Chapter 53 third quarter

Professor Quintesserz was a tall man in his mid-fifties, with light brown skin and iron-gray curly hair fixed with gel.When the door opened, he immediately stood up from behind the desk and walked around to the door to greet the guests.He held out his hand in welcome, and said in a soft, low voice, "I am Saw Kun. Very pleased to meet you, Professor." Trevize said: "I don't have any academic title. I just accompanied Professor Pelorat here. You can call me Trevize. It's an honor to meet you, Professor Jiabot." Quintessz quickly raised his hand and shook it violently, looking rather embarrassed. "No, no, Jiabot is just a stupid title, meaningless in other worlds, please don't worry about it, just call me Suo Kun. On Sessel, we are used to it in general social situations Short. Nice to meet two, I thought there was only one guest."

He seemed to hesitate for a moment before extending his right hand.Before stretching it out, he deliberately wiped it lightly on his pants. Trevize held the opponent's hand, but he was wondering in his heart whether his actions just now represented the orthodox etiquette of Sachel. Quintesserz said: "Please sit down, I'm afraid you two will find that my chair is not alive. But I am like this, I don't like being hugged by chairs, the most popular chairs that hug people these days, I am Hope hugs mean something else, hey?" Trevize smiled knowingly, and replied casually: "Who doesn't think so? Your name, Suo Kun, doesn't seem to have the taste of Sachel, it's a bit like the name of the outer ring world. If I say that, I'm rude If so, please forgive me."

"I don't mind, part of my family goes back to Ascon. Five generations ago, my great-great-grandparents decided to move here because of the growing influence of the base." "And we are citizens of the base, which is very sorry," Pelorat said. Kuntserz waved his hand cordially, and replied: "I don't hold grudges for things that happened five generations ago. Unfortunately, the hatred in the hearts of the ancestors has never been less. Do you want to eat something? Or eat something? Would you like some background music?" "If you don't mind, I'd like to get straight to the point," said Pelorat, "if Secil's etiquette allows it."

"The etiquette of Sechelle has no restrictions in this respect, I assure you. You have no idea what a coincidence, Dr. Pelorat, I read in the Archaeological Review about two weeks ago. That article you wrote discussing origin myths. I thought it was a terrific overview, but it was too short." Pelorat blushed with excitement. "I am overjoyed that you should have read that article. Of course I must condense it, as the Archaeological Review will not publish the full text, and I am planning to write a good detailed monograph on the subject. " "I hope you will do so. In short, after I read that article, I have the idea of ​​meeting you. To achieve this goal, I even want to visit Terminal Star in person, but it is very difficult to make it... ..."

"Why?" Trevize asked. Quintessz showed an embarrassed expression again. "Unfortunately, I have to say this. Sachel is not interested in joining the Al Qaeda Federation. Therefore, if the people want to communicate with the Al Qaeda, the government will obstruct it. We have always maintained neutralism, and you should know this; The mules didn't invade us, they just insisted on a neutral statement. Therefore, anyone who wants to go to the base area-especially to the terminal star, the government will think the motive is suspicious, and make things difficult for the application. But like me Scholars who apply in the name of academic visits may still be able to get a passport in the end. But these are unnecessary, because now you have come in front of me! I hardly dare to believe it, and I asked myself: Why? ?Have you not only heard of you, but also me?"

Pelorat replied: "I am aware of your work, So Kun, and I have the abstracts of each of your papers, which is why I have come to you. My research covers two main subjects. The first subject It is the Earth, the so-called planet from which humans originated; the second topic is the history of exploration and colonization in the early days of the Milky Way. I came here to ask you about the history of the creation of Sessel." "Based on your last paper," Quintessors said, "I would have guessed that your interest was in myths and legends." "I'm actually more interested in history, in actual records or relics—if you can find them, otherwise you have to resort to myths and legends."

Quintessoz stood up and paced back and forth in the research room. Sometimes he would suddenly stop and stare at Pelorat, and then continue to pace. Trevize said impatiently, "How is it, Professor?" Quintesserz said: "Absolute! Absolutely! Just yesterday..." "How was it just yesterday?" asked Pelorat. Quintessez said, "As I said, Dr. Pelorat—by the way, can I call you Jen Bae? I find it quite awkward to be called by your full name." "Please." "As I said earlier, Jen Pei, I admired that essay you wrote, and would like to meet you. The reason I want to meet you is this. You have apparently collected extensively the early legends of many worlds, But only our Sai Xier is missing, so I want to supplement this information for you. In other words, the reason I want to see you is exactly the same as the reason you want to see me."

"But what does that have to do with yesterday, Thor Kun?" Trevize asked. "We have many legends, one of which is very important to our society because it has become our untold secret." "The untold secret?" Trevize had no idea. "I don't mean something mysterious or suspenseful, I think, in galactic standard language, the word 'secret' usually means that. Here, however, it is a special usage, meaning something secret. Only a few Things that are fully understood, things that are not understood by outsiders - and yesterday happened to be this day."

