Chapter 7 Chapter VII

Alfagin came over, nodded to Gale, and then bent down to whisper to Seldon.At this time, the bell of the adjournment suddenly rang, and the bailiff immediately came over to separate them, and Gail was taken away immediately. The situation of the second largest was quite different, and there was no one else present except the judges of the committee, Hari Seldon, and Gail Donick.They sat together at the conference table, and there was little separation between the five judges and the two defendants, and they were even entertained to smoke cigars.The plastic cigar box is iridescent, and it looks like a mass of liquid that is constantly flowing.Gale declined the cigars, but poked his fingers curiously to confirm that the cigar box was indeed made of a hard, dry solid.

Seldon took a puff on his cigar and said, "My lawyer is not here." A commissioner replied, "The trial is over, Dr. Seldon. We have come to discuss the security of the Empire with you today." At this time, the chairman Ling Ji Chen suddenly said: "I will speak." The other members immediately sat down on their chairs obediently, waiting to listen to the chairman's opinion.The room suddenly became extremely quiet, just waiting for Chairman Chen to speak. Gail waited with bated breath. In fact, Master Chen Xiucai should be regarded as the real emperor of the Galactic Empire. His appearance is lean and strong, and he looks older than his actual age.The current child with the title of emperor is just a puppet he made.Before that, he had launched several such puppet emperor factories.

Chairman Chen said: "Dr. Seldon, you have harassed the peace of the empire. Today, none of the billions of people on the various stars in the galaxy can live another hundred years. Why should we care about things three centuries later? " Seldon replied: "I myself have less than five years to live, but I am extremely concerned about the future. This can be said to be a kind of idealism, and even mysticism in the eyes of some people-I personally agree with the so-called of "human beings". " "I don't want to waste my energy trying to understand mysticism, please tell me straight up, why can't I just execute you tonight, with the future three centuries later that I can't see myself, and it's useless and annoying, Forget it with your dead body?"

"A week ago," Seldon replied lightly, "after you did this, you might still have a one-tenth chance of surviving to the end of the year. But today, the chance has dropped to one in ten thousand." The people present immediately made panting sounds and uneasy commotions, and Gail even felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.Chairman Chen's upper eyelids drooped a little, and he asked Seldon again: "How could this be?" "The decline of Trantor," Seldon replied, "is already beyond any effort to stop; on the contrary, it is very easy to accelerate it. If I were to be executed in secret, word would soon spread that the trial was terminated halfway." All over the galaxy, people will know more or less how this happened, and that the plan to mitigate the catastrophe has been destroyed, which will make all people lose faith in the future. Yun is full of envy, and will witness the rise of political revolution and the worsening of economic depression in the future. A negative sentiment will spread throughout the galaxy, thinking that at that time, what he can grab is the most important thing. Ambition The family will not wait for a moment, and the desperadoes are even less likely to give up this opportunity. Every step they will take will accelerate the collapse of each world. If you kill me, then the moment of Trantor's destruction will be brought forward For the next fifty years: and your own life, my lord, will end within a year."

Chairman Chen said: "These words can only scare children. However, executing you is not our only choice." He raised his thin palm that was pressed on a stack of documents, and only two fingers were still pressed on the topmost piece of paper. "Tell me," he went on, "that the only action you're going to take, really, is, as you say, to prepare for the publication of that encyclopedia?" "That's right." "Need to be done on Trantor?" "My lord, Trantor is home to the Imperial Library, as well as the rich academic resources of Trantor University."

"But if you are asked to go to other places, for example, to a remote planet, so that your academic research work will not be disturbed by the hustle and bustle of the city, and your subordinates can concentrate on their work. Isn't that very good? okay?" "Maybe it's a little bit better." "The place has already been chosen for you. Doctor, you can also work with tens of thousands of people under your command. I will let the people of the entire galaxy know that you are fighting against the decline of the galaxy. I will even reveal, Your work will prevent this bad luck." He smiled and continued: "Since I personally don't believe in these things, I don't believe in your so-called decline at all, so when I tell the people that the future of the empire will be safe and sound, I will Absolutely thinks what I'm telling the truth. Meanwhile, Doctor, that way you won't cause trouble for Trantor, and you won't disturb the peace of the Emperor.

"Other than that, the only way left is to execute you, and your subordinates, who need to be executed, will not show mercy. I will ignore your threat just now. From now on, I will give you a full five minutes Time, let you choose whether to accept the death penalty or go into exile." "My lord, I want to know which world you have chosen for us?" Seldon asked. "I think it's called Terminus." Chairman Chen replied casually, then turned the papers on the table to Seldon, and added: "It's not inhabited now, but it's quite habitable. We can make it suitable for scholars. The needs of all aspects. This planet can be said to be isolated from the world..."

Seldon interrupted him suddenly: "My lord, it is at the edge of the galaxy" "As I said just now, it can be regarded as being isolated from the world, which is just right for your needs. You can definitely concentrate on your work there. You have to grasp the time, there are only two minutes left." Seldon said: "We need time to arrange this relocation, and there are more than 20,000 families in total." "We'll give you plenty of time." Seldon thought for a while, and when he entered the penultimate minute, he suddenly said, "I accept the exile."

Seldon's words made Gale's heart stop.His main reaction, of course, was that he was very grateful that he had escaped the hell.However, after he breathed a sigh of relief, he actually felt a little regretful because Seldon was defeated.