Turbor laughed suddenly ?laughed in huge, windy gusts1 that bounced ringingly off the walls and died in gasps2. He shook his head, weakly, and said, "Great Galaxy3, this goes on all night. One after another, we put up our straw men to be knocked down. We have fun, but we don't get anywhere. Space! Maybe all planets are the Second Foundation. Maybe they have no planet, just key men spread on all the planets. And what does it matter, since Darell says we have the perfect defense4?"
Darell smiled without humor. "The perfect defense is not enough, Turbor. Even my Mental Static device is only something that keeps us in the same place. We cannot remain forever with our fists doubled, frantically5 staring in all directions for the unknown enemy. We must know not only how to win, but whom to defeat. And there is a specific world on which the enemy exists."
"Get to the point," said Anthor, wearily. "What's your information?"
"Arcadia," said Darell, "sent me a message, and until I got it, I never saw the obvious. I probably would never have seen the obvious. Yet it was a simple message that went: 'A circle has no end.?Do you see?"
"No," said Anthor, stubbornly, and he spoke6, quite obviously, for the others.
"A circle has no end," repeated Munn, thoughtfully, and his forehead furrowed7.
"Well," said Darell, impatiently, "it was clear to me?What is the one absolute fact we know about the Second Foundation, eh? I'll tell you! We know that Hari Seldon located it at the opposite end of the Galaxy. Homir Munn theorized that Seldon lied about the existence of the Foundation. Pelleas Anthor theorized that Seldon had told the truth that far, but lied about the location of the Foundation. But I tell you that Hari Seldon lied in no particular; that he told the absolute truth.
"But, what is the other end? The Galaxy is a flat, lens-shaped object. A cross section along the flatness of it is a circle, and a circle had no end ?as Arcadia realized. We ?we, the First Foundation ?are located on Terminus at the rim8 of that circle. We are at an end of the Galaxy, by definition. Now follow the rim of that circle and find the other end. Follow it, follow it, follow it, and you will find no other end. You will merely come back to your starting point?
"And there you will find the Second Foundation."
"There?" repeated Anthor. "Do you mean here?"
"Yes, I mean here!" cried Darell, energetically. "Why, where else could it possibly be? You said yourself that if the Second Foundationers were the guardians9 of the Seldon Plan, it was unlikely that they could be located at the so-called other end of the Galaxy, where they would be as isolated10 as they could conceivably be. You thought that fifty parsecs distance was more sensible. I tell you that that is also too far. That no distance at all is more sensible. And where would they be safest? Who would look for them here? Oh, it's the old principle of the most obvious place being the least suspicious.
"Why was poor Ebling Mis so surprised and unmanned by his discovery of the location of the Second Foundation? There he was, looking for it desperately11 in order to warn it of the coming of the Mule12, only to find that the Mule had already captured both Foundations at a stroke. And why did the Mule himself fail. in his search? Why not? If one is searching for an unconquerable menace, one would scarcely look among the enemies already conquered. So the Mind-masters, in their own leisurely13 time, could lay their plans to stop the Mule, and succeeded in stopping him.
"Oh, it is maddeningly simple. For here we are with our plots and our schemes, thinking that we are keeping our secrecy14 ?when all the time we are in the very heart and core of our enemy's stronghold. It's humorous."
Anthor did not remove the skepticism from his face, "You honestly believe this theory, Dr. Darell?"
"I honestly believe it."
"Then any of our neighbors, any man we pass in the street might be a Second Foundation superman, with his mind watching yours and feeling the pulse of its thoughts."
"Exactly."
"And we have been permitted to proceed all this time, without molestation15?"
"Without molestation? Who told you we were not molested16? You, yourself, showed that Munn has been tampered17 with. What makes you think that we sent him to Kalgan in the first place entirely18 of our own volition19 ?or that Arcadia overheard us and followed him on her own volition? Hah! We have been molested without pause, probably. And after all, why should they do more than they have? It is far more to their benefit to mislead us, than merely to stop us."
