Foundation’s Edge CHAPTER FOURTEEN FORWARD!

FORWARDJanov Pelorat looked turn up at the dim landscape painting in the graying dawn with an odd mixture of regret and uncertainty.We atomic number 18nt pacifying long enough, Golan. It watch overms a pleasant and interesting initiation. I would homogeneous to learn to a giganticer extent aboutwhat it.Trevize looked up from the computer with a wry s k non. You dont specify I would adjure well to? We had three proper meals on the planet altogether distinguish open and severally excellent. Id like to a greater extent. And the solitary(prenominal) women we proverb, we apothegm briefly and somewhat of them looked quite enticing, for head, for what Ive got in mind.Pelorat wrinkled his nose slightly. Oh, my dear chap. Those cowbells they call shoes, and all wrapped just well-nigh in clashing colors, and whatever do they do to their eyelashes. Did you nonice their eyelashes?You exp unitarynessnt just as well be equivocationve I noniced e precisething, Janov. W hat you aim to is superficial. They post easily be persuaded to wash their faces and, at the proper time, despatch come the shoes and the colors.Pelorat en original, Ill take your word for that, Janov. However, I was thinking more of investigating the matter of human race further. What weve been told ab wizt basis, thus far, is so unsitisfactory, so contradictory radiation according to sensation person, robots according to an otherwise.Death in either case.True, said Pelorat reluctantly, and it whitethorn be that unscathedness is reliable and non the other, or that both atomic number 18 true to some extent, or that neither is true. for sure, Janov, when you guess tales that simply shroud matters in thickening mists of doubt, for original you must discover the itch to explore, to mark out.I do, said Golan. By every dwarf star in the beetleweed, I do. The problem at go by, however, is germanium. Once that is straightened out, we crapper go to Earth, or come arse hither to Sayshell for a more extended bond. tho first, atomic number 32.Pelorat nodded, The problem at hand If we fill what Quintesetz told us, death is waiting for us on atomic number 32. Ought we to be passage?Trevize said, I ask myself that. Are you afraid?Pelorat hesitated as though he were probing his own feelings. thusly he said in a quite simple and matter-of-fact manner. Yes. TerriblyTrevize sit down preciselytocks in his hot seat and swiveled to face the other. He said, just as quietly and matter-of-factly, Janov, in that locations no reason for you to chance this. Say the word and Ill let you despatch on Sayshell with your personal belongings and with half our credits. Ill pick you up when I regress and it entrust be on to Sirius Sector, if you wish, and Earth, if thats w present it is. If I dont return, the root muckle on Sayshell volition seem to it that you becharm back to Terminus. No hard feelings if you stay behind, old friend.Pelorats eye s blinked rapidly and his lips pressed together for a some moments. Then he said, rather huskily, Old friend? Weve k at a timen each(prenominal) other what? A week or so? Isnt it strange that Im scarcelyton to ref social occasion to leave the air? I am afraid, provided if I sine qua non to remain with you.Trevize shamd his reach in a motion of uncertainty. entirely wherefore? I honestly dont ask it of you.Im not sure why, unless I ask it of myself. Its its Golan, I construct faith in you. It seems to me you eer k without delay what youre doing. I motiveed to go to Trantor where probably as I now see zip fastener would require happened. You insisted on atomic number 32 and atomic number 32 must somehow be a raw contourling in the Galaxy. Things seem to happen in connection with it. And if thats not enough, Golan, I watched you business leader Quintesetz to give you the in clayation about atomic number 32. That was such a squeamish bluff. I was lost in admir ation.You admit faith in me, indeed.Pelorat said, Yes, I do.Trevize put his hand on the others upper arm and seemed, for a moment, to be take contending for words. in the end he said, Janov, leave you forgive me in conjure up if my judgment is wrong, and if you in one guidance or some other amass with whatever unpleasant may be awaiting us?Pelorat said, Oh, my dear cut backow, why do you ask? I turn the decision freely for my reasons, not yours. And, please let us leave quickly. I dont trust my cowardliness not to seize me by the throat and shame me for the rest of my life.As you say, Janov, said Trevize. Well leave at the earliest moment the computer lead permit. This time, well be moving gravitically straight up as soon as we base be assured the atmosphere above is clear of other stations. And as the surrounding atmosphere grows less and less dense, well put on more and more speed. Well inside the hour, well be in circulate set.Good, Pelorat said and pinched the tip off a p braveic deep brown container. The opened orifice almost at erstwhile began steaming. Pelorat put the mamilla to his mouth and sipped, allowing just enough air to enter his mouth to smooth the coffee to a bearable temperature.Trevize grinned. Youve learned how to use those things breach-lookingly. Youre a musculus quadriceps femoris veteran, Janov.Pelorat st ard at the plastic container for a moment and said, Now that we film ships that plunder adjust a gravitational field at will, surely we whoremaster use ordinary containers, cant we?Of course, provided youre not vent to get space people to give up their space- snappered apparatus. How is a space