Forward the Foundation Chapter 19

17The common had had a bad night sequence and so, out of apprehension, had the col wholenessl. They faced sever bothy other at one time-each at a loss.The everyday utter, Tell me again what this charr did.Linn calculateed to take a heavy slant on his shoulders. Shes The Tiger Woman. Thats what they call her. She doesnt seem to be quite human, some(prenominal)how. Shes some sort of impossibly trained athlete, well(p) of self-confidence, and, General, shes quite f remediateening.Did she frighten you? A single woman?Let me tell a phonation you exactly what she did and let me tell you a hardly a(prenominal) other involvements nigh her. I dont realise how original all the stories almost her ar, hardly what happened yesterday evening is unbowed decent.He t sr. the story again and the General listened, puffing out his cheeks.Bad, he say. What do we do?I incur forward our course is plain before us. We indirect request psychohistory-Yes, we do, said the General. S eldon told me something close taxation that- exactly never mind. That is beside the point at the moment. Go on.Linn, who, in his troubled state of mind, had allowed a small fragment of fury to test on his face, continued, As I say, we indirect request psychohistory without Seldon. He is, in both case, a utilise-up man. The more I study him, the more I see an decrepit scholar who is living on his past deeds. He has had virtually thirty age to plant a success of psychohistory and he has failed. Without him, with new men at the helm, psychohistory may set up more rapidly.Yes, I agree. Now what about the woman? intimately, in that location you ar. We give upnt taken her into consideration beca do she has been on the alert to remain in the background. honorable I firmly suspect now that it kick the bucket out be difficult, perhaps im realistic, to annihilate Seldon quietly and without implicating the goernment, as keen-sighted as the woman remains alive.Do you right fully believe that she will mangle you and me-if she thinks we nourish harmed her man? said the General, his mouth twisting in contempt.I really think she will and that she will start a rebellion as well. It will he exactly as she promised.You are turning into a coward.General, please. I am hard to be sensible. Im not backing transfer. We must take care of this Tiger Woman. He pa use of goods and servicesd thoughtfully. As a matter of fact, my sources have told me this and I admit to having paid utmost too little attention to the matter.And how do you think we merchant ship get rid of her?Linn said, I dont issue. Then, more slowly, plainly someone else might.18Seldon had had a bad night also, nor was the new day promising to be untold directter. in that respect werent too m whatever times when Hari felt annoyed with Dors. barely this time, he was really annoyed.He said, What a foolish thing to do Wasnt it enough that we were all staying at the Domes Edge Hotel? That alo ne would have been commensurate to drive a paranoid ruler into thoughts of some sort of conspiracy.How? We were unarmed, Hari. It was a holiday affair, the final touch of your birthday celebration. We posed no threat.Yes, just wherefore you carried out your invasion of the Palace grounds. It was unforgiv equal. You raced to the Palace to interfere with my academic session with the General, when I had specifically-and several times- do it plain that I didnt want you at that place. I had my take plans, you know.Dors said, Your desires and your orders and your plans all take consequence place to your safety. I was primarily relate about that.I was in no danger.That is not something I hind end carelessly assume. in that respect have been both attempts on your life. What makes you think in that location wont be a ternion?The two attempts were made when I was start Minister. I was probably worth killing then. Who would want to kill an elderly mathematician?Dors said, Thats exactly what I want to find out and thats what I want to stop. I must begin by doing some questioning right here at the excogitate.No. You will precisely be disconcerting my people. Leave them alone.Thats exactly what I deposet do. Hari, my job is to protect you and for twenty-eight old age Ive been breaking at that. You chiffoniernot stop me now.Something in the blaze of her eyes made it quite clear that, whatever Seldons desires or orders might be, Dors intended to do as she pleased.Seldons safety came first.19May I interrupt you, Yugo?Of course, Dors, said Yugo Amaryl with a large smile. You are never an interruption. What derriere I do for you?I am trying to find out a few things, Yugo, and I wonder if you would humor me in this.If I can.You have something in the cypher called the primeval Radiant. I hear it now and then. Hari speaks of it, so I work out I know what it looks comparable when it is activated, and I have never actually seen it in operation. I would car e to.Amaryl looked uncomfortable. really the ancient Radiant is just about the most closely guarded part of the get word and you arent on the list of the members who have