Chapter 80

Raych found them a hiding place. It had meant climbing up the metal rungs of a ladder and it had led them to a large loftlike room, the use of which Seldon could not imagine. It was filled with equipment, bulky and silent, the function of which also remained a mystery. The room was reasonably clean and free of dust and a steady draft of air wafted¹ through that prevented the dust from settling and--more important seemed to lessen² the odor.
Raych seemed pleased. "Aint this nice?" he demanded. He still rubbed his shoulder now and then and winced³ when he rubbed too hard.
"It could be worse," said Seldon. "Do you know what this place is used for, Raych?"
Raych shrugged⁴ or began to do so and winced. "I dunno," he said. Then he added with a touch of swagger, "Who cares?"
Dors, who had sat down on the floor after brushing it with her hand and then looking suspiciously at her palm, said, "If you want a guess, I think this is part of a complex that is involved in the detoxification and recycling of wastes. The stuff must surely end up as fertilizer."
"Then," said Seldon gloomily, "those who run the complex will be down here periodically and may come at any moment, for all we know."
"I been here before," said Raych. "I never saw no one here."
"I suppose Trantor is heavily automated⁵ wherever possible and if anything calls for automation it would be this treatment of wastes," said Dors. "We may be safe ... for a while."
"Not for long. Well get hungry and thirsty, Dors."
"I can get food and water for us," said Raych. "Ya got to know how to make out if youre an alley⁶ kid."
"Thank you, Raych," said Seldon absently, "but right now Im not hungry." He sniffed⁷. "I may never be hungry again."
"You will be," said Dors, "and even if you lose your appetite for a while, youll get thirsty. At least elimination⁸ is no problem. Were practically living over what is clearly an open sewer⁹."
There was silence for a while. The light was dim and Seldon wondered why the Trantorians didnt keep it dark altogether. But then it occurred to him that he had never encountered true darkness in any public area. It was probably a habit in an energy-rich society. Strange that a world of forty billion should be energy-rich, but with the internal heat of the planet to draw upon, to say nothing of solar energy and nuclear fusion¹⁰ plants in space, it was. In fact, come to think of it, there was no energy-poor planet in the Empire. Was there a time when technology had been so primitive¹¹ that energy poverty was possible? He leaned against a system of pipes through which--for all he knew--sewage ran. He drew away from the pipes as the thought occurred to him and he sat down next to Dors.
He said, "Is there any way we can get in touch with Chetter Hummin?"
Dors said, "As a matter of fact, I did send a message, though I hated to."
"You hated to?"
"My orders are to protect you. Each time I have to get in touch with him, it means Ive failed."
Seldon regarded her out of narrowed eyes. "Do you have to be so compulsive, Dors? You cant¹³ protect me against the security officers of an entire sector¹⁴."
"I suppose not. We can disable a few--"
"I know. We did. But theyll send out reinforcements ... armored ground-cars ... neuronic cannon¹⁵ ... sleeping mist. Im not sure what they have, but theyre going to throw in their entire armory¹⁶. Im sure of it."
"Youre probably right," said Dors, her mouth tightening¹⁷.
"They wont¹⁸ find ya, lady," said Raych suddenly. His sharp eyes had moved from one to the other as they talked. "They never find Davan."
Dors smiled without joy and ruffled¹⁹ the boys hair, then looked at the palm of her hand with a little dismay. She said, "Im not sure if you ought to stay with us, Raych. I dont want them finding you."
"They wont find me and if I leave ya, wholl get ya food and water and wholl find ya new hidin places, so the Sunbadgersll never know where to look?"
"No, Raych, theyll find us. They dont really look too hard for Davan. He annoys them, but I suspect they dont take him seriously. Do you know what I mean?"
"You mean hes just a pain in the ... the neck and they figure he aint worth chasing all over the lot."
"Yes, thats what I mean. But you see, we hurt two of the officers very badly and theyre not going to let us get away with that. If it takes their whole force--if they have to sweep through every hidden or unused corridor in the sector--theyll get us."
Raych said, "That makes me feel like ... like [natinn]. If I didnt run in there and get zapped, ya wouldnt have taken out them officers and ya wouldnt be in such trouble."
"No, sooner or later, wed¹² have--uh--taken them out. Who knows? We may have to take out a few more."
"Well, ya did it beautiful," said Raych. "If I hadnt been aching all over, I couldve watched more and enjoyed it."
Seldon said, "It wouldnt do us any good to try to fight the entire security system. The question is: What will they do to us once they have us? A prison sentence, surely."
"Oh no. If necessary, well have to appeal to the Emperor," put in Dors.
"The Emperor?" said Raych, wide-eyed. "You know the Emperor?"
Seldon waved at the boy. "Any Galactic citizen can appeal to the Emperor.--That strikes me as the wrong thing to do, Dors. Ever since Hummin and I left the Imperial Sector, weve been evading²⁰ the Emperor."
"Not to the extent of being thrown into a Dahlite prison. The Imperial appeal will serve as a delay--in any case, a diversion--and perhaps in the course of that delay, we can think of something else."
"Theres Hummin."
"Yes, there is," said Dors uneasily, "but we cant consider him the do-it-all. For one thing, even if my message reached him and even if he was able to rush to Dahl, how would he find us here? And, even if he did, what could he do against the entire Dahlite security force?"
"In that case," said Seldon. "Were going to have to think of something we can do before they find us."
Raych said, "If ya follow me, I can keep ya ahead of them. I know every place there is around here."
"You can keep us ahead of one person, but therell be a great many, moving down any number of corridors. Well escape one group and bump into another."
They sat in uncomfortable silence for a good while, each confronting what seemed to be a hopeless situation. Then Dors Venabili stirred and said in a tense, low whisper, "Theyre here. I hear them."
For a while, they strained, listening, then Raych sprang to his feet and hissed²¹, "They comin that way. We gotta go this way."
Seldon, confused, heard nothing at all, but would have been content to trust the others superior hearing, but even as Raych began moving hastily and quietly away from the direction of the approaching tread, a voice rang out echoing against the sewer walls. "Dont move. Dont move."
And Raych said, "Thats Davan. Howd he know we were here?"
"Davan?" said Seldon. "Are you sure?"
"Sure Im sure. Hell help."

