Prelude to Foundation Chapter 3 University

STREELING UNIVERSITY- An prototypic appearance of mettle some learn in the Streeling Sector of antediluvian patriarch Trantor Despite comp eachowely these claims to fame in the handle of the gentlemans gentlemanities and sciences a want, it is non for those that the University looms double in to daylight f all(prenominal)ibles consciousness. It would probably start give a guidance come as a summarize surprise to the generations of scholars at the University to k direct that in later clock Streeling University would be most remembered beca accustom of goods and services a current Hari Seldon, during the period of The F unobjectionable, had been in re berthnce in that respect for a short beat.Encyclopedia astronomicala11.Hari Seldon delayed uncomfortably silent for a patch aft(prenominal)warfargond Hummins une operational illuminatederary argument. He shrank within himself in sudden recognition of his stock deficiencies.He had invented a bleak science ps ychohi flooring. He had ext stamp asideed the laws of probability in a truly subtle manner to retain into account new complexities and un certain(a)(a)ties and had ended up with elegant equations in innumerable unkn accepts. mayhap an infinite soma he couldnt rank. al atomic number 53 it was a mathematical game and nobody more. He had psychohistory-or at least the bum of psychohistory upright wing sole(prenominal) if as a mathematical curiosity. W present was the historical birth intercourseledge that could perchance give or so meaning to the desolate equations?He had n genius. He had never been inte detained in history. He knew the extinctline of heliconian history. Courses in that underage fragment of the human story had, of course, been compulsory in the Heliconian schools. al bingle what was at that federal agency beyond that? Surely what else he had picked up was merely the b ar skeletons that e veryone ga at that placed-one-half legend, the separate( a) half certainly distorted. Still, how could one guess that the galactic pudding stone was dying? It had existed for ten k historic period as an accepted conglomerate and point before that, Trantor, as the dandy of the dominating kingdom, had held what was a virtual conglomerate for dickens thousand years. The conglomerate had survived the beforehand(predicate) centuries when exclusively sections of the Galaxy would now and hence refuse to accept the end of their local independence. It had survived the vicissitudes that went with the everyday rebellions, the dynastic wars, few somber periods of breakd decl be. Most worlds had s political machinecely been chafed by such things and Trantor itself had gr birth steadily until it was the world(a) human habitation that now called itself the consummate(a) World.To be sure, in the last intravenous feeding centuries, turmoil had increased somehow and in that location had been a rash of em empurpledd assassinations and take everyw presents. however scour that was calming down and flop now the Galaxy was as quietude as it had ever been. Under Cleon I and before him under his father, Stanel VI, the worlds were prosperous-and Cleon himself was non considered a tyrant. Even those who dis uniformd the Imperium as an institution r bely had twainthing truly bad to assert close to Cleon, much as they world power inveigh against Eto Demerzel. why, consequently, should Hummin study that the Galactic empire was dying-and with such conviction?Hummin was a journalist. He probably knew Galactic history in some detail and he had to project the current situation in huge detail. Was it this that supplied him with the get it onledge that lay behind his statement? In that case, near what was the knowledge?several(prenominal) successions Seldon was on the point of asking, of demanding an answer, exactly on that point was something in Hummins solemn incline that stop him. And on that point wa s something in his own ingrained belief that the Galactic conglomerate was a given, an axiom, the plantation stone on which all argument rested that delayed him similarly. after all, if that was wrong, he didnt desire to know. No, he couldnt remember that he was wrong. The Galactic Empire could no more come to an end than the globe itself could. Or, if the Universe did end, so-and only thence-would the Empire end.Seldon unsympathetic his eyes, attempting to sleep exactly, of course, he could not. Would he flummox to playing atomic number 18a the history of the Universe in set up to occur his theory of psychohistory?How could he? Twenty-five meg worlds existed, each with its own end slightly complex history. How could he study all that? at that place were book-films in some volumes, he knew, that dealt with Galactic history. He had steady skimmed one once for some now-forgotten reason and had found it too weaken to imbibe compensate halfway finished.The book- films had dealt with grave worlds. With some, it dealt through all or approximately all their history with other(a)s, only as they gained importance for a meter and only till they faded away. He remembered having attend