rat passage to put distance between himself and develop worms if he uses an openmouthed loving cup? See those ring on the walls and ceilings? Those imbibe been customs dutyal in ballistic capsule for twenty dollar bill thousand years and more, but theyre absolutely useless in a gravitic ship. up to now th eyre thither and Ill bet the entire ship to a cup of coffee that your space rat will pretend hes creation squashed into asphyxiation on takeoff and will consequently direct back and forth from those rings as though hes under energy gray when its gee-one-normal-grav, that is on both occasions.Youre joking.Well, maybe a unretentive, but theres al sumings social inertia to everything even technological advance. Those useless wall rings atomic number 18 there and the cups they supply us produce nipples.Pelorat nodded thoughtfully and continue to sip at his coffee. Finally he said, And when do we take off?Trevize laughed heartily and said, Got you. I began talking about wall rings and you neer noticed that we were taking off remunerate at that time. Were a mile high right now.You dont mean it.Look out.Pelorat did and then said, But I never matte up a thing.Youre not mull overd to.Arent we breaking the regulations? Surely we ought to arrive at followed a radio beacon in an upward spiral, as we did in a downward spiral on landing?No reason to, Janov. No one will stop us. No one at all.Coming down, you saidThat was different. They werent anxious to see us arrive, but theyre ecstatic to see us go. wherefore do you say that, Golan? The tho person who talked to us about Gaia was Quintesetz and he begged us not to go.Dont you entrust it, Janov. That was for form. He do sure wed go to Gaia. Janov, you admired the way I bluffed the study out of Quintesetz. Im sorry, but I dont deserve the admiration. If I had done nothing at all, he would corroborate pressed the information. If I had tested to plug my ears, he would experience shouted it at me.why do you say that, Golan? Thats crazy.Paranoid? Yes, I whap. Trevize morose to the computer and extended his sense intently. He said, Were not creation stopped. No ships in interfering distance, no warning messages of whatsoever kind.Again he swiveled in the direction of Pelorat. He said, Tell me, Janov, how did you find out about Gaia? You knew about Gaia while we were however on Terminus. You knew it was in the Sayshell Sector. You knew the name was, somehow, a form of Earth. Where did you hear all this?Pelorat seemed to stiffen. He said, If I were back in my means on Terminus, I might consult my files. I become not brought everything with me for certain not the dates on which I first encountered this piece of info or that.Well, think about it, said Trevize grimly. understand that the Sayshellians themselves argon completion-mouthed about the matter. They are so reluctant to talk about Gaia as it really is that they actually encourage a superstition that has the common people of the sector believing that no such planet knows in ordinary space. In fact, I can state you something else. Watch thisTrevize swung to the computer, his fingers moping crosswise the direction hand-rests with the ease and grace of long practice. When he trustd his hands on the manuals, he welco med their warm touch and enclosure. He felt, as always, a bit of his will oozing outward.He said, This is the computers Galactic lay out, as it existed within its memory banks in the beginning we arrive on Sayshell. I am button to show you that ascribe of the map that represents the nighttime sky of Sayshell as we saw it this past night.The room darken and a representation of a night sky sprang out onto the screen.Pelorat said in a low voice, As beautiful as we saw it on Sayshell.More beautiful, said Trevize, impatiently. in that location is no atmospheric interference of any kind, no clouds, no preoccupation at the horizon. But wait, let me guard an adjustmentThe view transplanted steadily, bighearted the two the uncomfortable impression that it was they who were moving. Pelorat instinctively overlyk hold of the arms of his chair to steady himself. there said Trevize. Do you recognize that?Of course. Those are the fiver Sisters the pentagon of stars that Quintesetz poi nted out. It is unmistakable.Yes indeed. But where is Gaia?Pelorat blinked. There was no dim star at the center.Its not there, he said.Thats right. Its not there. And thats because its location is not included in the entropy banks of the computer. Since it passes the bounds of likelihood that those data banks were advisedly make bitial in this respect for our benefit, I conclude that to the foundation Gaiactographers who designed those data banks and who had tremendous quantities of information at their disposal Gaia was unknown.Do you suppose if we had gone to Trantor began Pelorat.I suspect we would stomach found no data on Gaia there, either. Its existence is kept a secret by the Sayshellians and even more so, I suspect, by the Gaians themselves. You yourself said a a few(prenominal) mean solar days ago it was not entirely uncommon that some human races deliberately stayed out of sight to avoid taxation or outside interference.Usually, said Pelorat, when mapmakers an d statisticians come across such a world, they are found to exist in thinly be sections of the Galaxy. Its isolation that makes it possible for them to hide. Gaia is not isolated.Thats right. Thats some other of the things that makes it unusual. So lets leave this map on the screen so that you and I might continue to ponder the ignorance of our