a good many of which are probably apocryphal1. Nevertheless, it is reportedthat on a certain occasion, he said:
"It pays to be obvious, especially if you have a reputation for subtlety2."Poly Verisof had had occasion to act on that advice more than once for hewas now in the fourteenth year of his double status on Anacreon ?a doublestatus the upkeep of which reminded him often and unpleasantly of a danceperformed barefoot on hot metal.
To the people of Anacreon he was high priest, representative of thatFoundation which, to those "barbarians," was the acme3 of mystery and thephysical center of this religion they had created ?with Hardin's help ?inthe last three decades. As such, he received a homage4 that had becomehorribly wearying, for from his soul he despised the ritual of which he wasthe center.
But to the King of Anacreon ? the old one that had been, and the younggrandson that was now on the throne ? he was simply the ambassador of apower at once feared and coveted5.
On the whole, it was an uncomfortable job, and his first trip to theFoundation in three years, despite the disturbing incident that had made itnecessary, was something in the nature of a holiday.
And since it was not the first time he had had to travel in absolutesecrecy, he again made use of Hardin's epigram on the uses of the obvious.
He changed into his civilian6 clothes ?a holiday in itself ?and boarded apassenger liner to the Foundation, second class. Once at Terminus, hethreaded his way through the crowd at the spaceport and called up City Hallat a public visiphone.
He said, "My name is Jan Smite7. I have an appointment with the mayor thisafternoon."The dead-voiced but efficient young lady at the other end made a secondconnection and exchanged a few rapid words, then said to Verisof in dry,mechanical tone, "Mayor Hardin will see you in half an hour, sir," and thescreen went blank.
Whereupon the ambassador to Anacreon bought the latest edition of theTerminus City Journal, sauntered casually8 to City Hall Park and, sitting.
down on the first empty bench he came to, read the editorial page, sportsection and comic sheet while waiting. At the end of half an hour, hetucked the paper under his arm, entered City Hall and presented himself inthe anteroom.
In doing all this he remained safely and thoroughly9 unrecognized, for sincehe was so entirely10 obvious, no one gave him a second look.
Hardin looked up at him and grinned. "Have a cigar! How was the trip?"Verisof helped himself. "Interesting. There was a priest in the next cabinon his way here to take a special course in the preparation of radioactivesynthetics ?for the treatment of cancer, you know ?
"Surely, he didn't call it radioactive synthetics11, now?""I guess not! It was the Holy Food to him."The mayor smiled. "Go on.""He inveigled me into a theological discussion and did his level best toelevate me out of sordid12 materialism13.""And never recognized his own high priest?""Without my crimson14 robe? Besides, he was a Smyrnian. It was an interestingexperience, though. It is remarkable15, Hardin, how the religion of sciencehas grabbed hold. I've written an essay on the subject ?entirely for myown amusement; it wouldn't do to have it published. Treating the problemsociologically, it would seem that when the old Empire began to rot at thefringes, it could be considered that science, as science, had failed theouter worlds. To be reaccepted it would have to present itself in anotherguise and it has done just that. It works out beautifully.""Interesting!" The mayor placed his arms around his neck and said suddenly,"Start talking about the situation at Anacreon!"The ambassador frowned and withdrew the cigar from his mouth. He looked atit distastefully and put it down. "Well, it's pretty bad.""You wouldn't be here, otherwise.""Scarcely. Here's the position. The key man at Anacreon is the PrinceRegent, Wienis. He's King Lepold's uncle.""I know. But Lepold is coming of age next year, isn't he? I believe he'llbe sixteen in February.""Yes." Pause, and then a wry16 addition. "If he lives. The king's father diedunder suspicious circumstances. A needle bullet through the chest during ahunt. It was called an accident.""Hmph. I seem to remember Wienis the time I was on Anacreon, when we kickedthem off Terminus. It was before your time. Let's see now. If I remember,he was a dark young fellow, black hair and a squint17 in his right eye. Hehad a funny hook in his nose.""Same fellow. The hook and the squint are still there, but his hair's graynow. He plays the game dirty. Luckily, he's the most egregious18 fool on theplanet. Fancies himself as a shrewd devil, too, which mades his folly19 themore transparent20.""That's usually the way.""His notion of cracking an egg is to shoot a nuclear blast at it. Witnessthe tax on Temple property he tried to impose just after the old king diedtwo years ago. Remember?"Hardin nodded thoughtfully, then smiled. "The priests raised a howl.""They raised one you could hear way out to Lucreza. He's shown more cautionin dealing21 with the priesthood since, but he still manages to do things thehard way. In a way, it's unfortunate for us; he has unlimitedself-confidence.""Probably an over-compensated inferiority complex. Younger sons of royaltyget that way, you know.""But it amounts to the same thing. He's foaming22 at the mouth with eagernessto attack the Foundation. He scarcely troubles to conceal23 it. And he's in aposition to do it, too, from the standpoint of armament. The old king builtup a magnificent navy, and Wienis hasn't been sleeping the last two years.
