Chapter 7 Chapter 7 Entering the Space City

Police Chief Juliel Enderby carefully polished the lenses of his glasses with an elegant gesture and put them back on the bridge of his nose. That was a brilliant move, Bailey thought.While you're thinking about what to say, cleaning your glasses will not only keep you occupied, but it won't be as costly as lighting a pipe. Thinking of this, he couldn't help but took out his pipe and filled it with some thick shredded tobacco.Tobacco is one of the few luxury crops still grown on the planet, though it too is disappearing.In Bailey's life, he has only seen the price of tobacco leaves rise but not fall, and the quota is getting smaller and smaller, and has never been increased.

Julier adjusted his glasses, reached out and touched the switch installed at one end of the desk.When the switch is activated, the door becomes one-way transparent, which can last for a while. "Where is he now?" Julie asked. "He said he was going to look around the bureau, and I asked Jack to accompany him." Baley lit his pipe, puffing carefully. Julier, like most non-smokers, hates the smell of cigarettes. "You didn't tell Jack he was a robot, did you?" "Of course not." Julier still looked uneasy.His hands fiddled aimlessly with the automatic calendar on the table.

"How's it going?" he asked, not looking at Baley. "It's a little tricky." "I'm sorry, Elijah." "You should tell me first that he looks exactly like a human." Bailey couldn't help but get a little annoyed. "Didn't I tell you?" Juliel looked surprised, and then he suddenly became excited: "Damn! You should know! If he looks like R. Sammy, I'll call you Take him home?" "I know, Chief, but I've never seen a robot like him, and you have. I didn't even know it was possible to make something like this. I just wanted you to warn me beforehand."

"Okay, Ilya, I apologize. I should have told you beforehand, and you're right. I've been throwing tantrums for no apparent reason lately, and it's all about this stuff, and it's all making me restless and upset! His thing called Daniel is a new type of robot, still in the experimental stage." "He told me himself." "Oh, then, that's it." Bailey was a little nervous.Now, it's time.He bit his pipe and said casually, "R. Daniel has arranged for me to go to Space City." "To the space city?" Julier raised his head in surprise and anger.

"Yes. That's a logical next step, Chief. I'm going to visit the crime scene and ask some questions." Julier shook his head decisively: "I don't think it's a good idea, Ilya. We've checked them all, and I don't believe we can find any new clues. And those people are very strange. Gentle and refined! To deal with them Moderate means. You have no such experience." He stretched out his chubby hand to touch his forehead, and then, suddenly and unexpectedly excitedly said, "I hate them!" Bailey also followed suit. "Damn it! Am I welcome to come? Am I happy to go over there? It's bad enough being equal to a robot, let alone below him? But then again, Chief, if you don't think I'm competent enough The investigation of this case, then..."

"No, that's not what I meant, Ilya. It's not your fault, Outworlders. You don't know what they look like." Bailey's frown deepened. "I think so, Director, why don't you go together." He said so, but he hoped that Julier would not go. Sure enough, Julier's eyes were wide open: "No! Ilya, I won't go, don't ask me to go!" He seemed to be controlling himself not to go any further.He smirked and calmed down his voice: "You know, I still have a lot of things to deal with, and I've had a backlog of business for several days."

Bailey looked at him thoughtfully: "Well, I suggest you do this. When I get there, you can show up in the space city through video communication. You know, it's just for a while, maybe when the time comes I'm going to need your help." "Uh, yes, I think it's okay." Julier said in a very uneasy tone. "Okay, let's do that." Bailey nodded, glanced at the clock on the wall, and stood up. "I'll keep in touch with you." He walked out of the director's office, deliberately slowed down closing the door, and looked back.Julier lowered his head slowly, burying his face in the elbow resting on the table.Bailey could almost swear he heard the cries.

God!he thought in shock. He walked into the big office and sat down at the corner of a nearby table.The colleague behind the desk looked up, murmured hello to Bailey, and then lowered his head to do his work.Bailey ignored him. He took the mouthpiece off and blew on it, then inserted the pipe into a small ash cleaner on the table to remove the gray ash. He looked at the empty pipe with a bit of distress, reinstalled the mouthpiece, and put it away.Another pipe was smoked and gone forever. He thought about what had just happened.In a way, Julier's reaction didn't surprise him.He had expected that Julier would object to him going to the space city.Zhulier often said how difficult it is to deal with people from the outside world, it requires experience, and even trivial matters must be handled carefully, otherwise it will be dangerous and so on.