"What kind of day, Thor Kun?" Trevize asked, his tone deliberately emphasizing impatience. "Yesterday was the 'Long March Anniversary'." "Ah," Trevize said, "a day of contemplation and silence, everyone should be at home." "In theory it is, but in larger cities, that is, in more realistic societies, the ancient custom is seldom practiced any more. But now I know that you have at least heard of it." Trevize's tone became more and more impolite, Pelorat felt quite uneasy, and hurriedly said: "We arrived yesterday, and we heard a little bit."

"It won't be the same someday—" Trevize said sarcastically. "Listen, Suo Kun, as I said just now, I am not a scholar, but I still have a question for you. You said that the legend is a secret, which means that it cannot be revealed to outsiders, then , why did you tell us? We are out-and-out outsiders." "You guys are outsiders, but I don't take contemplation days seriously. I'm not that superstitious about things like that. I had an idea early on, and Jen Bae's paper strengthened my confidence, that No matter whether it is a myth or a legend, it is impossible to completely fabricate it out of thin air. Nothing can be created out of thin air. No matter how the myths and legends are embellished or how they deviate from the facts, there must be a core of truth hidden behind them. Therefore, I really want to know, the anniversary of the Long March What is the truth behind this legend?"

"Is it safe to discuss this?" Trevize said. Quintessorz shrugged and replied: "I don't think it is 100% safe. The conservatives in this world will be scared. However, they have been unable to control the government for the past century. The enlightened people are very powerful. As long as Conservatives don't take advantage of our - pardon me for saying this - anti-base complex, and enlightened forces will grow stronger. Besides, I am discussing it as an academic issue out of interest in ancient history, in case If necessary, the 'Scholar's Union' will definitely support me with all my strength." "In that case," said Pelorat, "will you tell us the untold secret, Thor Kun?" "Yes, but let me make sure that we won't be disturbed or overheard. As the saying goes, if a tiger's whiskers have to be plucked, the teeth don't have to be pulled out." He reached out and patted the working interface of a device on the desktop, and said, "I have cut off the connection with the outside world." "Are you sure this room hasn't been tampered with?" Trevize asked. "Hands and feet?" "Be tapped! Be monitored! Or secretly install a small device in this laboratory, so that your words and deeds can't be hidden." Quintessors looked surprised. "There is absolutely no such thing on Sachel!" Trevize shrugged. "If you say that, then we'll just have to believe it." "Go on, Thor Kun," said Pelorat. Quintesserz pursed his lips slightly, leaned his upper body against the back of the chair (his weight caused the back of the chair to bend slightly), and gently leaned the fingertips of his hands together, as if thinking about how to start from the beginning. Finally he said, "Do you know what a servitor is?" "Servant?" Pelorat said, "I've never heard of it." Quintess turned his head to look at Trevize, seeing Trevize shook his head slowly. "At least, you guys should know what a computer is, right?" "Of course." Trevize replied again in an impatient tone. "Okay, then, an actionable computerized tool—" "It's just a mobile computerized tool." Trevize became more and more impatient, "There are so many types of this kind of thing that I can't even count them. I don't know what else is besides 'mobile computerized tool'." generic name." "—If the appearance is made exactly like a human, it is called a servitor." Quintessz finished the definition calmly, and then added: "The biggest difference between a servitor and other computerized tools is that It is because they have a human form that they are called 'robots'." "Why do you want to be in human form?" Pelorat asked in amazement. "I don't know either. Human-shaped tools are extremely inefficient. I agree with that, but I'm just repeating the legend. 'Servant' is an ancient word, derived from a language that no one can understand now; Our scholars think it has the connotation of 'work'." "I can't think of any words," Trevize said in a skeptical tone. "Even if it's only pronounced a little bit like 'servant', it has nothing to do with 'work'." "Obviously not in Galactic Standard," Quintessors said, "but they do say so." Pelorat said: "This may be a phenomenon of causation in etymology, because that kind of thing was used for work, and later that word has the meaning of 'work'. Regardless of this question, why did you tell us this matter?" "Because there is a long-lasting legend on Saixier - when the earth was the only world and the rest of the galaxy was not yet inhabited, humans invented and created machine servants, that is, robots. Since then, Human beings are divided into two types: flesh and blood and iron and steel, natural and artificial, biological and mechanical, complex and simple..." Speaking of this, Quintessers suddenly stopped, and then said with a wry smile: "I'm really sorry, once I talk about robots, I will inevitably quote the sentences in the "Long March Record". In short, people on Earth once invented robots. That's all I'm going to say, and that's enough." "Why did they invent robots?" Trevize asked. Kuntserz shrugged and replied: "Such a distant history, who can figure it out now? Maybe because of their small population, they need the help of robots, especially for such huge projects as exploring space and colonizing the galaxy. " "It's a fair guess," Trevize said. "Once humans managed to colonize the galaxy, the robots were gone. Of course there are no humanoid computerized tools in the galaxy