Nor, it seemed to him, would he have received notification of this one hadit not been for the ultimatum2.
At least, it amounted to an ultimatum, though a superficial reading of thevisigraphed document would lead one to suppose that it was a friendlyinterchange of greetings between two potentates3.
Hardin fingered it gingerly. It started off floridly with a salutation from"His Puissant4 Majesty5, the King of Anacreon, to his friend and brother, Dr.
Lewis Pirenne, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, of the EncyclopediaFoundation Number One," and it ended even more lavishly with a gigantic,multicolored seal of the most involved symbolism.
But it was an ultimatum just the same.
Hardin said: "It turned out that we didn't have much time after all ?onlythree months. But little as it was, we threw it away unused. This thinghere gives us a week. What do we do now?"Pirenne frowned worriedly. "There must be a loophole. It is absolutelyunbelievable that they would push matters to extremities7 in the face ofwhat Lord Dorwin has assured us regarding the attitude of the Emperor andthe Empire."Hardin perked up. "I see. You have informed the King of Anacreon of thisalleged attitude?""I did ? after having placed the proposal to the Board for a vote andhaving received unanimous consent.""And when did this vote take place?"Pirenne climbed onto his dignity. "I do not believe I am answerable to youin any way, Mayor Hardin.""All right. I'm not that vitally interested. It's just my opinion that itwas your diplomatic transmission of Lord Dorwin's valuable contribution tothe situation"?he lifted the comer of his mouth in a sour half-smile?that was the direct cause of this friendly little note. They might havedelayed longer otherwise ?though I don't think the additional time wouldhave helped Terminus any, considering the attitude of the Board."Said Yate Fulham: "And just how do you arrive at that remarkableconclusion, Mr. Mayor?""In a rather simple way. It merely required the use of that much-neglectedcommodity ? common sense. You see, there is a branch of human knowledgeknown as symbolic9 logic10, which can be used to prune11 away all sorts ofclogging deadwood that clutters12 up human language.""What about it?" said Fulham.
"I applied13 it. Among other things, I applied it to this document here. Ididn't really need to for myself because I knew what it was all about, butI think I can explain it more easily to five physical scientists by symbolsrather than by words."Hardin removed a few sheets of paper from the pad under his arm and spreadthem out. "I didn't do this myself, by the way," he said. "Muller Holk ofthe Division of Logic has his name signed to the analyses, as you can see."Pirenne leaned over the table to get a better view and Hardin continued:
"The message from Anacreon was a simple problem, naturally, for the men whowrote it were men of action rather than men of words. It boils down easilyand straightforwardly14 to the unqualified statement, when in symbols is whatyou see, and which in words, roughly translated, is, 'You give us what wewant in a week, or we take it by force.'"There was silence as the five members of the Board ran down the line ofsymbols, and then Pirenne sat down and coughed uneasily.
Hardin said, "No loophole, is there, Dr. Pirenne?""Doesn't seem to be.""All right." Hardin replaced the sheets. "Before you now you see a copy ofthe treaty between the Empire and Anacreon ?a treaty, incidentally, whichis signed on the Emperor's behalf by the same Lord Dorwin who was here lastweek ?and with it a symbolic analysis."The treaty ran through five pages of fine print and the analysis wasscrawled out in just under half a page.
"As you see, gentlemen, something like ninety percent of the treaty boiledright out of the analysis as being meaningless, and what we end up with canbe described in the following interesting manner:
"Obligations of Anacreon to the Empire: None!
"Powers of the Empire over Anacreon: None!"Again the five followed the reasoning anxiously, checking carefully back tothe treaty, and when they were finished, Pirenne said in a worried fashion,"That seems to be correct.""You admit, then, that the treaty is nothing but a declaration of totalindependence on the part of Anacreon and a recognition of that status bythe Empire?""It seems so.""And do you suppose that Anacreon doesn't realize that, and is not anxiousto emphasize the position of independence ?so that it would naturally tendto resent any appearance of threats from the Empire? Particularly when itis evident that the Empire is powerless to fulfill15 any such threats, or itwould never have allowed independence.""But then," interposed Sutt, "how would Mayor Hardin account for LordDorwin's assurances of Empire support? They seemed ? He shrugged16. "Well,they seemed satisfactory."Hardin threw himself back in the chair. "You know, that's the mostinteresting part of the whole business. I'll admit I had thought hisLordship a most consummate donkey when I first met him ?but it turned outthat he was actually an accomplished17 diplomat8 and a most clever man. I tookthe liberty of recording18 all his statements."There was a flurry, and Pirenne opened his mouth in horror.
