Chapter 6 Chapter Six

The trial period was not too long, and it was only the third day, but it was already drawing to a close.However, Gail's memory can no longer trace back to the beginning of the trial. (Gale thinks that's the trial, though it bears little resemblance to the elaborate judging process that Gale reads about.) Gale was only interrogated for a few sentences, and the main firepower was focused on Hari Seldon, but Seldon sat on the witness stand all the time.For Gale, only Seldon is the only stable fixed point left in the whole world. There were not many observers, and all of them were carefully selected by the nobles. The press and the general public were kept out.So little was known to the outside world that the Great Trial of Seldon had begun.The atmosphere in the courtroom was dignified, full of hostility towards the accused.

The five members of the Public Safety Committee sat behind a long raised table in front of them. They wore scarlet or gold uniforms according to their positions in the court, and they also wore shiny and tight-fitting plastic palace caps.Sitting in the very center was Ling Ji Chen, the chief committee member. Gail had never seen such an honorable nobleman before, so he couldn't help but stare at him in fascination.From the beginning to the end of the whole trial, Chairman Chen hardly said a word, because talking too much would lose his status as a nobleman, and he did this very clearly and thoroughly.

At this moment, the inspector general of the committee looked at his notes and was about to resume the interrogation. Seldon was still sitting on the witness stand. Question: We would like to know, Dr. Seldon, how many people are currently participating in this project that you run? Answer: Fifty mathematicians. Q: Is Dr. Gail Donick included? Answer: Dr. Donick is fifty-first. Q: Oh, so there should be fifty-one in total.Please think about it, Dr. Seldon, maybe there are fifty-second, fifty-third, or more? Answer: Dr. Donick has not officially joined my plan. After he joins, the total number will be fifty-one.As I said earlier, there are only fifty now.

Question: Is it possible to get close to 100,000 people? A: Are you a mathematician?of course not. Question: I didn't say that there are only mathematicians. I'm asking if you have a total of 100,000 people? Answer: The total number of people, then the number you mentioned may be correct. Q: Possibly?I think it's true.I also know the exact number. Under your plan, there are a total of ninety-eight thousand five hundred and seventy-two people. A: I think you are counting dependents, including children. Question: (Raising the volume) My statement only said that there were 98,572 people. You can answer it right or not, and there is no need to add more oil and vinegar.

A: Then I accept the number. Q: (looks at the notes) So let's leave that out of the way and go back to the original question we were discussing.Dr. Seldon, please restate your thoughts on the future of Trantor. A: I've said it before, and I'll say it again now, for the next three centuries Trantor will be in ruins. QUESTION: Don't you think this statement represents disloyalty to the Empire? Answer: No, my lord.Scientific truth goes beyond fidelity. Q: Are you sure your statement represents scientific truth? Answer: I am sure. Question: What is the basis? Answer: According to the mathematical framework of psychohistory.

Q: Can you prove that this math actually holds? Answer: I can only prove it to mathematicians. Questioner: (with a smile) Are you saying that your truth is too profound and beyond the comprehension of ordinary people?I thought that the so-called truth should not be so, it should be very clear, there is nothing mysterious, and it should not be difficult for people to understand. A: It's certainly not difficult for some people to understand.Let me give you an example, the study of the physics of energy transfer, which we commonly call thermodynamics, the truth of which has been known to man since the age of legends.However, I believe that most people here today, even those with advanced knowledge, still do not know how to design an engine.I don't know all the learned committee members...

At this time, a member leaned over and said a few words to the chief prosecutor. He lowered his voice very low, but his stern tone could still be heard.The Attorney General blushed all of a sudden, and immediately interrupted Seldon's statement. Q: Dr. Seldon, we are not here to hear you speak, let's assume you have answered my question.Now let me tell you that I think your real motive in predicting the disaster may be for personal purposes, and thus intended to destroy the confidence of the people in the imperial government! A: Absolutely no such thing. QUESTION: I also think that you intend to claim that there will be a period of various uneases before the so-called destruction of Trantor.