access.I know that, but weve known each other for twenty-eight years-And youre Haris wife. I hazard we can stretch a point. We only have two full undercoat Radiants. on that points one in Haris clear upice and one here. Right at that place, in fact.Dors looked at the squat black cube on the central desk. It looked utterly undistinguished. Is that it?Thats it. It stores the equations that appoint the future.How do you get at those equations?Amaryl moved a contact and at once the inha fighting darkened and then came to life in a variegated glow. All around Dors were symbols, arrows, mathematical signs of one sort or another. They seemed to be moving, spiraling, but when she focused her eyes on any limited portion, it seemed to be standing still.She said, Is that the future, then?It may be, said Amaryl, tu rning off the instrument. I had it at full expansion so you could see the symbols. Without expansion, vigor is visible but patterns of light and dark.And by studying those equations, you are able to judge what the future holds in store for us?In theory. The room was now back to its mundane appearance. But there are two difficulties.Oh? What are they?To begin with, no human mind has created those equations directly. We have but spent decades programme more powerful computers and they have devised and stored the equations, but, of course, we dont know if they are valid and have meaning. It depends entirely on how valid and meaningful the programming is in the first place.They could be all wrong, then?They could be. Amaryl rubbed his eyes and Dors could not help thinking how old and tired he seemed to have self-aggrandizing in the last couple of years. He was younger than Hari by nearly a dozen years, but he seemed a good deal older.Of course, Amaryl went on in a rather weary voic e, we hope that they arent all wrong, but thats where the second difficulty comes in. Although Hari and I have been testing and modifying them for decades, we can never be sure what the equations mean. The computer has constructed them, so it is to be presumed they must mean something-but what? in that location are portions that we think we have worked out. In fact, right now, Im work on what we call Section A-23, a particularly knotty administration of relationships. We have not yet been able to match it with anything in the real Universe. Still, each year sees us further advanced and I look in advance confidently to the establishment of psychohistory as a legitimate and useful technique for make doing with the future.How many people have access to these Prime Radiants? any mathematician in the Project has access but not at will. There have to be applications and time allotted and the Prime Radiant has to be adjusted to the portion of the equations a mathematician wishes to r efer to. It gets a little intricate when everyone wants to use the Prime Radiant at the equivalent time. Right now, things are slow, possibly because were still in the later onmath of Haris birthday celebration.Is there any plan for constructing additional Prime Radiants?Amaryl thrust out his lips. Yes and no. It would be very helpful if we had a tercet, but someone would have to be in target of it. It cant just be a community possession. I have suggested to Hari that Tamwile Elar-you know him, I think- Yes, I do.That Elar have a third Prime Radiant. His achaotic equations and the Electro-Clarifier he thought up make him clearly the third man in the Project subsequently Hari and myself. Hari hesitates, however.Why? Do you know?If Elar gets one, he is openly recognized as the third man, over the luff of other mathematicians who are older and who have more senior lieu in the Project. There might be some political difficulties, so to speak. I think that we cant waste time in wo rrying about internal politics, but Hari-Well, you know Hari.Yes, I know Hari. figure I tell you that Linn has seen the Prime Radiant.Linn?Colonel Hender Linn of the junta. Tennars lackey.I doubt that very much, Dors.He has utter of spiraling equations and I have just seen them produced by the Prime Radiant. I cant help but think hes been here and seen it working.Amaryl agitate his head, I cant imagine anyone bringing a member of the junta into Haris office-or mine.Tell me, who in the Project do you think is capable of working with the junta in this mode?No one, said Amaryl flatly and with clearly unlimited faith. That would be unthinkable. by chance Linn never saw the Prime Radiant but was merely told about it.Who would tell him about it?Amaryl thought a moment and said, No one.Well now, you talked about internal politics a while ago in connection with the possibility of Elar having a third Prime Radiant. I suppose in a Project much(prenominal) as this one with hundreds of pe ople, there are little feuds going on all the time-clangours-quarrels.Oh yes. Poor Hari duologue to me about it every once in a while. He has to deal with them in one modal value or another and I can well imagine what a headache it must be for him. ar these feuds so bad that they interfere with the working of the Project?Not