Chapter 44

Seldon said, "I come from a world which lies out in the open, Sister, as all worlds do but Trantor. Rain comes or doesnt come, the rivers trickle¹ or are in flood, temperature is high or low. That means harvests are good or bad. Here, however, the environment is truly controlled. Harvests have no choice but to be good. How fortunate Mycogen is."
He waited. There were different possible answers and his course of action would depend on which answer came.
She was speaking quite freely now and seemed to have no inhibitions concerning his masculinity, so this long tour had served its purpose. Raindrop Forty-Three said, "The environment is not that easy to control. There are, occasionally, viral infections and there are sometimes unexpected and undesirable² mutations. There are times when whole vast batches³ wither⁴ or are worthless."
"You astonish me. And what happens then?"
"There is usually no recourse but to destroy the spoiled batches, even those that are merely suspected of spoilage⁶. Trays and tanks must be totally sterilized⁷, sometimes disposed of altogether."
"It amounts to surgery, then," said Seldon. "You cut out the diseased tissue."
"Yes."
"And what do you do to prevent such things from happening?"
"What can we do? We test constantly for any mutations that may spring up, any new viruses that may appear, any accidental contamination or alteration⁸ of the environment. It rarely happens that we detect anything wrong, but if we do, we take drastic action. The result is that bad years are very few and even bad years affect only fractional bits here and there. The worst year weve ever had fell short of the average by only 12 percent--though that was enough to produce hardship. The trouble is that even the most careful forethought and the most cleverly designed computer programs cant⁹ always predict what is essentially¹⁰ unpredictable."
(Seldon felt an involuntary shudder¹¹ go through him. It was as though she was speaking of psychohistory--but she was only speaking of the microfarm produce of a tiny fraction of humanity, while he himself was considering all the mighty¹² Galactic Empire in every one of all its activities.) Unavoidably disheartened, he said, "Surely, its not all unpredictable. There are forces that guide and that care for us all."
The Sister stiffened¹³. She turned around toward him, seeming to study him with her penetrating¹⁴ eyes. But all she said was "What?"
Seldon felt uneasy. "It seems to me that in speaking of viruses and mutations, were talking about the natural, about phenomena¹⁵ that are subject to natural law. That leaves out of account the supernatural, doesnt it? It leaves out that which is not subject to natural law and can, therefore, control natural law."
She continued to stare at him, as though he had suddenly begun speaking some distant, unknown dialect of Galactic Standard. Again she said, in half a whisper this time, "Wharf¹⁶."
He continued, stumbling over unfamiliar¹⁷ words that half-embarrassed him. "You must appeal to some great essence, some great spirit, some ... I dont know what to call it."
Raindrop Forty-Three said in a voice that rose into higher registers but remained low, "I thought so. I thought that was what you meant, but I couldnt believe it. Youre accusing us of having religion. Why didnt you say so? Why didnt you use the word?"
She waited for an answer and Seldon, a little confused at the onslaught, said, "Because thats not a word I use. I call it supernaturalism. "
"Call it what you will. Its religion and we dont have it. Religion is for the tribesmen, for the swarming¹⁸ ho--"
The Sister paused to swallow as though she had come near to choking and Seldon was certain the word she had choked over was--"
She was in control again. Speaking slowly and somewhat below her normal soprano, she said, "We are not a religious people. Our kingdom is of this Galaxy¹⁹ and always has been. If you have a religion--"
Seldon felt trapped. Somehow he had not counted on this. He raised a hand defensively. "Not really. Im a mathematician²⁰ and my kingdom is also of this Galaxy. Its just that I thought, from the rigidity²² of your customs, that your kingdom--"
"Dont think it, tribesman. If our customs are rigid²¹, it is because we are mere⁵ millions surrounded by billions. Somehow we must mark ourselves off so that we precious few are not lost among your swarms²³ and hordes²⁴. We must be marked off by our hairlessness, our clothing, our behavior, our way of life. We must know who we are and we must be sure that you tribesmen know who we are. We labor²⁵ in our farms so that we can make ourselves valuable in your eyes and thus make certain that you leave us alone. Thats all we ask of you ... to leave us alone."
"I have no intention of harming you or any of your people. I seek only knowledge, here as everywhere."
"So you insult us by asking about our religion, as though we have ever called on a mysterious, insubstantial spirit to do for us what we cannot do for ourselves."
"There are many people, many worlds who believe in supernaturalism in one form or another ... religion, if you like the word better. We may disagree with them in one way or another, but we are as likely to be wrong in our disbelief as they in their belief. In any case, there is no disgrace in such belief and my questions were not intended as insults."
But she was not reconciled. "Religion!" she said angrily. "We have no need of it."
Seldons spirits, having sunk steadily²⁶ in the course of this exchange, reached bottom. This whole thing, this expedition with Raindrop Forty-Three, had come to nothing.
But she went on to say, "We have something far better. We have history."
And Seldons feelings rebounded²⁷ at once and he smiled.
Book
HAND-ON-THIGH STORY-- ... An occasion cited by Hari Seldon as the first turning point in his search for a method to develop psychohistory. Unfortunately, his published writings give no indication as to what that "story" was and speculations²⁸ concerning it (there have been many) are futile²⁹. It remains³⁰ one of the many intriguing³¹ mysteries concerning Seldons career.
ENCYCLOPEDIA GALACTICA

