Second Foundation 2. Two Men without the Mule

The direct was in near- contemplateiness. nix lacked, unless(prenominal) the destination. The mule had suggested a return to Trantor the public that was the bulk of an singular Galactic metropolis of the hugest Empire creationkind had eer k immediatelyn the perfectly world that had been capital of all the boosters.Pritcher disapproved. It was an old path sucked dry.He form security Channis in the ships navigation room. The young mans curly hair was comely sufficiently disheve conduct to allow a hit curl to lounge around over the forehead as if it had been cargonfully placed thither and regular(a) teeth furnished in a smile that matched it. Vaguely, the stiff officer matte up himself harden against the other.Channis excitement was evident, Pritcher, its too far a coincidence.The general verbalise coldly Im not aware of the subject of conversition.Oh- Well, because drag up a chairman, old man, and lets get into it. Ive been going over your notes. I regulate them excellent.How pleasant that you do. dear Im wondering if youve come to the conclusions I turn in. Have you ever tried analyzing the problem deductively? I mean, its all very well to strip the stars at random, and to gull d mavin all you did in five expeditions is rather a a bit of star- skimping. Thats obvious. But have you calculated how long it would assimilate to go by every hold upn world at this station?Yes. Several eras, Pritcher felt no urge to meet the young man halfway, simply t here(predicate) was the importance of fil bring upg the others drumhead the others uncontrolled, and hence, unpredictable, mind.Well, then, suppose were analytical just about it and try to decide just what were looking for?The bite unveiling, said Pritcher, grimly.A stern of psychologists, corrected Channis, who are as weak in animal(prenominal) science as the root knowledgeability was weak in psychology. Well, youre from the world-class invention, which Im not. The imp lications are plausibly obvious to you. We must find a world which rules by virtue of intellectual skills, and yet which is very backwards scientifi annunciatey.Is that inescapably so? questi mavend Pritcher, quietly. Our own Union of Worlds isnt backwards scientifically, even though our normal owes his strength to his mental powers.Because he has the skills of the archetypical Foundation to draw upon, came the mode sum uply impatient answer, and that is the only when such(prenominal) reservoir of knowledge in the extragalactic nebula. The Second Foundation must live among the dry crumbs of the broken Galactic Empire. on that heading are no pickings there.So then you postulate mental power sufficient to establish their rule over a convocation of worlds and physical helplessness as well?Comparative physical helplessness. Against the effete neighboring areas, they are competent to defend themselves. Against the resurgent forces of the mule, with his background of a mature atomic economy, they cannot stand. Else, why is their location so well-hidden, both at the start by the founder, Hari Seldon, and now by themselves. Your own First Foundation make no secret of its existence and did not have it made for them, when they were an undefended single city on a l atomic number 53ly artificial satellite triple hundred years ago.The smooth lines of Pritchers dark face twitched sardonically. And now that youve finished your deep analysis, would you like a list of all the kingdoms, republics, orbiter states and dictatorships of one sort or some other in that political wild out there that correspond to your description and to several factors besides? on the whole this has been considered then? Channis alienated none of his brashness.You wont find it here, naturally, save we have a issuely worked out guide to the political units of the Opposing Periphery. Really, did you suppose the Mule would work stainlessly hit-and-miss?Well, then and the young mans t ranslator rose in a burst of energy, what of the Oligarchy of Tazenda?Pritcher touched his ear thoughtfully, Tazenda? Oh, I theorize I know it. Theyre not in the Periphery, are they? It seems to me theyre fully a third of the way towards the center of the Galaxy.Yes. What of that?The records we have place the Second Foundation at the other end of the Galaxy. Space knows its the only thing we have to go on. Why dress down of Tazenda anyway? Its angular deviation from the First Foundation radian is only about one hundred ten to one hundred twenty degrees anyway. Nowhere near one hundred eighty. at that places another point in the records. The Second Foundation was established at Stars End.No such region in the Galaxy has ever been located.Because it was a topical anesthetic name, suppressed later for greater secrecy. Or maybe one invented for the dissolve by Seldon and his group. Yet theres some relationship between Stars End and Tazenda, dont you think?A vague similarity in soun d? Insufficient.Have you ever been there?No.Yet it is mentioned in your records.Where? Oh, yes, but that was merely to feature on food and water. there was certainly nothing remarkable about the world.Did you visit at the ruling planet? The center of government?I couldnt maybe state.Channis brooded about it under the others cold gaze. Then, Would you look at the lens of the eye with me for a moment?Certainly.The Lens was perhaps the newest feature of the interstellar cruisers of the day. Actually, it was a conglomerate calculating machine which could throw on a veil a reproduction of the night sky as seen from any given point of the Galaxy.Channis familiarised the co-ordinate points and the wall lights of the pilot room were extinguished. In the barren red light at the control board of the Lens, Channis face glowed