Chapter 5

COMMISSION  OF PUBLIC  SAFETY?..  The aristocratic  coterie¹ rose  to powerafter the  assassination² of Cleon I, last of the  Entuns. In the main, theyformed  an  element  of  order  during  the centuries  of  instability  anduncertainty  in  the  Imperium.  Usually under  the  control  of the  greatfamilies of  the Chens  and the Divarts,  it degenerated³ eventually  into ablind  instrument  for maintenance  of  the  status quo....  They were  notcompletely removed as a power in the state until after the accession of thelast   strong  Emperor,   Cleon   H.  The   first  Chief   Commissioner⁴....
... In  a way, the beginning  of the Commission's decline  can be traced tothe trial of Hari Seldon two years before the beginning of the FoundationalEra. That trial is described in Gaal Dornick's biography of Hari Seldon....
ENCYCLOPEDIA⁵ GALACTICAGaal did  not carry out his promise. He was awakened  the next morning by amuted buzzer⁶.  He answered it, and  the voice of the  desk clerk, as muted,polite and deprecating as  it well might be, informed him that he was underdetention   at   the   orders  of   the   Commission   of  Public   Safety.
Gaal sprang  to the door and  found it would no  longer open. He could onlydress and wait.
They came for him  and took him elsewhere, but it was still detention⁷. Theyasked him questions most  politely. It was all very civilized⁸. He explainedthat  he was a  provincial⁹ of Synnax;  that he  had attended such  and suchschools  and obtained  a Doctor of  Mathematics degree  on such and  such adate.  He had applied  for a position  on Dr.  Seldon's staff and  had beenaccepted. Over  and over  again, he gave  these details; and  over and overagain, they returned to the question of his joining the Seldon Project. Howhad he  heard of it; what  were to be his  duties; what secret instructionshad he received; what was it all about?
He answered  that he did not know. He had no  secret instructions. He was ascholar   and   a  mathematician¹⁰.   He   had  no   interest  in   politics.
And finally the gentle  inquisitor asked, "When will Trantor be destroyed?"Gaal faltered¹¹, "I could not say of my own knowledge.""Could you say of anyone's?""How could I speak for another?" He felt warm; overwarm.
The inquisitor said, "Has anyone told you of such destruction; set a date?"And,  as the  young man  hesitated, he  went on,  "You have  been followed,doctor. We  were at the airport when you  arrived; on the observation towerwhen  you waited  for your  appointment; and,  of course,  we were  able tooverhear your conversation with Dr. Seldon."Gaal said, "Then you know his views on the matter.""Perhaps. But we would like to hear them from you.""He is of the opinion that Trantor would be destroyed within threecenturies.""He proved it, ?uh ?mathematically?""Yes, he did," ?defiantly¹².
"You  maintain   the  ?  uh  ? mathematics   to  be  valid¹³,   I  suppose.
"If Dr. Seldon vouches¹⁴ for it, it is valid.""Then we will return.""Wait.  I have  a right  to a  lawyer. I  demand my  rights as  an Imperialcitizen.""You shall have them."And he did.
It  was a tall  man that eventually  entered, a  man whose face  seemed allvertical lines and so thin that one could wonder whether there was room fora smile.
Gaal looked up. He felt disheveled and wilted¹⁵. So much had happened, yet hehad been on Trantor not more than thirty hours.
The man  said, "I am Lors  Avakim. Dr. Seldon has  directed me to representyou.""Is  that so?  Well, then,  look here.  I demand  an instant appeal  to theEmperor.  I'm  being held  without  cause.  I'm innocent  of  anything. Ofanything." He slashed¹⁶ his hands outward, palms down, "You've got to arrangea hearing with the Emperor, instantly."Avakim was carefully emptying the contents of a flat folder¹⁷ onto the floor.
If Gaal had had the stomach for it, he might have recognized Cellomet legalforms, metal thin and  tapelike, adapted for insertion within the smallnessof a  personal capsule.  He might also  have recognized a  pocket recorder.
