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 Daneel, "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."