"What of it?" demanded Hardin. "I realize it was a gross breach ofhospitality and a thing no so-called gentleman would do. Also, that if hislordship had caught on, things might have been unpleasant; but he didn't,and I have the record, and that's that. I took that record, had it copiedout and sent that to Holk for analysis, also."Lundin Crast said, "And where is the analysis?""That," replied Hardin, "is the interesting thing. The analysis was themost difficult of the three by all odds19. When Holk, after two days ofsteady work, succeeded in eliminating meaningless statements, vaguegibberish, useless qualifications ? in short, all the goo and dribble20 ?hefound he had nothing left. Everything canceled out.""Lord Dorwin, gentlemen, in five days of discussion didn't say one damnedthing, and said it so you never noticed. There are the assurances you hadfrom your precious Empire."Hardin might have placed an actively21 working stench bomb on the table andcreated no more confusion than existed after his last statement. He waited,with weary patience, for it to die down.
"So," he concluded, "when you sent threats ?and that's what they were ?
concerning Empire action to Anacreon, you merely irritated a monarch22 whoknew better. Naturally, his ego would demand immediate23 action, and theultimatum is the result-which brings me to my original statement. We haveone week left and what do we do now?""It seems," said Sutt, "that we have no choice but to allow Anacreon toestablish military bases on Terminus.""I agree with you there," replied Hardin, "but what do we do toward kickingthem off again at the first opportunity?"Yate Fulham's mustache twitched24. "That sounds as if you have made up yourmind that violence must be used against them.""Violence," came the retort, "is the last refuge of the incompetent25. But Icertainly don't intend to lay down the welcome mat and brush off the bestfurniture for their use.""I still don't like the way you put that," insisted Fulham. "It is adangerous attitude; the more dangerous because we have noticed lately thata sizable section of the populace seems to respond to all your suggestionsjust so. I might as well tell you, Mayor Hardin, that the board is notquite blind to your recent activities."He paused and there was general agreement. Hardin shrugged.
Fulham went on: "If you were to inflame26 the City into an act of violence,you would achieve elaborate suicide ? and we don't intend to allow that.
Our policy has but one cardinal27 principle, and that is the Encyclopedia6.
Whatever we decide to do or not to do will be so decided28 because it will bethe measure required to keep that Encyclopedia safe.""Then," said Hardin, "you come to the conclusion that we must continue ourintensive campaign of doing nothing."Pirenne said bitterly: "You have yourself demonstrated that the Empirecannot help us; though how and why it can be so, I don't understand. Ifcompromise is necessary?
Hardin had the nightmarelike sensation of running at top speed and gettingnowhere. "There is no compromise! Don't you realize that this bosh aboutmilitary bases is a particularly inferior grade of drivel? Haut Rodric toldus what Anacreon was after ?outright29 annexation30 and imposition of its ownfeudal system of landed estates and peasant-aristocracy economy upon us.
What is left of our bluff31 of nuclear power may force them to move slowly,but they will move nonetheless."He had risen indignantly, and the rest rose with him except for Jord Fara.
