Chapter 19

Cleon I had finished dinner, which, unfortunately, had been a formal state affair. It meant he had to spend time talking to various officials--not one of whom he knew or recognized--in set phrases designed to give each one his stroke and so activate¹ his loyalty² to the crown. It also meant that his food reached him but lukewarm and had cooled still further before he could eat it. There had to be some way of avoiding that. Eat first, perhaps, on his own or with one or two close intimates with whom he could relax and then attend a formal dinner at which he could merely be served an imported pear. He loved pears. But would that offend the guests who would take the Emperors refusal to eat with them as a studied insult.
His wife, of course, was useless in this respect, for her presence would but further exacerbate³ his unhappiness. He had married her because she was a member of a powerful dissident family who could be expected to mute their dissidence as a result of the union, though Cleon devoutly⁴ hoped that she, at least, would not do so. He was perfectly⁵ content to have her live her own life in her own quarters except for the necessary efforts to initiate⁶ an heir, for, to tell the truth, he didnt like her. And now that an heir had come, he could ignore her completely.
He chewed at one of a handful of nuts he had pocketed from the table on leaving and said, "Demerzel!"
"Sire?"
Demerzel always appeared at once when Cleon called. Whether he hovered⁷ constantly in earshot at the door or he drew close because the instinct of subservience⁸ somehow alerted him to a possible call in a few minutes, he did appear and that, Cleon thought idly, was the important thing. Of course, there were those times when Demerzel had to be away on Imperial business. Cleon always hated those absences. They made him uneasy.
"What happened to that mathematician⁹? I forget his name."
Demerzel, who surely knew the man the Emperor had in mind, but who perhaps wanted to study how much the Emperor remembered, said, "What mathematician is it that you have in mind, Sire?"
Cleon waved an impatient hand. "The fortune-teller. The one who came to see me."
"The one we sent for?"
"Well, sent for, then. He did come to see me. You were going to take care of the matter, as I recall. Have you?"
Demerzel cleared his throat. "Sire, I have tried to."
"Ah! That means you have failed, doesnt it?" In a way, Cleon felt pleased. Demerzel was the only one of his Ministers who made no bones of failure. The others never admitted failure, and since failure was nevertheless common, it became difficult to correct. Perhaps Demerzel could afford to be more honest because he failed so rarely. If it werent for Demerzel, Cleon thought sadly, he might never know what honesty sounded like. Perhaps no Emperor ever knew and perhaps that was one of the reasons that the Empire-- He pulled his thoughts away and, suddenly nettled¹⁰ at the others silence and wanting an admission, since he had just admired Demerzels honesty in his mind, said sharply, "Well, you have failed, havent you?"
Demerzel did not flinch¹¹. "Sire, I have failed in part. I felt that to have him here on Trantor where things are--difficult might present us with problems. It was easy to consider that he might be more conveniently placed on his home planet. He was planning to return to that home planet the next day, but there was always the chance of complications--of his deciding to remain on Trantor--so I arranged to have two young alley¹² men place him on his plane that very day."
"Do you know alley men, Demerzel?" Cleon was amused.
"It is important, Sire, to be able to reach many kinds of people, for each type has its own variety of use--alley men not the least. As it happens, they did not succeed."
"And why was that?"
"Oddly enough, Seldon was able to fight them off."
"The mathematician could fight?"
"Apparently¹³, mathematics and the martial¹⁴ arts are not necessarily mutually exclusive. I found out, not soon enough, that his world, Helicon, is noted¹⁵ for it--martial arts, not mathematics. The fact that I did not learn this earlier was indeed a failure, Sire, and I can only crave¹⁶ your pardon."
"But then, I suppose the mathematician left for his home planet the next day as he had planned."
"Unfortunately, the episode backfired. Taken aback by the event, he decided¹⁷ not to return to Helicon, but remained on Trantor. He may have been advised to this effect by a passerby¹⁸ who happened to be present on the occasion of the fight. That was another unlooked-for complication."
The Emperor Cleon frowned. "Then our mathematician--what is his name?"
"Seldon, Sire. Hari Seldon."
"Then this Seldon is out of reach."
"In a sense, Sire. We have traced his movements and he is now at Streeling University. While there, he is untouchable."
The Emperor scowled¹⁹ and reddened slightly. "I am annoyed at that word--untouchable. There should be nowhere in the Empire my hand cannot reach. Yet here, on my own world, you tell me someone can be untouchable. Insufferable!"
"Your hand can reach to the University, Sire. You can send in your army and pluck out this Seldon at any moment you desire. To do so, however, is ... undesirable²⁰."
"Why dont you say impractical²¹, Demerzel. You sound like the mathematician speaking of his fortune-telling. It is possible, but impractical. I am an Emperor who finds everything possible, but very little practical. Remember, Demerzel, if reaching Seldon is not practical, reaching you is entirely²² so."
Eto Demerzel let this last comment pass. The "man behind the throne" knew his importance to the Emperor, he had heard such threats before. He waited in silence while the Emperor glowered²³.
Drumming his fingers against the arm of his chair, Cleon asked, ... Well then, what good is this mathematician to us if he is at Streeling University?"
"It may perhaps be possible, Sire, to snatch use out of adversity. At the University, he may decide to work on his psychohistory."
"Even though he insists its impractical?"
"He may be wrong and he may find out that he is wrong. And if he finds out that he is wrong, we would find some way of getting him out of the University. It is even possible he would join us voluntarily under those circumstances."
The Emperor remained lost in thought for a while, then said, "And what if someone else plucks him out before we do?"
"Who would want to do that, Sire?" asked Demerzel softy.
"The Mayor of Wye, for one," said Cleon, suddenly shouting. "He dreams still of taking over the Empire."
"Old age has drawn²⁴ his fangs²⁵, Sire."
"Dont you believe it, Demerzel."
"And we have no reason for supposing he has any interest in Seldon or even knows of him, Sire."
"Come on, Demerzel. If we heard of the paper, so could Wye. If we see the possible importance of Seldon, so could Wye."
"If that should happen," said Demerzel, "or even if there should be a reasonable chance of its happening, then we would be justified²⁶ in taking strong measures."
"How strong?"
Demerzel said cautiously, "It might be argued that rather than have Seldon in Wyes hands, we might prefer to have him in no ones hands. To have him cease to exist, Sire."
"To have him killed, you mean," said Cleon.
"If you wish to put it that way, Sire," said Demerzel.

