Two Men and the Mule1
THE MULE It was after the fall of the First Foundation that the constructive2 aspects of the Mule's regime took shape. After the definite break-up at the first Galactic Empire, it was he who first presented history with a unified3 volume at space truly imperial in scope. The earlier commercial empire at the fallen Foundation had been diverse and loosely knit, despite the impalpable backing at the predictions of psycho-history. It was not to be compared with the tightly controlled 'union of Worlds' under the Mule, comprising as it did, one-tenth the volume of the Galaxy4 and one-fifteenth of its population. Particularly during the era of the so-called Search....
ENCYCLOPEDIA5 GALACTICA *
* All quotations6 from the Encyclopedia Galactica here reproduced are taken from the 116th Edition published in 1020 F.E. by the Encyclopedia Galactica Publishing Co., Terminus, with permission of the publishers.
There is much more that the Encyclopedia has to say on the subject of the Mule and his Empire but almost all of it is not germane7 to the issue at immediate8 hand, and most of it is considerably9 too dry for our purposes in any case. Mainly, the article concerns itself at this point with the economic conditions that led to the rise of the "First Citizen of the union" ?the Mule's official title ?and with the economic consequences thereof.
If, at any time, the writer of the article is mildly astonished at the colossal10 haste with which the Mule rose from nothing to vast dominion11 in five years, he conceals12 it. If he is further surprised at the sudden cessation of expansion in favor of a five-year consolidation13 of territory, he hides the fact.
We therefore abandon the Encyclopedia and continue on our own path for our own purposes and take up the history of the Great Interregnum ?between the First and Second Galactic Empires ?at the end of that five years of consolidation.
Politically, the union is quiet. Economically, it is prosperous. Few would care to exchange the peace of the Mule's steady grip for the chaos14 that had preceded, On the worlds that five years previously15 had known the Foundation, there might be a nostalgic regret, but no more. The Foundation's leaders were dead, where useless; and Converted, where useful.
And of the Converted, the most useful was Han Pritcher, now lieutenant16 general.
In the days of the Foundation, Han Pritcher had been a captain and a member of the underground Democratic Opposition17. When the Foundation fell to the Mule without a fight, Pritcher fought the Mule. Until, that is, he was Converted.
The Conversion18 was not the ordinary one brought on by the power of superior reason. Han Pritcher know that well enough. He had been changed because the Mule was a mutant with mental powers quite capable of adjusting the conditions of ordinary humans to suit himself. But that satisfied him completely. That was as it should be. The very contentment with the Conversion was a prime symptom of it, but Han Pritcher was no longer even curious about the matter.
And now that he was returning from his fifth major expedition into the boundlessness20 of the Galaxy outside the union, it was with something approaching artless joy that the veteran spaceman and Intelligence agent considered his approaching audience with the "First Citizen." His hard face, gouged21 out of a dark, grainless wood that did not seem to be capable of smiling without cracking, didn't show it ?but the outward indications were unnecessary. The Mule could see the emotions within, down to the smallest, much as an ordinary man could see the twitch22 of an eyebrow23.
Pritcher left his air car at the old vice-regal hangars and entered the palace grounds on foot as was required. He walked one mile along the arrowed highway ?which was empty and silent. Pritcher knew that over the square miles of Palace grounds, there was not one guard, not one soldier, not one armed man.
The Mule had need of no protection.
The Mule was his own best, all-powerful protector.
Pritcher's footsteps beat softly in his own cars, as the palace reared its gleaming, incredibly light and incredibly strong metallic24 walls before him in the daring, overblown, near-hectic arches that characterized the architecture of the Late Empire. It brooded strongly over the empty grounds, over the crowded city on the horizon.
Within the palace was that one man ?by himself ?on whose inhuman25 mental attributes depended the new aristocracy, and the whole structure of the union.
The huge, smooth door swung massively open at the general's approach, and he entered. He stepped on to the wide, sweeping26 ramp27 that moved upward under him. He rose swiftly in the noiseless elevator. He stood before the small plain door of the Mule's own room in the highest glitter of the palace spires28.
It opened?
Bail29 Channis was young, and Bail Channis was Unconverted. That is, in plainer language, his emotional make-up had been unadjusted by the Mule. It remained exactly as it had been formed by the original shape of its heredity and the subsequent modifications30 of his environment. And that satisfied him, too.
At not quite thirty, he was in marvelously good odor in the capital. He was handsome and quick-witted ?therefore successful in society. He was intelligent and self-possessed ?therefore successful with the Mule. And he was thoroughly31 pleased at both successes.
And now, for the first time, the Mule had summoned him to personal audience.
