He said, "The temperature outside is 24 C., the wind is about elevenkilometers per hour from the west, and it is partly cloudy. The computerdoes not know enough about the general air circulation to be able topredict the weather. However, since the humidity is some forty percent,it seems scarcely about to rain. On the whole, we seem to have chosen acomfortable latitude1 or season of the year, and after Comporellon that'sa pleasure.""I suppose," said Pelorat, "that as the planet continues tounterraform, the weather will become more extreme.""I'm sure of that," said Bliss2.
"Be as sure as you like," said Trevize. "We have thousands of yearsof leeway. Right now, it's still a pleasant planet and will continue tobe so for our lifetimes and far beyond."He was clasping a broad belt about his waist as he spoke3, and Blisssaid sharply, "What's that, Trevize?""Just my old navy training," said Trevize. "I'm not going into anunknown world unarmed.""Are you seriously intending to carry weapons?""Absolutely. Here on my right" he slapped a holster thatcontained a massive weapon with a broad muzzle4 "is my blaster,and here on my left" a smaller weapon with a thin muzzle thatcontained no opening "is my neuronic whip.""Two varieties of murder," said Bliss, with distaste.
"Only one. The blaster kills. The neuronic whip doesn't. It juststimulates the pain nerves, and it hurts so that you can wish you weredead, I'm told. Fortunately, I've never been at the wrong end of one.""Why are you taking them?""I told you. It's an enemy world.""Trevize, it's an empty world.""Is it? There's no technological5 society, it would seem, but what ifthere are post-technological primitives6. They may not possess anythingworse than clubs or rocks, but those can kill, too."Bliss looked exasperated9, but lowered her voice in an effort to bereasonable. "I detect no human neuronic activity, Trevize. That eliminatesprimitives of any type, post-technological or otherwise.""Then I won't have to use my weapons," said Trevize. "Still, what harmwould there be in carrying them? They'll just make me a little heavier,and since the gravitational pull at the surface is about ninety-onepercent that of Terminus, I can afford the weight. Listen,the ship may be unarmed as a ship, but it has a reasonable supply ofhand-weapons. I suggest that you two also ""No," said Bliss at once. "I will not make even a gesture in thedirection of killing10 or of inflicting11 pain, either.""It's not a question of killing, but of avoiding being killed, ifyou see what I mean.""I can protect myself in my own way.""Janov?"Pelorat hesitated. "We didn't have arms on Comporellon.""Come, Janov, Comporellon was a known quantity, a world associatedwith the Foundation. Besides we were at once taken into custody12. If we hadhad weapons, they would have been taken away. Do you want a blaster?"Pelorat shook his head. "I've never been in the Navy, old chap. Iwouldn't know how to use one of those things and, in an emergency, I wouldnever think of it in time. I'd just run and and get killed.""You won't get killed, Pel," said Bliss energetically. "Gaia has youin my/our/its protection, and that posturing13 naval14 hero as well."Trevize said, "Good. I have no objection to being protected, but I amnot posturing. I am simply making assurance doubly sure, and if I neverhave to make a move toward these things, I'll be completely pleased,I promise you. Still I must have them."He patted both weapons affectionately and said, "Now let's step outon this world which may not have felt the weight of human beings uponits surface for thousands of years."36"I have a feeling," said Pelorat, "that it must berather late in the day, but the sun is high enough to make it near noon,perhaps.""I suspect," said Trevize, looking about the quiet panorama15, "thatyour feeling originates out of the sun's orange tint16, which gives it asunset feel. If we're still here at actual sunset and the cloud formationsare proper, we ought to experience a deeper red than we're used to. Idon't know whether you'll find it beautiful or depressing. Forthat matter it was probably even more extreme on Comporellon, but therewe were indoors virtually all the time."He turned slowly, considering the surroundings in all directions. Inaddition to the almost subliminal17 oddness of the light, there was thedistinctive smell of the world or this section of it. It seemeda little musty, but far from actively18 unpleasant.
The trees nearby were of middling height, and looked old, with gnarledbark and trunks a little off the vertical19, though because of a prevailingwind or something off-color about the soil he couldn't tell. Was itthe trees that lent a somehow menacing ambience to the world or was itsomething else less material?
Bliss said, "What do you intend to do, Trevize? Surely we didn't comeall this distance to enjoy the view?"Trevize said, "Actually, perhaps that ought to be my part of it justnow. I would suggest that Janov explore this place. There are ruinsoff in that direction and he's the one who can judge the value of anyrecords he might find. I imagine he can understand writings or films inarchaic Galactic and I know quite well I wouldn't. And I suppose, Bliss,you want to go with him in order to protect him. As for me, I will stayhere as a guard on the outer rim8.""A guard against what? Primitives with rocks and clubs?""Perhaps." And then the smile that had hovered21 about his lips fadedand he said, "Oddly enough, Bliss, I'm a little uneasy about this place. Ican't say why."Pelorat said, "Come, Bliss. I've been a home-body collector ofold tales all my life, so I've never actually put my hands on ancientdocuments. Just imagine if we could find "Trevize watched them walk away, Pelorat's voice fading as he walkedeagerly toward the ruins; Bliss swinging along at his side.
Trevize listened absently and then turned back to continue his studyof the surroundings. What could there be to rouse apprehension22?
He had never actually set foot upon a world without a human population,but he had viewed many from space. Usually, they were small worlds, notlarge enough to hold either water or air, but they had been useful asmarking a meeting site during naval maneuvers23 (there had been no war inhis lifetime, or for a century before his birth but maneuvers went on),or as an exercise in simulated emergency repairs. Ships he had been onhad been in orbit about such worlds, or had even rested on them, but hehad never had occasion to step off the ships at those times.
