Chapter 15 Chapter VII

Well over half a dozen chairs were prepared in the vault, as if preparing for the arrival of many people.Harding noticed this carefully, found a seat as far away as possible from the other directors, and sat down lazily. The directors didn't seem to care about this arrangement. They talked to each other in low voices at first, and then everyone spoke less and less, and only uttered one or two words at a time, and finally everyone shut up.Among the five of them, only Farah seemed to be relatively calm. Harding saw him take out his watch and look at the time with a serious expression. Harding also looked at his watch, and then at the glass chamber that took up half of the room—it looked empty.The glass chamber was the only unusual item in the vault, and beyond that, there was nowhere else in sight that could be controlled by a computer.At a predetermined precise moment, Miao Ziliu will trigger the computer to turn on the switch, and then...

Suddenly the lights dimmed! The electric light was not completely extinguished, but suddenly turned dim. Harding jumped up in fright, and looked up at the electric light on the roof in surprise.When his gaze returned to the glass room, changes had already taken place inside. The image of a person appeared in the glass room, that person was sitting in a wheelchair. The image didn't speak at first, it just closed the book on its lap and played with it for a while.Then the image took on a smiling expression, and the face seemed to come to life. The image finally spoke, "I am Hari Seldon." The voice was old and weak.

Harding almost got up to greet him, but stopped the car immediately. The voice continued: "As you can see, I am confined to this chair, so I cannot rise to greet you. I suffered a stroke and paralyzed me a few months after your grandparents arrived at Terminus. Of course, I can't see you, so I can't give you a good welcome, I don't even know how many people are here today, so don't hold back. If anyone is standing, please sit down, and if you want to smoke, I have no objection. " After a chuckle, Seldon said again, "Why should I object? I'm not really here."

After hearing this, Harding subconsciously wanted to take out a cigar, but then changed his mind. Hari Seldon took the book away from his hands at this moment, as if placing it on the table beside him.But when his fingers were pulled away, the memory of the book disappeared. He continued: "It has been exactly 50 years since the base was established. In the past 50 years, the staff of the base did not know their real goal. Because in the past they had to hide it from them, but now there is no need for it. "The encyclopedia base has been a cover from the beginning, and it has always been like this!"

At this moment, there was a commotion behind Harding, and one or two deliberately suppressed exclamations, but he did not turn his head. Hari Seldon was of course unmoved. He continued: "When I say the base is a front, I mean that my colleagues and I don't care whether the encyclopedia can be published. The encyclopedia project has its own purpose. Because with this plan, we got a charter from the emperor, and absorbed the hundred thousand people needed for the real plan. At the same time, we also used the work of compiling the encyclopedia to give all people something to do before the time was ripe. Busy until there is no more time for anyone to get away.

"For fifty years, you have worked so hard under this guise, and now I can say bluntly that your escape route has been cut off. You have no choice but to continue to invest in another project that is infinitely more important, which is our real plan. "For this real plan, we managed to bring you to this chosen planet at the chosen moment. It was arranged then that fifty years later your actions would be without freedom of choice. So from now on, and for many centuries to come, you will follow the inevitable path of history. You will face a series of crises, and this crisis is the first. Every time you face a crisis in the future, the actions you can take, It will also be limited to only one way.

"This path was deduced by us using psychohistory, and we did so for the following reasons: "For centuries, the civilization of the galaxy has been stagnating and declining, but only a few people have noticed this trend. Now, at least the outer edge of the galaxy has broken away, and the great unity of the empire has been shattered. Historians of future generations , will pick a moment in the past fifty years and mark it as: 'The Beginning of the Decline and Fall of the Galactic Empire'. "There's nothing wrong with them doing it, but it's probably unlikely that anyone else will understand it in the centuries to come.

"After the decline of the Galactic Empire, the inevitable barbaric period will follow. According to the calculation of psychohistory, under normal circumstances, this period will last for 30,000 years. We cannot prevent the decline of the Empire, and we have no intention of In this effort, because the culture of the Empire has lost its original vitality and value. But we can shorten the inevitable barbaric period to only a millennium. "As for how to do this, I can't reveal the details now; just as I couldn't tell the truth about the base fifty years ago. If you find out the details, our plan is very Likely to fail. Just as if the encyclopaedia was debunked too early, the options available to you would increase and introduce too many new variables for psychohistory to do anything about.

"But I'm sure you won't discover this secret early, because there are no other psychologists in Terminal Star except our own Ai Luyun. "However, I can tell you one thing: the terminal star base, and the base at the other end of the galaxy, are the seeds of the renaissance of the galactic civilization, and will also be the founders of the second galactic empire. Today's crisis just triggers the terminal Xing took the first step towards this great cause. "By the way, I would like to mention that this crisis is actually very simple. Compared with many crises that lie in the future, it is really much easier. Simply summed up, the current situation is as follows: Your planet and the core of the galaxy that still retains civilization , the connection between each other was suddenly cut off, and at the same time, you were threatened by powerful neighbors. You are a small-scale world composed of scientists, but the huge savage sphere of influence around you is rapidly expanding. In the nearby expanding ocean of primitive energy, you Is the only island of nuclear power, but due to the lack of metals here, it is still not self-sufficient.

"So you can realize that what you are facing is the cold reality, and you must take action due to the situation. As for how to act, that is to say, how to resolve the crisis, it is actually very obvious!" Seldon's hand reached into the air, and the book reappeared in his hand at once.He opened the book, and then said: "No matter how tortuous your future path is, you must always let future generations bear in mind one thing, that is, the path you should take has been marked, and the end of this path will be a brand new one. a greater empire!" Seldon's eyes turned back to the book, his image disappeared in an instant, and the lights were bright again.

Harding looked up and saw Pihaner facing him, eyes full of sorrow, lips trembling. The chairman of the council said in a firm and flat voice: "It seems that you are right. Please come over at six o'clock tonight. The council will discuss the next move with you." The directors shook hands with Harding one by one, and then left one after another.Harding gave a knowing smile—they were basically able to accept this fact, because they are scientists after all, and they always have the tolerance to admit mistakes.But for them, it was already too late. He looked at his watch again, everything should be over by this time.John's men have taken control of the overall situation, and the council can no longer issue orders. Anacreon's first batch of starships will land tomorrow, but it doesn't matter, in half a year, they will no longer be able to issue orders to the terminal star. As Hari Seldon said, and as Seful Harding guessed—Lord Rhodek already knew it the day he revealed that they had no nuclear power—the first crisis The solution is actually quite obvious. So fucking obvious!