But he didn't expect Julier to give in so easily.He had expected Julier to at least insist on going with him.In terms of the importance of this case, what is the pressure of other work? But that wasn't what Bailey wanted, what he wanted was the answer he had already received.He asked the director to witness the whole process through video communication to ensure safety. Safety is a key word.Bailey needed a witness, and that witness could not be eliminated immediately.For his own security he needs at least this minimum assurance. And Julier agreed immediately.Bailey thought of the crying, or something like it, he had heard as he left the chief's office.He thought: My God!The case was beyond Julier's capacity.

Bailey was lost in thought when he was startled by a jubilant, incoherent voice in his ear. "What's the matter with you?" he asked harshly. R. Sammy still had the same goofy smile on his face. "Jack told me to tell, Daniel is ready, Elijah." "Understood, get out!" He frowned and looked at the robot's back.What could be more irritating than having a clumsy metal machine call your name incessantly? I remember that when R. Sammy first arrived, he complained to Julier about this, and Julier shrugged his shoulders and said: "How can we get everything right, Ilya? The people insist that the robots in the city should be equipped with high-speed The friendly line of the function. He likes you so much that he calls you by the nicest name he knows."

Friendly line!It is impossible for any type of robot in existence to harm a human being.This is the first law of robotics: "A robot shall not injure a human being, nor by inaction allow a human being to be harmed." This instruction is firmly embedded in the basic wiring of every positronic brain, and absolutely cannot be interfered with. , so there is no need for the robot to be equipped with a special friendly line at all. However, Julier's words were not wrong.Although the distrust mentality of people on earth towards robots is very unreasonable, robots must be equipped with friendly lines, just like the face of a robot must be made to look like a smile.In short, it must be so on Earth. R. Daniel never smiled. Bailey sighed softly and stood up.He thought: The next stop is Space City or maybe the last stop! New York's police officers, as well as some high-ranking officials, can still drive personal patrol cars in city corridors, and even drive those ancient underpasses that have been banned from walking.Over the years, liberals have repeatedly advocated turning these lanes into playgrounds for children, new types of shopping districts or extensions of the highway and highway strips. However, the strong call for "civilian safety" still exists.They are opposed to this for the following reasons: in case of a fire that cannot be extinguished by the regional facilities, in case of serious damage to energy lines and ventilation pipes, and most importantly, in case of a major riot, the government must There is a way to quickly mobilize the power of the whole city to deal with it.Then those lanes will come in handy.As of now, nothing can replace these lanes. Bailey had driven into the driveway a few times before this time, but was always frustrated by the desolate sight of the empty driveway.It seemed a million kilometers away from the warm, throbbing New York.He sat in the control seat of the patrol car, and the driveway stretched in front of him like a long, concealed, hollow worm.He followed the gentle curve and the lane continued to stretch forward.He didn't need to look to know that a long, concealed and hollow worm was following behind, it was winding and seemingly endless.The light in the driveway is bright, but in a dead void the light is meaningless. R. Daniel, sitting next to Bailey, could neither break the silence nor fill the void.He stared straight ahead indifferently, as indifferent to the empty lanes as he was to the crowded freeways. Under the siren of the patrol car, they rushed out of the driveway and gradually turned into the urban corridor. On some relatively wide roads in the urban corridors, lines are still clearly drawn, and they are also compared with the marking methods of ancient roads.Now, though, New York is empty of vehicles other than patrol cars, fire trucks and maintenance trucks, and people walk these corridors with confidence.Bailey's patrol car rushed forward screaming, and the pedestrians in front hurriedly scattered to avoid it. The noise of the crowd came in, and Bailey felt a little easier to breathe, but not for long.After walking less than two hundred meters, they turned into the corridor leading to the entrance of the space city, and the noise disappeared. The people of Space City are waiting for them.The guard at the entrance obviously recognized R. Daniel.Although the guards were all human, they nodded to R. Daniel without any embarrassment. A guard came up to Bale, saluting him with a stiff, perfect movement.He was tall and serious, but not as perfect as R. Daniel's outsider figure. "Sir, please let me see your papers," he said. The guard looked at the