1 trickle   

vi.淌，滴，流出，慢慢移动，逐渐消散

参考例句：

• The stream has thinned down to a mere trickle.这条小河变成细流了。
• The flood of cars has now slowed to a trickle.汹涌的车流现在已经变得稀稀拉拉。

2 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。

3 batches   

一批( batch的名词复数 )； 一炉； （食物、药物等的）一批生产的量； 成批作业

参考例句：

• The prisoners were led out in batches and shot. 这些囚犯被分批带出去枪毙了。
• The stainless drum may be used to make larger batches. 不锈钢转数设备可用来加工批量大的料。

4 wither   

vt.使凋谢，使衰退，(用眼神气势等)使畏缩；vi.枯萎，衰退，消亡

参考例句：

• She grows as a flower does-she will wither without sun.她象鲜花一样成长--没有太阳就会凋谢。
• In autumn the leaves wither and fall off the trees.秋天，树叶枯萎并从树上落下来。

5 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

6 spoilage   

n.（食物等）变质，损坏

参考例句：

• He was determined to track down the cause of food spoilage.他决心查出食品腐烂的原因。
• The principal methods of avoiding spoilage are the use of pure yeast strains as starters.防止啤酒变坏的主要方法是用纯酵母菌株发酵。

7 sterilized   

v.消毒( sterilize的过去式和过去分词 )；使无菌；使失去生育能力；使绝育

参考例句：

• My wife was sterilized after the birth of her fourth child. 我妻子生完第4个孩子后做了绝育手术。 来自辞典例句
• All surgical instruments must be sterilized before use. 所有的外科手术器械在使用之前，必须消毒。 来自辞典例句

8 alteration   

n.变更，改变；蚀变

参考例句：

• The shirt needs alteration.这件衬衣需要改一改。
• He easily perceived there was an alteration in my countenance.他立刻看出我的脸色和往常有些不同。

9 cant   

n.斜穿，黑话，猛扔

参考例句：

• The ship took on a dangerous cant to port.船只出现向左舷危险倾斜。
• He knows thieves'cant.他懂盗贼的黑话。

10 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

11 shudder   

v.战粟，震动，剧烈地摇晃；n.战粟，抖动

参考例句：

• The sight of the coffin sent a shudder through him.看到那副棺材，他浑身一阵战栗。
• We all shudder at the thought of the dreadful dirty place.我们一想到那可怕的肮脏地方就浑身战惊。

12 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

13 stiffened   

加强的

参考例句：

• He leaned towards her and she stiffened at this invasion of her personal space. 他向她俯过身去，这种侵犯她个人空间的举动让她绷紧了身子。
• She stiffened with fear. 她吓呆了。

