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It took only a few minutes before Baley found himself in the fourth Auroran establishment he had seen since his arrival on the planet a day and a half before: Fastolfe&039;s, Gladia&039;s, Vasilia&039;s, and now Gremionis&039;

Gremionis&039; establishh it showed, to Baley&039;s unpracticed eye in Auroran ns of recent construction The distinctive mark of the Auroran establish, Giskard and Daneel moved quickly into two that were e and silent Gremionis&039; robot, Brundij, moved into a third niche aln of any difficulty intheir choices or of any tendency for any one niche to be the target of two robots, however briefly Baley wondered how the robots avoided conflict and decided therethes It was so which hethe niches also, Baley noticed

Greone to his upper lip and, for a er stroked the small mustache He said, a bit uncertainly, "Your robot, the huht in the niche That&039;s Daneel Olivaw, isn&039;t it? Dr Fastolfe&039;s robot?"

"Yes," said Baley "He was in the hyperwave drama, too Or at least an actor was - one who better fit the part"

"Yes, I remember"

Baley noted that Gremionis - like Vasilia and even like Gladia and Fastolfe - kept a certain distance There seemed to be a repulsion field - unseen, unfelt, unsensed in any way around Baley that kept these Spacers froentle curve of avoidance when they passed him

Baley wondered if Gremionis are of this or if it was entirely automatic And what did they do with the chairs he sat in while in their establishments, the dishes he ate fro suffice? Were there special sterilizing procedures? Would they discard and replace everything? Would the establishht? What about the Community Personal he used? Would they tear it down and rebuild it? What about the wonorantly entered it after he had left? Or could she possibly have been the fu silly

To outer space with it What the Aurorans did and how they dealt with their problems was their affair and he would bother his head no ht now, the particular splinter of it was Gremionis - and he would tackle that after lunch

Lunch was rather sietarian, but for the first time he had a little trouble Each separate item was too sharply defined in taste The carrots tasted rather strongly of carrots and the peas of peas, so to speak

A little too much so, perhaps

He ate rather reluctantly and tried not to show a slightly rising gorge

And, as he did so, he becah his taste buds saturated and could handle the excess more easily It dawned on Baley, in a rather sad way, that if his exposure to Auroran food was to continue for any length of ti that distinctiveness of flavor and resenting the flowing together of Earth tastes

Even the crispness of various ite of his teeth seeht) rown to see There would be a silence about an Earth

He began to eat with attention, to study the tastes Perhaps, when Earthpeople established themselves on other worlds, this Spacer-fashion food would be the mark of the new diet, especially if there were no robots to prepare and serve the ht uncomfortably, not when but if Earthpeople established themselves on other worlds - and the ifness of it all depended on hihed hiht in the heated, moistened napkins hich one could clean one&039;s hands Except that they weren&039;t ordinary napkins, for when Baley put his down on the plate, it seeroebby Then, quite suddenly, it leaped up insubstantially and was carried into an outlet in the ceiling Baley ju the disappearing item open- new I just picked up Disposable, you see, but I don&039;t know if I like it yet So the disposal vent after a while and others worry about pollution because they say sos The manufacturer says not, but - "

Baley realized suddenly that he had said not a word during the meal and that this was the first tie on Daneel before the meal had been served - And there was no use in sruffly, "Are you a barber, Mr Greht skin, reddening to the hairline He said in a choked voice, "Who told you that?"

Baley said, "If that is an iize It is a co on Earth and is no insult there"

Grener It is a recognized branch of art I aer went to his ravely, "I notice your row them on Aurora?"