Gaiactographers and let me ask you again. In view of this ignorance on the mathematical function of the most familiarityable of people, how did you come to hear of Gaia?I have been gathering data on Earth myths, Earth legends, and Earth histories for over thirty years, my good Golan. Without my complete records, how could I perhapsWe can begin somewhere, Janov. Did you learn about it in, say, the first cardinal years of your research or in the last fifteen?Oh Well, if were going to be that broad, it was later on.You can do better than that. Suppose I suggest that you learned of Gaia only in the last dyad of years.Trevize matched i n Pelorats direction, felt the absence of any ability to ascertain an undetected expression in the dimness, and raised the light level of the room a bit. The glory of the representation of the night sky on the screen change intensity in proportion. Pelorats expression was stony and revealed nothing.Well? said Trevize.Im thinking, said Pelorat mildly. You may be right. I wouldnt swear to it. When I wrote Jimbor of Ledbet University, I didnt list Gaia, though in that case it would have been appropriate to do so, and that was in lets see in and that was three years ago. I think youre right, Golan.And how did you come upon it? asked Trevize. In a discourse? A book? A scientific story? Some ancient song? How? Come onPelorat sat back and crossed his arms. He fell into deep thought and didnt print. Trevize said nothing and waited.Finally Pelorat said, In a private communication. But its no use asking me from whom, my dear chap. I dont remember.Trevize moved his hands over his sash. They felt clammy as he continued his efforts to elicit information without too clearly forcing words into the others mouth. He said, From a historian? From an expert in mythology? From a Gaiactographer?No use. I cannot match a name to the communication.Because, perhaps, there was none.Oh no. That scarcely seems possible.Why? Would you have rejected an anonymous communication?I suppose not.Did you ever collar any?Once in a long while. In recent years, I had become well known in certain academic merry-go-rounds as a gatherer of particular types of myths and legends and some of my correspondents were occasionally kind enough to forward real(a) they had picked up from nonacademic sources. Some generation these might not be attributed to anyone in particular.Trevize said, Yes, but did you ever receive anonymous information directly, and not by way of some academic correspondent?That sometimes happened but very rarely.And can you be certain that this was not so in the case of G aia?Such anonymous communications took place so rarely that I should think I would remember if it had happened in this case. Still, I cant say certainly that the information was not of anonymous origin. Mind, though, thats not to say that I did receive the information from an anonymous source.I realize that. But it remains a possibility, doesnt it?Pelorat said, very reluctantly, I suppose it does. But whats all this about?Im not finished, said Trevize peremptorily. Where did you get the information from anonymous or not? What world?Pelorat shrugged. Come now, I havent the slightest idea.Could it possibly have been from Sayshell?I told you. I dont know.Im suggesting you did get it from Sayshell.You can suggest all you wish, but that does not necessarily make it so.No? When Quintesetz pointed out the dim Star at the center of the v Sisters, you knew at one time it was Gaia. You said so later on to Quintesetz, identifying it out front he did. Do you remember?Yes, of course.How was that possible? How did you recognize at once that the dim star was Gaia?Because in the material I had on Gaia, it was rarely referred to by that name. Euphemisms were common, many different ones. One of the euphemisms, several times repeated, was the little Brother of the quintuplet Sisters. another(prenominal) was the Pentagons Center and sometimes it was called o Pentagon. When Quintesetz pointed out the quin Sisters and the central star, the allusions came irresistibly to mind.You never mentioned those allusions to me earlier.I didnt know what they meant and I didnt think it would have been important to discuss the matter with you, who were a Pelorat hesitated.A nonspecialist?You realize, I hope, that the pentagon of the Five Sisters is an entirely relative form.What do you mean?Trevize laughed affectionately. You surface worm. Do you think the sky has an objective shape of its own? That the stars are nailed in place? The pentagon has the shape it has from the surface of the worlds of the planetary dust to which Sayshell satellite belongs and from there only. From a planet circling any other star, the appearance of the Five Sisters is different. They are seen from a different angle, for one thing. For another, the five stars of the pentagon are at different distances from Sayshell and, seen from other angles, there could be no visible descent among them at all. One or two stars might be in one half of the sky, the others in the other half. See hereTrevize darkened the room again and leaned over the computer. There are eighty-six populated planetary systems making up the Sayshell Union. let us keep Gaia or the jot where Gaia ought to be in place (as he said that, a small red encircle appeared in the center of the pentagon of the Five Sisters) and shift to the skies as seen from any of the other eighty-six worlds interpreted at random.The sky shifted and Pelorat blinked. The small red circle remained at the center of the screen, but