"What a surprise-my friend Hari!" Agis's visage beamed at Seldon through the holoscreen. "I am glad to hear from you, although you usually request the more formal personal audience. Come, you've piqued¹ my interest. Why the urgency?"
    "Sire," began Seldon, "my son, Raych, and his wife and daughter live on Santanni."
    "Ah, Santanni," the Emperor said as his smile faded. "A bunch of misguided wretches² if I ever-"
    "Sire, please," broke in Seldon, surprising both the Emperor and himself with this flagrant breach³ of Imperial protocol⁴. "My son was able to get Manella and Bellis onto a hypership, the Arcadia VII, bound for Anacreon. He, however, had to remain. That was three days ago. The ship has not landed at Anacreon. And my son seems to have disappeared. My calls to Santanni have gone unanswered and now the communication beams are broken.
    "Please, Sire, can you help me?"
    "Hari, as you know, officially all ties between Santanni and Trantor have been severed⁵. However, I still hold some influence in selected areas of Santanni. That is, there are still a few loyal to me who have not yet been found out. Although I cannot make direct contact with any of my operatives on that world, I can share with you any reports I receive from there. These are, of course, highly confidential⁶, but considering your situation and our relationship, I will allow you access to those pieces that might interest you.
    "I am expecting another dispatch within the hour. If you like, I'll recontact you when it arrives. In the meantime, I'll have one of my aides go over all transmissions from Santanni for the past three days to look for anything pertaining⁷ to Raych, Manella, or Bellis Seldon."
    "Thank you, Sire. I thank you most

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