"That is so, Partner Elijah."
"Yet the fact is, you would say what you have said, even though it were a lie - provided Dr. Fastolfe had instructed you, with sufficient intensity, to tell that, lie when necessary and to refuse to admit that you had been so instructed."
There was a pause and then Daneel said, "That is so, Partner Elijah."
"It is a complicated mess, Daneel - but you still believe that Dr. Fastolfe did not murder Jander Panell?"
"My experience with him is that he is truthful, Partner Elijah, and that he would not do harm to friend Jander."
"And yet Dr. Fastolfe has himself described a powerful motive for his having committed the deed, while Dr. Vasilia has described a completely different motive, one that is just as powerful and is even more, disgraceful than the first." Baley brooded a bit. "If the public were made aware of either motive, belief in Dr. Fastolfe's guilt would be universal."
Baley turned suddenly to Giskard. "How about you, Giskard? You have known Dr. Fastolfe longer than Daneel has. Do you agree that Dr. Fastolfe could not have committed - the deed and could not have destroyed Jander, on the basis of your understanding of Dr. Fastolfe's character?"
"I do, sir."
Baley regarded the robot uncertainly. He was less advanced than Daneel. How far could he be trusted as a corroborating witness? Might he not be impelled to follow Daneel in whatever direction Daneel chose to take?
He said, "You knew Dr. Vasilia, too, did you not?"
"I knew her very well," said Giskard.
"And liked her, I gather?"
"She was in my charge for - many years and the - task did not in any way trouble me."
"Even though she fiddled with your programming?"
"She was very skillful."
"Would she lie about her father - about Dr. Fastolfe, that is?"
Giskard hesitated. "No, sir. She would not."
"Then you are saying that what she says is the truth."
"Not quite, sir. What I am saying is that she herself believes she is telling the truth."
"But why should she believe such evil things about her father to be true if, in actual fact, he is as kind a person as Daneel has just told me he was?"
Giskard said slowly, "She has been embittered by various events in her youth, events for which she considers Dr. Fastolfe to have been responsible and for which he may indeed have been unwittingly responsible - to an extent. It seems to me it was not his intention that the events in question should have the consequences they did. However, human beings are not governed by the straightforward laws of robotics. It is therefore diffIcult to judge the complexities of their motivations under most conditions."
"True enough," muttered Baley.
Giskard said, "Do you think the task of demonstrating Dr. Fastolfe's innocence to be hopeless?"
Baley's eyebrows moved toward each other in a frown. "It may be. As it happens, I see no way out - and if Dr. Vasilia talks, as she has threatened to do - "
"But you ordered her not to talk. You explained that it would be dangerous to herself if she did."
Baley shook his head. "I was bluffing. I didn't know what else to say."
"Do you intend to give up, then?"
And Baley said forcefully, "No! If it were merely Fastolfe, I might. After all, what physical harm would come to him? Roboticide is not even a crime, apparently, merely a civil offense. At worst, he will lose political influence and, perhaps, find himself unable to continue with his scientific labors for a time. I would be sorry to see that happen, but if there's nothing more I can do, then there's nothing more I can do.
"And if it were just myself, I might give up, too. Failure would damage my reputation, but who can build a brick house without bricks? I would go back to Earth a bit tarnished, I would lead a miserable and unclassified life, but that is the chance that faces every Earthman and woman. Better men than I have had to face that as unjustly."
Having ended in what was almost a whisper, he suddenly looked up and said in a peevish tone, "Why are we sitting here parked, Giskard? Are you running the motor for your own amusement?"
"With respect, sir," said Giskard, "you have not told me where to take you."
"True! I beg your pardon, Giskard. First, take me to the nearest of the Community Personals that Dr. Vasilia made mention of. You two may be immune to such things, but I have a bladder that needs emptying. After that, find someplace nearby where I can get something to eat. I have a stomach that needs filling. And after that - "
"Yes, Partner Elijah?" asked Daneel.
"To tell you the truth, Daneel, I don't know. However, after I tend to these purely physical needs, I will think of something."
And how Baley wished he could believe that.
45
The airfoil did not skim the ground for long. It came to a halt, swaying a bit, and Baley felt the usual odd tightening of his stomach. That small unsteadiness told him he was in a vehicle and it drove away the temporary feeling of being safe within walls and between robots. Through the glass ahead and on either side (and backward, if he craned his neck) was the whiteness of sky and the greenness of foliage, all amounting to Outside - that is, to nothing. He swallowed uneasily.
They had stopped at a small structure.
Baley said, "Is this the Community Personal?"
Daneel said, "It is the nearest of a number on the Institute grounds, Partner Elijah."
"You found it quickly. Are these structures also included in the map that has been pumped into your memory?"