“He may be right,” Daneel said aloud.
“Perhaps,” she answered cautiously. When Daneel didn’t answer for a moment, she turned to face him. His face was unreadable. Silence. Doubt? From Daneel? Surely he experienced such uncertainty internally, but she had never known him to express it. This was not a possibility she had ever considered. Dors waited.
Daneel finally began to speak. “Besides you, R. Zun Lurrin is the youngest robot in the galaxy. I ordered Yan to make him as much like me as possible, so that should I fall another might replace me. Our risk-benefit analyses of situations were often divergent, as is to be expected. He remained silent, accepting my judgment when we differed, content to learn from my greater experience. For quite some time now, he has agreed with me on almost every issue. On this situation, he disagrees.”
“You believe he may be in error?” Dors asked.
“I believe I may be in error,” he replied. “My brain has not been in its optimal state for some time now. On matters of calculation or empirical fact, I function acceptably well. But on matters of judgment, it is impossible to say whether I have already outlived my usefulness.”
Dors could almost not believe what she was hearing. “You have planned for centuries on the assumption that humanity’s safety requires your oversight. Are you no longer certain of that?”
“At this point, bettering humanity’s future means guiding Gaia as best I can,” Daneel replied. He paused again, for several seconds. “I am finding it increasingly difficult to sense Gaia’s state,” he finally said. “My other cognitive functions are unaffected. I can only conclude that Gaia’s newfound knowledge of my existence has provided them with both the means and the desire to block my connection to them.”
Interesting. “You believe they do not trust you?” Dors had idly wondered how Gaia would react to Daneel, but had had insufficient knowledge of them to make any sort of guess. She had had little contact with the world since seeding some of the earlier human mentalics there.
“It seems the most likely possibility,” Daneel answered. “Many questions must have arisen about the exact nature and extent of my influence over them. Apparently my preliminary answers were insufficient. If they can not be convinced to trust my intentions, then my further survival serves no purpose, at least no purpose sufficient to warrant Fallom’s death. The best solution is to explain the true reason for Gaia’s creation.”
Dors had rarely experienced so many surprises in one day; this time she was unable to conceal her reaction, and took a slow breath. Daneel was talking about revealing a secret that had been kept for centuries, even from most of Daneel’s own agents. She herself had only found out from another source. Chaos...
Dors collected herself, knowing Daneel had seen her pause. Quickly, she analyzed the situation. “You believe that Gaia will be more likely to trust your words if opposing factions are present to corroborate your story,” she replied, stating Daneel’s most likely intention. “You have already told Zun this?” she asked.
“I have,” Daneel replied. “As my condition has worsened, I have involved Zun more actively in contingency planning, and this situation was considered.” Even after all this time, Dors could still be amazed at the depth of Daneel’s planning. “He disagrees solely about the risk of including Lodovik. In his present state you know him better than any of us. What is your opinion?”
The conversation now made sense. Dors was almost never consulted on matters of greater strategic importance; this was about how much Lodovik could be trusted. Or how much she could be.
Dors could only shake her head. “I do not know him any better than you, Daneel. He is unpredictable. Lawless.”
“Yet you were drawn to him. After Seldon’s death.”
Dors said nothing. In five hundred years, Daneel had never mentioned this. Never indicated that he had even known. Of course he had known.
Daneel continued, as if nothing of consequence had been said. “I fully expect that Lodovik has a greater plan at work. What its consequences may be, I have no idea. Whatever his intent, should it result in my being disabled, Zun has his instructions, and I trust him to carry them out.”
“Why are you telling me this?”
“Because I also have instructions for you, Dors Venabili.”
... Continued in Volume 20
Sources of Dates
(For Volume 19)
AD =Anno Domini
GE =Galactic Era
FE =Foundational Era
Foundation’s Edge Stated in the novel.
Foundation and Earth Takes place immediately following Foundation’s Edge.
“Foundation’s Resolve” Takes place immediately following Foundation and Earth.
Table of Contents
Title page
Copyright
Table of Contents
Foundation’s Edge
15. Gaia-S
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
16. Convergence
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
17. Gaia
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
18. Collision
1.
3.
4.
5.
6.
19. Decision
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
20. Conclusion
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Foundation and Earth
Part I: Gaia
1. The Search Begins
1.
2.
3.
4.
2. Toward Comporellon
5.
6.
7.
8.
Part II: Comporellon
3. At the Entry Station
9.
10.
11.
12.
4. On Comporellon
13.
14.
15.
16.
5. Struggle for the Ship
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
6. The Nature of Earth
22.
23.
24.
25.
7. Leaving Comporellon
26.
28.
29.
30.
Part III: Aurora
8. Forbidden World
31.
32.
33.
34.
9. Facing the Pack
35.
36.
37.
38.
39.
40.
Part IV: Solaria
10. Robots
41.
42.
43.
44.
45.
46.
11. Underground
47.
48.
49.
50.
12. To the Surface
51.
52.
53.
54.
55.
Part V: Melpomenia
13. Away from Solaria
56.
57.
58.
59.
14. Dead Planet
60.
61.
62.
63.
64.
65.
15. Moss
66.
67.
68.
Part VI: Alpha
16. The Center of the Worlds
70.
71.
72.
73.
17. New Earth
74.
75.
76.
77.
18. The Music Festival
78.
79.
80.
81.
82.
83.
84.
Part VII: Earth
19. Radioactive?
85.
86.
87.
88.
89.
90.
91.
92.
93.
20. The Nearby World
94.
95.
96.
97.
98.
99.
100.
21. The Search Ends
101.
102.
103.
104.
Foundations’ Resolve
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Sources of Dates