Chapter 20 Chapter 20 The Neighboring World

During the four consecutive meals, Pelorat and Bliss saw Trevize only during meals.The rest of the time, he was either in the cockpit or hiding in the sleeping cabin.He remained silent throughout the meal, his lips were tightly pressed, and he always ate only a little. However, during the fourth meal, Pelorat noticed that Trevize's abnormally fixed expression seemed to relax a bit.Pelorat cleared his throat twice, as if about to say something, but he hesitated both times. Finally, Trevize raised his head, looked at him and said, "How is it?" "Have you—have you figured it out, Grant?"

"Why do you ask that?" "You seem less depressed." "It's not that I'm less depressed, but I'm thinking, thinking intently." "May we know the contents?" asked Pelorat. Trevize glanced in Bliss's direction, but she stared at the plate in front of her, keeping a cautious silence.As if she was sure that at this sensitive moment, Pelorat could ask more questions than she could. Trevize said, "Are you curious too, Bliss?" She raised her eyes. "Yes, of course." Feron kicked the leg of the table, as if in a fit of quarrel, and said, "Have we found Earth yet?"

Bliss put her arms around the child's shoulders, but Trevize ignored it. He said: "We have to start with a basic fact. On every world, all the information about the Earth has been removed, which leads us to a corollary: there is something hidden on the Earth. However, according to the results of observation, we found that the earth is fatally radioactive, so whatever is on it is naturally hidden. Landing on the earth is impossible, and the distance we are currently at is already quite close to the outer edge of the magnetosphere— —and we didn't intend to come any closer—and found nothing."

"Are you sure about this?" Bao Qisi asked softly. "I spent a lot of time on the computer, analyzing the earth with it and every method I could think of, and found nothing; more importantly, I didn't think I would find anything. So why is the data about the earth Will it be cleared? No matter what it is that needs to be hidden, its level of security is beyond anyone's imagination, so why do we need to spend any more effort?" "It may be so," said Pelorat, "that something was hidden on the earth before its radioactivity became so severe as to deter outsiders. At that time, people on earth Maybe there is a fear that outsiders will come and discover the secret. Therefore, the earth’s attempt to remove information about itself actually happened at that time. The results we have discovered now are just relics left over from that insecure era.”

"No, I don't think so," Trevize said. "The Imperial Library on Trantor, the contents seem to have been recently removed." He turned suddenly to Bliss. "Am I right?" Bliss said in a calm tone, "I/We/Gaia captured this from the worried mind of Candib when you, I, Second Foundation resident Chandib, and the Mayor of Terminus gathered. message." "So something that had to be hidden in the past to be discovered must still be hidden somewhere," Trevize said. "Even if the Earth is now radioactive, that thing is still in danger of being discovered."

"How is that possible?" Pelorat asked curiously. "Think about it," Trevize said, "is it possible that what was originally hidden on Earth is no longer on Earth; when radioactivity became more and more dangerous, it was moved elsewhere? However, that secret is now Not on Earth, and if we can find Earth, we may be able to deduce where the secret has been moved. If so, the whereabouts of Earth would still need to be hidden." Feron said again in a high-pitched voice, "Because if we don't find Earth, Bliss says you'll take me back to Gibby." Trevize turned to Firon, glaring at her fiercely.Bao Qisi hurriedly whispered: "I mean we might, Ferron. We'll discuss this matter later, now go back to your cabin to read a book, or play the flute, or do what you want anything. Go—go."

Feilong frowned and left the table resentfully. Pelorat said: "But why do you say that, Glenn? We have come here, we have discovered the Earth. Whatever the secret, if it is not on the Earth, we have a way of deducing where it might be hiding." ?" It took Trevize a moment to shake off the feeling of being spoiled by Feron.Then he said, "Why not? Imagine that the radioactivity on the Earth's surface continues to worsen, and that the Earth's population continues to decrease due to a surge in mortality and immigration. And that secret, whatever it is, is in ever-increasing danger. Who Or go down to protect it? In the end, it must be sent to another world, otherwise this secret - whatever it is - will have no effect. I guess someone will not want to remove it. It was probably done at the last minute. Well, Janov, remember that old man from New Earth, who tried to tell you the history of his own Earth?"

"Single surname Li?" "That's right, that's him. When he speaks about the establishment of a new Earth, does he mean that the remaining inhabitants of Earth were brought to that planet?" Pelorat said, "My brother, do you mean that what we are looking for is now on the new earth? It was brought by the last people who left the earth?" Trevize said: "Isn't this possible? In the entire galaxy, New Earth is not as well-known as Earth, and the inhabitants there are doing everything possible to isolate them from aliens. This is very suspicious."

