Breakfast the next morning was served in an alcove1 near the rooms of the captured three and it was luxurious2 indeed. There certainly was a considerable variety to the food and more than enough of everything. Seldon sat at the breakfast table with a mound3 of spicy4 sausages before him, totally ignoring Dors Venabilis gloomy predictions concerning stomachs and colic.
Raych said, "The dame5 ... the Madam Mayor said when she came to see me last night--"
"She came to see you?" said Seldon.
"Yeah. She said she wanted to make sure I was comfortable. She said when she had a chance she would take me to a zoo."
"A zoo?" Seldon looked at Dors. "What kind of zoo can they have on Trantor? Cats and dogs?"
"There are some aboriginal6 animals," said Dors, "and I imagine they import some aboriginals7 from other worlds and there are also the shared animals that all the worlds have--other worlds having more than Trantor, of course. As a matter of fact, Wye has a famous zoo, probably the best on the planet after the Imperial Zoo itself."
Raych said, "Shes a nice old lady."
"Not that old," said Dors, "but shes certainly feeding us well."
"Theres that," admitted Seldon.
When breakfast was over, Raych left to go exploring. Once they had retired8 to Dorss room, Seldon said with marked discontent, "I dont know how long well be left to ourselves. Shes obviously plotted ways of preoccupying9 our time."
Dors said, "Actually, we have little to complain of at the moment. Were much more comfortable here than we were either in Mycogen or Dahl."
Seldon said, "Dors, youre not being won over by that woman, are you?"
"Me? By Rashelle? Of course not. How can you possibly think so?"
"Well, youre comfortable. Youre well-fed. It would be natural to relax and accept what fortune brings."
"Yes, very natural. And why not do that?"
"Look, you were telling me last night about whats going to happen if she wins out. I may not be much of a historian myself, but I am willing to take your word for it and, actually, it makes sense--even to a nonhistorian. The Empire will shatter and its shards10 will be fighting each other for ... for ... indefinitely. She must be stopped."
"I agree," said Dors. "She must be. What I fail to see is how we can manage to do that little thing right at this moment." She looked at Seldon narrowly. "Hari, you didnt sleep last night, did you?"
"Did you?" It was apparent he had not.
Dors stared at him, a troubled look clouding her face. "Have you lain awake thinking of Galactic destruction because of what I said?"
"That and some other things. Is it possible to reach Chetter Hummin?"
This last was said in a whisper.
Dors said, "I tried to reach him when we first had to flee arrest in Dahl. He didnt come. Im sure he received the message, but he didnt come. It may be that, for any of a number of reasons, he just couldnt come to us, but when he can he will."
"Do you suppose something has happened to him?"
"No," said Dors patiently. "I dont think so."
"How can you know?"
"The word would somehow get to me. Im sure of it. And the word hasnt gotten to me."
Seldon frowned and said, "Im not as confident as you are about all this. In fact, Im not confident at all. Even if Hummin came, what can he do in this case? He cant11 fight all of Wye. If they have, as Rashelle claims, the best-organized army on Trantor, what will he be able to do against it?"
"Theres no point in discussing that. Do you suppose you can convince Rashelle--bang it into her head somehow--that you dont have psychohistory?"
"Im sure shes aware that I dont have it and that Im not going to get it for many years--if at all. But shell say I have psychohistory and if she does that skillfully enough, people will believe her and eventually they will act on what she says my predictions and pronouncements are--even if I dont say a word."
"Surely, that will take time. She wont12 build you up overnight. Or in a week. To do it properly, it might take her a year."
Seldon was pacing the length of the room, turning sharply on his heel and striding back. "That might be so, but I dont know. There would be pressure on her to do things quickly. She doesnt strike me as the kind of woman who has cultivated the habit of patience. And her old father, Mannix IV, would be even more impatient. He must feel the nearness of death and if hes worked for this all his life, he would much prefer to see it done a week before his death rather than a week after. Besides--"
Here he paused and looked around the empty room. "Besides what?"
"Well, we must have our freedom. You see, Ive solved the psychohistory problem."
Dorss eyes widened. "You have it! Youve worked it out."
"Not worked it out in the full sense. That might take decades ... centuries, for all I know. But I now know its practical, not just theoretical. I know it can be done so I must have the time, the peace, the facilities to work at it. The Empire must be held together till I--or possibly my successors--will learn how best to keep it so or how to minimize the disaster if it does split up despite us. It was the thought of having a beginning to my task and of not being able to work at it, that kept me up last night."
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1
alcove
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| n.凹室 | |
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luxurious
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| adj.精美而昂贵的；豪华的 | |
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mound
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| n.土墩，堤，小山；v.筑堤，用土堆防卫 | |
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spicy
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| adj.加香料的；辛辣的，有风味的 | |
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dame
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| n.女士 | |
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aboriginal
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| adj.（指动植物）土生的，原产地的，土著的 | |
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aboriginals
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| （某国的）公民( aboriginal的名词复数 )； 土著人特征； 土生动物（或植物） | |
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retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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preoccupying
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| v.占据（某人）思想，使对…全神贯注，使专心于( preoccupy的现在分词 ) | |
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shards
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| n.（玻璃、金属或其他硬物的）尖利的碎片( shard的名词复数 ) | |
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cant
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| n.斜穿，黑话，猛扔 | |
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wont
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| adj.习惯于；v.习惯；n.习惯 | |
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