Was it that he was now actually standing24 on an empty world? Would hehave felt the same if he had been standing on one of the many small,airless worlds he had encountered in his student days and evensince?
He shook his head. It wouldn't have bothered him. He was sure ofthat. He would have been in a space suit, as he had been innumerabletimes when he was free of his ship in space. It was a familiar situationand contact with a mere25 lump of rock would have produced no alterationin the familiarity. Surely!
Of course He was not wearing a space suit now.
He was standing on a habitable world, as comfortable to the feel asTerminus would be far more comfortable than Comporellon had been. Heexperienced the wind against his cheek, the warmth of the sun on his back,the rustle27 of vegetation in his ears. Everything was familiar, exceptthat there were no human beings on it at least, not any longer.
Was that it? Was it that that made the world seem so eerie28? Was itthat it was not merely an uninhabited world, but a deserted29 one?
He had never been on a deserted world before; never heard of a desertedworld before; never thought a world could be deserted. Allthe worlds he had known of till now, once they had been populated byhuman beings, remained so populated forever.
He looked up toward the sky. Nothing else had deserted it. Anoccasional bird flew across his line of vision, seeming more natural,somehow, than the slate-blue sky between the orange-tinted fair-weatherclouds. (Trevize was certain that, given a few days on the planet, hewould become accustomed to the off-color so that sky and clouds wouldgrow to seem normal to him.)He heard birdsongs from the trees, and the softer noise ofinsects. Bliss had mentioned butterflies earlier and here theywere in surprising numbers and in several colorful varieties.
There were also occasional rustlings in the clumps30 of grass thatsurrounded the trees, but he could not quite make out what was causingthem.
Nor did the obvious presence of life in his vicinity rouse fear inhim. As Bliss had said, terraformed worlds had, from the very first,lacked dangerous animals. The fairy tales of childhood, and the heroicfantasies of his teenage years were invariably set on a legendary31 worldthat must have been derived32 from the vague myths of Earth. The hyperdramaholoscreen had been filled with monsters lions, unicorns33, dragons,whales, brontosaurs, bears. There were dozens of them with names hecould not remember; some of them surely mythical34, and perhaps all ofthem. There were smaller animals that bit and stung, even plants thatwere fearful to the touch but only in fiction. He had once heardthat primitive7 honeybees were able to sting, but certainly no red beeswere in any way harmful.
Slowly, he walked to the right, skirting the border of the hill. Thegrass was tall and rank, but sparse35, growing in clumps. He made his wayamong the trees, also growing in clumps.
Then he yawned. Certainly, nothing exciting was happening, andhe wondered if he might not retreat to the ship and take a nap. No,unthinkable. Clearly, he had to stand on guard.
Perhaps he ought to do sentry36 duty-marching, one, two, one two,swinging about with a snap and performing complicated maneuverings witha parade electro-rod. (It was a weapon no warrior37 had used in threecenturies, but it was still absolutely essential at drill, for no reasonanyone could ever advance.)He grinned at the thought of it, then wondered if he ought to joinPelorat and Bliss in the ruins. Why? What good would he do?
Suppose he saw something that Pelorat had happened tooverlook? Well, time enough to make the attempt after Peloratreturned. If there was anything that might be found easily, by all meanslet Pelorat make the discovery.
Might the two be in trouble? Foolish! What possible kind oftrouble?
And if there were trouble, they would call out.
He stopped to listen. He heard nothing.
And then the irresistible38 thought of sentry duty recurred39 to himand he found himself marching, feet moving up and down with a stamp,an imaginary electro-rod coming off one shoulder, whirling, and beingheld out straight before him, exactly vertical-whirling again, end overend, and back over the other shoulder. Then, with a smart about-face,he was looking toward the ship (rather far-off now) once more.
And when he did that, he froze in reality, and not in sentrymake-believe.
He was not alone.
Until then, he had not seen any living creature other than plantgrowth, insects, and an occasional bird. He had neither seen nor heardanything approach but now an animal stood between him and theship.
Sheer surprise at the unexpected event deprived him, for a moment, ofthe ability to interpret what he saw. It was not till after a perceptibleinterval that he knew what he was looking at.
It was only a dog.
Trevize was not a dog person. He had never owned a dog and hefelt no surge of friendliness40 toward one when he encountered it. Hefelt no such surge this time, either. He thought, rather impatiently,that there was no world on which these creatures had not accompaniedmen. They existed in countless41 varieties and Trevize had long had theweary impression that each world had at least one variety characteristicof itself. Nevertheless, all varieties were constant in this: whether theywere kept for entertainment, show, or some form of useful work theywere bred to love and trust human beings.
It was a love and trust Trevize had never appreciated. He had oncelived with a woman who had had a dog. That dog, whom Trevize toleratedfor the sake of the woman, conceived a deep-seated adoration42 for him,followed him about, leaned against him when relaxing (all fifty poundsof him), covered him with saliva43 and hair at unexpected moments, andsquatted outside the door and moaned whenever he and the woman weretrying to engage in sex.
From that experience, Trevize had emerged with the firm convictionthat for some reason known only to the canine44 mind and its odor-analyzingability, he was a fixed45 object of doggish devotion.
Therefore, once the initial surprise was over, he surveyed thedog without concern. It was a large dog, lean and rangy, and with longlegs. It was staring at him with no obvious sign of adoration. Its mouthwas open in what might have been taken as a welcoming grin, but theteeth displayed were somehow large and dangerous, and Trevize decidedthat he would be more comfortable without the dog in his line of view.