His legs carried him down the long, glittering highway that led tautly32 to the sponge-aluminum spires that had been once the residence of the viceroy of Kalgan, who ruled under the old emperors; and that had been later the residence of the independent Princes of Kalgan, who ruled in their own name; and that was now the residence of the First Citizen of the union, who ruled over an empire of his own.
Channis hummed softly to himself. He did not doubt what this was all about. The Second Foundation, naturally! That all-embracing bogey33, the mere34 consideration of which had thrown the Mule back from his policy of limitless expansion into static caution. The official term was ?"consolidation."
Now there were rumors35 ?you couldn't stop rumors. The Mule was to begin the offensive once more. The Mule had discovered the whereabouts of the Second Foundation, and would attack The Mule had come to an agreement with the Second Foundation and divided the Galaxy. The Mule had decided36 the Second Foundation did not exist and would take over all the Galaxy.
No use listing all the varieties one heard in the anterooms. It was not even the first time such rumors had circulated. But now they seemed to have more body in them, and all the free, expansive Souls Who thrived on war, military adventure, and political chaos and withered37 in times of stability and stagnant38 peace were joyful39.
Bail Channis was one of these. He did not fear the mysterious Second Foundation. For that matter, he did not fear the Mule, and boasted of it. Some, perhaps, who disapproved40 of one at once so young and so well-off, waited darkly for the reckoning with the gay ladies' man who employed his wit openly at the expense of the Mule's physical appearance and sequestered41 life. None dared join him and few dared laugh, but when nothing happened to him, his reputation rose accordingly.
Channis was improvising42 words to the tune43 he was humming. Nonsense words with the recurrent refrain: "Second Foundation threatens the Nation and all of Creation."
He was at the palace.
The huge, smooth door swung massively open at his approach and he entered. He stepped on to the wide, sweeping ramp that moved upward under him. He rose swiftly in the noiseless elevator. He stood before the small plain door of the Mule's own room in the highest glitter of the palace spires.
It opened?
The man who had no name other than the Mule, and no title other than First Citizen looked out through the one-way transparency of the wall to the light and lofty city on the horizon.
In the darkening twilight44, the stars were emerging, and not one but owed allegiance to him.
He smiled with fleeting45 bitterness at the thought. The allegiance they owed was to a personality few had ever seen.
He was not a man to look at, the Mule ?not a man to look at without derision. Not more than one hundred and twenty pounds was stretched out into his five-foot-eight length. His limbs were bony stalks that jutted46 out of his scrawniness in graceless angularity. And his thin face was nearly drowned out in the prominence47 of a fleshy beak48 that thrust three inches outward.
Only his eyes played false with the general farce49 that was the Mule. In their softness ?a strange softness for the Galaxy's greatest conqueror50 ?sadness was never entirely51 subdued52.
In the city was to be found all the gaiety of a luxurious53 capital on a luxurious world. He might have established his capital on the Foundation, the strongest of his now-conquered enemies, but it was far out on the very rim19 of the Galaxy. Kalgan, more centrally located, with a long tradition as aristocracy's playground, suited him better ?strategically.
But in its traditional gaiety, enhanced by unheard-of prosperity, he found no peace.
They feared him and obeyed him and, perhaps, even respected him ?from a goodly distance. But who could look at him without contempt? Only those he had Converted. And of what value was their artificial loyalty54? It lacked flavor. He might have adopted titles, and enforced ritual and invented elaborations, but even that would have changed nothing. Better ?or at least, no worse ?to be simply the First Citizen ?and to hide himself.
There was a sudden surge of rebellion within him ?strong and brutal55. Not a portion of the Galaxy must be denied him, For five years he had remained silent and buried here on Kalgan because of the eternal, misty56, space-ridden menace of the unseen, unheard, unknown Second Foundation. He was thirty-two. Not old ?but he felt old. His body, whatever its mutant mental powers, was physically57 weak.
Every star! Every star he could see ?and every star he couldnt see. It must all be his!
Revenge on all. On a humanity of which he wasn't a part. On a Galaxy in which he didn't fit.
The cool, overhead warning light flickered58. He could follow the progress of the man who had entered the palace, and simultaneously59, as though his mutant sense had been enhanced and sensitized in the lonely twilight, he felt the wash of emotional content touch the fibers60 of his brain.
He recognized the identity without an effort. It was Pritcher.
Captain Pritcher of the one-time Foundation. The Captain Pritcher who had been ignored and passed over by the bureaucrats61 of that decaying government. The Captain Pritcher whose job as petty spy he had wiped out and whom he had lifted from its slime. The Captain Pritcher whom he had made first colonel and then general; whose scope of activity he had made Galaxywide.