1 activate   

vt.使活动起来，使开始起作用

参考例句：

• We must activate the youth to study.我们要激励青年去学习。
• These push buttons can activate the elevator.这些按钮能启动电梯。

2 loyalty   

n.忠诚，忠心

参考例句：

• She told him the truth from a sense of loyalty.她告诉他真相是出于忠诚。
• His loyalty to his friends was never in doubt.他对朋友的一片忠心从来没受到怀疑。

3 exacerbate   

v.恶化，增剧，激怒，使加剧

参考例句：

• WMO says a warming climate can exacerbate air pollution.世界气象组织说，气候变暖可能会加剧空气污染。
• In fact efforts will merely exacerbate the current problem.实际上努力只会加剧当前的问题。

4 devoutly   

adv.虔诚地，虔敬地，衷心地

参考例句：

• She was a devoutly Catholic. 她是一个虔诚地天主教徒。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This was not a boast, but a hope, at once bold and devoutly humble. 这不是夸夸其谈，而是一个即大胆而又诚心、谦虚的希望。 来自辞典例句

5 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

6 initiate   

vt.开始，创始，发动；启蒙，使入门；引入

参考例句：

• A language teacher should initiate pupils into the elements of grammar.语言老师应该把基本语法教给学生。
• They wanted to initiate a discussion on economics.他们想启动一次经济学讨论。