Avakim, paying no attention to Gaal's outburst, finally looked up. He said,"The Commission will, of  course, have a spy beam on our conversation. Thisis against the law, but they will use one nevertheless."Gaal ground his teeth.
"However," and Avakim seated  himself deliberately¹⁸, "the recorder I have onthe table, ?which  is a perfectly¹⁹ ordinary recorder to all appearances andperforms  it  duties  well  ?has  the  additional  property of  completelyblanketing the spy beam. This is something they will not find out at once.""Then I can speak.""Of course.""Then I want a hearing with the Emperor."Avakim smiled frostily, and it turned out that there was room for it on histhin face  after all. His cheeks  wrinkled to make the  room. He said, "Youare from the provinces.""I am none the  less an Imperial citizen. As good a one as you or as any ofthis Commission of Public Safety.""No  doubt; no  doubt.  It is  merely that,  as  a provincial,  you  do notunderstand  life on  Trantor as  it is,  There are  no hearings  before theEmperor.""To  whom  else would  one  appeal  from this  Commission?  Is there  otherprocedure?""None. There  is no recourse in a  practical sense. Legalistically, you mayappeal to  the Emperor, but you would get no  hearing. The Emperor today isnot the  Emperor of an Entun dynasty, you know. Trantor,  I am afraid is inthe  hands  of the  aristocratic  families,  members of  which compose  theCommission of Public Safety.  This is a development which is well predictedby psychohistory."Gaal said, "Indeed? In  that case, if Dr. Seldon can predict the history ofTrantor three hundred years into the future ?
"He   can   predict   it   fifteen   hundred  years   into   the   future.""Let it  be fifteen thousand. Why couldn't  he yesterday have predicted theevents of  this morning and warned  me. 朜o, I'm sorry."  Gaal sat down andrested  his   head  in   one  sweating  palm,  "I   quite  understand  thatpsychohistory is  a statistical²⁰ science and cannot  predict the future of asingle  man   with  any  accuracy.  You'll   understand  that  I'm  upset.""But  you are  wrong.  Dr. Seldon  was of  the  opinion that  you  would bearrested this morning.""What!""It is unfortunate, but true. The Commission has been more and more hostileto his activities. New  members joining the group have been interfered²¹ withto an  increasing extent. The graphs showed  that for our purposes, mattersmight best be brought  to a climax²² now. The Commission of itself was movingsomewhat  slowly so  Dr. Seldon  visited you  yesterday for the  purpose offorcing their hand. No other reason."Gaal caught his breath, "I resent ?
"Please. It  was necessary. You  were not picked for  any personal reasons.
You  must realize  that Dr.  Seldon's plans,  which are  laid out  with thedeveloped mathematics of over eighteen years include all eventualities withsignificant probabilities. This is  one of them. I've been sent here for noother purpose than to  assure you that you need not fear. It will end well;almost certainly  so for  the project; and with  reasonable probability foryou.""What are the figures?" demanded Gaal.
"For the project, over 99.9%.""And for myself?""I am instructed that this probability is 77.2%.""Then I've got better  than one chance in five of being sentenced to prisonor to death.""The last is under one per cent.""Indeed. Calculations  upon one  man mean nothing.  You send Dr.  Seldon tome.""Unfortunately,    I   cannot.    Dr.   Seldon   is    himself   arrested."The door  was thrown open before  the rising Gaal could  do more than utterthe beginning of a cry. A guard entered, walked to the table, picked up therecorder,  looked  upon  all  sides  of  it  and  put  it  in  his  pocket.
Avakim said quietly, "I will need that instrument.""We  will supply  you with  one, Counsellor,  that does  not cast  a staticfield.""My interview is done, in that case."Gaal watched him leave and was alone.