Anthor buried himself in meditation20 and emerged therefrom with a dissatisfied expression. "Well, then, I don't like it. Your Mental Static isn't worth a thought. We can't stay in the house forever and as soon as we leave, we're lost, with what we now think we know. Unless you can build a little machine for every inhabitant in the Galaxy."
"Yes, but we're not quite helpless, Anthor. These men of the Second Foundation have a special sense which we lack. It is their strength and also their weakness. For instance, is there any weapon of attack that will be effective against a normal, sighted man which is useless against a blind man?"
"Sure," said Munn, promptly21. "A light in the eyes."
"Exactly," said Darell. "A good, strong blinding light."
"Well, what of it?" asked Turbor.
"But the analogy is clear. I have a Mind Static device. It sets up an artificial electromagnetic pattern, which to the mind of a man of the Second Foundation would be like a beam of light to us. But the Mind Static device is kaleidoscopic22. It shifts quickly and continuously, faster than the receiving mind can follow. All right then, consider it a flickering23 light; the kind that would give you a headache, if continued long enough. Now intensify24 that light or that electromagnetic field until it is blinding ?and it will become a pain, an unendurable pain. But only to those with the proper sense; not to the unsensed."
"Really?" said Anthor, with the beginnings of enthusiasm. "Have you tried this?"
"On whom? Of course, I haven't tried it. But it will work."
"Well, where do you have the controls for the Field that surrounds the house? Id like to see this thing."
"Here." Darell reached into his jacket pocket. It was a small thing, scarcely bulging25 his pocket. He tossed the black, knob-studded cylinder26 to the other.
Anthor inspected it carefully and shrugged27 his shoulders. "It doesn't make me any smarter to look at it. Look Darell, what mustn't I touch? I don't want to turn off the house defense by accident, you know."
"You won't," said Darell, indifferently. "That control is locked in place." He flicked28 at a toggle switch that didn't move.
"And what's this knob?"
"That one varies rate of shift of pattern. Here ?this one varies the intensity29. It's that which I've been referring to."
"May I? asked Anthor, with his finger on the intensity knob. The others were crowding close.
"Why not?" shrugged DarelI. "It won't affect us."
Slowly, almost wincingly30, Anthor turned the knob, first in one direction, then in another. Turbor was gritting31 his teeth, while Munn blinked his eyes rapidly. It was as though they were keening their inadequate32 sensory33 equipment to locate this impulse which could not affect them.
Finally, Anthor shrugged and tossed the control box back into Darell's lap. "Well, I suppose we can take your word for it. But it's certainly hard to imagine that anything was happening when I turned the knob."
"But naturally, Pelleas Anthor," said Darell, with a tight smile. "The one I gave you was a dummy34. You see I have another." He tossed his jacket aside and seized a duplicate of the control box that Anthor had been investigating, which swung from his belt.
"You see," said Darell, and in one gesture turned the intensity knob to maximum.
And with an unearthly shriek35, Pelleas Anthor sank to the floor. He rolled in his agony; whitened, gripping fingers clutching and tearing futilely36 at his hair.
Munn lifted his feet hastily to prevent contact with the squirming body, and his eyes were twin depths of horror. Semic and Turbor were a pair of plaster casts; stiff and white.
Darell, somber37, turned the knob back once more. And Anthor twitched38 feebly once or twice and lay still. He was alive, his breath racking his body.
"Lift him on to the couch," said Darell, grasping the young man's head. "Help me here."
Turbor reached for the feet. They might have been lifting a sack of flour. Then, after long minutes, the breathing grew quieter, and Anthor's eyelids39 fluttered and lifted. His face was a horrid40 yellow; his hair and body was soaked in perspiration41, and his voice, when he spoke, was cracked and unrecognizable.
"Don't," he muttered, "don't! Don't do that again! You don't know?You don't know?Oh-hhh." It was a long, trembling moan.
"We won't do it again," said Darell, "if you will tell us the truth. You are a member of the Second Foundation?"
"Let me have some water," pleaded Anthor.
"Get some, Turbor," said Darell, "and bring the whiskey bottle."
He repeated the question after pouring a jigger of whiskey and two glasses of water into Anthor. Something seemed to relax in the young man?