It occurred to him, then, that the dog had never seen a human being,and that countless canine generations preceding had never seen one. Thedog might have been as astonished and uncertain at the sudden appearanceof a human being as Trevize had been at that of the dog. Trevize, atleast, had quickly recognized the dog for what it was, but the dog didnot have that advantage. It was still puzzled, and perhaps alarmed.
Clearly, it would not be safe to leave an animal that large, andwith such teeth, in an alarmed state. Trevize realized that it would benecessary to establish a friendship at once.
Very slowly, he approached the dog (no sudden motions, of course). Heheld out his hand, ready to allow it to be sniffed47, and made soft,soothing48 sounds, most of which consisted of "Nice doggy" somethinghe found intensely embarrassing.
The dog, eyes fixed on Trevize, backed away a step or two, as thoughin distrust, and then its upper lip wrinkled into a snarl49 and from itsmouth there issued a rasping growl50. Although Trevize had never seen a dogbehave so, there was no way of interpreting the action as representinganything but menace.
Trevize therefore stopped advancing and froze. His eyes caughtmotion to one side, and his head turned slowly. There were two otherdogs advancing from that direction. They looked just as deadly as thefirst.
Deadly? That adjective occurred to him only now, and its dreadfulappropriateness was unmistakable.
His heart was suddenly pounding. The way to the ship was blocked. Hecould not run aimlessly, for those long canine legs would reach him inyards. If he stood his ground and used his blaster, then while he killedone, the other two would be upon him. Off in the distance, he could seeother dogs approaching. Was there some way in which they communicated? Didthey hunt in packs?
Slowly, he shifted ground leftward, in a direction in which therewere no dogs as yet. Slowly.........
The dogs shifted ground with him. He felt certain that all that savedhim from instant attack was the fact that the dogs had never seen orsmelled anything like himself before. They had no established behaviorpattern they could follow in his case.
If he ran, of course, that would represent something familiar to thedogs. They would know what to do if something the size of Trevize showedfear and ran. They would run, too. Faster.
Trevize kept sidling toward a tree. He had the wildest desire to moveupward where the dogs could not follow. They moved with him, snarlingsoftly, coming closer. All three had their eyes fixed unwinkingly uponhim. Two more were joining them and, farther off, Trevize could seestill other dogs approaching. At some point, when he was close enough,he would have to make the dash. He could not wait too long, or run toosoon. Either might be fatal.
Now!
He probably set a personal record for acceleration52 and even so it wasa near thing. He felt the snap of jaws53 close on the heel of one foot,and for just moment he was held fast before the teeth slid off thetough ceramoid.
He was not skilled at climbing trees. He had not climbed one since hewas ten and, as he recalled, that had been a clumsy effort. In this case,though, the trunk was not quite vertical, and the bark was gnarled andoffered handholds. What was more, he was driven by necessity, and it isremarkable what one can do if the need is great enough.
Trevize found himself sitting in a crotch, perhaps ten meters aboveground. For the moment he was totally unaware54 that he had scraped handand that it was oozing55 blood. At the base of the tree, five dogs now ontheir haunches, staring upward, tongues lolling, all looking patientlyexpectant.
What now?
37Trevize was not in a position to think about thesituation in logical detail. Rather, he experienced flashes of thought inodd and distorted sequence which, if he had eventually sorted them out,would have come to this Bliss had earlier maintained that in terraforming a planet, humanbeings would establish an unbalanced economy, which they would be able tokeep from falling apart only by unending effort. For instance, no Settlershad brought with them any of the large predators57. Small ones could not behelped. Insects, parasites58 even small hawks59, shrews, and so on.
Those dramatic animals of legend and vague literaryaccounts tigers, grizzly60 bears, orcs, crocodiles? Who would carrythem from world to world even if there were sense to it? And where wouldthere be sense to it?
It meant that human beings were the only large predators, and it wasup to them to cull61 those plants and animals that, left to themselves,would smother62 in their own overplenty.
And if human beings somehow vanished, then other predators must taketheir place. But what predators? The most sizable predators toleratedby human beings were dogs and cats, tamed and living on human bounty63.
What if no human beings remained to feed them? They must thenfind their own food for their survival and, in all truth, forthe survival of those they preyed65 on, whose numbers had to be kept incheck lest overpopulation do a hundred times the damage that predationswould do.
So dogs would multiply, in their variations, with the large onesattacking the large, untended herbivores; the smaller ones preying66 onbirds and rodents67. Cats would prey64 by night as dogs did by day; theformer singly, the latter in packs.
And perhaps evolution would eventually produce more varieties, tofill additional environmental niches68. Would some dogs eventually developsea-going characteristics to enable them to live on fish; and would somecats develop gliding69 abilities to hunt the clumsier birds in the air aswell as on the ground?
In flashes, all this came to Trevize while he struggled with moresystematic thought to tell him what he might do.
The number of dogs kept growing. He counted twenty-three nowsurrounding the tree and there were others approaching. How large wasthe pack? What did it matter? It was large enough already.
He withdrew his blaster from its holster, but the solid feel of thebutt in his hand did not give him the sense of security he would haveliked. When had he last inserted an energy unit into it and how manycharges could he fire? Surely not twenty-three.
What about Pelorat and Bliss? If they emerged, would the dogs turnon them? Were they safe even if they did not emerge? If the dogs sensedthe presence of two human beings inside the ruins, what could stop themfrom attacking them there? Surely there would be no doors or barriersto hold them off.
Could Bliss stop them, and even drive them away? Could she concentrateher powers through hyperspace to the desired pitch of intensity70? Forhow long could she maintain them?