"No, it is not I hope it will becoreat thened and i is in the design - that&039;s part of o too far, of course On the world of Pallas, facial hair is coe in parti-colored dying Each individual hair is separately dyed to produce some sort of mixture - Now, that&039;s foolish It doesn&039;t last, the colors change with time, and it looks terrible But even so, it&039;s better than facial baldness in so is less attractive than a facial desert - That&039;s my own phrase I use it in my personal talks with potential clients and it&039;s very effective Feet by with no facial hair because they make up for it in other ways On the world of Smitheus - "

There was a hypnotic quality to his quiet, rapid words and his earnest expression, the way in which his eyes widened and remained fixed on Baley with an intense sincerity Baley had to shake loose with ah almost physical force

He said, "Are you a roboticist, Mr Gremionis?"

Gre interrupted in midflow "A roboticist?"

"Yes A roboticist"

"No, not at all I use robots as everyone does, but I don&039;t knohat&039;s inside them - Don&039;t care really"

"But you live here on the grounds of the Robotics Institute How is that?"

"Why shouldn&039;t I?" Gremionis&039; voice was measurably more hostile

"If you&039;re not a roboticist - "

Grerined soo, was intended to be a self-contained community We have our own transport vehicle repair shops, our own personal robot maintenance shops, our own physicians, our own structuralists Our personnel live here and, if they have use for a personnel artist, that&039;s Sandrix Gre with my profession that I should not?"

"I haven&039;t said that"

Gremionis turned aith a residual petulance that Baley&039;s hasty disclai a varicolored rectangular strip, did soers briefly

A sphere dropped gently fro and remained suspended a h it were an orange that was unsegether with a soft wash of sound The twowith astonishment, discovered that, after a short while, it was hard to distinguish one froht?" asked Gremionis

"No," said Baley, after soround and I&039;ve picked a soothing combination that will make it easier for us to talk in a civilized way, you know" Then he said briskly, "Shall we get to the point?"

Baley withdrew his attention froiven it a name) - with some difficulty and said, "If you please I would like to"

"Have you been accusingto do with the immobilization of that robot Jander?"

"I&039;ve been inquiring into the circu"

"But you&039;ve- In fact, just, a little while ago, you asked me if I were a roboticist I knohat you had inabout robotics, so that you could build up a case against me as the - as the - ender of the robot"

"You ht say the killer"

"The killer? You can&039;t kill a robot - In any case, I didn&039;t end it, or kill it, or anything you want to call it I told you, I&039; about robotics How can you even think that - "

"I ed to Gladia - the Solarian woman - and you were friendly with her That&039;s a connection"

"There could be any number of people friendly with her That&039;s no connection"

"Are you willing to state that you never saw Jander in all the times you may have been in Gladia&039;s establishment?"

"Never! Not once!"

"You never knew she had a humaniform robot?"

"No!"

"She never mentioned him"

"She had robots all over the place All ordinary robots She said nothing about having anything else"

Baley shrugged "Very well I have no reason - so far - to suppose that that is not the truth"

"Then say so to Gladia That is why I wanted to see you To ask you to do that To insist"

"Has Gladia any reason to think otherwise?"

"Of course You poisoned her mind You questioned her about me in that connection and she assumed - she wasand askedto do with it I told you that"

"And you denied it?"

"Of course I denied it and very strenuously, too, because I didn&039;t have anything to do with it But it&039;s not convincing if I do the denying I want you to do it I want you to tell her that, in your opinion, I had nothing to do with the whole business You just said I didn&039;t and you can&039;t, without any evidence at all, destroy my reputation I can report you"

"To whom?"

"To the Coislature The head of this Institute is a close personal friend of the Chairman himself and I&039;ve already sent a full report to hi, you understand I&039; action"

Greht have been intended for fierceness but that did not entirely carry conviction, considering the mildness of his face "Look," he said, "this isn&039;t Earth We are protected here Your planet, with its overpopulation, makes your people exist in so ainst each other, suffocate each other - and it doesn&039;t matter One life or a million lives - it doesn&039;tto keep conte historical novels"

"Of course I have - and they describe it as it is You can&039;t have billions of people on a single world without its being so - On Aurora, we are each a valuable life We are protected physically, each of us, by our robots, so that there is, never an assault, let alone murder, on Aurora"

"Except for Jander"

"That&039;s not murder; it&039;s only a robot And we are protected froislature The Committee on Personal Defense takes a dies the reputation or the social status of any individual citizen An Auroran, acting as you did, would be in trouble enough As for an Earth on an investigation at the invitation, I presuislature I don&039;t suppose Dr Fastolfe could have brought islative perive you the right to overstep the li to put this up to the Legislature, then?"