"Yes," he said, wearily. "I am a member of the Second Foundation."
"Which," continued Darell, "is located on Terminus ?here?"
"Yes, yes. You are right in every particular, Dr. Darell."
"Good! Now explain what's been happening this past half year. Tell us!"
"I would like to sleep," whispered Anthor.
"Later! Speak now!"
A tremulous sigh. Then words, low and hurried. The others bent42 over him to catch the sound, "The situation was growing dangerous. We knew that Terminus and its physical scientists were becoming interested in brain-wave patterns and that the times were ripe for the development of something like the Mind Static device. And there was growing enmity toward the Second Foundation. We had to stop it without ruining SeIdon's Plan.
"We ... we tried to control the movement. We tried to join it. It would turn suspicion and efforts away from us. We saw to it that Kalgan declared war as a further distraction43. That's why I sent Munn to Kalgan. Stettin's supposed mistress was one of us. She saw to it that Munn made the proper moves?
"Callia is? cried Munn, but Darell waved him silent.
Anthor continued, unaware44 of any interruption, "Arcadia followed. We hadn't counted on that ?can't foresee everything ?so Callia maneuvered45 her to Trantor to prevent interference. That's all. Except that we lost."
"You tried to get me to go to Trantor, didn't you?" asked Darell.
Anthor nodded, "Had to get you out of the way. The growing triumph in your mind was clear enough. You were solving the problems of the Mind Static device."
"Why didn't you put me under control?"
"Couldn't ... couldn't. Had my orders. We were working according to a Plan. If I improvised46, I would have thrown everything off. Plan only predicts probabilities ... you know that ... like Seldon's Plan." He was talking in anguished47 pants, and almost incoherently. His head twisted from side to side in a restless fever. "We worked with individuals ... not groups ... very low probabilities involved ... lost out. Besides ... if control you ... someone else invent device ... no use ... had to control times ... more subtle ... First Speaker's own plan ... don't know all angles ... except ... didn't work a-aaa? He ran down.
Darell shook him roughly, "You can't sleep yet. How many of you are there?"
"Huh? Whatjasay ... oh ... not many ... be surprised fifty ... don't need more."
"All here on Terminus?"
"Five ... six out in Space ... like Callia ... got to sleep."
He stirred himself suddenly as though to one giant effort, and his expressions gained in clarity. It was a last attempt at self-justification, at moderating his defeat.
"Almost got you at the end. Would have turned off defenses and seized you. Would have seen who was master. But you gave me dummy controls ... suspected me all along?
And finally he was asleep.
Turbor said, in awed48 tones, "How long did you suspect him, Darell?"
"Ever since he first came here," was the quiet response. "He came from Kleise, he said. But I knew Kleise; and I knew on what terms we parted. He was a fanatic49 on the subject of the Second Foundation and I had deserted50 him. My own purposes were reasonable, since I thought it best and safest to pursue my own notions by myself. But I couldn't tell Kleise that; and he wouldn't have listened if I had. To him, I was a coward and a traitor51, perhaps even an agent of the Second Foundation. He was an unforgiving man and from that time almost to the day of his death he had no dealings with me. Then, suddenly, in his last few weeks of life, he writes me ?as an old friend ?to greet his best and most promising52 pupil as a co-worker and begin again the old investigation53.
"It was out of character. How could he possibly do such a thing without being under outside influence, and I began to wonder if the only purpose might not be to introduce into my confidence a real agent of the Second Foundation. Well, it was so?
He sighed and closed his own eyes for a moment.
Semic put in hesitantly, "What will we do with all of them ... these Second Foundation fellas?"
"I don't know," said Darell, sadly. "We could exile them, I suppose. There's Zoranel, for instance. They can be placed there and the planet saturated54 with Mind Static. The sexes can be separated, or, better still, they can be sterilized55 ?and in fifty years, the Second Foundation will be a thing of the past. Or perhaps a quiet death for all of them would be kinder."
"Do you suppose," said Turbor, "we could learn the use of this sense of theirs. Or are they born with it, like the Mule."
