Asimov’s Future History Volume 4

by Isaac Asimov

  “Not at all, Partner Elijah. We’re passing through its center. The limits are seven kilometers away and our destination is nearly forty kilometers beyond that.”

  “The center of the city? I see no structures.”

  “They are not meant to be seen from the road, but there’s one you can make out between the trees. That is the establishment of Fuad Labord, a well-known writer.”

  “Do you know all the establishments by sight?”

  “They are in my memory banks,” said Daneel solemnly.

  “There’s no traffic on the road. Why is that?”

  “Long distances are covered by air-cars or magnetic subcars. Trimensional connections–”

  “They call it viewing on Solaria,” said Baley.

  “And here, too, in informal conversation, but TVC more formally. That takes care of much communication. Finally, Aurorans are fond of walking and it is not unusual to walk several kilometers for social visiting or even for business meetings where time is not of the essence.”

  “And we have to get somewhere that’s too far to walk, too close for air-cars, and trimensional viewing is not wanted–so we use a ground-car.”

  “An airfoil, more specifically, Partner Elijah, but that qualifies as a ground-car, I suppose.”

  “How long will it take to reach Vasilia’s establishment?”

  “Not long, Partner Elijah. She is at the Robotics Institute, as perhaps you know.”

  There were some moments of silence and then Baley said, “It looks cloudy near the horizon there.”

  Giskard negotiated a curve at high speed, the airfoil tipping through an angle of some thirty degrees. Baley choked back a moan and clung to Daneel, who flung his left arm about Baley’s shoulders and held him in a strong viselike grip, one hand on each shoulder. Slowly, Baley let out his breath as the airfoil righted itself.

  Daneel said, “Yes, those clouds will bring precipitation later in the day, as predicted.”

  Baley frowned. He had been caught in the rain once–once–during his experimental work in the field Outside on Earth. It was like standing under a cold shower with his clothes on. There had been sheer panic for a moment when he realized that there was no way in which he could reach for any controls that would turn it off. The water would come down forever!–Then everyone was running and he ran with them, making for the dryness and controllability of the City.

  But this was Aurora and he had no idea what one did when it began to rain and there was no City to escape into. Run into the nearest establishment? Would refugees automatically be welcome?

  Then there was another brief turn and Giskard said, “Sir, we are in the parking lot of the Robotics Institute. We can now enter and visit the establishment that Dr. Vasilia maintains on the Institute grounds.”

  Baley nodded. The trip had taken something between fifteen and twenty minutes (as nearly as he could judge, Earth time) and he was glad it was over. He said, rather breathlessly, “I want to know something about Dr. Fastolfe’s daughter before I meet her. You did not know her, did you, Daneel?”

  Daneel said, “At the time I came into existence, Dr. Fastolfe and his daughter had been separated for a considerable time. I have never met her.”

  “But as for you, Giskard, you and she knew each other well. Is that not so?”

  “It is so, sir,” said Giskard impassively.

  “And were fond of each other?”

  “I believe, sir,” said Giskard, “that it gave Dr. Fastolfe’s daughter pleasure to be with me.”

  “Did it give you pleasure to be with her?”

  Giskard seemed to pick his words. “It gives me a sensation that I think is what human beings mean by ‘pleasure’ to be with any human being.”

  “But more so with Vasilia, I think. Am I right?”

  “Her pleasure at being with me, sir,” said Giskard, “did seem to stimulate those positronic potentials that produce actions in me that are equivalent to those that pleasure produces in human beings. Or so I was once told by Dr. Fastolfe.”

  Baley said suddenly, “Why did Vasilia leave her father?”

  Giskard said nothing.

  Baley said, with the sudden peremptoriness of an Earthman addressing a robot, “I asked you a question, boy.”

  Giskard turned his head and stared at Baley, who, for a moment, thought the glow in the robot’s eyes might be brightening into a blaze of resentment at the demeaning word.