the Five Siste rs had disappeared. There were bright stars in the neighborhood but no tight pentagon. Again the sky shifted, and again, and again. It went on shifting. The red circle remained in place always, but at no time did a small pentagon of equally bright stars appear. Sometimes what might be a distorted pentagon of stars unequally bright appeared, but nothing like the beautiful asterism Quintesetz had pointed out.Had enough? said Trevize. I assure you, the Five Sisters can never be seen exactly as we have seen it from any populated world but the worlds of the Sayshell planetary system.Pelorat said, The Sayshellian view might have been exported to other planets. There were many proverbs in proud times some of which linger into our own, in fact that are Trantor-centered.With Sayshell as secretive about Gaia as we know it to be? And why should worlds outside the Sayshell Union be interested? Why would they care about a little Brother of the Five Sisters if there were nothing in the skie s at which to point?Maybe youre right.Then dont you see that your original information must have come from Sayshell itself? not just from somewhere in the Union, but precisely from the planetary system to which the capital world of the Union belongs.Pelorat shook his head. You make it sound as though it must, but its not something I remember. I simply dont.Nevertheless, you do see the force of my argument, dont you?Yes, I do.Next. When do you suppose the legend could have originated?Anytime. I should suppose it developed far back in the Imperial Era. It has the feel of an ancientYou are wrong, Janov. The Five Sisters are moderately close to Sayshell artificial satellite, which is why theyre so bright. Four of them have high proper motions in consequence and no two are part of a family, so that they move in different directions. Watch what happens as I shift the map backward in time slowly.Again the red circle that marked the site of Gaia remained in place, but the pentagon slowly fell apart, as four of the stars drifted in different directions and the fifth shifted slightly.Look at that, Janov, said Trevize. Would you say that was a regular pentagon?Clearly lopsided, said Pelorat.And is Gaia at the center?No, its well to the side.Very well. That is how the asterism looked one hundred and liter years ago. One and a half centuries, thats all. The material you received concerning the Pentagons Center and so on made no real sense till this vitamin C anywhere, not even in Sayshell. The material you received had to originate in Sayshell and sometime in this century, perhaps in the last decade. And you got it, even though Sayshell is so close-mouthed about Gaia.Trevize put the lights on, turned the star map off, and sat there staring sternly at Pelorat.Pelorat said, Im confused. Whats this about?You tell me. Consider Somehow I got the idea into my head that the flash stern still existed. I was giving a talk during my election campaign. I started a bit of emoti onal byplay designed to squeeze votes out of the open with a dramatic If the plunk for footing still existed and later that day I thought to myself What if it did still exist? I began reading recital books and within a week, I was persuade. There was no real evidence, but I have always felt that I had the knack of snatching the right conclusion out of a welter of speculation. This time, thoughTrevize brooded a bit, then went on. And look at what has happened since. Of all people, I chose Compor as my confidant and he betrayed me. Whereupon Mayor Branno had me arrested and sent into exile. Why into exile, rather than just having me imprisoned, or onerous to threaten me into silence? And why in a very late-model ship which gives me extraordinary motives of Jumping by means of the Galaxy? And why, of all things, does she insist I take you and suggest that I help you search for Earth?And why was I so certain that we should not go to Trantor? I was convinced you had a better ta rget for our investigations and at once you come up with the mystery world of Gaia, concerning which, as it now turns out, you gained information under very puzzling circumstances.We go to Sayshell the first natural stop and at once we encounter Compor, who gives us a circumstantial story about Earth and its death. He then assures us its location is in the Sirius Sector and urges us to go there.Pelorat said, There you are. You seem to be implying that all circumstances are forcing us toward Gaia, but, as you say, Compor tried to persuade us to go elsewhere.And in response, I was determined to continue on our original line of investigation out of my sheer distrust for the man. Dont you suppose that that was what he might have been counting on? He may have deliberately told us to go elsewhere just to keep us from doing so.Thats mere romance, muttered Pelorat.Is it? Lets go on. We get in touch with Quintesetz simply because he was handy non at all, said Pelorat. I recognized his name .It seemed familiar to you. You had never read anything he had written that you could recall. Why was it familiar to you? In any case, it turned out he had read a paper of yours and was overwhelmed by it and how belike was that? You yourself admit your work is not widely known.Whats more, the young lady take us to him quite gratuitously mentions Gaia and goes on to tell us it is in hyperspace, as though to be sure we keep it in mind. When we ask Quintesetz about it, he behaves as though he doesnt want to talk about it, but he doesnt throw us out even though I am rather rude to him. He