Isaac Asimov - Robots and Empire

“What about medical attention for the prisoner?” asked one of the guards.

“That will not be necessary, sir,” said Daneel. He did not explain.

“That this should have happened,” said Andrev tightly, his lips trembling with passion. They were in the room off the balcony and he glanced up at the hole in the ceiling that remained as mute evidence of the violence that had taken place.

Gladia said, in a voice that she strove successfully to keep from shaking, “Nothing has happened. I am unharmed. There is that hole in the ceiling that you will have to repair and perhaps some additional repairs in the room above. That’s all.”

Even as she spoke, she could hear people upstairs moving objects away from the hole and presumably assessing damage.

“That is not all,” said Andrev. “It ruins our plans for your appearance tomorrow, for your major address to the planet.”

“It does the opposite,” said Gladia. “The planet will be the more anxious to hear me, knowing I have been the near victim of an assassination attempt.”

“But there’s the chance of another attempt.”

Gladia shrugged lightly. “That just makes me feel I’m on the right track. Secretary-General Andrev, I discovered not too long ago that I have a mission in life. It did not occur to me that this mission might place me in danger, but since it does, it also occurs to me that I would not be in danger and not worth the killing if I was not striking home. If danger is a measure of my effectiveness, I am willing to risk that danger.”

Giskard said, “Madam Gladia, Daneel is here with, I presume, the individual who aimed a blaster in this direction.”

It was not only Daneel—carrying a relaxed, unstruggling figure—who appeared in the doorway of the room, but half a dozen security guards as well. Outside, the noise of the crowd seemed lower and more distant. It was clearly beginning to disperse and periodically one could hear the announcement over the loudspeakers: “No one has been hurt. There is no danger. Return to your homes.”

Andrev waved the guards away. “Is that the one?” he asked sharply.

Daneel said, “There is no question, sir, but that this is the individual with the blaster. The weapon was near him, but the people close to the scene witnessed his action, and he himself admits the deed.”

Andrev stared at him in astonishment. “He’s so calm. He doesn’t seem human.”

“He is not human, sir. He is a robot, a humanoid robot.”

“But we don’t have any humanoid robots on Earth.—Except you.”

“This robot, Secretary-General,” said Daneel, “is, like myself, of Auroran manufacture.”

Gladia frowned. “But that’s impossible. A robot couldn’t have been ordered to assassinate me.”

D.G., looking exasperated and, with a most possessive arm about Gladia’s shoulder, said in an angry rumble, “An Auroran robot, specially programmed—”

“Nonsense, D.G.,” said Gladia. “No way. Auroran or not, special programming or not, a robot cannot deliberately try to harm a human being it knows to be a human being. If this robot did fire the blaster in my direction, he must have missed me on purpose.”

“To what end?” demanded Andrev. “Why should he miss, madam?”

“Don’t you see?” said Gladia. “Whoever it was that gave the robot, its orders must have felt that the attempt would be enough to disrupt my plans here on Earth and it was the disruption they were after. They couldn’t order the robot to kill me, but they could order him to miss me—and if that was enough to disrupt the program, they would be satisfied.

“Except that it won’t disrupt the program. I won’t allow that.”

D.G. said, “Don’t be a heroine, Gladia. I don’t know what they’ll try next and nothing—nothing—is worth losing you.”

Gladia’s eyes softened. “Thank you, D.G. I appreciate your feelings, but we must chance it.”

Andrev pulled at his ear in perplexity. “What do we do? The knowledge that a humanoid robot used a blaster in a crowd of human beings will not be taken well by Earth people.”

“Obviously, it wouldn’t,” said D.G. “Therefore, let’s not tell them.”

“A number of people must already know—or guess that we are dealing with a robot.”

“You won’t stop the rumor, Secretary-General, but there is no need to make it more than that by means of an official announcement.”

Andrev said, “If Aurora is willing to go to this extreme to—”

“Not Aurora,” said Gladia quickly. “Merely certain people on Aurora, certain fire-eaters. There are such bellicose extremists among the Settlers, too, I know, and probably even on Earth. Don’t play into the hands of these extremists, Secretary-General. I’m appealing to the vast majority of sensible human beings on both sides and nothing must be done to weaken that appeal.”

Daneel, who had been waiting patiently, finally found a pause long enough to make it possible for him to insert his comment. “Madam Gladia—sirs—it is important to find out from this robot where on this planet he is based. There may be others.”

“Haven’t you asked him?” said Andrev.

“I have, Secretary-General, but I am a robot. This robot is not required to answer questions put to him by another robot. Nor is he required to follow my orders.”

“Well, then, I will ask,” said Andrev.

“That may not help, sir. The robot is under stringent orders not to answer and your order to answer will probably not overcome them. You do not know the proper phraseology and intonation—Madam Gladia is an Auroran and knows how this may be done. Madam Gladia, would you inquire as to where his planetary base might be?”

Giskard said in a low voice, so that only Daneel heard him, “It may not be possible. He may have been ordered into irreversible freeze if the questioning becomes too insistent.”

Daneel’s head turned sharply to Giskard. He whispered, “Can you prevent that?”

“Uncertain,” said Giskard. “The brain has been physically damaged by the act of firing a blaster toward human beings.”

Daneel turned back to Gladia. “Madam,” he said, “I would suggest you be probing, rather than brutal.”

Gladia said doubtfully, “Well, I don’t know.” She faced the robot assassin, drew a deep breath, and in a voice that was firm yet soft and gentle, she said, “Robot, how may I address you?”

The robot said, “I am referred to as R. Ernett Second, madam.”

“Ernett, can you tell that I am an Auroran?”

“You speak in the Auroran fashion, yet not entirely, madam.”

“I was born on Solaria, but I am a Spacer who has lived for twenty decades on Aurora and I am accustomed to being served by robots—I have expected and received service from robots every day of my life since I was a small child. I have never been disappointed.”

“I accept the fact, madam.”

“Will you answer my questions and accept my orders, Ernett?”

“I will, madam, if they are not counteracted by a competing order.”

“If I ask you the location of your base on this planet what portion of it you count as your master’s establishment—will you answer that?”

“I may not do so, madam. Nor any other question with respect to my master. Any question at all.”

“Do you understand that if you do not answer I will be bitterly disappointed and that my rightful expectation of robotic service will be permanently blunted?”

“I understand, madam,” said the robot faintly.

Gladia looked at Daneel, “Shall I try?”

Daneel said, “Mere is no choice but to try, Madam Gladia. If the effort leaves us without information, we are no worse off than now.”