“It is calledGaia. A way to bring each living world to a new level of consciousness. Though in the long run, we have hopes that it will connect every planet to all others, and become something truly wonderful-Galaxia.”
“Complete mentalic linkage among all living humans.” So, Hari had guessed right. “That will take some time to achieve. No wonder you need my Plan…in order to keep humanity busy until this Gaia solution is ready. I believe I can already surmise many of its advantages, from your perspective, Daneel. But please use your own words, tell me that this great gift will be worth all the trouble.”
The ancient robot turned to look at Hari, spreading his arms as if to encompass the breadth of a magnificent vision.
“What problems would thisnot solve? An end to human acrimony, strife, and war, once every living man and woman can understand perfectly the thoughts of every other one! An end toloneliness-the word will lose all meaning as each child joins the commonality at birth.
“An ability to share all of the great ideas at an instant! Stability and inertia against sudden changes, making humanity forever secure against the impulsiveness of chaos. And there is more, much more.
“Already my experiments show a wondrous possibility, Hari. That such a macro-linkage of human minds can become somehow connected to an entire surrounding ecosphere. The sensations and primitive yearnings of animals, and even plant life, become accessible. Human brains will then become only the topmost organs of a universal entity, comprising the whole life force of a planet, even down to the pulsing throb of magma, deep below the surface.
“The inevitable result will be peace, serenity, a sense of union with all manner of beings…just as great human sages often prescribed in the past. An abnegation of selfish individualism in favor of the profound wisdom of the whole. All of this will be yours, once you are all assimilated into the collective consciousness.”
Hari felt genuinely moved.
“It sounds gorgeous, when you put it that way. Of course the vision you present is appealing to me, given my own peculiar lifelong neurosis, my hatred of unpredictability. The cosmic mind-this new godhead, will be fantastically easier to model than swarms of cantankerous individual humans. I can even see where you got the idea. Having read the ancient encyclopedia you gave me, I know that many prehistoric philosophers shared this dream.”
Then Hari raised the index finger of one hand.
“But psychohistorical honesty forces me to tell you, Daneel, that there are several major problems awaiting you, as you try to implement this Galaxia solution. And the result may not be as unalloyedly happy as you described it just now.”
To his surprise, Daneel remained silent instead of asking for an elaboration. Hari pondered the reason…then met the eyes of his old mentor.
“I can see now why you didn’t want me to go into the future.”
Daneel let out a sigh.
“With your vaunted reputation and insight, you would be hailed as a leading public figure, from the moment you were recognized and your identity confirmed. If R. Gornon had his way, you’d surely be chosen to lead some grand commission of humans to evaluate the proposed coalescence into Galaxia.
“But I already knew you’d feel conflicted about this alternative solution, Hari. You have mixed feelings about this overmind that will take over, once the Seldon Plan achieves its real purpose. In your skepticism, you would organize areal commission. One that might poke away at thoseproblems you just alluded to.”
Hari understood Daneel’s point, yet he persisted.
“I’m sure we’d give it a fair hearing, and present the results to sovereign human institutions in a favorable light.”
“That’s not good enough, Hari, and you know it. Humanitymust be saved, and it has a frightfully poor record of acting in its own best interest.”
Hari mused on this.
“So you’ll stack the deck, as you did by arranging for me to arrive at the Thumartin Nebula, just as the archives needed to be destroyed. You knew Ihad to decide in favor of their destruction. My character, psychology, and fear of chaos… everything made my choice inevitable-though at least I have enough insight to know this about myself. Those Zeroth Law robots who felt uneasy about destroying the archives were given a way to resolve their dissonance. My ‘human authority’ let them proceed with the plan you had mapped out. All in humanity’s best interest.”
Hari lifted a finger again. “Zorma was right. Your real constituency, the ones you must convince, are robots. You foresee, in five centuries or so, that they will be the ones able to thwart your plan if you can’t satisfy their positronic drives. And since you’ll be replacing the old familiar humanity with something new and strange, it will take some convincing! No wonder you gave in so easily, and made that promise to Zorma. Human volition mustappear to playa role in the decision, or else you’ll have a hard time getting all robots to agree
“And yet, I know you, Daneel. I know what you and Giskard did here”-Hari motioned at the radioactive wasteland-”rationalizing that it was for our own good, without consulting even one of us. You’ll also want the Gaia decision to be a foregone conclusion. Would you mind telling me how you’ll arrange that, in five hundred years?”
Silence lasted over a minute before Daneel answered.
“By presenting a human being who is always right.”
Hari blinked.
“I beg your pardon? A human who is alwayswhat?”
“One who has always made correct decisions, from childhood onward. One who, in a crisis, reliably chooses the winning side, and has always been proved right by the test of time. And who always will.”
Hari stared at Daneel, then burst out laughing.
“That’s impossible! It violates every physical and biological law.”
Daneel nodded.
“And yet, it can be made convincing. Perhaps even more credible than your grasp of human affairs through psychohistory, Hari. All I have to do is start out with a million bright boys and girls, with just the right traits, and present them with challenges from puberty until age thirty or so. Many of those challenges will be rigged for success…or else mistakes can be smoothed over. Despite that, many of them will fail visibly and be dropped out of the pool. But over time, I am statistically guaranteed at least one who suits my needs. Who looks, superficially, far too successful to be explained by natural means.”
Hari recalled a classic stock-market scheme that had been successful in duping the inhabitants of Krasner Sector-seven hundred billion people-about eighty years ago. Daneel’s approach was a clever version of this old shell game, which only worked when practiced with immense patience. It was also nearly impossible to detect when done properly.
“So there won’t be an investigative commission, after all. No need to report to sovereign human institutions for a decision. If this fellow has always been right, that will give him enough credibility to impress most robots, who will simply accept whatever he decides!
“Of course, some will be wary that you are influencing him mentalically, and they’ll watch for that trick. They’ll check his brain for signs of tampering. But you won’t have to touch him! You can use psychological techniques to sway him in advance toward the right decision, especially if you control his upbringing…as you did mine.”
Hari paused, chewing on a thought. “So, most robots will have their Second Law itch scratched. Getting ‘human approval’ for your plan, without actually having to consult humanity at large.
“Of course, you know that some of them won’t swallow this scam. Many will rebel anyway, attempting to protect humanity from what they see as a seizure of power by a single mutant overmind.”