless," said Giskard, "I did not wish to make this adjustment. Had Lady Gladia wished to forget, it would have been a simple, no-risk adjustment. She wanted, however, with vigor and anger, to know more of the matter. She regretted not having played a greater role in it. I was forced, therefore, to break binding forces of considerable intensity."

Daneel said, "Even that was necessary, friend Giskard."

"Yet the possibility of doing harm was by no means insignificant in such a case. If you think of a binding force as a thin, elastic cord - this is a poor analogy, but I can think of no other, for what I sense in a mind has no analog outside the mind - then the ordinary inhibitions I deal with are so thin and insubstantial that they vanish when I touch them. A strong binding force, on the other hand, snaps and recoils when broken and the recoil may then break other, totally unrelated binding forces or, by whipping and coiling about other such forces, strengthen them, enormously. In either case, unintended changes can be brought about in a human being's emotions and attitudes and that would be almost certain to bring about harm."

Daneel said, his voice a little louder, "Is it your impression you harmed Lady Gladia, friend Giskard?"

"I think not. I was extremely careful. I worked upon the matter during all the time you were talking to her. It was thoughtful of you to bear the brunt of the conversation and to run the risk of being caught between an inconvenient truth and an untruth. But despite all my care, friend Daneel, I took a risk and I am concerned that I was willing to take that risk. It came so close to violating the First Law that it required an extraordinary effort on my part to do it. I am sure that I would not have been able to do it - "

"Yes, friend Giskard?"

"Had you not expounded your notion of the Zeroth Law."

"You accept it, then?"

"No, I cannot. Can you? Faced with the possibility of doing harm to an individual human being or of allowing harm to come to one, could you do the harm or allow the harm in the name of abstract humanity? Think!"

"I am not sure," said Daneel, voice trembling into all but silence. Then, with an effort, "I might. The mere concept pushes at me - and at you. It helped you decide to take the risk in adjusting Lady Gladia's mind."

"Yes, it did," agreed Giskard, "and the longer we think of the Zeroth Law, the more it might help push us. Could it do so, I wonder, in more than a marginal way, however? Might it not only help us take slightly larger risks than we might ordinarily?"

"Yet I am convinced of the validity of the Zeroth Law, friend Giskard."

"So might I be if we could define what we mean by 'humanity.'"

There was a pause and Daneel said, "Did you not accept the Zeroth Law, at last, when you stopped Madam Vasilia's robots and erased from her mind the knowledge of your mental powers?"

Giskard said, "No, friend Daneel. Not really. I was tempted to accept it, but not really."

"And yet your actions - "

"Were dictated by a combination of motives. You told me of your concept of the Zeroth Law and it seemed to have a certain validity about it, but not sufficient to cancel the First Law or even to cancel Madam Vasilia's strong use of the Second Law in the orders she gave. Then, when you called my attention to the application of the Zeroth Law to psychohistory, I could feel the positronomotive force mount higher and yet it was not quite high enough to supersede the First Law or even the strong Second Law."

"Still," murmured Daneel, "you struck down Madam Vasilia, friend Giskard."

"When she ordered the robots to dismantle you, friend Daneel, and showed a clear emotion of pleasure at the prospect, your need, added to what the concept of the Zeroth Law had already done, superseded the Second Law and rivaled the First Law. It was the combination of the Zeroth Law, psychohistory, my loyalty to Lady Gladia, and your need that dictated my action."

"My need could scarcely have affected you, friend Giskard. I am only a robot and though my need could affect my own actions by the Third Law, they cannot affect yours. You destroyed the overseer on Solaria without hesitation; you should have watched my destruction without being moved to act."

"Yes, friend Daneel, and ordinarily it might have been so. However, your mention of the Zeroth Law had reduced the First Law intensity to an abnormally low value. The necessity of saving you was sufficient to cancel out what remained of it and I acted as I did."

"No, friend Giskard. The prospect of injury to a robot should not have affected you at all. It should in no way have contributed to the overcoming of the First Law, however weak the First Law may have become."

"It is a strange thing, friend Daneel. I do not know how it came about. Perhaps it was because I have noted that you continue to think more and more like a human being, but - "

"Yes, friend Giskard?"

