Foundation's Edge

“Golan, I’ve thought of that. I’ve thought of nothing but that for days. I expect her to grow tired of me; I’m no romantic idiot. But whatever she gives me till then will be enough. She has already given me enough. I have received more from her than I dreamed existed in life. If I saw her no more from this moment on, I have ended the winner.”

“I don’t believe it,” said Trevize gently. “I think you are a romantic idiot and, mind you, I wouldn’t want you any other way. Janov, we haven’t known each other for long, but we’ve been together every moment for weeks and—I’m sorry if it sounds silly—I like you a great deal.”

“And I, you, Golan,” said Pelorat.

“And I don’t want you hurt. I must talk to Bliss.”

“No no. Please don’t. You’ll lecture her.”

“I won’t lecture her. It’s not entirely to do with you—and I want to talk to her privately. Please, Janov, I don’t want to do it behind your back, so grant me your willingness to have me talk to her and get a few things straight. If I am satisfied, I will give you my heartiest congratulations and goodwill—and I will forever hold my peace, whatever happens.”

Pelorat shook his head. “You’ll ruin things.”

“I promise I won’t. I beg you—”

“Well—But do be careful, my dear fellow, won’t you?”

“You have my solemn word.”

4.

Bliss said, “Pel says you want to see me.”

Trevize said, “Yes.”

They were indoors, in the small apartment allotted to him.

She sat down gracefully, crossed her legs, and looked at him shrewdly, her beautiful brown eyes luminous and her long, dark hair glistening.

She said, “You disapprove of me, don’t you? You have disapproved of me from the start.”

Trevize remained standing. He said, “You are aware of minds and of their contents. You know what I think of you and why.”

Slowly Bliss shook her head. “Your mind is out of bounds to Gaia. You know that. Your decision was needed and it had to be the decision of a clear and untouched mind. When your ship was first taken, I placed you and Pel within a soothing field, but that was essential. You would have been damaged—and perhaps rendered useless for a crucial time—by panic or rage. And that was all. I could never go beyond that and I haven’t—so I don’t know what you’re thinking.”

Trevize said, “The decision I had to make has been made. I decided in favor of Gaia and Galaxia. Why, then, all this talk of a clear and untouched mind? You have what you want and you can do with me now as you wish.”

“Not at all, Trev. There are other decisions that may be needed in the future. You remain what you are and, while you are alive, you are a rare natural resource of the Galaxy. Undoubtedly, there are others like you in the Galaxy and others like you will appear in the future, but for now we know of you—and only you. We still cannot touch you.”

Trevize considered. “You are Gaia and I don’t want to talk to Gaia. I want to talk to you as an individual, if that has any meaning at all.”

“It has meaning. We are far from existing in a common melt. I can block off Gaia for a period of time.”

“Yes,” said Trevize. “I think you can. Have you now done so?”

“I have now done so.”

“Then, first, let me tell you that you have played games. You did not enter my mind to influence my decision, perhaps, but you certainly entered Janov’s mind to do so, didn’t you?”

“Do you think I did?”

“I think you did. At the crucial moment, Pelorat reminded me of his own vision of the Galaxy as alive and the thought drove me on to make my decision at that moment. The thought may have been his, but yours was the mind that triggered it, was it not?”

Bliss said, “The thought was in his mind, but there were many thoughts there. I smoothed the path before that reminiscence of his about the living Galaxy—and not before any other thought of his. That particular thought, therefore, slipped easily out of his consciousness and into words. Mind you, I did not create the thought. It was there.”

“Nevertheless, that amounted to an indirect tampering with the perfect independence of my decision, did it not?”

“Gaia felt it necessary.”

“Did it? —Well, it may make you feel better—or nobler—to know that although Janov’s remark persuaded me to make the decision at that moment, it was the decision I think I would have made even if he had said nothing or if he had tried to argue me into a decision of a different kind. I want you to know that.”

“I am relieved,” said Bliss coolly. “Is that what you wanted to tell me when you asked to see me?”

“No.”

“What else is there?”

Now Trevize sat down in a chair he had drawn opposite her so that their knees nearly touched. He leaned toward her.

“When we approached Gaia, it was you on the space station. It was you who trapped us; you who came out to get us; you who have remained with us ever since—except for the meal with Dom, which you did not share with us. In particular, it was you on the Far Star with us, when the decision was made. Always you.”

“I am Gaia.”

“That does not explain it. A rabbit is Gaia. A pebble is Gaia. Everything on the planet is Gaia, but they are not all equally Gaia. Some are more equal than others. Why you?”

“Why do you think?”

Trevize made the plunge. He said, “Because I don’t think you’re Gaia. I think you’re more than Gaia.”

Bliss made a derisive sound with her lips.

Trevize kept to his course. “At the time I was making the decision, the woman with the Speaker—”

“He called her Novi.”

“This Novi, then, said that Gaia was set on its course by the robots that no longer exist and that Gaia was taught to follow a version of the Three Laws of Robotics.”

“That is quite true.”

“And the robots no longer exist?”

“So Novi said.”

“So Novi did not say. I remember her exact words. She said: ‘Gaia was formed thousands of years ago with the help of robots that once, for a brief time, served the human species and now serve them no more.’?”

“Well, Trev, doesn’t that mean they exist no more?”

“No, it means they serve no more. Might they not rule instead?”

“Ridiculous!”

“Or supervise? Why were you there at the time of the decision? You did not seem to be essential. It was Novi who conducted matters and she was Gaia. What need of you? Unless—”

“Well? Unless?”

“Unless you are the supervisor whose role it is to make certain that Gaia does not forget the Three Laws. Unless you are a robot, so cleverly made that you cannot be told from a human being.”

“If I cannot be told from a human being, how is it you think that you can tell?” asked Bliss with a trace of sarcasm.