"We've been there," put in Bliss, "and found nothing." "At that time, we were so focused on finding out the whereabouts of the earth that we didn't notice other things." Pelorat said in a confused tone, "But what we're looking for is something high-tech, capable of stealing data on Second Foundation grounds, and even—sorry, Bliss— Invading Gaia's turf. Those humans who lived on the New Earth may have control over the weather in a small patch of their The standard is pretty low.” Baoqisi nodded. "I agree with Pei." "We're generalizing," Trevize said. "We've never seen the man on the fishing boat; we haven't looked at any part of the island other than near where we landed. If we searched more thoroughly, would there be any What might we find? After all, we didn't recognize those fluorescent lights until we saw them in action. If the technology seems backward, I mean 'look'...”

"How?" Bao Qisi was obviously not convinced. "That could have been a deliberate smokescreen to obfuscate the truth." "Impossible," said Bliss. "Impossible? Back on Gaia, it was you who told me that most of Trantor's civilization was deliberately low-tech in order to hide the core of Second Foundation people. Why couldn't the same strategy be used on New Earth? ?” "So, are you suggesting that we go back to the New Earth and face that contagion again—and let it actually flare up this time? Sex is certainly a particularly pleasurable form of contagion, but it may not be the only one."

Trevize shrugged. "I'm in no hurry to get back to the New Earth, but maybe it's necessary." "Maybe?" "Perhaps! After all, there is another possibility." "What possibility?" "The new Earth orbits the star called Alpha, which is part of a binary system. Are there no habitable planets in the orbit of Alpha's companion star?" "I think it's too dim," said Bliss, shaking her head. "The companion star is only a quarter of Alpha's luminosity." "It's dim, but not too dim. If there are planets that are fairly close to the star, they might still be habitable." Pelorat said, "Does the computer mention that the companion star has any planets?" Trevize sneered. "I've already checked, there are five planets that are not too big or too small, and there are no gas giant planets." "Are any of the five planets habitable?" "The computer only gave a total number of them, and indicated that they were not large, and provided no information other than that." "Oh—" Pelorat looked discouraged. Trevize said: "There is nothing to be disappointed about. The computer can't find any other worlds, and the information on Alpha itself is extremely small, which is deliberately hidden. If the computer has almost no information about Alpha's companion star Not knowing anything is a good sign." "So," Baoqisi said solemnly, "you intend to do this—to visit the companion star first, and if you return without success, then go back to find Alpha." "That's right, and this time, when we arrive at the island of the New Earth, we will make preparations. Before we land, we will search the entire island carefully. Baoqisi, I hope you will use your spirit to Power to shield—” At this moment, the Far Star suddenly turned to one side, as if the spaceship hiccupped.Trevize immediately yelled, "Who's at the console?" His voice was half angry, half confused. And at the same time as he asked the question, he already knew very well who it was. Feilong, who was sitting in front of the computer desk, was engrossed.She spread her small palm with slender fingers as far as possible so that it could press against the slightly glowing outlines on the table.Her palms seemed to sink into the solid tabletop, although it felt decidedly hard and slippery. She had seen Trevize put his hands like this several times, but she hadn't seen him make any other movements.But she knew very well that he could control the entire spaceship by doing so. Sometimes Feron had seen Trevize close her eyes, so she was doing the same now.After a while, she seemed to hear a vague and distant voice—very far away. (she was dimly aware) But the voice was ringing in her head through her shift lobe—even more so than her hands—and she began to struggle to make sense of the words. "Orders," said the voice, almost pleadingly, "what are your orders?" Feron said nothing, she had never seen Trevize say anything to the computer.But she knew what she wanted with all her heart, to go back to Solari, to go back to the comfort of the endless mansion, to go back to Ginby-Jinby-Jinby- That's where she's going.When she thought of the world she loved, she imagined seeing it on the display screen, as there had been many worlds she didn't want to be on.She opened her eyes and stared at the picture screen, longing to see another world than this hateful earth, and then she stared at the picture before her, imagining that it was Solari.She hated this empty galaxy, knew this galaxy out of helplessness, tears welled up in her eyes, and the spaceship began to tremble. She could feel the tremor of the boat, and she shook slightly. Then she heard loud footsteps in the corridor outside.When she opened her eyes, Trevize's distorted face filled her field of vision, completely blocking the imaging screen, obscuring the destination in her heart.He was yelling something, but