The now-General Pritcher who was, iron rebel though he began, completely loyal. And yet with all that, not loyal because of benefits gained, not loyal out of gratitude62, not loyal as a fair return ?but loyal only through the artifice63 of Conversion.
The Mule was conscious of that strong unalterable surface layer of loyalty and love that colored every swirl64 and eddy65 of the emotionality of Han Pritcher ?the layer he had himself implanted five years before. Far underneath66 there were the original traces of stubborn individuality, impatience67 of rule, idealism ?but even he, himself, could scarcely detect them any longer.
The door behind him opened, and he turned. The transparency of the wall faded to opacity68, and the purple evening light gave way to the whitely blazing glow of atomic power.
Han Pritcher took the seat indicated. There was neither bowing, nor kneeling nor the use of honorifics in private audiences with the Mule. The Mule was merely "First Citizen." He was addressed as "sir." You sat in his presence, and you could turn your back on him if it so happened that you did.
To Han Pritcher this was all evidence of the sure and confident power of the man. He was warmly satisfied with it.
The Mule said: "Your final report reached me yesterday. I can't deny that I find it somewhat depressing, Pritcher."
The general's eyebrows69 closed upon each other: "Yes, I imagine so ?but I don't see to what other conclusions I could have come. There just isn't any Second Foundation, sir."
Arid70 the Mule considered and then slowly shook his head, as he had done many a time before: "There's the evidence of Ebling Mis. There is always the evidence of Ebling Mis."
It was not a new story. Pritcher said without qualification: "Mis may have been the greatest psychologist of the Foundation, but he was a baby compared to Hari Seldon. At the time he was investigating Seldon's works, he was under the artificial stimulation71 of your own brain control. You may have pushed him too far. He might have been wrong. Sir, he must have been wrong."
The Mule sighed, his lugubrious72 face thrust forward on its thin stalk of a neck. "If only he had lived another minute. He was on the point of telling me where the Second Foundation was. He knew, I'm telling you. I need not have retreated. I need not have waited and waited. So much time lost. Five years gone for nothing."
Pritcher could not have been censorious over the weak longing73 of his ruler; his controlled mental make-up forbade that. He was disturbed instead; vaguely74 uneasy. He said: "But what alternative explanation can there possibly be, sir? Five times I've gone out. You yourself have plotted the routes. And I've left no asteroid75 unturned. It was three hundred years ago that Hari Seldon of the old Empire supposedly established two Foundations to act as nuclei76 of a new Empire to replace the dying old one. One hundred years after Seldon, the First Foundation ?the one we know so well ?was known through all the Periphery77. One hundred fifty years after Seldon ?at the time of the last battle with the old Empire ?it was known throughout the Galaxy. And now it's three hundred years ?and where should this mysterious Second be? In no eddy of the Galactic stream has it been heard of."
"Ebling Mis said it kept itself secret. Only secrecy78 can turn its weakness to strength."
"Secrecy as deep as this is past possibility without nonexistence as well."
The Mule looked up, large eyes sharp and wary79. "No. It does exist." A bony finger pointed80 sharply. "There is going to be a slight change in tactics."
Pritcher frowned. "You plan to leave yourself? I would scarcely advise it."
"No, of course not. You will have to go out once again ?one last time. But with another in joint81 command."
There was a silence, and Pritcher's voice was hard, "Who, Sir?"
"There's a young man here in Kalgan. Bail Channis."
"I've never heard of him, Sir."
"No, I imagine not. But he's got an agile82 mind, he's ambitious ?and he's not Converted."
Pritcher's long jaw83 trembled for a bare instant, "I fail to see the advantage in that."
"There is one, Pritcher. You're a resourceful and experienced man. You have given me good service. But you are Converted. Your motivation is simply an enforced and helpless loyalty to myself. When you lost your native motivations, you lost something, some subtle drive, that I cannot possibly replace."
"I don't feel that, Sir," said Pritcher grimly. "I recall myself quite well as I was in the days when I was an enemy of yours. I feel none the inferior."
"Naturally not," and the Mule抯 mouth twitched84 into a smile. "Your judgment85 in this matter is scarcely objective. This Channis, now, is ambitious ?for himself. He is completely trustworthy ?out of no loyalty but to himself. He knows that it is on my coattails that he rides and he would do anything to increase my power that the ride might be long and far and that the destination might be glorious. If he goes with you, there is just that added push behind his seeking ?that push for himself.'
"Then," said Pritcher. still insistent87, "why not remove my own Conversion, if you think that will improve me. I can scarcely be mistrusted, now."
