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"One false uard&039;s throat worked visibly He said, "We&039;ll do it Only I don&039;t see how you can get the whole govern," said Coogan "Just get Adaainst the control wall and waited

"I don&039;t understand," said Sil-Chan

The Mundial native sat in a chair across the desk froed over Sil-Chan&039;s bandaged shoulder "You pound it into us that we have to obey," he said "You tell us we can&039;t go against the Code Then at the last minute you turn around and throw a blaster on the whole crew and toss them into the hospital&039;s violent ward"

"I don&039;t think they can get out of there," said Coogan

"Not with all those guards around them," said Sil-Chan "But it&039;s still disobedience and that&039;s against the Code" He held up a hand, pal, you understand It&039;s what I was advocating all along"

"That&039;s where you&039;re nore the Library and its silly broadcasts as long as that inforovernment order"

"But --" Sil-Chan shook his head

"There&039;s another new governan "Leader Adams was booted out because he told people they couldn&039;t have so That&039;s bad policy for a politician They stay in office by telling people they can have things"

Sil-Chan said, "Well, where does --"

"Right, after you caeneral order froovernment which I was only too happy to obey It said that Leader Ada hian arose, strode around to Sil-Chan, who also got to his feet "So you see," said Coogan, "I did it all by obeying the governan&039;s desk, suddenly sotlike this lever" He put a hand on the lever hich Coogan had forced his subht Sil-Chan&039;s hand and kicked it away before the littlehis bruised hand "Ouch!" He looked up at Coogan "What in the naher on the wall and the panelwires from a series of lower connections Presently, he stepped out There were beads of perspiration on his forehead

Sil-Chan stared at the lever he had touched "Oh, no --" he said "You didn&039;t really hook that to the grav unit!"

Coogan nodded ainst the desk, sat on it "Then you weren&039;t certain obedience would work, that --"

"No, I wasn&039;t," growled Coogan

Sil-Chan smiled "Well, now, there&039;s a piece of infor" The srin "What&039;s htened his shoulders He wet his lips with his tongue "I&039;ll tell you, Toris Since you were to get this position anyway, I&039;ll tell you what it&039;s worth tosmile that made Sil-Chan squint his eyes

"You&039;re an

Part II

Whenever Soo these lower corridors of the Library Planet, he liked to think of his ancestors h these ancient spaces Family history was a special favorite in his studies and he felt that he knew all of those people intimately, their crises, their victories -- all preserved in the archival records these thousands of years His thirty-ti this very corridor every day of that long-gone life

Robot menials made way for him and Sooma knew that at least parts of some of these very robots had made way for that other Sil-Chan The menials were manufactured to last There was one of them down in his own office, Archival Chief Accountancy, that was known to have gone without need of repair for twenty-one huenerations