“Indeed? You know, of course, that the Galaxy belongs to the Spacer worlds.”

“There are only fifty of them, ma’am. There are millions of worlds in the Galaxy that are habitable—or can be made habitable—and that probably do not possess indigenous intelligent life.”

“Yes, but not one ship can leave Earth without Spacer permission.”

“That might be granted, ma’am.”

“I do not share your optimism, Mr. Baley.”

“I have spoken to Spacers who—”

“I know you have,” said Demachek. “My superior is Albert Minnim, who, two years ago, sent you to Solaria.” She permitted herself a small curve of the lips.—“An actor portrayed him in a bit role on that hyperwave drama, one that resembled him closely, as I recall. He was not pleased, as I also recall.”

Baley changed the subject. “I asked Undersecretary Minnim—”

“He has been promoted, you know.”

Baley thoroughly understood the importance of grades in classification. “His new title, ma’am?”

“Vice-Secretary.”

“Thank you. I asked Vice-Secretary Minnim to request permission for me to visit Aurora to deal with this subject.”

“Eh?”

“Not very long after my return from Solaria. I have renewed the request twice since.”

“But have not received a favorable reply!”

“No, ma’am.”

“Are you surprised?”

“I am disappointed, ma’am.”

“No point in that.” She leaned back a trifle in the chair. “Our relationship with the Spacer worlds is very touchy. You may feel that your two feats of detection have eased the situation—and so they have. That awful hyperwave drama has also helped. The total easing, however, has been this much, she placed her thumb and forefinger close, together, out of this much,” and she spread her hands far apart.

“Under those circumstances,” she went on, “we could scarcely take the risk of sending you to Aurora, the leading Spacer world, and having you perhaps do something that could create interstellar tension.”

Baley’s eyes met hers. “I have been on Solaria and have done no harm. On the contrary—”

“Yes, I know, but you were there at Spacer request, which is parsecs distant from being there at our request. You cannot fail to see that.”

Baley was silent.

She made a soft snorting sound of nonsurprise and said, “The situation has grown worse since your requests were placed with—and very correctly ignored by—the Vice-Secretary. It has grown particularly worse in the last month.”

“Is that the reason for this conference, ma’am?”

“Do you grow impatient, sir?” She addressed him, sardonically in the to-a-superior intonation. “Do you direct me to come to the point?”

“No, ma’am.”

“Certainly you do. And why not? I grow tedious. Let me approach the point by asking if you know Dr. Han Fastolfe.”

Baley said carefully, “I met him once, nearly, three years ago, in what was then Spacetown.”

“You liked him, I believe.”

“He was friendly—for a Spacer.”

She made another soft snorting sound. “I imagine so. Are you aware that he has been an important political power on Aurora over the last two years?”

“I had heard he was in the government from a—a partner I once had.”

“From R. Daneel Olivaw, your Spacer robot friend?”

“My ex-partner, ma’am.”

“On the occasion when you solved a small problem concerning two mathematicians on board a Spacer ship—”

Baley nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”

“We keep informed, you see. Dr. Han Fastolfe has been, more or less, the guiding light of the Auroran government for two years, an important figure in their World Legislature, and he is even spoken of as a possible future Chairman.—The Chairman, you understand, is the closest thing to a chief executive that the Aurorans have.”

Baley said, “Yes, ma’am,” and wondered when she would get to the very delicate matter of which the Commissioner had spoken.

Demachek seemed in no hurry. She said, “Fastolfe is a moderate. That’s what he calls himself. He feels Aurora—and the Spacer worlds generally—have gone too far in their direction, as you, perhaps, feel that we on Earth have gone too far in ours. He wishes to, step backward to less robotry, to a more rapid turnover of generations, and to alliance and friendship with Earth. Naturally, we support him—but very quietly. If we were too demonstrative in our affection, that might well be the kiss of death for him.”

Baley said, “I believe he would support Earth’s exploration and settlement of other worlds.”

“I believe so, too. I am of the opinion he said as much to you.”

“Yes, ma’am, when we met.”

Demachek steepled her hands and put the tips of her fingers to her chin. “Do you think he represents public opinion on the Spacer worlds?”

“I don’t know, ma’am.”

“I’m afraid he does not. Those who are with him are lukewarm. Those who are against him are an ardent legion. It is only his political skills and his personal warmth that have kept him as close to the seats of power as he is. His greatest weakness, of course, is his sympathy for Earth. That is constantly used against him and it influences many who would share his views in every other respect. If you were sent to Aurora, any mistake you made would help strengthen anti-Earth feeling and would therefore weaken him, possibly fatally. Earth simply cannot take that risk.”

Baley muttered, “I see.”

“Fastolfe is willing to take the risk. It was he who arranged to have you sent to Solaria at a time when his political power was barely beginning and when he was very vulnerable. But then, he has only his personal power to lose, whereas we must be concerned with the welfare of over eight billion Earthpeople. That is what makes the present political situation almost unbearably delicate.”

She paused and, finally, Baley was forced to ask the question. “What is the situation that you are referring to, ma’am?”

“It seems,” said Demachek, “that Fastolfe has become implicated in a serious and unprecedented scandal. If he is clumsy, the chances are that he will undergo political destruction in a matter of weeks. If he is superhumanly clever, perhaps he will hold out for some months. A little sooner, a little later, he could be destroyed as a political force on Aurora—and that would be a real disaster for Earth, you see.”

“May I ask what he is accused of? Corruption? Treason?”

“Nothing that small. His personal integrity,—is, in any case, unquestioned even by his enemies.”

“A crime of passion, then? Murder?”

“Not quite murder.”

“I don’t understand, ma’am.”

“There are human beings on Aurora, Mr. Baley. And there are robots, too, most of them something like ours, not, very much more, advanced in most cases. However, there are a few humaniform robots, robots so humaniform that they can be taken for human.”

Baley nodded. “I know that very well.”

“I suppose that destroying a humaniform robot is not exactly murder in the strict sense of the word.”

Baley leaned forward, eyes widening. He shouted, “Jehoshaphat, woman! Stop playing games. Are you telling me that Dr. Fastolfe has killed R. Daneel?”

Roth leaped to his feet and seemed about to advance on Baley, but Undersecretary Demachek waved him back. She seemed unruffled.

She said, “Under the circumstances, I excuse your disrespect, Baley. No, R. Daneel has not been killed. He is not the only humaniform robot on Aurora. Another such robot, not R. Daneel, has been killed, if you wish to use the term loosely. To be more precise, its mind has been totally destroyed; it was placed into permanent and irreversible roblock.”

Baley said, “And they say that Dr. Fastolfe did it?”

“His enemies are saying so. The extremists, who wish only Spacers to spread through the Galaxy and who wish Earthpeople to vanish from the Universe, are saying so. If these extremists can maneuver another election within the next few weeks, they will surely gain total control of the government, with incalculable results.”