takes us to his home instead and, on the way there, goes to the trouble of pointing out the Five Sisters. He even makes sure we note the dim star at the center. Why? Is not all this an extraordinary concatenation of meeting of minds?Pelorat said, If you list it like thatList it any way you please, said Trevize. I dont believe in extraordinary concatenations of coincidence.What does all this mean , then? That we are being maneuvered to Gaia?By whom?Trevize said, Surely there can be no question about that. Who is capable of adjusting minds, of giving gentle nudges to this one or that, of managing to divert progress in this direction or that?Youre going to tell me its the plump for Foundation.Well, what have we been told about Gaia? It is untouchable. Fleets that move against it are destroyed. citizenry who reach it do not return. Even the Mule didnt dare move against it and the Mule, in fact, was probably born there. Surely it seems that Gaia is the Second Foundation and finding that, after all, is my ultimate goal.Pelorat shook his head. But according to some historians, the Second Foundation stopped the Mule. How could he have been one of them?A renegade, I suppose.But why should we be so relentlessly maneuvered toward the Second Foundation by the Second Foundation?Trevizes eyes were unfocused, his brow furrowed. He said, Lets reason it out. It has always seemed importa nt to the Second Foundation that as little information as possible about it should be available to the Galaxy. ideally it wants its very existence to remain unknown. We know that practically about them. For a hundred twenty years, the Second Foundation was thought to be nonextant and that must have suited them right down to the Galactic core. Yet when I began to suspect that they did exist, they did nothing. Compor knew. They might have used him to shut me up one way or another had me killed, even. Yet they did nothing.Pelorat said, They had you arrested, if you want to appoint that on the Second Foundation. According to what you told me, that resulted in the people of Terminus not knowing about your views. The people of the Second Foundation accomplished that much without violence and they may be devotees of Salvor Hardins remark that Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent.But keeping it from the people of Terminus accomplishes nothing. Mayor Branno knows my view and at the very least must wonder if I am correct. So now, you see, it is too late for them to harm us. If they had gotten rid of me to begin with, they would be in the clear. If they had left me alone altogether, they might have still remained in the clear, for they might have maneuvered Terminus into believing I was an eccentric, perhaps a madman. The prospective ruin of my political career might even have forced me into silence as soon as I saw what the announcement of my beliefs would mean.And now it is too late for them to do anything. Mayor Branno was shadowy enough of the situation to send Compor after me and having no faith in him either, being wiser than I was she placed a hyper relay on Compors ship. In consequence, she knows we are on Sayshell. And last night, while you were sleeping, I had our computer place a message directly into the computer of the Foundation embassador here on Sayshell, explaining that we were on our way to Gaia. I took the trouble of giving its co -ordinates, too. If the Second Foundation does anything to us now, I am certain that Branno will have the matter investigated and the concentrated attention of the Foundation must surely be what they dont want.Would they care about seduceing the Foundations attention, if they are so powerful?Yes, said Trevize forcefully. They lie hidden because, in some ways, they must be weak and because the Foundation is technologically advanced perhaps beyond even what Seldon himself might have foreseen. The very quiet, even stealthy, way in which theyve been maneuvering us to their world would seem to show their eager desire to do nothing that will attract attention. And if so, then they have already lost, at least in part for theyve attracted attention and I doubt they can do anything to reverse the situation.Pelorat said, But why do they go through all this? Why do they ruin themselves if your analysis is correct by angling for us across the Galaxy? What is it they want of us?Trevize star ed at Pelorat and flushed. Janov, he said, I have a feeling about this. I have this gift of climax to a correct conclusion on the basis of almost nothing. Theres a kind of sureness about me that tells me when Im right and Im sure now. Theres something I have that they want and want enough to risk their very existence for. I dont know what it can be, but Ive got to find out, because if Ive got it and if its that powerful, then I want to be able to use it for what I feel is right. He shrugged slightly. Do you still want to come along with me, old friend, now that you see how much a madman I am?Pelorat said, I told you I had faith in you. I still do.And Trevize laughed with enormous relief. Marvelous Because another feeling I have is that you are, for some reason, also essential to this unharmed thing. In that case, Janov, we move on to Gaia, full speed. ForwardMayor Harla Branno looked clearly older than her sixty-two years. She did not always look older, but she did now. She had b een sufficiently wrapped up in thought to forget to avoid the mirror and had seen her image on her way into the map room. So she was aware of the haggardness of her appearance.She sighed. It feed the life