Caves of Steel - Isaac Asimov [28]
For the first time in his life, Baley was stirred by an odd curiosity. What was Spacer life really like?
He brought his mind back to the issue at hand with something of an effort. He said, “I think I get what you’re driving at. Your Dr. Sarton was attacking the problem of Earth’s conversion to C/Fe from a new and promising angle. Our conservative groups or Medievalists, as they call themselves, were perturbed. They were afraid he might succeed. So they killed him. That’s the motivation that makes it an organized plot and not an isolated outrage. Right?”
“I would put it about like that, Elijah. Yes.”
Baley whistled thoughtfully under his breath. His long fingers tapped lightly against the table. Then he shook his head. “It won’t wash. It won’t wash at all.”
“Pardon me. I do not understand you.”
“I’m trying to get the picture. An Earthman walks into Spacetown, walks up to Dr. Sarton, blasts him, and walks out. I just don’t see it. Surely the entrance to Spacetown is guarded.”
R. Daneel nodded. “I think it is safe to say that no Earthman can possibly have passed through the entrance illegally.”
“Then where does that leave you?”
“It would leave us in a confusing position, Elijah, if the entrance were the only way of reaching Spacetown from New York City.”
Baley watched his partner thoughtfully. “I don’t get you. It’s the only connection between the two.”
“Directly between the two, yes.” R. Daneel waited a moment, then said, “You do not follow me. Is that not so?”
“That is so. I don’t get you at all.”
“Well, if it will not offend you, I will try to explain myself. May I have a piece of paper and a writer? Thank you. Look here, partner Elijah, I will draw a big circle and label it ‘New York City.’ Now, tangent to it, I will draw a small circle and label it ‘Spacetown.’ Here, where they touch, I draw an arrowhead and label it ‘Barrier.’ Now do you see no other connection?”
Baley said. “Of course not. There is no other connection.”
“In a way,” said the robot, “I am glad to hear you say this. It is in accordance with what I have been taught about Terrestrial ways of thinking. The barrier is the only direct connection. But both the City and Spacetown are open to the countryside in all directions. It is possible for a Terrestrial to leave the City at any of numerous exits and strike out cross country to Spacetown, where no barrier will stop him.”
The tip of Baley’s tongue touched his upper lip and for a moment stayed there. Then he said, “Cross country?”
“Yes.”
“Cross country! Alone?”
“Why not?”
“Walking?”
“Undoubtedly walking. Walking would offer the least chance of detection. The murder took place early in the working day and the trip was undoubtedly negotiated in the hours before dawn.”
“Impossible! There isn’t a man in the City who would do it. Leave the City? Alone?”
“Ordinarily, it would seem unlikely. Yes. We Spacers know that. It is why we guard only the entrance. Even in the Great Riot, your people attacked only at the barrier that then protected the entrance. Not one left the City.”
“Well, then?”
“But now we are dealing with an unusual situation. It is not the blind attack of a mob following the line of least resistance, but the organized attempt of a small group to strike, deliberately, at the unguarded point. It explains why, as you say, a Terrestrial could enter Spacetown, walk up to his victim, kill him, and walk away. The man attacked through a complete blind spot on our part.”
Baley shook his head. “It’s too unlikely. Have your people done anything to check that theory?”
“Yes, we have. Your Commissioner of Police was present almost at the time of the murder—”
“I know. He told me so.”
“That, Elijah, is another example of the timeliness of the murder. Your Commissioner has co-operated with Dr. Sarton in the past and he was the Earthman with whom Dr. Sarton planned to make initial arrangements concerning the infiltration of your city by R’s such as myself. The appointment for that morning was to concern that. The murder, of course, stopped those