A: That's right. Q: Just because you made this prediction, you want to work hard in this direction, and you have assembled a hundred thousand troops for it? A: First of all, I would like to clarify that this is not the case.You just have to do some research, and you will find that few of these 100,000 men are men of service age, and none of these men have received military training. Q: Are you working for any organization or individual? A: My Lord Attorney General, I am absolutely not employed by anyone. Q: So you are 100% clean and dedicated only to science? Answer: I do. Q: So let's discuss how you dedicated yourself to science.Dr. Seldon, can the future be changed?

A: Of course, it's obvious.This courtroom may explode within the next few hours, but it may not.If it does explode, the future will definitely change slightly. Q: You are sophistrying, Dr. Seldon.Can human history as a whole change? Answer: Yes. Q: Is it easy? A: No, very difficult. Q: Why? A: In terms of the population on a planet alone, the trend of psychohistory has a lot of inertia.If you want to change those trends, you must add a factor of inertia to them, which requires the collective strength of many people.If the number of people is too small, it will take a long time, do you understand this?

Q: I guess that's fine.As long as many people acted, Trantor would not necessarily be destroyed, would it? Answer: That's right. Question: Say 100,000 people? Answer: No, my lord, it is too far away. Q: Are you sure? Answer: Consider that the total population of Trantor exceeds four billion: Consider also that if the propensity for destruction is not unique to Trantor but pervades the entire empire, the Galactic Empire contains nearly a gigabyte of population. Q: I see.But if one hundred thousand people and their children and grandchildren continue to work hard for three hundred years, this tendency may be changed.

