Asimov’s Future History Volume 19

by Isaac Asimov

  “Do I need to know the reason for the existence of those tentacles, Bliss, even if I don’t know where they are?”

  “It is the opinion of Gaia that you do not.”

  “I presume, though, that I may guess. You believe you serve as the guardians of the Galaxy.”

  “We are anxious to have a stable and secure Galaxy; a peaceful and prosperous one. The Seldon Plan, as originally worked out by Hari Seldon at least, is designed to develop a Second Galactic Empire, one that is more stable and more workable than the First was. The Plan, which has been continually modified and improved by the Second Foundation, has appeared to be working well so far.”

  “But Gaia doesn’t want a Second Galactic Empire in the classic sense, does it? You want Galaxia-a living Galaxy.”

  “Since you permit it, we hope, in time, to have Galaxia. If you had not permitted it, we would have striven for Seldon’s Second Empire and made it as secure as we could.”

  “But what is wrong with-”

  His ear caught the soft, burring signal. Trevize said, “The computer is signaling me. I suppose it is receiving directions concerning the entry station. I’ll be back.”

  He stepped into the pilot-room and placed his hands on those marked out on the desk top and found that there were directions for the specific entry station he was to approach-its coordinates with reference to the line from Comporellon’s center to its north pole the prescribed route of approach.

  Trevize signaled his acceptance, and then sat back for a moment.

  The Seldon Plan! He had not thought of it for quite a time. The First Galactic Empire had crumbled and for five hundred years the Foundation had grown, first in competition with that Empire, and then upon its ruins-all in accordance with the Plan.

  There had been the interruption of the Mule, which, for a time, had threatened to shiver the Plan into fragments, but the Foundation had pulled through-probably with the help of the ever-hidden Second Foundation-possibly with the help of the even better-hidden Gaia.

  Now the Plan was threatened by something more serious than the Mule had ever been. It was to be diverted from a renewal of Empire to something utterly different from anything in history-Galaxia. And he himself had agreed to that.

  But why? Was there a flaw in the Plan? A basic flaw?

  For one flashing moment, it seemed to Trevize that this flaw did indeed exist and that he knew what it was, that he had known what it was when he made his decision-but the knowledge... if that were what it was... vanished as fast as it came, and it left him with nothing.

  Perhaps it was all only an illusion; both when he had made his decision, and now. After all, he knew nothing about the Plan beyond the basic assumptions that validated psychohistory. Apart from that, he knew no detail, and certainly not a single scrap of its mathematics.

  He closed his eyes and thought-

  There was nothing.

  Might it be the added power he received from the computer? He placed his hands on the desk top and felt the warmth of the computer’s hands embracing them. He closed his eyes and once more he thought-

  There was still nothing.

  12.

  THE COMPORELLIAN WHO boarded the ship wore a holographic identity card. It displayed his chubby, lightly bearded face with remarkable fidelity, and underneath it was his name, A. Kendray.

  He was rather short, and his body was as softly rounded as his face was. He had a fresh and easygoing look and manner, and he stared about the ship with clear amazement.

  He said, “How did you get down this fast? We weren’t expecting you for two hours.”

  “It’s a new-model ship,” said Trevize, with noncommittal politeness.

  Kendray was not quite the young innocent he looked, however. He stepped into the pilot-room and said at once, “Gravitic?”

  Trevize saw no point in denying anything that was apparently that obvious. He said tonelessly, “Yes.”

  “Very interesting. You hear of them, but you never see them somehow. Motors in the hull?”

  “That’s so.”

  Kendray looked at the computer. “Computer circuits, likewise?”

  “That’s so. Anyway, I’m told so. I’ve never looked.”

  “Oh well. What I need is the ship’s documentation; engine number, place of manufacture, identification code, the whole patty-cake. It’s all in the computer, I’m sure, and it can probably turn out the formal card I need in half a second.”

  It took very little more than that. Kendray looked about again. “You three all the people on board?”

