Baley watched Amadiro forage for one last piece of pastry and put half of it into his mouth, clearly enjoying it.

“Very good,” said Amadiro, “but I am a little too fond of eating. What was I saying?—Oh yes. Mr. Baley, do you think you have discovered a secret? That I have told you something that our world does not already know? That my plans are dangerous, but that I blab them to every newcomer? I imagine you may think that, if I talk to you long enough, I will surely produce some verbal folly that you will be able to make use of. Be assured that I am not likely to. My plans for ever more humaniform robots, for robot families, and for as human a culture as possible are all on record. They are available to the Legislature and to anyone who is interested.”

Baley said, “Does the general public know?”

“Probably not. The general public has its own priorities and is more interested in the next meal, the next hyperwave show, the next space-soccer contest than in the—next century and the next millennium. Still, the general public, will be as glad to accept my plans, as are the intellectually minded who already know. Those who object will not be numerous enough to matter.”

“Can you be certain of that?”

“Oddly enough, I can be. You don’t understand, I’m afraid, the intensity of the feelings that Aurorans—and Spacers generally—have toward Earthpeople. I don’t share those feelings, mind you, and I am, for instance, quite at ease with you. I don’t have that primitive fear of infection, I don’t imagine that you smell bad, I don’t attribute to you all sorts of personality traits that I find offensive, I don’t think that you and yours are plotting to take our lives or steal our property but the large majority of Aurorans have all these attitudes. It may not be very close to the surface and Aurorans may bring themselves to be very polite to individual Earthpeople who seem harmless, but put them to the test and all their hatred and suspicion will emerge. Tell them that Earthpeople are swarming over new worlds and will preempt the Galaxy and they will howl for Earth’s destruction before such a thing can happen.”

“Even if the alternative was a robot society?”

“Certainly. You don’t understand how we feel about robots, either. We are familiar with them. We are at home with them.”

“No. They are your servants. You feel superior to them and are at home with them only while that superiority is maintained. If you are threatened by an overturn, by having them become your superiors, you will react with horror.”

“You say that only because that is how Earthpeople would react.”

“No. You keep them out of the Personals. It is a symptom.”

“They have no use for those rooms. They have their own facilities for washing and they do not excrete.—Of course, they are not truly humaniform. If they were, we might not make that distinction.”

“You would fear them the more.”

“Truly?” said Amadiro. “That’s foolish. Do you fear Daneel? If I can trust that hyperwave show—and I admit I do not think I can—you developed a considerable affection for Daneel. You feel it now, don’t you?”

Baley’s silence was eloquent and Amadiro pursued his advantage.

“Right now,” he said, “you are unmoved by the fact that Giskard is standing, silent and unresponsive, in an alcove, but can tell by small examples of body language that you are uneasy over the fact that Daneel is doing so, too. You feel he is too human in appearance to be treated as a robot. You don’t fear him the more because he looks human.”

“I am an Earthman. We have robots,” said Baley, “but not a robot culture. You cannot judge from my case.”

“And Gladia, who preferred Jander to human beings—”

“She is a Solarian. You cannot judge from her case, either.”

“What case can you judge from, then? You are only guessing. To me, it seems obvious that, if a robot is human enough, he would be accepted as human. Do you demand proof that I am not a robot? The fact that I seem human is enough. In the end, we will not worry whether a new world is settled by Aurorans who are human in fact or in appearance, if no one can tell the difference. But—human or robot—the settlers will be Aurorans either way, not Earthpeople.”

Baley’s assurance faltered. He said unconvincingly, “What if you never learn how to construct a humaniform robot?”

“Why would you expect we would not? Notice that I say ‘we.’ There are many of us involved here.”

“It may be that any number of mediocrities do not add up to one genius.”

Amadiro said shortly, “We are not mediocrities. Fastolfe may yet find it profitable to come in with us.”

“I don’t think so.”

“I do. He will not enjoy being without power in the Legislature and, when our plans for settling the Galaxy move ahead and he sees, that his opposition does not stop us, he will join us. It will be only human of him to do so.”

“I don’t think you will win out,” said Baley.

“Because you think that somehow this investigation of yours will exonerate Fastolfe and implicate me, perhaps, or someone else.”

“Perhaps,” said Baley desperately.

Amadiro shook his head. “My friend, if I thought that anything you could do would spoil my plans, would I be sitting still and waiting for destruction?”

“You are not. You are doing everything you can to have this investigation aborted. Why would you do that if you were confident that nothing I could do would get in your way?”

“Well,” said Amadiro, “you can get in my way by demoralizing some of the members of the Institute. You can’t be dangerous, but you can be annoying—and I don’t want that either. So, if I can, I’ll put an end to the annoyance—but I’ll do that in reasonable fashion, in gentle fashion, even. If you were actually dangerous—”

“What could you do, Dr. Amadiro, in that case?”

“I could have you seized and imprisoned until you were evicted. I don’t think Aurorans generally would worry overmuch about what I might do to an Earthman.”

Baley said, “You are trying to browbeat me and that won’t work. You know very well you could not lay a hand on me with my robots present.”

Amadiro said, “Does it occur to you that I have a hundred robots within call? What would yours do against them?”

“All hundred could not harm me. They cannot distinguish between Earthmen and Aurorans. I am human within the meaning of the Three Laws.”

“They could hold you quite immobilized—without harming you—while your robots were destroyed.”

“Not so,” said Baley. “Giskard can hear you and, if you make a move to summon your robots, Giskard will have you immobilized. He moves very quickly and, once that happens, your robots will be helpless, even if you manage to call them. They will understand that any move against me will result in harm to you.”

“You mean that Giskard will hurt me?”

“To protect me from harm? Certainly. He will kill you, if absolutely necessary.”

“Surely you don’t mean that.”

“I do,” said Baley. “Daneel and Giskard have orders to protect me. The First Law, in this respect, has been strengthened with all the skill Dr. Fastolfe can bring to the job—and with respect to me, specifically. I haven’t been told this in so many words, but I’m quite sure it’s true. If my robots must choose between harm to you and harm to me, Earthman though I am, it will be easy for them to choose harm to you. I imagine you are well aware that Dr. Fastolfe is not very eager to ensure your well-being.”

Amadiro chuckled and a grin wreathed his face. “I’m sure you’re right in every respect, Mr. Baley, but it is good to have you say so. You know, my good sir, that I am recording this conversation also—I told you so at the start—and I’m glad of it. It is possible that Dr. Fastolfe will erase the last part of this conversation, but I assure you I won’t. It is clear from what you have said that he is quite prepared to devise a robotic way of doing harm to me—even kill me, if he can manage that whereas it cannot be said from anything in this conversation or any other—that I plan any physical harm to him whatever or even to you. Which of us is the villain, Mr. Baley?—I think you have established that, and I think, then, that this is a good place at which to end the interview.”