papers quickly but carefully.Bailey noticed that he wore skin-colored gloves and had a pair of discreet air filters in each nostril. The guard saluted again and handed the pass back to Bailey. "Here is a small private room. If you want to take a bath, you are welcome." The guard said and retreated to his post. Just when Bailey was thinking that he didn't need to take a bath, R. Daniel gently tugged on his sleeve. "It's customary for city dwellers to take a bath before entering the space city, partner Ilya." R. Daniel said, "You don't know this, so I'm telling you, because I understand that you don't want to let yourself or Made us feel uncomfortable. Also, I want to remind you that if you have to deal with personal hygiene, please do it here. There is no such equipment in the space city." "No sanitary facilities?" Bailey was taken aback. "How is it possible?" "Of course there is. I mean, there are no sanitation facilities for urban residents." Bailey's face was obviously shocked and full of hostility. R. Daniel said: "I am sorry that this is the case, but this is a custom." Bailey entered the private room without saying a word.He didn't see it, but felt that R. Daniel was following him. He thought: Spy on me?See if I clean up the city's filth? In a fit of rage, he remembered his plan.This time he came to the space city, he wanted to give a "surprise" to the outsiders, which was tantamount to confronting himself, and there were many crises.But at the moment, he no longer cared about the danger. The private rooms are small, but well equipped and very, very clean. There was a strong smell in the air.Bailey sniffed, momentarily confused. Then he thought: Ozone!They're irradiating the place with ultraviolet light. A small indicator light blinked on and off a few times, then stabilized and stayed on.The sign reads: "Guests are asked to remove all clothing, including shoes, and place them in the container below." Bale reluctantly followed instructions.He undid the blaster belt, undressed, and wrapped them around his bare waist.It's heavy and doesn't feel very comfortable. The container was closed, and his clothes and shoes were gone.The light goes off and a new light comes on at the front. "Guests are asked to attend to personal hygiene and then use the ablution facilities indicated by the arrows." Bailey felt like a machine tool on the assembly line, being manipulated by some force to carry out the assembly work. When he entered the shower room, the first thing he did was to pull out the moisture-proof jacket to cover the explosion tightly.Because of regular practice, he was sure he could pull out and shoot within five seconds. There was no door handle or hook to hang it on in the shower, not even a shower head in sight.He had to put it in the corner by the door. Another light came on: "Guests are invited to stand with their arms outstretched in their designated positions within the central circle." When he stepped into the small hollow, the light went off.As soon as the lights went out, strong jets of frothy liquid shot at him from the ceiling, floor and surrounding walls.He even felt water bubble up from under his feet.This shower went on for a full minute, his skin flushed from the mixture of heat and water pressure, his lungs contracting and expanding to suck in the hot mist.It was followed by a full minute of low-pressure cold water washing, and finally a minute of hot air, which made his whole body dry, refreshed and comfortable. Bailey picked up the blaster belts and found them, too, dry and hot.He buckled it up and walked out of the shower, seeing the phone and Daniel just coming out of the next shower.Of course! Although R. Daniel is not a city resident, his body is full of urban dirt. Seeing R. Daniel, Bailey unconsciously looked away.Then it occurred to him that, after all, R. Daniel's living habits were different from those of city dwellers, so he reluctantly turned his gaze back.The scene in front of him made the corner of his mouth twitch, as if smiling slightly.It turns out that R. Daniel's resemblance to human beings is not limited to his face and hands, but his entire body, his entire body. Bailey walked in the opposite direction from the private room he had just entered.His clothes were neatly folded and waiting for him. They exude a warm, clean smell. A sign read: "Guests are asked to put their clothes back on and place their hands in the designated recesses." Bailey did as directed.He put his hand into the hollow, and when he touched the clean milky white surface, he clearly felt a tingle in the tip of his middle finger.He hurriedly withdrew his hand, only to find that a drop of blood flowed from his hand.He watched, and the bleeding soon stopped. He shakes off the drop of blood and pinches his fingers.Even when he squeezed hard, the blood stopped flowing. Apparently, they were analyzing his blood.He suddenly felt very anxious.He believed that the annual health check-ups given by the police department doctors were far less thorough and experienced than those of some ruthless robot builders from outer space.But it wasn't what