14 penetrating   

adj.（声音）响亮的，尖锐的adj.（气味）刺激的adj.（思想）敏锐的，有洞察力的

参考例句：

• He had an extraordinarily penetrating gaze. 他的目光有股异乎寻常的洞察力。
• He examined the man with a penetrating gaze. 他以锐利的目光仔细观察了那个人。

15 phenomena   

n.现象

参考例句：

• Ade couldn't relate the phenomena with any theory he knew.艾德无法用他所知道的任何理论来解释这种现象。
• The object of these experiments was to find the connection,if any,between the two phenomena.这些实验的目的就是探索这两种现象之间的联系，如果存在着任何联系的话。

16 wharf   

n.码头，停泊处

参考例句：

• We fetch up at the wharf exactly on time.我们准时到达码头。
• We reached the wharf gasping for breath.我们气喘吁吁地抵达了码头。

17 unfamiliar   

adj.陌生的，不熟悉的

参考例句：

• I am unfamiliar with the place and the people here.我在这儿人地生疏。
• The man seemed unfamiliar to me.这人很面生。

18 swarming   

密集( swarm的现在分词 )； 云集； 成群地移动； 蜜蜂或其他飞行昆虫成群地飞来飞去

参考例句：

• The sacks of rice were swarming with bugs. 一袋袋的米里长满了虫子。
• The beach is swarming with bathers. 海滩满是海水浴的人。

19 galaxy   

n.星系；银河系；一群(杰出或著名的人物)

参考例句：

• The earth is one of the planets in the Galaxy.地球是银河系中的星球之一。
• The company has a galaxy of talent.该公司拥有一批优秀的人才。

20 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。

21 rigid   

adj.严格的，死板的；刚硬的，僵硬的

参考例句：

• She became as rigid as adamant.她变得如顽石般的固执。
• The examination was so rigid that nearly all aspirants were ruled out.考试很严，几乎所有的考生都被淘汰了。

22 rigidity   

adj.钢性，坚硬

参考例句：

• The rigidity of the metal caused it to crack.这金属因刚度强而产生裂纹。
• He deplored the rigidity of her views.他痛感她的观点僵化。

23 swarms   

蜂群，一大群( swarm的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They came to town in swarms. 他们蜂拥来到城里。
• On June the first there were swarms of children playing in the park. 6月1日那一天，这个公园里有一群群的孩子玩耍。

24 hordes   

n.移动着的一大群( horde的名词复数 )；部落

参考例句：

• There are always hordes of tourists here in the summer. 夏天这里总有成群结队的游客。
• Hordes of journalists jostled for position outside the conference hall. 大群记者在会堂外争抢位置。 来自《简明英汉词典》

25 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

26 steadily   

adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地

参考例句：

• The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。
• Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。

27 rebounded   

弹回( rebound的过去式和过去分词 )； 反弹； 产生反作用； 未能奏效

参考例句：

• The ball rebounded from the goalpost and Owen headed it in. 球从门柱弹回，欧文头球将球攻进。
• The ball rebounded from his racket into the net. 球从他的球拍上弹回网中。

28 speculations   

n.投机买卖( speculation的名词复数 )；思考；投机活动；推断

参考例句：

• Your speculations were all quite close to the truth. 你的揣测都很接近于事实。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• This possibility gives rise to interesting speculations. 这种可能性引起了有趣的推测。 来自《用法词典》

29 futile   

adj.无效的，无用的，无希望的

参考例句：

• They were killed,to the last man,in a futile attack.因为进攻失败，他们全部被杀，无一幸免。
• Their efforts to revive him were futile.他们对他抢救无效。

30 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

31 intriguing   

adj.有趣的；迷人的v.搞阴谋诡计(intrigue的现在分词)；激起…的好奇心

参考例句：

• These discoveries raise intriguing questions. 这些发现带来了非常有趣的问题。
• It all sounds very intriguing. 这些听起来都很有趣。 来自《简明英汉词典》