"At the moment when the robots advanced toward you and Lady Vasilia expressed her savage pleasure, my positronic pathway pattern re-formed in an anomalous fashion. For a moment, I thought of you as a human being and I reacted accordingly."

"That was wrong."

"I know that. And yet - and yet, if it were to happen again, I believe the same anomalous change would take place again."

Daneel said, "It is strange, but hearing you put it so, I find myself feeling you did the proper thing. If the situation were reversed, I almost think that I, too, would - would do the same - that I would think of you as a - a human being."

Daneel, hesitantly and slowly, put out his hand and Giskard looked at it uncertainly. Then, very slowly, he put out his own hand. The fingertips almost touched and then, little by little, each took the other's hand and clasped it almost as though they were the friends they called each other.

75

Gladia looked about with veiled curiosity. She was in D.G.'s cabin for the first time. It was not noticeably more luxurious than the new cabin that had been designed for her. D.G.'s cabin had a more elaborate viewing panel, to be sure, and it had a complex console of lights and contacts which, she imagined, served to keep D.G. in touch with the rest of the ship even here.

She said, "I've seen little of you since leaving Aurora, D.G."

"I'm flattered that you are aware of that," answered D.G., grinning. "And to tell you the truth, Gladia, I have been aware of it as well. With an all-male crew, you do rather stand out."

"That's not a very flattering reason for missing me. With an all-human crew, I imagine Daneel and Giskard stand out, too. Have you missed them as much as you have missed me?"

D.G. looked about. "Actually, I miss them so little it is only now that I am aware that they aren't with you. Where are they?"

"In my cabin. It seemed silly to drag them about with me inside the confines of the small world of this ship. They seemed willing to allow me to be on my own, which surprised me. No," she corrected herself, "come to think of it, I had to order them rather sharply to stay behind before they would do so."

"Isn't that rather strange? Aurorans are never without their robots, I've been given to understand."

"What of that? Once, long ago, when I first came to Aurora, I had to learn to suffer the actual presence of human beings, something my Solarian upbringing did not prepare me for. Learning to be without my robots, occasionally, when I am among Settlers will probably be a less difficult adjustment for me than that first one was."

"Good. Very good. I must admit that I much prefer being with your without the glowing eyes of Giskard fixed on me - and better yet, without Daneel's little smile."

"He doesn't smile."

"To me, he seems to, a very insinuatingly lecherous tiny smile."

"You're mad. That's totally foreign to Daneel."

"You don't watch him the way I do. His presence is very inhibiting. It forces me to behave myself."

"Well, I should hope so."

"You needn't hope so quite that emphatically. But never mind. - Let me apologize for seeing so little of you since leaving Aurora."

"That's scarcely necessary - "

"Since you brought it up, I thought it was. However, let me explain, then. We've been on battle footing. We were certain, having left as we did, that Auroran vessels would be in pursuit."

"I should think they'd be glad to be rid of a group of Settlers."

"Of course, but you're not a Settler and it might be you they would want. They were anxious enough to get you back from Baleyworld."

"They got me back. I reported to them and that was it."

"They wanted nothing more than your report?"

"No," Gladia paused and, for a moment, frowned as though something was nibbling vaguely at her memory. Whatever it was, it passed and she said indifferently, "No."

D.G. shrugged. "It doesn't entirely make sense, but they made no attempt to stop us while you and I were on Aurora nor, after that, when we boarded the ship and it prepared to leave orbit. I won't quarrel with that. It won't be long now before we make the Jump - and after that there should be nothing to worry about."

Gladia said, "Why do you have an all-male crew, by the way? Auroran ships always have mixed crews."

"So do Settler ships. Ordinary ones. This is a Trader vessel."

"What difference does that make?"

"Trading involves danger. It's rather a rough-and-ready life. Women on board would create problems."

"What nonsense! What problems do I create?"

"We won't argue that. Besides it's traditional. The men wouldn't stand for it."

"How do you know?" Gladia laughed. "Have you ever tried it?"

"No. But, on the other hand, there are no long lines of women clamoring for a berth on my ship."