  However, Giskard spoke mildly and there was no readable expression in his eyes when he said, “I would like to answer, sir, but in all matters concerning that separation, Miss Vasilia ordered me at that time to say nothing.”

  “But I’m ordering you to answer me and I can order you very firmly indeed–if I wish to.”

  Giskard said, “I am sorry. Miss Vasilia, even at that time, was skilled in robotics and the orders she gave me were sufficiently powerful to remain, despite anything you are likely to say, sir.”

  Baley said, “She must have been skilled in robotics, since Dr. Fastolfe told me she reprogrammed you on occasion.”

  “It was not dangerous to do so, sir. Dr. Fastolfe himself could always correct any errors.”

  “Did he have to?”

  “He did not, sir.”

  “What was the nature of the reprogramming?”

  “Minor matters, sir.”

  “Perhaps, but humor me. Just what was it she did?”

  Giskard hesitated and Baley knew what that meant at once. The robot said, “I fear that any questions concerning the reprogramming cannot be answered by me.”

  “You were forbidden?”

  “No, sir, but the reprogramming automatically wipes out what went before. If I am changed in any particular, it would seem to me that I have always been as changed and I would have no memory of what I was before I was changed.”

  “Then how do you know the reprogramming was minor?”

  “Since Dr. Fastolfe never saw any need of correcting what Miss Vasilia did–or so he once told me–I can only suppose the changes were minor. You might ask Miss Vasilia, sir.”

  “I will,” said Baley.

  “I fear, however, that she will not answer, sir.”

  Baley’s heart sank. So far he had questioned only Dr. Fastolfe, Gladia, and the two robots, all of whom had overriding reasons to cooperate. Now, for the first time, he would be facing an unfriendly subject.

  37.

  BALEY STEPPED OUT of the airfoil, which was resting on a grassy plot, and felt a certain pleasure in feeling solidity beneath his feet. He looked around in surprise, for the structures were rather thickly spread, and to his right was a particularly large one, built plainly, rather like a huge right-angled block of metal and glass.

  “Is that the Robotics Institute?” he asked.

  Daneel said, “This entire complex is the Institute, Partner Elijah. You are seeing only a portion and it is more thickly built up than is common on Aurora because it is a self-contained political entity. It contains home establishments, laboratories, libraries, communal gymnasia, and so on. The large structure is the administrative center.”

  “This is so un-Auroran, with all these buildings in view–at least judging from what I saw of Eos–that I should think there would be considerable disapproval.”

  “I believe there was, Partner Elijah, but the head of the Institute is friendly with the Chairman, who has much influence, and there was a special dispensation, I understand, because of research necessities.” Daneel looked about thoughtfully. “It is indeed more compact than I had supposed.”

  “Than you had supposed? Have you never been here before, Daneel?”

  “No, Partner Elijah.”

  “How about you, Giskard?”

  “No, sir,” said Giskard.

  Baley said, “You found your way here without trouble–and you seem to know the place.”

  “We have been suitably informed, Partner Elijah,” said Dan-eel, “since it was necessary that we come with you.”

  Baley
nodded thoughtfully, then said, “Why didn’t Dr. Fastolfe come with us?” and decided, once again, that it made no sense to try to catch a robot off-guard. Ask a question rapidly–or unexpectedly–and they simply waited until the question was absorbed and then answered. They were never caught off-guard.

  Daneel said, “As Dr. Fastolfe said, he is not a member of the Institute and feels it would be improper to visit uninvited.”

  “But why is he not a member?”

  “The reason for that I have never been told, Partner Elijah.”

  Baley’s eyes turned to Giskard, who said at once, “Nor I, sir.”

  Did not know? Were told not to know?–Baley shrugged. It did not matter which. Human beings could lie and robots be instructed.

  Of course, human beings could be browbeaten or maneuvered out of a lie–if the questioner were skillful enough or brutal enough–and robots could be maneuvered out of instruction–if the questioner were skillful enough or unscrupulous enough–but the skills were different and Baley had none at all with respect to robots.

  He said, “Where would we be likely to find Dr. Vasilia Fastolfe?”

