"He himself admits he is the only human being who could have done so. You know this."
"I know," said the Chairman, "but I wanted to hear you say this, not to your constituency, not to the media, but to me in private. And you have done so."
He turned to Fastolfe. "And what do you say, Dr. Fastolfe? Are you the only man who could have destroyed the robot?"
"Without leaving physical marks? I am, as far as I know. I don't believe that Dr. Amadiro has the skill in robotics to do so and I am constantly amazed that, after having founded his Robotics Institute, he is so eager to proclaim his own incapacity, even - with all his associates at his back - and to do so publicly." He smiled at Amadiro, not entirely without malice.
The Chairman sighed. "No, Dr. Fastolfe. No rhetorical tricks now. Let us dispense with sarcasm and clever thrusts. What is your defense?"
"Why, only that I did no harm to Jander. I do not say anyone did. It was chance - the uncertainty principle at work on the positronic pathways. It can happen every so often. Let Dr. Amadiro merely admit that it was chance, that no one be accused without evidence, and we can then argue the competing proposals about settlement on their own merits."
"No," said Amadiro. "The chance of accidental destruction is too small to be considered, far smaller than the chance that Dr. Fastolfe is responsible - so much smaller that to ignore Dr. Fastolfe's guilt is irresponsible. I will not back down and I will win. Mr. Chairman, you know I will win and it seems to me that the only rational step to be taken is to force Dr. Fastolfe to accept his defeat in the interest of global unity."
Fastolfe said quickly, "And that brings me to the matter of the investigation. I have asked Mr. Baley of Earth to undertake."
And Amadiro said, just as quickly, "A move I opposed when it was first suggested. The Earthman may be a clever investigator, but he is unfamiliar with Aurora and can accomplish nothing here. Nothing, that is, except to strew slander and to hold Aurora up to the Spacer worlds in an undignified and ridiculous light. There have been satirical pieces on the matter in half a dozen important Spacer hyperwave news programs on as many different worlds. Recordings of these have been sent to your office."
"And have been brought to my attention," said the Chairman.
"And there has been murmuring here on Aurora," Amadiro drove on. "It would be to my selfish interest to allow the investigation to continue. It is costing Fastolfe support among the populace and votes among the legislators. The longer it continues, the more certain I am of victory, but it is damaging Aurora and I do not wish to add to my certainty at the cost of harm to my world. I suggest - with respect - that you end the investigation, Mr. Chairman, and persuade Dr. Fastolfe to submit gracefully now to what he will eventually have to accept at much greater cost."
The Chairman said, "I agree that to have permitted Dr. Fastolfe to set up this investigation may have been unwise. I say 'may.' I admit I am tempted to end it. And yet the Earthman" - he gave no indication of knowing that Baley was in the room - "has already been here for some time - "
He paused, as though to give Fastolfe a chance for corroboration, and Fastolfe took it, saying, "This is the third day of his investigation, Mr. Chairman."
"In that case," said the Chairman, "before I end that investigation, it would be fair, I believe, to ask if there have been any significant findings so far."
He paused again, Fastolfe glanced quickly at Baley and made a small motion of his head.
Baley said in a low voice, "I do not wish, Mr. Chairman, to obtrude, unasked, any observations. Am I being asked a question?"
The Chairman frowned. Without looking at Baley, he said, "I am asking Mr. Baley of Earth to tell us whether he has any findings of significance."
Baley took a deep breath. This was it.
76
"Mr. Chairman," he began. "Yesterday afternoon, I was interrogating Dr. Amadiro, who was most cooperative and useful to me. When my staff and I left - "
"Your staff?" asked the Chairman.
"I was accompanied by two robots on all phases of my investigation, Mr. Chairman," said Baley.
"Robots who belong to Dr. Fastolfe?" asked Amadiro. "I ask this for the record."
"For the record, they do," said Baley. "One is Daneel Olivaw, a humaniform robot, and the other is Giskard Reventlov, an older nonhumaniform robot."
"Thank you," said the Chairman. "Continue."
"When we left the Institute grounds, we found that the airfoil we used had been tampered with."
"Tampered with?" asked the Chairman, startled. "By whom?"
"We don't know, but it happened on Institute grounds. We were there by invitation, so it was known by the Institute personnel that we would be there. Moreover, no one else would be likely to be there without the invitation and knowledge of the Institute staff. If it were at all thinkable, it would be necessary to conclude that the tampering could only have been done by someone on the Institute staff and that would, in any case, be impossible - except at the direction of Dr. Amadiro himself, which would also be unthinkable."
Amadiro said, "You seem to think a great deal about the unthinkable. Has the airfoil been examined by a qualified technician to see if it has indeed been tampered with? Might there not have been a natural failing?" asked Amadiro.
"No, sir," said Baley, "but Giskard, who is qualified to drive an airfoil and who has frequently driven that particular one, maintains that it was tampered with."