And then Jord Fara spoke32. "Everyone will please sit down. We've gone quitefar enough, I think. Come, there's no use looking so furious, Mayor Hardin;none of us have been committing treason.""You'll have to convince me of that!"Fara smiled gently. "You know you don't mean that. Let me speak!"His little shrewd eyes were half closed, and the perspiration33 gleamed onthe smooth expanse of his chin. "There seems no point in concealing34 thatthe Board has come to the decision that the real solution to theAnacreonian problem lies in what is to be revealed to us when the Vaultopens six days from now.""Is that your contribution to the matter?""Yes.""We are to do nothing, is that fight, except to wait in quiet serenity36 andutter faith for the deus ex machina to pop out of the Vault35?""Stripped of your emotional phraseology, that's the idea.""Such unsubtle escapism! Really, Dr. Fara, such folly37 smacks38 of genius. Alesser mind would be incapable39 of it."Fara smiled indulgently. "Your taste in epigrams is amusing, Hardin, butout of place. As a matter of fact, I think you remember my line of argumentconcerning the Vault about three weeks ago.""Yes, I remember it. I don't deny that it was anything but a stupid ideafrom the standpoint of deductive logic alone. You said ?stop me when Imake a mistake ?that Hari Seldon was the greatest psychologist in theSystem; that, hence, he could foresee the right and uncomfortable spotwe're in now; that, hence, he established the Vault as a method of tellingus the way out.""You've got the essence of the idea.""Would it surprise you to hear that I've given considerable thought to thematter these last weeks?""Very flattering. With what result?""With the result that pure deduction40 is found wanting. Again what is neededis a little sprinkling of common sense.""For instance?""For instance, if he foresaw the Anacreonian mess, why not have placed uson some other planet nearer the Galactic centers? It's well known thatSeldon maneuvered41 the Commissioners42 on Trantor into ordering the Foundationestablished on Terminus. But why should he have done so? Why put us outhere at all if he could see in advance the break in communication lines,our isolation43 from the Galaxy44, the threat of our neighbors ? and ourhelplessness because of the lack of metals on Terminus? That above all! Orif he foresaw all this, why not have warned the original settlers inadvance that they might have had time to prepare, rather than wait, as heis doing, until one foot is over the cliff, before doing so?
"And don't forget this. Even though he could foresee the problem then, wecan see it equally well now. Therefore, if he could foresee the solutionthen, we should be able to see it now. After all, Seldon was not amagician. There are no trick methods of escaping from a dilemma45 that he cansee and we can't.""But, Hardin," reminded Fara, "we can't!""But you haven't tried. You haven't tried once. First, you refused to admitthat there was a menace at all! Then you reposed46 an absolutely blind faithin the Emperor! Now you've shifted it to Hari Seldon. Throughout you haveinvariably relied on authority or on the past ?never on yourselves."His fists balled spasmodically. "It amounts to a diseased attitude ?aconditioned reflex that shunts aside the independence of your mindswhenever it is a question of opposing authority. There seems no doubt everin your minds that the Emperor is more powerful than you are, or HariSeldon wiser. And that's wrong, don't you see?"For some reason, no one cared to answer him.
Hardin continued: "It isn't just you. It's the whole Galaxy. Pirenne heardLord Dorwin's idea of scientific research. Lord Dorwin thought the way tobe a good archaeologist was to read all the books on the subject ?writtenby men who were dead for centuries. He thought that the way to solvearchaeological puzzles was to weigh the opposing authorities. And Pirennelistened and made no objections. Don't you see that there's something wrongwith that?"Again the note of near-pleading in his voice. Again no answer.
He went on: "And you men and half of Terminus as well are just as bad. Wesit here, considering the Encyclopedia the all-in-all. We consider thegreatest end of science. is the classification of past data. It isimportant, but is there no further work to be done? We're receding47 andforgetting, don't you see? Here in the Periphery they've lost nuclearpower. In Gamma Andromeda, a power plant has undergone meltdown because ofpoor repairs, and the Chancellor48 of the Empire complains that nucleartechnicians are scarce. And the solution? To train new ones? Never! Insteadthey're to restrict nuclear power."And for the third time: "Don't you see? It's Galaxywide. It's a worship ofthe past. It's a deterioration49 ?a stagnation50!"He stared from one to the other and they gazed fixedly at him.
