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.Another robot was approaching thedoor from the other side.Had something gone wrong? What is it, boy? he snapped. A message has been forwarded to you, master,from the office of Acting Head of Security Attlebish. Baley took the personal capsule handed to him andit opened at once.A finely inscribed strip of paperunrolled.(He wasn t startled.Solaria would have hisfingerprints on file and the capsule would be adjustedto open at the touch of his particular convolutions.)He read the message and his long face mirroredsatisfaction.It was his official permission to arrange seeing interviews, subject to the wishes of the inter-viewees, who were nevertheless urged to give AgentsBaley and Olivaw every possible cooperation.Attlebish had capitulated, even to the extent ofputting the Earthman s name first.It was an excellent The Naked Sun.qxd 7/7/2003 12:43 PM Page 130ISAAC ASIMOV130omen with which to begin, finally, an investigationconducted as it should be conducted.Baley was in an air-borne vessel again, as he hadbeen on that trip from New York to Washington.Thistime, however, there was a difference.The vessel wasnot closed in.The windows were left transparent.It was a clear bright day and from where Baley satthe windows were so many patches of blue.Unrelieved, featureless.He tried not to huddle.Heburied his head in his knees only when he couldabsolutely no longer help it.The ordeal was of his own choosing.His state oftriumph, his unusual sense of freedom at having beatendown first Attlebish and then Daneel, his feeling ofhaving asserted the dignity of Earth against the Spacers,almost demanded it.He had begun by stepping across open ground to thewaiting plane with a kind of lightheaded dizziness thatwas almost enjoyable, and he had ordered the windowsleft unblanked in a kind of manic self-confidence.I have to get used to it, he thought, and stared at theblue until his heart beat rapidly and the lump in histhroat swelled beyond endurance.He had to close his eyes and bury his head underthe protective cover of his arms at shortening intervals.Slowly his confidence trickled away and even thetouch of the holster of his freshly recharged blastercould not reverse the flow.He tried to keep his mind on his plan of attack.First, learn the ways of the planet.Sketch in the back-ground against which everything must be placed or failto make sense. The Naked Sun.qxd 7/7/2003 12:43 PM Page 131THE NAKED SUN131See a sociologist!He had asked a robot for the name of the Solarianmost eminent as a sociologist.And there was that com-fort about robots; they asked no questions.The robot gave the name and vital statistics, andpaused to remark that the sociologist would mostprobably be at lunch and would, therefore, possiblyask to delay contact. Lunch! said Baley sharply. Don t be ridiculous.It s not noon by two hours. The robot said, I am using local time, master. Baley stared, then understood.On Earth, with itsburied Cities, day and night, waking and sleeping, wereman-made periods, adjusted to suit the needs of the com-munity and the planet.On a planet such as this one,exposed nakedly to the sun, day and night were not a mat-ter of choice at all, but were imposed on man willy-nilly.Baley tried to picture a world as a sphere being litand unlit as it turned.He found it hard to do and feltscornful of the so-superior Spacers who let such anessential thing as time be dictated to them by thevagaries of planetary movements.He said, Contact him anyway. Robots were there to meet the plane when it landedand Baley, stepping out into the open again, found him-self trembling badly.He muttered to the nearest of the robots, Let mehold your arm, boy. The sociologist waited for him down the length ofa hall, smiling tightly. Good afternoon, Mr.Baley. Baley nodded breathlessly. Good evening, sir.Would you blank out the windows? The Naked Sun.qxd 7/7/2003 12:43 PM Page 132ISAAC ASIMOV132The sociologist said, They are blanked outalready.I know something of the ways of Earth.Willyou follow me? Baley managed it without robotic help, followingat a considerable distance, across and through amaze of hallways.When he finally sat down in a largeand elaborate room, he was glad of the opportunity torest.The walls of the room were set with curved, shal-low alcoves.Statuary in pink and gold occupied eachniche; abstract figures that pleased the eye withoutyielding instant meaning.A large, boxlike affair withwhite and dangling cylindrical objects and numerouspedals suggested a musical instrument.Baley looked at the sociologist standing beforehim.The Spacer looked precisely as he had when Baleyhad viewed him earlier that day.He was tall and thin andhis hair was pure white.His face was strikingly wedge-shaped, his nose prominent, his eyes deep-set and alive.His name was Anselmo Quemot.They stared at one another until Baley felt he couldtrust his voice to be reasonably normal.And then hisfirst remark had nothing to do with the investigation.In fact it was nothing he had planned.He said, May I have a drink? A drink? The sociologist s voice was a trifle toohigh-pitched to be entirely pleasant
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Tematy
IndexHieber Leanna Renee Percy Parker 02 Walka œwiatła i mroku o Percy Parker
Lensman 02 Smith, E E 'Doc' First Lensman
Swann S. A. Wilczy miot 02 Wilczy Amulet
Benzoni Juliette Fiora 02 Fiora i zuchwały
Kaplan Andrew Skorpion 02 Zima Skorpiona
Anne Stuart Czarny lód 02 Zimny jak lód
Gauze Jan Brazylia 02 Brazylia mierzona krokami
Bidwell George Michał i Pat 02 Synowie Pat
Stuart Anne Czarny lód 02 Zimny jak lód
SÅ‚awomir Koper Afery i skandale Drugiej Rzeczypospolitej