She hesitated.
“It's all right, ” the giant said, and his voice almost compelled her full belief. “I
certainly won't hurt you. You're a sister. My name is Brann. Come on in. ”
Brann shut the door behind them and rose to his full height. Despite his size, Klia did
not feel afraid; he moved with a careful grace that could have been calculated not to
alarm or offend, if it had not seemed so natural. He smiled down on her.
“Dahl?” he asked.
“Yes. ”
“Most of us are from Dahl. Some come from Misaro, a few more from Lavrenti. ”
She lifted her eyebrows.
“Whatever it is, it makes good servants, ” Brann said with a small grin. “How long have
you known?”
“Since I was a child, ” Klia said. “How long have you been here?”
“Just a few months. Kallusin recruited me during the equinox. I left Dahl five years ago.
I was too big to work in the heatsinks. ”
Klia looked around the large space they had entered and saw many tiers of industrial
shelving covered with crates, lumbering old automated lift engines, belt delivery systems,
all quiet now and shrouded in darkness.
“What is this?” Klia asked.
“Kallusin works for a man named Plussix. Plussix imports stuff from offworld and sells it
here. ” Brann walked down an aisle, glanced over his shoulder, and said, “It'll be an hour
before Kallusin gets here. He's a late sleeper. Want to see some of the treasure?”
“Sure, ” Klia said with a shrug. She walked slowly after the big man, arms folded against
the warehouse's slight chill.
“There's stuff from a thousand worlds here, ” Brann said, his voice barely audible in the
vast spaces. The warehouse was larger than she thought-huge portals with massive rolling
doors led to even more cavernous chambers. “Out there, where it comes from, it's junk-and
believe me, it wouldn't impress the Emperor, either. But the Greys here on Trantor just
gotta have it. Every little apartment nook needs a dried stingweed frond from Giacond, or
a pre-Empire trance box from Desse-mer. Plussix buys it for nothing, saves it from
conversion and cycling. Buys empty space on food ships from the nutrient allies or from
free traders with Imperial dispensation. Brings it here. Makes twenty percent per
shipload, a lot better than the Trantor Bourse. In thirty years, he's gotten very rich. ”
“I've never heard of Plussix. ”
"He doesn't sell any of it himself. The bureaucrats like to
have a story, and he's pretty much no story at all. I've never seen him myself, and I
don't think Kallusin has, either. "
“So he just hands it over to good story-tellers?”
Brann rumbled softly, and with some pleasure, Klia realized he was laughing. “Yeah, ” he
said, glancing back at her appreciatively. He seemed to want to face away from her. She
almost subconsciously tried to persuade him to turn around. She wanted to understand more
clearly how he felt about her.
“Stop that, ” he said, and his shoulders tensed.
“Stop what?”
“Everybody around here tries that and I don't like it. Don't make me do anything. Just ask
with words. ”
“I'm sorry, ” Klia said, and genuinely meant it. His tone was more than offended-he
sounded as if some friend had just betrayed him!
“Yeah, well, it's natural, I suppose. I feel it, but it doesn't work on me. I said you're
a sister. You don't know what that means?”
“I... suppose it means you're like me. ”
“I'm not like you, not exactly. You persuade. I make people feel comfortable and happy. I
can't make them do anything, but they like being around me. I like being around them. It's
mutual. So you don't need to persuade me. Just ask. ”
“I will, ” Klia said.
“But don't ask me to look directly at you, ” Brann said. “Not for a while. I have a very
rough time with females. That's why I left Dahl, not just because I couldn't work in the
heatsinks. ”
“I don't understand, ” Klia said.
“I'm shy for a reason, ” he said.
“I'd like to know. ”
“Of course you would, ” Brann said amiably. "You're a woman. I can feel you liking me. And
I like women... a lot. I think they're beautiful. Enchanting. So I fall in love with them,
really quickly. But what I do... the effect I have... after a while, it wears off, and the
women see me for what I am: this
big hulking guy with no prospects. So they wander off, and there I am. Alone. "
“That must be very painful, ” Klia said, though she could not really understand why. She
had been a loner for so long that the thought of being alone caused her no concern. She
had no clear notion of what it felt like to be in love, either. Her dreams were more of
continuing, satisfying sexuality, not necessarily of a deep emotional connection. “I like
being alone, myself. I don't really care what others think about me, ”
“You're lucky, ” Brann said.