"I&039; to have the Institute head - "

"What is his na to ask hiislature, you know - he&039;s one of the leaders of the Globalist party So I think you had better make it plain to Gladia that I am completely innocent"

"I would like to, Mr Gremionis, because I suspect that you are innocent, but how can I change suspicion to certainty, unless you will allow me to ask you some questions?"

Gremionis hesitated Then, with an air of defiance, he leaned back in his chair and placed his hands behind his neck, the picture of ato appear at ease He said, "Ask away I have nothing to hide And after you&039;re done, you&039;ll have to call Gladia, right on that trimensional transmitter behind you and say your piece - or you will be in ine"

"I understand But first - How long have you known Dr Vasilia Fastolfe, Mr Gremionis? Or Dr Vasilia Aliena, if you know her by that name?"

Gremionis hesitated, then said in a tense voice, "Why do you ask that? What does that have to do with it?"

Baley sighed and his dour face seemed to sadden further

"I re to hide and that you want to convince me of your innocence, so that I can convince Gladia of the sa you have known her If you have not known her, just say so - but before you do, it is only fair to tell you that Dr Vasilia has stated that you knew her well - well enough, at least, to offer yourself to her"

Grerined He said in a shaky voice, "I don&039;t knohy people have toout of it An offer is a perfectly natural social interaction that concerns no one else - Of course, you&039;re an Earthman, so you&039;d make a fuss about it"

"I understand she didn&039;t accept your offer"

Greht - his hands down upon his lap, fists clenched "Accepting or rejecting is entirely up to her There&039;ve been people who&039;ve offered theehave you known her?"

"For some years About fifteen"

"Did you know her when she was still living with Dr Fastolfe?"

"I was just a boy then," he said, flushing

"How did you get to know her?"

"When I finished n a wardrobe for her It gave her pleasure and after that she used my services - in that respect - exclusively"

"Was it on her recommendation, then, that you received your present position as - ht we say - official personnel artist for the nizedwith others, and won the position on my merits"

"But she did recommend you?"

Briefly and with annoyance, Gremionis said, "Yes"

"And you felt the only decent return you could ri so! I suppose an Earthman would think in such a way offer meant only that it pleased me to do so"

"Because she is attractive and has a warm personality?" Gremionis hesitated

"Well, I wouldn&039;t say she has a warm personality," he said cautiously, "but certainly she&039;s attractive"

"I&039;ve been told that you - offer yourself to everybody - without distinction

"That is a lie"

"What is a lie? That you offer yourself to everybody or that I have been told so?"

"That I offer myself to everybody Who said that?"

"I don&039;t know that it would serve any purpose to answer that question Would you expectinforht I would?"

"Well, whoever said it is a liar"

"Perhaps it was eration Had you offered yourself to others before you offered yourself to Dr Vasilia?"

Gremionis looked away "Once or twice Never seriously"

"But Dr Vasilia was someone you were serious about?"

"Well - "

"It isyou offered yourself to her repeatedly, which is quite against Auroran custoan furiously Then he pressed his lips together firmly and his forehead furrowed "See here, Mr Baley, can I speak to you confidentially?"

"Yes All my questions are intended to satisfyto do with Jander&039;s death Once I am satisfied of that, you may be sure I&039;ll keep your remarks in confidence"

"Very well, then It&039;s nothing wrong - it&039;s nothing I&039;m asha sense of privacy and I have a right to that if I wish, don&039;t I?"