  Daneel said, “This is her establishment immediately before us.

  “You have been instructed, then, as to its location?”

  “That has been imprinted in our memory banks, Partner Elijah.”

  “Well, then, lead the way.”

  The orange sun was well up in the sky now and it was clearly nearing midday. As they approached Vasilia’s establishment, they stepped into the shadow of the factory and Baley twitched a little as he felt the temperature drop immediately.

  His lips tightened at the thought of occupying and settling worlds without Cities, where the temperature was uncontrolled and subject to unpredictable, idiotic changes.–And, he noted uneasily, the line of clouds at the horizon had advanced somewhat. It could also rain whenever it wished, with water cascading down.

  Earth! He longed for the Cities.

  Giskard had walked into the establishment first and Daneel held out his arm to prevent Baley from following.

  Of course! Giskard was reconnoitering.

  So was Daneel, for that matter. His eyes traversed the landscape with an intentness no human being could have duplicated. Baley was certain that those robotic eyes missed nothing. (He wondered why robots were not equipped with four eyes equally distributed about the perimeter of the head–or an optic strip totally circumnavigating it. Daneel could not be expected to, of course, since he had to be human in appearance, but why not Giskard? Or did that introduce complications of vision that the positronic pathways could not handle? For a moment, Baley had a faint vision of the complexities that burdened the life of a roboticist.)

  Giskard reappeared in the doorway and nodded. Daneel’s arm exerted a respectful pressure and Baley moved forward. The door stood ajar.

  There was no lock on Vasilia’s establishment, but there had also been none (Baley suddenly remembered) on those of Gladia and of Dr. Fastolfe. A sparse population and separation helped insure privacy and, no doubt, the custom of noninterference helped, too. And, come to think of it, the ubiquitous robot guards were more efficient than any lock could be.

  The pressure of Daneel’s hand on Baley’s upper arm brought the latter to a halt. Giskard, ahead of them, was speaking in a low voice to two robots, who were themselves rather Giskardlike.

  A sudden coldness struck the pit of Baley’s stomach. What if some rapid maneuver substituted another robot for Giskard? Would he be able to recognize the substitution? Tell two such robots apart? Would he be left with a robot without special instructions to guard him, one who might innocently lead him into danger and then react with insufficient quickness when protection was necessary?

  Controlling his voice, he said calmly to Daneel, “Remarkable the similarity in those robots, Daneel. Can you tell them apart?”

  “Certainly, Partner Elijah. Their clothing designs are different and their code numbers are different, as well.”

  “They don’t look different to me.”

  “You are not accustomed to notice that sort of detail.”

  Baley stared again. “What code numbers?”

  “They are easily visible, Partner Elijah, when you know where to look and when your eyes are sensitive farther into the infrared than human eyes are.”

  “Well, then, I would be in trouble if I had to do the identifying, wouldn’t I?”

  “Not at all, Partner Elijah. You had but to ask a robot for its full name and serial number. It would tell you.”

  “Even if instructed to give me a false one?”

  “Why should any robot be so instructed?”

  Baley decided not to explain.

  Giskard was, in any case, returning. He said to Baley, “Sir, you will be received. Come this way, please.”

  The two robots of the establishment led. Behind them came Baley and Daneel, the latter retaining his grip protectively.

  Following in the rear was Giskard.

  The two robots stopped before a double door which opened, apparently automatically, in both directions. The room within was suffused with a dim, grayish light–daylight diffusing through thick drapery.

  Baley could make out, not very clearly, a small human figure in the room, half-seated on a tall stool, with one elbow resting on a table that ran the length of the wall.

  Baley and Daneel entered, Giskard coming up behind them. The door closed, leaving the room dimmer than ever.

  A female voice said sharply, “Come no closer! Stay where you are!”

  And the room burst into full daylight.

  38.

