“Attack now or never; with a single ship, or all the force in the Empire; by military force or economic pressure; by candid declaration of war or by treacherous ambush. Do whatever you wish in your fullest exercise of freewill. You will still lose.” “Because of Hari Seldon’s dead hand?” “Because of the dead hand of the mathematics of human behavior that can neither be stopped, swerved, nor delayed.” The two faced each other in deadlock, until the general stepped back. He said simply, “I’ll take that challenge. It’s a dead hand against a living will.”
This is the “who will win?” suspense he creates with his psychohistory. I wish the General was fleshed out more, cause this passage is worthy of a great character.
