The Caves of Steel

Jessie and Bentley leave, saying they’ll be back around midnight. When they are gone, Daneel asks Lije whether they will be overheard in the apartment. Lije is indignant at the suggestion, but Daneel argues that humans break custom when it serves their goal: “since human beings are occasionally capable of murder in defiance of custom, they may be able to violate custom for the smaller impropriety of eavesdropping” (58). Lije finds Daneel’s response arrogant but assures him the apartment is secure. The two then turn to the details of the case.

Lije begins by laying out the facts of the case as he has them. Dr. Sarton, a man from the planet Aurora and a resident of Spacetown was shot with a blaster in the early morning three days ago. The Spacers believe this is not an isolated incident but part of a larger campaign to sabotage Spacer-led attempts to integrate robots into human society. Lije argues that it could be a lone “fanatic,” but Daneel believes the murder is tied to the Medievalist movement. Lije contests that it would not serve the Medievalists’ interests to kill a Spacer; they would be far more likely to destroy robots. He also notes that an Earth dweller could not enter Spacetown illegally, as the Barrier that separates it from the City is secure. Daneel agrees but notes that a human could have traveled on foot through the countryside and entered Spacetown in a roundabout way. Lije is highly skeptical of the suggestion, as city-dwellers, even during the Great Riot, never leave the City.

Daneel tells Lije that Dr. Sarton had come to Earth to study Earth-dweller psychology. The Spacers believed that Earth’s population would welcome the Spacers and their technology when they returned to Earth. Instead, they were met with open hostility. Dr. Sarton hoped to convince some of Earth’s citizens to create new planetary settlements; Earth’s population is over eight billion, whereas the population of the 50 Outer Worlds combined is five and a half billion. Lije understands the draw of this idea but cannot see how it fits into the murder. Lije then learns that Dr. Sarton created Daneel. Sarton modeled Daneel after himself, so the two were twins. Daneel was designed to integrate into Earth society to strengthen human/robot relations, what Daneel refers to as C/Fe (pronounced “see-fee”), short for carbon/iron relations. The theory unexpectedly fascinates Baley.

Daneel is Dr. Sarton’s only prototype and was released prematurely on account of the murder; Spacers are afraid to go into Earth cities due to the crowds and potential disease. Humanoid robots don’t have those concerns, which is why Daneel—who contains a justice drive—was sent to investigate instead of a human Spacer. Daneel relays the conversation with Commissioner Enderby, who was in Spacetown at the time of the murder. He had an appointment with Dr. Sarton to discuss the robot integration program, but Sarton was killed before the meeting took place. The Spacers put pressure on Enderby to investigate, and an initial investigation proved that there are 502 unguarded exits from the City that a human could have used to approach Spacetown. No one uses these exits, but the opportunity exists. Farms surround Spacetown, but the farm robots did not observe any city-dwellers entering the area. Enderby did not pick up any clues at the scene because he forgot his glasses; Lije remembers Enderby’s broken glasses from their previous meeting but doesn’t tell Daneel.

Daneel is aware of Lije’s anti-robot beliefs, but through a background check the Spacers conducted, he knows Lije has a strong sense of duty and respects authority. Daneel does not mind Lije’s dislike for robots as long as it does not impede their investigation.

Daneel and Lije’s discussion is cut short by Jessie. She arrives early, “pale and thin-lipped,” without Bentley (70). After saying that Bentley is spending the night at the Youth Hall, she asks Daneel if he is a robot. Daneel tells her calmly that he is.

Lije lies awake in bed, trying to wake up Jessie. Jessie tells him she’s scared of Daneel and wants Lije to get rid of him, even if it means quitting the police force. To Lije, this is absurd. He reminds her that a declassified person can only do manual labor, and that will be the case for Jessie and Bentley, too. Lije assures Jessie that Daneel cannot hear them; he doesn’t have super senses because he was made to blend in with humans. Lije thinks of the irony that robots are built with superior senses to better serve humans but that “Earthmen hated the robots all the more for their superiority” (74). Instead of lingering on the possibility of Daneel eavesdropping, Lije asks how Jessie discovered Daneel was a robot. Jessie explains that there is a rumor about a detective robot that looks just like a human. She realized that it was Daneel.

Lije has to finish the case; it was a request from the Commissioner. Jessie stiffens at Enderby’s name. She thinks Enderby takes advantage of Lije to keep his high-level position. They were friends in college, but Enderby advanced more quickly due to his political skill. The two hear movement from outside their room.

Lije climbs out of bed to investigate the disturbance and reports that Daneel has left their home. Lije presses Jessie about her fears, and she admits to fearing a riot when people find out they are harboring a robot. She thinks they’ll be killed. Just then, Daneel returns. Lije falls asleep thinking he has found a way to get himself out of the whole mess, including the murder investigation.