"I'm here. I'm enjoying it."

"You're getting special treatment - and but for your service on Solaria, there might well have been much trouble. In fact, there was trouble. Still, never mind." He touched one of the contacts on the console and a countdown briefly appeared. "We'll be jumping in just about two minutes. You've never been on Earth, have you, Gladia?"

"No, of course not."

"Or seen the sun, not just a sun."

"No - although I have seen it in historical dramas on hypervision, but I imagine what the show in the dramas is not really the sun.

"I'm sure it isn't. If you don't mind, we'll dim the cabin lights."

The lights dimmed to nearly nothing and Gladia was aware of the star field on the viewing panel, with the stars brighter and more thickly spread than in Aurora's sky.

"Is that a telescopic view?" she asked in a hushed voice.

"Slightly. Low-power - Fifteen seconds." He counted backward. There was a shift in the star field and a bright star was now nearly centered. D.G. touched another contact and said, "We're well outside the planetary plane. Good! A little risky. We should have been farther from the Auroran star before Jumping, but we were in a slight hurry. That's the sun."

"That bright star, you mean?"

"Yes. - What do you think of it?"

Gladia said, a little puzzled over what sort of response he expected, "It's bright."

He pushed another contact and the view dimmed perceptibly. "Yes - and it won't do your eyes any good if you stare at it. But it's not the brightness that counts. It's just a star in appearance - but think of it. That was the original sun. That was the star whose light shone down on a planet that was the only planet on which human beings existed. It shone down on a planet on which human beings were slowly evolving. It shone down on a planet on which life formed billions of years ago, life that would develop into human beings. There are 300 billion stars in the Galaxy and 100 billion galaxies in the Universe and there is only one of all those stars that presided over the human birth and that is the star."

Gladia was about to say: "Well, some star had to be the star," but she thought better of it. "Very impressive," she said rather weakly.

"It's not merely impressive," said D.G., his eyes shadowed in the dimness, "There's not a Settler in the Galaxy who doesn't consider that star his own. The radiation of the stars that shine down on our various home planets is borrowed radiation - rented radiation that we make use of. There - right there - is the real radiation that gave us life. It is that star and the planet that circles it - Earth - that holds us all together in a tight bond. If we shared nothing else, we would share that light on the screen and it would be enough. - You Spacers have forgotten it and that is why you fall apart from each other and that is why you will not, in the long run, survive."

"There is room for us all, Captain," said Gladia softly.

"Yes, of course. I wouldn't do anything to force non survival on Spacers. I just believe that that is what will happen and it might not happen if Spacers would give up their irritating certainty of superiority, their robots, and their self-absorption in long life."

"Is that how you see me, D.G.?" asked Gladia.

D.G. said, "You've had your moments. You've improved, though. I'll give you that."

"Thank you," she replied with evident irony. "And though you may find it hard to believe, Settlers have their prideful arrogance, too. But you've also improved and I'll give you that."

D.G. laughed. "With all that I'm kindly giving you and you're kindly giving me, this is liable to end as a lifelong enmity."

"Scarcely," said Gladia, laughing in her turn, and was a little surprised to find that his hand was resting on hers. - And a great deal surprised to find that she had not removed her hand.

76

Daneel said, "I am uneasy, friend Giskard, that Madam Gladia is not under our direct observation."

"That is not needful on board this ship, friend Daneel. I detect no dangerous emotions and the captain is with her at the moment. - In addition, there would be advantages to her finding it comfortable to be without us, at least on occasion, while we are all on Earth. It is possible that you and I might have to take sudden action without wishing to have her presence and safety a complicating factor."

"Then you manipulated her separation from us now?"

"Scarcely. Oddly enough, I found a strong tendency in her to imitate the Settler way of life in this respect. She has a subdued longing for independence, hampered chiefly by the feeling that she is violating Spacerhood in this. That is the best way in which I can describe it. The sensations and emotions are by no means easy to interpret, for I have never encountered it among Spacers before. So I merely loosened the Spacerhood inhibition by the merest touch."

"Will she then no longer be willing to avail herself of our services, friend Giskard? That would disturb me."

