PART II THE ENCYCLOPEDISTS Chapter 1

TERMINUS?..  Its location (see  map) was an  odd one  for the role  it wascalled upon to play in Galactic history, and yet as many writers have nevertired of pointing out, an inevitable¹ one. Located on the very fringe of theGalactic spiral,  an only planet of an isolated  sun, poor in resources andnegligible in  economic value, it  was never settled in  the five centuriesafter  its   discovery,  until   the  landing  of   the  Encyclopedists....
It  was inevitable  that as  a new  generation grew, Terminus  would becomesomething more  than an appendage² of  the psychohistorians of Trantor. Withthe Anacreonian revolt and the rise to power of Salvor Hardin, first of thegreat line of...
ENCYCLOPEDIA³ GALACTICALewis Pirenne  was busily engaged at his desk in  the one well-lit comer ofthe room. Work had  to be co-ordinated. Effort had to be organized. Threadshad to be woven into a pattern.
Fifty  years   now;  fifty  years  to   establish  themselves  and  set  upEncyclopedia  Foundation Number  One  into a  smoothly⁴ working  unit. Fiftyyears   to   gather   the   raw   material.   Fifty   years   to   prepare.
It had  been done. Five more  years would see the  publication of the firstvolume of the most  monumental work the Galaxy⁵ had ever conceived. And thenat ten-year  intervals⁶ ?regularly ?like  clockwork ?volume after volume.
And with  them there  would be supplements;  special articles on  events ofcurrent interest, until?
Pirenne  stirred  uneasily, as  the  muted  buzzer⁷ upon  his desk  mutteredpeevishly.  He had  almost forgotten  the appointment.  He shoved  the doorrelease and out of an abstracted comer of one eye saw the door open and thebroad   figure  of  Salvor   Hardin  enter.   Pirenne  did  not   look  up.
Hardin smiled  to himself.  He was in a  hurry, but he knew  better than totake  offense⁸ at Pirenne's  cavalier treatment  of anything or  anyone thatdisturbed him at his work. He buried himself in the chair on the other sideof the desk and waited.
Pirenne's stylus made the faintest scraping sound as it raced across paper.
Otherwise, neither motion nor  sound. And then Hardin withdrew a two-creditcoin from  his vest pocket.  He flipped⁹ it and  its stainless-steel surfacecaught  flitters of  light  as it  tumbled through  the  air. He  caught itand-flipped it  again, watching the flashing  reflections lazily. Stainlesssteel made  good medium of exchange  on a planet where  all metal had to beimported.
Pirenne  looked   up  and  blinked.  "Stop   that!"  he  said  querulously.
"Eh?""That infernal coin tossing. Stop it.""Oh." Hardin pocketed the metal disk. "Tell me when you're ready, will you?
I promised  to be back at the City Council  meeting before the new aqueductproject is put to a vote."Pirenne sighed  and shoved  himself away from  the desk. "I'm  ready. But Ihope you  aren't going  to bother me  with city affairs. Take  care of thatyourself,   please.    The   Encyclopedia   takes   up    all   my   time.""Have   you   heard   the   news?"   questioned   Hardin,   phlegmatically¹⁰.
"What news?""The news that the  Terminus City ultrawave set received two hours ago. TheRoyal Governor  of the Prefect of Anacreon has  assumed the title of king.""Well? What of it?""It means," responded Hardin, "that we're cut off from the inner regions ofthe  Empire. We've  been expecting  it but  that doesn't  make it  any morecomfortable.  Anacreon stands  square  across what  was our  last remainingtrade route  to Santanni  and to Trantor  and to Vega itself.  Where is ourmetal to come from?  We haven't managed to get a steel or aluminum¹¹ shipmentthrough in six months and now we won't be able to get any at all, except bygrace of the King of Anacreon."Pirenne   tch-tched   impatiently.    "Get   them   through   him,   then.""But can  we? Listen,  Pirenne, according to the  charter which establishedthis Foundation,  the Board  of Trustees of the  Encyclopedia Committee hasbeen given  full administrative¹² powers. I, as  Mayor of Terminus City, havejust  enough  power to  blow  my  own nose  and  perhaps to  sneeze if  youcountersign an  order giving me permission.  It's up to you  and your Boardthen. I'm asking you in the name of the City, whose prosperity depends uponuninterrupted  commerce with  the  Galaxy, to  call an  emergency meeting?