  Trevize said, “That’s right.”

  “Any live animals? Plants? State of health?”

  “No. No. And good,” said Trevize crisply.

  “Um!” said Kendray, making notes. “Could you put your hand in here? Just routine.-Right hand, please.”

  Trevize looked at the device without favor. It was being used more and more commonly, and was growing quickly more elaborate. You could almost tell the backwardness of a world at a glance by the backwardness of its microdetector. There were now few worlds, however backward, that didn’t have one at all. The start had come with the final breakup of the Empire, as each fragment of the whole grew increasingly anxious to protect itself from the diseases and alien microorganisms of all the others.

  “What is that?” asked Bliss, in a low and interested voice, craning her head to see it first on one side, then the other.

  Pelorat said, “A microdetector, I believe they call it.”

  Trevize added, “It’s nothing mysterious. It’s a device that automatically checks a portion of your body, inside and out, for any microorganism capable of transmitting disease.”

  “This will classify the microorganisms, too,” said Kendray, with rather more than a hint of pride. “It’s been worked out right here on Comporellon.-And if you don’t mind, I still want your right hand.”

  Trevize inserted his right hand, and watched as a series of small red markings danced along a set of horizontal lines. Kendray touched a contact and a facsimile in color appeared at once. “If you’ll sign that, sir,” he said.

  Trevize did so. “How badly off am I?” he asked. “I’m not in any great danger, am I?”

  Kendray said, “I’m not a physician, so I can’t say in detail, but it shows none of the marks that would require you to be turned away or to be put in quarantine. That’s all I’m interested in.”

  “What a lucky break for me,” said Trevize dryly, shaking his hand to rid himself of the slight tingle he felt.

  “You, sir,” said Kendray.

  Pelorat inserted his hand with a certain hesitancy, then signed the facsimile.

  “And you, ma’am?”

  A few moments later, Kendray was staring at the result, saying, “I never saw anything like this before.” He looked up at Bliss with an expression of awe. “You’re negative. Altogether.” ‘

  Bliss smiled engagingly. “How nice.”

  “Yes, ma’am. I envy you.” He looked back at the first facsimile, and said, “Your identification, Mr. Trevize.”

  Trevize presented it. Kendray, glancing at it, again looked up in surprise. “Councilman of the Terminus Legislature?”

  “That’s right.”

  “High official of the Foundation?”

  Trevize said coolly, “Exactly right. So let’s get through with this quickly, shall we?”

  “You’re captain of the ship?”

  “Yes, I am.”

  “Purpose of visit?”

  “Foundation security, and that’s all the answer I’m going to give you. Do you understand that?”

  “Yes, sir. How long do you intend to stay?”

  “I don’t know. Perhaps a week.”

  “Very well, sir. And this other gentleman?”

  “He is Dr. Janov Pelorat,” said Trevize. “You have his signature there and I vouch for him. He is a scholar of Terminus and he is my assistant in this business of my visit.”

  “I understand, sir, but I m
ust see his identification. Rules are rules, I’m afraid. I hope you understand, sir.”

  Pelorat presented his papers.

  Kendray nodded. “And you, miss?”

  Trevize said quietly, “No need to bother the lady. I vouch for her, too.”

  “Yes, sir. But I need the identification.”

  Bliss said, “I’m afraid I don’t have any papers, sir.”

  Kendray frowned. “I beg your pardon.”

  Trevize said, “The young lady didn’t bring any with her. An oversight. It’s perfectly all right. I’ll take full responsibility.”

  Kendray said, “I wish I could let you do that, but I’m not allowed. The responsibility is mine. Under the circumstances, it’s not terribly important. There should be no difficulty getting duplicates. The young woman, I presume, is from Terminus.”

  “No, she’s not.”

  “From somewhere in Foundation territory, then?”

  “As a matter of fact, she isn’t.”