In fact, the tax on Temple property was originally intended for furtherarmament, and when that fell through he increased the income tax twice.""Any grumbling24 at that?""None of serious importance. Obedience25 to appointed authority was the textof every sermon in the kingdom for weeks. Not that Wienis showed anygratitude.""All right. I've got the background. Now what's happened?""Two weeks ago an Anacreonian merchant ship came across a derelict battlecruiser of the old Imperial Navy. It must have been drifting in space forat least three centuries."Interest flickered in Hardin's eyes. He sat up. "Yes, I've heard of that.
The Board of Navigation has sent me a petition asking me to obtain the shipfor purposes of study. It is in good condition, I understand.""In entirely too good condition," responded Verisof, dryly. "When Wienisreceived your suggestion last week that he turn the ship over to theFoundation, he almost had convulsions.""He hasn't answered yet.""He won't ?except with guns, or so he thinks. You see, he came to me onthe day I left Anacreon and requested that the Foundation put this battlecruiser into fighting order and turn it over to the Anacreonian navy. Hehad the infernal gall26 to say that your note of last week indicated a planof the Foundation's to attack Anacreon. He said that refusal to repair thebattle cruiser would confirm his suspicions; and indicated that measuresfor the self-defense of Anacreon would be forced upon him. Those are hiswords. Forced upon him! And that's why I'm here."Hardin laughed gently.
Verisof smiled and continued, "Of course, he expects a refusal, and itwould be a perfect excuse ? in his eyes ? for immediate attack.""I see that, Verisof. Well, we have at least six months to spare, so havethe ship fixed27 up and present it with my compliments. Have it renamed theWienis as a mark of our esteem28 and affection."He laughed again.
And again Verisof responded with the faintest trace of a smile, "I supposeit's the logical step, Hardin ?but I'm worried.""What about?""It's a ship! They could build in those days. Its cubic capacity is halfagain that of the entire Anacreonian navy. It's got nuclear blasts capableof blowing up a planet, and a shield that could take a Q-beam withoutworking up radiation. Too much of a good thing, Hardin ?
"Superficial, Verisof, superficial. You and I both know that the armamenthe now has could defeat Terminus handily, long before we could repair thecruiser for our own use. What does it matter, then, if we give him thecruiser as well? You know it won't ever come to actual war.""I suppose so. Yes." The ambassador looked up. "But Hardin ?
"Well? Why do you stop? Go ahead.""Look. This isn't my province. But I've been reading the paper." He placedthe Journal on the desk and indicated the front page. "What's this allabout?"Hardin dropped a casual glance. "'A group of Councilmen are forming a newpolitical party."'
"That's what it says." Verisof fidgeted. "I know you're in better touchwith internal matters than I am, but they're attacking you with everythingshort of physical violence. How strong are they?""Damned strong. They'll probably control the Council after next election.""Not before?" Verisof looked at the mayor obliquely29. "There are ways ofgaining control besides elections.""Do you take me for Wienis?""No. But repairing the ship will take months and an attack after that iscertain. Our yielding will be taken as a sign of appalling30 weakness and theaddition of the Imperial Cruiser will just about double the strength ofWienis' navy. He'll attack as sure as I'm a high priest. Why take chances?
