Chapter 15

Cleon was no longer quite the handsome young monarch¹ that his holographs portrayed². Perhaps he still was-in the holographs-but his mirror told a different story. His most recent birthday had been celebrated³ with the usual pomp and ritual, but it was his fortieth just the same.
    The Emperor could find nothing wrong with being forty. His health was perfect. He had gained a little weight but not much. His face would perhaps look older, if it were not for the microadjustments that were made periodically and that gave him a slightly enameled⁴ look.
    He had been on the throne for eighteen years-already one of the longer reigns⁶ of the century-and he felt there was nothing that might necessarily keep him from reigning⁷ another forty years and perhaps having the longest reign⁵ in Imperial history as a result.
    Cleon looked at the mirror again and thought he looked a bit better if he did not actualize the third dimension.
    Now take Demerzel-faithful, reliable, necessary, unbearable⁸ Demerzel. No change in him. He maintained his appearance and, as far as Cleon knew, there had been no microadjustments, either. Of course, Demerzel was so close-mouthed about everything. And he had never been young. There had been no young look about him when he first served Cleon's father and Cleon had been the boyish Prince Imperial. And there was no young look about him now. Was it better to have looked old at the start and to avoid change afterward⁹?
    Change!
    It reminded him that he had called Demerzel in for a purpose and not just so that he might stand there while the Emperor ruminated¹⁰. Demerzel would take too much Imperial rumination¹¹ as a sign of old age.
    "Demerzel," he said.
    "Sire?"
    "This fellow Joranum. I tire of hearing of him."
    "There is no reason you should hear of him, Sire. He is one of those phenomena¹² that are thrown to the surface of the news for a while and then disappears."
    "But he doesn't disappear."
    "Sometimes it takes a while, Sire."
    "What do you think of him, Demerzel?"
    "He is dangerous but has a certain popularity. It is the popularity that increases the danger."
    "If you find him dangerous and if I find him annoying, why must we wait? Can't he simply be imprisoned¹³ or executed or something?"
    "The political situation on Trantor, Sire, is delicate-"
    "It is always delicate. When have you told me that it is anything but delicate?"
    "We live in delicate times, Sire. It would be useless to move strongly against him if that would but exacerbate¹⁴ the danger."
    "I don't like it. I may not be widely read-an Emperor doesn't have the time to be widely read-but I know my Imperial history, at any rate. There have been a number of cases of these populists, as they are called, that have seized power in the last couple of centuries. In every case, they reduced the reigning Emperor to a mere¹⁵ figurehead. I do not wish to be a figurehead, Demerzel."
    "It is unthinkable that you would be, Sire."
    "It won't be unthinkable if you do nothing."
    "I am attempting to take measures, Sire, but cautious ones."
    "There's one fellow, at least, who isn't cautious. A month or so ago, a University professor-a professor-stopped a potential Joranumite riot single-handedly. He stepped right in and put a stop to it."
    "So he did, Sire. How did you come to hear of it?"
    "Because he is a certain professor in whom I am interested. How is it that you didn't speak to me of this?"
    Demerzel said, almost obsequiously¹⁶, "Would it be right for me to trouble you with every insignificant¹⁷ detail that crosses my desk?"
    "Insignificant? This man who took action was Hari Seldon."
    "That was, indeed, his name."
    "And the name was a familiar one. Did he not present a paper, some years ago, at the last Decennial Convention that interested us?"
    "Yes, Sire."
    Cleon looked pleased. "As you see, I do have a memory. I need not depend on my staff for everything. I interviewed this Seldon fellow on the matter of his paper, did I not?"
    "Your memory is indeed flawless, Sire."
    "What happened to his idea? It was a fortune-telling device. My flawless memory does not bring to mind what he called it."
    "Psychohistory, Sire. It was not precisely¹⁸ a fortune-telling device but a theory as to ways of predicting general trends in future human history."
    "And what happened to it?"
    "Nothing, Sire. As I explained at the time, the idea turned out to be wholly impractical¹⁹. It was a colorful idea but a useless one."
    "Yet he is capable of taking action to stop a potential riot. Would he have dared do this if he didn't know in advance he would succeed? Isn't that evidence that this-what?-psychohistory is working?"
    "It is merely evidence that Hari Seldon is foolhardy, Sire. Even if the psychohistoric theory were practical, it would not have been able to yield results involving a single person or a single action."
    "You're not the mathematician²⁰, Demerzel. He is. I think it is time I questioned him again. After all, it is not long before the Decennial Convention is upon us once more."
    "It would be a useless-"
    "Demerzel, I desire it. See to it."
    "Yes, Sire."
   