“So who tells the stories about these things, to sell them?” Klia wanted to get away from
this topic. Brann's shyness and vulnerability were a little too attractive.
“Shopkeepers all over Trantor, ” Brann said. “The staff writes up reports on the
treasures, we attach the reports to official forms from customs, we deliver to the agoras,
and the Greys run to buy 'em. Haven't you ever seen an offworld antique store?”
“Never, ” Klia said.
“Well, if you're around long enough, maybe one of the guys will take you to one. Me, I
only go out during sleeps, when there aren't many people. ”
Kallusin, the man in dusty green, sat himself behind a ridiculously large desk and folded
his hands. The desktop was covered with pretty baubles from many different worlds, all of
them useless as far as Klia could determine, but attractive-or perhaps just distracting.
Brann stood behind her. She kept her eyes on Kallusin, though she felt the urge to look at
Brann. There was something about his abilities that the big Dahlite was not telling her.
Fair enough. He did not know everything about Klia, either.
“Our persuaders are a very creepy crew, you know?” Kallusin said, and smiled. "Very
talented and very creepy. They
have to watch us and maintain tight discipline here, or else word will get out-and do you
think people on Trantor will enjoy knowing that their kind exist? Lucky people, persuasive
people. People who manage to get along... but you know something strange? None of them
have made it into the Palace. They stay at a constant level of human accomplishment, and
they stay out of politics. Does that make sense to you, Klia Asgar?"
“No, ” Klia said, and shook her head. “We should be in control, if everything you've said
is true. ”
“Well, you seem to be self-limiting. You're content just to live your lives and leave
higher matters to normal people. Why that should be, I don't know. But the Trader Plussix
enjoys your company. You realize that you'll never meet Plussix, not in person, even after
you join and swear an oath?”
“Fine with me, ” Klia said.
“Does that arouse your curiosity?”
“No, ” Klia said with a sniff. “What do I need to do?”
“First, promise you'll learn to control your talents in the presence of your fellow
persuaders. You, especially, Klia Asgar. You're one of the strongest persuaders I've ever
encountered. If you applied yourself, you could make all of us do handstands, but we'd
know what had happened, and we'd have to kill you. ”
Klia felt a small shiver of dismay. She had never really tried to control herself; she had
grown up with this ability, using it as naturally and casually as she did speech, perhaps
more so, since she wasn't much for conversation. “All right, ” she said.
“In return, we protect you, hide you, give you useful work. it And... you get to be
interviewed by Trader Plussix. ”
!&/-"
“Oh, good, ” Klia said softly.
“Don't be afraid of him, ” Brann said in his soft rumble.
“I won't be. ”
“He's deformed, ” Kallusin said. “So I've surmised. Plussix tells us nothing, but... ” His
hand indicated the office, the warehouse, their living quarters, all with one sweep. "He
pro-
vides all this for us. My theory, which I've even told Plussix himself, is that he's
another peculiar kind of mentalic, not very good at persuading or greasing the social
skids, but a type who enjoys being around those with your talents. But he never confirms
or denies anything. "
“Oh, ” Klia said. She wanted to get the ceremonies over and go to her quarters. She wanted
to be alone and rest. She hadn't slept well in days. Rest-and food. Since her arrival at
the warehouse, Brann had taken her to the employee cafeteria twice, and she had eaten huge
meals, but she was still hungry.
She resisted the urge to look at Brann. She kept her eyes on Kallusin.
“I'm very glad you've joined us, ” he said, and pressed his baby-smooth lips together. He
neither smiled nor frowned, but his eyes, though they did not move, seemed to sweep her
for every important detail. “Thank you, ” he said, and turned to the window overlooking
the largest chamber of the warehouse. Brann touched her shoulder, and she jerked, then
followed the big man outside.
“When do I swear my oath?” she asked.
“You already have, by accepting our hospitality and not asking Kallusin if you could
leave. ”
“That doesn't seem fair. I should know all the rules. ”
“There are no rules, except you stay around here, you don't use your talents on us or on
outsiders... unless instructed to do so... and you don't tell anybody about us. ”
“Why not put that into an oath?”
