“Now you know what I meant.”

“Oh, I suppose I do,” Dr. Calvin rubbed her hands nervously. “It isn’t easy. I’ve been pampering it and probing it gently, and I haven’t gotten anywhere yet. Its reactions aren’t normal. Its answers—they’re queer, somehow. But nothing I can put my finger on yet. And you see, until we know what’s wrong, we must just tiptoe our way through. I can never tell what simple question or remark will just… push him over… and then— Well, and then we’ll have on our hands a completely useless Brain. Do you want to face that?”

“Well, it can’t break the First Law.”

“I would have thought so, but—”

“You’re not even sure of that?” Lanning was profoundly shocked.

“Oh, I can’t be sure of anything, Alfred—”

The alarm system raised its fearful clangor with a horrifying suddenness. Lanning clicked on communications with an almost paralytic spasm. The breathless words froze him.

He said, “Susan… you heard that… the ship’s gone. I sent those two field men inside half an hour ago. You’ll have to see The Brain again.”

Susan Calvin said with enforced calm, “Brain, what happened to the ship?”

The Brain said happily, “The ship I built, Miss Susan?”

“That’s right. What has happened to it?”

“Why, nothing at all. The two men that were supposed to test it were inside, and we were all set. So I sent it off.”

“Oh—Well, that’s nice.” The psychologist felt some difficulty in breathing. “Do you think they’ll be all right?”

“Right as anything, Miss Susan. I’ve taken care of it all. It’s a bee-yoo-tiful ship.”

“Yes, Brain, it is beautiful, but you think they have enough food, don’t you? They’ll be comfortable?”

“Plenty of food.”

“This business might be a shock to them, Brain. Unexpected, you know.”

The Brain tossed it off, “They’ll be all right. It ought to be interesting for them.”

“Interesting? How?”

“Just interesting,” said The Brain, slyly.

“Susan,” whispered Lanning in a fuming whisper, “ask him if death comes into it. Ask him what the dangers are.”

Susan Calvin’s expression contorted with fury, “Keep quiet!” In a shaken voice, she said to The Brain, “We can communicate with the ship, can’t we, Brain?”

“Oh, they can hear you if you call by radio. I’ve taken care of that.”

“Thanks. That’s all for now.”

Once outside, Lanning lashed out ragingly, “Great Galaxy, Susan, if this gets out, it will ruin all of us. We’ve got to get those men back. Why didn’t you ask it if there was danger of death—straight out?”

“Because,” said Calvin, with a weary frustration, “that’s just what I can’t mention. If it’s got a case of dilemma, it’s about death. Anything that would bring it up badly might knock it completely out. Will we be better off then? Now, look, it said we could communicate with them. Let’s do so, get their location, and bring them back. They probably can’t use the controls themselves; The Brain is probably handling them remotely. Come!”