anymore." "Let's get down to business." Quintessz said, "Let me simplify the content as much as possible and omit all the poetic plots. To be honest, I don't agree with those over-exaggerated plots, but most of the Seychelles believe it. Or pretend to believe that the story goes like this - in some star systems around the earth, many colonized worlds have gradually emerged, and those colonies have far more robots than the earth, because robots are more useful in the undeveloped new worlds. In fact, the earth is stagnant in this regard, does not want to build more robots, and even has a strong aversion to robots." "How did it turn out?" asked Pelorat. "Those outer worlds are getting stronger and stronger. With the help of robots, 'the children defeated and controlled the mother-the earth'. Sorry, I started quoting again without knowing it. But some people on the earth escaped because They had better ships, and better hyperspace travel technology. Those people fled to worlds in distant galaxies, far farther than the previous colonies. Since then, a group of new colonies have arisen, and human beings in Among them, living freely, this time without the help of robots, is the so-called 'Long March Age.' And the day when the first Earthlings arrived in the Sessel Sector - in fact, this planet - — was designated as the 'Long March Memorial Day', and commemorative activities have been held on this day every year for tens of thousands of years." Pelorat said: "My dear brother, according to what you are saying now, Seschel should be established directly by the earth." Quintessz hesitated for a while before replying, "This is the official version." "Obviously," Trevize said, "you don't accept this statement." "I think the idea—" Quintessors began slowly, then blurted out: "Oh, by the stars, I don't accept it! It's so improbable. But it's official. Dogma, no matter how enlightened the government has become, at least pay lip service to it. But let's not get too far, it seems from your paper that you don't know the story of robots and two waves of colonization - the first There were bots involved but on a smaller scale, whereas the second time around it was the opposite." "I really don't know," said Pelorat, "I heard it for the first time today. Dear Thor Kun, I will always be indebted to you for your information. No article has ever mentioned a clue, That surprised me a lot.” "It shows," Quintessors said, "how efficient our social system is. It's our Seychelles' secret—our secret." "Maybe." Trevize said perfunctorily, and then asked: "However, the second wave of colonization—the one without robots—must have expanded in all directions at the same time. The big secret?" Kuntserz said: "It may also be circulated secretly in other places, so outsiders cannot know. Our conservatives believe that only Seychelle is the direct colony of Earth, and the rest of the galaxy is the result of Seychelle's recolonization , which of course may well be nonsense.” Pelorat said: "Sooner or later, these side-by-side historical mysteries will be solved. Now that I have a starting point, I can look for relevant information in other worlds. The important thing is that I found a problem worth exploring, and a Good questions, of course, lead to endless answers. How lucky I am—" Trevize interrupted suddenly: "Yes, Janov, but the good Thor Kun obviously hasn't finished the whole story. What happened to those earlier colonies, and those robots? Your oral traditions Has history ever mentioned it?" "No details are mentioned, but there is a general idea. Humans and humanoid machines obviously cannot coexist. The world with robots died later. They have no conditions for long-term survival." "And what about Earth?" "Humans left the earth and immigrated here. In theory, they should also go to other planets-although conservatives object to this statement." "Not everyone will leave the earth, the earth should not be completely abandoned." "Probably not, but I don't know." Trevize popped up, "Has it become radioactive?" Quintessz looked taken aback, and asked, "Radioactivity?" "Yes, radioactive." "I don't know that at all, I've never heard of such a thing." Trevize was biting the knuckles of his fingers, while thinking quickly.After thinking about it for a long time, he finally said: "Thok Kun, it's getting late, we may have taken up too much of your time." (Pelorat moved, as if to protest, Trevize's But he grabbed his knee hard with his hand, Pelorat had no choice but to give up, but the uneasy expression remained on his face.) "It's a great honor to be able to help a little bit," Quinteserz said. "You have been a great help. If there is anything we can do for you, please just say so." Quintessz laughed softly a few times. "If the kind Zhan Pei can let me go, and avoid mentioning my name in any future articles about our secrets, that will be enough reward." Pelorat said in a sincere tone: "If you can visit Terminus, or even stay in our university for a long time in the name of a visiting scholar, you will definitely get the academic status you deserve, and maybe you will be more valued. .We may have a way to arrange it for you. Sachel may not like the Foundation Federation, but they should not reject your application—for example, you want to go to Terminus to attend an ancient history seminar." Quintessers almost stood up when he heard this. "You mean, you guys can help me connect behind the scenes?" Trevize said immediately, "Ha, I didn't think of that, but Jen Bae is absolutely right, and it's very doable, if we're willing to try. Of course, the more we appreciate you, the harder we'll try. " Quintessz froze for a moment, then frowned and said, "What do you mean by that, sir?" "You just need to tell us all about Gaia, Thor Kun," Trevize said. Quintesz's originally radiant face suddenly turned gray.