"That never, Pritcher. While you are within arm's reach, or blaster reach, of myself, you will remain firmly held in Conversion. If I were to release you this minute, I would be dead the next."
The general's nostrils88 flared89. "I am hurt that you should think so."
"I don't mean to hurt you, but it is impossible for you to realize what your feelings would be if free to form themselves along the lines of your natural motivation. The human mind resents control. The ordinary human hypnotist cannot hypnotize a person against his will for that reason. I can, because I'm not a hypnotist, and, believe me, Pritcher, the resentment90 that you cannot show and do not even know you possess is something I wouldn't want to face."
Pritcher's head bowed. Futility91 wrenched92 him and left him gray and haggard inside. He said with an effort, "But how can you trust this man. I mean, completely ?as you can trust me in my Conversion."
"Well, I suppose I can't entirely. That is why you must go with him. You see, Pritcher," and the Mule buried himself in the large armchair against the soft back of which he looked like an angularly animated94 toothpick, "if he should stumble on the Second Foundation ?if it should occur to him that an arrangement with them might be more profitable than with me ?You understand?"
A profoundly satisfied light blazed in Pritcher's eyes. "That is better, Sir."
"Exactly. But remember, he must have a free rein95 as far as possible."
"Certainly."
"And ... uh ... Pritcher. The young man is handsome, pleasant and extremely charming. Don't let him fool you. He's a dangerous and unscrupulous character. Don't get in his way unless you're prepared to meet him properly. That's all."
The Mule was alone again. He let the lights die and the wall before him kicked to transparency again. The sky was purple now, and the city was a smudge of light on the horizon.
What was it all for? And if he were the master of all there was ?what then? Would it really stop men like Pritcher. from being straight and tall, self-confident, strong? Would Bail Channis lose his looks? Would he himself be other than he was?
He cursed his doubts. What was he really after?
The cool, overhead warning light flickered. He could follow the progress of the man who had entered the palace and, almost against his will, he felt the soft wash of emotional content touch the fibers of his brain.
He recognized the identity without an effort. It was Channis. Here the Mule saw no uniformity, but the primitive96 diversity of a strong mind, untouched and unmolded except by the manifold disorganizations of the Universe. It writhed97 in floods and waves. There was caution on the surface, a thin, smoothing effect, but with touches of cynical98 ribaldry in the hidden eddies99 of it. And underneath there was the strong flow of self-interest and self-love, with a gush100 of cruel humor here and there, and a deep, still pool of ambition underlying101 all.
The Mule felt that he could reach out and dam the current, wrench93 the pool from its basin and turn it in another course, dry up one flow and begin another. But what of it? If he could bend Channis?curly head in the profoundest adoration102, would that change his own grotesquerie that made him shun103 the day and love the night, that made him a recluse104 inside an empire that was unconditionally105 big?
The door behind him opened, and he turned. The transparency of the wall faded to opacity, and the darkness gave way to the whitely blazing artifice of atomic power.
Bail Channis sat down lightly and said: "This is a not-quite-unexpected honor, sir."
The Mule rubbed his proboscis106 with all four fingers at once and sounded a bit irritable107 in his response. "Why so, young man?"
"A hunch108, I suppose. Unless I want to admit that I've been listening to rumors."
"Rumors? Which one of the several dozen varieties are you referring to?"
"Those that say a renewal109 of the Galactic Offensive is being planned. It is a hope with me that such is true and that I might play an appropriate part."
"Then you think there is a Second Foundation?"
"Why not? It would make things so much more interesting."
"And you find interest in it as well?"
"Certainly. In the very mystery of it! What better subject could you find for conjecture110? The newspaper supplements are full of nothing else lately ?which is probably significant. The Cosmos111 had one of its feature writers compose a weirdie about a world consisting of beings of pure mind ?the Second Foundation, you see ?who had developed mental force to energies large enough to compete with any known to physical science. Spaceships could be blasted light-years away, planets could be turned out of their orbits--"
"Interesting. Yes. But do you have any notions on the subject? Do you subscribe112 to this mind-power notion?'
"Galaxy, no! Do you think creatures like that would stay on their own planet? No, sir. I think the Second Foundation remains113 hidden because it is weaker than we think."
"In that case, I can explain myself very easily. How would you like to head an expedition to locate the Second Foundation?"
For a moment Channis seemed caught up by the sudden rush of events at just a little greater speed than he was prepared for. His tongue had apparently114 skidded115 to a halt in a lengthening116 silence.
The Mule said dryly: "Well?"
Channis corrugated117 his forehead. "Certainly. But where am I to go? Have you any information available?"
"General Pritcher will be with you?
"Then I'm not to head it?"
