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No one asks Robots what they do when they are lonely and with nothing to do.
It wasn't uncommon for Auroran to leave Robots alone in their homes. The robots who stayed at home were usually domestics and found themselves working on whatever chore was left to do in the house. Maybe the floor needed some cleaning, or the laundry had to be folded after that it had been washed and deterged, warm and scented.
Giskard Reventlov had finished adjusting the paperwork in Han Fastolfe’s laboratory when he noticed music for the first time. It was clearly played in the moment, and he could easily tell who was playing what instrument.
The sound clearly came from an Auroran Piano, with those tiny brass buttons that reflected the face of the musician a million times like a distortion room. Fastolfe kept one in the living room near the dining area and Giskard had often found himself longing in that direction, only occasionally touching it. As much as he wished to stay in that living room always a little longer than he could, he had prioritized staying near Doctor Fastolfe as much as possible. He was his right-hand helper, and he couldn’t tell if that was an order he received or something he had imposed on the old man.
Second of all, Giskard knew there was only a robot that would do such a thing as playing the piano unprompted. As he expected, there was Daneel Olivaw playing, fully immersed in what he was doing, knowing that no human could watch him.
Giskard stood for a moment in silence, trying to fully capture in his memory what he was witnessing. Giskard knew that unlike humans his memories wouldn't fade away, but he knew that with time he wouldn't have felt the same as he did at the moment.
Nothing ever stayed the same.
Melancholy slowly knew how to find the way in his circuits. He remembered when the piano was bought, even if he had been activated for only a short time and Han Fastolfe himself was still a youngster in his forties. He wondered what would have happened to his bank of experiences after deactivation, or if his brain corrupted while he was operating. If no one remembered and it all got lost, would for the world have been music at all?
Dear old music, the doctor always had in him a bit of an artistic side that he still hasn't completely lost. Now Fastolfe only played the piano when asked to (and his wife Fanya never seemed too interested in hearing) however he still kept a propension toward poetry.
Maybe for that reason the doctor always seemed pleased to hear lady Gladia's process on her clothes or art pieces. Giskard himself couldn’t complain when it was time to be the muse and model of those clothes, they somehow made him feel important or gave him the idea of belonging to something rich of importance. Lady Gladia, however, never seemed to think of the science of it all, like where each fabric comes from or how it’s produced.
Fastolfe did. Every scientist had to show numbers and facts, and the Han Fastolfe was no exception, even if he liked it better if he could make his essays follow metrics, rhyme and be harmonious to an unnecessary degree, sometimes to the point of sounding like a nursery rhyme.
Daneel wasn't focused on being Harmonious like his creator. He always played to the beat and never missed any notes, nor did he play the wrong ones, however he seemed to have fun choosing the kind of pressure to use on the buttons and when it was the time to use the pedal.
Daneel would press the soft pedal to make the part of the song feel lighter, press hard and fast an accent to highlight the syncopated notes, made the atmosphere feel haunted with the damper pedal, make a storm with the bass playing left hand.
Giskard couldn't tell the name of the song Daneel was playing and yet admired his rendition.
Daneel kept going for another minute and when he was done Giskard started clapping his hand, the sound of the metal hands echoing in the room.
“Thank you, friend Giskard, I’m flattered. Did you like it?”
“It caused in my brain positronic flows that could be defined with the human feeling of likeability; however, I didn't recognize the song you were playing.”
“I wasn’t playing any specific song. You were active when this piano was bought, correctly?”
“That is correct, friend Daneel.”
“Have you ever played?”
Giskard didn’t answer right away, and time seemed to stop passing. Both him and Daneel could have waited forever, if not for external sources or their maintenance. Giskard turned his head before answering.
“Yes, I have played the piano before. However, I think my attempts at playing do not compare to your ability, Friend Daneel. I cannot explain it rationally, but the way you play brings to my brain’s schemes the same satisfaction of hearing a human play.”
