They were now racing¹ rapidly through the tunnel once more. Seldon decided² to give voice to the question that had been nagging³ at him for the last hour or so.
"Why do you say the Galactic Empire is dying?"
Hummin turned to look at Seldon again. "As a journalist, I have statistics poured into me from all sides till theyre squeezing out of my ears. And Im allowed to publish very little of it. Trantors population is decreasing. Twenty-five years ago, it stood at almost forty-five billion. "Partly, this decrease is because of a decline in the birthrate. To be sure, Trantor never has had a high birthrate. If youll look about you when youre traveling on Trantor, you wont⁴ encounter very many children, considering the enormous population. But just the same its declining. Then too there is emigration. People are leaving Trantor in greater numbers than are arriving."
"Considering its large population," said Seldon, "thats not surprising."
"But its unusual just the same because it hasnt happened before. Again, all over the Galaxy⁵ trade is stagnating⁶. People think that because there are no rebellions at the moment and because things are quiet that all is well and that the difficulties of the past few centuries are over. However, political infighting, rebellions, and unrest are all signs of a certain vitality⁷ too. But now theres a general weariness. Its quiet, not because people are satisfied and prosperous, but because theyre tired and have given up."
"Oh, I dont know," said Seldon dubiously⁸.
"I do. And the antigrav phenomenon weve talked about is another case in point. We have a few gravitic lifts in operation, but new ones arent being constructed. Its an unprofitable venture and there seems no interest in trying to make it profitable. The rate of

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