"Judge for yourself when I'm done. Listen, you're not of the Foundation. You're a native of Kalgan, aren't you? Yes. Well, then, your knowledge of the Seldon plan may be vague. When the first Galactic Empire was falling, Hari Seldon and a group of psychohistorians, analyzing118 the future course of history by mathematical tools no longer available in these degenerate119 times, set up two Foundations, one at each end of the Galaxy, in such a way that the economic and sociological forces that were slowly evolving, would make them serve as foci for the Second Empire. Hari Seldon planned on a thousand years to accomplish that ?and it would have taken thirty thousand without the Foundations. But he couldn't count on me. I am a mutant and I am unpredictable by psychohistory which can only deal with the average reactions of numbers. Do you understand?"
"Perfectly120, sir. But how does that involve me?'
"You'll understand shortly. I intend to unite the Galaxy now ?and reach Seldon's thousand-year goal in three hundred. One Foundation ?the world of physical scientists ?is still flourishing, under me. Under the prosperity and order of the union, the atomic weapons they have developed are capable of dealing121 with anything in the Galaxy ?except perhaps the Second Foundation. So I must know more about it. General Pritcher is of the definite opinion that it does not exist at all. I know otherwise."
Channis said delicately: "How do you know, sir?"
And the Mule's words were suddenly liquid indignation: "Because minds under my control have been interfered122 with. Delicately! Subtly! But not so subtly that I couldn't notice. And these interferences are increasing, and hitting valuable men at important times. Do you wonder now that a certain discretion123 has kept me motionless these years?
"That is your importance. General Pritcher is the best man left me, so he is no longer safe. Of course, he does not know that. But you are Unconverted and therefore not instantly detectable124 as a Mule's man. You may fool the Second Foundation longer than one of my own men would ?perhaps just sufficiently125 longer. Do you understand?"
"Um-mmm. Yes. But pardon me, sir, if I question you. How are these men of yours disturbed, so that I might detect change in General Pritcher, in case any occurs. Are they Unconverted again? Do they become disloyal?"
"No. I told you it was subtle. It's more disturbing than that, because its harder to detect and sometimes I have to wait before acting126, uncertain whether a key man is being normally erratic127 or has been tampered128 with. Their loyalty is left intact, but initiative and ingenuity129 are rubbed out. I'm left with a perfectly normal person, apparently, but one completely useless. In the last year, six have been so treated. Six of my best." A corner of his mouth lifted. "They're in charge of training bases now ?and my most earnest wishes go with them that no emergencies come up for them to decide upon."
"Suppose, sir ... suppose it were not the Second Foundation. What if it were another, such as yourself ?another mutant?"
"The planning is too careful, too long range. A single man would be in a greater hurry. No, it is a world, and you are to be my weapon against it."
Channis' eyes shone as he said: "I'm delighted at the chance."
But the Mule caught the sudden emotional upwelling. He said: "Yes, apparently it occurs to you, that you will perform a unique service, worthy86 of a unique reward ?perhaps even that of being my successor. Quite so. But there are unique punishments, too, you know. My emotional gymnastics are not confined to the creation of loyalty alone."
And the little smile on his thin lips was grim, as Channis leaped out of his seat in horror.
For just an instant, just one, flashing instant, Channis had felt the pang130 of an overwhelming grief close over him. It had slammed down with a physical pain that had blackened his mind unbearably131, and then lifted. Now nothing was left but the strong wash of anger.
The Mule said: "Anger won't help ... yes, you're covering it up now, aren't you? But I can see it. So just remember ?that sort of business can be made more intense and kept up. I've killed men by emotional control, and there's no death crueler."
He paused: "That's all!"
The Mule was alone again. He let the lights die and the wall before him kicked to transparency again. The sky was black, and the rising body of the Galactic Lens was spreading its bespanglement across the velvet132 depths of space.
All that haze133 of nebula134 was a mass of stars so numerous that they melted one into the other and left nothing but a cloud of light.
And all to be his?
And now but one last arrangement to make, and he could sleep.
FIRST INTERLUDE
The Executive Council of the Second Foundation was in session. To us they are merely voices. Neither the exact scene of the meeting nor the identity of those present are essential at the point.
Nor, strictly135 speaking, can we even consider an exact reproduction of any part of the session ?unless we wish to sacrifice completely even the minimum comprehensibility we have a right to expect.
We deal here with psychologists ?and not merely psychologists. Let us say, rather, scientists with a psychological orientation136. That is, men whose fundamental conception of scientific philosophy is pointed in an entirely different direction from all of the orientations137 we know. The "psychology138" of scientists brought up among the axioms deduced from the observational habits of physical science has only the vaguest relationship to PSYCHOLOGY.