"Absolutely," said Baley consolingly

"You see, I feel that social sex is best when there is a profound love and affection between partners"

"I iine that&039;s very true"

"And then there&039;s no need for others, wouldn&039;t you say?"

"It sounds - plausible"

"I&039;ve always drea anyone else They call it amy It doesn&039;t exist on Aurora, but on some worlds it does - and they have it on Earth don&039;t they, Mr Baley?"

"In theory, Mr Gremionis"

"It&039;s what I want I&039;ve looked for it for years When I experi Then I et confidential with their personnel artists because it&039;s very personal work and this is the really confidential part - "

"Well, go on"

Greets out, I&039;et no further co to do with the case?"

"I assure you with as much force as I can, Mr Gremionis, that this can be totally important"

"Well, then" - Greathered from what Dr Vasilia told me, in bits and pieces, that she is" - his voice dropped to a whisper - "a virgin"

"I see," said Baley quietly (re Vasilia&039;s certainty that her father&039;s refusal had distorted her life and getting a fir of her hatred of her father)

"That excited me It seemed to me I could have her all to myself and I would be the only one that she would ever have I can&039;t explain how loriously beautiful in my eyes and I just wanted her so much"

"So you offered yourself to her?"

"Yes"

"Repeatedly You weren&039;t discouraged by her refusals?"

"It just reinforced her virginity, so to speak andthat it wasn&039;t easy I can&039;t explain and I don&039;t expect you to understand"

"Actually, Mr Gremionis, I do understand - But there ca yourself to Dr Vasilia?"

"Well, yes"

"And began offering yourself to Gladia"

"Well, yes"

"Repeatedly?"

"Well, yes"

"Why? Why the change?"

Gremionis said, "Dr Vasilia finally made it clear that there was no chance and then Gladia ca and she looked like Dr Vasilia and - and - that was it"

Baley said, "But Gladia is no virgin She was married on Solaria and she experimented rather widely on Aurora, I am told"

"I knew about that, but she - stopped You see, she&039;s a Solarian by birth, not an Auroran, and she didn&039;t quite understand Auroran customs But she stopped because she doesn&039;t like, what she calls &039;promiscuity&039;"

"Did she tell you that?"

"Yeh Monogamy is the custom on Solaria She wasn&039;t happily married, but it is still the custom she&039;s used to, so she never enjoyed the Auroran hen she tried it - and amy is what I want, too Do you see?"

"I see But how did you meet her in the first place?"

"I just met her She was on the hyperhen she arrived in Aurora, a roee from Solaria And she played a part in that hyperwave dra else, wasn&039;t there?"

"I don&039;t knohat else you want"

"Well, let uess Didn&039;t there co you forever - and didn&039;t she suggest an alternative to you?"

Gremionis, in sudden fury, shouted, "Did Dr Vasilia tell you that?"

"Not in so many words, but I think I knohat happened, even so Did she not tell you that it eous if you looked up a new rival on the planet, a young lady froee of Dr Fastolfe - who you know is Dr Vasilia&039;s father? Did Dr Vasilia perhaps not tell you that people thought this young lady, Gladia, rather reseer and had a ware you to transfer your attentions from herself to Gladia?"

Gre His eyes flicked to those of Baley and away again It was the first tiht - or was it awe? (Baley shook his head slightly Heoverawed a Spacer It could daht or wrong?"

And Greeration, then - Do you read minds?"

50

Baley said calmly, "I just ask questions - And you haven&039;t answered directly A?"

Gremionis said, "It didn&039;t quite happen like that Not just like that She did talk about Gladia, but - " He bit at his lower lip and then said, "Well, it amounted to what you said It was just about the way you described it"

"And you were not disappointed? You found that Gladia did resemble Dr Vasilia?"

"In a way, she did" Grehtened "But not really Stand them side by side and you&039;ll see the difference Gladia has reater spirit of - of fun"

"Have you offered yourself to Vasilia since you met Gladia?"

"Are you mad? Of course not"

"But you have offered yourself to Gladia?"

"Yes"