7 hovered   

鸟( hover的过去式和过去分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫

参考例句：

• A hawk hovered over the hill. 一只鹰在小山的上空翱翔。
• A hawk hovered in the blue sky. 一只老鹰在蓝色的天空中翱翔。

8 subservience   

n.有利，有益；从属（地位），附属性；屈从，恭顺；媚态

参考例句：

• I could not make subservience an automatic part of my behavior. 我不能把阿谀奉承化为我自动奉行的处世之道。 来自辞典例句
• All his actions were in subservience to the general plan. 他的所有行为对整体计划有帮助。 来自互联网

9 mathematician   

n.数学家

参考例句：

• The man with his back to the camera is a mathematician.背对着照相机的人是位数学家。
• The mathematician analyzed his figures again.这位数学家再次分析研究了他的这些数字。

10 nettled   

v.拿荨麻打，拿荨麻刺（nettle的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• My remarks clearly nettled her. 我的话显然惹恼了她。
• He had been growing nettled before, but now he pulled himself together. 他刚才有些来火，但现在又恢复了常态。 来自英汉文学 - 金银岛

11 flinch   

v.畏缩，退缩

参考例句：

• She won't flinch from speaking her mind.她不会讳言自己的想法。
• We will never flinch from difficulties.我们面对困难决不退缩。

12 alley   

n.小巷，胡同；小径，小路

参考例句：

• We live in the same alley.我们住在同一条小巷里。
• The blind alley ended in a brick wall.这条死胡同的尽头是砖墙。

13 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

14 martial   

adj.战争的，军事的，尚武的，威武的

参考例句：

• The sound of martial music is always inspiring.军乐声总是鼓舞人心的。
• The officer was convicted of desertion at a court martial.这名军官在军事法庭上被判犯了擅离职守罪。

15 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

16 crave   

vt.渴望得到，迫切需要，恳求，请求

参考例句：

• Many young children crave attention.许多小孩子渴望得到关心。
• You may be craving for some fresh air.你可能很想呼吸呼吸新鲜空气。

17 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

18 passerby   

n.过路人，行人

参考例句：

• We had our photo taken by a passerby.我们请了一个路人为我们照相。
• A passerby heard her screams and rushed to her aid.一个过路人听见她的尖叫，便冲过去帮助她。

19 scowled   

怒视，生气地皱眉( scowl的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He scowled his displeasure. 他满脸嗔色。
• The teacher scowled at his noisy class. 老师对他那喧闹的课堂板着脸。

20 undesirable   

adj.不受欢迎的，不良的，不合意的，讨厌的；n.不受欢迎的人，不良分子

参考例句：

• They are the undesirable elements among the employees.他们是雇员中的不良分子。
• Certain chemicals can induce undesirable changes in the nervous system.有些化学物质能在神经系统中引起不良变化。

21 impractical   

adj.不现实的，不实用的，不切实际的

参考例句：

• He was hopelessly impractical when it came to planning new projects.一到规划新项目，他就完全没有了实际操作的能力。
• An entirely rigid system is impractical.一套完全死板的体制是不实际的。

22 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

23 glowered   

v.怒视( glower的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He just glowered without speaking. 他一言不发地皱眉怒视我。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He glowered at me but said nothing. 他怒视着我，却一言不发。 来自辞典例句

24 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

25 fangs   

n.（尤指狗和狼的）长而尖的牙( fang的名词复数 )；（蛇的）毒牙；罐座

参考例句：

• The dog fleshed his fangs in the deer's leg. 狗用尖牙咬住了鹿腿。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Dogs came lunging forward with their fangs bared. 狗龇牙咧嘴地扑过来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

26 justified   

a.正当的，有理的

参考例句：

• She felt fully justified in asking for her money back. 她认为有充分的理由要求退款。
• The prisoner has certainly justified his claims by his actions. 那个囚犯确实已用自己的行动表明他的要求是正当的。