Salvor Hardin compared this large company with the few men attending thefirst appearance of Hari Seldon, thirty years earlier. There had only beensix, then; the five old Encyclopedists ?all dead now ?and himself, theyoung figurehead of a mayor. It had been on that day, that he, with YohanLee's assistance had removed the "figurehead" stigma from his office.
It was quite different now; different in every respect. Every man of theCity Council was awaiting Seldon's appearance. He, himself, was stillmayor, but all-powerful now; and since the utter rout of Anacreon,all-popular. When he had returned from Anacreon with the news of the deathof Wienis, and the new treaty signed with the trembling Lepold, he wasgreeted with a vote of confidence of shrieking1 unanimity2. When this wasfollowed in rapid order, by similar treaties signed with each of the otherthree kingdoms ?treaties that gave the Foundation powers such as wouldforever prevent any attempts at attack similar to that of Anacreon's ?
torchlight processions had been held in every city street of Terminus. Noteven Hari Seldon's name had been more loudly cheered.
Hardin's lips twitched3. Such popularity had been his after the first crisisalso.
Across the room, Sef Sermak and Lewis Bort were engaged in animateddiscussion, and recent events seemed to have put them out not at all. Theyhad joined in the vote of confidence; made speeches in which they publiclyadmitted that they had been in the wrong, apologized handsomely for the useof certain phrases in earlier debates, excused themselves delicately bydeclaring they had merely followed the dictates of their judgement andtheir conscience ?and immediately launched a new Actionist campaign.
Yohan Lee touched Hardin's sleeve and pointed6 significantly to his watch.
Hardin looked up. "Hello there, Lee. Are you still sour? What's wrong now?""He's due in five minutes, isn't he?""I presume so. He appeared at noon last time.""What if he doesn't?""Are you going to wear me down with your worries all your life? If hedoesn't, he won't."Lee frowned and shook his head slowly. "If this thing flops, we're inanother mess. Without Seldon's backing for what we've done, Sermak will befree to start all over. He wants outright7 annexation8 of the Four Kingdoms,and immediate expansion of the Foundation ?by force, if necessary. He'sbegun his campaign, already.""I know. A fire eater must eat fire even if he has to kindle9 it himself.
And you, Lee, have got to worry even if you must kill yourself to inventsomething to worry about."Lee would have answered, but he lost his breath at just that moment ?asthe lights yellowed and went dim. He raised his arm to point to the glasscubicle that dominated half the room and then collapsed10 into a chair with awindy sigh.
Hardin himself straightened at the sight of the figure that now filled thecubicle ? a figure in a wheel chair! He alone, of all those present couldremember the day, decades ago, when that figure had appeared first. He hadbeen young then, and the figure old. Since then, the figure had not aged4 aday, but he himself had in turn grown old.
The figure stared straight ahead, hands fingering a book in its lap.
It said, "I am Hari Seldon!" The voice was old and soft.
There was a breathless silence in the room and Hari Seldon continuedconversationally, "This is the second time I've been here. Of course, Idon't know if any of you were here the first time. In fact, I have no wayof telling, by sense perception, that there is anyone here at all, but thatdoesn't matter. If the second crisis has been overcome safely, you arebound to be here; there is no way out. If you are not here, then the secondcrisis has been too much for you."He smiled engagingly. "I doubt that, however, for my figures show aninety-eight point four percent probability there is to be no significantdeviation from the Plan in the first eighty years.
"According to our calculations, you have now reached domination of thebarbarian kingdoms immediately surrounding the Foundation. Just as in thefirst crisis you held them off by use of the Balance of Power, so in thesecond, you gained mastery by use of the Spiritual Power as against theTemporal.
"However, I might warn you here against overconfidence. It is not my way togrant you any foreknowledge in these recordings11, but it would be safe toindicate that what you have now achieved is merely a new balance-though onein which your position is considerably better. The Spiritual Power, whilesufficient to ward12 off attacks of the Temporal is not sufficient to attackin turn. Because of the invariable growth of the counteracting13 force knownas Regionalism, or Nationalism, the Spiritual Power cannot prevail. I amtelling you nothing new, I'm sure.
"You must pardon me, by the way, for speaking to you in this vague way. Theterms I use are at best mere5 approximations, but none of you is qualifiedto understand the true symbology of psychohistory, and so I must do thebest I can.
"In this case, the Foundation is only at the start of the path that leadsto the Second Galactic Empire. The neighboring kingdoms, in manpower andresources are still overwhelmingly powerful as compared to yourselves.
Outside them lies the vast tangled14 jungle of barbarism that extends aroundthe entire breadth of the Galaxy15. Within that rim16 there is still what isleft of the Galactic Empire ?and that, weakened and decaying though it is,is still incomparably mighty17."At this point, Hari Seldon lifted his book and opened it. His face grewsolemn. "And never forget there was another Foundation established eightyyears ago; a Foundation at the other end of the Galaxy, at Star's End. Theywill always be there for consideration. Gentlemen, nine hundred and twentyyears of the Plan stretch ahead of you. The problem is yours!"He dropped his eyes to his book and flicked18 out of existence, while thelights brightened to fullness. In the babble19 that followed, Lee leaned overto Hardin's ear. "He didn't say when he'd be back."Hardin replied, "I know ?but I trust he won't return until you and I aresafely and cozily dead!"
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1
shrieking
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| v.尖叫( shriek的现在分词 ) | |
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unanimity
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| n.全体一致，一致同意 | |
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twitched
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| vt.& vi.（使）抽动，（使）颤动（twitch的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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aged
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| adj.年老的，陈年的 | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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outright
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| adv.坦率地；彻底地；立即；adj.无疑的；彻底的 | |
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annexation
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| n.吞并，合并 | |
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kindle
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| v.点燃，着火 | |
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collapsed
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| adj.倒塌的 | |
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recordings
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| n.记录( recording的名词复数 )；录音；录像；唱片 | |
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12
ward
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| n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开 | |
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counteracting
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| 对抗，抵消( counteract的现在分词 ) | |
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tangled
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| adj. 纠缠的，紊乱的 动词tangle的过去式和过去分词 | |
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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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rim
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| n.(圆物的)边，轮缘；边界 | |
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mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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flicked
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| （尤指用手指或手快速地）轻击( flick的过去式和过去分词 )； （用…）轻挥； （快速地）按开关； 向…笑了一下（或瞥了一眼等） | |
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babble
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| v.含糊不清地说，胡言乱语地说，儿语 | |
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