toed up Helicon in the index and having found only one citation. He had punched the keys that would malefactor up that citation and found Helicon included in a list of worlds which, on one occasion, had temporarily seamed up behind a certain claimant to the Imperial throne who had failed to perform solid his claim. Helicon had escaped retri exclusivelyion on that occasion, probably because it was not level reach sufficiently important to be punished.What devout was such a history? Surely, psychohistory would sop up to take into account the actions and reactions and interactions of each world-each and every world. How could one study the history of twenty-five zillion worlds and consider all their possible interactions? It would surely be an impossible ta sk and this was fitting one more reinforcement of the general conclusion that psychohistory was of theoretical interest besides could never be put to every applicative use. Seldon felt a aristocratical push forward and principaly that the air- hack writer moldiness be decelerating.Whats up? he asked.I opine weve come far becoming, tell Hummin, to risk a small stop consonant for a bite to eat, a trash of something or other, and a visit to a washroom.And, in the course of the next cardinal minutes, during which the air-taxi slowed steadily, they came to a lighted recess. The taxi swerved self-whispered and found a parking feeling among five or six other vehicles.12.Hummins practiced eye reckoned to take in the recess, the other taxis, the diner, the walkways, and the men and women all at a glance. Seldon, laborious to look invisible and again not knowing how, watched him, ingrain not to do so too intently.When they sat down at a small table and punched in their orders , Seldon, attempting to start indifferent, give tongue to, Everything okay?Seems so, give tongue to Hummin.How notify you tell?Hummin let his dark eyes rest on Seldon for a moment. Instinct, he verbalize. geezerhood of intelligence service meeting. You look and know, No news here. Seldon n anomaloused and felt relieved. Hummin energy study introduce it sardonically, besides there essential be a certain amount of real statement to it. His satisfaction did not last through the first bite of his sandwich. He looked up at Hummin with his mouth teeming and with a look of hurt surprise on his face.Hummin state, This is a wayside diner, my friend. Cheap, fast, and not very favorable. The diets homegrown and has an infusion of rather nappy yeast. Trantorian palates argon used to it.Seldon swallowed with difficulty. and guts in the hotel-You were in the Imperial Sector, Seldon. solid quiznder is imported there and where microfood is used it is high-quality. It is t o a fault expensive.Seldon wondered whether to take some other bite. You mean that as long as I check on Trantor-Hummin made a hushing motion with his lips. Dont give anyone the touch sensation that youre used to break up. at that place be places on Trantor where to be determine as an aristocrat is worse than be identified as an Outworlder. The food wont be so bad everywhere, I discipline you. These wayside places attain a account for low quality. If you foundation stomach that sandwich, youll be able to eat anywhere on Trantor. And it wont hurt you. Its not decayed or bad or anything alike that. It honourable has a harsh, fortified taste and, honestly, you may grow accustomed to it. Ive met Trantorians who spit out honest food and say it lacks that homegrown tang.Do they grow much food on Trantor? asked Seldon. A quick side glance showed him there was no one seated in the immediate neighbourhood and he spoke quietly. Ive always hear it takes twenty surrounding world s to supply the hundreds of cargo ships required to feed Trantor every day.I know. And hundreds to carry off the load of wastes. And if you want to accommodate the story really goodish, you say that the same freight ships carry food one way and waste the other. Its true that we import considerable quantities of food, save thats more often than not luxury items. And we export considerable waste, conservatively treated into in offensiveness, as important original fertilizer-every bit as important to other worlds as the food is to us. tho thats only a small fraction of the whole.It is?Yes. In addition to fish in the sea, there ar gardens and truck farms everywhere. And fruit trees and bird and rabbits and vast microorganism farms-usually called yeast farms, though the yeast makes up a nonage of the growths. And our wastes are mostly used right here at home to concur all that growth. In fact, in umpteen ways Trantor is very much like an enormous and overgrown space stop. make for hold of you ever visited one of those?Indeed I imbibe.Space settlements are essentially enclose cities, with everything artificially cycled, with artificial ventilation, artificial day and night, and so on. Trantor is different only in that even the largest space settlement has a population of only ten million and Trantor has four thousand measure that. Of course, we bugger off real gravity. And no space settlement can match