1 coterie   

n.(有共同兴趣的)小团体，小圈子

参考例句：

• The name is known to only a small coterie of collectors.这个名字只有收藏家的小圈子才知道。
• Mary and her coterie gave a party to which we were not invited.玛利和她的圈内朋友举行派对，我们没被邀请。

2 assassination   

n.暗杀；暗杀事件

参考例句：

• The assassination of the president brought matters to a head.总统遭暗杀使事态到了严重关头。
• Lincoln's assassination in 1865 shocked the whole nation.1865年，林肯遇刺事件震惊全美国。

3 degenerated   

衰退，堕落，退化( degenerate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The march degenerated into a riot. 示威游行变成了暴动。
• The wide paved road degenerated into a narrow bumpy track. 铺好的宽阔道路渐渐变窄，成了一条崎岖不平的小径。

4 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

5 encyclopedia   

n.百科全书

参考例句：

• The encyclopedia fell to the floor with a thud.那本百科全书砰的一声掉到地上。
• Geoff is a walking encyclopedia.He knows about everything.杰夫是个活百科全书，他什么都懂。

6 buzzer   

n.蜂鸣器；汽笛

参考例句：

• The buzzer went off at eight o'clock.蜂鸣器在8点钟时响了。
• Press the buzzer when you want to talk.你想讲话的时候就按蜂鸣器。

7 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。

8 civilized   

a.有教养的，文雅的

参考例句：

• Racism is abhorrent to a civilized society. 文明社会憎恶种族主义。
• rising crime in our so-called civilized societies 在我们所谓文明社会中日益增多的犯罪行为

9 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。

10 mathematician   

n.数学家

参考例句：

• The man with his back to the camera is a mathematician.背对着照相机的人是位数学家。
• The mathematician analyzed his figures again.这位数学家再次分析研究了他的这些数字。

11 faltered   

（嗓音）颤抖( falter的过去式和过去分词 )； 支吾其词； 蹒跚； 摇晃

参考例句：

• He faltered out a few words. 他支吾地说出了几句。
• "Er - but he has such a longhead!" the man faltered. 他不好意思似的嚅嗫着：“这孩子脑袋真长。”

12 defiantly   

adv.挑战地，大胆对抗地

参考例句：

• Braving snow and frost, the plum trees blossomed defiantly. 红梅傲雪凌霜开。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• She tilted her chin at him defiantly. 她向他翘起下巴表示挑衅。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 valid   

adj.有确实根据的；有效的；正当的，合法的

参考例句：

• His claim to own the house is valid.他主张对此屋的所有权有效。
• Do you have valid reasons for your absence?你的缺席有正当理由吗？

14 vouches   

v.保证( vouch的第三人称单数 )；担保；确定；确定地说

参考例句：

• Who vouches for your good conduct?" 谁是你的保人？” 来自子夜部分
• This paper vouches for the authenticity of the painting. 这份文件担保这幅画的可信赖姓。 来自互联网

15 wilted   

（使）凋谢，枯萎( wilt的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The flowers wilted in the hot sun. 花在烈日下枯萎了。
• The romance blossomed for six or seven months, and then wilted. 那罗曼史持续六七个月之后就告吹了。

16 slashed   

v.挥砍( slash的过去式和过去分词 )；鞭打；割破；削减

参考例句：

• Someone had slashed the tyres on my car. 有人把我的汽车轮胎割破了。
• He slashed the bark off the tree with his knife. 他用刀把树皮从树上砍下。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 folder   

n.纸夹，文件夹

参考例句：

• Peter returned the plan and charts to their folder.彼得把这份计划和表格放回文件夹中。
• He draws the document from its folder.他把文件从硬纸夹里抽出来。

18 deliberately   

adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地

参考例句：

• The girl gave the show away deliberately.女孩故意泄露秘密。
• They deliberately shifted off the argument.他们故意回避这个论点。

19 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

20 statistical   

adj.统计的，统计学的

参考例句：

• He showed the price fluctuations in a statistical table.他用统计表显示价格的波动。
• They're making detailed statistical analysis.他们正在做具体的统计分析。

21 interfered   

v.干预( interfere的过去式和过去分词 )；调停；妨碍；干涉

参考例句：

• Complete absorption in sports interfered with his studies. 专注于运动妨碍了他的学业。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I am not going to be interfered with. 我不想别人干扰我的事情。 来自《简明英汉词典》

22 climax   

n.顶点；高潮；v.(使)达到顶点

参考例句：

• The fifth scene was the climax of the play.第五场是全剧的高潮。
• His quarrel with his father brought matters to a climax.他与他父亲的争吵使得事态发展到了顶点。