The Master Roboticist heading the Robotics Institute on Aurora (RIA), Amadiro is dedicated to preventing humans from Earth (and perhaps all Spacer worlds other than Aurora) from further colonizing the Galaxy. This puts him in direct conflict with Dr. Han Fastolfe, the world's premier roboticist, who has created the only humaniform robots and who refuses to share his secret with colleagues. The RIA's efforts to compete by pooling talent have been futile.