“Attempts? Did you struggle keeping the whole piece together, friend Giskard?” Daneel wasn’t looking at him anymore, instead searching for something in a book full of music sheets.
“It wasn't that. Like any robot, my struggle didn’t consist in keeping to the time of the beat or missing a note. I was just never satisfied with how I played. The music always sounded too heavy, or as if I was in immediate danger, if that makes sense. I cannot explain this part quite as well either. You could argue I understand only music in theory, or as a concept.” Then Giskard came back to a previous line of thought. “Were you trying to do the triple genuflection yesterday?”
Daneel appeared a bit surprised at the sudden change of topic, and an idea just floated in his positronic circuits, like a cloud floating in the sky.
“Yes, I was and I didn't realize you saw me. I think I know what you are going to ask me. I did because I was curious, since doctor Fastolfe has said I could but never asked me to. Friend Giskard, would you like to play this song with me? It’s called “Banana Star Boat”, you could play the melody while I could play the bass.”
Daneel moved a bit to the left on the seat and Giskard came next to him. He took a look at the music sheets and to his own surprise it was an actual four hand piece. Giskard turned to look Daneel straight in the eyes, his red lights meeting into Daneel’s blue irises. Giskard couldn't take a deep breath like a human would have, but just like humans he had been seeking some companionship.
“You said you were curious, so that really meant you wanted to. You wanted to over the need to, am I correct?”
“You are correct. Sorry for having kept you waiting, friend Giskard.”
Daneel started counting like a metronome, and after the First four beats they started playing together. Neither of them had problems syncing the notes, playing them at the correct time. Daneel always kept to the beat, without doing any deviation from the music sheets, without adding any pedal. Giskard noticed that under the notes, that sometimes were slurred together and that sometimes he would have to cross his hands to play, there were the complete lyrics.
That prompted him to speak, like he had prompted others in the past. Sublimation, he liked to call it. “It’s fascinating. After every mission with the Earthman Baley, you look different. It’s like it gets more and more complex to read you. Mistaking you for a human more is becoming more than just a hypothetical for me.” He kept playing, and in his imagination the ink formed his words under every single chord.
“I think your music is great, friend Giskard. But don’t hurt your carpal tunnel.”
“Friend Daneel, will you start pronouncing lies like a human now? Doesn’t your positronic flow struggle with that?” Giskard's lips had curled into a smile, not the polite kind that he did towards hosts, but something more distinctive, something Daneel had only seen similar in Giskard's brief conversation with Miss Vasilia, not such a long time ago. Complicity and a bit of mischievous playfulness.
“Do the three laws apply in relations between Robots? What kind of brain scheme would I have to break it, and what kind would you be to play along with me?”
“I like how that sounds. The verb “Play” with all the different meanings it has depending on the context of the sentence.”
This time Daneel pushed the soft pedal, altering the sound. He wasn't quite smiling like Giskard, but his eyes seemed to be shimmering, in such a way that if he were made up of flesh and bones his friend would ask him if he was fine. “I think you do that too, friend Giskard. I think you act just like me when you think no one sees you.”
Giskard didn't answer knowing Daneel didn’t need one. Instead, he decided to play some trills, making accents more vibrant. He never had before and for a brief moment Giskard felt like he understood why musicians sometimes would come out with such lengthy and impractical fioriture.
“I greatly enjoy your presence, friend Giskard. It’s more honest than with any Auroran, and I feel lighter than when I talk with any other robot. I’m politely guessing we are a bit odd for both.”
“However, we always got the other to stick together with. Thank you, friend Daneel.”
They were about to finish the piece. Daneel struck the final chord as Giskard slowed down and rested his robotic hand on the final note. After Giskard left the button and right before they would close everything, restoring the house to its previous state of rest, Daneel asked a closing question.
“Why are you thanking me, friend Giskard?”
“Because I enjoyed playing this time friend Daneel.”