Chapter 5

The  snow had  ceased, but  it caked  the ground  deeply now and  the sleekground car advanced through the deserted¹ streets with lumbering² effort. Themurky gray light of  incipient³ dawn was cold not only in the poetical⁴ sensebut also  in a very literal  way ?and even in  the then turbulent state ofthe Foundation's  politics, no  one, whether Actionist  or pro-Hardin foundhis  spirits  sufficiently  ardent⁵ to  begin  street  activity that  early.
Yohan Lee did not like that and his grumblings grew audible. "It's going tolook   bad,   Hardin.   They're   going   to   say   you   sneaked   away.""Let them say it if they wish. I've got to get to Anacreon and I want to doit without trouble. Now that's enough, Lee."Hardin leaned back into the cushioned seat and shivered slightly. It wasn'tcold inside  the well-heated  car, but there  was something frigid  about asnow-covered    world,   even    through    glass,   that    annoyed   him.
He  said, reflectively,  "Some day  when we  get around  to it we  ought toweather-condition Terminus. It could be done.""I," replied  Lee, "would  like to see  a few other things  done first. Forinstance, what  about weather-conditioning Sermak? A  nice, dry cell fittedfor  twenty-five   centigrade  all   year  round  would   be  just  fight.""And then  I'd really  need  bodyguards," said Hardin, "and  not just thosetwo,"  He indicated  two  of Lee's  bully-boys  sitting up  front with  thedriver, hard  eyes on the empty streets, ready  hands at their atom blasts.
"You evidently want to stir up civil war.""I  do? There  are  other sticks  in the  fire  and it  won't  require muchstirring, I  can tell you." He  counted off on blunt  fingers, "One: Sermakraised hell  yesterday in the City Council  and called for an impeachment⁶.""He  had a  perfect  right to  do so,"  responded Hardin,  coolly. "Besideswhich, his motion was defeated 206 to 184.""Certainly.  A majority  of twenty-two when  we had  counted on sixty  as aminimum. Don't deny it; you know you did.""It was close," admitted Hardin.
"All  right.  And  two;  after the  vote,  the  fifty-nine  members of  theActionist Party reared upon  their hind⁷ legs and stamped out of the CouncilChambers."Hardin was  silent, and  Lee continued, "And three:  Before leaving, Sermakhowled that you were  a traitor⁹, that you were going to Anacreon to collectyour payment, that the Chamber⁸ majority in refusing to vote impeachment hadparticipated  in the  treason, and  that the  name of  their party  was not'Actionist' for nothing. What does that sound like?""Trouble, I suppose.""And now you're chasing off at daybreak, like a criminal. You ought to facethem,  Hardin  ?and  if  you  have to,  declare  martial  law, by  space!""Violence is the last refuge?
"朞f the incompetent¹⁰. Bah!""All right.  We'll see. Now listen to me  carefully, Lee. Thirty years ago,the Time Vault¹¹ opened,  and on the fiftieth anniversary of the beginning ofthe Foundation, there appeared a Hari Seldon recording¹² to give us our firstidea of what was really going on.""I remember," Lee nodded  reminiscently, with a half smile. "It was the daywe took over the government.""That's  right. It  was the  time of  our first  major crisis. This  is oursecond-and three weeks from  today will be the eightieth anniversary of thebeginning  of  the  Foundation.   Does  that  strike  you  as  in  any  waysignificant?""You mean he's coming again?""I'm  not  finished.  Seldon  never  said  anything  about  returning,  youunderstand, but that's of a piece with his whole plan. He's always done hisbest to  keep all  foreknowledge from us.  Nor is there any  way of tellingwhether the  computer is set for further  openings short of dismantling¹³ theVault ? and it's  probably set to destroy  itself if we were  to try that.
I've been  there every anniversary since the  first appearance, just on thechance. He's  never shown  up, but this  is the first time  since then thatthere's really been a crisis.""Then he'll come.""Maybe. I don't know. However, this is the point. At today's session of theCouncil, just  after you announce that  I have left for  Anacreon, you willfurther  announce,  officially, that  on  March  14th next,  there will  beanother  Hari  Seldon  recording,   containing  a  message  of  the  utmostimportance regarding the recent  successfully concluded crisis. That's veryimportant, Lee.  Don't add anything  more no matter how  many questions areasked."Lee stared. "Will they believe it?""That doesn't  matter. It will confuse  them, which is all  I want. Betweenwondering whether  it is true and  what I mean by it  if it isn't ?they'lldecide to postpone¹⁴ action  till after March 14th. I'll be back considerablybefore then."Lee  looked uncertain.  "But that  'successfully concluded.'  That's bull!""Highly confusing bull. Here's the airport!"The  waiting  spaceship  bulked somberly  in  the  dimness. Hardin  stampedthrough  the snow  toward it  and at  the open  air lock turned  about withoutstretched hand.
"Good-by, Lee. I hate to leave you in the frying pan like this, but there'snot   another  I   can   trust.  Now   please  keep   out  of   the  fire.""Don't worry. The frying pan is hot enough. I'll follow orders." He steppedback, and the air lock closed.

