Chapter 21

It was not difficult to see the Emperor. Agis's eyes sparkled as he greeted Hari Seldon. "Hello, old friend," he said. "Have you come to bring me bad luck?"
    "I hope not," said Seldon.
    Agis unhooked the elaborate cloak he was wearing and, with a weary grunt¹, threw it into the corner of the room, saying, "And you lie there."
    He looked at Seldon and shook his head. "I hate that thing. It's as heavy as sin and as hot as blazes. I always have to wear it when I'm being smothered² under meaningless words, standing³ there upright like a carved image. It's just plain horrible. Cleon was born to it and he had the appearance for it. I was not and I don't. It's just my misery⁴ that I'm a third cousin of his on my mother's side so that I qualified⁵ as Emperor. I'd be glad to sell it for a very small sum. Would you like to be Emperor, Hari?"
    "No no, I wouldn't dream of it, so don't get your hopes up," said Seldon, laughing.
    "But tell me, who is this extraordinarily⁶ beautiful young woman you have brought with you today?"
    Wanda flushed and the Emperor said genially⁷, "You mustn't let me embarrass you, my dear. One of the few perquisites⁸ an Emperor possesses is the right to say anything he chooses. No one can object or argue :bout⁹ it. They can only say, `Sire.' However, I don't want any `Sires' from you. I hate that word. Call me Agis. That is not my birth name, either. It's my Imperial name and I've got to get used to it. So .     tell me what's doing, Hari. What's been happening to you since the last time we met?"
    Seldon said briefly¹⁰, "I've been attacked twice."
    The Emperor didn't seem to be sure whether this was a joke or not. He said, "Twice? Really?"
    The Emperor's face darkened as Seldon told the story of the assaults. "I suppose there wasn't a security officer around when those eight men threatened you."
    "Not one."
    The Emperor rose from his chair and gestured at the other two to keep theirs. He walked back and forth¹¹, as though he were trying to work off some anger. Then he turned and faced Seldon.
    "For thousands of years," he began, "whenever something like this happened, people would say, `Why don't we appeal to the Emperor?' or `Why doesn't the Emperor do something?' And, in the end, the Emperor can do something and does do something, even if it isn't always the intelligent thing to do. But I .     Hari, I'm powerless. Absolutely powerless.
    "Oh yes, there is the so-called Commission of Public Safety, but they seem more concerned with my safety than that of the public. It's a wonder we're having this audience at all, for you are not at all popular with the Commission.
    "There's nothing I can do about anything. Do you know what's happened to the status of the Emperor since the fall of the junta¹² and the restoration of-hah!-Imperial power?"
    "I think I do."
    "I'll bet you don't-fully. We've got democracy now. Do you know what democracy is?"
    "Certainly."
    Agis frowned. He said, "I'll bet you think it's a good thing."
    "I think it can be a good thing."
    "Well, there you are. It isn't. It's completely upset the Empire.
    "Suppose I want to order more officers onto the streets of Trantor. In the old days, I would pull over a piece of paper prepared for me by the Imperial Secretary and would sign it with a flourish-and there would be more security officers.
    "Now I can't do anything of the sort. I have to put it before the Legislature. There are seventy-five hundred men and women who instantly turn into uncounted gaggles of geese the instant a suggestion is made. In the first place, where is the funding to come from? You can't have, say, ten thousand more officers without having to pay ten thousand more salaries. Then, even if you agreed to something of the sort, who selects the new security officers? Who controls them?
    "The Legislature shouts at each other, argues, thunders, and lightens, and in the end-nothing is done. Hari, I couldn't even do as small a thing as fix the broken dome¹³ lights you noticed. How much will it cost? Who's in charge? Oh, the lights will be fixed¹⁴, but it can easily take a few months to do it. That's democracy."
    Hari Seldon said, "As I recall, the Emperor Cleon was forever complaining that he could not do what he wished to do."
    "The Emperor Cleon," said Agis impatiently, "had two first-class First Ministers-Demerzel and yourself-and you each labored¹⁵ to keep Cleon from doing anything foolish. I have seventy-five hundred First Ministers, all of whom are foolish from start to finish. But surely, Hari, you haven't come to complain to me about the attacks."
    "No, I haven't. Something much worse. Sire-Agis-I need credits."
    The Emperor stared at him. "After what I've been telling you, Hari? I have no credits. -Oh yes, there're credits to run this establishment, of course, but in order to get them I have to face my seventy-five hundred legislators. If you think I can go to them and say, `I want credits for my friend, Hari Seldon' and if you think I'll get one quarter of what I ask for in anything less than two years, you're crazy. It won't happen."
    He shrugged¹⁶ and said, more gently, "Don't get me wrong, Hari. I would like to help you if I could. I would particularly like to help you for the sake of your granddaughter. Looking at her makes me feel as though I should give you all the credits you would like-but it can't be done."
    Seldon said, "Agis, if I don't get funding, psychohistory will go down the drain-after nearly forty years."
    "It's come to nothing in nearly forty years, so why worry?"
    "Agis," said Seldon "there's nothing more I can do now. The assaults on me were precisely¹⁷ because I'm a psychohistorian. People consider me a predictor of destruction."
    The Emperor nodded. "You're bad luck, Raven¹⁸ Seldon. I told you this earlier."
    Seldon stood up wretchedly. "I'm through, then."
    Wanda stood, too, next to Seldon the top of her head reaching her grandfather's shoulder. She gazed fixedly¹⁹ at the Emperor.
    As Hari turned to go, the Emperor said, "Wait. Wait. There's a little verse I once memorized:
        Ill fares the land
        To hastening ills a prey²⁰
        Where wealth accumulates
        And men decay.' "
    "What does it mean?" asked a dispirited Seldon.
    "It means that the Empire is steadily²¹ deteriorating²² and falling apart, but that doesn't keep some individuals from growing rich. Why not turn to some of our wealthy entrepreneurs? They don't have legislators and can, if they wish, simply sign a credit voucher²³."
    Seldon stared. "I'll try that."

