"Can you prove that?"
"Why should I have to prove it? The date of my son's birth is on record and Amadiro must have the date of my visit to the Earthman."
"He was told it at the time, as I said, but nearly twenty decades have passed and he doesn't remember exactly. The visit is not a matter of record and cannot be referred to. I fear that Dr. Amadiro would prefer to believe that it was nine months before the birth of your son that you were with the Earthman."
"Six months."
"Prove it."
"You have my word."
"Insufficient."
"Well, then - Daneel, you were with me. When did I see Elijah Baley?"
"Madam Gladia, it was one hundred and seventy-three days before the birth of your son."
Gladia said, "Which is just under six months before the birth."
"Insufficient," said Mandamus.
Gladia's chin lifted. "Daneel's memory is perfect, as can be easily demonstrated, and a robot's statements pass for evidence in the courts of Aurora."
"This is not a matter for the courts and will not be and Daneel's memory carries no weight with Dr. Amadiro. Daneel was constructed by Fastolfe and was maintained by Fastolfe for nearly two centuries. We cannot say what modifications were introduced or how Daneel might have been instructed to deal with matters relating to Dr. Amadiro."
"Then reason it out, man. Earthmen are quite different genetically from us. We are virtually different species. We are not interfertile."
"Unproven."
"Well, then, genetic records exist. Darrel's do; Santirix's do. Compare them. If my ex-husband were not his father, the genetic differences would make that unmistakable."
"Genetic records are not for anyone's eyes. You know that."
"Amadiro is not that immersed in ethical considerations. He has the influence to see them illegally. - Or is he afraid of disproving his hypothesis?"
"Whatever the reason, madam, he will not betray an Auroran's right to privacy."
Gladia said, "Well, then, go to outer space and choke on vacuum. If your Amadiro refuses to be convinced, that is no affair of mine. You, at least, ought to be convinced and it is your job to convince Amadiro in his turn. If you cannot and if your career does not move onward as you would like to have it do, please be assured that this is entirely and intensely no concern of mine."
"That does not surprise me. I expect nothing more. And for that matter, I am convinced. I was merely hoping that you would give me some material with which to convince Dr. Amadiro. You haven't."
Gladia shrugged with disdain.
"I will use other methods, then," said Mandamus.
"I'm glad you have them," Gladia said coldly.
Mandamus said in a lower voice, almost as though he was unaware of the presence of anyone else, "So am I. There are powerful methods remaining to me."
"Good. I suggest you try blackmail on Amadiro. He must have much to be blackmailed for."
Mandamus looked up, suddenly frowning. "Don't be a fool."
Gladia said, "You may go, now. I think I have had all of you I wish to endure. Out of my establishment!"
Mandamus lifted his arms. "Wait! I told you at the start that there were two reasons for seeing you - one a personal matter and one a matter of state. I have spent - too long a time on the first, but I must request five minutes to discuss the second."
"I'll give you no more than five minutes."
"There is someone else who wants to see you. An Earthman - or at least a member of one of the Settler worlds, a descendant of Earthpeople."
"Tell him," said Gladia, "that neither Earthpeople nor their Settler descendants are allowed on Aurora and send him away. Why do I have to see him?"
"Unfortunately, madam, in the last two centuries the balance of power has shifted somewhat. These Earthpeople have more worlds than we have - and have always had a far larger population. They have more ships, even though those are not as advanced as ours, and because of their short lives and their fecundity they are apparently far readier to die than we are."
"I don't believe that last."
Mandamus smiled tightly. "Why not? Eight decades mean less than forty do. In any case, we must treat them politely - far more politely than we ever had to in Elijah Baley's day. If it is any comfort to you, it is the policies of Fastolfe that have created this situation."
"For whom do you speak, by the way? It is Amadiro who must now bring himself to be polite to Settlers?"
"No. It is the Council, actually."
"Are you the spokesman for the Council?"
"Not officially, but, I have been asked to inform you of this - unofficially."
"And if I see this Settler, what then? What does he want to see me about?"
"That is what we don't know, madam. We count on you to tell us. You are to see him, find out what he wants, and report to us."
"Who is 'us'?"
"As I said, the Council. The Settler will be here at your establishment this evening."
"You seem to assume that I have no choice but to take on this position as informer."
Mandamus rose to his feet, clearly done with his mission. "You will not be an informer. You owe nothing to this Settler. You are merely reporting to your government, as a loyal Auroran citizen should be willing - even eager to do. You would not want the Council to suppose that your Solarian birth in any way dilutes your Auroran patriotism."
"Sir, I have been an Auroran over four times as long as you've been alive."
"Undoubtedly, but you were born and raised on Solaria. You are that unusual anomaly, a foreign-born Auroran, and it is difficult to forget it. This is especially true since the Settler wishes to see you, rather than anyone else on Aurora, precisely because you are Solarian-born."