who
gave class to the hotel was nowhere in sight. They went out into the
street and headed for the tall spire of Information Center. It was a
landmark they couldn't miss. Every human who thought of visiting Earth
was familiar with it. If a question couldn't be answered there, it was
beyond the scope of human knowledge.

There were many more women than men on the streets. Marcus noted it, but
didn't think it unusual. He had heard that women had more free time in
the middle of the day on planets that had been settled for a long time.
He walked on with a long stride, oblivious to the feminine glances he
and his son attracted.

At Information Center, he consulted the index at the entrance, jostled
by people from thousands of planets who were doing the same. The red
line on the floor led to the planet section, which was what he wanted.
Keeping check on Wilbur, who showed a tendency to wander, he followed it
to the end.

The end was an immense room with innumerable small booths.
Instinctively, Marcus distrusted booths; more than anything else, they
resembled vertical coffins. Growling to Wilbur to stay close by, he went
inside and closed the door. He inserted a coin and made the selection.

A harried face appeared on the viewplate. "Does your question require a
human answer?"

"It certainly does," said Marcus. "I didn't come nine hundred and
forty-seven light-years to be befuddled by a robot."

The harried face barked something unintelligible in another direction
and then turned back to Marcus. "Very well. Question?"

"I want to request a change. My planet--"

"Planet? Change?" repeated the face. It disappeared and a finger took
its place. The finger rifled rapidly down a vertical index. It stopped
and stabbed and the index popped open. "Go to building P-CAF." The
finger snatched a slip out of the open space and dropped the slip in a
slot. "Go to the platform at the rear of this building. Take any tube
with P-CAF on it. Apply at that building for the change."

Marcus wasn't surprised, but he felt annoyed. "Can't you make the change
here? I don't like being shoved around."

"We are not authorized to make changes. We are merely what our name
implies; we have the information to direct you to the proper sources.
The slip I gave you is a map of the general vicinity of the place you
want. You can't get lost."

"You gave me no map," snapped Marcus. The voice didn't answer him,
though the finger still waved on the view