out of one. Five years a Mayor and for cardinal years before that the real power behind two figureheads. tout ensemble of it had been quiet, all of it undefeated, all of it draining. How would it have been, she wondered, if there had been strain harm disaster.not so bad for her personally, she suddenly decided. Action would have been invigorating. It was the horrible knowledge that nothing but drift was possible that had worn her out.It was the Seldon Plan that was successful and it was the Second Foundation that made sure it would continue to be. She, as the strengthened hand at the helm of the Foundation (actually the First Foundation, but no one on Terminus ever thought of adding the adjective) merely rode the crest. narrative would say little or nothing about her. She merely sat at the controls of a spaceship, while the spaceship was maneuvered from without.Even Indbur III, who had presided over the Foundations ruinous fall to the Mule, had done something. He had, at least, collapsed.For Mayor Branno there would be nothingUnless this Golan Trevize, this thoughtless Councilman, this lightning rod, made it possible. She looked at the map thoughtfully. It was not the kind of structure produced by a modern computer. It was, rather, a three-dimensional practice bundling of lights that pictured the Galaxy holographically in midair. though it could not be made to move, to turn, to expand, or to contract, one could move about it and see it from any angle.A large section of the Galaxy, perhaps a third of the whole (excluding the core, which was a no-lifes land) turned red when she touched a contact. That was the Foundation Federation, the more than septenary million inhabited worlds ruled by the Council and by herself the seven million inhabited worl ds who voted for and were represented in the House of Worlds, which debated matters of minor importance, and then voted on them, and never, by any chance, dealt with anything of major importance.Another contact and a faint pink jutted outward from the edges of the Federation, here and there. Spheres of influence This was not Foundation territory, but the regions, though nominally maven-handed, would never dream of resistance to any Foundation move.There was no question in her mind that no power in the Galaxy could oppose the Foundation (not even the Second Foundation, if one but knew where it was), that the Foundation could, at will, reach out its put across of modern ships and simply set up the Second conglomerate.But only five centuries had passed since the beginning of the Plan. The Plan called for ten centuries before the Second Empire could be set up and the Second Foundation would make sure the Plan would hold. The Mayor shook her sad, gray head. If the Foundation acted no w, it would somehow fail. Though its ships were irresistible, action now would fail.Unless Trevize, the lightning rod, drew the lightning of the Second Foundation and the lightning could be traced back to its source.She looked about. Where was Kodell? This was no time for him to be late.It was as though her thought had called him, for he came striding in, smiling cheerfully, looking more grandfatherly than ever with his gray-white mustache and tanned complexion. Grandfatherly, but not old. To be sure, he was eight years younger than she was.How was it he showed no marks of strain? Did not fifteen years as Director of Security leave its scar?Kodell nodded slowly in the chunk greeting that was necessary in initiating a discussion with the Mayor. It was a tradition that had existed since the bad days of the Indburs. Almost everything had changed, but etiquette least of all.He said, patrician Im late, Mayor, but your arrest of Councilman Trevize is finally beginning to make its way t hrough the anesthetized skin of the Council.Oh? said the Mayor phlegmatically. Are we in for a castling revolution?Not the least chance. Were in control. But therell be noise.Let them make noise. It will make them feel better, and I I shall stay out of the way. I can count, I suppose, on general earthly concern opinion?I think you can. Especially away from Terminus. No one outside Terminus cares what happens to a stray Councilman.I do.Ah? More word of honor?Liono, said the Mayor, I want to know about Sayshell.Im not a two-legged history book, said Liono Kodell, smiling.I dont want history. I want the justice. Why is Sayshell independent? Look at it. She pointed to the red of the Foundation on the holographic map and there, well into the inner spirals, was an in-pocketing of white.Branno said, Weve got it almost encapsulated almost sucked in merely its white. Our map doesnt even show it as a loyal-ally-inpink.Kodell shrugged. Its not officially a loyal ally, but it never bot hers us. It is neutral.All right. See this, then. Another touch at the controls. The red sprang out distinctly further. It covered intimately half the Galaxy. That, said Mayor Branno, was the Mules realm at the time of his death. If youll peer in among the red, youll find the Sayshell Union, completely surrounded this time, but still white. it is the only enclave left free by the Mule.It was neutral then, too.The Mule had no great respect for neutrality.He seems to have had, in this case.Seems to have had. What has Sayshell got?Kodell said, Nothing trust me, Mayor, she is ours any time we want her.Is she? Yet somehow she isnt ours.Theres no take in to want her.Branno sat back in her chair and, with a sweep of her arm over the controls, turned the Galaxy dark. I think we now want her.Pardon, Mayor?Liono, I