Should he call for help then? Would they come running if he yelled,and would the dogs flee under Bliss's glare? (Would it take a glare orwas it simply a mental action undetectable to onlookers71 without theability?) Or, if they appeared, would they then be torn apart underthe eyes of Trevize, who would be forced to watch, helplessly, from therelative safety of his post in the tree?
No, he would have to use his blaster. If he could kill one dog andfrighten them off for just a while, he could scramble72 down the tree,yell for Pelorat and Bliss, kill a second dog if they showed signs ofreturning, and all three could then hustle73 into the ship.
He adjusted the intensity of the microwave beam to the three-quartermark. That should be ample to kill a dog with a loud report. The reportwould serve to frighten the dogs away, and he would be conservingenergy.
He aimed carefully at a dog in the middle of the pack, one who seemed(in Trevize's own imagination, at least) to exude75 a greater malignancythan the rest perhaps only because he sat more quietly and,therefore, seemed more cold-bloodedly intent on his prey. The dog wasstaring directly at the weapon now, as though it scorned the worstTrevize could do.
It occurred to Trevize that he had never himself fired a blasterat a human being, or seen anyone else do it. There had been firing atwater-filled dummies76 of leather and plastic during training; with thewater almost instantaneously heated to the boiling point, and shreddingthe covering as it exploded.
But who, in the absence of war, would fire at a human being? Andwhat human being would withstand a blaster and force its use? Only here,on world made pathological by the disappearance77 of human beings With that odd ability of the brain to note something utterly78 besidethe point, Trevize was aware of the fact that a cloud had hidden thesun-and then he fired.
There was an odd shimmer79 of the atmosphere on a straight line fromthe muzzle of the blaster to the dog; a vague sparkle that might havegone unnoticed if the sun were still shining unhindered.
The dog must have felt the initial surge of heat, and made thesmallest motion as though it were about to leap. And then it exploded,as a portion its blood and cellular80 contents vaporized.
The explosion made a disappointingly small noise, for the dog'sintegument was simply not as tough as that of the dummies they hadpracticed on. Flesh, skin, blood, and bone were scattered81, however,and Trevize felt his stomach heave.
The dogs started back, some having been bombarded with uncomfortablywarm fragments. That was only a momentary82 hesitation83, however. Theycrowded against each other suddenly, in order to eat what had beenprovided. Trevize felt his sickness increase. He was not frighteningthem; he was feeding them. At that rate, they would never leave. In fact,the smell of fresh blood and warm meat would attract still more dogs,and perhaps other smaller predators as well.
A voice called out, "Trevize. What "Trevize looked outward. Bliss and Pelorat had emerged from theruins. Bliss had stopped short, her arms thrown out to keep Peloratback. She stared at the dogs. The situation was obvious and clear. Shehad to ask nothing.
Trevize shouted, "I tried to drive them off without involving youand Janov. Can you hold them off?""Barely," said Bliss, not shouting, so that Trevize had troublehearing her even though the dogs' snarling51 had quieted as though asoothing soundabsorbent blanket had been thrown over them.
Bliss said, "There are too many of them, and I am not familiar withtheir pattern of neuronic activity. We have no such savage84 things onGaia.""Or on Terminus. Or on any civilized85 world," shouted Trevize. "I'llshoot as many of them as I can and you try to handle the rest. A smallernumber will give you less trouble.""No, Trevize. Shooting them will just attract others. Staybehind me, Pel. There's no way you can protect me. Trevize, yourother weapon.""The neuronic whip?""Yes. That produces pain. Low power. Low power!""Are you afraid of hurting them?" called out Trevize in anger. "Isthis a time to consider the sacredness of life?""I'm considering Pel's. Also mine. Do as I say. Low power, and shootat one of the dogs. I can't hold them much longer."The dogs had drifted away from the tree and had surrounded Bliss andPelorat, who stood with their backs to a crumbling86 wall. The dogs nearestthe two made hesitant attempts to come closer still, whining87 a bit asthough trying to puzzle out what it was that held them off when theycould sense nothing that would do it. Some tried uselessly to scrambleup the wall and attack from behind.
Trevize's hand was trembling as he adjusted the neuronic whip to lowpower. The neuronic whip used much less energy than the blaster did,and a single power-cartridge could produce hundreds of whip-like strokesbut, come to think of it, he didn't remember when he had last chargedthis weapon, either.
It was not so important to aim the whip. Since conserving74 energy wasnot as critical, he could use it in a sweep across the mass of dogs. Thatwas the traditional method of controlling crowds that showed signs ofturning dangerous.
However, he followed Bliss's suggestion. He aimed at one dogand fired. The dog fell over, its legs twitching88. It emitted loud,high-pitched squeals89.
The other dogs backed away from the stricken beast, ears flatteningbackward against their heads. Then, squealing90 in their turn, they turnedand left, at first slowly, then more rapidly, and finally, at a fullrace. The dog who had been hit, scrambled91 painfully to its legs, andlimped away whimpering, much the last of them.
The noise vanished in the distance, and Bliss said, "We had betterget into the ship. They will come back. Or others will."Trevize thought that never before had he manipulated the ship's entrymechanism so rapidly. And it was possible he might never do so again.
38Night had fallen before Trevize felt somethingapproaching the normal. The small patch of syntho-skin on the scrape onhis hand had soothed92 the physical pain, but there was a scrape on hispsyche for which soothing was not so easy.
It was not the mere exposure to danger. He could react to that as wellas any ordinarily brave person might. It was the totally unlooked-fordirection from which the danger had come. It was the feeling of theridiculous. How would it look if people were to find out he had beentreed by snarling dogs ? It would scarcely be worse if hehad been put to flight by the whirring of angry canaries.
