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.Hari sighed.He had been hoping to lose himself for an hour or two amid hisbeloved equations.The new mathematical model that had emerged-a pattern forthe future-was enthralling to contemplate, but the ideas already floatedinside his head, and he was certain that double-checking the Prime Radiantwouldn t change anything.With some effort, he gathered strength to lift his frail body.Flickeringpatches of radiation lit his way, following the twisty trail back to camp.By the time he got there, the new visitors had already arrived.A pair of women stood near R.Gornon Vlimt.One of them turned and smiled, asHari approached the Earthlings campfire. The guest of honor, I presume? Gornon s expression gave away little. Professor Seldon, let me introduce Zorma and Cloudia.They have come a greatdistance, in order to witness tonight s activities, and to assure themselvesthat you aren t under any sort of coercion. I Inri laughed. My entire life has been guided by others.If I know more andsee more than my fellow humans, it s because that serves some long-range plan.So, tell me, what fashion of robots are you? he asked the two newcomers. Areyou yet another sect of Calvinians? Or do you represent Daneel? Page 189 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlThe one called Zorma shook her head. We ve been disowned by Calvinians andGiskardians.Both groups call us perverts.Yet they still find us useful,whenever something important is about to lake place. Perverts, eh? Hari nodded.It all fit. So which of you is the human? Cloudia brought a hand to her chest. I was born one of the masters, longago.But this new body of mine is at least one-quarter robotic.Zorma, here,has many protoplasmic parts.So your question is a complicated one, ProfessorSeldon. Hari glanced at R.Gornon, whose face revealed nothing, even though it couldsimulate the whole range of emotions. I see why the other positronic sects find your approach disturbing, Haricommented.Zorma nodded. We seek to heal the rift between our races by blurring thedistinction.It has been a long and costly project, and not entirelysuccessful.But we continue to hope.The other robots put up with us, becauseit would cause them serious mental dissonance if they tried to eliminate us. Of course, if you are part human, you get some protection under the FirstLaw. Hari paused. But that won t suffice by itself.There must be somethingmore. Cloudia agreed. We also provide a service.We bear witness.We don t takesides.We remember. Hari could not help being impressed.This small sect had maintained itsexistence for a long time, enduring the contempt of far greater forces, whilemaintaining some degree of independence in an age when human memory wasshrouded by amnesia.It would take great discipline and patience to abidecenturies this way, resisting the ever-present urge to act.In some ways, itrequired a spirit opposite to Mors Planch s.In fact, it would take peoplealmost exactly like-He turned, seeking one face amid the crowd of onlookers, scanning past Horis,Sybyl, the Earthlings, and Mors Planch.Hari s gaze settled on the nobleman from Rhodia, Biron Maserd, who stood backfrom the crowd, with his arms crossed, wearing an expression of indifference.I Inri saw through the guise now. Come forth, my young friend, he urged the tall lord. Come join yourcomrades.Let us have no more secrets between us.It is a time for truth. · 8-Page 190 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html Of course there had to be a spy, Hari said, cutting off Maserd sprotestations. Someone who knew about the Thumartin Nebula, for instance.Wedidn t stumble on the archives and terraformers by accident. And there were other clues.When Sybyl and the real Gornon Vlimt startedaccessing those ancient records, you already knew more about human historythan any professor at an imperial university. As I explained earlier, Seldon, noble families often have private librariesthat might surprise members of the meritocracy.My family has a traditionalinterest in such matters as- As the systems of government used on ancient Earth? That kind of knowledgeis remarkable.Even incredible.Then there were the tilling machines that gotHoris so excited.those vast devices used long ago to prepare worlds forhuman occupation.Your reaction to them was hardly indifferent.as if youwere looking at an old, familiar enemy. This time Biron Maserd smiled, not bothering to refute Hari s assertion. Isit a crime to wish the universe had more diversity in it? Hari chuckled. To a psychohistorian, it s damn near blasphemy.The galaxy isalready so complicated, the equations almost burst at their seams.And that swith just humanity to deal with.We mathists would much rather simplify! No.I didn t notice all the clues because I had become so fix-ated on chaos.Sybyl, Planch, and the others presented such a threat.When Kers Kantun toldme you were an ally.that you hated chaos as much as anybody- I do! I took that to mean thai you were a practical man of the empire, as youstyled yourself.But now I see you are another Utopian, Maserd.You thinkhumanity can escape chaos, if only it experiences just the right kind ofrenaissance! Biron Maserd stared at Hari for a long, drawn-out moment, before answering. Isn t that what the Seldon Plan is all about, Professor? Fostering a humansociety that will be strong enough to take on the ancient enemy lurking in ourown souls? That was my old dream, Hari answered silently.Though until just the last fewdays, I had thought it obsolete.Aloud he gave Maserd a different answer, aware that others were watching andlistening. Like many gentry, you are ultimately a pragmatist, my lord.Lackingmathematical tools, you try one thing after another, abandoning each failedsolution only when forced to concede that it is time to try another. Harigestured toward the two cyborg women-Zorma and Cloudia, one of whom had beenborn human and the other with a positronic brain tuned to the Laws ofRobotics.Only now they had begun blurring the distinction. Are you involved in this radical project, or are you merely workingtogether, as a matter of temporary convenience? Apparently accepting the inevitability of Hari s conclusions, Maserd gave upwith a sigh.Page 191 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html Our groups have known about each other for a long time.My family- Henodded grimly
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