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.It was your doing, Bliss, that we have her hereand it was she who, unwittingly, saved us.And yet- And yet what? Despite that, I mstill uneasy at Fallom s presence.I don t knowwhy. If it will make you feel better, Trevize, I don t know that wePage 284 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlcan lay all the credit at Fallom s feet.Hiroko advanced Fallom s music as herexcuse for committing what the other Alphans would surely consider to be anact of treason.She may even have believed this, but there was something inher mind in addition, something that I vaguely detected but could not surelyidentify, something that perhaps she was ashamed to let emerge into herconscious mind.I am under the impression that she felt a warmth for you, andwould not willingly see you die, regardless of Fallom and her music. Do you really think so? said Trevize, smiling slightly for thefirst time since they had left Alpha. I think so.You must have a certain proficiency at dealing withwomen.You persuaded Minister Lizalor to allow us to take our ship and leaveComporellon, and you helped influence Hiroko to save our lives.Credit whereit s due. Trevize smiled more broadly. Well, if you say so.-On to Earth,then. He disappeared into the pilot-room with a step that was almost jaunty.Pelorat, lingering behind, said, You soothed him after all,didn t you, Bliss? No, Pelorat, I never touched his mind. You certainly did when you pampered his male vanity sooutrageously. Entirely indirect, said Bliss, smiling. Even so, thank you, Bliss. 86.AFTER THE Jump, the star that might well be Earth s sun was stilla tenth of a parsec away.It was the brightest object in the sky by far, butit was still no more than a star.Trevize kept its light filtered for ease of viewing, and studiedit somberly.He said, There seems no doubt that it is the virtual twin ofAlpha, the star that New Earth circles.Yet Alpha is in the computer map andthis star is not.We don t have a name for this star, we aren t given itsstatistics, we lack any information concerning its planetary system, if it hasone. Pelorat said, Isn t that what we would expect if Earth circlesthis sun? Such a blackout of information would fit with the fact that allinformation about Earth seems to have been eliminated. Yes, but it could also mean that it s a Spacer world that justhappened not to be on the list on the wall of the Melpomenian building.Wecan t be altogether sure that that list was complete.Or this star could bewithout planets and therefore perhaps not worth listing on a computer mapwhich is primarily used for military and commercial purposes.-Janov, is thereany legend that tells of Earth s sun being a mere parsec or so from a twin ofPage 285 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlitself. Pelorat shook his head. I m sorry, Golan, but no such legendoccurs to me.There may be one, though.My memory isn t perfect.I ll searchfor it. It s not important.Is there any name given to Earth s sun? Some different names are given.I imagine there must be a name ineach of the different languages. I keep forgetting that Earth had many languages. It must have had.It s the only way of making sense out of manyof the legends. Trevize said peevishly, Well, then, what do we do? We can t tellanything about the planetary system from this distance, and we have to movecloser.I would like to be cautious, but there s such a thing as excessive andunreasoning caution, and I see no evidence of possible danger.Presumablyanything powerful enough to wipe the Galaxy clean of information about Earthmay be powerful enough to wipe us out even at this distance if they seriouslydid not wish to be located, but nothing s happened.It isn t rational to stayhere forever on the mere possibility that something might happen if we movecloser, is it? Bliss said, I take it the computer detects nothing that might beinterpreted as dangerous. When I say I see no evidence of possible danger, it s thecomputer I m relying on.I certainly can t see anything with the unaided eye.I wouldn t expect to. Then I take it you re just looking for support in making what youconsider a risky decision.All right, then.I m with you.We haven t come thisfar in order to turn back for no reason, have we? No, said Trevize. What do you say, Pelorat? Pelorat said, I m willing to move on, if only out of curiosity.It would be unbearable to go back without knowing if we have found Earth. Well, then, said Trevize, we re all agreed. Not all, said Pelorat. There s Fallom. Trevize looked astonished. Are you suggesting we consult thechild? Of what value would her opinion be even if she had one? Besides, allshe would want would be to get back to her own world. Can you blame her for that? asked Bliss warmly.And because the matter of Fallom had arisen, Trevize became awareof her flute, which was sounding in a rather stirring march rhythm. Listen to her, he said. Where has she ever heard anything inmarch rhythm? Perhaps Jemby played marches on the flute for her. Page 286 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlTrevize shook his head. I doubt it.Dance rhythms, I shouldthink, lullabies.-Listen, Fallom makes me uneasy.She learns too quickly. Ihelp her, said Bliss. Remember that.And she svery intelligentand she has been extraordinarily stimulated in the time she s been with us.New sensations have flooded her mind.She s seen space, different worlds, manypeople, all for the first time. Fallom s march music grew wilder and more richly barbaric.Trevize sighed and said, Well, she s here, and she s producingmusic that seems to breathe optimism, and delight in adventure.I ll take thatas her vote in favor of moving in more closely.Let us do so cautiously, then,and check this sun s planetary system. If any, said Bliss.Trevize smiled thinly. There s a planetary system.It s a bet.Choose your sum. 87. You lose, said Trevize abstractedly. How much money did youdecide to bet? None.I never accepted the wager, said Bliss. Just as well.I wouldn t like to accept the money, anyway. They were some 10 billion kilometers from the sun.It was stillstar-like, but it was nearly 1/4,000 as bright as the average sun would havebeen when viewed from the surface of a habitable planet. We can see two planets under magnification, right now, saidTrevize. From their measured diameters and from the spectrum of the reflectedlight, they are clearly gas giants. The ship was well outside the planetary plane, and Bliss andPelorat, staring over Trevize s shoulder at the viewscreen, found themselveslooking at two tiny crescents of greenish light.The smaller was in thesomewhat thicker phase of the two.Trevize said, Janov! It is correct, isn t it, that Earth s sun issuppose to have four gas giants. According to the legends.Yes, said Pelorat. The nearest of the four to the sun is the largest, and the secondnearest has rings.Right? Large prominent rings, Golan.Yes.Just the same, old chap, youhave to allow for exaggeration in the telling and retelling of a legend.If weshould not find a planet with an extraordinary ring system, I don t think weought to let that count seriously against this being Earth s star. Nevertheless, the two we see may be the farthest, and the twoPage 287 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlnearer ones may well be on the other side of the sun and too far.to be easilylocated against the background of stars
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