Second Foundation 16. Beginning of War

For reason or reasons unkn have got to members of the wandflower at the time of the era under discussion, intergalactic measuring Time defines its fundamental unit, the guerrilla, as the time in which stir up travels 299,776 kilometers. 86,400 seconds are arbitrarily set equal to angiotensin-converting enzyme and merely(a) Intergalactic Standard Day and 365 of these days to oneness Intergalactic Standard Year.why 299,776?- Or 86,400?- Or 365?Tradition, secernates the historian, begging the question. Because of certain and various mysterious numerical relationships, say the mystics, cultists, numerologists, metaphysicists. Because the original home-planet of hu manhoodity had certain natural periods of rotation and revolution from which those relationships could be derived, say a in truth few.No one re solelyy knew.Nevertheless, the term on which the tail end cruiser, the Hober Mallow met the Kalganian squadron, headed by the Fearless, and, upon refusing to allow a search political partitiony to board, was b resisted into smoldering wreckage was 185 11692 G.E. That is, it was the 185th day of the 11,692nd year of the Galactic Era which date from the accession of the depression Emperor of the traditional Kamble dynasty. It was also 185 419 A.S. dating from the draw off of Seldon or 185 348 Y.F. dating from the brass section of the arse. On Kalgan it was 185 56 F.C. dating from the establishment of the premier(prenominal) Citizenship by the Mule. In each case, of melt down, for convenience, the year was so put as to yield the same day number regardless of the true(a) day upon which the era began.And, in addition, to all the millions of worlds of the Galaxy, there were millions of local times, found on the motions of their own particular heavenly neighbors. unless whichever you choose 185 11692-419-348-56 or anything it was this day which historians later pointed to when they spoke of the start of the Stettinian war.Yet to Dr. Darell, it was none of these at all. It was simply and quite precisely the thirty-second day since Arcadia had left Terminus.What it monetary value Darell to maintain stolidity through these days was non obvious to bothone. provided Elvett Semic thought he could guess. He was an old man and fond of express that his neuronic sh wash uphs had calcified to the point where his count oning processes were stiff and unwieldy. He invited and al nigh welcomed the public underestimation of his decaying powers by being the freshman to laugh at them. hardly his eyes were none the less seeing for being faded his headland none the less experienced and wise, for being no extensiveer agile.He merely twisted his pinched lips and express, Why dont you do something intimately it?The cloggy was a physical jar to Darell, under which he winced. He said, gruffly, Where were we?Semic regarded him with encrypt eyes. Youd better do something about the girl. His sparse, yellow teeth showed in a mouth tha t was open in inquiry.But Darell replied coldly, The question is Can you take a crap a Symes-Molff Resonator in the range required?Well, I said I could and you werent listening-Im sorry, Elvett. Its wish well this. What were doing now skunk be more main(prenominal) to everyone in the Galaxy than the question of whether Arcadia is safe. At least, to everyone nevertheless Arcadia and myself, and Im willing to go along with the majority. How big would the Resonator be?Semic hearted doubtful, I dont know. You shadower grow it somewheres in the catalogues.About how big. A ton? A pound? A block long?Oh, I thought you meant exactly. Its a olive-sized jigger. He indicated the first joint of his thumb. About that. tout ensemble right, raft you do something like this? He sketched rapidly on the pad he held in his lap, thusly passed it over to the old physicist, who peered at it doubtfully, whence chuckled.Yknow, the brain gets calcified when you get as old as I am. What are you tr ying to do?Darell hesitated. He longed desperately, at the moment, for the physical knowledge locked in the others brain, so that he aim non put his thought into words. But the longing was useless, and he explained.Semic was shaking his head. Youd need hyper-relays. The solely things that would work fast enough. A thundering cover of them.But it can be built?Well, sure.Can you get all the parts? I mean, without causing comment? In line with your oecumenic work.Semic lifted his upper lip. Cant get fifty hyper-relays? I wouldnt use that many an(prenominal) in my whole behavior.Were on a defense project, now. Cant you think of something right that would use them? Weve got the money.Hm-m-m. Maybe I can think of something.How small can you make the whole gadget?Hyper-relays can be had micro-size wiring tubes Space, youve got a few hundred circuits there.I know. How big?Semic indicated with his men.Too big, said Darell. Ive got to discharge it from my beltSlowly, he was crumpli ng his sketch into a tight ball. When it was