Ben said, “Yes, I guess that’s it. And a bit of good detective work on your part, too. You cut right through to the nub.”

Ben smiled broadly. His face was round, his eyes sparkling. There was a lot of Jessie in him, Baley thought, a lot of—his mother. There was little trace of the length and solemnity of Baley’s own face.

And yet Ben had his father’s way of thinking. He could at times furrow into a grave solemnity that made it quite clear that he was of perfectly legitimate origin.

“I’m doing very well,” said Baley.

“You are, Dad. You’re the best of us, considering—”

“Considering what?”

“Your age, of course. And I’m not forgetting that you’re the one who started this. Still, I saw you take cover under the tree and 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.”