The young woman walked along the corridors and across walkways to the observation deck and looked out at the sangrove thickets that made the near lakeshore an impenetrable maze. “When you’re this close to me, Hirondo, I love you even more. We can remember things together, plan for our future together.”

Erasmus was surprised, but pleased. Love. The human emotion had always eluded him, despite his many attempts to understand its complexities. He and Gilbertus had a relationship of mutual affection in which the human called him “Father,” but that was quite different from the feelings Anna still had for her lost lover. Now Erasmus would have the opportunity to explore the emotion much more closely.

Several nights ago, while spying through the cleverly concealed surveillance system, Erasmus had watched with great interest when Draigo Roget presented his case to Gilbertus. Draigo was like a prodigal son returning home, but it was Gilbertus who had gone astray.…

After the lynching of former machine sympathizers, Erasmus thought Gilbertus might be wise to flee while he was still able to do so. Draigo would make sure the two of them were welcomed among like-minded people. Erasmus feared that the Headmaster could not keep up the façade much longer. But Gilbertus wouldn’t leave his precious school. He seemed to care more for the institution than for his own life.

Whenever the Mentat School celebrated the anniversary of its founding, some students looked back at the records and found images of Headmaster Gilbertus some seventy years earlier — and the head of the school had changed far too little in all that time. Even unobservant humans could detect that, though no one had mentioned it yet. Eventually someone would ask more questions. Erasmus needed to find a way out, long before that happened.…

On the observation platform, Anna began to hum a tune that she said Lady Orenna had sung to her, but Erasmus’s attention was suddenly diverted, jarring him away from his conversation with Anna. Inside the Headmaster’s office, Gilbertus had just removed the memory core from its hidden storage.

Rather than dividing his focus, the robot whispered to Anna through the tiny device in her ear. “I’m going to be quiet for a while so that we can enjoy each other’s company, but I won’t leave you, my darling. I’ll never leave you, I promise.”

Through a spy-eye, Erasmus saw Anna smile as she stared out at the swamps. Then he shunted his awareness to the Headmaster’s office.

GILBERTUS STARED AT the exposed gelsphere and its faint glow. During his years on Corrin, he’d been able to watch the robot’s flowmetal face. Although Erasmus had never been good at mimicking human expressions, Gilbertus could at least interpret his mentor’s mood (though the robot insisted that he had no “moods”).

“I’ve noticed recent changes in the behavior of Anna Corrino,” Gilbertus said. “She talks to herself and smiles more often — something is different about her.”

“I did that,” Erasmus said. “She’s a bright subject, but I’ve nudged her, guided her thoughts. One day, I even gave her sapho.”

The Headmaster hesitated as he processed this revelation. “Sapho? I kept those samples locked in the medical dispensary.”

“I had her remove one vial for an important experiment. Her response was enlightening, and I learned much about her past and her emotions.”

“You shouldn’t have done that. Did you harm her mind?”

“Of course not. The sapho enhanced her memories and allowed her to talk about difficult events that she had repressed. It was therapeutic, I’m sure. You saw yourself that Anna is happier, talks more. Sapho helped unlock her mind.”

“Please don’t give her any more.” Gilbertus sat down at his desk, deciding to put the other sapho samples under tighter security to keep the robot away from them.

Erasmus said, “Why don’t you use the remaining samples on other students? Study the effects. The drug enhances focus, which would be beneficial to Mentats.”

“They can achieve that through the mental disciplines I teach.”

“But sapho could create an even more intense focus. You should experiment with it.”

“One day, perhaps. Right now it is critically important that I can give a favorable report about Anna’s improvement to Roderick and Salvador Corrino. I want her cured — I want her normal.” Gilbertus knew that if Anna Corrino’s mind could be repaired, his school would forever receive the blessing — and protection — of House Corrino.

The robot remained silent for a long moment, then said, “I know how to cure her, but I have no intention of doing so. If she were to become normal, she would be far less interesting to me. I enjoy her as she is.”

Gilbertus leaned closer to the exposed memory core. “But curing her has been our priority with her from the beginning.”

The simulated voice was erudite and distant, exactly as it had been when Erasmus conducted his experiments with hundreds of human slaves at a time. “Your priority, perhaps, my son — but I see her as my very special laboratory subject, a unique window into the human mind such as I’ve never had before. Since I still have no physical body, I am unable to perform other experiments to satisfy my curiosity. I am left to conduct experiments that are within my capabilities.”

Gilbertus flared his nostrils. “Anna is far more than a laboratory subject. We want her cured, and we need to keep her safe.”

“At one time you were just my laboratory subject, but look at what you have achieved, thanks to me.”

“Yes, and I could lose it all if we make a mistake and let them glimpse who we are. The Butlerians could easily retaliate against some imagined slight. Draigo Roget’s visit affected me deeply, and I … I have always known my position is incorrect.” He paused, feeling uncomfortable to admit that. “Manford isn’t convinced that I am his ally. And I worry constantly about Anna Corrino’s safety, for fear of provoking the wrath of her powerful brothers. This school has defenses, but not nearly enough to fend off an assault by Imperial military forces.”

“I have suggested many times that we should vanish and start a new life.” Erasmus paused. “And I would like to take Anna with us.”

“We’d be hunted all over the Imperium.”

Using his spy-eyes throughout the room, Erasmus assessed the flicker of emotions on Gilbertus’s face, how he frowned, how his eyes flicked back and forth. The robot drew an obvious conclusion. “You resent how much attention I devote to Anna Corrino.”

“That’s not true,” Gilbertus said, too quickly.

Erasmus manufactured a chuckle. “Your reflexive response indicates otherwise. I watch Anna, and I converse with her. I keep track of everything she does.”

“I am not jealous, Father. Merely viewing the larger picture. We have to—”

The memory core suddenly interrupted him, blaring his words loud enough to stress his urgency. “Anna Corrino is in need of rescue. Summon your most physically capable Mentat trainees — we must save her.”

Gilbertus erupted from his desk. “Rescue? What has she done?”

“She ventured out into the dangerous swamps, unchaperoned. She is all alone out there.” The robot’s voice sounded genuinely concerned.

“Why would she do that?” Frantic to get out into the hall, the Headmaster began to shut down the security systems that safeguarded his main office. “She could be killed!”

“It is consistent with her previous patterns of behavior. She knows that her fellow trainees test themselves in the swamps. Remember that Anna Corrino consumed poison at the Rossak School because other Sister trainees did so.” As Gilbertus rushed to hide the memory core in its cabinet, Erasmus said, “My spy-eyes are widely scattered out in the swamp, but I can still see her. She has made her way deep into the sangrove thickets. I should have been monitoring her more closely. Anna Corrino cannot possibly survive out there for long.”