"Stop!  A  campaign speech  is  out of  order.  Now, Hardin,  the Board  ofTrustees  has not  barred the  establishment of  a municipal  government onTerminus.  We understand  one to  be necessary  because of the  increase inpopulation  since  the  Foundation was  established  fifty  years ago,  andbecause  of the  increasing number  of people involved  in non-Encyclopediaaffairs.  But  that does  not  mean  that the  first  and only  aim of  theFoundation is no longer to publish the definitive¹³ Encyclopedia of all humanknowledge.  We are  a State-supported,  scientific institution,  Hardin. Wecannot   ?  must  not   ?  will   not  interfere   in  local   politics.""Local politics!  By the Emperor's left  toe, Pirenne, this is  a matter oflife and death. The planet, Terminus, by itself cannot support a mechanizedcivilization. It  lacks metals. You know  that. It hasn't a  trace of iron,copper, or  aluminum in the surface rocks,  and precious little of anythingelse.  What  do  you   think  will  happen  to  the  Encyclopedia  if  thiswatchmacallum King of Anacreon clamps down on us?""On  us? Are you  forgetting that we  are under  the direct control  of theEmperor himself? We are not part of the Prefect of Anacreon or of any otherprefect. Memorize  that! We are part of  the Emperor's personal domain¹⁴, andno one touches us. The Empire can protect its own.""Then why  didn't it  prevent the Royal  Governor of Anacreon  from kickingover the traces? And only Anacreon?
At least twenty of the outermost¹⁵ prefects of the Galaxy, the entirePeriphery as a matter of fact, have begun steering¹⁶ things their own way. Itell you I feel damned uncertain of the Empire and its ability to protectus.""Hokum! Royal Governors, Kings ?what's the difference? The Empire isalways shot through with a certain amount of politics and with differentmen pulling this way and that. Governors have rebelled, and, for thatmatter, Emperors have been deposed¹⁷, or assassinated¹⁸ before this. But whathas that to do with the Empire itself? Forget it, Hardin. It's none of ourbusiness. We are first of all and last of all-scientists. And our concernis the Encyclopedia.
Oh, yes, I'd almost forgotten. Hardin!""Well?""Do something about that paper of yours!" Pirenne's voice was angry.
"The Terminus City Journal? It isn't mine; it's privately¹⁹ owned. What's itbeen doing?""For weeks now it has been recommending that the fiftieth anniversary ofthe establishment of the Foundation be made the occasion for publicholidays and quite inappropriate celebrations.""And why not? The computoclock will open the Vault²⁰ in three months. I wouldcall this first opening a big occasion, wouldn't you?""Not for silly pageantry, Hardin. The Vault and its opening concern theBoard of Trustees alone. Anything of importance will be communicated to thepeople. That is final and please make it plain to the Journal.""I'm sorry, Pirenne, but the City Charter guarantees a certain minor²¹ matterknown as freedom of the press.""It may. But the Board of Trustees does not. I am the Emperor'srepresentative on Terminus, Hardin, and have full powers in this respect."Hardin's expression became that of a man counting to ten, mentally. Hesaid, grimly: "in connection with your status as Emperor's representative,then, I have a final piece of news to give you.""About Anacreon?" Pirenne's lips tightened²². He felt annoyed.
"Yes. A special envoy²³ will be sent to us from Anacreon. In two weeks.""An envoy? Here? From Anacreon?" Pirenne chewed that. "What for?"Hardin stood up, and shoved his chair back up against the desk. "I give youone guess." And he left ?quite unceremoniously.