Which is about as far as I can go in explaining color to a blind man ?with myself as blind as the audience.
The point being made is that the minds assembled understood thoroughly the workings of each other, not only by general theory but by the specific application over a long period of these theories to particular individuals. Speech as known to us was unnecessary. A fragment of a sentence amounted almost to long-winded redundancy. A gesture, a grunt139, the curve of a facial line ?even a significantly timed pause yielded informational juice.
The liberty is taken, therefore, of freely translating a small portion of the conference into the extremely specific word-combinations necessary to minds oriented from childhood to a physical science philosophy, even at the risk of losing the more delicate nuances.
There was one "voice" predominant, and that belonged to the individual known simply as the First Speaker.
He said: "It is apparently quite definite now as to what stopped the Mule in his first mad rush. I can't say that the matter reflects credit upon ... well, upon the organization of the situation. Apparently, he almost located us, by means of the artificially heightened brain-energy of what they call a 'psychologist' on the First Foundation. This psychologist was killed just before he could communicate his discovery to the Mule. The events leading to that killing140 were completely fortuitous for all calculations below Phase Three. Suppose you take over."
It was the Fifth Speaker who was indicated by an inflection of the voice. He said, in grim nuances: "It is certain that the situation was mishandled. We are, of course, highly vulnerable under mass attack, particularly an attack led by such a mental phenomenon as the Mule. Shortly after he first achieved Galactic eminence141 with the conquest of the First Foundation, half a year after to be exact, he was on Trantor. Within another half year he would have been here and the odds142 would have been stupendously against us ?96.3 plus or minus 0.05% to be exact. We have spent considerable time analyzing the forces that stopped him. We know, of course, what was driving him on so in the first place. The internal ramifications143 of his physical deformity and mental uniqueness are obvious to all of us. However, it was only through penetration144 to Phase Three that we could determine ?after the fact ?tbe possibility of his anomalous145 action in the presence of another human being who had an honest affection for him.
"And since such an anomalous action would depend upon the presence of such another human being at the appropriate time, to that extent the whole affair was fortuitous. Our agents are certain that it was a girl that killed the Mule's psychologist ?a girl for whom the Mule felt trust out of sentiment, and whom he, therefore, did not control mentally ?simply because she liked him.
"Since that event ?and for those who want the details, a mathematical treatment of the subject has been drawn146 up for the Central Library ?which warned us, we have held the Mule off by unorthodox methods with which we daily risk SeIdon's entire scheme of history. That is all."
The First Speaker paused an instant to allow the individuals assembled to absorb the full implications. He said: "The situation is then highly unstable147. With Seldon's original scheme bent148 to the fracture point ?and I must emphasize that we have blundered badly in this whole matter, in our horrible lack of foresight149 ?we are faced with an irreversible breakdown150 of the Plan. Time is passing us by. I think there is only one solution left us ?and even that is risky151.
"We must allow the Mule to find us ?in a sense."
Another pause, in which he gathered the reactions, then: "I repeat ?in a sense!"
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mule
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| n.骡子，杂种，执拗的人 | |
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constructive
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| adj.建设的，建设性的 | |
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unified
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| (unify 的过去式和过去分词)； 统一的； 统一标准的； 一元化的 | |
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galaxy
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| n.星系；银河系；一群(杰出或著名的人物) | |
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encyclopedia
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| n.百科全书 | |
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quotations
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| n.引用( quotation的名词复数 )；[商业]行情（报告）；（货物或股票的）市价；时价 | |
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germane
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| adj.关系密切的，恰当的 | |
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immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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considerably
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| adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上 | |
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colossal
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| adj.异常的，庞大的 | |
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dominion
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| n.统治，管辖，支配权；领土，版图 | |
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conceals
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，遮住( conceal的第三人称单数 ) | |
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consolidation
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| n.合并,巩固 | |
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chaos
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| n.混乱，无秩序 | |
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15
previously
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| adv.以前，先前（地） | |
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16
lieutenant
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| n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员 | |
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17
opposition
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| n.反对，敌对 | |
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18
conversion
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| n.转化，转换，转变 | |
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19
rim
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| n.(圆物的)边，轮缘；边界 | |
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20
boundlessness
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| 海阔天空 | |
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21
gouged
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| v.凿( gouge的过去式和过去分词 )；乱要价；（在…中）抠出…；挖出… | |
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22
twitch
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| v.急拉，抽动，痉挛，抽搐；n.扯，阵痛，痉挛 | |
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23
eyebrow
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| n.眉毛，眉 | |
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24
metallic
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| adj.金属的；金属制的；含金属的；产金属的；像金属的 | |
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25
inhuman
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| adj.残忍的，不人道的，无人性的 | |
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26
sweeping
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| adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的 | |
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27
ramp
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| n.暴怒，斜坡，坡道；vi.作恐吓姿势，暴怒，加速；vt.加速 | |
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28
spires
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| n.（教堂的） 塔尖，尖顶( spire的名词复数 ) | |
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29
bail
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| v.舀（水），保释；n.保证金，保释，保释人 | |
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30
modifications
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| n.缓和( modification的名词复数 )；限制；更改；改变 | |
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31
thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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32
tautly
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| adv.绷紧地；紧张地； 结构严谨地；紧凑地 | |
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33
bogey
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| n.令人谈之变色之物；妖怪，幽灵 | |
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34
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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35