"I don't know. I think it is developed through long training, since there are indications from encephalography that the potentialities of it are latent in the human mind. But what do you want that sense for? It hasn't helped them."
He frowned.
Though he said nothing, his thoughts were shouting.
It had been too easy ?too easy. They had fallen, these invincibles, fallen like book-villains, and he didn't like it.
Galaxy! When can a man know he is not a puppet? How can a man know he is not a puppet?
Arcadia was coming home, and his thoughts shuddered56 away from that which he must face in the end.
She was home for a week, then two, and he could not loose the tight check upon those thoughts. How could he? She had changed from child to young woman in her absence, by some strange alchemy. She was his link to life; his fink to a bittersweet marriage that scarcely outlasted57 his honeymoon58.
And then, late one evening, he said as casually59 as he could, "Arcadia, what made you decide that Terminus contained both Foundations?"
They had been to the theater; in the best seats with private trimensional viewers for each; her dress was new for the occasion, and she was happy.
She stared at him for a moment, then tossed it off. "Oh, I Don't know, Father. It just came to me."
A layer of ice thickened about Dr. Darell's heart.
"Think," he said, intensely. "This is important. What made you decide both Foundations were on Terminus."
She frowned slightly. "Well, there was Lady Callia. I knew she was a Second Foundationer. Anthor said so, too."
"But she was on Kalgan," insisted Darell. "What made you decide on Terminus?"
And now Arcadia waited for several minutes before she answered. What had made her decide? What had made her decide?
She had the horrible sensation of something slipping just beyond her grasp.
She said, "She knew about things ?Lady Callia did ?and must have had her information from Terminus. Doesn't that sound right, Father?
But he just shook his head at her.
"Father," she cried, "I knew. The more I thought, the surer I was. It just made sense."
There was that lost look in her father's eyes, "It's no good, Arcadia. Its no good. Intuition is suspicious when concerned with the Second Foundation. You see that, don't you? It might have been intuition ?and it might have been control!"
"Control! You mean they changed me? Oh, no. No, they couldn't." She was backing away from him. "But didn't Anthor say I was right? He admitted it. He admitted everything. And you've found the whole bunch right here on Trantor. Didn't you? Didn't you?" She was breathing quickly.
"I know, but?Arcadia, will you let me make an encephalographic analysis of your brain?'
She shook her head violently, "No, no! I'm too scared."
"Of me, Arcadia? There's nothing to be afraid of. But we must know. You see that, don't you?"
She interrupted him only once, after that. She clutched at his arm just before the last switch was thrown. "What if I am different, Father? What will you have to do?"
"I won't have to do anything, Arcadia. If you're different, well leave. Well go back to Trantor, you and I, and ... and we won't care about anything else in the Galaxy."
Never in Darell's life had an analysis proceeded so slowly, cost him so much, and when it was over, Arcadia huddled60 down and dared not look. Then she heard him laugh and that was information enough. She jumped up and threw herself into his opened arms.
He was babbling61 wildly as they squeezed one another, "The house is under maximum Mind Static and your brain-waves are normal. We really have trapped them, Arcadia, and we can go back to living."
"Father," she gasped62, "can we let them give us medals now?"
"How did you know I抎 asked to be left out of it?" He held her at arm's mind; you know everything. All right, you can have your medal on a platform, with speeches."
"And Father?"
"Yes?"
"Can you call me Arkady from now on."
"But?Very well, Arkady."
Slowly the magnitude of the victory was soaking into him and saturating63 him. The Foundation ?the First Foundation ?now the only Foundation ?was absolute master of the Galaxy. No further barrier stood between themselves and the Second Empire ?the final fulfillment of Seldon's Plan.
They had only to reach for it?
Thanks to?
