Chapter 27

Hari Seldon rose from his seat in horror. He had never seen Dors look so, her face twisted, her body canted, staggering as though she were drunk.
    "Dors! What happened! What's wrong!"
    He ran to her and grasped her around the waist, even as her body gave way and collapsed¹ in his arms. He lifted her (she weighed more than :m ordinary woman her size would have, but Seldon was unaware² of that ;it the moment) and placed her on the couch.
    "What happened?" he said.
    She told him, gasping³, her voice breaking now and then, while he cradled her head and tried to force himself to believe what was happening.
    "Elar is dead," she said. "I finally killed a human being. -First time. Makes it worse."
    "How badly are you damaged, Dors?"
    "Badly. Elar turned on his device-full-when I rushed him."
    "You can be readjusted."
    "How? There's no one-on Trantor-who knows how. I need I Daneel."
    Daneel. Demerzel. Somehow, deep inside, Hari had always known. His friend-a robot-had provided him with a protector-a robot-to ensure that psychohistory and the seeds of the Foundations were given a chance to take root. The only problem was, Hari had fallen in love with his protector-a robot. It all made sense now. All the nagging⁴ doubts and the questions could be answered. And somehow, it didn't matter one bit.  All that mattered was Dors.
    "We can't let this happen."
    "It must." Dors's eyes fluttered open and looked at Seldon. "Must.  Tried to save you, but missed-vital point-who will protect you now?"
    Seldon couldn't see her clearly. There was something wrong with his eyes. "Don't worry about me, Dors. It's you- It's you-"
    "No. You, Hari. Tell Manella-Manella-I forgive her now. She did better than I. Explain to Wanda. You and Raych-take care of each other."
    "No no no," said Seldon, rocking back and forth⁵. "You can't do this. Hang on, Dors. Please. Please, my love."
    Dors's head shook feebly and she smiled even more feebly. "Goodbye, Hari, my love. Remember always-all you did for me."
    "I did nothing for you."
    "You loved me and your love made me-human."
    Her eyes remained open, but Dors had ceased functioning.
    Yugo Amaryl came storming into Seldon's office. "Hari, the riots are beginning, sooner and harder even than exp-"
    And then he stared at Seldon and Dors and whispered, "What happened?"
    Seldon looked up at him in agony. "Riots! What do I care about riots now? -What do I care about anything now?"


   

1 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

2 unaware   

a.不知道的，未意识到的

参考例句：

• They were unaware that war was near. 他们不知道战争即将爆发。
• I was unaware of the man's presence. 我没有察觉到那人在场。

3 gasping   

adj. 气喘的, 痉挛的 动词gasp的现在分词

参考例句：

• He was gasping for breath. 他在喘气。
• "Did you need a drink?""Yes, I'm gasping!” “你要喝点什么吗？”“我巴不得能喝点！”

4 nagging   

adj.唠叨的，挑剔的；使人不得安宁的v.不断地挑剔或批评（某人）( nag的现在分词 )；不断地烦扰或伤害（某人）；无休止地抱怨；不断指责

参考例句：

• Stop nagging—I'll do it as soon as I can. 别唠叨了—我会尽快做的。
• I've got a nagging pain in my lower back. 我后背下方老是疼。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。