ruddily. Pritcher sat in the pilot seat, long legs crossed, face lost in the gloom.Slowly, as the induction period passed, the points of light iridescentened on the cover charge. And then they were thick and capable with the generously populated star-groupings of the Galaxys center.This, explained Channis, is the winter night-sky as seen from Trantor. That is the important point that, as far as I know, has been neglected so far in your search. All intelligent druthers must start from Trantor as set point. Trantor was the capital of the Galactic Empire. Even some(prenominal) so scientifically and culturally, than politically. And, therefore, the implication of any descriptive name should stem, nine times out of ten, from a Trantorian orientation. Youll remember in this connection that, although Seldon was from Helicon, towards the Periphery, his group worked on Trantor itself.What is it youre trying to show me? Pritchers level voice plunged icily into the gathering enthusiasm of the other.The map forget explain it. Do you see the dark nebula? The shadow of his arm flee upon the screen, which took on the bespanglement of the Galaxy. The pointing finger ended on a tiny assemble of black that seemed a hole in the speckled framework of light. The stellagraphical records call it Pelots Nebula. Watch it. Im going to expand the image.Pritcher had watched the phenomenon of Lens Image expansion in front but he still caught his breath. It was like being at the visiplate of a musculus quadriceps femorisship storming done and through a horribly crowded Galaxy without first appearance hyperspace. The stars diverged towards them from a common center, flared outwards and tumbled off the edge of the screen. Single points became double, then globular. Hazy patches dissolved into myriad points. And forever and a day that illusion of motion.Channis spoke through it all, Youll notice that we are moving along the direct line from Trantor to Pelots Nebula, so that in effect we are still looking at a stellar orientation equivalent to that of Trantor. in that location is probably a pure error because of the gravitic deviatio n of light that I havent the math to calculate for, but Im sure it cant be significant.The darkness was spreading over the screen. As the rate of magnification slowed, the stars slipped off the four ends of the screen in a risky leave-taking. At the rims of the growing nebula, the brilliant universe of stars shone abruptly in image for that light which was merely hidden behind the swirling unradiating atom fragments of sodium and calcium that filled cubic parsecs of space.And Channis pointed again, This has been called The Mouth by the inhabitants of that region of space. And that is significant because it is only from the Trantorian orientation that it looks like a mouth. What he indicated was a rift in the carcass of the Nebula, shaped like a ragged, grinning mouth in profile, outlined by the glazing glory of the starlight with which it was filled.Follow The Mouth. said Channis. Follow The Mouth towards the gullet as it narrows down to a thin, break outing line of light.Agai n the screen grow a trifle, until the Nebula stretched away from The Mouth to block off all the screen but that narrow trickle and Channis finger silently followed it down, to where it straggled to a halt, and then, as his finger continued moving onward, to a spot where one single star sparked lonesomely and there his finger halted, for beyond that was blackness, unrelieved.Stars End, said the young man, simply. The fabric of the Nebula is thin there and the light of that one star finds its way through in just that one direction to shine on Trantor.Youre tie to tell me that- the voice of the Mules general died in suspicion.Im not trying. That is Tazenda Stars End.The lights went on. The Lens flicked off. Pritcher r severallyed Channis in three long strides, What made you think of this?And Channis leaned back in his chair with a queerly puzzled expression on his face. It was accidental. Id like to take intellectual credit for this, but it was only accidental. In any case, still it happens, it fits. According to our honorable mentions, Tazenda is an oligarchy. It rules twenty-seven inhabited planets. It is not advanced scientifically. And most of all, it is an fog world that has adhered to a strict neutrality in the local political relation of that stellar region, and is not expansionist. I think we ought to see it.Have you intercommunicate the Mule of this?No. Nor shall we. Were in space now, about to make the first hop.Pritcher, in sudden execration, sprang to the visiplate. Cold space met his eyes when he adjusted it. He gazed fixedly at the view, then rancid. Automatically, his hand reached for the hard, comfortable make out of the butt of his blaster.By whose order?By my order, general- it was the first time Channis had ever used the others title -while I was engaging you here. You probably felt no acceleration, because it came at the moment I was expanding the orbit of the Lens and you undoubtedly imagined it to be an illusion of the apparent s tar motion.Why? retributive what are you doing? What was the point of your nonsense about Tazenda, then?That was no nonsense. I was completely sedate. Were going there. We left today because we were scheduled to leave three eld from now. General, you dont believe there is a Second Foundation, and I do. You are merely following the Mules orders without faith I recognize a serious danger. The Second Foundation has now had five years to prepare. How theyve prepared, I dont know, but what if they have agents on Kalgan. If I carry about in my mind the knowledge of the whereabouts of the Second Foundation, they may discover that. My life might be no longer safe, and I have a great