rumors
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| n.传闻( rumor的名词复数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷v.传闻( rumor的第三人称单数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷 | |
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36
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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37
withered
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| adj. 枯萎的，干瘪的，（人身体的部分器官）因病萎缩的或未发育良好的 动词wither的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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38
stagnant
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| adj.不流动的，停滞的，不景气的 | |
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39
joyful
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| adj.欢乐的，令人欢欣的 | |
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40
disapproved
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| v.不赞成( disapprove的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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41
sequestered
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|
| adj.扣押的；隐退的；幽静的；偏僻的v.使隔绝，使隔离( sequester的过去式和过去分词 )；扣押 | |
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42
improvising
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| 即兴创作（improvise的现在分词形式） | |
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43
tune
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| n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整 | |
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44
twilight
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| n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期 | |
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45
fleeting
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| adj.短暂的，飞逝的 | |
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46
jutted
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| v.（使）突出( jut的过去式和过去分词 )；伸出；（从…）突出；高出 | |
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47
prominence
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| n.突出；显著；杰出；重要 | |
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48
beak
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| n.鸟嘴，茶壶嘴，钩形鼻 | |
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49
farce
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| n.闹剧，笑剧，滑稽戏；胡闹 | |
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50
conqueror
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| n.征服者，胜利者 | |
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51
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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52
subdued
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| adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词 | |
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53
luxurious
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| adj.精美而昂贵的；豪华的 | |
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54
loyalty
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| n.忠诚，忠心 | |
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55
brutal
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| adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的 | |
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56
misty
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| adj.雾蒙蒙的，有雾的 | |
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57
physically
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| adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律 | |
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58
flickered
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| （通常指灯光）闪烁，摇曳( flicker的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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59
simultaneously
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| adv.同时发生地，同时进行地 | |
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60
fibers
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| 光纤( fiber的名词复数 )； （织物的）质地； 纤维，纤维物质 | |
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61
bureaucrats
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| n.官僚( bureaucrat的名词复数 )；官僚主义；官僚主义者；官僚语言 | |
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62
gratitude
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| adj.感激，感谢 | |
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63
artifice
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| n.妙计，高明的手段；狡诈，诡计 | |
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64
swirl
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| v.(使)打漩，(使)涡卷；n.漩涡，螺旋形 | |
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65
eddy
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| n.漩涡，涡流 | |
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66
underneath
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|
| adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面 | |
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67
impatience
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| n.不耐烦，急躁 | |
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68
opacity
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| n.不透明；难懂 | |
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69
eyebrows
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| 眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 ) | |
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70
arid
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| adj.干旱的；(土地)贫瘠的 | |
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71
stimulation
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| n.刺激，激励，鼓舞 | |
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72
lugubrious
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| adj.悲哀的，忧郁的 | |
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73
longing
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| n.（for）渴望 | |
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74
vaguely
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| adv.含糊地，暖昧地 | |
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75
asteroid
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| n.小行星；海盘车(动物) | |
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76
nuclei
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| n.核 | |
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77
periphery
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|
| n.(圆体的)外面；周围 | |
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78
secrecy
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|
| n.秘密，保密，隐蔽 | |
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79
wary
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| adj.谨慎的，机警的，小心的 | |
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80
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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81
joint
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|
| adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合 | |
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82
agile
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| adj.敏捷的，灵活的 | |
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83
jaw
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| n.颚，颌，说教，流言蜚语；v.喋喋不休，教训 | |
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84
twitched
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| vt.& vi.（使）抽动，（使）颤动（twitch的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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85
judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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86
worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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87
insistent
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|
| adj.迫切的，坚持的 | |
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88
nostrils
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| 鼻孔( nostril的名词复数 ) | |
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89
Flared
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|
| adj. 端部张开的, 爆发的, 加宽的, 漏斗式的 动词flare的过去式和过去分词 | |
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90
resentment
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|
| n.怨愤，忿恨 | |
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91
futility
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| n.无用 | |
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92
wrenched
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| v.（猛力地）扭( wrench的过去式和过去分词 )；扭伤；使感到痛苦；使悲痛 | |