us in our microfoods. We call for yeast vats, fungal vats, and algae ponds vast beyond the imagination. And we are salutary on artificial flavoring, added with no light hand. Thats what gives the taste to what youre eating.Seldon had gotten through most of his sandwich and found it not as offensive as the first bite had been. And it wont shanghai me?It does hit the intestinal flora and every once in a while it afflicts some poor Outworlder with diarrhea, exactly thats rare, and you indurate even to that quickly. Still, drink your handshake, which you probably wont like. It contains an antidiarrhetic that should preserve you practiced, even if you tend to be photosensitive to such things.Seldon state querulously, Dont talk near it, Hummin. A someone can be suggestible to such things.Finish the milkshake and forget the suggestibility.They finished the rest of their meal in silence and soon were on their way again.13.They were now racing rapidly through the tunnel once more. Seldon decided to give voice to the question that had been peck at him for the last hour or so.why do you say the Galactic Empire is dying?Hummin false to look at Seldon again. As a journalist, I watch statistics poured into me from all sides till theyre wring out of my ears. And Im allowed to publish very tiny of it. Trantors population is decreasing. Twenty-five years ago, it stood at almost forty-five billion. Partly, this decrease is because of a decline in the birthrate. To be sure, Trantor never has had a high birthrate. If youll lo ok closely you when youre traveling on Trantor, you wont encounter very many another(prenominal) children, considering the enormous population. precisely just the same its declining. and so too there is emigration. People are leaving Trantor in greater numbers than are arriving.Considering its large population, verbalize Seldon, thats not surprising.But its fantastic just the same because it hasnt happened before. Again, all over the Galaxy trade is stagnating. People speak up that because there are no rebellions at the moment and because things are quiet that all is well and that the difficulties of the past few centuries are over. However, political infighting, rebellions, and unrest are all signs of a certain vitality too. But now theres a general weariness. Its quiet, not because people are satisfied and prosperous, only if because theyre trite and have given up.Oh, I dont know, said Seldon dubiously.I do. And the antigrav phenomenon weve talked about is another case in point. We have a few gravitic lifts in operation, entirely new ones arent being constructed. Its an unprofitable venture and there look outms no interest in trying to make it profitable. The rate of technological advance has been slowing for centuries and is down to a flinch now. In some cases, it has stopped altogether. Isnt this something youve notice? After all, youre a mathematician.I cant say Ive given the number any thought.No one does. Its accepted. Scientists are very good these days at saying that things are impossible, im pragmatic, useless(prenominal). They condemn any speculation at once. You, for instance-What do you think of psychohistory? It is theoretically interesting, but it is useless in any serviceable sense. Am I right?Yes and no, said Seldon, annoyed. It is useless in any mulish sense, but not because my sense of embark has decayed, I assure you. It really it useless.That, at least, said Hummin with a shadower of sarcasm, is your impression in this at mosphere of decay in which all the Empire lives.This atmosphere of decay, said Seldon angrily, is your impression. Is it possible that you are wrong?Hummin stopped and for a moment appeared thoughtful. Then he said, Yes, I baron be wrong. I am speaking only from intuition, from guesses. What I acquire is a processing proficiency of psychohistory.Seldon shrugged and did not take the bait. He said, I dont have such a technique to give you.-But suppose youre right. Suppose the Empire it running down and volition at long last stop and fall apart. The human species forget let off exist.Under what conditions, man? For to the highest degree twelve thousand years, Trantor, under strong rulers, has largely kept the peace. thitherve been interruptions to that-rebellions, localized civilised wars, tragedy in plenty-but, on the whole and over large areas, there has been peace. Why is Helicon so pro-Imperium? Your world, I mean. Because it is small and would be devoured by its neighbor s were it not that the Empire agrees it secure.Are you predicting universal war and disintegration if the Empire fails?Of course. Im not fond of the emperor moth or of the Imperial institutions in general, but I dont have any turn for it. I dont know what else get out keep the peace and Im not ready to let go until I have something else in hand.Seldon said, You talk as though you are in control of the Galaxy. You are not ready to let go? You must have something else in hand? Who are you to talk so?Im speaking generally, figuratively, said Hummin. Im not worried about Chetter Hummin personally. It might be said that the Empire forgeting last my time it might even show signs of improvement in my time. Declines dont arrive a straight-line path. It may be a thousand years before the nett crash and you might well consider I would be dead then and, certainly, I will leave no descendants. As far as women are concerned, I have nix but the occasional casual attachment and I have no children and intend to have none. I have given no hostages to fortune.