Foundation and Earth

Fallom stared at her solemnly. "Will I ever see Jemby again, Bliss? Tell me the truth."

Bliss said, "You may, if we return to Solaria."

"Will we ever return to Solaria?"

Bliss hesitated. "I cannot say."

"Now we go to Earth, is that right? Isn't that the planet where you say we all originate?"

"Where our forebears originated," said Bliss.

"I can say 'ancestors,' " said Fallom.

"Yes, we are going to Earth."

Bliss said lightly, "Wouldn't anyone wish to see the world of their ancestors?"

"I think there's more to it. You all seem so concerned."

"But we've never been there before. We don't know what to expect."

"I think it is more than that."

Bliss smiled. "You've finished eating, Fallom dear, so why not go to the room and let us have a little serenade on your flute. You're playing it more beautifully all the time. Come, come." She gave Fallom an accelerating pat on the rear end, and off Fallom went, turning only once to give Trevize a thoughtful look.

Trevize looked after her with clear distaste. "Does that thing read minds?"

"Don't call her a 'thing,' Trevize," said Bliss sharply.

"Does she read minds? You ought to be able to tell."

"No, she doesn't. Nor can Gaia. Nor can the Second Foundationers. Reading minds in the sense of overhearing a conversation, or making out precise ideas is not something that can be done now, or in the foreseeable future. We can detect, interpret, and, to some extent, manipulate emotions, but that is not the same thing at all."

"How do you know she can't do this thing that supposedly can't be done?"

"Because as you have just said, I ought to be able to tell."

"Perhaps she is manipulating you so that you remain ignorant of the fact that she can."

Bliss rolled her eyes upward. "Be reasonable, Trevize. Even if she had unusual abilities, she could do nothing with me for I am not Bliss, I am Gaia. You keep forgetting. Do you know the mental inertia represented by an entire planet? Do you think one Isolate, however talented, can overcome that?"

"You don't know everything, Bliss, so don't be overconfident," said Trevize sullenly. "That th-She has been with us not very long. I couldn't learn anything but the rudiments of a language in that time, yet she already speaks Galactic perfectly and with virtually a full vocabulary. Yes, I know you've been helping her, but I wish you would stop."

"I told you I was helping her, but I also told you she's fearfully intelligent. Intelligent enough so that I would like to have her part of Gaia. If we can gather her in; if she's still young enough; we might learn enough about the Solarians to absorb that entire world eventually. It might well be useful to us."

"Does it occur to you that the Solarians are pathological Isolates even by my standards?"

"They wouldn't stay so as part of Gaia."

"I think you're wrong, Bliss. I think that Solarian child is dangerous and that we should get rid of her."

"How? Dump her through the airlock? Kill her, chop her up, and add her to our food supply?"

Pelorat said, "Oh, Bliss."

And Trevize said, "That's disgusting, and completely uncalled for." He listened for a moment. The flute was sounding without flaw or waver, and they had been talking in half-whispers. "When this is all over, we've got to return her to Solaria, and make sure that Solaria is forever cut off from the Galaxy. My own feeling is that it should be destroyed. I distrust and fear it."

Bliss thought awhile and said, "Trevize, I know that you have the knack of coming to a right decision, but I also know you have been antipathetic to Fallom from the start. I suspect that may just be because you were humiliated on Solaria and have taken a violent hatred to the planet and its inhabitants as a result. Since I must not tamper with your mind, I can't tell that for sure. Please remember that if we had not taken Fallom with us, we would be on Alpha right now-dead and, I presume, buried."

"I know that, Bliss, but even so-"

"And her intelligence is to be admired, not envied."

"I do not envy her. I fear her."

"Her intelligence?"

Trevize licked his lips thoughtfully. "No, not quite."

"What, then?"

"I don't know. Bliss, if I knew what I feared, I might not have to fear it. It's something I don't quite understand." His voice lowered, as though he were speaking to himself. "The Galaxy seems to be crowded with things I don't understand. Why did I choose Gaia? Why must I find Earth? Is there a missing assumption in psychohistory? If there is, what is it? And on top of all that, why does Fallom make me uneasy?"

Bliss said, "Unfortunately, I can't answer those questions." She rose, and left the room.

Pelorat looked after her, then said, "Surely things aren't totally black, Golan. We're getting closer and closer to Earth and once we reach it all mysteries may be solved. And so far nothing seems to be making any effort to stop us from reaching it."

Trevize's eyes flickered toward Pelorat and he said in a low voice, "I wish something would."

Pelorat said, "You do? Why should you want that?"