Asimov’s Future History Volume 16 Read online

  “But psychohistory will save the Empire, at least partly.”

  “I know it will, but I can’t force it to.”

  “Are you just going to let it collapse?”

  Seldon shook his head. “I’ll try to keep it from doing so, but I must admit that I don’t know how I’m going to do it.”

  Wanda said, “I’m going to practice. There must be some way I can strengthen my push, make it easier for me to force people to do what I want them to do.”

  “I wish you could manage.”

  “What are you going to do, Grandpa?”

  “Well, nothing much. Two days ago, when I was on my way to see the Chief Librarian, I encountered three men in the Library who were arguing about psychohistory. For some reason, one of them impressed me very much. I urged him to come see me and he agreed. The appointment is for this afternoon at my office.”

  “Are you going to have him work for you?”

  “I would like to–if I have enough credits to pay him with. But it can’t hurt to talk with him. After all, what can I lose?”

  24.

  THE YOUNG MAN arrived at precisely 4 T. S. T. (Trantorian Standard Time) and Seldon smiled. He loved punctual people. He placed his hands on his desk and made ready to heave to his feet, but the young man said, “Please, Professor, I know you have a bad leg. You needn’t stand up.”

  Seldon said, “Thank you, young man. However, that does not mean that you cannot sit down. Please do.”

  The young man removed his jacket and sat down.

  Seldon said, “You must forgive me... when we met and set up this appointment, I neglected to learn your name–which is...?

  “Stettin Palver,” said the young man.

  “Ah. Palver! Palver! The name sounds familiar.”

  “It should, Professor. My grandfather boasted frequently of having known you.”

  “Your grandfather. Of course. Joramis Palver. He was two years younger than I was, as I recall. I tried to get him to join me in psychohistory, but he refused. He said there was no chance of his ever learning enough mathematics to make it possible. Too bad! How is Joramis, by the way?”

  Palver said solemnly, “I’m afraid that Joramis has gone the way of old men generally. He’s dead.”

  Seldon winced. Two years younger than he himself was–and dead. An old friend and they had lost touch to such a degree that, when death came, it did so unknowingly.

  Seldon sat there for a while and finally muttered, “I’m sorry.”

  The young man shrugged. “He had a good life.”

  “And you, young man, where did you have your schooling?”

  “Langano University.”

  Seldon frowned. “Langano? Stop me if I’m wrong, but that’s not on Trantor, is it?”

  “No. I wanted to try a different world. The Universities on Trantor, as you undoubtedly know very well, are all overcrowded. I wanted to find a place where I could study in peace.”

  “And what did you study?”

  “Nothing much. History. Not the sort of thing that would lead one to a good job.”

  (Another wince, even worse than the first. Dors Venabili had been a historian.)

  Seldon said, “But you’re back here on Trantor. Why is that?”

  “Credits. Jobs.”

  “As an historian?”

  Palver laughed. “Not a chance. I run a device that pulls and hauls. Not exactly a professional occupation.”

  Seldon looked at Palver with a twinge of envy. The contours of Palver’s arms and chest were highlighted by the thin fabric of his shirt. He was well muscled. Seldon had never himself been quite that muscular.

  Seldon said, “I presume that when you were at the University, you were on the boxing team.”

  “Who, me? Never. I’m a Twister.”

  “A Twister!” Seldon’s spirits jumped. “Are you from Helicon?”

  Palver said with a certain contempt, “You don’t have to come from Helicon to be a good Twister.”

  No, thought Seldon, but that’s where the best ones come from.

  However, he said nothing.

  He did say, though, “Well, your grandfather would not join me. How about you?”

  “Psychohistory?”

  “I heard you talking to the others when I first encountered you and it seemed to me that you were talking quite intelligently about psychohistory. Would you like to join me, then?”

  “As I said, Professor, I have a job.”

  “Pushing and hauling. Come, come.”

  “It pays well.”

  “Credits aren’t everything.”

  “They’re quite a bit. Now you, on the other hand, can’t pay me much. I’m quite certain that you’re short of credits.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  “I’m guessing, in a way, I suppose.–but am I wrong?”

