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A mathematician, however, who could back his prophecy with mathematical formulas and terminology, might be understood by no one and yet believed by everyone.”
He had already experienced the fact, over and over, that government officials—and particularly those in the Imperial service—looked grave at all times, as though bearing the weight of the entire Galaxy on their shoulders. And it seemed the lower in importance they were, the graver and more threatening their expression. This, then, might be an official so high in the scale, with the sun of power so bright upon him, that he felt no need of countering it with clouds of frowning.
It was a matter of security, perhaps, but what it meant was that the Emperor was in prison, whether he admitted the matter to himself or not. It might be the most luxurious prison in the Galaxy, but it was a prison just the same.
Mathematicians deal with large numbers sometimes, but never in their income.
The first rule of the news game is that nothing is ever said about the Emperor or his personal entourage except what is officially given out. It’s a mistake, of course, because rumors fly that are much worse than the truth, but that’s the way it is.”
“The history of mathematics is full of simple questions that had only the most complicated of answers—or none at all.”
“Where have the credits gone?” “Into other things. We’ve had centuries of unrest. The navy is much larger and many times more expensive than it once was. The armed forces are much better-paid, in order to keep them quiet. Unrest, revolts, and minor blazes of civil war all take their toll.” “But it’s been quiet under Cleon. And we’ve had fifty years of peace.” “Yes, but soldiers who are well-paid would resent having that pay reduced just because there is peace. Admirals resist mothballing ships and having themselves reduced in rank simply because there is less for them to do. So the credits
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After all, he thought, you can’t exchange pleasantries with an attractive woman and feel entirely like a stranger.
My own feeling is that any student so foolhardy as to take mathematics wants to get that part of the course over with as soon as possible.”
“There’s so much knowledge to be had that specialists cling to their specialties as a shield against having to know anything about anything else. They avoid being drowned.”
They work off all their resentments, enjoy all the smug self-satisfaction a young revolutionary would have, and by the time they take their place in the Imperial hierarchy, they are ready to settle down into conformity and obedience.”
I’ve seen many people with status, but I’m still looking for a happy one. Status won’t sit still under you; you have to continually fight to keep from sinking.
But I won’t be afraid to compete and I won’t mind any humiliation that may come along—if I manage to learn the tricks of the historical reference trade.”
It had been slow and halting, but there was a certain pleasure in gradually determining the routes by which he could get his questions answered.
“Now we’re getting to it. Exceptions are what are interesting.”
(If something quite accidental can easily become viewed as a tradition and be made unbreakable or nearly so, thought Seldon, would that be a law of psychohistory?
“All I have proved is that it will not take an infinite time to understand Galactic society, but if it takes a billion years it will still be impractical. That will be essentially the same as infinite time to us.”
Dors said, “We’re psycho.” The pilot said, “And I’m history.”
after they had eaten, largely and a bit greedily, Seldon felt civilized once more.
Dors said, eyes dancing, “Did she know you have hair on your chest?” “I was hoping earnestly she wouldn’t think of that.”
In mathematics, we say ‘suppose’ all the time and see if we can end up with something patently untrue or self-contradictory.
Why, he wondered, did so many people spend their lives not trying to find answers to questions—not even thinking of questions to begin with? Was there anything more exciting in life than seeking answers?
Did you ever see a place like this? If a place, like a person, could be dead, we would be inside a corpse.”
with both people and computers on the job, computer error can be more quickly tracked down and corrected by people and, conversely, human error can be more quickly corrected by computers. What it amounts to is that nothing serious can happen unless human error and computer error take place simultaneously. And that hardly ever happens.”
“You’re an odd one, Hari. You seem to go steadily from bad to worse.
“Then we have a revolutionary movement in which the principal players must be ready to betray each other, with each simply waiting for the opportunity. It sounds like a recipe for chaos.”
The room was a velvet glove, but the iron fist was not far distant.
“You have your order!” shrieked Rashelle. “I have your word,” said Seldon quietly.
“Emotions, my dear Seldon, are a powerful engine of human action, far more powerful than human beings themselves realize, and you cannot know how much can be done with the merest touch and how reluctant I am to do it.”
If the time comes when you are able to set up some device that may act to prevent the worst from happening, see if you can think of two devices, so that if one fails, the other will carry on.
If he sends you back to the University, I’ll go back to Helicon and the Empire can go ahead and destroy itself.”