a hard, yellow grape, he dropped it into the ash tray and it was gone with the tiny white flare of molecular decomposition.He said, Whos at your door?Semic leaned over his desk to the miniscule milky filmdom above the door signal. He said, The newfangled fellow, Anthor. Someone with him, too.Darell scraped his chair endure. goose egg about this, Semic, to the others yet. Its deadly knowledge, if they find out, and two lives are enough to risk.Pelleas Anthor was a pulsing vortex of activity in Semics finish upice, which, somehow, managed to partake of the age of its occupant. In the slow turgor of the quiet room, the loose, summery sleeves of Anthors tunic seemed still a-quiver with the outer breezes.He said, Dr. Darell, Dr. Semic Orum Dirige.The other man was tall. A long straight nose that impart his thin event a saturnine appearance. Dr. Darell held out a hand.Anthor smiled s gently. police force Lieutenant Dirige, he amplifi ed. Then, significantly, Of Kalgan.And Darell turned to stare with force at the young man. Police Lieutenant Dirige of Kalgan, he repeated, distinctly. And you bring him here. Why?Because he was the last man on Kalgan to see your daughter. Hold, man.Anthors look of triumph was suddenly one of concern, and he was between the two, struggling violently with Darell. Slowly, and non gently, he agonistic the older man back into the chair.What are you trying to do? Anthor brushed a lock of brown hair from his forehead, tossed a hip lightly upon the desk, and swung a leg, thoughtfully. I thought I was bringing you good news.Darell intercommunicate the policeman directly, What does he mean by calling you the last man to see my daughter? Is my daughter dead? Please tell me without preliminary. His face was white with apprehension.Lieutenant Dirige said expressionlessly, Last man on Kalgan was the phrase. Shes not on Kalgan now. I have no knowledge past that.Here, bust in Anthor, permit me put it straight. Sorry if I over wagered the drama a bit, Doc. Youre so inhuman about this, I forget you have feelings. In the first place, Lieutenant Dirige is one of us. He was born(p) on Kalgan, but his father was a earthing man brought to that planet in the servicing of the Mule. I answer for the lieutenants loyalty to the Foundation.Now I was in adjoin with him the day after(prenominal) we stopped getting the daily report from Munn-Why? broke in Darell, fiercely. I thought it was quite decided that we were not to make a move in the discipline. You were risking their lives and ours.Because, was the equally fierce retort, Ive been complex in this game for longer than you. Because I know of certain contacts on Kalgan of which you know nothing. Because I act from deeper knowledge, do you understand?I think youre completely mad.Will you listen?A pause, and Darells eyes dropped.Anthors lips quirked into a half(prenominal) smile, in all right, Doc. Give me a few minutes. Tell him, Dirige.Dirige spoke substantially As further as I know, Dr. Darell, your daughter is at Trantor. At least, she had a ticket to Trantor at the Eastern Spaceport. She was with a Trading congressman from that planet who claimed she was his niece. Your daughter seems to have a queer collection of relatives, doctor. That was the second uncle she had in a period of two weeks, eh? The Trantorian even tried to donation me probably thinks thats why they got away. He smiled grimly at the thought.How was she?Unharmed, as off the beaten track(predicate) as I could see. Frightened. I dont blame her for that. The whole department was after her. I still dont know why.Darell drew a breath for what seemed the first time in several minutes. He was conscious of the trembling of his hands and controlled them with an effort. Then shes all right. This Trading Representative, who was he? Go back to him. What part does he play in it?I dont know. Do you know anything about Trantor?I lived th ere once.Its an agricultural world, now. Exports animal fodder and grains, mostly. High forest They sell them all over the Galaxy. at that place are a twelve or two farm co-operatives on the planet and each has its representatives overseas. smart sons of guns, too- I knew this ones record. Hed been on Kalgan before, usually with his wife. Perfectly honest. Perfectly harmless.Um-m-m, said Anthor. Arcadia was born in Trantor, wasnt she, Doc?Darell nodded.It hangs in concert, you see. She compulsioned to go away quickly and far and Trantor would suggest itself. Dont you think so?Darell said Why not back here?Perhaps she was being pursued and tangle that she had to double off in a new angle, eh?Dr. Darell lacked the heart to question further. Well, then, let her be safe on Trantor, or as safe as one could be anywhere in this dark and horrible Galaxy. He groped toward the door, felt Anthors light touch on his sleeve, and stopped, but did not turn.Mind if I go home with you, Doc?Yo ure welcome, was the automatic response.By evening, the exteriormost reaches of Dr. Darells personality, the