  Seldon’s lips pressed together hard, then he said, “No, you’re not wrong and I can’t pay you much. I’m sorry. I suppose that ends our little interview.”

  “Wait, wait, wait.” Palver held up his hands. “Not quite so fast, please. We’re still talking about psychohistory. If I work for you, I will be taught psychohistory, right?”

  “Of course.”

  “In that case, credits aren’t everything, after all. I’ll make you a deal. You teach me all the psychohistory you can and you pay me whatever you can and I’ll get by somehow. How about it?”

  “Wonderful,” said Seldon joyously. “That sounds great. Now, one more thing.”

  “Oh?”

  “Yes. I’ve been attacked twice in recent weeks. The first time my son came to my defense, but he has since gone to Santanni. The second time I made use of my lead-filled walking stick. It worked, but I was dragged before a magistrate and accused of assault and battery–”

  “Why the attacks?” interjected Palver.

  “I am not popular. I have been preaching the Fall of the Empire for so long that, now that it is coming, I am blamed for it.”

  “I see. Now then, what does all that have to do with the one more thing you mentioned?”

  “I want you to be my bodyguard. You’re young, you’re strong, and, most of all, you’re a Twister. You’re exactly what I need.”

  “I suppose it can be managed,” Palver said with a smile.

  25.

  “SEE THERE, STETTIN,” Seldon said as the two were taking an early evening stroll in one of Trantor’s residential sectors near Streeling. The older man pointed to debris–assorted refuse jettisoned from passing groundcars or dropped by careless pedestrians–strewn along the walkway. “In the old days,” Seldon continued, “you would never see litter like this. The security officers were vigilant and municipal maintenance crews provided round-the-clock upkeep of all public areas. But, most important, no one would even think of dumping his trash in such a manner. Trantor was our home; we took pride in it. Now”–Seldon shook his head sadly, resignedly, and sighed–“it’s–” He broke off abruptly.

  “You there, young man!” Seldon shouted at a ill-kempt fellow who had moments before passed them, going in the opposite direction. He was munching a treat just popped into his mouth; the wrapper had been tossed to the ground without so much as a downward glance. “Pick that up and dispose of it properly,” Seldon admonished as the young man eyed him sullenly.

  “Pick it up yourself,” the boy snarled and then he turned and walked away.

  “It’s another sign of society’s breakdown, as predicted by your psychohistory, Professor Seldon,” Palver said.

  “Yes, Stettin. All around us the Empire is falling apart, piece by piece. In fact, it’s already smashed–there’s no turning back now. Apathy, decay, and greed have all played their parts in destroying the once-glorious Empire. And what will take its place? Why–”

  Here Seldon broke off at the sight of Palver’s face. The younger man seemed to be listening intently–but not to Seldon’s voice. His head was cocked to one side and his face had a far-off look. It was as if Palver were
straining to hear some sound inaudible to everyone but himself.

  Suddenly he snapped back to the here and now. With an urgent glance around them, Palver took hold of Seldon’s arm. “Hari, quick, we must get away. They’re coming...” And then the still evening was broken by the harsh sound of rapidly approaching footsteps. Seldon and Palver spun around, but it was too late; a band of attackers was upon them. This time, however, Hari Seldon was prepared. He immediately swung his cane in a wide arc around Palver and himself. At this, the three attackers–two boys and a girl, all teenage ruffians–laughed.

  “So, you’re not goin’ to make it easy, are you, old man?” snorted the boy who appeared to be the group’s ringleader. “Why, me and my buddies, we’ll take you out in two seconds flat. We’ll–” All of a sudden, the ringleader was down, the victim of a perfectly placed Twist-kick to his abdomen. The two ruffians who were still standing quickly dropped to a crouch in preparation for attack. But Palver was quicker. They, too, were felled almost before they knew what hit them.

  And then it was over–almost as soon as it started. Seldon stood off to the side, leaning heavily on his cane, shaking at the thought of his narrow escape. Palver, panting slightly from exertion, surveyed the scene. The three attackers were out cold on the deserted walkway under the darkening dome.

