Chapter 53

Hari Seldon rose as the new Mycogenian approached. He hadnt the slightest idea whether that was the appropriate polite behavior, but he had the distinct feeling it would do no harm. Dors Venabili rose with him and carefully kept her eyes lowered.
The other stood before them. He too was an old man, but more subtly aged¹ than Mycelium Seventy-Two. Age seemed to lend distinction to his still-handsome face. His bald head was beautifully round and his eyes were a startling blue, contrasting sharply with the bright all-but-glowing red of his sash.
The newcomer said, "I see you are tribespeople." His voice was more high-pitched than Seldon had expected, but he spoke² slowly, as though conscious of the weight of authority in every word he uttered.
"So we are," said Seldon politely but firmly. He saw no reason not to defer³ to the others position, but he did not intend to abandon his own.
"Your names?"
"I am Hari Seldon of Helicon. My companion is Dors Venabili of Cinna. And yours, man of Mycogen?"
The eyes narrowed in displeasure, but he too could recognize an air of authority when he felt it.
"I am Skystrip Two," he said, lifting his head higher, "an Elder of the Sacratorium. And your position, tribesman?"
"We," said Seldon, emphasizing the pronoun, "are scholars of Streeling University. I am a mathematician⁴ and my companion is a historian and we are here to study the ways of Mycogen."
"By whose authority?"
"By that of Sunmaster Fourteen, who greeted us on our arrival."
Skystrip Two fell silent for a moment and then a small smile appeared on his face and he took on an air that was almost benign⁵. He said, "The High Elder. I know him well."
"And so you should," said Seldon blandly⁶. "Is there anything else, Elder?"
"Yes." The Elder strove to regain⁷ the high ground. "Who was the man who was with you and who hurried away when I approached?"
Seldon shook his head, "We never saw him before, Elder, and know nothing about him. We encountered him purely⁸ by accident and asked about the Sacratorium."
"What did you ask him?"
"Two questions, Elder. We asked if that building was the Sacratorium and if tribespeople were allowed to enter it. He answered in the affirmative to the first question and in the negative to the second."
"Quite so. And what is your interest in the Sacratorium?"
"Sir, we are here to study the ways of Mycogen and is not the Sacratorium the heart and brain of Mycogen?"
"It is entirely⁹ ours and reserved for us."
"Even if an Elder--the High Elder--would arrange for permission in view of our scholarly function?"
"Have you indeed the High Elders permission?"
Seldon hesitated the slightest moment while Dorss eyes lifted briefly¹⁰ to look at him sideways. He decided¹¹ he could not carry off a lie of this magnitude. "No," he said, "not yet."
"Or ever," said the Elder. "You are here in Mycogen by authority, but even the highest authority cannot exert total control over the public. We value our Sacratorium and the populace can easily grow excited over the presence of a tribesperson anywhere in Mycogen but, most particularly, in the vicinity of the Sacratorium. It would take one excitable person to raise a cry of Invasion! and a peaceful crowd such as this one would be turned into one that would be thirsting to tear you apart. I mean that quite literally¹². For your own good, even if the High Elder has shown you kindness, leave. Now!"
"But the Sacratorium--" said Seldon stubbornly, though Dors was pulling gently at his kirtle.
"What is there in the Sacratorium that can possibly interest you?" said the Elder. "You see it now. There is nothing for you to see in the interior."
"There is the robot," said Seldon.
The Elder stared at Seldon in shocked surprise and then, bending to bring his lips close to Seldons ear, whispered harshly, "Leave now or I will raise the cry of Invasion! myself. Nor, were it not for the High Elder, would I give you even this one chance to leave."
And Dors, with surprising strength, nearly pulled Seldon off his feet as she stepped hastily away, dragging him along until he caught his balance and stepped quickly after her.

1 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

2 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

3 defer   

vt.推迟，拖延；vi.(to)遵从，听从，服从

参考例句：

• We wish to defer our decision until next week.我们希望推迟到下星期再作出决定。
• We will defer to whatever the committee decides.我们遵从委员会作出的任何决定。

4 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。

5 benign   

adj.善良的，慈祥的；良性的，无危险的

参考例句：

• The benign weather brought North America a bumper crop.温和的气候给北美带来大丰收。
• Martha is a benign old lady.玛莎是个仁慈的老妇人。

6 blandly   

adv.温和地，殷勤地

参考例句：

• There is a class of men in Bristol monstrously prejudiced against Blandly. 布里斯托尔有那么一帮人为此恨透了布兰德利。 来自英汉文学 - 金银岛
• \"Maybe you could get something in the stage line?\" he blandly suggested. “也许你能在戏剧这一行里找些事做，\"他和蔼地提议道。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

7 regain   

vt.重新获得，收复，恢复

参考例句：

• He is making a bid to regain his World No.1 ranking.他正为重登世界排名第一位而努力。
• The government is desperate to regain credibility with the public.政府急于重新获取公众的信任。

8 purely   

adv.纯粹地，完全地

参考例句：

• I helped him purely and simply out of friendship.我帮他纯粹是出于友情。
• This disproves the theory that children are purely imitative.这证明认为儿童只会单纯地模仿的理论是站不住脚的。

9 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。

10 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

11 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。

12 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。