“Why bother?” Brann said.
“And what about you? You keep making me want to look at you. Shouldn't you stop that?”
Brann shook his head solemnly. “I'm not doing a thing, ” he said.
“Don't tell me that! I'm no idiot. ”
“Believe whatever you want, ” Brann said. “If you want to look at me, it's just because
you want to look at me. ” Then he
added, in a low voice, “I don't mind. Not with you. ”
He walked ahead of her down a narrow industrial gray corridor lined with closed doors and
illuminated by simple globes. Klia felt a flush of anger at his presumption. “Maybe you
should mind!” she called ahead sharply. “Maybe you should worry] I'm not a very nice
person!”
Brann shrugged and handed her the ID card that also served as a key to her room. “Enjoy
your rest, ” he said. “We probably won't see each other for a while. I'm going with
Kallusin to escort a shipment of goods to Mycogen. It might take us days to conclude the
deal. ”
“Good, ” Klia said, and inserted the card. She pushed open the door to her room and
entered swiftly, then slammed the door behind her.
For some seconds, she hardly saw the room, she was so angry with herself. She felt weak
and taken advantage of. Swearing an oath without even hearing the oath! Plussix sounded
monstrous.
Then the furniture and decor came into focus. It was spare, soft greens and grays with
sunny yellow accents, not luxurious but not oppressive, either. There was a plain foam
mattress, not too old, an armoire, a trunk, a tiny desk and chair, then another chair, not
much larger but with more padding than the desk chair. There was a lamp in the ceiling and
a lamp on the desk. A bookfilm reader lay on the desk.
The room was three paces wide and about three and a half long. It was the nicest room she
had had to herself since she left home, and in truth, nicer than the small bedroom she had
slept in as a child. She sat on the edge of the bed.
Being attracted to men, any man, was a weakness she could not afford now. She was sure her
fantasy of a big Dahlite male didn't match Brann-although he was big, a Dahlite, male, and
sported a fine mustache.
The next time, she vowed, / won't look at him at all!
Lodovik stood motionless but for his eyes, watching as Daneel conducted another diagnostic
check, the last before the journey to Eos.
“There's no overt damage, still nothing I can detect here, ” Daneel said as the old
machines finished. “But you're a later model than these tools. They're not up to your
level, I suspect. ”
“Have you ever diagnosed yourself?” Lodovik asked.
“Frequently, ” Daneel said. “Every few years. Not with these machines, however. There are
some high quality tools hidden on Trantor. Still, it's been a century since I've been to
Eos, and my power supply needs replacing. That's why I'll travel with you. And there is
another reason. I have to bring back a robot-if her repairs and upgrades have gone well. ”
“A female form?”
“Yes. ”
Lodovik waited for elaboration, but Daneel was not forthcoming. He knew of only one female
form robot still active, of the millions that had once been so popular with humans. This
was Dors Venabili-and she had been sequestered on Eos for decades.
“You do not trust me now, do you?” Lodovik said.
“No, ” Daneel said. “The ship should be ready. The sooner we get to Eos, the sooner we can
get back. I hate to be away from Trantor. The most critical moment of the Cusp Time is
upon us. ”
Very few Imperial ships put in to Madder Loss now, but Daneel had made traveling
arrangements with a trader vessel months before, and it was not difficult to fit Lodovik
in as an extra passenger. The vessel would take them to the cold outer reaches of Madder
Loss's system, to a frozen
asteroid with no name, only a catalog number: ISSC-1491.
They stood on the landing platform of a remote outdoor port. Spaceport. The sun was
bright, and insects flew through the air, pollinating the oil-flower fields that
surrounded the concrete and plasteel facilities.
Lodovik still valued Daneel's leadership and presence, but how long could that last? In
fact, Lodovik had put all of his initiative on hold for the few days he had been on Madder
Loss, for fear of defying Daneel. His type of humaniform robot used initiative in many
important ways, however, not just to determine large-scale courses of action. He could not
subdue the thoughts that rose from his core mentality. Daneel would hold humans back.
Humans must be allowed to act out their own destiny. We do not understand their animal
spirits! We are not like them!