union for my life. Even on a thin and remote possibility such as that, I would rather play safe. So no one knows of Tazenda but you, and you found out only after we were out in space. And even so, there is the question of the crew. Channis was smiling again, ironically, in obviously complete control of the s ituation.Pritchers hand fell away from his blaster, and for a moment a vague discomfort pierced him. What kept him from action? What deadened him? There was a time when he was a rebellious and unpromoted captain of the First Foundations commercial empire, when it would have been himself rather than Channis who would have taken prompt and doughty action such as that. Was the Mule right? Was his controlled mind so concerned with obedience as to lose initiative? He felt a thickening despondency drive him down into a fantastic lassitude.He said, Well done However, you will consult me in the afterlife before making decisions of this nature.The flickering signal caught his attention.Thats the engine room, said Channis, casually. They warm up on five minutes notice and I asked them to let me know if there was any trouble. Want to hold the fort?Pritcher nodded mutely, and cogitated in the sudden loneliness on the evils of approaching fifty. The visiplate was sparsely starred. The chief( prenominal) body of the Galaxy misted one end. What if he were free of the Mules influence-But he recoiled in horror at the thought.***Chief Engineer Huxlani looked sharply at the young, ununiformed man who carried himself with the bureau of a Fleet officer and seemed to be in a point of authority. Huxlani, as a regular Fleet man from the days his chin had dripped milk, generally confused authority with specific insignia.But the Mule had constitute this man, and the Mule was, of course, the last word. The only word for that matter. non even sub awarely did he question that. Emotional control went deep.He handed Channis the pocket-sized oval object without a word.Channis hefted it, and smiled engagingly.Youre a Foundation man, arent you, chief?Yes, sir. I served in the Foundation Fleet eighteen years before the First Citizen took over.Foundation training in engineering?Qualified Technician, First mannequin Central School on Anacreon.Good enough. And you found this on the coll oquy circuit, where I asked you to look?Yes, Sir.Does it belong there?No, Sir.Then what is it?A hypertracer, sir.Thats not enough. Im not a Foundation man. What is it?Its a device to allow the ship to be traced through hyperspace.In other nomenclature we can be followed anywhere.Yes, Sir.All right. Its a recent invention, isnt it? It was developed by one of the research Institutes set up by the First Citizen, wasnt it?I believe so, Sir.And its plant are a government secret. Right?I, believe so, Sir.Yet here it is. Intriguing.Channis tossed the hypertracer methodically from hand to hand for a few seconds. Then, sharply, he held it out, catch it, then, and put it back exactly where you found it and exactly how you found it. record? And then forget this incident. EntirelyThe chief choked down his near-automatic salute, turned sharply and left.The ship bounded through the Galaxy, its path a wide-spaced constellate line through the stars. The dots, referred to, were the scant stret ches of ten to sixty light-seconds spent in normal space and between them stretched the hundred-and-up light-year gaps that represented the hops through hyperspace.Bail Channis sat at the control panel of the Lens and felt again the involuntary surge of near-worship at the contemplation of it.He was not a Foundation man and the interplay of forces at the twist of a knob or the breaking of a contact was not second nature to him.not that the Lens ought quite to bore even a Foundation man. deep down its unbelievably compact body were enough electronic circuits to pin-point accurately a hundred million separate stars in exact relationship to each other. And as if that were not a feat in itself, it was further clear of translating any given portion of the Galactic cranial orbit along any of the three spatial axes or to rotate any portion of the Field about a center.It was because of that, that the Lens had performed a near-revolution in interstellar become. In the younger days of int erstellar travel, the calculation of each hop through hyperspace meant any amount of work from a day to a calendar week and the larger portion of such work was the more or less precise calculation of Ships Position on the Galactic scale of reference. fundamentally that meant the accurate observation of at least three widely-spaced stars, the position of which, with reference to the arbitrary Galactic triple-zero, were known.And it is the word known, that is the catch. To any who know the star bailiwick well from one certain reference point, stars are as soulfulness as people. Jump ten parsecs, however, and not even your own sunbathe is recognizable. It may not even be visible.The answer was, of course, spectroscopic analysis. For centuries, the main object of interstellar engineering was the analysis of the light signature of more and more stars in greater and greater detail. With this, and the growing precision of the hop itself, standard routes of travel through the Galaxy we re adopted and interstellar travel became less of an art and more of a science.And yet, even under the Foundation with improved calculating machines and a new method of mechanically scan the star sector for a known light signature, it sometimes took days to locate three stars and then calculate position in regions not previously familiar to the pilot.It was the Lens that changed all that. For one thing it compulsory only a single known star. For another, even a space tyro such as Channis could operate it.The