"We will, of course, allow that," said the Chairman. "And if you'll be guided by me, Dr. Fastolfe, you'll get this Earthman off our world as fast as possible. He has won your viewpoint for you, but it will not be a very popular one if Aurorans have too long a time to brood over it as an Earthly victory over Aurorans."
"You are quite right, Mr. Chairman, and Mr. Baley will be gone quickly - with my thanks and, I trust, with yours as well."
"Well," said the Chairman, not with the best of grace, "since his ingenuity has saved us from a bruising political battle, he has my thanks. - Thank you, Mr. Baley."
Chapter 19. AGAIN BALEY
80
Baley watched them leave from a distance. Though Amadiro and the Chairman had come together, they now left separately.
Fastolfe came back from seeing them off, making no attempt to hide his intense relief.
"Come, Mr. Baley," he said, "you will have lunch with me and then, as soon after that as possible, you will leave for Earth again."
His robotic staff was clearly in action with that in mind.
Baley nodded and said sardonically, "The Chairman managed to thank me, but it seemed to stick in his throat."
Fastolfe said, "You have no idea how you have been honored. The Chairman rarely thanks anyone, but then no one ever thanks the Chairman. It is always left to history to praise Chairmen and this one has served for over forty years. He has grown cranky and ill-tempered, as Chairmen always do in their final decades.
"However, Mr. Baley, once again I thank you and, through me, Aurora will thank you. You will live to see Earthmen move outward into space, even in your short lifetime, and we will help you with our technology.
"How you have managed to untie this knot of ours, Mr. Baley, in two and a half days - less - I can't imagine. You are a wonder. - But, come, you will want to wash and freshen up. I know I do."
For the first time since the Chairman arrived, Baley had time to think of something besides his next sentence.
He still didn't know what it was that had come to him three times, first on the point of sleep, then on the point of unconsciousness, and finally in postcoital relaxation.
"He was there first!"
It was still meaningless, yet he had made his point to the Chairman and carried all before him without it. Could it have any meaning at all, then, if it was a part of a mechanism that didn't fit and didn't seem needed? Was it nonsense?
It chafed at the corner of his mind and he came to lunch a victor without the proper sensation of victory. Somehow, he felt as though he had missed the point.
For one thing, would the Chairman stick to his resolve? Amadiro had lost the battle, but he didn't seem the kind of person who would give up altogether under any circumstances. Give him credit and assume he meant what he said, that he was driven not by personal vainglory but by his concept of Auroran patriotism. If that were so, he could not give up.
Baley felt it necessary to warn Fastolfe.
"Dr. Fastolfe," he said, "I don't think it's over. Dr. Amadiro will continue the fight to exclude Earth."
Fastolfe nodded as the dishes were served. "I know he will. I expect him to. However, I have no fear as long as the matter of Jander's immobilization is set to rest. With that aside, I'm sure I can always outmaneuver him in the Legislature. Fear not, Mr. Baley, Earth will move along. Nor need you fear personal danger from a vengeful Amadiro. You will be off this planet and on your way back to Earth before sunset - and Daneel will escort you, of course. What's more, the report we'll send with you will ensure, once more, a healthy promotion for you."
"I am eager to go," said Baley, "but I hope I will have time to say my good-byes. I would like to - to see Gladia once more. I would like to say good-bye to Giskard, who may have saved my life last night."
"No question of that, Mr. Baley. But please eat, won't you?"
Baley went through the motions of eating, but didn't enjoy it. Like the confrontation with the Chairman and the victory that ensued, the food was oddly flavorless.
He should not have won. The Chairman should have cut him off.
Amadiro, if necessary, should have made a flat denial. It would have been accepted over the word - or the reasoning - of an Earthman.
But Fastolfe was jubilant. He said, "I had feared the worst, Mr. Baley. I feared the meeting with the Chairman was premature and that nothing you could say would help the situation. Yet you managed it so well. I was lost in admiration, listening to you. At any moment, I expected Amadiro to demand that his word be taken against an Earthman who, after all, was in a constant state of semimadness at finding himself on a strange planet in the open - "
Baley said frigidly, "With all respect, Dr. Fastolfe, I was not in a constant state of semimadness. Last night was exceptional, but it was the only time - I lost control. For the rest of my stay on Aurora, I may have been uncomfortable from time to time, but I was always in my perfect mind." Some of the anger he had suppressed at considerable cost to himself in the confrontation - with the Chairman was expressing itself now. "Only during the storm, sir - except, of course" - recollecting - "for a moment or two on the approaching spaceship - "
He was not conscious of the manner in which the thought the memory, the interpretation - came to him or at what speed. One moment it did not exist, the next moment it was full-blown in his mind, as though it had been there all the time and needed only the bursting of a soap-bubble veil to show it.
"Jehoshaphat!" he said in an awed whisper. Then, with his fist coming down on the table and rattling the dishes, 'Jehoshaphat!"