"It should not. If she should decide she wishes a life free of robots and will be happier so, it is what we will want for her, too. As it is, though, I am sure we will still be useful to her. This ship is a small and specialized habitat in which there is no great danger. She had a further feeling of security in the captain's presence and that reduces her need for us. On Earth, she will still need us, though I trust not in quite so tight a fashion as on Aurora. As I have said, we may need greater flexibility of action once on Earth."

"Can you yet guess, then, the nature of the crisis facing Earth? Do you know what it is we will have to do?"

Giskard said, "No, friend Daneel. I do not. It is you that have the gift of understanding. Is there something, perhaps, that you see?"

Daneel remained silent for a while. Then he said, "I have had thoughts."

"What, then, are your thoughts?"

"You told me at the Robotics Institute, you remember, just before Lady Vasilia entered the room in which Madam Gladia lay sleeping, that Dr. Amadiro had had two intense flashes of anxiety. The first came at the mention of the nuclear intensifier, the second at the statement that Madam Gladia was going to Earth. It seems to me that the two must be connected. I feel that the crisis we are dealing with involves the use of a nuclear intensifier on Earth, that there is time to stop it, and that Dr. Amadiro fears that we will do just that if we go to Earth."

"Your mind tells me you are not satisfied with that thought. Why not, friend Daneel?"

"A nuclear intensifier hastens the fusion processes that happen to be already in progress, by means of a stream of W particles. I asked myself, therefore, whether Dr. Amadiro plans to use one or more nuclear intensifiers to explode the microfusion reactors that supply Earth with energy. The nuclear explosions so induced would involve destruction through heat and mechanical force, through dust and radioactive products that would be thrown into the atmosphere. Even if this did not suffice to damage Earth mortally, the destruction of Earth's energy supply would surely lead to the long-term collapse of Earth's civilization."

Giskard said somberly, "That is a horrifying thought and would seem to be an almost certain answer to the nature of the crisis we seek. Why are you not satisfied, then?"

"I have taken the liberty of using the ship's computer to obtain information concerning the planet Earth. The computer is, as one might expect on a Settler ship, rich in such information. It seems that Earth is the one human world that does not use microfusion reactors as a large-scale source of energy. It uses direct solar energy almost entirely, with solar power stations all among the gestational orbit. There is nothing for a nuclear intensifier to do, except to destroy small devices - spaceships, occasional buildings. The damage might not be negligible, but it would not threaten Earth's existence."

"It may well be, friend Daneel, that Amadiro has some device that would destroy the solar power generators."

"If so, why did he react to the mention of nuclear intensifiers? There is no way they can serve against solar power generators."

Giskard nodded slowly. "That is a good point. And, to make another, if Dr. Amadiro was so horrified at the thought of our going to Earth, why did he make no effort to have us stopped while we were still on Aurora? Or if he only discovered our flight after we had left orbit, why did he not have an Auroran vessel intercept us before we made the Jump to Earth? Can it be that we are on a completely wrong track, that somewhere we have made a serious misstep that - "

An insistent chain of intermittent chiming sounded throughout the ship and Daneel said, "We have safely made the Jump, friend Giskard. I sensed it some minutes ago. But we have not yet reached Earth and the interception you have just mentioned has, I suspect, now come, so that we are not necessarily on the wrong track."

77

D.G. was moved to a perverse admiration. When the Aurorans were really moved to action, their technological polish showed. No doubt they had sent one of their newest warships, from which one could at once deduce that whatever had moved them, was close to their heart.

And that ship had detected the presence of D.G.'s vessel within fifteen minutes of its appearance in normal space and from a sizable distance, at that.

The Auroran ship was using a limited-focus hyperwave setup. The speaker's head could be seen clearly while it was at the focal spot. All else was a gray haze. If the Spacer moved his head a decimeter or so from the focal spot, that went into haze as well. Sound focus was limited as well. The net result was that one saw and heard only the fundamental minimum of the enemy ship (D.G. already thought of it as the "enemy" ship), so their privacy was guarded.