Do one of two things. Either reveal the plan of campaign to the Council, orforce the issue with Anacreon now!"Hardin frowned. "Force the issue now? Before the crisis comes? It's the onething I mustn't do. There's Hari Seldon and the Plan, you know."Verisof hesitated, then muttered, "You're absolutely sure, then, that thereis a Plan?""There can scarcely be any doubt," came the stiff reply. "I was present atthe opening of the Time Vault31 and Seldon's recording32 revealed it then.""I didn't mean that, Hardin. I just don't see how it could be possible tochart history for a thousand years ahead. Maybe Seldon overestimatedhimself." He shriveled a bit at Hardin's ironical33 smile, and added, "Well,I'm no psychologist,""Exactly. None of us are. But I did receive some elementary training in myyouth ?enough to know what psychology34 is capable of, even if I can'texploit its capabilities myself. There's no doubt but that Seldon didexactly what he claims to have done. The Foundation, as he says, wasestablished as a scientific refuge ?the means by which the science andculture of the dying Empire was to be preserved through the centuries ofbarbarism that have begun, to be rekindled in the end into a secondEmpire."Verisof nodded, a trifle doubtfully. "Everyone knows that's the way thingsare supposed to go. But can we afford to take chances? Can we risk thepresent for the sake of a nebulous future?""We must ?because the future isn't nebulous. It's been calculated out bySeldon and charted. Each successive crisis in our history is mapped andeach depends in a measure on the successful conclusion of the onesprevious. This is only the second crisis and Space knows what effect even atrifling deviation35 would have in the end.""That's rather empty speculation36.""No! Hari Seldon said in the Time Vault, that at each crisis our freedom ofaction would become circumscribed to the point where only one course ofaction was possible.""So as to keep us on the straight and narrow?""So as to keep us from deviating37, yes. But, conversely, as long as morethan one course of action is possible, the crisis has not been reached. Wemust let things drift so long as we possibly can, and by space, that's whatI intend doing."Verisof didn't answer. He chewed his lower lip in a grudging38 silence. Ithad only been the year before that Hardin had first discussed the problemwith him ?the real problem; the problem of countering Anacreon's hostilepreparations. And then only because he, Verisof, had balked at furtherappeasement.
Hardin seemed to follow his ambassador's thoughts. "I would much rathernever to have told you anything about this.""What makes you say that?" cried Verisof, in surprise.
"Because there are six people now ?you and I, the other three ambassadorsand Yohan Lee ? who have a fair notion of what's ahead; and I'm damnedafraid that it was Seldon's idea to have no one know.""Why so?""Because even Seldon's advanced psychology was limited. It could not handletoo many independent variables. He couldn't work with individuals over anylength of time; any more than you could apply kinetic theory of gases tosingle molecules39. He worked with mobs, populations of whole planets, andonly blind mobs who do not possess foreknowledge of the results of theirown actions.""That's not plain.""I can't help it. I'm not psychologist enough to explain it scientifically.