1 grunt   

v.嘟哝；作呼噜声；n.呼噜声，嘟哝

参考例句：

• He lifted the heavy suitcase with a grunt.他咕噜着把沉重的提箱拎了起来。
• I ask him what he think,but he just grunt.我问他在想什麽，他只哼了一声。

2 smothered   

（使）窒息， （使）透不过气( smother的过去式和过去分词 )； 覆盖； 忍住； 抑制

参考例句：

• He smothered the baby with a pillow. 他用枕头把婴儿闷死了。
• The fire is smothered by ashes. 火被灰闷熄了。

3 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

4 misery   

n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦

参考例句：

• Business depression usually causes misery among the working class.商业不景气常使工薪阶层受苦。
• He has rescued me from the mire of misery.他把我从苦海里救了出来。

5 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。

6 extraordinarily   

adv.格外地；极端地

参考例句：

• She is an extraordinarily beautiful girl.她是个美丽非凡的姑娘。
• The sea was extraordinarily calm that morning.那天清晨，大海出奇地宁静。

7 genially   

adv.亲切地，和蔼地；快活地

参考例句：

• The white church peeps out genially from behind the huts scattered on the river bank. 一座白色教堂从散布在岸上的那些小木房后面殷勤地探出头来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• "Well, It'seems strange to see you way up here,'said Mr. Kenny genially. “咳，真没想到会在这么远的地方见到你，"肯尼先生亲切地说。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

8 perquisites   

n.（工资以外的）财务补贴( perquisite的名词复数 )；额外收入；（随职位而得到的）好处；利益

参考例句：

• She gets various perquisites in addition to her wages. 她工资以外，还有各种津贴。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They are rewarded in pay,power and perquisites. 作为报偿，他们得到了钱、权力和额外收益。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 bout   

n.侵袭，发作；一次(阵，回)；拳击等比赛

参考例句：

• I was suffering with a bout of nerves.我感到一阵紧张。
• That bout of pneumonia enfeebled her.那次肺炎的发作使她虚弱了。

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 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。

12 junta   

n.团体；政务审议会

参考例句：

• The junta reacted violently to the perceived threat to its authority.军政府感到自身权力受威胁而进行了激烈反击。
• A military junta took control of the country.一个军政权控制了国家。

13 dome   

n.圆屋顶，拱顶

参考例句：

• The dome was supported by white marble columns.圆顶由白色大理石柱支撑着。
• They formed the dome with the tree's branches.他们用树枝搭成圆屋顶。

14 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

15 labored   

adj.吃力的，谨慎的v.努力争取(for)( labor的过去式和过去分词 )；苦干；详细分析；（指引擎）缓慢而困难地运转

参考例句：

• I was close enough to the elk to hear its labored breathing. 我离那头麋鹿非常近，能听见它吃力的呼吸声。 来自辞典例句
• They have labored to complete the job. 他们努力完成这一工作。 来自辞典例句

16 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》

17 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。

18 raven   

n.渡鸟，乌鸦；adj.乌亮的

参考例句：

• We know the raven will never leave the man's room.我们知道了乌鸦再也不会离开那个男人的房间。
• Her charming face was framed with raven hair.她迷人的脸上垂落着乌亮的黑发。

19 fixedly   

adv.固定地；不屈地，坚定不移地

参考例句：

• He stared fixedly at the woman in white. 他一直凝视着那穿白衣裳的女人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The great majority were silent and still, looking fixedly at the ground. 绝大部分的人都不闹不动，呆呆地望着地面。 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

20 prey   

n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨

参考例句：

• Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。
• The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。

21 steadily   

adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地

参考例句：

• The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。
• Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。

22 deteriorating   

恶化，变坏( deteriorate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The weather conditions are deteriorating. 天气变得越来越糟。
• I was well aware of the bad morale and the deteriorating factories. 我很清楚，大家情绪低落，各个工厂越搞越坏。

23 voucher   

n.收据；传票；凭单，凭证

参考例句：

• The government should run a voucher system.政府应该施行凭证制度。
• Whenever cash is paid out,a voucher or receipt should be obtained.无论何时只要支付现金，就必须要有一张凭据或者收据。