  “Come on, let’s get out of here quickly!” Palver urged again, only this time it was not the attackers they would be fleeing.

  “Stettin, we can’t leave,” protested Seldon. He gestured toward the unconscious would-be muggers. “They’re really nothing more than children. They may be dying. How can we just walk away? It’s inhumane–that’s what it is–and humanity is exactly what I’ve been working all these years to protect.” Seldon struck the ground with his cane for emphasis and his eyes gleamed with conviction.

  “Nonsense,” retorted Palver. “What’s inhumane is the way muggers like that prey on innocent citizens like you. Do you think they’d have given you a second thought? They’d just as soon stick a knife in your gut to steal your last credit–and then kick you as they ran! They’ll come to soon enough and slink away to lick their wounds. Or someone will find them and call the central office.

  “But, Hari, you must think. After what happened last time, you stand to lose everything if you’re linked to another beating. Please, Hari, we must run!” With this, Palver grabbed Seldon’s arm and Seldon after a List backward glance, allowed himself to be led away.

  As the footsteps of the rapidly departing Seldon and Palver diminished in the distance, another figure emerged from his hiding place behind some trees. Chuckling to himself, the sullen-eyed youth muttered,

  “You’re a fine one to tell me what’s right and what’s wrong, Professor.” With that, he spun on his heel and headed off to summon the security officers.

  26.

  “ORDER! I WILL have order!” bellowed Judge Tejan Popjens Lih. The public hearing of Professor Raven Seldon and his young associate, Stettin Palver, had generated a hue and cry among the populace of Trantor. Here was the man who had predicted the Fall of the Empire, the decay of civilization, who exhorted others to harken back to the golden age of civility and order–here was he who, according to an eyewitness, had ordered the brutal beating of three young Trantorians for no apparent provocation. Ah yes, it promised to be a spectacular hearing, one which would lead, no doubt, to an even more spectacular trial.

  The judge pressed a contact set into a recessed panel on her bench and a sonorous gong resounded through the packed courtroom. “I will have order,” she repeated to the now-hushed throng. “If need be, the courtroom will be cleared. That is a warning. It will not be repeated.”

  The judge cut an imposing figure in her scarlet robe. Originally from the Outer World of Lystena, Lih’s complexion had a slight bluish cast, which turned darker when she became exercised, practically purple when she was really angry. It was rumored that, for all her years on the bench, in spite of her reputation as a top judicial mind, notwithstanding her position as one of the most revered interpreters of Imperial law, Lih was ever so slightly vain about the colorful appearance she gave, the way in which the bright red robes set off her soft turquoise skin.

  Nevertheless, Lih had a reputation for coming down hard on those who brooked Imperial law; she was one of the few judges left who upheld the civil code without wavering.

  “I have heard of you, Professor Seldon, and your theories about our imminent destruction. And I have spoken with the magistrate who recently heard another case in which you were involved, one in which you struck a man with your lead-filled cane. In that instance, too, you claimed to be the victim of assault. Your reasoning stemmed, I believe, from a previous unreported incident in which you and your son allegedly were assaulted by eight hoodlums. You were able to convince my esteemed colleague, Professor Seldon of your plea of self-defense, even though an eyewitness testified otherwise. This time, Professor, you will have to be much more convincing.”

  The three hoodlums who were bringing charges against Seldon and Palver snickered in their seats at the plaintiff’s table. They presented a much different appearance today than they had the evening of the attack. The young men were sporting clean loose-fitting unisuits; the young lady was wearing a crisply pleated tunic. All in all, if one didn’t look (or listen) too closely, the three presented a reassuring picture of Trantorian youth.

  Seldon’s lawyer, Civ Novker (who was representing Palver as well), approached the bench. “Your Honor, my client is an upstanding member of the Trantorian community. He is a former First Minister of stellar repute. He is a personal acquaintance of our Emperor Agis XIV. What possible benefit could Professor Seldon derive from attacking innocent young people? He is one of the most vocal proponents of stimulating the intellectual creativity of Trantorian youth–his Psychohistory Project employs numerous student volunteers; he is a beloved member of the Streeling University faculty.