For hours, he kept listening for a new attack on the part of thedogs, for ths, sound of howls, for the scratch of claws against theouter hull93.
Pelorat, by comparison, seemed quite cool. "There was no question inmy mind, old chap, that Bliss would handle it, but I must say you firedthe weapon well."Trevize shrugged94. He was in no mood to discuss the matter.
Pelorat was holding his library the one compact disc on whichhis lifetime of research into myths and legends were stored andwith it he retreated into his bedroom where he kept his small reader.
He seemed quite pleased with himself. Trevize noticed that but didn'tfollow it up. Time for that later when his mind wasn't quite as takenup with dogs.
Bliss said, rather tentatively, when the two were alone, "I presumeyou were taken by surprise.""Quite," said Trevize gloomily. "Who would think that at the sightof a dog a dog I should run for my life.""Twenty thousand years without men and it would not be quite a dog.
Those beasts must now be the dominant95 large predators."Trevize nodded. "I figured that out while I was sitting on thetree branch being a dominated prey. You were certainly right about anunbalanced ecology.""Unbalanced, certainly, from the human standpoint but consideringhow efficiently96 the dogs seem to be going about their business, I wonderif Pel may be right in his suggestion that the ecology could balanceitself, with various environmental niches being filled by evolvingvariations of the relatively97 few species that were once brought tothe world.""Oddly enough," said Trevize, "the same thought occurred to me.""Provided, of course, the unbalance is not so great that the processof righting itself takes too long. The planet might become completelynonviable before that."Trevize grunted98.
Bliss looked at him thoughtfully, "How is it that you thought ofarming yourself?"Trevize said, "It did me little good. It was your ability ""Not entirely99. I needed your weapon. At short notice, with onlyhyperspatial contact with the rest of Gaia, with so many individualminds of so unfamiliar100 a nature, I could have done nothing without yourneuronic whip.""My blaster was useless. I tried that.""With a blaster, Trevize, a dog merely disappears. The rest may besurprised, but not frightened.""Worse than that," said Trevize. "They ate the remnants. I was bribingthem to stay.""Yes, I see that might be the effect. The neuronic whip isdifferent. It inflicts101 pain, and a dog in pain emits cries of a kind thatare well understood by other dogs who, by conditioned reflex, if nothingelse, begin to feel frightened themselves. With the dogs already disposedtoward fright, I merely nudged their minds, and off they went.""Yes, but you realized the whip was the more deadly of the two inthis case. I did not.""I am accustomed to dealing102 with minds. You are not. That's why Iinsisted on low power and aiming at one dog. I did not want so much painthat it killed a dog and left him silent. I did not want the pain sodispersed as to cause mere whimpering. I wanted strong pain concentratedat one point.""And you got it, Bliss," said Trevize. "It worked perfectly103. I oweyou considerable gratitude104.""You begrudge105 that," said Bliss thoughtfully, "because it seems to youthat you played a ridiculous role. And yet, I repeat, I could have donenothing without your weapons. What puzzles me is how you can explainyour arming yourself in the face of my assurance that there were nohuman beings on this world, something I am still certain is a fact. Didyou foresee the dogs?""No," said Trevize. "I certainly didn't. Not consciously, at least. AndI don't habitually106 go armed, either. It never even occurred to me to puton weapons at Comporellon. But I can't allow myself to trip intothe trap of feeling it was magic, either. It couldn't have been. I suspectthat once we began talking about unbalanced ecologies earlier, I somehowhad an unconscious glimpse of animals grown dangerous in the absence ofhuman beings. That is clear enough in hindsight, but I might have had a whiff of it in foresight107. Nothing more than that."Bliss said, "Don't dismiss it that casually108. I participated in thesame conversation concerning unbalanced ecologies and I didn't havethat same foresight. It is that special trick of foresight in you thatGaia values. I can see, too, that it must be irritating to you to havea hidden foresight the nature of which you cannot detect; to act withdecision, but without clear reason.""The usual expression on Terminus is `to act on a hunch109.'""On Gaia we say, `to know without thought.' You don't like knowingwithout thought, do you?""It bothers me, yes. I don't like being driven by hunches110. I assumehunch has reason behind it, but not knowing the reason makes me feelI'm not in control of my own mind a kind of mild madness.""And when you decided46 in favor of Gaia and Galaxia, you were actingon s hunch, and now you seek the reason.""I have said so at least a dozen times.""And I have refused to accept your statement as literal truth. Forthat I am sorry. I will oppose you in this no longer. I hope, though,that I may continue to point out items in Gaia's favor.""Always," said Trevize, "if you, in turn, recognize that I may notaccept them.""Does it occur to you, then, that this Unknown World is reverting112 to akind of savagery113, and perhaps to eventual56 desolation and uninhabitability,because of the removal of a single species that is capable of acting111 asa guiding intelligence? If the world were Gaia, or better yet, a part ofGalaxia, this could not happen. The guiding intelligence would still existin the form of the Galaxy114 as a whole, and ecology, whenever unbalanced,and for whatever reason, would move toward balance again.""Does that mean that dogs would no longer eat?""Of course they would eat, just as human beings do. They would however,with purpose, in order to balance the ecology under deliberate direction,and not as a result of random115 circumstance."Trevize said, "The loss of individual freedom might not matter to dogs,but it must matter to human beings. And what if all human beings were removed from existence, everywhere, and not merelyon one world or on several? What if Galaxia were left without humanbeings at all? Would there still be a guiding intelligence? Would allother life forms and inanimate matter be able to put together a commonintelligence adequate for the purpose?"Bliss hesitated. "Such a situation," she said, "has never beenexperienced. Nor does there seem any likelihood that it will ever beexperienced in the future."Trevize said, "Hut doesn't it seem obvious to you, that the humanmind is qualitatively116 different from everything else, and that if itwere absent, the sum total of all other consciousness could not replaceit. Would it not be true, then, that human beings are a special case andmust be treated as such? They should not be fused even with one another,let alone with nonhuman objects.""Yet you decided in favor of Galaxia.""For an overriding117 reason I cannot make out.""Perhaps that overriding reason was a glimpse of the effect ofunbalanced ecologies? Might it not have been your reasoning that everyworld in the Galaxy is on a knife-edge, with instability on either side,and that only Galaxia could prevent such disasters as are taking placeon this world to say nothing of the continuing interhuman disastersof war and administrative118 failure.""No. Unbalanced ecologies were not in my mind at the time of mydecision.""How can you be sure?""I may not know what it is I'm foreseeing, but if something issuggested afterward119, I would recognize it if that were indeed what Iforesaw. As it seems to me I may have foreseen dangerous animalson this world.""Well," said Bliss soberly, "we might have been dead as a resultof those dangerous animals if it had not been for a combination ofour powers, your foresight and my mentalism. Come, then, let us befriends."Trevize nodded. "If you wish."There was a chill in his voice that caused Bliss's eyebrows120 to rise,but at this point Pelorat burst in, nodding his head as though preparedto shake it off its foundations.