1 monarch   

n.帝王，君主，最高统治者

参考例句：

• The monarch's role is purely ceremonial.君主纯粹是个礼仪职位。
• I think myself happier now than the greatest monarch upon earth.我觉得这个时候比世界上什么帝王都快乐。

2 portrayed   

v.画像( portray的过去式和过去分词 )；描述；描绘；描画

参考例句：

• Throughout the trial, he portrayed himself as the victim. 在审讯过程中，他始终把自己说成是受害者。
• The author portrayed his father as a vicious drunkard. 作者把他父亲描绘成一个可恶的酒鬼。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

3 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

4 enameled   

涂瓷釉于，给…上瓷漆，给…上彩饰( enamel的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The grey walls were divided into artificial paneling by strips of white-enameled pine. 灰色的墙壁用漆白的松木条隔成镶板的模样。
• I want a pair of enameled leather shoes in size 38. 我要一双38号的亮漆皮鞋。

5 reign   

n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势

参考例句：

• The reign of Queen Elizabeth lapped over into the seventeenth century.伊丽莎白王朝延至17世纪。
• The reign of Zhu Yuanzhang lasted about 31 years.朱元璋统治了大约三十一年。

6 reigns   

n.君主的统治( reign的名词复数 )；君主统治时期；任期；当政期

参考例句：

• In these valleys night reigns. 夜色笼罩着那些山谷。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The Queen of Britain reigns, but she does not rule or govern. 英国女王是国家元首，但不治国事。 来自辞典例句

7 reigning   

adj.统治的，起支配作用的

参考例句：

• The sky was dark, stars were twinkling high above, night was reigning, and everything was sunk in silken silence. 天很黑，星很繁，夜阑人静。
• Led by Huang Chao, they brought down the reigning house after 300 years' rule. 在黄巢的带领下，他们推翻了统治了三百年的王朝。

8 unbearable   

adj.不能容忍的；忍受不住的

参考例句：

• It is unbearable to be always on thorns.老是处于焦虑不安的情况中是受不了的。
• The more he thought of it the more unbearable it became.他越想越觉得无法忍受。

9 afterward   

adv.后来；以后

参考例句：

• Let's go to the theatre first and eat afterward. 让我们先去看戏，然后吃饭。
• Afterward,the boy became a very famous artist.后来，这男孩成为一个很有名的艺术家。

10 ruminated   

v.沉思( ruminate的过去式和过去分词 )；反复考虑；反刍；倒嚼

参考例句：

• In the article she ruminated about what recreations she would have. 她在文章里认真考虑了她应做些什么消遣活动。 来自辞典例句
• He ruminated on his defenses before he should accost her father. 他在与她父亲搭话前，仔细地考虑着他的防范措施。 来自辞典例句

11 rumination   

n.反刍，沉思

参考例句：

• EA is the theory of rumination about human EA conception. 生态美学是对人类生态审美观念反思的理论。 来自互联网
• The rumination and distress catalyze the growth process, Dr. 这种反复思考和哀伤反而促进了成长的过程。 来自互联网

12 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。

13 imprisoned   

下狱，监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was imprisoned for two concurrent terms of 30 months and 18 months. 他被判处30个月和18个月的监禁，合并执行。
• They were imprisoned for possession of drugs. 他们因拥有毒品而被监禁。

14 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。

15 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。

16 obsequiously   

参考例句：

• You must guard against those who fawn upon you and bow obsequiously before you! 对阿谀奉承、点头哈腰的人要格外警惕！ 来自《简明英汉词典》
• When everyone saw the mayor, they all bowed obsequiously – he was the only exception. 所有人见到市长都点头哈腰，只有他是个例外。 来自互联网

17 insignificant   

adj.无关紧要的，可忽略的，无意义的

参考例句：

• In winter the effect was found to be insignificant.在冬季，这种作用是不明显的。
• This problem was insignificant compared to others she faced.这一问题与她面临的其他问题比较起来算不得什么。

18 precisely   

adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地

参考例句：

• It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
• The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。

19 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。

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。