1 deserted   

adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的

参考例句：

• The deserted village was filled with a deathly silence.这个荒废的村庄死一般的寂静。
• The enemy chieftain was opposed and deserted by his followers.敌人头目众叛亲离。

2 lumbering   

n.采伐林木

参考例句：

• Lumbering and, later, paper-making were carried out in smaller cities. 木材业和后来的造纸都由较小的城市经营。
• Lumbering is very important in some underdeveloped countries. 在一些不发达的国家，伐木业十分重要。

3 incipient   

adj.起初的，发端的，初期的

参考例句：

• The anxiety has been sharpened by the incipient mining boom.采矿业初期的蓬勃发展加剧了这种担忧。
• What we see then is an incipient global inflation.因此，我们看到的是初期阶段的全球通胀.

4 poetical   

adj.似诗人的；诗一般的；韵文的；富有诗意的

参考例句：

• This is a poetical picture of the landscape. 这是一幅富有诗意的风景画。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• John is making a periphrastic study in a worn-out poetical fashion. 约翰正在对陈腐的诗风做迂回冗长的研究。 来自辞典例句

5 ardent   

adj.热情的，热烈的，强烈的，烈性的

参考例句：

• He's an ardent supporter of the local football team.他是本地足球队的热情支持者。
• Ardent expectations were held by his parents for his college career.他父母对他的大学学习抱着殷切的期望。

6 impeachment   

n.弹劾；控告；怀疑

参考例句：

• Impeachment is considered a drastic measure in the United States.在美国，弹劾被视为一种非常激烈的措施。
• The verdict resulting from his impeachment destroyed his political career.他遭弹劾后得到的判决毁了他的政治生涯。

7 hind   

adj.后面的，后部的

参考例句：

• The animal is able to stand up on its hind limbs.这种动物能够用后肢站立。
• Don't hind her in her studies.不要在学业上扯她后腿。

8 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

9 traitor   

n.叛徒，卖国贼

参考例句：

• The traitor was finally found out and put in prison.那个卖国贼终于被人发现并被监禁了起来。
• He was sold out by a traitor and arrested.他被叛徒出卖而被捕了。

10 incompetent   

adj.无能力的，不能胜任的

参考例句：

• He is utterly incompetent at his job.他完全不能胜任他的工作。
• He is incompetent at working with his hands.他动手能力不行。

11 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。

12 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

13 dismantling   

（枪支）分解

参考例句：

• The new government set about dismantling their predecessors' legislation. 新政府正着手废除其前任所制定的法律。
• The dismantling of a nuclear reprocessing plant caused a leak of radioactivity yesterday. 昨天拆除核后处理工厂引起了放射物泄漏。

14 postpone   

v.延期，推迟

参考例句：

• I shall postpone making a decision till I learn full particulars.在未获悉详情之前我得从缓作出决定。
• She decided to postpone the converastion for that evening.她决定当天晚上把谈话搁一搁。