Fara was the first to recover. "Well, mystical philosophy isn't going tohelp us here. Let us be concrete. Do you deny that Hari Seldon could easilyhave worked out historical trends of the future by simple psychologicaltechnique?""No, of course not," cried Hardin. "But we can't rely on him for asolution. At best, he might indicate the problem, but if ever there is tobe a solution, we must work it out ourselves. He can't do it for us."Fulham spoke suddenly. "What do you mean ?'indicate the problem'? We knowthe problem."Hardin whirled on him. "You think you do? You think Anacreon is all HariSeldon is likely to be worried about. I disagree! I tell you, gentlemen,that as yet none of you has the faintest conception of what is really goingon.""And you do?" questioned Pirenne, hostilely.
"I think so!" Hardin jumped up and pushed his chair away. His eyes werecold and hard. "If there's one thing that's definite, it is that there'ssomething smelly about the whole situation; something that is bigger thananything we've talked about yet. Just ask yourself this question: Why wasit that among the original population of the Foundation not one first-classpsychologist was included, except Bor Alurin? And he carefully refrainedfrom training his pupils in more than the fundamentals."A short silence and Fara said: "All right. Why?""Perhaps because a psychologist might have caught on to what this was allabout ? and too soon to suit Hari Seldon. As it is, we've been stumblingabout, getting misty51 glimpses of the truth and no more. And that is whatHari Seldon wanted."He laughed harshly. "Good day, gentlemen!"He stalked out of the room.
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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ultimatum
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| n.最后通牒 | |
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potentates
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| n.君主，统治者( potentate的名词复数 )；有权势的人 | |
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puissant
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| adj.强有力的 | |
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majesty
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| n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权 | |
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encyclopedia
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| n.百科全书 | |
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extremities
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| n.端点( extremity的名词复数 )；尽头；手和足；极窘迫的境地 | |
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diplomat
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| n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人 | |
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symbolic
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| adj.象征性的，符号的，象征主义的 | |
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logic
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| n.逻辑(学)；逻辑性 | |
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prune
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| n.酶干；vt.修剪，砍掉，削减；vi.删除 | |
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clutters
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| n.杂物，零乱的东西零乱vt.( clutter的名词复数 )；乱糟糟地堆满，把…弄得很乱；（以…） 塞满…v.杂物，零乱的东西零乱vt.( clutter的第三人称单数 )；乱糟糟地堆满，把…弄得很乱；（以…） 塞满… | |
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applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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straightforwardly
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fulfill
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| vt.履行，实现，完成；满足，使满意 | |
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shrugged
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| vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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accomplished
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recording
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odds
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dribble
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actively
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monarch
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| n.帝王，君主，最高统治者 | |
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immediate
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twitched
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incompetent
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| adj.无能力的，不能胜任的 | |
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inflame
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| v.使燃烧；使极度激动；使发炎 | |
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cardinal
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| n.(天主教的)红衣主教；adj.首要的，基本的 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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outright
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annexation
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bluff
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spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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perspiration
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concealing
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vault
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| n.拱形圆顶，地窖，地下室 | |
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serenity
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| n.宁静，沉着，晴朗 | |
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folly
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| n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话 | |
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smacks
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| 掌掴（声）( smack的名词复数 )； 海洛因； （打的）一拳； 打巴掌 | |
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incapable
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| adj.无能力的，不能做某事的 | |
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deduction
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| n.减除，扣除，减除额；推论，推理，演绎 | |
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maneuvered
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| v.移动，用策略( maneuver的过去式和过去分词 )；操纵 | |
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commissioners
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| n.专员( commissioner的名词复数 )；长官；委员；政府部门的长官 | |
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isolation
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| n.隔离，孤立，分解，分离 | |
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galaxy
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| n.星系；银河系；一群(杰出或著名的人物) | |
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dilemma
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| n.困境，进退两难的局面 | |
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reposed
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| v.将（手臂等）靠在某人（某物）上( repose的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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receding
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| v.逐渐远离( recede的现在分词 )；向后倾斜；自原处后退或避开别人的注视；尤指问题 | |
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chancellor
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| n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长 | |
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49
deterioration
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| n.退化；恶化；变坏 | |
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stagnation
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| n. 停滞 | |
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misty
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| adj.雾蒙蒙的，有雾的 | |
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