dressed in the usual somber Comporellian fashion, brought in three chairs at a semitrot. The three people standing before the desk sat down.
"There," said the Minister, with a wintry smile, "are we comfortable?"
Trevize thought not. The chairs were uncushioned, cold to the touch, flat of surface and back, making no compromise with the shape of the body. He said, "Why are we here?"
The Minister consulted papers lying on her desk. "I will explain as soon as I am certain of my facts. Your ship is the Far Star out of Terminus. Is that correct, Councilman?"
"It is."
The Minister looked up. "I used your title, Councilman. Will you, as a courtesy, use mine?"
"Would Madam Minister be sufficient? Or is there an honorific?"
"No honorific, sir, and you need not double your words. 'Minister' is sufficient, or 'Madam' if you weary of repetition."
"Then my answer to your question is: It is, Minister."
"The captain of the ship is Golan Trevize, citizen of the Foundation and member of the Council on Terminus-a freshman Councilman, actually. And you are Trevize. Am I correct in all this, Councilman?"
"You are, Minister. And since I am a citizen of the Foundation-"
"I am not yet done, Councilman. Save your objections till I am. Accompanying you is Janov Pelorat, scholar, historian, and citizen of the Foundation. And that is you, is it not, Dr. Pelorat?"
Pelorat could not suppress a slight start as the Minister turned her keen glance on him. He said, "Yes, it is, my d-" He paused, and began again, "Yes, it is, Minister."
The Minister clasped her hands stiffly. "There is no mention in the report that has been forwarded to me of a woman. Is this woman a member of the ship's complement?"
"She is, Minister," said Trevize.
"Then I address myself to the woman. Your name?"
"I am known as Bliss," said Bliss, sitting erectly and speaking with calm clarity, "though my full name is longer, madam. Do you wish it all?"
"I will be content with Bliss for the moment. Are you a citizen of the Foundation, Bliss?"
"I am not, madam."
"Of what world are you a citizen, Bliss?"
"I have no documents attesting to citizenship with respect to any world, madam."
"No papers, Bliss?" She made a small mark on the papers before her. "That fact is noted. What is it you are doing on board the ship?"
"I am a passenger, madam."
"Did either Councilman Trevize or Dr. Pelorat ask to see your papers before you boarded, Bliss?"
"No, madam."
"Did you inform them that you were without papers, Bliss?"
"No, madam."
"What is your function on board ship, Bliss? Does your name suit your function?"
Bliss said proudly, "I am a passenger and have no other function."
Trevize broke in. "Why are you badgering this woman, Minister? What law has she broken?"
Minister Lizalor's eyes shifted from Bliss to Trevize. She said, "You are an Outworlder, Councilman, and do not know our laws. Nevertheless, you are subject to them if you choose to visit our world. You do not bring your laws with you; that is a general rule of Galactic law, I believe."
"Granted, Minister, but that doesn't tell me which of your laws she has broken."
"It is a general rule in the Galaxy, Councilman, that a visitor from a world outside the dominions of the world she is visiting have her identification papers with her. Many worlds are lax in this respect, valuing tourism, or indifferent to the rule of order. We of Comporellon are not. We are a world of law and rigid in its application. She is a worldless person, and as such, breaks our law."
Trevize said, "She had no choice in the matter. I was piloting the ship, and I brought it down to Comporellon. She had to accompany us, Minister, or do you suggest she should have asked to be jettisoned in space?"
"This merely means that you, too, have broken our law, Councilman."
"No, that is not so, Minister. I am not an Outworlder. I am a citizen of the Foundation, and Comporellon and the worlds subject to it are an Associated Power of the Foundation. As a citizen of the Foundation, I can travel freely here."
"Certainly, Councilman, as long as you have documentation to prove that you are indeed a citizen of the Foundation."
"Which I do, Minister."
"Yet even as citizen of the Foundation, you do not have the right to break our law by bringing a worldless person with you."
Trevize hesitated. Clearly, the border guard, Kendray, had not kept faith with him, so there was no point in protecting him. He said, "We were not