Even Helicon, where he had spent his early years, was widely known as an anomaly. Though agriculture dominated the planet’s economy, a local genetic fluke resulted in a notorious cottage industry-supplying mathematical geniuses to the bureaucracy and meritocracy. Small wonder that Daneel chose to perform his search and experiment there!
This place may be typical,Hari thought.But I am not certain what that word means anymore. Again, humility felt surprisingly comfortable at his age.
Of course, all of these strange musings might be a byproduct of his recent rejuvenation treatment. Hari felt new strength in his limbs, a greater steadiness in his step, which could not but help affect his overall mood, infecting him with an eagerness that, ironically, heresented somewhat, knowing it was artificial.
And yet, part of him felt surprised by how little had changed.
I’m still an old man. I don’t look all that different. I can sense that I’ve been given a bit more vigor, but I frankly doubt that will translate into much more life span. Is this all the disparity between what Sybyl’s renaissance can accomplish, and the secret biotechnologies the Calvinians have been hoarding for centuries? The contrast isn’t all that impressive.
Hari had a vague feeling-almost like a dream-that as much had beentaken from him as he had been given, while lying in the big white box. More had happened than was apparent.
The gentle blue world swam closer in thePride of Rhodia’s view screens as R. Gornon Vlimt piloted them toward a landing. For some reason, everyone faced eastward as they descended. No one cared about the western view, which was, after all, nearly identical. Jeni Cuicet sat in a suspensor chair, barely moving, fighting waves of alternating heat and chills.
Horis Antic kept pointing to features of the geography below, sharing with Biron Maserd a new excitement of understanding how the terrain had been made-a greedy intellectual pleasure that Hari well understood. It made him smile for his two young friends.
Sybyl and Planch huddled together by the forwardmost window, muttering secretively, though Hari could guess what concerned them. The lesser crewmen from Ktlina and thePride of Rhodia had recently received a treatment of drugs and hypnosis from R. Gornon. Those men went about their tasks somewhat stonily, and clearly without any memory of the extravagant events that had taken place during the past week.
Sybyl and Planch are wondering when their turn will come,Hari thought.They must be striving to come up with some plan to avoid it, or else to leave a secret message for their friends. I know because it is what I would do in their place.
Antic and Maserd seemed less concerned, perhaps relying on the protection of Hari’s friendship, or because they were more trustworthy. Neither ofthem was likely to support anything that could cause chaos. Still, Hari wondered.
R. Gornon acts in many ways as if he has the same agenda as Daneel. And yet, he slaughtered one of Daneel’s agents, and clearly is fleeing as fast as he can to escape being caught by the Immortal Servant.
Clearly there were complexities involved that Hari didn’t yet grasp. So Biron and Horis might be relying too much on friendship and trust to preserve their memory of recent events.
Planch and Sybyl reached a conclusion. They walked toward Hari, a grim set to their jaws.
“We are ready to acknowledge that you’ve won again, Seldon,” the woman from Ktlina said. “So let’s strike a deal.”
Hari shook his head. “It is exaggeration to say that I’ve won anything. In fact, these recentvictories cost me more than you’d ever imagine. Besides, what makes you think I am in a position to strike a bargain, let alone enforce one?”
Sybyl grimaced in frustration, but Planch, the space trader, looked unperturbed.
“We don’t understand everything that’s happened, but clearly our options are limited. Even if you can’t command that thing”-he nodded toward R. Gornon-”you clearly have some influence. These tiktok machines value you highly.”
They value what use they can make of me,Hari thought, somewhat bitterly. Of course that was unfair. Apparentlyall robots, even Daneel’s enemies, revered Hari for one reason above all others. He was as close to a fully aware and knowledgeable master as had existed in the human universe for thousands of years.
For all the good that’s going to do me,he thought wryly.And for all the good that will do humanity.
“What’s your proposition?” he asked Mors Planch.
The trader captain eagerly got down to business.
“The way I see it, this mentalic tiktok could disable any of us, knock us out, inject drugs, and wipe our brains. But that course of action has two disadvantages! First, old Gornon here won’tlike doing that, on account of that First Law of theirs. Oh, he might rationalize that it’s for some greater good, but I figure our tin man wouldprefer finding some other way to keep us from blabbing, wouldn’t he?”
Hari was impressed with this reasoning. Planch caught on pretty well.
“Go on.”
“Besides, wherever we show up with a gap in our memory, it will be a big fat clue to all our friends, or to anybody who ever knew us. There are people back on Ktlina who knew our plans. No matter what the robot does to our minds, those savvy folks just might be able to use some new renaissance technologies to undo the damage. Gornon would have to wipe us almost blank and dump us into a hole, in order to make sure that won’t happen.”
Hari felt Biron Maserd step closer to participate in the conversation.
“You are assuming that your beloved chaos revolution still reigns on Ktlina,” the nobleman said. “Even if the sickness is still raging there, will it last long enough for your scenario to play out? Especially now that the ancient archives have been taken away from you?”
“Perhaps you underestimate how many weapons this particular renaissance has in its arsenal. Ktlina is no sitting duck, like Sark was. Nor is it overly trusting, like Madder Loss. And even if it fails like the others, a growing network of collaborators and sympathizers stands ready to help the next world to try and break out of the ancient trap.”
Hari could not help but admire the dedication and intensity of this man. He and Planch differed only in their basic assumptions-what it was possible for humans to achieve.I would be on his side, a willing co-conspirator, if only the underlying facts were different.
But psychohistory showed that the old empire would collapse well before Planch’s critical threshold was reached. Once the Imperium’s gentle network of trade, services, and mutual support broke down, local populations on every planet would have far more serious concerns than aspiring to be the next renaissance. Matters of survival would come foremost. The gentry class would step in, as it always did in times of crisis, creating either benevolent or despotic tyrannies. The chaos plague would be stopped in its tracks by something equally terrible. A collapse of civilization itself.
“Go on, Planch,” Hari urged. “I assume you have some alternative to offer?”
The trader captain nodded. “You can’t let us go entirely free-we can see that. And yet it would be preferable not to kill us or wipe our minds completely. So we’d like to suggest an alternative.
“Take us back with you to Trantor.”
Mors Planch might have explained further, but just then a shrill shout cut in.
“No!”
Everyone turned to see young Jeni Cuicet raising herself on both elbows, trying to step out of the levitation chair.