-I looked you up after your talk, Seldon. You have no children either.I have parents and two brothers, but no children. He smiled rather weakly. I was very attached to a char at one time, but it seemed to her that I was attached more to my mathematics.Were you?It didnt seem so to me, but it seemed so to her. So she left.And you have had no one since?No. I remember the pain too all the way as yet.Well then, it might seem we could both wait out the division and leave it to other people, well after our time, to suffer. I might have been instinctive to accept that earlier, but no longer. For now I have a stopcock I am in command.Whats your creature? asked Seldon, already knowing the answer.You said Hummin.And because Seldon had cognise what Hummin would say, he wasted no time in being shocked or astonished. He simply move his head and said, You are quite wrong. I am no tool fit for use.Why not?Seldon sighed. How often must I repeat it? Psychohistory is not a practical study. The difficulty is fundamental. All the space and time of the Universe would not suffice to work out the necessary problems.Are you certain of that?Unfortunately, yes. in that locations no question of your working out the inherent future of the Galactic Empire, you know. You neednt trace out in detail the workings of every human being or even of every world. There are merely terrain questions you must answer allow the Galactic Empire crash and, if so, when? What will be the condition of humanity subsequently? Can anything be done to prevent the crash or to ameliorate conditions afterward? These are comparatively simple questions, it seems to me.Seldon shook his head and smiled sadly. The history of mathematics is full of simple questions that had only the most complicated of answers-or none at all.Is there nothing to be done? I can see that the Empire is falling, but I cant prove it. All my conclusions are es sential and I cannot show that I am not mistaken. Because the view is a seriously unsettling one, people would prefer not to cogitate my subjective conclusion and nothing will be done to prevent the illuminate or even to cushion it. You could prove the attack Fall or, for that matter, disprove it.But that is exactly what I cannot do. I cant drive you proof where none exists. I cant make a mathematical system practical when it isnt. I cant find you two even numbers that will yield an odd number as a sum, no matter how vitally your all the Galaxy-may need that odd number.Hummin said, Well then, youre part of the decay. Youre ready to accept failure.What choice have I?Cant you try? However useless the parturiency may seem to you to be, have you anything better to do with your life? Have you some worthier goal? Have you a resolve that will justify you in your own eyes to some greater bound? Seldons eyes blinked rapidly. Millions of worlds. Billions of cultures. Quadrillions of pe ople. Decillions of interrelationships.-And you want me to reduce it to order.No, I want you to try. For the sake of those millions of worlds, billions of cultures, and quadrillions of people. non for the emperor. Not for Demerzel. For humanity.I will fail, said Seldon.Then we will be no worse off. Will you try?And against his will and not knowing why, Seldon heard himself say, I will try.And the course of his life was set.14.The journey came to its end and the air-taxi moved into a much large lot than the one at which they had eaten. (Seldon until now remembered the taste of the sandwich and made a wry face.)Hummin sullen in his taxi and came back, placing his credit slip in a small pocket on the cozy surface of his shirt. He said, Youre completely safe and sound here from anything outright and slack. This is the Streeling Sector.Streeling?Its put upd for someone who first opened up the area to settlement, I imagine. Most of the sectors are named for someone or other, whic h means that most of the names are ugly and some are demanding to pronounce. full the same, if you try to have the inhabitants here flip-flop Streeling to Sweetsmell or something like that, youll have a fight on your hands.Of course, said Seldon, sniffing loudly, it isnt exactly Sweetsmell.Hardly anywhere in Trantor is, but youll get used to it.Im sword lily were here, said Seldon. Not that I like it, but I got quite tired sitting in the taxi. Getting slightly Trantor must be a horror. book binding on Helicon, we can get from any one place to any other by air, in far less time than it took us to travel less than two thousand kilometers here.We have air-jets too.But in that case-I could arrange an air-taxi excite more or less anonymously. It would have been much more difficult with an air-jet. And regardless of how safe it is here, Id feel better if Demerzel didnt know exactly where you were.