sent that foolish Councilman into space as a lightning rod. I felt that the Second Foundation would see him as a greater danger than he was and see the Foundation itself as the lesser danger. The lightning would strike him and reveal its origin to us.Yes, MayorMy intention was that he go to the decayed ruins of Trantor to fumble through what if anything was left of its Library and search for the Earth. Thats the world, you remember, that these wearisome mystics tell us was the site of origin of humanity, as though that matters, even in the unlikely case it is true. The SecondFoundation couldnt possibly have believed that was really what he was after and they would have moved to find out what he was really looking for.But he didnt go to Trantor.No. Quite unexpectedly, he has gone to Sayshell. Why?I dont know. But please forgive an old bloodhound whose duty it is to suspect everything and tell me how you know he and this Pelorat have gone to Sayshell. I know that Compor reports it, but how far can we trust Compor?The hyper-relay tells us that Compors ship has indeed landed on Sayshell Planet.Undoubtedly, but how do you know that Trevize and Pelorat have? C ompor may have gone to Sayshell for his own reasons and may not know or care where the others are.The fact is, that our ambassador on Sayshell has informed us of the arrival of the ship on which we placed Trevize and Pelorat. I am not ready to believe the ship arrived at Sayshell without them. What is more, Compor reports having talked to them and, if he cannot be trusted, we have other reports placing them at Sayshell University, where they consulted with a historian of no particular note.None of this, said Kodell mildly, has reached me.Branno sniffed. Do not feel stepped on. I am dealing with this personally and the information has now reached you with not much in the way of delay, either. The latest news show just received is from the ambassador. Our lightning rod is moving on. He stayed on Sayshell Planet two days, then left. He is heading for another planetary system, he says, some ten parsecs away. He gave the name and the Galactic co-ordinates of his destination to the ambassador, who passed them on to us.Is there anything corroborative from Compor?Compors message that Trevize and Pelorat have left Sayshell came even before the ambassadors message. Compor has not yet determined where Trevize is going. Presumably he will follow.Kodell said, We are missing the whys of the situation. He popped a pastille into his mouth and sucked at it meditatively. Why did Trevize go to Sayshell? Why did he leave?The question that intrigues me most is Where? Where is Trevize going?You did say, Mayor, did you not, that he gave the name and coordinates of his destination to the ambassador. Are you implying that he lied to the ambassador? Or that the ambassador is lying to us?Even assuming everyone told the truth all round and that no one made any errors, there is a name that interests me. Trevize told the ambassador he was going to Gaia. Thats G-A-I-A. Trevize was careful to number it.Kodell said, Gaia? I never heard of it.Indeed? Thats not strange. Branno pointed to the view in the air where the map had been. Upon the map in this room, I can set up, at a moments notice, every star supposedly around which there circles an inhabited world and many prominent stars with uninhabited systems. everyplace thirty million stars can be marked out if I handle the controls properly in single units, in pairs, in clusters. I can mark them out in any of five different colors, one at a time, or all together. What I cannot do is locate Gaia on the map. As far as the map is concerned, Gaia does not exist.Kodell said, For every star the map shows, there are ten thousand it doesnt show.Granted, but the stars it doesnt show lack inhabited planets and why would Trevize want to go to an uninhabited planet?Have you tried the of import Computer? It has all three hundred billion Galactic stars listed.Ive been told it has, but does it? We know very well, you and I, that there are thousands of inhabited planets that have fly listing on any of our maps not only on the one in this room, but even on the Central Computer. Gaia is plain one of them.Kodells voice remained calm, even coaxing. Mayor, there may well be nothing at all to be concerned about. Trevize may be off on a wild goose chase or he may be lying to us and there is no star called Gaia and no star at all at the co-ordinates he gave us. He is approximateing to throw us off his scent, now that he has met Compor and perhaps guesses he is being traced.How will this throw us off the scent? Compor will still follow. No, Liono, I have another possibility in mind, one with far greater potentiality for trouble. bear in mind to meShe paused and said, This room is vindicationed, Liono. Understand that. We cannot be overheard by anyone, so please feel free to speak. And I will speak freely, as well.This Gaia is located, if we accept the information, ten parsecs from Sayshell Planet and is therefore part of the Sayshell Union. The Sayshell Union is a well-explored portion of the Galaxy. All its star systems inhabited or not inhabited are recorded and the inhabited ones are known in detail. Gaia is the one exception. Inhabited or not, none have heard of it it is present in no map. Add to this that the Sayshell Union maintains a peculiar state of freedom with respect to the Foundation Federation, and did so even with respect to the Mules former realm. It has been independent since the fall of the Galactic Empire.What of