“Ridiculous!” she said. “Earthwomen go through the corridors on their way to the mass Personals in the morning disheveled and slatternly. It is done on purpose, I think. It is bad manners to comb one’s hair on the way to the Personal. Apparently, dishevelment to begin with enhances that well-cared-for look afterward. I should have brought a complete morning outfit with me. You should have seen the looks I got when I left with my bathrobe on. Leaving the Personal, one must be the last word.—Yes, Daneel?”
“Madam,” said, Daneel, “May we have a word with you?”
Gladia hesitated. “Not much of a word, Daneel. As you are probably aware, this is going to be a big day and my morning appointments begin almost at once.”
“That is precisely what I wish to discuss, madam,” said Daneel. “On this important day, all will go better if we are not with you.”
“What?”
“The effect you would wish to have on Earthpeople would be greatly diminished if you surround yourself with robots.”
“I will not be surrounded. There will be just you two. How can I do without you?”
“It is necessary that you learn to, madam. While we are with you, you are marked off as different from Earthpeople. You are made to seem afraid of them.”
Gladia said, troubled, “I need some protection, Daneel. Remember what happened last night.”
“Madam, we could not have prevented what happened last night and we could not have protected you—if that were necessary. Fortunately, you were not the target last night. The blaster bolt was aimed at Giskard’s head.”
“Why Giskard?”
“How could a robot aim at you or at any human being? The robot aimed at Giskard for some reason. For us to be near you, then, might but increase your danger. Remember that as the tale of last night’s events spreads, even though the Earth government may try to suppress the details, there will be a rumor to the effect that it was a robot who held a blaster and fired it. That will arouse public indignation against robots—against us—and, even against you if you persist in being seen with us. It would be better if you were without us.”
“For how long?”
“For at least as long as your mission lasts, madam. The captain will be better able to help you in the days to come than we will be. He knows Earthpeople, he is highly thought of by them—and he thinks very highly of you, madam.”
Gladia said, “Can you tell that he thinks very highly of me?”
“Although I am a robot, it would seem so to me. And at any time that you should wish us back, we will come back, of course—but, for now, we think that the best way we can serve and protect you is to leave you in Captain Baley’s hands.”
Gladia said, “I will think of it.”
“In the meanwhile, madam,” said Daneel, “we will see Captain Baley and find out if he agrees with us.”
“Do so!” said Gladia and passed into her bedroom.
Daneel turned and spoke minimally to Giskard. “Is she willing?”
“More than willing,” said Giskard. “She has always been a little restless in my presence and would not suffer unduly at my absence. For you, friend Daneel, she has ambivalent feelings. You remind her markedly of friend Jander, whose inactivation, many decades ago, was so traumatic for her. This has been a source of both attraction and repulsion to her, so it was not necessary to do much—I lessened her attraction to you and increased her strong attraction to the captain. She will do without us easily.”
“Then let us find the captain,” said Daneel. Together, they left the room and entered the hallway that passed by the apartment.
94
Daneel and Giskard had both been on Earth on previous occasions, Giskard the more recently. They understood the use of the computerized directory that gave them the Section, Wing, and number of the apartment to which D.G. had been assigned and they understood, further, the color codes in the hallways that led them to the proper turnings and elevators.
It was early enough for the human traffic to be light, but those human beings who passed or approached at first stared with astonishment at Giskard, then looked away with elaborate unconcern.
Giskard’s steps were slightly uneven by the time they approached D.G.’s apartment door. It was not very noticeable, but it caught Daneel’s attention.
He said in a low voice, “Are you in discomfort, friend Giskard?”
Giskard replied, “It has been necessary for me to wipe out astonishment, apprehension, and even attention in a number of men and women—and in one youngster, which was harder still. I had no time to make completely certain I was doing no harm.”
“It was important to do so. We must not be stopped.”
“I understand that, but the Zeroth Law does not work well with me. I have not your facility in that respect.” He went on, as though to distract his own attention from his discomfort, “I have often noted that hyperresistance in the positronic pathways makes itself first felt in the matter of standing and walking and next in speech.”
Daneel tapped the door signal. He said, “It is the same in my case, friend Giskard. Maintaining balance on two supports is difficult under the best of circumstances. Controlled imbalance, as in walking, is even more difficult. I have heard once, that there were early attempts made to produce robots with four legs and two arms. They were called ‘centaurs.’ They worked well but were unacceptable because they were basically inhuman in appearance.”
“At the moment,” said Giskard, “I would appreciate four legs, friend Daneel. However, I think my discomfort is passing.”
D.G. was at the door now. He looked at them with a broad smile. He then glanced in each direction along the corridor, whereupon his smile vanished and was replaced with a look of the utmost concern. “What are you doing here without Gladia? Is she—”
Daneel said, “Captain, Madam Gladia is well. She is in no danger. May we enter and explain?”
D.G. glowered as he gestured them inside. His voice gained the hectoring tone one naturally assumes toward misbehaving machines and he said, “Why have you left her alone? What circumstances could possibly permit you to leave her alone?”
Daneel said, “She is no more alone than any person is on Earth—and no more in danger. If you will question her later on the I matter, I believe she will tell you that she cannot be effective here on Earth as long as she is trailed by Spacer robots. I believe she will tell you that what guidance and protection she needs should be supplied by you, rather than by robots. It is what we believe she wishes—at least for now. If, at any time, she wishes us back, she will have us.”
D.G.’s face relaxed into a smile again. “She wants my protection, does she?”
“At the moment, Captain, we believe—she is quite anxious for your presence, rather than for ours.”
D.G.’s smile became a grin. “Who can blame her?—I’ll get myself ready and go to her apartment as soon as I can.”
“But first, sir—”
“Oh,” said D.G., “there is a quid pro quo?”
“Yes, sir. We are anxious to discover as much as we can about the robot who fired the blaster at the balcony last night.”
D.G. looked tense again. “Do you anticipate further danger for Madam Gladia?”
“None at all of that kind. The robot, last night, did not fire at Lady Gladia. Being a robot, he could not have. He fired at friend Giskard.”
“Why should he have done that?”
“It is what we would like to find out. For that purpose, we wish you to call Madam Quintana, Undersecretary of Energy, and state that it would be important and would please you and the government of Baleyworld—if you would care to add that, for her to allow me to ask her a few questions on that subject. We wish you to do whatever seems best to persuade her to agree to such an interview.”