"I think," he said, "we have it."39Trevize did not, in general, believe in easy victories,and yet it was only human to fall into belief against one's betterjudgment. He felt the muscles in his chest and throat tighten121, but managedto say, "The location of Earth? Have you discovered that, Janov?"Pelorat stared at Trevize for a moment, and deflated122. "Well, no,"he said, visibly abashed123. "Not quite that. Actually, Golan, notthat aaaall. I had forgotten about that. It was something else that Idiscovered in the ruins. I suppose it's not really important."Trevize managed a long breath and said, "Never mind, Janov. Everyfinding is important. What was it you came in to say?""Well," said Pelorat, "it's just that almost nothing survived,you understand. Twenty thousand years of storm and wind don't leavemuch. What's more, plant life is gradually destructive and animallife But never mindaall that. The point is that `almost nothing'
is not the same as `nothing.'
"The ruins must have included a public building, for there was somefallen stone, or concrete, with incised lettering upon it. There washardly anything visible, you understand, old chap, but I took photographswith one of those cameras we have on board ship, the kind with built-incomputer enhancement I never got round to asking permission totake one, Golan, but it was important, and I "Trevize waved his hand in impatient dismissal. "Go on!""I could make out some of the lettering, which was very archaic20. Evenwith computer enhancement and with my own fair skill at reading Archaic,it was impossible to make out much except for one short phrase. Theletters there were larger and a bit clearer than the rest. They may havebeen incised more deeply because they identified the world itself. Thephrase reads, `Planet Aurora124,' so I imagine this world we rest upon isnamed Aurora, or was named Aurora.""It had to be named something," said Trevize.
"Yes, but names are very rarely chosen at random. I made a carefulsearch of my library just now and there are two old legends, from twowidely spaced worlds, as it happens, so that one can reasonably supposethem to be of independent origin, if one remembers that. But nevermind that. In both legends, Aurora is used as a name for the dawn. Wecan suppose that Aurora may have actually meant dawn insome pre-Galactic language.
"As it happens, some word for dawn or daybreak is often used as aname for space stations or other structures that are the first built oftheir kind. If this world is called Dawn in whatever language, it maybe the first of its kind, too."Trevize said, "Are you getting ready to suggest that this planet isEarth and that Aurora is an alternate name for it because it representsthe dawn of life and of man?"Pelorat said, "I couldn't go that far, Golan."Trevize said, with a trace of bitterness, "There is, after all,no radioactive surface, no giant satellite, no gas giant with hugerings.""Exactly. But Deniador, back on Comporellon, seemed to think thiswas one of the worlds that was once inhabited by the first wave ofSettlers the Spacers. If it were, then its name, Aurora, mightindicate it to have been the first of those Spacer worlds. We might,at this very moment, be resting on the oldest human world in the Galaxyexcept for Earth itself. Isn't that exciting?""Interesting, at any rate, Janov, but isn't that a great deal toinfer merely from the name, Aurora?""There's more," said Pelorat excitedly. "As far as I could checkin my records there is no world in the Galaxy today with the name of`Aurora,' and I'm sure your computer will verify that. As I said, thereare all sorts of world and other objects named `Dawn' in various ways,but no one uses the actual word `Aurora.'""Why should they? If it's a pre-Galactic word, it wouldn't be likelyto be popular.""But names do remain, even when they're meaningless. Ifthis were the first settled world, it would be famous; it might even,for a while, have been the dominant world of the Galaxy. Surely, therewould be other worlds calling themselves `New Aurora,' or `Aurora Minor,'
or something like that. And then others "Trevize broke in. "Perhaps it wasn't the first settled world. Perhapsit was never of any importance.""There's a better reason in my opinion, my dear chap.""What would that be, Janov?""If the first wave of settlements was overtaken by a second waveto which all the worlds of the Galaxy now belong as Deniadorsaid then there is very likely to have been a period of hostilitybetween the two waves. The second wave making up the worlds thatnow exist would not use the names given to any of the worlds ofthe first wave. In that way, we can infer from the fact that the name`Aurora' has never been repeated that there were two waves of Settlers,and that this is a world of the first wave."Trevize smiled. "I'm getting a glimpse of how you mythologists work,Janov. You build a beautiful superstructure, but it may be standingon air. The legends tell us that the Settlers of the first wave wereaccompanied by numerous robots, and that these were supposed to be theirundoing. Now if we could find a robot on this world, I'd be willingto accept all this first-wave supposition, but we can't expect aftertwenty thou "Pelorat, whose mouth had been working, managed to find his voice. "But,Golan, haven't I told you? No, of course, I haven't. I'm soexcited I can't put things in the right order. There was a robot."40Trevize rubbed his forehead, almost as though he werein pain. He said, "A robot? There was a robot?""Yes," said Pelorat, nodding his head emphatically.
