Bliss, who had listened to the account with some visible impatience, said, "Well, Dr. Deniador, radioactivity or not, and however many waves of settlers there might have been, the crucial question is a simple one. Exactly where is Earth? What are its co-ordinates?"
Deniador said, "The answer to that question is: I don't know. But come, it is time for lunch. I can have one brought in, and we can discuss Earth over it for as long as you want."
"You don't know?" said Trevize, the sound of his voice rising in pitch and intensity.
"Actually, as far as I know, no one knows."
"But that is impossible."
"Councilman," said Deniador, with a soft sigh, "if you wish to call the truth impossible, that is your privilege, but it will get you nowhere."
Chapter 7 Leaving Comporellon
26.
LUNCHEON consisted of a heap of soft, crusty balls that came in different shades and that contained a variety of fillings.
Deniador picked up a small object which unfolded into a pair of thin, transparent gloves, and put them on. His guests followed suit.
Bliss said, "What is inside these objects, please?"
Deniador said, "The pink ones are filled with spicy chopped fish, a great Comporellian delicacy. These yellow ones contain a cheese filling that is very mild. The green ones contain a vegetable mixture. Do eat them while they are a quite warm. Later we will have hot almond pie and the usual beverages. I might recommend the hot cider. In a cold climate, we have a tendency to heat our foods, even desserts."
"You do yourself well," said Pelorat.
"Not really," said Deniador. "I'm being hospitable to guests. For myself, I get along on very little. I don't have much body mass to support, as you have probably noticed."
Trevize bit into one of the pink ones and found it very fishy indeed, with all overlay of spices that was pleasant to the taste but which, he thought, along with the fish itself, would remain with him for the rest of the day and, perhaps, into the night.
When he withdrew the object with the bite taken out of it, he found that the crust had closed in over the contents. There was no squirt, no leakage, and, for a moment, he wondered at the purpose of the gloves. These seemed no chance of getting his hands moist and sticky if he didn't use them, so he decided it was a matter of hygiene. The gloves substituted for a washing of the hands if that were inconvenient and custom, probably, now dictated their use even if the hands were washed. (Lizalor hadn't used gloves when he had eaten with her the day before. Perhaps that was because she was a mountain woman.)
He said, "Would it be unmannerly to talk business over lunch?"
"By Comporellian standards, Councilman, it would be, but you are my guests, and we will go by your standards. If you wish to speak seriously, and do not think-or care-that that might diminish your pleasure in the food, please do so, and I will join you."
Trevize said, "Thank you. Minister Lizalor implied-no, she stated quite bluntly-that Skeptics were unpopular on this world. Is that so?"
Deniador's good humor seemed to intensify. "Certainly. How hurt we'd be if we weren't. Comporellon, you see, is a frustrated world. Without any knowledge of the details, there is the general mythic belief, that once, many millennia ago, when the inhabited Galaxy was small, Comporellon was the leading world. We never forget that, and the fact that in known history we have not been leaders irks us, fills us-the population in general, that is-with a feeling of injustice.
"Yet what can we do? The government was forced to be a loyal vassal of the Emperor once, and is a loyal Associate of the Foundation now. And the more we are made aware of our subordinate position, the stronger the belief in the great, mysterious days of the past become.
"What, then, can Comporellon do? They could never defy the Empire in older times and they can't openly defy the Foundation now. They take refuge, therefore, in attacking and hating us, since we don't believe the legends and laugh at the superstitions.
"Nevertheless, we are safe from the grosser effects of persecution. We control the technology, and we fill the faculties of the Universities. Some of us, who are particularly outspoken, have difficulty in teaching classes openly. I have that difficulty, for instance, though I have my students and hold meetings quietly off-campus. Nevertheless, if we were really driven out of public life, the technology would fail and the Universities would lose accreditation with the Galaxy generally. Presumably, such is the folly of human beings, the prospects of intellectual suicide might not stop them from indulging their hatred, but the Foundation supports us. Therefore, we are constantly scolded and sneered at and denounced-and never touched."
Trevize said, "Is it popular opposition that keeps you from telling us where Earth is? Do you fear that, despite everything, the anti-Skeptic feeling might turn ugly if you go too far?"
Deniador shook his head. "No. Earth's location is unknown. I am not hiding anything from you out of fear-or for any other reason."
"But look," said Trevize urgently. "There are a limited number of planets in this sector of the Galaxy that possess the physical characteristics associated with habitability, and almost all of them must be not only inhabitable, but inhabited, and therefore well known to you. How difficult would it be to explore the sector for a planet that would be habitable were it not for the fact that it was radioactive? Besides that, you would look for such a planet with a large, satellite in attendance. Between radioactivity and a large satellite, Earth would be absolutely unmistakable and could not be missed even with only a casual search. It might take some time but that would be the only difficulty."