Daneel said, “None thus far, Partner Elijah. Nevertheless, it would be wise to have friend Giskard and myself with you at all times, if that can possibly be managed.”
“Why is that, Daneel?”
“For two reasons, Partner Elijah. First, we can help you with any aspect of Auroran culture or folkways with which you are unfamiliar. Second, friend Giskard, in particular, can record and reproduce every word of every conversation you may have. This may be of value to you. You will recall that there were times in your conversations with both Dr. Fastolfe and with Miss Gladia when friend Giskard and I were at a distance or in another room—”
“So that conversations were not recorded by Giskard?”
“Actually, they were, Partner Elijah, but with low fidelity and there may be portions that will not be as clear as we would want them to be. It would be better if we stayed as close to you as is convenient.”
Baley said, “Daneel, are you of the opinion that I will be more at ease if I think of you as guides and as recording devices, rather than as guards? Why not simply come to the conclusion that, as guards, you two are completely unnecessary. Since there have been no attempts at me so far, why isn’t it possible to conclude that there will be no attempts at me in the future?”
“No, Partner Elijah, that would be incautious. Dr. Fastolfe feels that you are viewed with great apprehension by his enemies. They had made attempts to persuade the Chairman not to give Dr. Fastolfe permission to call you in and they will surely continue to attempt to persuade him to have you ordered back to Earth at the earliest possible moment.”
“That sort of peaceful opposition requires no guards.”
“No, sir, but if the opposition has reason to fear that you may exculpate Dr. Fastolfe, it is possible that they may feel driven to extremes. You are, after all, not an Auroran and the inhibitions against violence on our world would therefore be weakened in your case.”
Baley said dourly, “The fact that I’ve been here a whole day and that nothing has happened should relieve their minds greatly and reduce the threat of violence considerably.”
“It would indeed seem so,” said Daneel, showing no signs that he recognized the irony in Baley’s voice.
“On the other hand,” said Baley, “if I seem to make progress, then the danger to me immediately increases.”
Daneel paused to consider, then said, “That would seem to be a logical consequence.”
“And, therefore, you and Giskard will come with me wherever I go, just in case I manage to do my job a little too well.”
Daneel paused again, then said, “Your way of putting it, Partner Elijah, puzzles me, but you seem to be correct.”
“In that case,” said Baley, “I’m ready for breakfast, though it does take the edge off my appetite to be told that the alternative to failure is attempted assassination.”
32
Fastolfe smiled at Baley across the breakfast table. “Did you sleep well, Mr. Baley?”
Baley studied the slice of ham with fascination. It had to be cut with a knife. It was grainy. It had a discrete strip of fat running down one side. It had, in short, not been processed. The result was that it tasted hammier, so to speak.
There were also fried eggs, with the yolk flattened semisphere in the center, rimmed by white, rather like some daisies that Ben had pointed out to him in the field back on Earth. Intellectually, he knew what an egg looked like before it was processed and he knew that it contained both a yolk and a white, but he had never seen them still separate when ready to eat. Even on the ship coming here and even on Solaria, eggs, when served, were scrambled.
He looked up sharply at Fastolfe. “Pardon me?”
Fastolfe said patiently, “Did you sleep well?”
“Yes. Quite well. I would probably still be sleeping if it hadn’t been for the antisomnin.”
“Ah yes. Not quite the hospitality a guest has the right to expect, but I felt you might want an early start.”
“You are entirely right. And I’m not exactly a guest, either.”
Fastolfe ate in silence for a moment or two. He sipped at his hot drink, then said, “Has any enlightenment come overnight? Have you awakened, perhaps, with a new perspective, a new thought?”
Baley looked at Fastolfe suspiciously, but the other’s face reflected no sarcasm. As Baley lifted his drink to his lips, he said, “I’m afraid not. I am as intellectual now as I was last night.” He sipped and involuntarily made a face.
Fastolfe said, “I’m sorry. You find the drink unpalatable?”
Baley grunted and cautiously tasted it again.
Fastolfe said, “It is simply coffee, you know. Decaffeinated.”
Baley frowned. “It doesn’t taste like coffee and—Pardon me, Dr. Fastolfe, I don’t want to begin to sound paranoid, but Daneel and I have just had a half-joking exchange on the possibility of violence against me—half-joking on my part, of course, not on Daneel’s—and it is in my mind that one way they might get at me is—”
His voice trailed away.
Fastolfe’s eyebrows moved upward. He reached for Baley’s coffee with a murmur of apology and smelled it. He then ladled out a small portion by spoon and tasted it. He said, “Perfectly normal, Mr. Baley. This is not an attempt at poisoning.”
Baley said, “I’m sorry to behave so foolishly, since I know this has been prepared by your own robots—but are you certain?”
Fastolfe smiled. “Robots have been tampered with before now.—However, there has been no tampering this time. It is just that coffee, although universally popular on the various worlds, comes in different strains. It is notorious that each human being prefers the coffee of his own world. I’m sorry, Mr. Baley, I have no Earth strain to give you. Would you prefer milk? That is relatively constant from world to world. Fruit juice? Aurora’s grape juice is considered superior throughout the worlds, generally. There are some who hint, darkly, that we allow it to ferment somewhat, but that, of course, is not true. Water?”
“I’ll try your grape juice.” Baley looked at the coffee dubiously. “I suppose I ought to try to get used to this.”
“Not at all,” said Fastolfe. “Why seek out the unpleasant if that is unnecessary?—And so”—his smile seemed a bit strained as he returned to his earlier remark—“night and sleep have brought no useful reflection to you?”
“I’m sorry,” said Baley. Then, frowning at a dim memory, “Although—”
“Yes?”
“I have the impression that just before falling asleep, in the free-association limbo between sleep and waking, it seemed to me that I had something.”
“Indeed? What?”
“I don’t know. The thought drove me into wakefulness but didn’t follow me there. Or else some imagined sound distracted me. I don’t remember. I snatched at the thought, but didn’t retrieve it. It’s gone. I think that this sort of thing is not uncommon.”
Fastolfe looked thoughtful. “Are you sure of this?”
“Not really. The thought grew so tenuous so rapidly I couldn’t even be sure that I had actually had it. And even if I had, it may have seemed to make sense to me only because I was half asleep. If it were repeated to me now in broad daylight, it might make no sense at all.”
“But whatever it was and, however fugitive, it would have left a trace, surely.”
“I imagine so, Dr. Fastolfe. In which case, it will come to me again. I’m confident of that.”
“Ought we to wait?”
“What else can we do?”
“There’s such a thing as a Psychic Probe.”
Baley sat, back in his chair and stared at Fastolfe for a moment. He said, “I’ve heard of it, but it isn’t used in police work on Earth.”
“We’re not on Earth, Mr. Baley,” said Fastolfe softly.
“It can do brain damage. Am I not right?”