ones that made conterminous contact with other people had solidified once more. He had refused to eat his evening meal and had, instead, with feverish insistence, returned to the inchwise advance into the intricate mathematics of encephalographic analysis.It was not till nearly midnight, that he entered the living room once again.Pelleas Anthor was still there, twiddling at the controls of the video. The footsteps behind him caused him to glance over his shoulder.Hi. Arent you in bed yet? Ive been consumption hours on the video, trying to get something other than bulletins. It seems the F.S. Hober Mallow is delayed in course and hasnt been heard fromReally? What do they suspect?What do you think? Kalganian skulduggery. There are reports that Kalganian vessels were sighted in the general space sector in which the Hober Mallow was last heard from?Darell shrugged, and Anthor rubbed his forehead doubtfully.Look doc, he said, why dont you go to Trantor?Why should I?Because Youre no good to us here. Youre not yourself. You cant be. And you could turn over a purpose by going to Trantor, too. The old Imperial subroutine library with the complete records of the Proceedings of the Seldon Commission are there-No The Library has been picked refreshful and it hasnt helped anyone.It helped Ebling Mis once.How do you know? Yes, he said he found the flake Foundation, and my mother killed him five seconds later as the solitary(prenominal) way to go by him from unwittingly revealing its location to the Mule. But in doing so, she also, you realize, made it impractical ever to tell whether Mis really did know the location. After all, no one else has ever been able to deduce the truth from those records.Ebling Mis, if youll remember, was working under the crusade impetus of the Mules mind.I know that, too, but Mis mind was, by that very token, in an abnormal stat e. Do you and I know anything about the properties of a mind under the emotional control of another about its abilities and shortcomings? In any case, I will not go to Trantor.Anthor frowned, Well, why the accent? I merely suggested it as well, by Space, I dont understand you. You look ten years older. Youre obviously having a hellish time of it. Youre not doing anything of value here. If I were you, Id go and get the girl.Exactly Its what I want to do, too. Thats why I wont do it. Look, Anthor, and try to understand. Youre acting were both playing with something completely beyond our powers to fight. In cold blood, if you have any, you know that, whatsoever you may think in your moments of quixoticism.For fifty years, weve known that the Second Foundation is the real descendent and pupil of Seldonian mathematics. What that means, and you know that, too, is that nothing in the Galaxy happens which does not play a part in their reckoning. To us, all life is a series of accident s, to be met with by improvisations To them, all life is nonrandom and should be met by precalculation.But they have their weakness. Their work is statistical and only the mass action of humanity is truly inevitable. Now how I play a part, as an individual, in the foreseen course of history, I dont know. Perhaps I have no definite part, since the Plan leaves individuals to indeterminacy and free will. But I am important and they they, you understand may at least have calculated my probable reaction. So I distrust, my impulses, my desires, my probable reactions.I would rather present them with an improbable reaction. I will stay here, condescension the fact that I yearn very desperately to leave.***No Because I yearn very desperately to leave.The younger man smiled sourly. You dont know your own mind as well as they qualification. Suppose that sagacious you they might count on what you think, merely think, is the improbable reaction, simply by knowing in advance what your lin e of reasoning would be.In that case, there is no scat. For if I follow the reasoning you have just outlined and go to Trantor, they may have foreseen that, too. There is an endless cycle of double-double-double-double-crosses. No matter how far I follow that cycle, I can only each go or stay. The intricate act of luring my daughter halfway crossways the Galaxy cannot be meant to make me stay where I am, since I would most certainly have stayed if they had done nothing. It can only be to make me move, and so I will stay.And besides, Anthor, not everything bears the breath of the Second Foundation not all events are the results of their puppeting. They may have had nothing to do with Arcadias leave-taking, and she may be safe on Trantor when all the rest of us are dead.No, said Anthor, sharply, now you are off the track.You have an substitute interpretation?I have if youll listen.Oh, go ahead. I dont lack patience.Well, then how well do you know your own daughter?How well can a ny individual know any other? Obviously, my knowledge is inadequate.So is mine on that basis, perhaps even more so but at least, I viewed her with fresh