"How do you know?""Why, it was a robot. How could I fail to know one if I see one?""Have you ever seen a robot before?""No, but it was a metal object that looked like a human being. Head,arms, legs, torso. Of course, when I say metal, it was mostly rust26, andwhen I walked toward it, I suppose the vibration125 of my tread damaged itfurther, so that when I reached to touch it ""Why should you touch it?""Well, I suppose I couldn't quite believe my eyes. It was an automaticresponse. As soon as I touched it, it crumbled126. But ""Yes?""Before it quite did, its eyes seemed to glow very faintly and itmade a sound as though it were trying to say something.""You mean it was still functioning ?""Just barely, Golan. Then it collapsed127."Trevize turned to Bliss. "Do you corroborate128 all this, Bliss?""It was a robot, and we saw it," said Bliss.
"And was it still functioning?"Bliss said tonelessly, "As it crumbled, I caught a faint sense ofneuronic activity.""How can there have been neuronic activity? A robot doesn't have anorganic brain built of cells.""It has the computerized equivalent, I imagine," said Bliss, "and Iwould detect that.""Did you detect a robotic rather than a human mentality129?"Bliss pursed her lips and said, "It was too feeble to decide anythingabout it except that it was there."Trevize looked at Bliss, then at Pelorat, and said, in a tone ofexasperation, "This changes everything."
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1
latitude
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| n.纬度，行动或言论的自由(范围)，(pl.)地区 | |
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bliss
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| n.狂喜，福佑，天赐的福 | |
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3
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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muzzle
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| n.鼻口部；口套；枪(炮)口；vt.使缄默 | |
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technological
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| adj.技术的；工艺的 | |
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primitives
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| 原始人（primitive的复数形式） | |
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primitive
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| adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物 | |
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rim
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| n.(圆物的)边，轮缘；边界 | |
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exasperated
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| adj.恼怒的 | |
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killing
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| n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财 | |
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inflicting
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| 把…强加给，使承受，遭受( inflict的现在分词 ) | |
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custody
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| n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留 | |
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posturing
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| 做出某种姿势( posture的现在分词 ) | |
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naval
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| adj.海军的，军舰的，船的 | |
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panorama
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| n.全景，全景画，全景摄影，全景照片[装置] | |
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tint
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| n.淡色，浅色；染发剂；vt.着以淡淡的颜色 | |
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subliminal
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| adj.下意识的，潜意识的；太弱或太快以至于难以觉察的 | |
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actively
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| adv.积极地，勤奋地 | |
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vertical
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| adj.垂直的，顶点的，纵向的；n.垂直物，垂直的位置 | |
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archaic
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| adj.(语言、词汇等)古代的，已不通用的 | |
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hovered
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| 鸟( hover的过去式和过去分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫 | |
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apprehension
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| n.理解，领悟；逮捕，拘捕；忧虑 | |
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maneuvers
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| n.策略，谋略，花招( maneuver的名词复数 ) | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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rust
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| n.锈；v.生锈；(脑子)衰退 | |
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rustle
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| v.沙沙作响；偷盗(牛、马等)；n.沙沙声声 | |
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eerie
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| adj.怪诞的；奇异的；可怕的；胆怯的 | |
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29
deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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clumps
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| n.（树、灌木、植物等的）丛、簇( clump的名词复数 )；（土、泥等）团；块；笨重的脚步声v.（树、灌木、植物等的）丛、簇( clump的第三人称单数 )；（土、泥等）团；块；笨重的脚步声 | |
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31
legendary
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| adj.传奇（中）的，闻名遐迩的；n.传奇（文学） | |
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32
derived
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| vi.起源；由来；衍生；导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取 | |
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33
unicorns
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| n.（传说中身体似马的）独角兽( unicorn的名词复数 )；一角鲸；独角兽标记 | |
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mythical
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| adj.神话的；虚构的；想像的 | |
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sparse
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| adj.稀疏的，稀稀落落的，薄的 | |
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sentry
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| n.哨兵，警卫 | |
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warrior
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| n.勇士，武士，斗士 | |
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irresistible
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| adj.非常诱人的，无法拒绝的，无法抗拒的 | |
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recurred
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| 再发生，复发( recur的过去式和过去分词 )； 治愈 | |
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40
friendliness
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| n.友谊，亲切，亲密 | |
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41
countless
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| adj.无数的，多得不计其数的 | |
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42
adoration
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| n.爱慕，崇拜 | |
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43
saliva
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| n.唾液，口水 | |
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canine
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| adj.犬的，犬科的 | |
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45
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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47
sniffed
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| v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的过去式和过去分词 )；抽鼻子（尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气）；抱怨，不以为然地说 | |
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48
soothing
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| adj.慰藉的；使人宽心的；镇静的 | |
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49
snarl
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| v.吼叫，怒骂，纠缠，混乱；n.混乱，缠结，咆哮 | |
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50
growl
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| v.（狗等）嗥叫，（炮等）轰鸣；n.嗥叫，轰鸣 | |
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51
snarling
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| v.（指狗）吠，嗥叫， （人）咆哮( snarl的现在分词 )；咆哮着说，厉声地说 | |
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52
acceleration
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| n.加速，加速度 | |
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53
jaws
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| n.口部；嘴 | |
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54
unaware
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| a.不知道的，未意识到的 | |
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55
oozing
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| v.（浓液等）慢慢地冒出，渗出( ooze的现在分词 )；使（液体）缓缓流出；（浓液）渗出，慢慢流出 | |
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56
eventual
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| adj.最后的，结局的，最终的 | |
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57
predators
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| n.食肉动物( predator的名词复数 )；奴役他人者（尤指在财务或性关系方面） | |
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parasites
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| 寄生物( parasite的名词复数 )； 靠他人为生的人； 诸虫 | |
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hawks
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| 鹰( hawk的名词复数 )； 鹰派人物，主战派人物 | |
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grizzly
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| adj.略为灰色的，呈灰色的；n.灰色大熊 | |
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61
cull