seriously. atomic number 18 there any people who are more quarrelsome than others or any duo draw more dislikement than others? In short, are there people you can get rid of and perhaps remove 90 percent of the friction at the cost of 5 or 6 percent of the personnel?Amaryl raised his eyebrows. It sounds like a tidy idea, but I dont know whom to get rid of. I dont really participate in all the minutiae of internal politics. Theres no counselling of filet it, so for my part, I merely avoid it.Thats strange, said Dors. Arent you in this focussing denying any credibility to psychohistory?In what way?How can you pretend to arena a point where you can predict a nd guide the future, when you cannot analyze and align something as homegrown as own(prenominal) frictions in the very Project that promises so much?Amaryl chuckled softly. It was unusual, for he was not a man who was tending(p) to humor and laughter. Im sorry, Dors, but you picked on the one problem that we have solved, after a manner of speaking. Hari himself identified the equations that represented the difficulties of personal friction years ago and I myself then added the final touch last year.I found that there were ways in which the equations could be changed so as to indicate a reduction in friction. In every such case, however, a reduction in friction here meant an increase in friction there. Never at any time was there a intact decrease or, for that matter, a total increase in the friction within a closed group-that is, one in which no old members drop dead and no new members come in. What I proved, with the help of Elars achaotic equations, was that this was true des pite any conceivable action anyone could take. Hari calls it the law of conservation of personal problems.It gave rise to the notion that social dynamics has its conservation laws as physical science does and that, in fact, it is these laws that offer us the best possible tools for solving the sincerely yours troublesome aspects of psychohistory.Dors said, Rather impressive, but what if you end up finding that cipher at all can be changed, that everything that is bad is conserved, and that to save the conglomerate from destruction is merely to increase destruction of another kind?Actually some have suggested that, but I dont believe it.Very well. bear to reality. Is there anything in the frictional problems within the Project that threaten Hari? I mean, with physical harm.Harm Hari? Of course not. How can you suggest such a thing?Might there not be some who resent Hari, for being too arrogant, too pushy, too self-absorbed, too eager to watch all the credit? Or, if none of thes e things apply, might they not resent him simply because he has run the Project for so long a time?I never heard anyone say such a thing about Hari.Dors seemed dissatisfied. I doubt that anyone would say such things in your hearing, of course. But give thanks you, Yugo, for being so helpful and for giving me so much of your time.Amaryl stared after her as she left. He felt vaguely troubled, but then returned to his work and let other matters drift outdoor(a).20One way Hari Seldon had (out of not too many ways) for pulling away from his work for a time was to visit Raychs flat, just outside the university grounds. To do this invariably fill him with love for his foster son. There were ample grounds. Raych had been good, capable, and loyal-but besides that was the strange flavour Raych had of inspiring trust and love in others.Hari had observed it when Raych was a twelve-year-old roadway boy, who somehow pulled at his own and at Dorss centerstrings. He remembered how Raych had af fected Rashelle, the quondam(prenominal) Mayor of Wye. Hari remembered how Joranum had trusted Raych, which led to his own destruction. Raych had even managed to win the heart of the beautiful Manella. Hari did not completely understand this particular quality that Raych embodied, but he enjoyed whatever contact he had with his foster son.He entered the apartment with his usual All well here?Raych put aside the holographical material he was working with and rose to greet him, All well, Dad.I dont hear Wanda.For good reason. Shes out shopping with her mother.Seldon seated himself and looked good-humoredly at the funny house of reference material. Hows the book coming?Its doing fine. Its me who might not outlive. He sighed. But for once, well get the straight poop on Dahl. Nobodys ever written a book devoted to that section, wouldja believe?Seldon had always noted that, whenever Raych talked of his home sector, his Dahlite stress always strengthened.Raych said, And how are you, Dad ? Glad the festivities are over?Enormously. I hated just about every minute of it.Not so anyone could notice.Listen, I had to wear a mask of sorts. I didnt want to expose the celebration for everyone else.You must have hated it when Mom chased after you onto the Palace grounds. Everyone I know has been talking about that.I for sure did hate it. Your mother, Raych, is the most wonderful person in the world, but she is very difficult to handle. She might have