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1
gusts
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| 一阵强风( gust的名词复数 )； （怒、笑等的）爆发； （感情的）迸发； 发作 | |
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gasps
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| v.喘气( gasp的第三人称单数 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要 | |
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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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defense
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| n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩 | |
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frantically
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| ad.发狂地, 发疯地 | |
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spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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furrowed
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| v.犁田，开沟( furrow的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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rim
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| n.(圆物的)边，轮缘；边界 | |
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guardians
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| 监护人( guardian的名词复数 )； 保护者，维护者 | |
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isolated
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| adj.与世隔绝的 | |
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desperately
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| adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地 | |
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mule
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| n.骡子，杂种，执拗的人 | |
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leisurely
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| adj.悠闲的；从容的，慢慢的 | |
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secrecy
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| n.秘密，保密，隐蔽 | |
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15
molestation
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| n.骚扰，干扰，调戏；折磨 | |
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molested
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| v.骚扰( molest的过去式和过去分词 )；干扰；调戏；猥亵 | |
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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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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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volition
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| n.意志；决意 | |
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meditation
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| n.熟虑，（尤指宗教的）默想，沉思，（pl.）冥想录 | |
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promptly
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| adv.及时地，敏捷地 | |
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kaleidoscopic
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| adj.千变万化的 | |
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flickering
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| adj.闪烁的，摇曳的，一闪一闪的 | |
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intensify
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| vt.加强；变强；加剧 | |
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bulging
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| 膨胀； 凸出（部）； 打气； 折皱 | |
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cylinder
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| n.圆筒，柱(面)，汽缸 | |
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shrugged
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| vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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flicked
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| （尤指用手指或手快速地）轻击( flick的过去式和过去分词 )； （用…）轻挥； （快速地）按开关； 向…笑了一下（或瞥了一眼等） | |
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intensity
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| n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度 | |
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wincingly
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| 迷人地，娇媚地 | |
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gritting
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| v.以沙砾覆盖（某物），撒沙砾于( grit的现在分词 )；咬紧牙关 | |
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inadequate
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| adj.(for,to)不充足的，不适当的 | |
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sensory
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| adj.知觉的，感觉的，知觉器官的 | |
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dummy
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| n.假的东西；(哄婴儿的)橡皮奶头 | |
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shriek
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| v./n.尖叫，叫喊 | |
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futilely
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| futile（无用的）的变形； 干 | |
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somber
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| adj.昏暗的，阴天的，阴森的，忧郁的 | |
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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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eyelids
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| n.眼睑( eyelid的名词复数 )；眼睛也不眨一下；不露声色；面不改色 | |
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horrid
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| adj.可怕的；令人惊恐的；恐怖的；极讨厌的 | |
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perspiration
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| n.汗水；出汗 | |
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bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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distraction
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| n.精神涣散，精神不集中，消遣，娱乐 | |
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unaware
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| a.不知道的，未意识到的 | |
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maneuvered
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| v.移动，用策略( maneuver的过去式和过去分词 )；操纵 | |
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improvised
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| a.即席而作的,即兴的 | |
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anguished
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| adj.极其痛苦的v.使极度痛苦(anguish的过去式) | |
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48
awed
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| adj.充满敬畏的，表示敬畏的v.使敬畏，使惊惧( awe的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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49
fanatic
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| n.狂热者，入迷者；adj.狂热入迷的 | |
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50
deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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51
traitor
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| n.叛徒，卖国贼 | |
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52
promising
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| adj.有希望的，有前途的 | |
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53
investigation
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| n.调查，调查研究 | |
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54
saturated
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| a.饱和的，充满的 | |
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sterilized
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| v.消毒( sterilize的过去式和过去分词 )；使无菌；使失去生育能力；使绝育 | |
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shuddered
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| v.战栗( shudder的过去式和过去分词 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动 | |
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57
outlasted
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| v.比…长久，比…活得长( outlast的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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58
honeymoon
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| n.蜜月（假期）；vi.度蜜月 | |
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59
casually
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| adv.漠不关心地，无动于衷地，不负责任地 | |
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60
huddled
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| 挤在一起（huddle的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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61
babbling
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| n.胡说，婴儿发出的咿哑声adj.胡说的v.喋喋不休( babble的现在分词 )；作潺潺声（如流水）；含糊不清地说话；泄漏秘密 | |
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62
gasped
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| v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要 | |
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63
saturating
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| 浸湿，浸透( saturate的现在分词 )； 使…大量吸收或充满某物 | |
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