  Kendray looked at Bliss keenly, then at Trevize. “That’s a complication, Councilman. It may take additional time to obtain a duplicate from some non-Foundation world. Since you’re not a Foundation citizen, Miss Bliss, I must have the name of your world of birth and of the world of which you’re a citizen. You will then have to wait for duplicate papers to arrive.”

  Trevize said, “See here, Mr. Kendray. I see no reason why there need be any delay whatever. I am a high official of the Foundation government and I am here on a mission of great importance. I must not be delayed by a matter of trivial paperwork.”

  “The choice isn’t mine, Councilman. If it were up to me, I’d let you down to Comporellon right now, but I have a thick book of rules that guides my every action. I’ve got to go by the book or I get it thrown at me.-Of course, I presume there must be some Comporellian government figure who’s waiting for you. If you’ll tell me who it is, I will contact him, and if he orders me to let you through, then that’s it.”

  Trevize hesitated a moment. “That would not be politic, Mr. Kendray. May I speak with your immediate superior?”

  “You certainly may, but you can’t just see him off-hand-”

  “I’m sure he will come at once when he understands he’s speaking to a Foundation official-”

  “Actually,” said Kendray, “just between us, that would make matters worse. We’re not part of the Foundation metropolitan territory, you know. We come under the heading of an Associated Power, and we take it seriously. The people are anxious not to appear to be Foundation puppets-I’m using the popular expression only, you understand-and they bend backward to demonstrate independence. My superior would expect to get extra points if he resists doing a special favor for a Foundation official.”

  Trevize’s expression darkened. “And you, too?”

  Kendray shook his head. “I’m below politics, sir. No one gives me extra points for anything. I’m just lucky if they pay my salary. And though I don’t get extra points, I can get demerits, and quite easily, too. I wish that were not so.”

  “Considering my position, you know, I can take care of you.”

  “No, sir. I’m sorry if that sounds impertinent, but I don’t think you can.-And, sir, it’s embarrassing to say this, but please don’t offer me anything valuable. They make examples of officials who accept such things and they’re pretty good at digging them out, these days.”

  “I wasn’t thinking of bribing you. I’m only thinking of what the Mayor of Terminus can do to you if you interfere with my mission.”

  “Councilman, I’ll be perfectly safe as long as I can hide behind the rulebook. If the members of the Comporellian Presidium get some sort of Foundation discipline, that is their concern, and not mine.-But if it will help, sir, I can let you and Dr. Pelorat through on your ship. If you’ll leave Miss Bliss behind at the entry station, we’ll hold her for a time and send her down to the surface as soon as her duplicate papers come through. If her papers should not be obtainable, for any reason, we will send her back to her world on commercial transportation. I’m afraid, though, that someone will have to pay her fare, in that ease.”

  Trevize caught Pelorat’s expression at that, and said, “Mr. Kendray, may I speak to you privately in the pilot-room?”

  “Very well, but I can’t remain on board very much longer, or I’ll be questioned.”

  “This won’t take long,” said Trevize.

  In the pilot-room, Trevize made a show of closing the door tightly, then said, in a low voice, “I’ve been many places, Mr. Kendray, but I’ve never been anyplace where there has been such harsh emphasis on the minutiae of the rules of immigration, particularly for Foundation people and Foundation officials”

  “But the young woman is not from the Foundation.”

  “Even so.”

  Kendray said, “These things go in rhythms. We’ve had some scandals and, right now, things are tough. If you’ll come back next year, you might not have any trouble at all, but right now, I can do nothing.”

  “Try, Mr. Kendray,” said Trevize, his voice growing mellow. “I’m going to throw myself on your mercy and appeal to you, man to man. Pelorat and I have been on this mission for quite a while. He and I. Just he and I. We’re good friends, but there’s something lonely about it, if you get me. Some time ago, Pelorat found this little lady. I don’t have to tell you what happened, but we decided to bring her along. It keeps us healthy to make use of her now and then.