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93
wrench
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| v.猛拧；挣脱；使扭伤；n.扳手；痛苦，难受 | |
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94
animated
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|
| adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的 | |
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95
rein
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| n.疆绳，统治，支配；vt.以僵绳控制，统治 | |
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96
primitive
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|
| adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物 | |
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97
writhed
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| （因极度痛苦而）扭动或翻滚( writhe的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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98
cynical
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|
| adj.(对人性或动机)怀疑的，不信世道向善的 | |
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99
eddies
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| （水、烟等的）漩涡，涡流( eddy的名词复数 ) | |
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100
gush
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| v.喷，涌；滔滔不绝(说话)；n.喷，涌流；迸发 | |
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101
underlying
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|
| adj.在下面的，含蓄的，潜在的 | |
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102
adoration
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| n.爱慕，崇拜 | |
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103
shun
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| vt.避开，回避，避免 | |
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104
recluse
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| n.隐居者 | |
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105
unconditionally
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| adv.无条件地 | |
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106
proboscis
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| n.（象的）长鼻 | |
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107
irritable
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| adj.急躁的；过敏的；易怒的 | |
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108
hunch
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| n.预感，直觉 | |
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109
renewal
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| adj.(契约)延期，续订，更新，复活，重来 | |
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110
conjecture
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| n./v.推测，猜测 | |
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111
cosmos
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| n.宇宙；秩序，和谐 | |
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112
subscribe
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| vi.(to)订阅，订购；同意；vt.捐助，赞助 | |
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113
remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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114
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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115
skidded
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| v.（通常指车辆） 侧滑( skid的过去式和过去分词 )；打滑；滑行；（住在）贫民区 | |
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116
lengthening
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| （时间或空间）延长，伸长( lengthen的现在分词 )； 加长 | |
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117
corrugated
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| adj.波纹的；缩成皱纹的；波纹面的；波纹状的v.（使某物）起皱褶(corrugate的过去式和过去分词) | |
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118
analyzing
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| v.分析；分析( analyze的现在分词 )；分解；解释；对…进行心理分析n.分析 | |
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119
degenerate
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| v.退步，堕落；adj.退步的，堕落的；n.堕落者 | |
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120
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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121
dealing
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| n.经商方法，待人态度 | |
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122
interfered
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| v.干预( interfere的过去式和过去分词 )；调停；妨碍；干涉 | |
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123
discretion
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| n.谨慎；随意处理 | |
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124
detectable
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| adj.可发觉的；可查明的 | |
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125
sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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126
acting
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| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
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127
erratic
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| adj.古怪的，反复无常的，不稳定的 | |
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128
tampered
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| v.窜改( tamper的过去式 )；篡改；（用不正当手段）影响；瞎摆弄 | |
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129
ingenuity
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| n.别出心裁；善于发明创造 | |
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130
pang
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| n.剧痛，悲痛，苦闷 | |
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131
unbearably
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| adv.不能忍受地，无法容忍地；慌 | |
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132
velvet
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| n.丝绒，天鹅绒；adj.丝绒制的，柔软的 | |
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133
haze
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| n.霾，烟雾；懵懂，迷糊；vi.(over)变模糊 | |
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134
nebula
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| n.星云，喷雾剂 | |
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135
strictly
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| adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地 | |
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136
orientation
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| n.方向，目标；熟悉，适应，情况介绍 | |
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137
orientations
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| n.方向( orientation的名词复数 )；定位；（任职等前的）培训；环境判定 | |
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138
psychology
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| n.心理，心理学，心理状态 | |
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139
grunt
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| v.嘟哝；作呼噜声；n.呼噜声，嘟哝 | |
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140
killing
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| n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财 | |
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141
eminence
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| n.卓越，显赫；高地，高处；名家 | |
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142
odds
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| n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别 | |
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143
ramifications
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| n.结果，后果( ramification的名词复数 ) | |
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144
penetration
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| n.穿透，穿人，渗透 | |
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145
anomalous
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| adj.反常的；不规则的 | |
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146
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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147
unstable
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| adj.不稳定的，易变的 | |
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148
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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149
foresight
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| n.先见之明，深谋远虑 | |
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150
breakdown
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| n.垮，衰竭；损坏，故障，倒塌 | |
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151
risky
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| adj.有风险的，冒险的 | |
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