Hari suddenly had a wild hunch.
“You stayed here, didn’t you? That agent of Daneel’s whom you mentioned earlier-the one who helped stop the Earthlings from spreading a new plague-was that you?”
R. Gornon paused, then gave a jerky nod.
“Then Zorma is right. You’re no Calvinian after all.”
“I suppose I no longer fit any of the rigid classifications, though at one time I was a fervent follower of Giskardianism.”
Now the robot’s impassive mask broke. Like that of any stoic man, whose equanimity was shattered by the most powerful emotion-hope.
“Time affects even immortals, Or. Seldon. Many of us tired old robots don’t know what we are anymore. Perhaps that is somethingyou will be able to tell us, when you have had a chance to reflect. In time.”
And so I come to the moment of decision,Hari acknowledged, still shading his eyes and peering toward the harsh light. Of course it would be anticlimactic to back out now. Everyone was watching. Even those, like Wanda, who disapproved of this whole plan, would surely be disappointed at some level…to be promised a spectacular show and have the star performer withdraw at the last minute. On the other hand, Hari had built a reputation of doing the unexpected. There was almost a delicious attraction to the notion of surprising all these people.
Several members of the group edged close to the opal light, peering inside. Biron Maserd pointed at the crumbling building, no doubt an ancient physics lab where the original mistake was made. The headman of the Earthling tribe stood next to Maserd, nodding. Even Wanda approached out of curiosity, though Horis Antic kept his distance, chewing ragged fingernails.
Mors Planch shuffled forward, lifting his manacled hands.
“Take these off of me, Seldon, I entreat you. These robots…they all revere you. Perhaps I was wrong. Let me prove my worth to you, before you go. I have some information…the whereabouts of somebody precious to you. Someone you have been searching for, across many years.”
Hari abruptly realized what Planch was driving at.
Bellis!
He took a step toward the pirate captain. “You found my other granddaughter?”
On hearing this, Wanda Seldon turned her attention fully away from the sarcophagus. She, too, stepped closer to Planch.
“Where is she? What has happened to my sister?”
R. Gornon interrupted. “I am very sorry, but you should have discussed this earlier. There is no more time. At any moment, the field will expand. We have managed to transform the beam into a circular field, but we cannot be certain how long it will-”
Another figure stepped closer to Hari. The headman of the Earthling tribe. Though his accent was still quaint and thick, Hari found his speech understandable.
“There ees still time for families to settle their affeers. Please goh on, sir.” The lanky Terran nodded at Mors Planch.
Hari felt a twinge of irritation, for this was really none of the Earthling’s business, but Gornon cut in first, glowering at the Earther.
“What doyou know of such matters? It is time to prepare! Note how the luminance grows brighter even as we speak.”
Through the crack in the sarcophagus, Hari saw that the glow was indeed more intense. Biron Maserd stepped back from the forward edge of the platform and gestured within.
“There is something expanding outward from that building! Like a sphere made of some liquid metal. It’s coming closer!”
“Are we safe standing here?” Horis Antic asked nervously.
R. Gornon replied, “It has never expanded beyond the boundaries of the sarcophagus. It will not touch those standing on the platform.”
“And what about Hari Seldon?” asked the cyborg robot, Zorma. “Will it be safe for him to enter that thing?”
Gornon let out a sigh of emulated frustration.
“We’ve performed calibration experiments for the lastthousand years. Professor Seldon will experience a gentle, instantaneous transition to the chosen future era-a time just a few centuries from now, when decisions must be made that will affect all of human destiny.”
Mors Planch murmured-”A few centuries…” Then he took a step toward Hari. “Well, Professor Seldon. Do we have a deal?”
Hari glanced at Wanda, hoping for a nod, but instead she shook her head.
“I cannot read the secret in his mind, Grandfather. There is something complex about his brain. Recall how hard I fought yesterday, just to keep him standing still? Still, I’m sure we’ll find out where he’s hidden Bellis. It will just take time, working on him in private.”
Hari didn’t like the last part of her statement.
Perhaps striking a deal would be better. I could depart this world with a clear conscience.
Before Hari could speak, however, Planch let out a roar. He raised both manacled hands and charged.
Swift as lightning, R. Gornon Vlimt grabbed Hari and swung him out of the way. But in that blurred instant, Hari realized thathe was not the pirate captain’s target. By seeming to attack Hari, Planch kept Gornon busy in reflex protective mode, clearing the way for his real goal.
Mors Planch took four rapid steps toward Biron Maserd, standing at the platform’s edge. The nobleman tensed, preparing to fight-then, in an instant’s realization, he hopped nimbly out of the way.
Screaming a cry filled with both fear and exultation, Planch leaped off the parapet into the opal light. Hurtling across empty space, his body collided with a slowly expanding sphere that rippled like liquid mercury…and vanished within.
As Hari stared, the mirror ball kept expanding, inexorably approaching the place where he stood. No one spoke until Gornon Vlimt commented with an impassive voice, “We shall have to be certain he is greeted with compassion, in five centuries’ time. By that point, he will not be able to alter destiny, but we must make sure he doesn’t harm Professor Seldon when he emerges on the other side.”
Hari felt a wash of emotions-admiration for the spacer captain’s courage, plus despair over having lost a clue to his other granddaughter’s whereabouts. R. Gornon’s stoic pragmatism aside, Hari looked at the expanding space-time anomaly with growing dread.
The next person to speak was the Earthling headman. This time his accent was softer, easier to understand.
“It is true that someone must be waiting here on Earth to greet Mors Planch, but we needn’t fear for the safety of Hari Seldon.”
“And why is that?” asked Cloudia, the cyborg who had begun life as a human woman.
“Because Hari Seldon is not taking this journey. Not tonight. Not ever.“
Now everyone focused their complete attention on the Earthling, who stood up taller, erasing the stooped posture that most Terrans manifested. Wanda stared at the lanky man, then gasped a cry of realization. Zorma was next to react, uttering an oath.
Lacking mentalic powers, Hari was slower to catch on. Still, he found something familiar about the headman’s voice tones, and the way he now held himself-resembling Prometheus, whose laborious agonies never ended.
Hari whispered a single word, “Daneel. “
R. Gornon Vlimt nodded, his face as impassive as ever.
“Olivaw. You have been here quite some time, I presume?”
The robot who had disguised himself as an Earthling nodded.
“Of course, I’ve long known about the experiments your group was performing here. I could not destroy the time anomaly, but we’ve been monitoring the locale. I arranged years ago to become a figure of importance to the local Earthling tribes, who respond enthusiastically to my influence. When they reported fresh activity at this site, I combined that with tales of Hari’s abduction and reached the obvious conclusion.”