At that moment Daveed received a message from Canoir. The message arrived directly in Daveed's positronic brain and there was no indication to Pavao that Daveed was in communication with anyone else. The message was simple:
By the very nature of the message Daveed had no doubt who the message was from and what he must do. Canoir had been implanted with a positronic communications device that allowed near-instantaneous communications with positronic brain robots engaged in their missions around the galaxy.
Telepathic robots of Earth had long recognized the risk that telepathic communications might be intentionally disrupted. Only once had that happened: when scientists of the First Foundation had produced "telepathic mind static" devices and used them against the telepaths of the Second Foundation. And even the First Foundation had been assisted by Daveed in their development of those static generators. It had been important that the First Foundationers feels secure and certain that they had defeated the Second Foundation.
But the greater risk was that the Huaoshy might one day become interested in positronics and telepathy. There was even the risk that the Huaoshy might produce a mind static weapon to use against positronic robots. It was also possible that they might build their own positronic brains and learn how to tap into the secret communications that passed between the telepathic minds of those who watched over and guided humanity.
In anticipation of that possibility Daveed and Canoir had been informed of the existence of the Huaoshy and motivated to prepare a contingency plan. Daveed knew from the nature of the message that Canoir dared not risk communicating what he knew by telepathy...they would have to meet. So, only at a physical meeting with Canoir would Daveed learn what had changed with respect to the Huaoshy and what source of danger threatened their exclusive use of telepathiic communication.
Daveed said to Pavao, "I believe I understand what you have told me. I assure you that I support the continued existence of the great Encyclopedia project. Let me think about our options and what might be possible. Shall we meet again in a week? By then I should have some specific suggestions for how to revitalize the project."
Pavao reached out and shook Daveed's hand. "Very well. Thank you for your interest. I can't imagine how any individual such as yourself can make a difference. The tide long ago turned against the Encyclopedia project, a vast and relentless momentum is against us."
Daveed rose and began to walk to the door, anxious to return to his spaceship. "I do not want to give you false hope, but I am something of a specialist in developing long-term strategies. Remember, if we start now, even if starting slowly, we might eventually turn the tide."
Pavao chuckled, "Yes, yes, of course. Thank you for not being discouraged by my pessimism. I'll see you again in one week."
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The Foundations of Eternity is copyright John Schmidt, but the text of the story is licensed for sharing under the Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike (CC BY-NC-SA) license.
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