u think you're in love with Quest, forget it," he said.

"Why? Because he's a coward? I know that ought to make me despise him,
but it doesn't any more."

"Not because he's a coward. Because he's an android!"

"What? Jakdane, you can't be serious!"

"I am. I say he's an android, an artificial imitation of a man. It all
figures.

"Look, Trella, he said he was born on Jupiter. A human could stand the
gravity of Jupiter, inside a dome or a ship, but what human could stand
the rocket acceleration necessary to break free of Jupiter? Here's a man
strong enough to break a spaceship safety belt just by getting up out of
his chair against it, tough enough to take a beating with a heavy stick
without being injured. How can you believe he's really human?"

Trella remembered the thug Kregg striking Quest in the face and then
crying that he had injured his hand on the bar.

"But he said Dr. Mansard was his father," protested Trella.

"Robots and androids frequently look on their makers as their parents,"
said Jakdane. "Quest may not even know he's artificial. Do you know how
Mansard died?"

"The oxygen equipment failed, Quest said."

"Yes. Do you know when?"

"No. Quest never did tell me, that I remember."

"He told me: a year before Quest made his rocket flight to Ganymede! If
the oxygen equipment failed, how do you think _Quest_ lived in the
poisonous atmosphere of Jupiter, if he's human?"

Trella was silent.

"For the protection of humans, there are two psychological traits built
into every robot and android," said Jakdane gently. "The first is that
they can never, under any circumstances, attack a human being, even in
self defense. The second is that, while they may understand sexual
desire objectively, they can never experience it themselves.

"Those characteristics fit your man Quest to a T, Trella. There is no
other explanation for him: he must be an android."

* * * * *

Trella did not want to believe Jakdane was right, but his reasoning
was unassailable. Looking upon Quest as an android, many things were
explained: his great strength, his short, broad build, his immunity to
injury, his refusal to defend himself against a human, his inability
to return Trella's love for him.

It was not inconceivable that she should have unknowingly fallen in love
with an android. Humans could love androids, with real affection, even
knowing that they were artificial. There wer