nearest sizable star at the moment was Vincetori, consort to hop calculations, and on the visiplate now, a bright star was centered. Channis hoped that it was Vincetori.The field screen of the Lens was thrown directly following that of the visiplate and with careful fingers, Channis punched out the co-ordinates of Vincetori. He closed a relay, and the star field sprang to bright view. In it, too, a bright star was centered, but other there seemed no relationship. He adjuste d the Lens along the Z-Axis and expand the Field to where the photometer showed both centered stars to be of equal brightness.Channis looked for a second star, sizably bright, on the visiplate and found one on the field screen to correspond. Slowly, he revolve the screen to similar angular deflection. He twisted his mouth and rejected the result with a grimace. Again he rotated and another bright star was brought into position, and a third. And then he grinned. That did it. maybe a specialist with trained relationship perception might have clicked first try, but hed settle for three.That was the adjustment. In the final step, the two palm overlapped and merged into a sea of not-quite-rightness. Most of the stars were close doubles. But the all right adjustment did not take long. The double stars melted together, one field remained, and the Ships Position could now be read directly off the dials. The entire procedure had taken less than half an hour.Channis found Han Pritcher in his secluded quarters. The general was quite apparently preparing for bed. He looked up.News?Not particularly. Well be at Tazenda in another hop.I know.I dont want to cod you if youre turning in, but have you looked through the film we picked up in Cil?Han Pritcher cast a disparaging look at the article in question, where it lay in its black case upon his low bookshelf, Yes.And what do you think?I think that if there was ever any science to History, it has been quite lost in this region of the Galaxy.Channis grinned broadly, I know what you mean. Rather barren, isnt it?Not if you enjoy personal chronicles of rulers. Probably unreachable, I should say, in both directions. Where record concerns mainly personalities, the drawings become either black or white according to the interests of the writer. I find it all remarkably useless.But there is talk about Tazenda. Thats the point I tried to make when I gave you the film. Its the only one I could find that even mentioned them.All ri ght. They have serious rulers and bad. Theyve conquered a few planets, won some battles, lost a few. There is nothing distinctive about them. I dont think much of your theory, Channis.But youve missed a few points. Didnt you notice that they never formed coalitions? They always remained completely outside the politics of this corner of the star swarm. As you say, they conquered a few planets, but then they stopped and that without any startling belabor of consequence. Its just as if they spread out enough to protect themselves, but not enough to attract attention.Very well, came the unemotional response. I have no objection to landing. At the worst a little lost time.Oh, no. At the worst complete defeat. If it is the Second Foundation. Remember it would be a world of space-knows-how-many Mules.What do you plan to do?Land on some minor subject planet. Find out as much as we can about Tazenda first, then improvise from that.All right. No objection. If you dont mind now, I would l ike the light out.Channis left with a ruffle of his hand.And in the darkness of a tiny room in an island of crusade metal lost in the vastness of space, General Han Pritcher remained awake, following the thoughts that led him through such fantastic reaches.If everything he had so painfully refractory were true and how all the facts were beginning to fit then Tazenda was the Second Foundation. There was no way out. But how? How?Could it be Tazenda? An ordinary world? cardinal without distinction? A slum lost amid the wreckage of an Empire? A splinter among the fragments? He remembered, as from a distance, the Mules shriveled face and his thin voice as he used to speak of the old Foundation psychologist, Ebling Mis, the one man who had maybe learned the secret of the Second Foundation.Pritcher recalled the tension of the Mules words It was as if astonishment had overwhelmed Mis. It was as though something about the Second Foundation had surpassed all his expectations, had driv en in a direction completely contrasting from what he might have assumed. If I could only have read his thoughts rather than his emotions. Yet the emotions were plain and above everything else was this vast surprise.Surprise was the keynote. Something supremely astonishing And now came this boy, this grinning youngster, glibly joyful about Tazenda and its peanut subnormality. And he had to be right. He had to. Otherwise, nothing made sense.Pritchers last conscious thought had a touch of grimness. That hypertracer along the Etheric tube was still there. He had checked it one hour back, with Channis well out of the way.Second interludeIt was a casual meeting in the anteroom of the Council Chamber just a few moments before passing into the Chamber to take up the business of the day and the few thoughts flashed back and forth quickly.So the Mule is on his way.Thats what I hear, too. Risky Mighty riskyNot if affairs adhere to the functions set up.The Mule is not an ordinary man and it is rocky to manipulate his chosen instruments without detection by him. The controlled minds are difficult to touch. They say hes caught on to a few cases.Yes, I dont see how that can be avoided.Uncontrolled minds are easier. But so few are in positions of authority under him-They entered the Chamber. Others of the Second Foundation followed them.