D.G.'s ship also possessed a limited-focus hyperwave, but, D.G. thought enviously, it lacked the polish and elegance of the Auroran version. Of course, his own ship was not the best the Settlers could do, but even so, the Spacers were well ahead technologically. The Settlers still had catching up to do.

The Auroran head in focus was clear and so real in appearance that it looked gruesomely disembodied, so that D.G. would not have been surprised if it had dripped blood. On second glance, however, it could be made out that the neck faded into grayness just after the neckpiece of an undoubtedly well-tailored uniform began to show.

The head identified itself, with punctilious courtesy, as Commander Lisiform of the Auroran ship Borealis. D.G. identified himself in his turn, thrusting his chin forward so as to make certain that his beard lent him an air of fierceness that could not help but be daunting to a beardless and (he thought) weak-chinned Spacer.

D.G. assumed the traditional air of informality that was as irritating to a Spacer officer, as the latter's traditional arrogance was to a Settler. He said, "What is your reason for hailing me, Commander Lisiform?"

The Auroran commander had an exaggerated accent which, it was possible, he thought as formidable as D.G. considered his beard to be. D.G. felt himself to be under considerable strain as he tried to penetrate the accent and understand him.

"We believe," said Lisiform, "that you have on your ship an Auroran citizen named Gladia Solaria. Is that correct, Captain Baley?"

"Madam Gladia is on board this ship, Commander."

"Thank you, Captain. With her, so my information leads me to suppose, are two robots of Auroran manufacture, R. Daneel Olivaw and R. Giskard Reventlov. Is that correct?"

"That is correct."

"In that case, I must inform you that R. Giskard Reventlov is, at present, a dangerous device. Shortly before your ship left Auroran space with him, the said robot, Giskard, badly hurt an Auroran citizen in defiance of the Three Laws. The robot must, therefore, be dismantled and repaired."

"Are you suggesting, Commander, that we on this ship dismantle the robot?"

"No, sir, that would not do. Your people, lacking experience with robots, could not dismantle it properly and could not possibly repair it if they did."

"We might, then, simply destroy it."

"It is too valuable for that. Captain Baley, the robot is Aurora's product and Aurora's responsibility. We do not wish to be the cause of damage to the people on your ship and on the planet Earth if you land there. Consequently, we ask that it be delivered to us."

D.G. said, "Commander, I appreciate your concern. However, the robot is the legal property of Lady Gladia, who is with us. It may be that she would not consent to be parted from her robot and, while I don't want to teach you Auroran law, I believe that it would be illegal by that law to force such a parting. While my crew and I do not consider ourselves bound by Auroran law, we would not willingly be a party to helping you perform what your own government might consider to be an illegal act."

There was a suggestion of impatience in the commander's voice. "There is no question of illegality, Captain. A life endangering malfunction in a robot supersedes the ordinary rights of an owner. Nevertheless, if there is any question of that, my ship stands ready to accept Lady Gladia and her robot Daneel, along with Giskard, the robot in question. There will then be no separation of Gladia Solaria and her robotic property until she is brought back to Aurora. The law can then take its proper course."

"It is possible, Commander, that Lady Gladia may not wish to leave my ship or to allow her property to do so."

"She has no recourse, Captain. I am legally empowered by my government to demand her - and as an Auroran citizen, she must obey."

"But I am not legally bound to deliver up anything on my ship at the demand of a foreign power. What if I choose to disregard your request?"

"In that case, Captain, I would have no choice but to consider it an unfriendly act. May I point out that we are within the sphere of the planetary system of which Earth is part. You had no hesitation in teaching me Auroran law. You will forgive me, then, if I point out that your people do not consider it proper to engage in hostilities within the space of this planetary system."

"I am aware of that, Commander, and I wish no hostilities, nor do I intend an unfriendly act. However, I am bound for Earth under some urgency I lose time in this conversation and I would lose further time if I moved toward you - or waited for you to move toward me - so that we could carry through a physical transfer of Lady Gladia and her robots. I would prefer to continue onward toward Earth and formally accept all responsibility for the robot Giskard and his behavior until such a time as Lady Gladia and her robots return to Aurora."

