I thought - well, maybe the old man has had enough."
"I'll 'old man' you," said Baley. The robot he had noted in the direction of the City was now close enough to be made out clearly, but Baley dismissed it as unimportant. He said, "It makes sense to get under a tree once in a while when the sun's too bright. We've got to learn to use the advantages of the Outside, as well as learning to bear its disadvantages. - And there's the sun coming out from behind that cloud."
"Yes, it will do that. - Well, then, don't you want to go in?"
"I can stick it out. Once a week, I have an afternoon off and I spend it here. That's my privilege. It goes with my C-7 rating."
"It's not a question of privilege, Dad. It's a question of getting overtired."
"I feel fine, I tell you."
"Sure. And when you get home, you'll go straight to bed and lie in the dark."
"Natural antidote to overbrightness."
"And Mom worries."
"Well, let her worry. It will do her good. Besides, what's the harm in being out here? The worst part is sweat, but I just have to get used to it. I can't run away from it. When I started, I couldn't even walk this far from the City without having to turn back - and you were the only one with me. Now look at how many we've got and how far I can come without trouble. I can do plenty of work, too. I can last an offier hour easy. I tell you, Ben, it would do your mother good to come out here herself."
"Who? Mom? Surely you jest."
"Some jest. When the time comes to take off, I won't be able to go along - because she won't."
"And you'll be glad of it. Don't kid yourself, Dad. It won't, be for quite a while - and if you're not too old now, you'll be too old then. It's going to be a game for young people."
"You know," said Baley, half-balling his fist, "you are such a wise guy with your 'young people.' Have you ever been off Earth? Have any of those people in the field been off Earth? I have. Two years ago. That was before I had any of this acclimatization - and I survived."
"I know, Dad, but that was briefly, and in the line of duty, and you were taken care of in a going society. It's not the same - "
"It was the same," said Baley stubbornly, knowing in his heart that it wasn't. "And it won't take us so long to be able to leave. If I could get permission to go to Aurora, we could get this act off the ground."
"Forget it. It's not going to happen that easily."
"We've got to try. The government won't let us go without Aurora giving us the go-ahead. It's the largest and strongest of the Spacer worlds and what, it says - "
"Goes! I know. We've all talked this over a million times. But you don't have to go there to get permission. There are such things as hyper-relays. You can talk to them from here. I've said that any number of times before."
"It's not the same. We'll need face-to-face contact - and I've said that any number of times before."
"In any case" said Ben, "we're not ready yet."
"We're not ready because Earth won't give us the ships. The Spacers will, together with the necessary technical help."
"Such faith! Why should the Spacers do it? When did they start feeling kindly toward us short-lived Earthpeople?"
"If I could talk to them - "
Ben laughed. "Come on, Dad. You just want to go to Aurora, to see that woman again."
Baley frowned and his eyebrows beetled over his deep-set eyes. "Woman? Jehoshaphat, Ben, what are you talking about?"
"Now, Dad, just between us - and not a word to Mom what did happen with that woman on Solaria? I'm old enough. You can tell me."
"What woman on Solaria?"
"How can you look at me and deny any knowledge of the woman everyone on, Earth saw in the hyperwave dramatization? Gladia Delmarre. That woman!"
"Nothing happened. That hyperwave thing was nonsense. I've told you that a thousand times. She didn't look that way. I didn't look that way. It was all made up and you know it was produced over my protests, just because the government thought it would put Earth in a good light, with the Spacers. - And you make sure you don't imply anything different