RobotsandEmpire

ISAAC ASIMOV ROBOTS AND EMPIRE Copyright © 1985 To Robyn and Michael And to the years of happiness They will continue to enjoy As they walk the road of life together. CONTENTS PART I - AURORA 1. THE DESCENDANT 2. THE ANCESTOR? 3. THE CRISIS 4. ANOTHER DESCENDANT PART II - SOLARIA 5. THE ABANDONED WORLD 6. THE CREW 7. THE OVERSEER PART III - BALEYWORLD 8. THE SETTLER WORLD 9. THE SPEECH PART I - AURORA 1. THE DESCENDANT 1. Gladia felt the lawn lounge to make sure it wasn’t too damp and then sat down. A touch at the control adjusted it in such a way as to allow her to be semirecumbent and another activated the diamagnetic field and gave her, as it always did, the sensation of utter relaxation. And why not? She was, in actual fact, floating—a centimeter above the fabric. It was a warm and pleasant night, the kind that found the planet Aurora at its best—fragrant and star-lit. With a pang of sadness, she studied the numerous little sparks that dotted the sky with patterns, sparks that were all the brighter because she had ordered the lights of her establishment dimmed. How was it, she wondered, that she had never learned......