she didn't pay attention.He was the one who killed Bender and took her away from Solari; he was the one who kept her from going home because he wanted nothing but Earth, and she decided she would never listen to him again. She was going back to Solari in this spaceship.The spaceship shuddered again as she reasserted her resolve. Bliss grabbed Trevize's arm roughly. "Don't! Don't!" She hugged him tightly and wouldn't let him move forward.Pelorat stood stiffly in the distance, bewildered. Trevize yelled, "Take your hands away, don't touch the computer—— Bao Qisi, don't stop me, I don't want to hurt you." Bao Qisi said almost hoarsely: "Don't be rough with this child, or I will have to hurt you—disobedience will not hesitate." Trevize suddenly turned his gaze from Feilong to Bao Qisi. "Then you pull her away, Bliss, and go now!" Baoqisi pushed him away with astonishing force. (Probably a power drawn from Gaia, Trevize thought in hindsight.) "Feron," she said, "let go of your hands." "No," Feron screamed, "I want the spaceship to go to Solari, I want it to go there, there." She nodded at the display screen, not even wanting to take a hand off the table. Bao Qisi stretched her hand to the child's shoulder, and when her hands touched Feron, the child began to tremble. Bao Qisi changed to a soft voice and said: "Now, Feilong, tell the computer to restore everything to the original state, and then follow me, follow me." She gently stroked Feilong with both hands, and Feilong softened immediately and burst into tears. After Feilong left the table with both hands, Bao Qisi supported her armpit and pulled her up, then turned her around, and hugged her tightly, letting the child cry happily in his arms. Trevize stood silent at the door now, and Bliss said to him, "Get out of the way, Trevize, and don't touch us when we pass by." Trevize stepped aside. Baoqisi paused for a moment, then lowered her voice and said to Trevize: "I had to temporarily enter her mind just now. If I caused any harm, I will not forgive you easily." Trevize almost blurted out, telling her that he didn't care about Feilong's heart at all, all he worried about was the computer.However, under Gaia's stern stare (of course it's not just Bao Qisi's, her personal expression can't make him shudder with fear), after all, he didn't say anything. After Baoqisi and Feilong disappeared into their room, Trevize was silent for a long time without moving.In fact, he remained frozen until Pelorat said softly, "Glenn, are you okay? She didn't hurt you, did she?" Trevize shook his head vigorously, as if trying to shake off the slight paralysis. "I'm fine, the real question is whether it's good or not." He sat down in front of the computer desk and put his hands on the contours of the palms that Feron had pressed just now. "How is it?" Pelorat asked anxiously. Trevize shrugged. "The reaction seems to be normal. Maybe you will find the problem after a while, but you can't see anything unusual now." Then, he said in a more angry tone: "Except for me, the computer should not be effectively combined with other people's hands." But that hermaphrodite is another matter, the problem is not her hand, but her transformation Ye Tu, I am sure of this..." "But why is the spaceship vibrating? It shouldn't be like that, should it?" "That's right, these inertial effects shouldn't be present on this focused spacecraft. But that female monster..." He stopped abruptly, looking furious again. "How about it?" "I guess she gave the computer two contradictory commands, and since each command had the same effect, the computer had to try to execute both at the same time. In order to make this impossible attempt, the computer must have temporarily disarmed the spacecraft." Inertia-free state, at least I think that’s how it is.” His face suddenly softened. "Perhaps that's not a bad thing, because it suddenly dawned on me. All the speculations I've made about Alpha Centauri and its companion star are nothing but delusions. Now I know where the Earth has moved its secrets. " Pelorat's eyes widened, but he didn't immediately pursue the last sentence, but returned to the original question. "How does Feilong ask the computer to execute contradictory instructions?" "Well, she said she was going to fly the spaceship to Solari." "Yes, of course she would want to do that." "But what is her so-called Solari? She cannot recognize Solari from space, she has never really seen that world from space. She was asleep when we hurried away from Solari. Although she I learned a lot from your library, and Bao Qisi told her a lot of knowledge, but for the Milky Way, which has hundreds of billions of stars and tens of millions of inhabited planets, I don't think she can really understand its true face. Living alone in the ground, the most she knows is the concept of many different worlds. But how many? Two? Three? Four? For her, every world she sees may be Solari. , and even wishful thinking that the world she saw was Solari. In addition, I think Baoqisi hinted to her in order to appease her, saying that if we can't find the earth, we will take her back to Solari, so She may also have had an idea that Solari was close to Earth." "But how do you know, Grant? Why do you think so?" "She almost told us, Janov. When