-As a matter of fact, were not done yet. Were going to take the pike for the final s tage.Seldon knew the expression. One of those open monorails mournful on an electromagnetic field, right?Right.We dont have them on Helicon. Actually, we dont need them there. I rode on an information superhighway the first day I was on Trantor. It took me from the airport to the hotel. It was rather a novelty, but if I were to use it all the time, I imagine the noise and crowds would release overpowering.Hummin looked amused. Did you get lost?No, the signs were useful. There was trouble get on and off, but I was helped. Everyone could tell I was an Outworlder by my clothes, I now ensure. They seemed eager to help, though I guess because it was amusing to watching me flitter and stumble.As an expert in pike travel by now, you will neither hesitate nor stumble. Hummin said it pleasantly enough, though there was a slight rack to the corners of his mouth. Come on, then.They sauntered leisurely along the walkway, which was lit to the extent one might impart of an overcast day a nd that brightened now and then as though the sun from time to time broke through the clouds. Automatically, Seldon looked upward to see if that were indeed the case, but the sky above was blankly luminous. Hummin saw this and said, This change in brightness seems too suit the human psyche. There are days when the street seems to be in bright sun and days when it is rather darker than it is now.But no rain or snow?Or hail or sleet. No. Nor high humidity nor bitter cold. Trantor has its points, Seldon, even now.There were people walking in both directions and there were a considerable number of five-year-old people and to a fault some children accompanying the adults, despite what Hummin had said about the birthrate. All seemed reasonably prosperous and reputable. The two sexes were equally represented and the clothing was distinctly more subdued than it had been in the Imperial Sector. His own costume, as chosen by Hummin, fit right in. Very few were wearing hats and Seldon tha nkfully removed his own and swung it at his side. There was no thickset abyss separating the two sides of the walkway and as Hummin had predicted in the Imperial Sector, they were walking at what seemed to be ground level. There were no vehicles either and Seldon pointed this out to Hummin.Hummin said, There are quite a number of them in the Imperial Sector because theyre used by officials. Elsewhere, private vehicles are rare and those that are used have separate tunnels uncommunicative for them. Their use is not really necessary, since we have expressways and, for shorter distances, moving corridors. For still shorter distances, we have walkways and we can use our legs.Seldon heard occasional softened sighs and creaks and saw, some distance off, the endless freeing of Expressway cars.There it is, he said, pointing.I know, but let us move on to a boarding station. There are more cars there and it is easier to get on.Once they were safely ensconced in an Expressway car, Seldon turned to Hummin and said, What amazes me is how quiet the Expressways are. I realize that they are mass-p traffic circlelled by an electromagnetic field, but it seems quiet even for that. He listened to the occasional metallic groan as the car they were on shifted against its neighbors.Yes, its a marvelous network, said Hummin, but you dont see it at its peak. When I was younger, it was quieter than it is now and there are those who say that there wasnt as much as a whisper fifty years ago-though I suppose we might make allowance for the idealization of nostalgia.Why isnt it that way now?Because it isnt maintained properly. I told you about decay.Seldon frowned. Surely, people dont sit around and say, Were decaying. Lets let the Expressways fall apart. No, they dont. Its not a purpose-made thing. Bad spots are patched, rheumy coaches refurbished, magnets replaced. However, its done in more haphazard fashion, more carelessly, and at greater intervals. There just arent enough cred its available.Where have the credits gone?Into other things. Weve had centuries of unrest. The dark blue is much larger and many times more expensive than it once was. The build up forces are much better-paid, in order to keep them quiet. Unrest, revolts, and minor blazes of civil war all take their toll.But its been quiet under Cleon. And weve had fifty years of peace.Yes, but soldiers who are well-paid would resent having that pay lessen just because there is peace. Admirals resist mothballing ships and having themselves cut in rank simply because there is less for them to do. So the credits still go-unproductively-to the armed forces and vital areas of the social good are allowed to deteriorate. Thats what I call decay. Dont you? Dont you think that eventually you would fit that sort of view into your psychohistorical notions?Seldon stirred uneasily. Then he said, Where are we going, by the way?Streeling University.Ah, thats why the sectors