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“Connotations and associations; the subtle effect, not of dictionary meaning, but of years of usage; the nature of the sentences and conditions and events in which one has experienced the use of one word as compared with that of the other.”
History was interesting to the extent that it was catastrophic and, while that might make absorbing viewing, it made horrible living.
What else would be given without explanation? How far could he rely, then, on the knowledge he was gaining? He would have to ask questions constantly, take nothing for granted. There would be so many opportunities to miss the obvious, so many chances to misunderstand, so many ways of taking the wrong path.
No matter how subtle and intricate a brain might be, there is always some way of setting up a contradiction. That is a fundamental truth of mathematics. It will remain forever impossible to produce a brain so subtle and intricate as to reduce the chance of contradiction to zero.
Would the time come, perhaps, when they would not know it at all? When they would not remember which world they had come from or whether there was a world of origin at all?
“But I know what it means. I can’t explain it, but I feel the explanation without being able to put it into words, which may be why I have achieved results my colleagues have not. However, I grow grandiose, which is a good sign I should become prosaic.
They were willing, but no more than willing.
everything that is voluntary, that gives mutual satisfaction, and that does no physical harm to anyone.
To have failed to give joy when he could would have been to disappoint. Disappointment could be reckoned as harm
His only aim, his only reason for existence, was to please me.” “Might that not disturb you? He only pleased you because he had to.” “What motive would anyone have to do anything but that, for one reason or another, he had to?”
After all, Mr. Baley, surely you’ll agree that the sympathy of one human being for another need not rest on sexual desire or on anything but decent human feeling. Have you never felt sympathy for anyone? Have you never wanted to help someone for no reason other than the good feeling it gave you to relieve another’s misery? What kind of planet do you come from?”
“But perhaps you know scientists on your world.” “I have met some,” said Baley cautiously. “You know how they work? We are told that on Earth they cooperate out of necessity. They have, at most, half a century of active labor in the course of their short lives. Less than seven metric decades. Not much can be done in that time.” “Some of our scientists have accomplished quite a deal in considerably less time.” “Because they have taken advantage of the findings others have made before them and profit from the use they can make of contemporary findings by others. Isn’t that so?” “Of course. We
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There are some who feel that, as a matter of courtesy, any offer—or almost any offer—should be accepted, but that is not my opinion. I see no reason why I have to subject myself to some uninteresting event that will merely waste my time.
“She has been embittered by various events in her youth, events for which she considers Dr. Fastolfe to have been responsible and for which he may indeed have been unwittingly responsible—to an extent. It seems to me it was not his intention that the events in question should have the consequences they did.
if women, why not men?
Baley said helplessly, “But she can’t go in there.” Gremionis said, “Why not? It’s communal.” “But it’s for men.” “It’s for people,” said Gremionis. He seemed utterly confused. “Either sex? Surely you can’t mean that.” “Any human being. Of course I mean it! How would you want it to be? I don’t understand.” Baley turned away. It had not been many minutes before that he had thought that open conversation in a Personal was the acme in bad taste, of Things Not Done.
Imagine having your mind out of whack and wanting it to stay out of whack. Any mentologist would put me in for major treatment.”
A recording, once made, cannot be altered on simple command, though it might be erased. Such a recording can, therefore, be admitted as evidence. There are no firm precedents, however, and whether it is—or is not—admitted depends on the individual case and on the individual judge.”
That’s why we call ourselves ‘Globalists’ by the way. We are concerned with this globe of ours—Aurora—and no other.” “Do you see no value in variety, Dr. Amadiro?” “If the varieties were equally good, perhaps there would be value, but if some—or most—are inferior, how would that benefit humanity?”
“And what if the robots are so close to human beings that they regard themselves as the human beings they should protect and obey? They might, very rightly, place themselves above the immigrants.”
I assure you that Aurorans would not find it pleasant to have Earthpeople swarming over the new worlds, building new beehives and forming some sort of Galactic Empire in their trillions and quadrillions and reducing the Spacer worlds to what? To insignificance at best and to extinction at worst.”
Tell them that Earthpeople are swarming over new worlds and will preempt the galaxy and they will howl for Earth’s destruction before such a thing can happen.”
Anything to get rid of this terrible fright, this total inability to come to terms with the Universe.
The door the robot had held open now closed of its own accord. Baley had moved his foot in order to place it in the pathway of the closing door. He wondered distantly if his foot would be cut off cleanly or if its bones would be crushed, but he didn’t move it. Surely no vehicle would be designed to make such a misadventure possible.