"May I make the suggestion, Captain, that you place the woman and two robots in a lifeboat and detach a member of your crew to pilot it to us? Once the woman and the two robots are delivered, we will ourselves escort the lifeboat to the immediate environs of Earth and we will compensate you adequately for your time and trouble. A Trader should not object to that."

"I don't, Commander, I don't," said D.G., smiling. "Still, the crewman detailed to pilot the lifeboat might be in great peril since he would be alone with this dangerous robot."

"Captain, if the robot's owner is firm in her control, your crewman will be in no greater danger on the lifeboat than he would be on your ship. We will compensate him for the risk."

"But if the robot can, after all, be controlled by its owner, surely it is not so dangerous that it can't be left with us."

The Commander frowned. "Captain, I trust you are not trying to play games with me. You have my request and I would like to have it honored at once."

"I presume I may consult with Lady Gladia."

"If you do so immediately. Please explain to her exactly what is involved. If, meanwhile, you try to proceed toward Earth, I shall consider that an unfriendly act and take the appropriate action. Since, as you claim, your trip toward Earth is urgent, I advise you to proceed forthwith to consult with Gladia Solaria and come to the immediate decision to cooperate with us. You will then not be too long delayed."

"I will do what I can," said D.G., wooden-faced, as he moved out of focus.

78

"Well?" said D.G. gravely.

Gladia looked distressed. Automatically, she looked toward Daneel and Giskard, but they remained silent and motionless.

She said, "I don't want to return to Aurora, D.G. They can't possibly want to destroy Giskard; he is in perfect working order, I assure you. That's only a subterfuge. They want me for some reason. I suppose there's no way they can be stopped, though, is there?"

D.G. said, "That's an Auroran warship - and a big one. This is only a Trading vessel. We've got energy shields and they can't just destroy us at a blow, but they can wear us down eventually - quite soon, in fact - and then destroy us."

"Is there any way you can strike at them?"

"With my weapons? I'm sorry, Gladia, but their shields can take anything I can throw at them for as long as I can possibly have energy to expend. Besides - "

"Yes?"

"Well, they've just about cornered me. Somehow I thought they would try to intercept me before I Jumped, but they knew my destination and they got here first and waited for me. We're inside the Solar System - the planetary system of which Earth is part. We can't fight here. Even if I wanted to, the crew wouldn't obey me."

"Why not?"

"Call it superstition. The Solar System is holy space to us - if you want to describe it in melodramatic terms. We can't desecrate it by fighting."

Giskard said suddenly, "May I contribute to the discussion, sir?"

D.G. frowned and looked toward Gladia.

Gladia said, "Please. Let him. These robots are highly intelligent. I know you find that hard to believe, but - "

"I'll listen. I don't have to be influenced."

Giskard said, "Sir, I am certain that it is me that they want. I cannot allow myself to be the cause of harm to human beings. If you cannot defend yourself and are sure of destruction in a conflict with the other vessel, you have no choice but to give me up. I am sure that if you offer to let them have me, they will not seriously object if you wish to retain Lady Gladia and friend Daneel. It is the only solution."

"No," said Gladia forcefully. "You are mine and I won't give you up. I'll go with you - if the captain decides you must go - and I'll see to it they don't destroy you."

"May I speak as well?" said Daneel.

D.G. spread his hands in mock-despair. "Please. Everyone speak."

Daneel said, "If you decide you must give up Giskard, you must understand the consequences. I believe that Giskard thinks that if he is given up, those on the Auroran ship would do him no harm and that they will even release him. I do not believe this to be so. I believe the Aurorans are serious in thinking him to be dangerous and they may well have instructions to destroy the lifeboat as it approaches, killing whoever is on board."

"For what reason would they do that?" asked D.G.

"No Auroran has ever encountered - or even conceived - of what they call a dangerous robot. They would take no chances of taking one on board one of their vessels. - I would suggest, Captain, that you retreat. Why not jump again, away from Earth? We are not close enough to any planetary mass to prevent that."

"Retreat? You mean run away? I can't do that."

"Well, then, you have to give us up," said Gladia with an air of resigned hopelessness.

D.G. said forcefully, "I'm not giving you up - And I'm not running away. And I can't fight."

