“Are you talking to me, sir?”

“Didn’t I call you Line Foreman 43?”

“You may have indeed. But that is not my name.”

“You said it was.”

“It was, once. It is not now. I do not respond to it.”

“All right then. You, there, the robot standing in front of me, have we ever met before?”

“Not formally, but I know you are Derec. This is the first time you have ever spoken to me.”

“Why were you dancing just now?”

“I don’t know. It just felt good.”

“You have a feelingabout dancing?”

“I think perhaps. Itis also perhaps a positronic anomaly.”

“There are enough anomalies around here without me having to worry about positronic ones. Robot, you might be in some way programmed, or reprogrammed, to dance, but I doubt you have a feeling for it.”

“My partner says I do. My partner says I am a very smooth dancer.”

“I’ll bet you are.”

Derec felt as if he wanted to yell uncontrollably at this too-clever, evasive robot. Ariel squeezed his hand and said softly, “Let me talk to him for a moment. Robot, have you no duties at this moment?”

“Duties? Yes, I suppose so.”

“You suppose so? A robot doesn’t suppose when it comes to duty. You either have one or you don’t.”

“Well, yes, I have a job that I do.”

“Why aren’t you doing it then?”

“I had not realized I had stopped doing the job.”

“You had not-”

Ariel’s anger was clear, so Derec, calmer now, took over again.

“You mentioned a partner. Where is your partner now?”

“I don’t know. We agreed it was time for me to go solo. Want to see my soft shoe?”

“No. I give up. Ariel, this is worse than arguing with a robot about one of those odd hypothetical cases where a Law of Robotics can’t be easily invoked.”

“I know what you mean,” she said, nodding. “Let’s try another tack. Robot, there are some terribly strange beings in that building over there. Do you know anything about them?”

The robot’s head jerked toward the warehouse. “I know nothing of any strange beings,” he said.

Ariel shrugged.

“Wait,” Derec said, “it might be the word strange not registering with him. They might not be strange to him. Let me try. Robot, are there any beings at all in there?”

“I could not say for certain, for I have never entered that building.”

“Let me put it this way. Have any new beings of any kind, humans, robots, aliens, entered the environs of Robot City?”

“Yes, besides you, three new robots and an alien came today. The alien and two of the robots have been here before.”

“He must mean Wolruf and the others,” Ariel commented.

“Besides them, and us, has anyone new come to Robot City at any recent time?”

“That sounds properly phrased, all right,” Ariel whispered.

“Yes,” the robot said.

Derec stared at the robot for a long while, expecting him to say more. Frustrated, he finally asked, “Well? Tell me about our newcomer.”

“I may not.”

“What?”

“I am not allowed to. A block has been entered for that particular information.”

“A block! How could there be a block for me? I am Derec Avery!”

Derec realized that he was sounding overbearing, but he couldn’t help it. This robot got on his nerves.

“While it is true that you are Derec Avery, and I owe you the kind of loyalty that would remove such a block, I cannot. There is a further block upon the first block.”

Derec shook his head vigorously, trying to clear it. “What do you mean, blocks on blocks?”

“If the first block is removed, the one preventing me from revealing the information you request-and Second Law tells me such blocks may be removed by you or, for that matter, Ariel Welsh or Dr. Avery-a second block wipes out the information before I can voice it. Therefore, if I obey you now and attempt to tell you what I know, then I will not know it anymore. Consequently, I will not be able to tell you. Because Third Law requires me to protect myself, and by extension any vital information I hold, I have to try my best not to allow such a situation to come to pass, and must respectfully request that you interrogate me no further on this matter.”

As the robot awaited Derec’s response, he executed a few mild soft-shoe steps. His arms appeared to throw imaginary sand onto the ground.

Derec wondered if what the dancing robot said was true. He had often told robots to forget specific information but had often wondered if they really did. Perhaps the data would not be erased but instead skillfully diverted from one positronic pathway to another, leaving it hidden rather than eliminated. It was possible he could find a way of getting such data out.

“I will interrogate you as long as I wish,” Derec said coolly. “In fact, I am so angry I don’t give a hoot what happens to you or your information. Robot, I-”

“Timestep. I have decided on that as my name. It has a nice ring, don’t you think?”

As if to prove how wonderful a name it was for him, Timestep tapped out a quick and intricate hard-tap routine with his feet. Since the feet were made of metal, their taps were louder and more resonant than the average human tap dancer could achieve. There was an inappropriate look to it all, especially since he waved his arms like a clumsy man falling.

“Timestep, I order you now to tell me the answer to the question I asked before. Inform me of any newcomers to Robot City whose identity has been previously blocked.”

The dancing stopped, but Timestep said nothing.

“Well?” Derec asked.

“Well, what, sir?”

“Give me the answer.”

“The answer to what?”

“My question.”

“I don’t know the answer to your question.”

“The information has been destroyed then?”

“I don’t know the answer to your question.”

“Timestep, do you recall once having the answer in your memory banks?”

“No, I do not. I know nothing about any newcomers to the city except for yourselves and your companions.”

Derec made a quick gesture with his hand, the dismissive one that most humans used for robots. “You may go, Timestep.”

“Thank you, Master Derec. And, please, look for the silver lining.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“I don’t really know, sir.”

Timestep danced off. When he was going forward, his movements and dance steps were more precise and graceful. Before he rounded a corner, he twirled around a high pole with a round old-fashioned lamp at the top. Derec did not recall the pole being there when they had arrived at the corner moments ago. He had to admit that the height at which Timestep twirled around it was quite impressive.

“What are you smiling about?” he asked Ariel.

“I’m not sure. I liked that robot, I guess. I hadn’t realized how much I missed some entertainment. When we first arrived here, we watched entertainment tapes, and they were pretty sad. I knew they couldn’t take me away from my worries then, but, to tell the truth, I wouldn’t mind viewing some of them again now. I mean, we’ve been so busy lately, I haven’t had much time to relax. You know, just relax and watch something, no matter how trivial. I’d really like to see Timestep’s whole act.”

Derec wondered if he could just curl up someplace and concentrate on a book or a hyperwave program. His mind always seemed to be stuffed with responsibility, work, research-all the problems that came with the territory in Robot City, any Robot City.

“I think Timestep could use a dance teacher,” was his only comment.

“Really? I thought his moves were pretty good, especially for a robot. Maybe we could arrange a little recital for him.”

“Ariel-”

“Sorry, sorry. Only trying to cheer you up.”

“Can’t work up much cheer when the place seems to be falling apart.”.

“Best time for it. Anyway, it’s not all that bad here. A dancing robot, some pests in a warehouse, a few things out of order, your strange intuitive feelings…”