Chapter 70 Section VI

Burano's iron-gray hair was neatly combed, and she looked calm and relaxed, as if she was still in the mayor's mansion. It was obvious that this was the second time in her life that she had gone deep into space. (Technically it was the third time, but the first didn't count, it was a vacation trip to Kalgan with her parents.) She said to Cordel in a slightly tired tone: "After all, Dupin's duty is to provide us with advice and warn us in due course. Well, he is indeed very responsible, and I won't blame him for that." At this time, Cordel was also on the mayor's battleship - this was to be able to talk with her face to face, because video communication would inevitably cause psychological barriers.Hearing the mayor say this, Cordel replied: "He has been in that position so long that his ideas have begun to be assimilated by the Sachels."

"That's one of the occupational hazards of the ambassadorship, Leonor. When this is settled, we'll put him on a long vacation and transfer him somewhere else. He's a capable man—at least, He's still a little vigilant, knowing to report Trevize's news immediately." Cordel smiled. "Yes, he told me that even though he judged it wrong, 'but I don't have a choice,' that's what he said. You see, Madam Mayor, even though he judged it wrong, he I had to do this, because as soon as Trevize entered the airspace of the Sachel Alliance, I immediately notified this Ambassador Dubin, asking him to forward all the news related to that kid."

"Oh?" Mayor Burano changed his sitting position so that he could see Cordel's face more clearly. "Why would you do that?" "It's really nothing, just for the simplest reason. Trevize pilots a new type of base military aircraft, which the Seychelles will definitely notice; he is also a little fool with no diplomatic status, which they He must have noticed too. Therefore, he may be in trouble, and one thing the base people know best is that no matter where they are in trouble in the galaxy, they can turn to the nearest base foreign representative for help. To be honest, I personally don't care what kind of trouble Trevize will get into, it might help him grow up early, it will help him a lot. The problem is that you send him out, you want him to be your lightning rod, so I want him Make good use of the function, that is to say, when the lightning strikes, you can estimate the source of the lightning. So I especially told the nearest base representative to pay attention to Trevize's movements, that's all."

"That's right! Well, now I understand why Dubin's reaction was so strong, because I also sent him a similar order. He received instructions from the two of us one after another. No wonder it was only a few base warships approaching, He thought something great was going to happen—but, Leonor, why did you send such an order without first consulting me?" Cordel replied calmly, "If everything I do involves you, you won't have time to be mayor. But why didn't you tell me?" Burano said bitterly: "If I told you every thought I have, Leonor, you would know too much. But it doesn't matter, and Dupin's warning is no more. As for Sai The Shear fuss is a small matter, and it's Trevize I care about."

"Our scouts have spotted Compu, and he's following Trevize, and they're both approaching Gaia very cautiously." "I have the full report on those scouts, and neither Leonor, Trevize, nor Komp apparently think of Gaia as a myth." "Everyone scoffs at the superstition about Gaia, Madam Mayor, but everyone's also thinking: 'But what if...' Even Ambassador Dupin is a bit jealous of it. This may be a brilliant strategy of the Seychelles , is a kind of protective color for them. They fabricated a mysterious and invincible world and spread these stories. After outsiders heard about it, they would not only keep a respectful distance from that world, but also avoid the nearby worlds—such as Sai Alliance."

"Do you think that's why the Mule never provoked Sachel?" "possible." "The base never touched Seschel either, so you don't think it's due to Gaia, do you? There's no record that we've ever heard of that world in the past." "I admit that our files don't contain a single piece of information about Gaia. But for a long time, we have always been very polite to the Sechelle Alliance, and there is no reasonable explanation for this." "Then, hopefully, the Sechelle government does believe in Gaia's terrible power, if only a little--although Dubin thinks that's impossible."

"why?" "Because in this case, the Sechelle Alliance will have no objection to our approaching Gaia. The more disgusted they are about this action, the more convinced they should stand by and let Gaia devour us. They will think that this will be a good one. The lessons learned are enough to warn future aggressors." "What if all this is true, Mayor? What if Gaia is really that scary?" Burano smiled. "How can you ask the 'what if...' question yourself, Leonor?" "I have to raise the possibilities, mayor, that's my job." "If Gaia is really that scary, then Trevize, my lightning rod, will bear the brunt of it, and Compu may suffer too—and I hope so."

"You hope so? Why?" "Because in this way, Gaia will underestimate the enemy too much. This situation is very beneficial to us. They will underestimate our strength and become easier to deal with." "But what if it's us who underestimate the enemy?" "We don't," Burano said emphatically. "These Gaians - whoever they are - may well be enemies we have never seen before, so we cannot accurately estimate the degree of danger. I just remind you, Mayor, that this possibility should also be weighed .” "Is that so? How did you get such a thought in your head, Leonor?"

"Because I found out that you think Gaia is at best the second foundation, and there will be no worse situation. I even doubt that you think it is the second foundation at all. But Sachel has a very special history, It was the same even in the imperial era. At that time, only Sachel had considerable autonomy, and even under the rule of some so-called "bad emperors", Sachel could miraculously exempt some exorbitant taxes. In short, early Sechel seems to have been protected by Gaia during the Empire." "so what?" "But the Second Foundation was created by Hari Seldon himself, and it was born at the same time as our base. The Second Foundation did not exist during the Empire, but Gaia was already there. Therefore, Gaia will never be the Second Foundation .It's a different organization—and, possibly, an even scarier one."

"I don't intend to be intimidated by the unknown, Leonor. There are two possible sources of threat—physical weapons and spiritual weapons, and we are fully prepared for both. Back to Go to your battleship and ask the fleet to guard the periphery of Sachel. My battleship will advance towards Gaia alone, but I will keep in touch with you at any time. If necessary, you can join us after a leap .Go ahead, Leonor, and get me that sad look off your face." "One last question, please? Are you sure you know what you're doing?" "I'm sure," she said sullenly, "I've also studied the history of Sechelle, Gaia can't be the second base. But I told you just now, I received the full report of the scout ship, from these reports middle……"

"How about it?" "Well, I know the location of the second base. We need to deal with these two enemies in one fell swoop, Leonor. Let's deal with Gaia first, and then deal with Trantor."