Answer: I'm afraid it still won't work. Three hundred years is too short a time. Just ask!So, Dr. Seldon, we are left with only one reasonable inference from your statement.Your project has brought together a hundred thousand men who, within three hundred years, will be able to alter the future history of Trantor.In other words, no matter what they did, they could not prevent the destruction of Trantor. A: Unfortunately, your words were right. Question: Then again, did your 100,000 people have any illegal intentions? Answer: Exactly. Q: (slow and satisfied) So, Dr. Seldon, please pay attention now, and listen to me intently, we want a well thought out answer - what exactly are you doing with your hundred thousand people? The Chief Prosecutor's voice became more and more sharp. He gradually pushed Seldon into a corner, then cunningly cut off all escape routes, and now he was ready to start closing the net. This caused a commotion among the nobles in the auditorium, and even infected the committee members sitting in front.Except for the chairperson who remained motionless, the other four were busy whispering. Hari Seldon was unmoved at all, quietly waiting for the commotion to subside. Answer: In order to reduce the effect of destruction as much as possible. Q: What does this mean?Could you please explain more clearly. Answer: Very simply, the destruction that Trantor will face is not an isolated event in the process of human development, it will be the culmination of the deterioration of the imperial system.This dramatic change began centuries ago and will continue to accelerate in the future.My lords, I am referring to the fall of the entire Galactic Empire. Seldon just finished speaking this sentence, the original commotion turned into a vague growl, and the chief prosecutor immediately roared: "You are blatantly promoting..." Then his voice was overshadowed by the "treason" from the auditorium. Covered by the roar.It seems that Seldon's crime can be settled without a decision at all. The chairman slowly picked up the gavel, and then knocked it down heavily, and a soft gong sounded in the courtroom.After the echo disappeared, the noise in the auditorium also stopped at the same time.The chief prosecutor took a deep breath and prepared to continue the interrogation. Question: (Exaggerated) Do you understand, Dr. Seldon, that the empire you mentioned has stood for 12,000 years, has overcome countless generations of hardships and obstacles, and has been loved and blessed by thousands of civilians? Answer: I know the current state of the empire, as well as its glorious past, very well.I can say without shame that I know a lot more about this subject than anyone here, and I don't mean to be disrespectful when I say this. Q: But you predicted its demise? A: This is a prediction made by mathematics. I have not entered the slightest moral judgment, and I personally regret such a prospect.Even if we admit that empires are a bad form of government—though I don’t say so myself—the anarchy after the empire’s fall will be worse.It is that anarchy that is to come that my plan pledges to fight.My lords, the decline and fall of the empire is a major event with many implications, and it is almost impossible to restore it.Its distant causes include the rise of bureaucracy, the freezing of social classes, the decline of enterprise, the collapse of curiosity, and a hundred other factors.As I said just now, it has been going on quietly for centuries, and the trend is incurable. Q: Isn't it obvious that the Empire is still as strong as ever? Answer: You can only see the superficial prosperity when you look around. It seems that the empire will last forever.Yet, my lord, the rotting trunk looked as solid as ever before it was torn apart by the storm.The storm is already howling in the branches of the empire, and we can hear the creaking among the branches by listening with psychohistory. Q: (uneasily) Dr. Seldon, we're not here to hear... A: (firmly) The Empire is doomed, along with all its past achievements.The accumulated knowledge of mankind will be dissipated, and the order established by the Empire will also disintegrate.After that, the interstellar war will never end, the interstellar trade will inevitably decline, the population of the galaxy will also decrease sharply, and the worlds of all parties will lose contact with the main body of the galaxy.This situation will continue... Q: (whispers in the silence) Forever? Answer: Since psychohistory can predict the decline and fall of empires, it can also describe the dark ages that will follow.My lords, our great empire, as the Attorney General emphasized just now, has stood for twelve thousand years.However, the subsequent dark age will not only last for 30,000 years, but another empire will rise after that.But between these two empires, a thousand generations of humanity are doomed to suffer, and we must try to prevent that fate. Q: (recovering a bit) You're contradicting yourself.You said that the destruction of Trantor could not be prevented, so of course it means that you are equally powerless against the so-called fall of the Empire. A: I didn't say that the decline of the empire can be prevented, but we still have time to shorten the transition period.My lords, it is possible for us to reduce anarchy to a millennium, just by allowing my plans to begin immediately.We are at a historical tipping point where far-reaching events have to be deflected a little bit, and in fact it is impossible to change much.But that would be enough to erase twenty-nine thousand years of misery from the future history of mankind. Q: How are you going to proceed? Answer: Preserve all human knowledge well.The sum of human knowledge cannot be summed up by one person, or even by a thousand people.When our social fabric is broken, science will be broken into countless fragments.At that time, all that everyone can learn is extremely fragmentary pieces of knowledge, which will become useless and self-sufficient.Fragments of knowledge are useless at all, and cannot be passed on, and these knowledge will be lost in the process of changing generations.But if we set out now to gather all our knowledge, it will never be lost again.Future generations can use this knowledge without having to do it all over again.In this way, one millennium can complete the achievements of thirty thousand years. Q: What you said... Answer: My entire plan, the 30,000 people I have gathered together with their families, will dedicate themselves to the compilation of an "Encyclopedia of the Galaxy".None of them will be able to complete this huge project in their lifetime, and I myself will not even be able to see the end of this work.But it must be completed before the destruction of Trantor, when every great library in the galaxy will be able to keep one. The chairman raised the gavel in his hand and tapped it.Hari Seldon stepped off the witness stand and walked silently back to the seat next to Gale. He smiled at Gale and said, "What do you think of this scene?" Gail replied: "You turned the customer first to strike first, but what's next?" "They're going to adjourn for a while and try to come to a private agreement with me." "How do you know?" Seldon said: "To be honest, I don't say anything. All decisions are made by the host. I have spent several years studying this man, trying to analyze his behavior and methods. But you also understand that the decision will be made by the host. How unreliable an individual's idiosyncratic behavior is to introduce into a psychohistorical equation, but I still hold out hope."