"If I have offended against custom," said Baley, "it is through ignorance and I apologize. May I refer to the gentleman under discussion by name?"
"Certainly."
"In that case, the death of Jander Panell has put Dr. Han Fastolfe into a position of some difficulty and I would assume that you would be concerned enough to desire to help him."
"You assume that, do you? Why?"
"He is your - He brought you up. He cared for you. You had a profound affection for each other. He still feels a profound affection for you."
"Did he tell you that?"
"It was obvious from the details of our conversations - even from the fact that he has taken an interest in the Solarian woman, Gladia Delmarre, because of her resemblance to you."
"Did he tell you that?"
"He did, but even if he hadn't, the resemblance is obvious."
"'Nevertheless, Earthman, I owe Dr. Fastolfe nothing. Your assumptions can be dismissed."
Baley cleared his throat. "Aside from any personal feelings you might or might not have, there is the matter of the future of the Galaxy. Dr. Fastolfe wishes new worlds to be explored and settled by human beings. If the political repercussions of Jander's death lead to the exploration and settlement of the new worlds by robots, Dr. Fastolfe believes that this will be catastrophic for Aurora and humanity. Surely you would not be a party to such a catastrophe."
Vasilia said indifferently, watching him closely, "Surely not, if I agreed with Dr. Fastolfe. I do not. I see no harm in having humaniform robots doing the work. I am here at the Institute, in fact, to make that possible. I am a Globalist. Since Dr. Fastolfe is a Humanist, he is my political enemy."
Her answers were clipped and direct, no longer than they had to be. Each time, there followed a definite silence, as, though she were waiting, with interest, for the next question. Baley had the impression that she was curious about him, amused by him, making wagers with herself as to what the next question might be, determined to give him just the minimum information necessary to force another question.
He said, "Have you long been a member of this Institute?"
"Since its formation."
"Are there many members?"
"I should judge about a third of Aurora's roboticists are members, though only about half of these actually live and work on the Institute grounds."
"Do other members of the Institute share your views on the robotic exploration of other worlds? Do they oppose Dr. Fastolfe's views one and all?"
"I suspect that most of them are Globalists, but I don't know that we have taken a vote on the matter or even discussed it formally. You had better ask them all individually."
"Is Dr. Fastolfe a member of the Institute?"
"No."
Baley waited a bit, but she said nothing beyond the negative. He said, "Isn't that surprising? I should think he, of all people, would be a member."
"As it happens, we don't want him. What is perhaps less important, he doesn't want us."
"Isn't that even more surprising?"
"I don't think so." - And then, as though goaded into saying something more by an irritation within herself, she said, "He lives in the city of Eos. I suppose you know the significance of the name, Earthman?"
Baley nodded and said, "Eos is - the ancient Greek goddess of the dawn, as Aurora is the ancient Roman goddess of the dawn."
"Exactly. Dr. Han Fastolfe lives in the City of the Dawn on the World of the Dawn, but he is not himself a believer in the Dawn. He does not understand the necessary method of expansion through the Galaxy, of converting the Spacer Dawn into broad Galactic Day. The robotic exploration of the Galaxy is the only practical way to carry the task through and he won't accept it - or us."
Baley said slowly, "Why is it the only practical method? Aurora and the other Spacer worlds were not explored and settled by robots but by human beings."
"Correction. By Earthpeople. It was a wasteful and inefficient procedure and there are now no Earthpeople that we will allow to serve as further settlers. We have become Spacers, long-lived, and healthy, and we have robots who are infinitely more versatile and flexible than those available to the human beings who originally settled our worlds. Times and matters are wholly different - and today only robotic exploration is feasible."
"Let us suppose you are right and Dr. Fastolfe is wrong. Even so, he has a logical view. Why won't he and the Institute accept each other? Simply because they disagree on this point?"
"No, this disagreement is comparatively minor - There is a more fundamental conflict."
Again Baley paused and again she added nothing to her remark. He did not feel it safe to display irritation, so he said quietly, almost tentatively, "What is the more fundamental conflict?"
The amusement in Vasilia's voice came nearer the surface. It softened the lines of her face somewhat and, for a moment, she looked more like Gladia. "You couldn't guess, unless it were explained to you, I think."
"Precisely why I am asking, Dr. Vasilia."
"Well, then, Earthman, I have been told that Earthpeople are short-lived. I have not been misled in that, have I?"
Baley shrugged, "Some of us live to be a hundred years old, Earth time." He thought a bit. "Perhaps a - hundred and thirty or so metric years."
"And how old are you?"
"Forty-five standard, sixty metric."
"I am sixty-six metric. I expect to live three metric centuries more at least - if I am careful."
Baley spread his hands wide. "I congratulate you."