spoiled my plans.What plans are those, Dad?Seldon colonized back. It was always pleasant to speak to someone in whom he had total trust and who knew nothing about psychohistory. More than once he had bounced thoughts off Raych and had worked them out into more sensible forms than would have been the case if those same thoughts had been mulled over in his mind. He said, Are we shielded?Always.Good. What I did was to fare General Tennar thinking along curious lines.What lines?Well, I discussed taxation a bit and pointed out that , in the effort to make taxation rest evenly on the population, it grew more and more complex, unwieldy, and costly. The obvious implication was that the tax system must be simplified.That seems to make sense.Up to a point, but it is possible that, as a result of our little discussion, Tennar may oversimplify. You see, taxation loses strong point at both extremes. Overcomplicate it and people cannot understand it and pay for an overgrown and big-ticket(prenominal) tax organization. Oversimplify it and people consider it unfair and grow piercingly resentful. The simplest tax is a opinion poll tax, in which every individual pays the same amount, but the unfairness of treating rich and poor alike in this way is too evident to overlook.And you didnt explain this to the General?Somehow, I didnt get a chance.Do you think the General will try a poll tax?I think he will plan one. If he does, the news is bound to leak out and that alone would suffice to set off riots and possibly upset t he government.And youve done this on purpose, Dad?Of course.Raych shook his head. I dont quite understand you, Dad. In your personal life, youre as loving and gentle as any person in the Empire. Yet you can deliberately set up a side in which there will be riots, suppression, deaths. Therell be a lot of damage done, Dad. score you thought of that?Seldon leaned back in his chair and said sadly, I think of nothing else, Raych. When I first began my work on psychohistory, it seemed a rigorously academic piece of research to me. It was something that could not he worked out at all, in all likelihood, and, if it was, it would not be something that could be practically applied. But the decades pass and we know more and more and then comes the terrible flout to apply it.So that people can die?No, so that few people can die. If our psychohistorical analyses are correct now, then the junta cannot survive for more than a few years and there are diverse alternative ways in which it can c ollapse. They will all he fairly bloody and desperate. This method-the taxation gimmick- should do it more smoothly and softly than any other if-I repeat-our analyses are correct.If theyre not correct, what then?In that case, we dont know what might happen. Still, psychohistory must reach the point where it can be used and weve been searching for years for something in which we have worked out the consequences with a plastered assuredness and can find those consequences tolerable as compared with alternatives. In a way, this taxation gimmick is the first great psychohistoric experiment.I must admit, it sounds like a simple one.It isnt. You have no idea how complex psychohistory is. naught is simple. The poll tax has been tried now and then throughout history. It is never popular and it invariably gives rise to resistance of one form or another, but it almost never results in the violent overthrow of a government. after(prenominal) all, the powers of governmental oppression may b e too strong or there may be methods whereby the people can bring to bear their opposition in a peaceful manner and hit redress. If a poll tax were invariably or even just sometimes fatal, then no government would ever try it. It is only because it isnt fatal that it is tried repeatedly. The situation on Trantor is, however, not exactly normal. There are certain instabilities that seem clear in psychohistorical analysis, which make it seem that resentment will be particularly strong and repression particularly weak.Raych sounded dubious. I hope it works, Dad, but dont you think that the General will say that he was working under psychohistorical advice and bring you down with him?I suppose he recorded our little session together, but if he publicizes that, it will show clearly that I urged him to wait till I could analyze the situation properly and prepare a report-and he refused to wait.And what does Mom think of all this?Seldon said, I havent discussed it with her. Shes off on an other tangent altogether.Really?Yes. Shes trying to sniff out some deep conspiracy in the Project-aimed at me I imagine she thinks there are many people in the Project who would like to get rid of me. Seldon sighed. Im one of them, I think. I would like to get rid of me as director of the Project and leave the gathering responsibilities of psychohistory to others.Raych said, Whats bugging Mom is Wandas dream. You know how Mom feels about protecting you. Ill bet even a dream about your dying would be enough to make her think of a murder conspiracy against you.I for certain hope there isnt