  “Now the thing is Pelorat’s got a relationship back on Terminus. I’m clear, you understand, but Pelorat is an older man and he’s got to the age when they get a little-desperate. They need their youth back, or something. He can’t give her up. At the same time, if she’s even mentioned, officially, there’s going to be misery galore on Terminus for old Pelorat when he gets back.

  “There’s no harm being done, you understand. Miss Bliss, as she calls herself-a good name considering her profession-is not exactly a bright kid; that’s not what we want her for. Do you have to mention her at all? Can’t you just list me and Pelorat on the ship? Only we were originally listed when we left Terminus. There need be no official notice of the woman. After all, she’s absolutely free of disease. You noted that yourself.”

  Kendray made a face. “I don’t really want to inconvenience you. I understand the situation and, believe me, I sympathize. Listen, if you think holding down a shift on this station for months at a time is any fun, think again. And it isn’t co-educational, either; not on Comporellon.” He shook his head. “And I have a wife, too, so I understand.-But, look, even if I let you through, as soon as they find out that the-uh-lady is without papers, she’s in prison, you and Mr. Pelorat are in the kind of trouble that will get back to Terminus. And I myself will surely be out of a job.”

  “Mr. Kendray,” said Trevize, “trust me in this. Once I’m on Comporellon, I’ll be safe. I can talk about my mission to some of the right people and, when that’s done, there’ll be no further trouble. I’ll take full responsibility for what has happened here, if it ever comes up-which I doubt. What’s more, I will recommend your promotion, and you will get it, because I’ll see to it that Terminus leans all over anyone who hesitates.-And we can give Pelorat a break.”

  Kendray hesitated, then said, “All right. I’ll let you through-but take a word of warning. I start from this minute figuring out a way to save my butt if the matter comes up. I don’t intend to do one thing to save yours. What’s more I know how these things work on Comporellon and you don’t, and Comporellon isn’t an easy world for people who step out of line.”

  “Thank you, Mr. Kendray,” said Trevize. “There’ll be no trouble. I assure you of that.”

  4. On Comporellon

  13.

  THEY WERE THROUGH. The entry station had shrunk to a rapidly dimming star behind them, and in a couple of hours they would be crossing the cloud layer.

  A gravitic ship did not have to brake its path by a long route of slow spiral contraction, but neither could it sw
oop downward too rapidly. Freedom from gravity did not mean freedom from air resistance. The ship could descend in a straight line, but it was still a matter for caution; it could not be too fast.

  “Where are we going to go?” asked Pelorat, looking confused. “I can’t tell one place in the clouds from another, old fellow.”

  “No more can I,” said Trevize, “but we have an official holographic map of Comporellon, which gives the shape of the land masses and an exaggerated relief for both land heights and ocean depths-and political subdivisions, too. The map is in the computer and that will do the work. It will match the planetary land-sea design to the map, thus orienting the ship properly, and it will then take us to the capital by a cycloidic pathway.”

  Pelorat said, “If we go to the capital, we plunge immediately into the political vortex. If the world is anti-Foundation, as the fellow at the entry station implied, we’ll be asking for trouble.”

  “On the other hand, it’s bound to be the intellectual center of the planet, and if we want information, that’s where we’ll find it, if anywhere. As for being anti-Foundation, I doubt that they will be able to display that too openly. The Mayor may have no great liking for me, but neither can she afford to have a Councilman mistreated. She would not care to allow the precedent to be established.”

  Bliss had emerged from the toilet, her hands still damp from scrubbing. She adjusted her underclothes with no sign of concern and said, “By the way, I trust the excreta is thoroughly recycled.”

  “No choice,” said Trevize. “How long do you suppose our water supply would last without recycling of excreta? On what do you think those choicely flavored yeast cakes that we eat to lend spice to our frozen staples grow?-I hope that doesn’t spoil your appetite, my efficient Bliss.”

  “Why should it? Where do you suppose food and water come from on Gaia, or on this planet, or on Terminus?”

  “On Gaia,” said Trevize, “the excreta is, of course, as alive as you are.”