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| v.拣选；剔除；n.拣出的东西；剔除 | |
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62
smother
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| vt./vi.使窒息；抑制；闷死；n.浓烟；窒息 | |
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63
bounty
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| n.慷慨的赠予物，奖金；慷慨，大方；施与 | |
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64
prey
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| n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨 | |
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65
preyed
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| v.掠食( prey的过去式和过去分词 )；掠食；折磨；（人）靠欺诈为生 | |
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66
preying
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| v.掠食( prey的现在分词 )；掠食；折磨；（人）靠欺诈为生 | |
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67
rodents
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| n.啮齿目动物( rodent的名词复数 ) | |
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68
niches
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| 壁龛( niche的名词复数 )； 合适的位置[工作等]； （产品的）商机； 生态位（一个生物所占据的生境的最小单位） | |
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69
gliding
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| v. 滑翔 adj. 滑动的 | |
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intensity
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| n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度 | |
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71
onlookers
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| n.旁观者，观看者( onlooker的名词复数 ) | |
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72
scramble
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| v.爬行，攀爬，杂乱蔓延，碎片，片段，废料 | |
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73
hustle
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| v.推搡；竭力兜售或获取；催促；n.奔忙(碌) | |
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74
conserving
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| v.保护，保藏，保存( conserve的现在分词 ) | |
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75
exude
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| v.(使)流出，(使)渗出 | |
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76
dummies
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| n.仿制品( dummy的名词复数 )；橡皮奶头；笨蛋；假传球 | |
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77
disappearance
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| n.消失，消散，失踪 | |
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utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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shimmer
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| v./n.发微光，发闪光；微光 | |
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cellular
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| adj.移动的；细胞的，由细胞组成的 | |
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81
scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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82
momentary
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| adj.片刻的，瞬息的；短暂的 | |
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hesitation
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| n.犹豫，踌躇 | |
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84
savage
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| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
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85
civilized
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| a.有教养的，文雅的 | |
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crumbling
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| adj.摇摇欲坠的 | |
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87
whining
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| n. 抱怨，牢骚 v. 哭诉，发牢骚 | |
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88
twitching
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| n.颤搐 | |
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89
squeals
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| n.长而尖锐的叫声( squeal的名词复数 )v.长声尖叫，用长而尖锐的声音说( squeal的第三人称单数 ) | |
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90
squealing
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| v.长声尖叫，用长而尖锐的声音说( squeal的现在分词 ) | |
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scrambled
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| v.快速爬行( scramble的过去式和过去分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞 | |
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soothed
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| v.安慰( soothe的过去式和过去分词 )；抚慰；使舒服；减轻痛苦 | |
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93
hull
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| n.船身；(果、实等的)外壳；vt.去(谷物等)壳 | |
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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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95
dominant
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| adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因 | |
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efficiently
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| adv.高效率地，有能力地 | |
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relatively
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| adv.比较...地，相对地 | |
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98
grunted
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| （猪等）作呼噜声( grunt的过去式和过去分词 )； （指人）发出类似的哼声； 咕哝着说 | |
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99
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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100
unfamiliar
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| adj.陌生的，不熟悉的 | |
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101
inflicts
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| 把…强加给，使承受，遭受( inflict的第三人称单数 ) | |
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102
dealing
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| n.经商方法，待人态度 | |
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103
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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104
gratitude
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| adj.感激，感谢 | |
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105
begrudge
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| vt.吝啬，羡慕 | |
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106
habitually
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| ad.习惯地，通常地 | |
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107
foresight
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| n.先见之明，深谋远虑 | |
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108
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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109
hunch
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| n.预感，直觉 | |
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110
hunches
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| 预感，直觉( hunch的名词复数 ) | |
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111
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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112
reverting
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| 恢复( revert的现在分词 )； 重提； 回到…上； 归还 | |
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113
savagery
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| n.野性 | |
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114
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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115
random
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| adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动 | |
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116
qualitatively
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| 质量上 | |
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117
overriding
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| a.最主要的 | |
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118
administrative
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| adj.行政的，管理的 | |
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119
afterward
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| adv.后来；以后 | |
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120
eyebrows
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| 眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 ) | |
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121
tighten
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| v.(使)变紧；(使)绷紧 | |
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122
deflated
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| adj. 灰心丧气的 | |
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123
abashed
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| adj.窘迫的，尴尬的v.使羞愧，使局促，使窘迫( abash的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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124
aurora
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| n.极光 | |
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125
vibration
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| n.颤动，振动；摆动 | |
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126
crumbled
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| （把…）弄碎， （使）碎成细屑( crumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 衰落； 坍塌； 损坏 | |
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127
collapsed
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| adj.倒塌的 | |
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128
corroborate
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| v.支持，证实，确定 | |
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129
mentality
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| n.心理，思想，脑力 | |
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