we broke in to find her, she yelled that she was going to Solari, added 'there-there', and slammed into the picture screen. Nodding. And what is the picture on the display screen? It is the satellite of the earth. When I left the computer to eat dinner, the screen was not the satellite, but the earth. When Feron asked to go back to Solari, she felt Must be thinking about the image of that satellite, so the computer's response must be to point the camera at that satellite. Believe me, Janov, I know how this computer works. Who knows better than me?" Pelorat looked at the fat crescent moon on the screen, and said meaningfully: "At least in one language of the earth, it is called 'moon', and another language is called 'lunar', And there may be many different names. Think of the confusion of a world with many languages, my boy—how many misunderstandings, how many disputes, how many..." "Moon?" Trevize said, "Well, that's a very simple name—besides, if you think about it, maybe the child was trying to use the energy of the spaceship itself to drive the moon by switching the function of the yapout based on instinct." It, that might also cause a momentary disorientation of inertia. But that's beside the point, Janov, what's important is that the moon—well, I like the name—appears on the screen, its image Magnified, and it's still there. I'm staring at it now, and thinking about it." "Thinking about what, Grant?" "Consider its size. We've always ignored satellites, Janov. They're insignificant little things, if they exist. But this one is different. It's a world, about thirty-five hundred kilometers in diameter." "A world? You can't call it a world, of course, it's not habitable, and a diameter of 3,500 kilometers is still too small. It also has no atmosphere, which I can tell at a glance. No clouds, no circular lines bordering space. Clearly, the internal day-night hemispheric boundary curve is also the same." Trevize nodded. "You're about to become a seasoned space traveler, Janov. You're right, no air, no water. That just means the moon's bare surface is uninhabitable, but what about the subsurface?" "Underground?" Pelorat asked suspiciously. "Yes, underground, why not? Earth's cities were once built underground, you told me. Besides, we know that Trantor is an underground city; a large part of Complon's capital is underground; Solari's mansion Almost all of them are underground, which is actually very common.” "However, Grant, in these cases, humans are still living on habitable planets. Those planets have atmospheres and oceans on the surface, and they can also be inhabited. If the surface is not habitable, is it possible to live underground?" "Come on, Janov, use your brains! Where do we live now? Farstar is an apparently uninhabitable miniature world. There is neither air nor water outside, but we can live comfortably in it. The galaxy is full of All kinds of space stations and space colonies, not to mention all kinds of spaceships and starships, which can only be inhabited inside. Just think of the moon as a giant spaceship." "Is there a group of people living in it?" "Yes, based on what we know, there may be millions of people, and there are many animals and plants, and advanced technology-you see, Janov, does this make sense? If the earth is at the last moment, could send a group of colonists to a planet round Alpha Centauri; and, perhaps with the aid of the Empire, be able to reform that planet, seed its oceans, and create a land out of nothing, then , can't Earth send another batch of humans to a satellite and transform its interior into a habitable environment?" "I suppose so," said Pelorat reluctantly. "It must be like this. If there is something on the earth that needs to be hidden, why send it more than one parsec away? There is another world nearby, and the distance is less than one billionth of Alpha. In addition, from a psychological point of view The moon would be a better hiding place. No one would associate satellites with life, like I would; the moon was so close, my mind would go to Alpha. If it wasn't for Philon—" He pursed his lips tightly while shaking his head. "I think I'll have to give her the credit, and if I don't, Bliss will." Pelorat said: "But I ask you, old friend, if there is something hidden in the moon, how are we going to find it? There must be millions of square kilometers on the surface of the moon..." "About 40 million square kilometers." "And we need to search them all. But what? An opening? Some kind of airlock?" Trevize said: "From what you put it, it seems like a big project. But we are not only looking for objects, we are also looking for life, and life with intelligence. We have Baoqisi, and she is the one who detects intelligence. housekeeping skills, don’t you think so?” Bao Qisi looked at Trevize, with a look of asking questions. "I managed to get her to sleep and it was the hardest day of my life, she was just crazy. Luckily, I don't think I hurt her." Trevize said in a nonchalant tone, "You'd better try to get rid of her fixation on Gibby, you know, because I'm never going to go back to Solari." "It's just to get rid of her emotional fixation, is it? How much do you know about these things, Trevize? You have never sensed any mind, and you have no idea of ​​the complexity of the mind. If you know a little about this , it’s not as simple as scooping jam out of a bottle.” "Well, at least tone it down a little bit." "If I spend a month carefully peeling off the cocoon, maybe I can make it weaken a little." "What do you mean by stripping cocoons?" "To a man who has no concept, there is no explanation at all." "So, where are you going to let that child go?" "I don't know yet. It needs to be thought about carefully." "In that case," Trevize said, "let me tell you what we're going to do with the spacecraft." "I know what you're going to do. You're going to fly back to the new earth, and you'll try to make out with the lovely Hiroko again, as long as she promises not to infect you with the virus this time." Trevize remained expressionless. "No, actually, I've changed my mind. We're going to the moon—the moon is the name of the satellite, Janov said." "The moon? Because it's the closest world? I didn't expect that." "I didn't think of it, no one would think of it. In the whole galaxy, there is no satellite worth considering-this very large satellite is the only exception. Besides, the secrecy of the earth also covers it. If the earth cannot be found, The moon will not be found." "Can it live in people?" "Not on the surface, but it's not radioactive, not at all, so it's not absolutely uninhabitable. There might be life under the surface—perhaps full of life, in fact. You should be able to tell, of course, once we get close enough. " Bliss shrugged. "I'll give it a try—but what made you suddenly think of trying this satellite?" Trevize said in a calm tone, "Just now, Ferron did something in front of the console." Bliss waited a moment, as if expecting him to say a few more words, then she shrugged again. "No matter what the action is, if you kill her on impulse, I don't think you will be able to get this inspiration." "I didn't mean to kill her, Bliss." Baoqisi waved his hand. "Okay, that's it. Are we headed for the moon?" "Yes. To be on the safe side, I don't want to go too fast. But if all goes well, we'll be over it in thirty hours." The surface of the moon is wild.Trevize looked at the day area that was constantly sweeping back below, and the scene in front of him was a uniform pattern of craters, mountains, and many dark shadows.The color of the soil changes subtly from time to time, and occasionally there is a large flat land, which still has many small craters. As they approached the nightside, the shadows grew longer and longer until they merged into one.At this time, behind them, many mountain peaks could be seen shining in the sun, like some fat stars, much brighter than other stars in space.The mountains disappeared without a trace, and looking down, only the dim light of the earth remained in the sky. It was a huge white and bluish sphere, which looked more plump than a semicircle.Then the earth finally fell behind the spaceship, and sank below the horizon, so that there was absolute darkness below, and only faint and sparse stars overhead.But for Trevize, who grew up in Terminus, this starry sky scene is enough to amaze him. Then, some bright stars began to appear in front of them, at first there were only one or two, and then gradually increased, the range became larger and the density became higher and higher, and finally they coalesced into one piece.At this time, they quickly passed the boundary between day and night, and returned to the sunshine side.The rising sun brought diabolical glare, and the video screen instantly panned and polarized the blinding light from the surface below. Trevize knew very well in his heart that it would be absolutely futile to find any population leading to the interior (if there is really an inhabitable underground world) just by inspecting this huge world with the naked eye. He turned his head and looked at Bao Qisi who was sitting beside him, she was not staring at the imaging screen, on the contrary, she closed her eyes.She didn't seem to be sitting, but was paralyzed in the chair. Trevize wondered if she was asleep, so he said softly, "Have you detected any signs?" Baoqisi shook her head slowly and gently. "No," she whispered: "There was only a faint message just now, you'd better take me back there. Do you know which area I passed through just now?" "The computer knows." Like aiming at an archery target, the spaceship moved back and forth, and finally locked on to the target.That area was still in the depths of the night; although all the lights in the cockpit had been extinguished, nothing could be seen except the earth slightly behind the sky, reflecting a dead gray light among the shadows of the moon. Pelorat came over and stood at the door of the cockpit, looking very anxious. "Anything?" he asked in a husky whisper. Trevize, who was staring at Bliss, raised his hand for Pelorat to remain silent.He knew that it would be many days before the sunlight returned to the moon, but he also understood that the detection that Bao Qisi was trying to carry out was not affected by any light. "It's right there," she said. "are you sure?" "yes." "Only this place?" "I only detected this spot, have you flown every corner of the moon's surface?" "We've been through most of them." "Okay, the only place I've detected the message