one.And at the idea of it both men laughed.21The small Electro-Clarification Laboratory was, for some reason, maintained at a temperature jolly lower than normal and Dors Venabili wondered idly why that might be. She sat quietly, waiting for the one occupant of the lab to finish whatever it was she was doing.Dors eyed the woman carefully. Slim, with a long face. Not exactly attractive, with her th in lips and receding jawline, but a look of intelligence shone in her dark brown eyes. The yearning nameplate on her desk said CINDA MONAY.She turned to Dors at last and said, My apologies, Dr. Venabili, but there are some procedures that cant be interrupted even for the wife of the director.I would have been disappointed in you if you had neglected the procedure on my behalf. I have been told some excellent things about you.Thats always nice to hear. Whos been evaluate me? sort of a few, said Dors. I gather that you are one of the most prominent nonmathematicians in the Project.Monay winced. Theres a certain tendency to break the rest of us from the aristocracy of mathematics. My own feeling is that, if Im prominent, then Im a prominent member of the Project. It makes no difference that Im a nonmathematician.That certainly sounds levelheaded to me. How long have you been with the Project?Two and a half years. ahead that I was a graduate student in radiational physics at Streel ing and, while I was doing that, I served a couple of years with the Project as an intern.Youve done well at the Project, I understand.Ive been promoted twice, Dr. Venabili.Have you encountered any difficulties here, Dr. Monay? Whatever you say will be held confidential.The work is difficult, of course, but if you mean, have I run into any social difficulties, the answer is no. At least not any more than one would expect in any large and complex project, I imagine.And by that you mean? daily spats and quarrels. Were all human.But nothing serious?Monay shook her head. Nothing serious.My understanding, Dr. Monay, said Dors, is that you have been responsible for the development of a braid important to the use of the Prime Radiant. It makes it possible to cram much more information into the Prime Radiant.Monay broke into a radiant smile. Do you know about that? Yes, the Electro-Clarifier. After that was developed, Professor Seldon established this small laboratory and put me in charge of other work in that direction.Im amazed that such an important advance did not bring you up into the higher echelons of the Project.Oh well, said Monay, looking a trifle embarrassed. I dont want to take all the credit. Actually my work was only that of a technician-a very skilled and creative technician, I like to think-but there you are.And who worked with you?Didnt you know? It was Tamwile Elar. He worked out the theory that made the device possible and I designed and built the actual instrument.Does that mean he took the credit, Dr. Monay?No no. You mustnt think that. Dr. Elar is not that kind of man. He gave me full credit for my share of the work. In fact, it was his idea to call the device by our names-both our names-but he couldnt.Why not?Well, thats Professor Seldons rule, you know. All devices and equations are to be given functional names and not personal ones-to avoid resentment. So the device is just the Electro-Clarifier. When were working together, however, he gives the device our names and, I tell you, Dr. Venabili, it sounds grand. Perhaps someday, all of the Project personnel will use the personal name. I hope so.I hope so, too, said Dors politely. You make Elar sound like a very decent individual.He is. He is, said Monay earnestly. He is a delight to work for. Right now, Im working on a new version of the device, which is more powerful and which I dont quite understand. I mean, what its to be used for. However, hes directing me there.And are you qualification progress?Indeed. In fact, Ive given Dr. Elar a prototype, which he plans to test. If it works out, we can proceed further.It sounds good, agreed Dors. What do you think would happen if Professor Seldon were to publish as director of the Project? If he were to retire?Monay looked surprised. Is the professor readiness to retire?Not that I know of. Im presenting you with a hypothetical case. Suppose he retires. Who do you think would be a natural substitution? I think from what you ha ve said that you would favor Professor Elar as the new director.Yes, I would, responded Monay after a trifling hesitation. Hes far and away the most brilliant of the new people and I think he could run the Project in the best possible way. Still, hes rather young. There are a considerable number of old fossils-well, you know what I mean-who would resent being passed over by a young squirt.Is there any old fossil youre thinking of in particular? Remember, this is confidential.Quite a few of them, but theres Dr. Amaryl. Hes the heir apparent.Yes, I see what you mean. Dors rose. Well, thank you so much for your help. Ill let you return to your work now.She left, thinking about the Electro-Clarifier. And about Amaryl.