1 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。

2 appendage   

n.附加物

参考例句：

• After their work,the calculus was no longer an appendage and extension of Greek geometry.经过他们的工作，微积分不再是古希腊几何的附庸和延展。
• Macmillan must have loathed being judged as a mere appendage to domestic politics.麦克米伦肯定极不喜欢只被当成国内政治的附属品。

3 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。

4 smoothly   

adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地

参考例句：

• The workmen are very cooperative,so the work goes on smoothly.工人们十分合作，所以工作进展顺利。
• Just change one or two words and the sentence will read smoothly.这句话只要动一两个字就顺了。

5 galaxy   

n.星系；银河系；一群(杰出或著名的人物)

参考例句：

• The earth is one of the planets in the Galaxy.地球是银河系中的星球之一。
• The company has a galaxy of talent.该公司拥有一批优秀的人才。

6 intervals   

n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息

参考例句：

• The forecast said there would be sunny intervals and showers. 预报间晴，有阵雨。
• Meetings take place at fortnightly intervals. 每两周开一次会。

7 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。

8 offense   

n.犯规，违法行为；冒犯，得罪

参考例句：

• I hope you will not take any offense at my words. 对我讲的话请别见怪。
• His words gave great offense to everybody present.他的发言冲犯了在场的所有人。

9 flipped   

轻弹( flip的过去式和过去分词 )； 按（开关）； 快速翻转； 急挥

参考例句：

• The plane flipped and crashed. 飞机猛地翻转，撞毁了。
• The carter flipped at the horse with his whip. 赶大车的人扬鞭朝着马轻轻地抽打。

10 phlegmatically   

参考例句：

• He accepted the decision phlegmatically. 他平静地接受了决定。 来自互联网

11 aluminum   

n.(aluminium)铝

参考例句：

• The aluminum sheets cannot be too much thicker than 0.04 inches.铝板厚度不能超过0.04英寸。
• During the launch phase,it would ride in a protective aluminum shell.在发射阶段，它盛在一只保护的铝壳里。

12 administrative   

adj.行政的，管理的

参考例句：

• The administrative burden must be lifted from local government.必须解除地方政府的行政负担。
• He regarded all these administrative details as beneath his notice.他认为行政管理上的这些琐事都不值一顾。

13 definitive   

adj.确切的，权威性的；最后的，决定性的

参考例句：

• This book is the definitive guide to world cuisine.这本书是世界美食的权威指南。
• No one has come up with a definitive answer as to why this should be so.至于为什么该这样，还没有人给出明确的答复。

14 domain   

n.(活动等)领域，范围；领地，势力范围

参考例句：

• This information should be in the public domain.这一消息应该为公众所知。
• This question comes into the domain of philosophy.这一问题属于哲学范畴。

15 outermost   

adj.最外面的，远离中心的

参考例句：

• He fired and hit the outermost ring of the target.他开枪射中了靶子的最外一环。
• The outermost electron is shielded from the nucleus.原子核对最外层电子的作用受到屏蔽。

16 steering   

n.操舵装置

参考例句：

• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration. 他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。
• Steering according to the wind, he also framed his words more amicably. 他真会看风使舵，口吻也马上变得温和了。

17 deposed   

v.罢免( depose的过去式和过去分词 )；（在法庭上）宣誓作证

参考例句：

• The president was deposed in a military coup. 总统在军事政变中被废黜。
• The head of state was deposed by the army. 国家元首被军队罢免了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 assassinated   

v.暗杀( assassinate的过去式和过去分词 )；中伤；诋毁；破坏

参考例句：

• The prime minister was assassinated by extremists. 首相遭极端分子暗杀。
• Then, just two days later, President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. 跟着在两天以后，肯尼迪总统在达拉斯被人暗杀。 来自辞典例句

19 privately   

adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地

参考例句：

• Some ministers admit privately that unemployment could continue to rise.一些部长私下承认失业率可能继续升高。
• The man privately admits that his motive is profits.那人私下承认他的动机是为了牟利。

20 vault   

n.拱形圆顶，地窖，地下室

参考例句：

• The vault of this cathedral is very high.这座天主教堂的拱顶非常高。
• The old patrician was buried in the family vault.这位老贵族埋在家族的墓地里。

21 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

22 tightened   

收紧( tighten的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）变紧； （使）绷紧； 加紧

参考例句：

• The rope holding the boat suddenly tightened and broke. 系船的绳子突然绷断了。
• His index finger tightened on the trigger but then relaxed again. 他的食指扣住扳机，然后又松开了。

23 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。