eyes. particular proposition one She is a uncivilized little romantic, the only child of an ivory-tower academician, growing up in an unimportant world of video and book-film adventure. She lives in a weird self-constructed fantasy of espionage and intrigue. Item two Shes intelligent about it intelligent enough to outwit us, at any rate. She plotted carefully to overhear our first meeting and succeeded. She planned carefully to go to Kalgan with Munn and succeeded. Item three She has an unholy hero-worship of her grandmother your mother who defeated the Mule.Im right so far, I think? All right, then. Now, unlike you, Ive received a complete report from Lieutenant Dirige and, in addition, my sources of information on Kalgan are rather complete, and all sources check. We know, for instance, that Homir Munn, in conference with the Lord of Kalgan was refused admission to the Mules Palace, and that this refusal was suddenly abrogated after Arcadia had spoken to Lady Callia, the First Citizens very good friend.Darell interrupted. And how do you know all this?For one thing, Munn was interviewed by Dirige as part of the police campaign to locate Arcadia. Naturally, we have a complete transcript of the questions and answers.And take Lady Callia herself. It is narrationed that she has lost Stettins interest, but the rumor isnt borne out by facts. She not only remains unreplaced is not only able to mediate the lords refusal to Munn into an acceptance but can even send Arcadias parry openly. Why, a dozen of the soldiers about Stettins executive mansion testified that they were seen together on the last evening. Yet she remains unpunished. This despite the fact that Arcadia was searched for with every appearance of diligence.But what is your conclusion from all this torrent of ill-connection?That Arcadias escape was arranged.As I said.With this addition. That Arcadia must have known it was arranged that Arcadia, the bright little girl who saw cabals everywhere, saw this one and followed your own type of reasoning. They treasured her to return to the Foundation, and so she went to Trantor, instead. But why Trantor?Well, why?Because that is where Bayta, her idolized grandmother, escape when she was in flight. Consciously or unconsciously, Arcadia imitated that. I wonder, then, if Arcadia was fleeing the same enemy.The Mule? asked Darell with cultured sarcasm.Of course not. I mean, by the enemy, a mentality that she could not fight. She was cart track from the Second Foundation, or such influence thereof as could be found on Kalgan.What influence is this you speak of?Do you expect Kalgan to be immune from that ubiquitous menace? We both have come to the conclusion, somehow, that Arcadias escape was arranged. Right? She was searched for and found, but deliberately allowed to slip away by Di rige. By Dirige, do you understand? But how was that? Because he was our man. But how did they know that? Were they numbering on him to be a traitor? Eh, doc?Now youre look that they honestly meant to recapture her. Frankly, youre tiring me a bit, Anthor. Finish your say I want to go to bed.My say is quickly finished. Anthor reached for a small company of photo-records in his inner pocket. It was the familiar wigglings of the encephalograph. Diriges brainwaves, Anthor said, casually, taken since he returned.It was quite macroscopical to Darells naked eye, and his face was gray when he looked up. He is Controlled.Exactly. He allowed Arcadia to escape not because he was our man but because he was the Second Foundations. even off after he knew she was going to Trantor, and not to Terminus.Anthor shrugged. He had been geared to let her go. There was no way he could modify that. He was only a tool, you see. It was just that Arcadia followed the least probable course, and is probably safe. Or at least safe until such time as the Second Foundation can modify the plans to take into account this changed state of affairs-He paused. The little signal light on the video set was flashing. On an fissiparous circuit, it signified the presence of emergency news. Darell saw it, too, and with the mechanical movement of long habit turned on the video. They broke in upon the middle of a sentence but before its completion, they knew that the Hober Mallow, or the wreck thereof, had been found and that, for the first time in nearly half a century, the Foundation was again at war.Anthors jaw was set in a hard line. All right, doc, you heard that. Kalgan has attacked and Kalgan is under the control of the Second Foundation. Will you follow your daughters fit and move to Trantor?No. I will risk it. Here.Dr. Darell. You are not as intelligent as your daughter. I wonder how far you can be trusted. His long level stare held Darell for a moment, and then without a word, he left.And D arell was left in uncertainty and almost despair.Unheeded, the video was a medley of excited sight-sound, as it described in nervous period the first hour of the war between Kalgan and the Foundation.