  BALEY BLINKED AND looked upward. The ceiling was glassed and, through it, the sun could be seen. The sun seemed oddly dim, however, and could be looked at, even though that did not seem to affect the quality of the light within. Presumably, the glass (or whatever the transparent substance was) diffused the light without absorbing it.

  He looked down at the woman, who still maintained her pose at the stool, and said, “Dr. Vasilia Fastolfe?”

  “Dr. Vasilia Aliena, if you want a full name. I do not borrow the names of others. You may call me Dr. Vasilia. It is the name by which I am commonly known at the Institute.” Her voice, which had been rather harsh, softened, “And how are you, my old friend Giskard?”

  Giskard said, in tones oddly removed from his usual one, “I greet you–” He paused and then said, “I greet you, Little Miss.”

  Vasilia smiled. “And this, I suppose, is the humaniform robot of whom I have heard–Daneel Olivaw?”

  “Yes, Dr. Vasilia,” said Daneel briskly.

  “And finally, we have–the Earthman.”

  “Elijah Baley, Doctor,” said Baley stiffly.

  “Yes, I’m aware that Earthmen have names and that Elijah Baley is yours,” she said coolly. “You don’t look one blasted thing like the actor who played you in the hyperwave show.”

  “I am aware of that, Doctor.”

  “The one who played Daneel was rather a good likeness, however, but I suppose we are not here to discuss the show.”

  “We are not.”

  “I gather we are here, Earthman, to talk about whatever it is you want to say about Santirix Gremionis and get it over with. Bight?”

  “Not entirely,” said Baley. “That is not the primary reason for my coming, though I imagine we will get to it.”

  “Indeed? Are you under the impression that we are here to engage in a long and complicated discussion on whatever topic you choose to deal with?”

  “I think, Dr. Vasilia, you would be well-advised to allow me to manage this interview as I wish.”

  “Is that a threat?”

  “No.”

  “Well, I have never met an Earthman and it might be interesting to see how closely you resemble the actor who played your role–that is, in ways other than appearance. Are you really the masterful person you seemed to be in the show?”

  “The show,” said Baley with clear distaste,
“was overdramatic and exaggerated my personality in every direction. I would rather you accept me as I am and judge me entirely from how I appear to you right now.”

  Vasilia laughed. “At least you don’t seem overawed by me. That’s a point in your favor. Or do you think this Gremionis thing you’ve got in mind puts you in a position to order me about?”

  “I am not here to do anything but uncover the truth in the matter of the dead humaniform robot, Jander Panell.”

  “Dead? Was he ever alive, then?”

  “I use one syllable in preference to phrases such as ‘rendered inoperative.’ Does saying ‘dead’ confuse you?”

  Vasilia said, “You fence well.–Debrett, bring the Earthman a chair. He will grow weary standing if this is to be a long conversation. Then get into your niche. And you may choose one, too, Daneel.–Giskard, come stand by me.”

  Baley sat down. “Thank you, Debrett.–Dr. Vasilia, I have no authority to question you; I have no legal means of forcing you to answer my questions. However, the death of Jander Panell has put your father in a position of some–”

  “It has put whom in a position?”

  “Your father.”

  “Earthman, I sometimes refer to a certain individual as my father, but no one else does. Please use a proper name.”

  “Dr. Han Fastolfe. He is your father, isn’t he? As a matter of record?”

  Vasilia said, “You are using a biological term. I share genes with him in a manner characteristic of what on Earth would be considered a father-daughter relationship. This is a matter of indifference on Aurora, except in medical and genetic matters. I can conceive of my suffering from certain metabolic states in which it would be appropriate to consider the physiology and biochemistry of those with whom I share genes–parents, siblings, children, and so on. Otherwise these relationships are not generally referred to in polite Auroran society.–I explain this to you because you are an Earthman.”

  “If I have offended against custom,” said Baley, “it is through ignorance and I apologize. May I refer to the gentleman under discussion by name?”

  “Certainly.”

  “In that case, the death of Jander Panell has put Dr. Han Fastolfe into a position of some difficulty and I would assume that you would be concerned enough to desire to help him.”