Prelude to Foundation

that was what we needed. My father was too old to see the significance at once. When I explained it, however, he saw it too and it was then that he formally transferred his power to me. So it is to you, Hari, that I owe my position and to you I will owe my greater position in the future.”

“I keep telling you that it cannot—” began Seldon with deep annoyance.

“It is not important what can or cannot be done. What is important is what people will or will not believe can be done. They will believe you, Hari, when you tell them the psychohistoric prediction is that Trantor can rule itself and that the Provinces can become Kingdoms that will live together in peace.”

“I will make no such prediction,” said Seldon, “in the absence of true psychohistory. I won’t play the charlatan. If you want something like that, you say it.”

“Now, Hari. They won’t believe me. It’s you they will believe. The great mathematician. Why not oblige them?”

“As it happens,” said Seldon, “the Emperor also thought to use me as a source of self-serving prophecies. I refused to do it for him, so do you think I will agree to do it for you?”

Rashelle was silent for a while and when she spoke again her voice had lost its intense excitement and became almost coaxing.

“Hari,” she said, “think a little of the difference between Cleon and myself. What Cleon undoubtedly wanted from you was propaganda to preserve his throne. It would be useless to give him that, for the throne can’t be preserved. Don’t you know that the Galactic Empire is in a state of decay, that it cannot endure for much longer? Trantor itself is slowly sliding into ruin because of the ever-increasing weight of administering twenty-five million worlds. What’s ahead of us is breakup and civil war, no matter what you do for Cleon.”

Seldon said, “I have heard something like this said. It may even be true, but what then?”

“Well then, help it break into fragments without any war. Help me take Trantor. Help me establish a firm government over a realm small enough to be ruled efficiently. Let me give freedom to the rest of the Galaxy, each portion to go its own way according to its own customs and cultures. The Galaxy will become a working whole again through the free agencies of trade, tourism, and communication and the fate of cracking into disaster under the present rule of force that barely holds it together will be averted. My ambition is moderate indeed; one world, not millions; peace, not war; freedom, not slavery. Think about it and help me.”

Seldon said, “Why should the Galaxy believe me any more than they would believe you? They don’t know me and which of our fleet commanders will be impressed by the mere word ‘psychohistory’?”

“You won’t be believed now, but I don’t ask for action now. The House of Wye, having waited thousands of years, can wait thousands of days more. Cooperate with me and I will make your name famous. I will make the promise of psychohistory glow through all the worlds and at the proper time, when I judge the moment to be the chosen moment, you will pronounce your prediction and we will strike. Then, in a twinkling of history, the Galaxy will exist under a New Order that will render it stable and happy for eons. Come now, Hari, can you refuse me?”

OVERTHROW

THALUS, EMMER— .?.?.?A sergeant in the armed security forces of the Wye Sector of ancient Trantor?.?.?.

.?.?.?Aside from these totally unremarkable vital statistics, nothing is known of the man except that on one occasion he held the fate of the Galaxy in his fist.

ENCYCLOPEDIA GALACTICA

87

Breakfast the next morning was served in an alcove near the rooms of the captured three and it was luxurious indeed. There certainly was a considerable variety to the food and more than enough of everything.

Seldon sat at the breakfast table with a mound of spicy sausages before him, totally ignoring Dors Venabili’s gloomy predictions concerning stomachs and colic.

Raych said, “The dame .?.?. the Madam Mayor said when she came to see me last night—”

“She came to see you?” said Seldon.

“Yeah. She said she wanted to make sure I was comfortable. She said when she had a chance she would take me to a zoo.”

“A zoo?” Seldon looked at Dors. “What kind of zoo can they have on Trantor? Cats and dogs?”

“There are some aboriginal animals,” said Dors, “and I imagine they import some aboriginals from other worlds and there are also the shared animals that all the worlds have—other worlds having more than Trantor, of course. As a matter of fact, Wye has a famous zoo, probably the best on the planet after the Imperial Zoo itself.”

Raych said, “She’s a nice old lady.”

“Not that old,” said Dors, “but she’s certainly feeding us well.”

“There’s that,” admitted Seldon.

When breakfast was over, Raych left to go exploring.

Once they had retired to Dors’s room, Seldon said with marked discontent, “I don’t know how long we’ll be left to ourselves. She’s obviously plotted ways of preoccupying our time.”

Dors said, “Actually, we have little to complain of at the moment. We’re much more comfortable here than we were either in Mycogen or Dahl.”

Seldon said, “Dors, you’re not being won over by that woman, are you?”

“Me? By Rashelle? Of course not. How can you possibly think so?”

“Well, you’re comfortable. You’re well-fed. It would be natural to relax and accept what fortune brings.”

“Yes, very natural. And why not do that?”

“Look, you were telling me last night about what’s going to happen if she wins out. I may not be much of a historian myself, but I am willing to take your word for it and, actually, it makes sense—even to a nonhistorian. The Empire will shatter and its shards will be fighting each other for .?.?. for .?.?. indefinitely. She must be stopped.”

“I agree,” said Dors. “She must be. What I fail to see is how we can manage to do that little thing right at this moment.” She looked at Seldon narrowly. “Hari, you didn’t sleep last night, did you?”

“Did you?” It was apparent he had not.

Dors stared at him, a troubled look clouding her face. “Have you lain awake thinking of Galactic destruction because of what I said?”

“That and some other things. Is it possible to reach Chetter Hummin?” This last was said in a whisper.

Dors said, “I tried to reach him when we first had to flee arrest in Dahl. He didn’t come. I’m sure he received the message, but he didn’t come. It may be that, for any of a number of reasons, he just couldn’t come to us, but when he can he will.”

“Do you suppose something has happened to him?”

“No,” said Dors patiently. “I don’t think so.”

“How can you know?”

“The word would somehow get to me. I’m sure of it. And the word hasn’t gotten to me.”

Seldon frowned and said, “I’m not as confident as you are about all this. In fact, I’m not confident at all. Even if Hummin came, what can he do in this case? He can’t fight all of Wye. If they have, as Rashelle claims, the best-organized army on Trantor, what will he be able to do against it?”

“There’s no point in discussing that. Do you suppose you can convince Rashelle—bang it into her head