"Then what's left?" asked Gladia.

"A fourth alternative," said D.G. "Gladia, I must ask you to remain here with your robots till I return."

79

D.G. considered the data. There had been enough time during the conversation for the location of the Auroran vessel to be pinpointed. It was a bit farther from the sun than his own ship was and that was good. To Jump toward the sun, at this distance from it, would have been risky indeed; to Jump sideways would be, so to speak, a piece of cake in comparison. There was the chance of accident through probability deviation, but there was always that.

He had himself assured the crew that not a shot would be fired (which would do no good, in any case). Clearly, they had utter faith in Earth space protecting them as long as they didn't profane its peace by offering violence. It was pure mysticism that D.G. would have scornfully derided had he not shared the conviction himself.

He moved back into focus. It had been a fairly long wait, but there had been no signal from the other side. They had shown exemplary patience.

"Captain Baley here," he said. "I wish to speak to Commander Lisiform."

There was not much of a wait. "Commander Lisiform here. May I have your answer?"

D.G. said, "We will deliver the woman and the two robots."

"Good! A wise decision."

"And we will deliver them as quickly as we can."

"Again a wise decision."

"Thank you." D.G. gave the signal and his ship Jumped.

There was no time, no need, to hold one's breath. It was over as soon as it was begun - or, at least, the time lapse was insensible.

The word came from the pilot. "New enemy ship position fixed, Captain."

"Good," said D.G. "You know what to do."

The ship had come out of the Jump at high speed relative to the Auroran vessel and the course correction (not a great deal, it was to, be hoped) was being made. Then further acceleration.

D.G. moved back into focus, "We are close, Commander, and on our way to deliver. You may fire if you choose, but our shields are up and before you can batter them down we will have reached you in order to make the delivery."

"Are you sending a lifeboat?" The commander moved out of focus.

D.G. waited and the commander was back, his face contorted. "What is this? Your ship is on a collision course."

"It seems to be, yes," said D.G. "That is the fastest way of making delivery."

"You will destroy your ship."

"And yours, too. Your ship is at least fifty times as expensive as mine, probably more. A poor exchange for Aurora."

"But you are engaging in combat in Earth space, Captain. Your customs do not allow that."

"Ah, you know our customs and you take advantage of them. - But I am not in combat. I have not fired an erg of energy and I won't. I am merely following a trajectory. That trajectory happens to intersect your position, but since I am sure you will move before that intersection movement arrives, it is clear that I intend no violence."

"Stop. Let's talk about this."

"I'm tired of talking, Commander. Shall we all say a fond farewell? If you don't move, I will be giving up perhaps four decades with the third and fourth not so good, anyway. How many will you be giving up?" And D.G. moved out of focus and stayed out.

A beam of radiation shot out from the Auroran ship tentative, as though to test whether the other's shields were truly up. They were.

Ship's shields would hold against electromagnetic radiation and subatomic particles, including even neutrinos, and could withstand the kinetic energy of small masses - dust particles, even meteoric gravel. The shields could not withstand larger kinetic energies, such as that of an entire ship hurtling at it with supermeteoric speed.

Even dangerous masses, if not guided - a meteoroid, for instance - could be handled. A vessel's computers would automatically veer the ship out of the way of any oncoming meteoroid that was too large for the shield to handle. That, however, would not work against a ship that could veer as its target veered. And if the Settler ship was the smaller of the two, it was also the more maneuverable.

There was only one way that the Auroran ship could avoid destruction -

D.G. watched the other ship visibly enlarging in his viewing panel and wondered if Gladia, in her cabin, knew what was going on. She must be aware of the acceleration, despite the hydraulic suspension of her cabin ~ and the compensatory action of the pseudo-gravity field.

And then the other ship simply winked out of view, having jumped away, and D.G., with considerable chagrin, realized he was holding his breath and that his heart was racing. Had he had no confidence in the protecting influence of Earth or in his own sure diagnosis of the situation?

D.G. spoke into the transmitter in a voice that, with iron resolution, he forced into coolness. "Well done, men! Correct course and head for Earth."

P/S: Copyright -->www_novelfreereadonline_Com

***