But this you know. There are no trained psychologists on Terminus and nomathematical texts on the science. It is plain that he wanted no one onTerminus capable of working out the future in advance. Seldon wanted us toproceed blindly ?and therefore correctly ? according to the law of mobpsychology. As I once told you, I never knew where we were heading when Ifirst drove out the Anacreonians. My idea had been to maintain balance ofpower, no more than that. It was only afterward40 that I thought I saw apattern in events; but I've done my level best not to act on thatknowledge. Interference due to foresight41 would have knocked the Plan out ofkilter."Verisof nodded thoughtfully. "I've heard arguments almost as complicated inthe Temples back on Anacreon. How do you expect to spot the fight moment ofaction?""It's spotted already. You admit that once we repair the battle cruisernothing will stop Wienis from attacking us. There will no longer be anyalternative in that respect.""Yes"All right. That accounts for the external aspect. Meanwhile, you'llfurther admit that the next election will see a new and hostile Councilthat will force action against Anacreon. There is no alternative there.""Yes.""And as soon as all the alternatives disappear, the crisis has come. Justthe same ?I get worried."He paused, and Verisof waited. Slowly, almost reluctantly, Hardincontinued, "I've got the idea ?just a notion ?that the external andinternal pressures were planned to come to a head simultaneously42. As it is,there's a few months difference. Wienis will probably attack before spring,and elections are still a year off.""That doesn't sound important.""I don't know. It may be due merely to unavoidable errors of calculation,or it might be due to the fact that I knew too much. I tried never to letmy foresight influence my action, but how can I tell? And what effect willthe discrepancy have? Anyway," he looked up, "there's one thing I'vedecided.""And what's that?""When the crisis does begin to break, I'm going to Anacreon. I want to beon the spot ... Oh, that's enough, Verisof. It's getting late. Let's go outand make a night of it. I want some relaxation43.""Then get it right here,' said Verisof. "I don't want to be recognized, oryou know what this new party your precious Councilmen are forming wouldsay. Call for the brandy."And Hardin did ?but not for too much.
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1
apocryphal
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| adj.假冒的，虚假的 | |
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subtlety
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| n.微妙，敏锐，精巧；微妙之处，细微的区别 | |
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acme
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| n.顶点，极点 | |
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homage
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| n.尊敬，敬意，崇敬 | |
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coveted
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| adj.令人垂涎的；垂涎的，梦寐以求的v.贪求，觊觎(covet的过去分词)；垂涎；贪图 | |
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civilian
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| adj.平民的，民用的，民众的 | |
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smite
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| v.重击；彻底击败；n.打；尝试；一点儿 | |
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casually
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| adv.漠不关心地，无动于衷地，不负责任地 | |
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thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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synthetics
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| n.化学合成物 | |
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sordid
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| adj.肮脏的，不干净的，卑鄙的，暗淡的 | |
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materialism
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| n.［哲］唯物主义，唯物论；物质至上 | |
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crimson
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| n./adj.深(绯)红色(的)；vi.脸变绯红色 | |
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remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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wry
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| adj.讽刺的；扭曲的 | |
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squint
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| v. 使变斜视眼, 斜视, 眯眼看, 偏移, 窥视; n. 斜视, 斜孔小窗; adj. 斜视的, 斜的 | |
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egregious
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| adj.非常的，过分的 | |
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folly
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| n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话 | |
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transparent
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| adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的 | |
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dealing
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| n.经商方法，待人态度 | |
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foaming
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| adj.布满泡沫的；发泡 | |
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conceal
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽 | |
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grumbling
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| adj. 喃喃鸣不平的, 出怨言的 | |
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obedience
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| n.服从，顺从 | |
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gall
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| v.使烦恼，使焦躁，难堪；n.磨难 | |
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fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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esteem
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| n.尊敬，尊重；vt.尊重，敬重；把…看作 | |
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obliquely
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| adv.斜； 倾斜； 间接； 不光明正大 | |
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appalling
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| adj.骇人听闻的，令人震惊的，可怕的 | |
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vault
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| n.拱形圆顶，地窖，地下室 | |
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recording
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| n.录音，记录 | |
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ironical
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| adj.讽刺的，冷嘲的 | |
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psychology
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| n.心理，心理学，心理状态 | |
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deviation
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| n.背离，偏离；偏差，偏向；离题 | |
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speculation
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| n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机 | |
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deviating
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| v.偏离，越轨( deviate的现在分词 ) | |
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grudging
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| adj.勉强的，吝啬的 | |
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molecules
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| 分子( molecule的名词复数 ) | |
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afterward
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| adv.后来；以后 | |
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foresight
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| n.先见之明，深谋远虑 | |
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simultaneously
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| adv.同时发生地，同时进行地 | |
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relaxation
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| n.松弛，放松；休息；消遣；娱乐 | |
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