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"Why not? You don't like the Spacers I don't Who on Earth does? Someone didn't like them a little too much, that's all"

"Sure, but - "

"There was the fire at the Los Angeles factories There was the Berlin R-shai"

"All right"

"It all points to rising discontent Maybe to soanization"

Baley said, "Co me for some reason?"

"What?" The Commissioner looked honestly bewildered

Baley watched hio a Spacer was murdered and the Spacers think the er tapped the desk, "nothing's coht? Commissioner, that's unbelievable Jehoshaphat, Co like this would blo York off the face of the planet if it really happened"

The Commissioner shook his head "It's not as simple as that Look, Lije, I've been out three days I've been in conference with the Mayor I've been out to Spacetown I've been down in Washington, talking to the Terrestrial Bureau of Investigation"

"Oh? And what do the Terries have to say?"

"They say it's our baby It's inside city limits Spacetown is under New York jurisdiction"

"But with extraterritorial rights"

"I know I' to that" The Commissioner's eyes fell away fro been suddenly de, and Baley behaved as though he accepted the fact

"The Spacers can run the show," said Baley

"Wait a minute, Lije," pleaded the Co to talk this over, friend to friend I want you to know my position I was there when the news broke I had an appointment with him - with Roj Nemennuh Sarton"

"The victim?"

"The victiroaned "Five minutes more and I, myself, would have discovered the body What a shock that would have been As it was, it was brutal, brutal They ht blur on lasses for days That won't happen again, at least I've ordered three pairs"

Baley considered the picture he conjured up of the event He could see the tall, fair figures of the Spacers approaching the Co it to him in their unvarnished elasses and polish them Inevitably, under the impact of the event, he would drop them, then look down at the broken remnants with a quiver of his soft, full lips Baley was quite certain that, for five minutes anyway, the Colasses than over the murder

The Co, "It's a devil of a position As you say, the Spacers have extraterritorial rights They can insist on their own investigation, overnments The Outer Worlds could use this as an excuse to pile on indees You kno that would sit with the population"

"It would be political suicide for the White House to agree to pay"

"And another kind of suicide not to pay"

"You don't have to draw lea cruisers froton, New York, and Moscow to collect what they claimed was theirs

"Then you see Pay or not pay, it's trouble The only way out is to find the murderer on our own and hand him over to the Spacers It's up to us"

"Why not give it to the TBI? Even if it is our jurisdiction froalistic viewpoint, there's the question of interstellar relations - "

"The TBI won't touch it This is hot and it's in our lap" For a azed keenly at his subordinate "And it's not good, Lije Every one of us stands the chance of being out of a job"

Baley said, "Replace us all? Nuts The trained men to do it with don't exist"

"R's," said the Commissioner "They exist"

"What?"

"R Sa He runs errands Others can patrol the expressways Damn it, man, I know the Spacers better than you do, and I knohat they're doing There are R's that can do your work and mine We can be declassified Don't think differently And at our age, to hit the labor pool"

Baley said, gruffly, "All right"

The Commissioner looked abashed "Sorry, Lije"

Baley nodded and tried not to think of his father The Commissioner knew the story, of course

Baley said, "When did all this replacement business come up?"

"Look, you're being naive, Lije It's been happening all along It's been happening for twenty-five years, ever since the Spacers caher, that's all If westep toward the point where we can stop looking forward to collecting our pension-tab booklets On the other hand, Lije, if we handle the matter well, it can shove that point far into the future And it would be a particular break for you"

"For me?" said Baley

"You'll be the operative in charge, Lije"

"I don't rate it, Commissioner I'm a C-5, that's all"

"You want a C-6 rating, don't you?"

Did he? Baley knew the privileges a C-6 rating carried A seat on the expressway in the rush hour, not just froher up on the list-of-choice at the Section kitchens Maybe even a chance at a better apartment and a quota ticket to the Solarium levels for Jessie

"I want it," he said "Sure Why wouldn't I? But ould I get if I couldn't break the case?"

"Why wouldn't you break it, Lije?" the Coood man You're one of the best we have"

"But there are half a dozen s in my department section Why should they be passed over?"

Baley did not say out loud, though his bearing ily, that the Commissioner did not move outside protocol in this fashion except in cases of wild eency

The Commissioner folded his hands "Two reasons You're not just another detective toere in college together Sootten, but that's the fault of rating I'm Commissioner, and you knohat that means But I'm still your friend and this is a treht person I want you to have it"

"That's one reason," said Baley, without warmth

"The second reason is that I think you're my friend I need a favor"

"What sort of favor?"

"I want you to take on a Spacer partner in this deal That was the condition the Spacers reed to leave the investigation in our hands In return, they insist one of their own agents be in on the deal, the whole deal"

"It sounds like they don't trust us altogether"

"Surely you see their point If this is mishandled, a nuovernive the to believe they mean well"

"I'm sure they do, Commissioner That's the trouble with them" The Co to take on a Spacer partner, Lije?"

"You're asking that as a favor?"

"Yes, I' you to take the job with all the conditions the Spacers have set up"

"I'll take a Spacer partner, Commissioner"

"Thanks, Lije He'll have to live with you"

"Oh, now, hold on"

"I know I know But you've got a large apartment, Lije Three rooms Only one child You can put him up He'll be no trouble No trouble at all And it's necessary"

"Jessie won't like it I know that"

"You tell Jessie," the Commissioner was earnest, so earnest that his eyes see his stare, "that if you do this for rade C-7, Lije C-7!"

"All right, Commissioner, it's a deal"

Baley half rose froht the look on Enderby's face, and sat down again

"There's so else?"

Slowly, the Commissioner nodded "One more item"

"Which is?"

"The name of your partner"

"What difference does that make?"

"The Spacers," said the Co isn't - isn't"

Baley's eyes opened wide "Just a minute!"

"You've got to, Lije You've got to There's no way out"

"Stay atlike that?"

"As a friend, please!"

"No No!"

"Lije, I can't trust anyone else in this Do I have to spell it out for you? We've got to ith the Spacers We've got to succeed, if we're to keep the indemnity ships away from Earth But we can't succeed just any old way You'll be partnered with one of their R's If he breaks the case, if he can report that we're incompetent, we're ruined, anyway We, as a departot a delicate job on your hands You've got to ith him, but see to it that you solve the case and not he Understand?"

"You mean co-operate with him 100 per cent, except that I cut his throat? Pat him on the back with a knife in my hand?"

"What else can we do? There's no other way out"

Lije Baley stood irresolute "I don't knohat Jessie will say"

"I'll talk to her, if you want me to"

"No, Co breath "What's my partner's name?"

"R Daneel Olivaw"

Baley said, sadly, "This isn't a ti the job, so let's use his full name Robot Daneel Olivaw"