  “Further–” Here Novker paused, sweeping his gaze around the packed courtroom, as if to say, Wait till you hear this–you’ll be ashamed that you ever for a second doubted the veracity of my client’s claims, “Professor Seldon is one of the very few private individuals officially allied with the prestigious Galactic Library. He has been granted unlimited use of Library facilities for work on what he calls the Encyclopedia Galactica, a veritable paean to Imperial civilization.

  “I ask you, how can this man even be questioned in such a matter?”

  With a flourish of his arm, Novker gestured toward Seldon who was sitting at the defendant’s table with Stettin Palver, looking decidedly uncomfortable. Hari’s cheeks were flushed from the unaccustomed praise (after all, lately his name was the subject of derisive snickers rather than flowery plaudits) and his hand shook slightly on the carved Dandle of his trusty cane.

  Judge Lih gazed down at Seldon clearly unimpressed. “What benefit, indeed, Counselor. I have been asking myself that very question. I’ve lain make these past nights, racking my brains for a plausible reason. Why should a man of Professor Seldon’s stature commit unprovoked assault and battery when he himself is one of our most outspoken critics of the so-called ‘breakdown’ of civil order?

  “And then it dawned on me. Perhaps, in his frustration at not being believed, Professor Seldon feels he must prove to the worlds that his predictions of doom and gloom really are coming to pass. After all, here is a man who has spent his entire career foretelling the Fall of the Empire and all he can really point to are a few burned-out bulbs in the dome, an occasional glitch in public transport, a budget cut here or there–nothing very dramatic. But an attack–or two or three–now, that would be something.”

  Lih sat back and folded her hands in front of her, a satisfied expression on her face. Seldon stood, leaning heavily on the table for support. With great effort, he approached the bench, waving off his lawyer, walking headlong into the steely gaze of the judge.

  “Your Honor, please permit me to say a few words in my defense.”

&
nbsp; “Of course, Professor Seldon. After all, this is not a trial, only a hearing to air all allegations, facts, and theories pertinent to the case before deciding whether or not to go ahead with a trial. I have merely expressed a theory; I am most interested to hear what you have to say.”

  Seldon cleared his throat before beginning. “I have devoted my life to the Empire. I have faithfully served the Emperors. My science of psychohistory, rather than being a harbinger of destruction, is intended to be used as an agent for rejuvenation. With it we can be prepared for whatever course civilization takes. If, as I believe, the Empire continues to break down, psychohistory will help us put into place building blocks for a new and better civilization founded on all that is good from the old. I love our worlds, our peoples, our Empire–what would it behoove me to contribute to the lawlessness that saps its strength daily?

  “I can say no more. You must believe me. I, a man of intellect, of equations, of science–I am speaking from my heart.” Seldon turned and made his way slowly back to his chair beside Palver. Before sitting, his eyes sought Wanda, sitting in the spectators’ gallery. She smiled wanly and winked at him.

  “From the heart or not, Professor Seldon, this decision will require much thought on my part. We have heard from your accusers; we have heard from you and Mr. Palver. There is one more party whose testimony I need. I’d like to hear from Rial Nevas, who has come forward as an eyewitness to this incident.”

  As Nevas approached the bench, Seldon and Palver looked at each other in alarm. It was the boy whom Hari had admonished just before the attack.

  Lih was asking the youth a question. “Would you describe, Mr. Nevas, exactly what you witnessed on the night in question?”

  “Well,” started Nevas, fixing Seldon with his sullen stare, “I was walkin’ along, mindin’ my own business, when I saw those two,”–he turned and pointed at Seldon and Palver–” on the other side of the walkway, comin’ toward me. And then I saw those three kids.” (Another point of the finger, this time toward the three sitting at the plaintiff’s table.) “The two older guys were walkin’ behind the kids. They didn’t see me, though, on account of I was on the other side of the walkway and besides, they were concentratin’ on their victims. Then wham! Just like that, that old guy swings at ’em with his stick, then the younger guy jumps ’em and kicks ’em and before you know it, they’re all down on the ground. Then the old guy and his pal, they just took off, just like that. I couldn’t believe it.”