out of most of it is here. It's getting stronger now, and it seems to detect us too. It doesn't seem dangerous, and I feel a welcome emotion." "are you sure?" "That's the feeling I'm receiving." Pelorat said: "Could that sentiment be faked?" Bao Qisi replied with a hint of pride: "I can detect the truth and the false, I assure you." Trevize mumbled something about being overconfident, and then said, "You detected intelligence, I hope." "What I detected was a very strong intelligence, but—" her tone suddenly became very strange. "Just what?" "Shh, don't disturb me, let me concentrate on it." The last few words were only the squirming of the lips, and there was no sound at all. Then, she said in a tone of surprise, "Not human." "Not human!" Trevize said in great surprise. "Are we dealing with robots again? Like in Solari?" "No," Bao Qisi smiled slightly, "it's not exactly a robot." "It must be one of the two." "Neither." She actually giggled this time. "It's not human, but it's not like any robot I've detected in the past." "I really want to see it!" Pelorat nodded vigorously, his wide eyes filled with joy. "How exciting, something new!" "New stuff." Trevize murmured, and at the same time his spirits suddenly lifted—a flash of unexpected inspiration seemed to hit his brain. They descended slowly toward the lunar surface, all in an atmosphere that bordered on joy.Even Feron joined them, and with the innocence of a child she was overjoyed, as if she were really going back to Solari. But in Trevize's heart, there was still a sliver of sanity, reminding him that this must be strange.The earth—or the power that was originally on the earth and is now transferred to the moon—has taken great pains to drive all the people back, and now it is taking action to attract them here. Will the two goals have the same purpose?Could it be the so-called "If you can't stop the enemy, you might as well take advantage of the opportunity to wipe out the enemy"?Wouldn't these two methods allow the earth to keep its secrets? However, the closer they got to the lunar surface, the deeper the joy, and his doubts were gradually overwhelmed by joy.But even so, when they were about to rush to the surface of the moon, he still held on tightly to the sudden flash of light in his heart. He seemed to know exactly where the spaceship was going.Now, they were directly above a rolling hill, and Trevize sat in front of the computer, feeling like there was nothing to do, as if both he and the computer were being guided.He just felt relieved, and his heart was filled with extreme euphoria. They are now gliding close to the ground, and a sinister cliff stands in front of them, like a barrier specially blocking them.Illuminated by the light of Earth and the beams from the Far Star, the barrier reflected a faint radiance.Although it was about to collide, Trevize didn't seem to care.Then, he found that the cliff directly in front of him fell down, and there was a brightly lit corridor in front of him, and he was not surprised at all. The spaceship slowed to a minimum, apparently self-adjusting, and aimed for a well-sized opening to fly in—glide all the way.The rear entrance was closed immediately, and another entrance appeared in front.After the spaceship passed through the second population, it came to a huge space that seemed to be hollowed out from a mountain. The spaceship stopped immediately, and the four rushed towards the airlock impatiently.No one, including Trevize, thought to check whether there was a suitable atmosphere outside—or whether there was an atmosphere at all. But there was air outside, and it was very pleasant to breathe.They look around happily like travelers who have finally returned home.After a while, they realized that there was a man standing in front of them, waiting for them there politely. He was tall and serious, with bronzed hair cut short.He has broad cheekbones, piercing eyes, and clothes that resemble those found in ancient history books.Although he seemed to be physically strong and energetic, he seemed to be tired—in fact, he couldn't tell from the outside, it was a kind of breath that belonged to the outside senses. Feilong was the first to respond. She screamed loudly, as if she was whistling, and then ran towards the man, waving her hands and shouting out of breath: "Jianbi!" !Jenby!" She never slowed down, and as soon as she came to the man, he bent down and lifted her high.She threw her arms around his neck and burst into tears, still crying out, "Jimby!" The other three walked forward at a calmer pace, and Trevize said in a slow and clear voice (does this person understand Galactic Standard?), "We apologize, sir. This child has lost her Nanny, I'm desperately looking for you. As for why she hugged you, we don't know how to explain it, because what she's looking for is a robot, a mechanical..." The man finally spoke.His voice is flat, without any coloratura, and has a bit of an ancient style, but he speaks the Galaxy Standard Language very fluently. "I extend a hand of friendship to all of you," he said—his friendliness seemed unmistakable, even if his face remained serious. "As for this child," he went on, "she may be more perceptive than you can imagine, because I am a robot, and my name is Daniel Oliva."