There was silence till they arrived and then one of them spoke in the Solarian language-at which all four of the robots seemed to lose their elasticity. For a moment, they appeared to wither, almost to deflate.
Pelorat said, "They've found Bander," before Trevize could wave him silent.
The robot turned slowly and said, in a voice that slurred the syllables, "Ruler Bander is dead. By the remark you have just made, you show us you were aware of the fact. How did that come to be?"
"How can I know?" said Trevize defiantly.
"You knew it was dead. You knew it was there to be found. How could you know that, unless you had been there-unless it was you that had ended the life?" The robot's enunciation was already improving. It had endured and was absorbing the shock.
Then Trevize said, "How could we have killed Bander? With its transducer-lobes it could have destroyed us in a moment."
"How do you know what, or what not, transducer-lobes could do?"
"You mentioned the transducer-lobes just now."
"I did no more than mention them. I did not describe their properties or abilities."
"The knowledge came to us in a dream."
"That is not a credible answer."
Trevize said, "To suppose that we have caused the death of Bander is not credible, either."
Pelorat added, "And in any case, if Ruler Bander is dead, then Ruler Fallom now controls this estate. Here the Ruler is, and it is it whom you must obey."
"I have already explained," said the robot, "that an offspring with undeveloped transducer-lobes is not a Solarian. It cannot be a Successor, therefore, Another Successor, of the appropriate age, will be flown in as soon as we report this sad news."
"What of Ruler Fallom?"
"There is no Ruler Fallom. There is only a child and we have an excess of children. It will be destroyed."
Bliss said forcefully, "You dare not. It is a child!"
"It is not I," said the robot, "who will necessarily do the act and it is certainly not I who will make the decision. That is for the consensus of the Rulers. In times of child-excess, however, I know well what the decision will in."**
"No. I say no."
"It will be painless. But another ship is coming. It is important that we go into what was the Bander mansion and set up a holovision Council that will supply a Successor and decide on what to do with you. Give me the child."
Bliss snatched the semicomatose figure of Fallom from Pelorat. Holding it tightly and trying to balance its weight on her shoulder, she said, "Do not touch this child."
Once again, the robot's arm shot out swiftly and it stepped forward, reaching for Fallom. Bliss moved quickly to one side, beginning her motion well before the robot had begun its own. The robot continued to move forward, however, as though Bliss were still standing before it. Curving stiffly downward, with the forward tips of its feet as the pivot, it went down on its face. The other three stood motionless, eyes unfocused.
Bliss was sobbing, partly with rage. "I almost had the proper method of control, and it wouldn't give me the time. I had no choice but to strike and now all four are inactivated. Let's get on the ship before the other ship lands. I am too ill to face additional robots, now."
Part Five Melpomenia
Chapter 13 Away from Solaria
56.
THE LEAVING was a blur. Trevize had gathered up his futile weapons, had opened the airlock, and they had tumbled in. Trevize didn't notice until they were off the surface that Fallom had been brought in as well.
They probably would not have made it in time if the Solarian use of airflight had not been so comparatively unsophisticated. It took the approaching Solarian vessel an unconscionable time to descend and land. On the other hand, it took virtually no time for the computer of the Far Star to take the gravitic ship vertically upward.
And although the cut-off of the gravitational interaction and, therefore, of inertia wiped out the otherwise unbearable effects of acceleration that would have accompanied so speedy a takeoff, it did not wipe out the effects of air resistance. The outer hull temperature rose at a distinctly more rapid rate than navy regulations (or ship specifications, for that matter) would have considered suitable.
As they rose, they could see the second Solarian ship land and several more approaching. Trevize wondered how many robots Bliss could have handled, and decided they would have been overwhelmed if they had remained on the surface fifteen minutes longer.
Once out in space (or space enough, with only tenuous wisps of the planetary exosphere around them), Trevize made for the nightside of the planet. It was a hop away, since they had left the surface as sunset was approaching. In the dark, the Far Star would have a chance to cool more rapidly, and there the ship could continue to recede from the surface in a slow spiral.
Pelorat came out of the room he shared with Bliss. He said, "The child is sleeping normally now. We've showed it how to use the toilet and it had no trouble understanding."
"That's not surprising. It must have had similar facilities in the mansion."
"I didn't see any there and I was looking," said Pelorat feelingly. "We didn't get back on the ship a moment too soon for me."
"Or any of us. But why did we bring that child on board?"
Pelorat shrugged apologetically. "Bliss wouldn't let go. It was like saving a life in return for the one she took. She can't bear-"
"I know," said Trevize.
Pelorat said, "It's a very oddly shaped child."
"Being hermaphroditic, it would have to be," said Trevize.