he wanted, and he didn't know exactly what they'd find. The waiting time was quite long for Bailey. Finally, the lights turned on, and only a few words were displayed on it: "Guests, please move forward." Bailey took a long breath and felt relieved.He walked forward, through an archway.Then, two metal rods suddenly appeared in front of him approaching him, and a few words appeared in the glowing air: "Guests, please stop!" "What the hell is this?" Bailey couldn't help but exclaimed.The anger made him forget that he was still in his private room. R. Daniel's voice sounded next to his ears: "I think these detectors have found some kind of energy. Are you carrying a blaster, Elijah?" Bailey turned sharply, his face flushed.He tried it twice, but his voice was still a little hoarse and unnatural: "Whether on duty or off duty, police officers should carry blasting guns with them." This is the first time he has spoken in his private room since he was ten years old.The last time he had spoken in the private room, he had involuntarily complained about kicking a sore toe, and Uncle Boris was there.After returning home, his uncle beat him severely and severely taught him that he must be well-bred and behave in public places. "Visitors are not allowed to be armed." R. Daniel said: "This is our rule, Ilya. Even your chief, you have to stay here when he comes here." Under any other circumstances, Bailey would probably have turned right away, left the space city, and left the robot.But now, he was so angry that he almost went crazy, he couldn't wait to complete the plan in his heart as soon as possible, so as to take revenge and shame. Although the stricter medical check-up procedures in the early days have been replaced by this more polite way, he still understands the feeling. He can deeply and completely understand the blockade that happened in his childhood. Riots are the result of this feeling of anger. Bailey undid his gun belt as he thought. R. Daniel took it from him and put it into a recess in the wall, where a thin sheet of metal slid down to seal it. "Put your thumb in this hole, please," said R. Daniel, "and only your thumb will be able to open it later." Bailey felt as uncomfortable as if he had no clothes on.Even in the shower just now, he didn't feel as naked and uncomfortable as he does now.He passed the place where the metal rod had stopped him before, and finally walked out of the private room. He came back to the corridor again, but the atmosphere in the corridor was very strange.The nature of the light ahead is very rare.He felt a puff of air against his face, and he instinctively thought it was a patrol car driving by. R. Daniel probably saw his uncomfortable expression.He said, "We're actually already under the open sky, Ilya. Everything here is natural, not artificially adjusted." Bailey felt sick.How is it possible that outsiders take such severe precautions against the human body from the city, and then inhale into their lungs the dirty air of the wilderness?He tightened his nostrils as if trying to block air from entering his body. R. Daniel said: "I believe you will find that the air outside is not harmful to human health." "Okay," Bailey said weakly. The air blasted against his face, which annoyed him.In fact, the airflow is very gentle, and it comes in bursts. Then, worse things came.The exit of the corridor was blue, and the strong white light enveloped the four powers.Bailey had seen the sun.Once when he was on duty, he visited the natural sun room.But in that place, surrounded by protective glass, the sun becomes an ordinary luminous body after refraction.And here, everything is exposed to the air. He looked up at the sun involuntarily, then looked away.He blinked his eyes again and again, only to feel that his eyes were dim, and tears flowed out. An outsider came towards them.Bailey felt anxious. R. Daniel went forward to greet and shake hands with Opponent.The outsider turned to Baley and said, "Come with me, sir? I'm Dr. Han Fastoff." Once inside the dome, things got a little better.Bailey stared at the room with wide eyes.The size of the rooms in the house is unprecedented for him, and the distribution of space is also used arbitrarily.Still, he was thankful to feel the air was artificially conditioned again. Fastoff sat down and raised his long legs. "I guess you probably like this kind of air better than the windy natural air!" He seemed quite friendly.The outsider has fine lines on his forehead, and the skin under his eyes and chin is a little saggy.His hair was thin and thin, but there were no gray strands.He had big protruding ears, which made him look ugly and funny, and made Bailey feel more at ease. In fact, that morning, Bailey took out the photos of the space city that Julier was afraid of and looked at them again.R. Daniel had just arranged the meeting in Space City, and Bailey's mind was preoccupied with actually meeting people from outside the world.This is very different from the situation of communicating with them through the carrier several kilometers away. In the past, Bailey had the experience