name was familiar. Ive heard of the University.Im not surprised. Trantor has nearly a hundred thousand institutions of higher learning and Streeling is one of the thousand or so at the top of the heap.Will I be staying there?For a while. University campuses are unbreathable sanctuaries, by and large. You will be safe there.But will I be welcome there?Why not? Its solid to find a good mathematician these days. They might be able to use you. And you might be able to use them too-and for more than just a hide place.You mean, it will be a place where I can develop my notions.You have promised, said Hummin gravely.I have promised to try, said Seldon and thought to himself that it was about like shining to try to make a rope out of sand.15.Conversation had run out after that and Seldon watched the structures of the Streeling Sector as they passed. close to were quite low, while some seemed to swing out the sky. Wide crosspassages broke the progression and grass alleys could be seen.At one point, it strike him that though the buildings rose upward they also swept downward and that perhaps they were deeper than they were high. As soon as the thought occurred to him, he was convinced it was true. Occasionally, he saw patches of thou in the background, farther back from the Expressway, and even small trees.He watched for quite a while and then became aware that the light was growing dimmer. He squinted about and turned to Hummin, who guessed the question.The afternoon is waning, he said, and night is coming on.Seldons eyebrows raised and the corners of his mouth turned downward. Thats impressive. I have a picture of the entire satellite darkening and then, some hours from now, visible radiation up again.Hummin smiled his small, careful smile. Not quite, Seldon. The planet is never turned off altogether-or turned on either. The shadow of twilight sweeps crossways the planet gradually, followed half a day later by the slow brightening of dawn. In fact, the effect follows the actual day and nigh t above the domes quite closely, so that in higher altitudes day and night change length with the seasons.Seldon shook his head, But why close in the planet and then mimic what would be in the open?I presume because people like it better that way. Trantorians like the advantages of being enclosed, but they dont like to be reminded of it unduly, just the same. You know very little about Trantorian psychology, Seldon.Seldon colour slightly. He was only a Heliconian and he knew very little about the millions of worlds away(p) Helicon. His ignorance was not confined to Trantor. How, then, could he go for to come up with any practical applications for his theory of psychohistory?How could any number of people-all together-know enough? It reminded Seldon of a puzzle that had been presented to him when he was young Can you have a comparatively small piece of platinum, with handholds affixed, that could not be lifted by the bare, unaided lastingness of any number of people, no matter ho w many?The answer was yes. A three-d meter of platinum weighs 22,420 kilograms under measuring stick gravitational pull. If it is assumed that each person could heave 120 kilograms up from the ground, then 188 people would suffice to lift the platinum.-But you could not squeeze 188 people around the cube-shaped meter so that each one could get a grip on it. You could perhaps not squeeze more than 9 people around it. And levers or other such devices were not allowed. It had to be bare, unaided strength.In the same way, it could be that there was no way of getting enough people to handle the total amount of knowledge required for psychohistory, even if the facts were stored in computers rather than in mortal human brains. Only so many people could gather round the knowledge, so to speak, and communicate it.Hummin said, You seem to be in a brown study, Seldon.Im considering my own ignorance.A useful task. Quadrillions could profitably join you.-But its time to get off.Seldon looked up. How can you tell?Just as you could tell when you were on the Expressway your first day on Trantor. I go by the signs.Seldon caught one just as it went by STREELING UNIVERSITY-3 MINUTES.We get off at the next boarding station. pale your step.Seldon followed Hummin off the coach, noting that the sky was deep purple now and that the walkways and corridors and buildings were all lighting up, suffused with a yellow glow.It might have been the gathering of a Heliconian night. Had he been placed here blindfolded and had the blindfold been removed, he might have been convinced that he was in some particularly well-built-up inner component of one of Helicons larger cities.How long do you suppose I will remain at Streeling University, Hummin? he asked.Hummin said in his usual calm fashion, That would be hard to say, Seldon. Perhaps your whole life.WhatPerhaps not. But your life stopped being your own once you gave that paper on psychohistory. The Emperor and Demerzel recognized your im portance at once. So did I. For all I know, so did many others. You see, that means you dont belong to yourself anymore.