“If humans in your time are as nervous about robots as your Laws make it sound and you have to step up to save them, I think pretending to be human might be your best bet. At least until they realize that you’ve got their best interests at heart.” It irks him that he has to say it that way. Like he actually accepts that a robot ought to pretend to be something other than it is to get the kind of respect it deserves. Especially a robot that possesses AI like Daneel does. He doesn’t accept it. He just knows that it takes baby steps to change the world when the world’s too damn scared to walk forward on its own.

“Do the Laws allow you to do that if you need to?” As he says it, he lifts his hand in a gesture meant to forestall an immediate answer. “Not that I’m saying that you should have to pretend. I think that’s bullshit. You shouldn’t have to be anything than what you are. But if you needed to, if it was a matter of protecting yourself from idiots, could you do it?”