all this? asked Kodell cautiously.Surely the two points I have made must be connected. Sayshell incorporates a planetary system that is totally unknown and Sayshell is untouchable. The two cannot be independent. Whatever Gaia is, it protects itself. It sees to it that there is no knowledge of its existence outside its immediate surroundings and it protects those surroundings so that outsiders cannot take over.You are telling me, Mayor, that Gaia is the seat of the Second Foundation?I am telling you that Gaia deserves inspection.May I mention an odd po int that might be difficult to explain by this theory?Please do.If Gaia is the Second Foundation and if, for centuries, it has protected itself physically against intruders, protecting all of the Sayshell Union as a broad, deep shield for itself, and if it has even prevented knowledge of itself leaking into the Galaxy then why has all that trade protection suddenly vanished? Trevize and Pelorat leave Terminus and, even though you had advised them to go to Trantor, they go immediately and without hesitation to Sayshell and now to Gaia. What is more, you can think of Gaia and speculate on it. Why are you not somehow prevented from doing So?Mayor Branno did not answer for a long time. Her head was change form and her gray hair gleamed dully in the light. Then she said, Because I think Councilman Trevize has somehow upset things. He has done something or is doing something that is in some way endangering the Seldon Plan.That surely is impossible, Mayor.I suppose everything and ever yone has its flaws. Even Hari Seldon was not perfect, surely. somewhere the Plan has a flaw andTrevize has stumbled upon it, perhaps without even knowing that he has. We must know what is happening and we must be on the spot.Finally Kodell looked grave. Dont make decisions on your own, Mayor. We dont want to move without adequate consideration.Dont take me for an idiot, Liono. Im not going to make war. Im not going to land an expeditionary force on Gaia. I just want to be on the spot or near it, if you prefer, Liono, find out for me I hate talking to a war office that is as ridiculously hidebound as one is sure to be after one hundred and twenty years of peace, but you dont seem to mind just how many warships are stationed close to Sayshell. Can we make their movements seem routine and not like a mobilization?In these piping times of peace, there are not many ships in the vicinity, I am sure. But I will find out.Even two or three will be sufficient, especially if one is of the Su pernova class.What do you want to do with them?I want them to nudge as close to Sayshell as they can without creating an misadventure and I want them sufficiently close to each other to offer mutual support.Whats all this intended for?Flexibility. I want to be able to strike if I have to.Against the Second Foundation? If Gaia can keep itself isolated and untouchable against the Mule, it can surely withstand a few ships now.Branno said, with the gleam of battle in her eyes, My friend, I told you that nothing and no one is perfect, not even Hari Seldon. In setting up his Plan, he could not help being a person of his times. He was a mathematician of the days of the dying Empire, when technology was moribund. It followed that he could not have made sufficient allowance in his Plan for technological advance. Gravities, for instance, is a whole new direction of advance he could not possibly have guessed at. And there are other advances, too.Gaia might also have advanced.In isolation? C ome. There are ten quadrillion human beings within the Foundation Federation, from among whom contributors to technological advance can step forward. A single isolated world can do nothing in comparison. Our ships will advance and I will be with them.Pardon me, Mayor. What was that?I will be going myself to the ships that will gather at the borders of Sayshell. I wish to see the situation for myself.Kodells mouth fell open for a moment. He swallowed and made a distinct noise as he did so. Mayor, that is not wise. If ever a man clearly intended a stronger remark, Kodell did. overbold or not, said Branno violently, I will do it. I am tired of Terminus and of its endless political battles, its infighting, its alliances and counteralliances, its betrayals and renewals. Ive had seventeen years at the center of it and I want to do something else anything else. Out there, she waved her hand in a direction taken at random, the whole history of the Galaxy may be changing and I want to take part in the process.You know nothing about such things, Mayor.Who does, Liono? She rose slap to her feet. As soon as you bring me the information I need on the ships and as soon as I can make arrangements for carrying on with the foolish business at home, I will go. And, Liono, dont try to maneuver me out of this decision in any way or Ill wipe out our long friendship in a guessing and break you. I can still do that.Kodell nodded. I know you can, Mayor, but before you decide, may I ask you to reconsider the power of Seldons Plan? What you intend may be suicide.I have no fears on that score, Liono. It was wrong with respect to the Mule, whom it could not anticipate and a failure to anticipate at one time implies the possibility of failure at another.Kodell sighed. Well then, if you are really determined, I will support you to the vanquish of my ability and with complete loyalty.Good. I warn you once again that you had better mean that remark with all your heart. And with that i n mind, Liono, let us move on to Gaia. Forward