1 wafted   

v.吹送，飘送，（使）浮动( waft的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The sound of their voices wafted across the lake. 他们的声音飘过湖面传到了另一边。
• A delicious smell of freshly baked bread wafted across the garden. 花园中飘过一股刚出炉面包的香味。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 lessen   

vt.减少，减轻；缩小

参考例句：

• Regular exercise can help to lessen the pain.经常运动有助于减轻痛感。
• They've made great effort to lessen the noise of planes.他们尽力减小飞机的噪音。

3 winced   

赶紧避开，畏缩( wince的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He winced as the dog nipped his ankle. 狗咬了他的脚腕子，疼得他龇牙咧嘴。
• He winced as a sharp pain shot through his left leg. 他左腿一阵剧痛疼得他直龇牙咧嘴。

4 shrugged   

vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Sam shrugged and said nothing. 萨姆耸耸肩膀，什么也没说。
• She shrugged, feigning nonchalance. 她耸耸肩，装出一副无所谓的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 automated   

a.自动化的

参考例句：

• The entire manufacturing process has been automated. 整个生产过程已自动化。
• Automated Highway System (AHS) is recently regarded as one subsystem of Intelligent Transport System (ITS). 近年来自动公路系统(Automated Highway System,AHS)，作为智能运输系统的子系统之一越来越受到重视。

6 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。

7 sniffed   

v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的过去式和过去分词 )；抽鼻子（尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气）；抱怨，不以为然地说

参考例句：

• When Jenney had stopped crying she sniffed and dried her eyes. 珍妮停止了哭泣，吸了吸鼻子，擦干了眼泪。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The dog sniffed suspiciously at the stranger. 狗疑惑地嗅着那个陌生人。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 elimination   

n.排除，消除，消灭

参考例句：

• Their elimination from the competition was a great surprise.他们在比赛中遭到淘汰是个很大的意外。
• I was eliminated from the 400 metres in the semi-finals.我在400米半决赛中被淘汰。

9 sewer   

n.排水沟，下水道

参考例句：

• They are tearing up the street to repair a sewer. 他们正挖开马路修下水道。
• The boy kicked a stone into the sewer. 那个男孩把一石子踢进了下水道。

10 fusion   

n.溶化；熔解；熔化状态，熔和；熔接

参考例句：

• Brass is formed by the fusion of copper and zinc. 黄铜是通过铜和锌的熔合而成的。
• This alloy is formed by the fusion of two types of metal.这种合金是用两种金属熔合而成的。

11 primitive   

adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物

参考例句：

• It is a primitive instinct to flee a place of danger.逃离危险的地方是一种原始本能。
• His book describes the march of the civilization of a primitive society.他的著作描述了一个原始社会的开化过程。

12 wed   

v.娶，嫁，与…结婚

参考例句：

• The couple eventually wed after three year engagement.这对夫妇在订婚三年后终于结婚了。
• The prince was very determined to wed one of the king's daughters.王子下定决心要娶国王的其中一位女儿。

13 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。

14 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

15 cannon   

n.大炮，火炮；飞机上的机关炮

参考例句：

• The soldiers fired the cannon.士兵们开炮。
• The cannon thundered in the hills.大炮在山间轰鸣。

16 armory   

n.纹章，兵工厂，军械库

参考例句：

• Nuclear weapons will play a less prominent part in NATO's armory in the future.核武器将来在北约的军械中会起较次要的作用。
• Every March the Armory Show sets up shop in New York.每年三月，军械博览会都会在纽约设置展场。

17 tightening   

上紧，固定，紧密

参考例句：

• Make sure the washer is firmly seated before tightening the pipe. 旋紧水管之前，检查一下洗衣机是否已牢牢地固定在底座上了。
• It needs tightening up a little. 它还需要再收紧些。

18 wont   

adj.习惯于；v.习惯；n.习惯

参考例句：

• He was wont to say that children are lazy.他常常说小孩子们懒惰。
• It is his wont to get up early.早起是他的习惯。

19 ruffled   

adj. 有褶饰边的, 起皱的 动词ruffle的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• She ruffled his hair affectionately. 她情意绵绵地拨弄着他的头发。
• All this talk of a strike has clearly ruffled the management's feathers. 所有这些关于罢工的闲言碎语显然让管理层很不高兴。

20 evading   

逃避( evade的现在分词 )； 避开； 回避； 想不出

参考例句：

• Segmentation of a project is one means of evading NEPA. 把某一工程进行分割，是回避《国家环境政策法》的一种手段。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• Too many companies, she says, are evading the issue. 她说太多公司都在回避这个问题。

21 hissed   

发嘶嘶声( hiss的过去式和过去分词 )； 发嘘声表示反对

参考例句：

• Have you ever been hissed at in the middle of a speech? 你在演讲中有没有被嘘过？
• The iron hissed as it pressed the wet cloth. 熨斗压在湿布上时发出了嘶嘶声。