of communicating with people from outside the world several times. Roughly speaking, the outsiders in the photographs were like the illustrations of outsiders that occasionally appear in film books: tall, handsome, red-haired, serious and impassive.Like R. Daniel, for example. At that time, R. Daniel told Bailey the names of those outsiders in the photo. Bailey suddenly pointed to the photo and said in surprise, "Isn't this you?" R. Daniel answered him: "No, Elijah, that's my designer, Dr. Shatton." He said this very calmly, without any emotion. "Are you created in the image of your Creator?" Bailey asked sarcastically, but R. Daniel didn't respond. In fact, Bailey didn't expect any reaction from him.As far as he knew, in the outside world, the spread of the Bible was extremely limited. Now Baley looked at Han Fastoff, whose appearance was very different from the standard appearance of outsiders, and as an Earthling, Baley was very grateful for this. "Would you like something to eat?" Fastov asked him, pointing to the table between the three of them. Bailey was a little surprised that there was only a bowl of brightly colored spheres on the table.He thought the bowl and sphere were decorations. R. Daniel explained to him: "This is the fruit of a natural plant grown in the world of Aurora. I suggest you try this. It is called an apple and is famous for its delicious taste." Fastoff smiled: "Of course, what R. Daniel said is not personal experience, but he is right." Bailey picked up an apple and put it to his mouth.The surface of the apple is blue-red, it feels cool to the touch, and exudes a fresh and pleasant fragrance.He opened his mouth to bite, tasted an unexpected sweet and sour pulp, and his teeth almost went limp. He chewed carefully.Of course, urban residents can also eat natural food within the scope of food rations. He himself often eats natural meat and bread.But the food is always more or less processed.It is boiled, or ground, blended, tempered.Today, the so-called fruit is, properly speaking, intended for human consumption in puree or pickled form.But what he is holding in his hand now comes directly from the soil of a planet. He thought: I wish they had at least washed it. He also thought that the concept of cleanliness of people in the outside world is really contradictory. "Let me introduce myself a little bit more clearly," said Fastoff. "On the Space City side, I'm running the investigation into Dr. Sardon's murder, just as Commissioner Enderby is running the city side investigation." .If I can assist you in any way, I am always happy to do so. We are as anxious as you are to have this matter quietly resolved and nothing like it to happen again." "Thank you, Dr. Fastoff," Bayley said. "I appreciate your attitude." He thought, this is the end of the pleasantries.He bit into the apple core, and the little black kernels jumped into his mouth.He unconsciously vomited, and the little black grains flew out and fell to the ground.If the outsider sitting across from him hadn't quickly moved his foot away, the nuclei would have hit his foot long ago. Bailey blushed and bent down quickly. "It's all right, Mr. Bailey," said Fastoff kindly. "Leave it alone." Bailey sat up straight and put the apple down very carefully.He thought uncomfortably that after he left, those little things that fell on the ground would be sucked up by the pipe, and the whole bowl of fruit would be burned or thrown far outside the space city.The room he stayed in was sprayed with disinfectant. He concealed his embarrassment with abruptness. "Please promise me to invite Director Enderby to attend our meeting through video communication." Fastoff raised his eyebrows. "If you wish, of course you can. Daniel, would you please get on the line?" Bailey sat stiffly, and finally, the parallelepiped in one corner of the room gradually revealed the image of Director Julie Enderby and part of the desk.At this moment, Bailey's uncomfortable feeling eased, and he found that he suddenly fell in love with the familiar figure in front of him, and he was so eager to go back to that office, or to go back to any place in the city.It doesn't matter if you go back to the worst Jersey sourdough plant. Now that eyewitnesses have appeared, it is time, and there is no reason to procrastinate. Bailey said, "I think I have solved the mystery of Dr. Sutton's death." He catches a glimpse of Julier jumping up, reaching like a madman for (this time catches) the glasses that he nearly dropped.Julier stood up, his head was out of range of the VSM, so he sat down, blushing, unable to utter a word. Dr. Fastoff tilted his head in a calmer gesture of surprise. R. Daniel remained unchanged. "You mean," said Fastoff, "that you know who the murderer is?" "No," Bailey said, "I mean, there was no murder at all." "What?" Juliell screamed. "Take it easy, Commissioner Enderby." Fastoff raised a hand to gesture to Julier, and then turned to Bailey: "You mean, Dr. Sutton is still alive?" "Yes, sir, and I believe I know where he is." "Where?" "There!" Bailey said, pointing firmly at R. Daniel Oliva.