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.The cranial bone hasn t developed yet.There s just a toughlayer of skin there, which will eventually expand outward and be fenced inwith bone after the lobes have fully grown.-Which means it can t, at thepresent time, control the estate or even activate its own personal robot.-Askit how old it is, Pel.Pelorat said, after an exchange,  It s fourteen years old, if Iunderstand it rightly.Trevize said,  It looks more like eleven.Bliss said,  The length of the years used on this world may notcorrespond closely to Standard Galactic Years.Besides, Spacers are supposedto have extended lifetimes and, if the Solarians are like the other Spacers inthis, they may also have extended developmental periods.We can t go by years,after all.Trevize said, with an impatient click of his tongue,  Enoughanthropology.We must get to the surface and since we are dealing with achild, we may be wasting our time uselessly.It may not know the route to thesurface.It may not ever have been on the surface.Bliss said,  Pel!Pelorat knew what she meant and there followed the longestPage 182ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlconversation he had yet had with Fallom.Finally, he said,  The child knows what the sun is.It says it sseen it.Ithink it s seen trees.It didn t act as though it were sure what theword meant-or at least what the wordI used meant- Yes, Janov, said Trevize,  but do get to the point. I told Fallom that if it could get us out to the surface, thatmight make it possible for us to activate the robot.Actually, I said wewouldactivate the robot.Do you suppose we might?Trevize said,  We ll worry about that later.Did it say it wouldguide us? Yes.I thought the child would be more anxious to do it, you see,if I made that promise.I suppose we re running the risk of disappointing it- Come, said Trevize,  let s get started.All this will beacademic if we are caught underground.Pelorat said something to the child, who began to walk, thenstopped and looked back at Bliss.Bliss held out her hand and the two then walked hand in hand. I m the new robot, she said, smiling slightly. It seems reasonably happy over that, said Trevize.Fallom skipped along and, briefly, Trevize wondered if it werehappy simply because Bliss had labored to make it so, or if, added to that,there was the excitement of visiting the surface and of having three newrobots, or whether it was excitement at the thought of having its Jembyfoster-parent back.Not that it mattered-as long as the child led them.There seemed no hesitation in the child s progress.It turnedwithout pause whenever there was a choice of paths.Did it really know whereit was going, or was it all simply a matter of a child s indifference? Was itsimply playing a game with no clear end in sight?But Trevize was aware, from the slight burden on his progress,that he was moving uphill, and the child, bouncing self-importantly forward,was pointing ahead and chattering.Trevize looked at Pelorat, who cleared his throat and said, Ithink what it s saying is  doorway.  I hope your thought is correct, said Trevize.The child broke away from Bliss, and was running now.It pointedto a portion of the flooring that seemed darker than the sections immediatelyneighboring it.The child stepped on it, jumping up and down a few times, andthen turned with a clear expression of dismay, and spoke with shrillvolubility.Bliss said, with a grimace,  I ll have to supply the power.-Thisis wearing me out.Her face reddened a bit and the lights dimmed, but a door openedPage 183ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmljust ahead of Fallom, who laughed in soprano delight.The child ran out the door and the two men followed.Bliss camelast, and looked back as the lights just inside darkened and the door closed.She then paused to catch her breath, looking rather worn out. Well, said Pelorat,  we re out.Where s the ship?All of them stood bathed in the still luminous twilight.Trevize muttered,  It seems to me that it was in that direction. It seems so to me, too, said Bliss. Let s walk, and she heldout her hand to Fallom.There was no sound except those produced by the wind and by themotions and calls of living animals.At one point they passed a robot standingmotionless near the base of a tree, holding some object of uncertain purpose.Pelorat took a step toward it out of apparent curiosity, butTrevize said,  Not our business, Janov.Move on.They passed another robot, at a greater distance, who had tumbled.Trevize said,  There are robots littered over many kilometers inall directions, I suppose. And then, triumphantly,  Ah, there s the ship.They hastened their steps now, then stopped suddenly.Fallomraised its voice in an excited squeak.On the ground near the ship was what appeared to be an air-vesselof primitive design, with a rotor that looked energy-wasteful, and fragilebesides.Standing next to the air-vessel, and between the little party ofOutworlders and their ship, stood four human figures. Too late, said Trevize. We wasted too much time.Now what?Pelorat said wonderingly,  Four Solarians7 It can t be.Surelythey wouldn t come into physical contact like that.Do you suppose those areholoimages? They are thoroughly material, said Bliss. I m sure of that.They re not Solarians either.There s no mistaking the minds.They re robots.55. WELL, THEN, said Trevize wearily,  onward! He resumed his walktoward the ship at a calm pace and the others followed.Pelorat said, rather breathlessly,  What do you intend to do? If they re robots, they ve got to obey orders.The robots were awaiting them, and Trevize watched them narrowlyas they came closer.Page 184ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlYes, they must be robots.Their faces, which looked as though theywere made of skin underlain with flesh, were curiously expressionless.Theywere dressed in uniforms that exposed no square centimeter of skin outside theface.Even the hands were covered by thin, opaque gloves.Trevize gestured casually, in a fashion that was unquestionably abrusque request that they step aside.The robots did not move.In a low voice, Trevize said to Pelorat,  put it into words,Janov.Be firm.Pelorat cleared his throat and, putting an unaccustomed baritoneinto his voice, spoke slowly, gesturing them aside much as Trevize had done.At that, one of the robots, who was perhaps a shade taller than the rest, saidsomething in a cold and incisive voice.Pelorat turned to Trevize. I think he said we were Outworlders. Tell him we are human beings and must be obeyed.The robot spoke then, in peculiar but understandable Galactic. Iunderstand you, Outworlder.I speak Galactic.We are Guardian Robots. Then you have heard me say that we are human beings and that youmust therefore obey us. We are programmed to obey Rulers only, Outworlder.You are notRulers and not Solarian.Ruler Bander has not responded to the normal momentof Contact and we have come to investigate at close quarters.It is our dutyto do so.We find a spaceship not of Solarian manufacture, several Outworlderspresent, and all Bander robots inactivated.Where is Ruler Bander?Trevize shook his head and said slowly and distinctly,  We knownothing of what you say.Our ship s computer is not working well.We foundourselves near this strange planet against our intentions.We landed to findour location.We found all robots inactivated.We know nothing of what mighthave happened. That is not a credible account [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]