Asimov's Future History V. 04 by Isaac Asimov

Author:Isaac Asimov [Asimov, Isaac]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Dead^Man March, 2011
Published: 2011-03-06T05:00:00+00:00

Baley was expecting her; she had asked for a last interview; but his eyes widened when she appeared.

He said, “I’m seeing you.”

“Yes,” said Gladia, “how can you tell?”

“You’re wearing gloves.”

“Oh.” She looked at her hands in confusion. Then, softly, “Do you mind?”

“No, of course not. But why have you decided to see, rather than view?”

“Well”–she smiled weakly–” I’ve got to get used to it, don’t I, Elijah? I mean, if I’m going to Aurora.”

“Then it’s all arranged?”

“Mr. Olivaw seems to have influence. It’s all arranged. I’ll never come back.”

“Good. You’ll be happier, Gladia. I know you will.”

“I’m a little afraid.”

“I know. It will mean seeing all the time and, you won’t have all the comforts you had on Solaria. But you’ll get used to it and, what’s more, you’ll forget all the terror you’ve been through.”

“I don’t want to forget everything,” said Gladia softly.

“You will.” Baley looked at the slim girl who stood before him and said, not without a momentary pang, “And you will be married someday, too. Really married, I mean.”

“Somehow,” she said mournfully, “that doesn’t seem so attractive to me right now.”

“You’ll change your mind.”

And they stood there, looking at each other for a wordless moment.

Gladia said, “I’ve never thanked you.” Baley said, “It was only my job.”

“You’ll be going back to Earth now, won’t you?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll never see you again.”

“Probably not. But don’t feel badly about that. In forty years at most, I’ll be dead and you won’t look a bit different from the way you do now.”

Her face twisted. “Don’t say that.”

“It’s true.”

She said rapidly, as though forced to change the subject, “It’s all true about Jothan Leebig, you know.”

“I know. Other roboticists went over his records and found experiments toward unmanned intelligent spaceships. They also found other robots with replaceable limbs.”

Gladia shuddered, “Why did he do such a horrible thing, do you suppose?”

“He was afraid of people. He killed himself to avoid personal presence and he was ready to kill other worlds to make sure that Solaria and its personal-presence taboo would never be touched.”

“How could he feel so,” she murmured, “when personal presence can be so very–”

Again a silent moment while they faced each other at ten paces. Then Gladia cried suddenly, “Oh, Elijah, you’ll think it abandoned of me.”

“Think what abandoned?”

“May I touch you? I’ll never see you again, Elijah.”

“If you want to.”

Step by step, she came closer, her eyes glowing, yet looking apprehensive, too. She stopped three feet away, then slowly, as though in a trance, she began to remove the glove on her right hand.

Baley started a restraining gesture. “Don’t be foolish, Gladia.”

“I’m not afraid,” said Gladia.

Her hand was bare. It trembled as she extended it.

And so did Baley’s as he took her hand in his. They remained so for one moment, her hand a shy thing, frightened as it rested in his. He opened his hand and hers escaped, darted suddenly and without warning toward his face until her fingertips rested feather-light upon his cheek for the barest moment.

She said, “Thank you, Elijah.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.