Chapter 24 Chapter nine

The vault was crowded with people. In addition to the empty seats, there were also three rows full of people standing by the wall behind. Seeing so many people, Seful Harding couldn't help thinking of the scene when Hari Seldon first appeared.That was thirty years ago, when only six people were there.Five of them were old encyclopedia writers, all of them dead now, and the other was himself, a young puppet mayor.That same day, he staged a coup with John Lee and removed the shameful title of "puppet". Things were different now, everything was different, every member of the city council was waiting for Seldon to show up.Harding himself was still mayor, but he was already in power--he had become even more powerful since he had crushed Anacreon.When he brought back from Anacreon the news of Winnes' death and the new treaty with a terrified Leppard, he won a unanimous vote of confidence from the city council amidst thunderous cheers.Then he went all out and quickly signed similar treaties with the other three kingdoms - the base thus gained more power, which was enough to prevent any invasion attempts like Anacreon's this time.When these treaties were signed, every street in Terminus was thronged with torchlight processions, and never before had even Hari Seldon's name been cheered so loudly.

Harding curled his lips, thinking that after the first crisis that year, he had been so prosperous for a while. In another corner of the vault, Saifu Cermak and Louis Potter were having a lively discussion.Recent events did not seem to discourage them at all, they still participated in the vote of confidence, and gave speeches, publicly admitted their mistakes, and beautifully apologized for some previous inappropriate remarks.They justified themselves glibly, saying their actions were nothing more than reason and conscience - and the PAP immediately launched a new campaign. John Lee touched Harding's sleeve, and pointed to his watch meaningfully.

Harding looked up and said, "Hey, John, why are you still looking worried? What's the matter?" "He's supposed to show up in five minutes, right?" "I think so, the last time he showed up was at noon." "What if he doesn't show up?" "Are you going to bother me with your worries all your life? It's fine if he doesn't show up." John frowned and shook his head slightly: "If he doesn't show up, we'll still be in trouble. If Seldon doesn't endorse what we've done, Cermak will have no scruples to make a comeback. He wants Thoroughly annexing the Four Kingdoms, immediately expanding the territory of the base, and even resorting to force if necessary—he has already begun to campaign for this claim.”

"I know that a fire-player must play with fire, even if he sets himself on fire for it--dogs can't stop eating shit. And you, John, must try to find trouble for yourself." John was about to answer, but suddenly he couldn't say a word, because the lights were dimmed suddenly at this moment.He stretched out his arm and pointed to the glass chamber that occupied half of the dome, then he slumped on the chair and let out a soft "shh". When Harding saw the image appearing in the glass room, he couldn't help but straighten his body—it was a person in a wheelchair!Among the people who came to the scene today, only he knew the scene when this memory first appeared decades ago. At that time, he was still young, and the memory in the glass room was an old man.Now, thirty years later, this memory has not changed at all, but Harding himself is very old.

The image kept staring ahead, its hands stroking a book on its lap.Finally, he began to speak: "I am Hari Seldon." His voice was old and soft. Everyone in the vault waited with bated breath, and Hari Seldon continued to speak smoothly: "This is my second time appearing here, of course, I don't know if any of you were there when I first appeared. In fact, I have no way of knowing if anyone is here now just by feeling, but that doesn't matter. If you have safely overcome the second crisis, you will definitely come here, that is absolutely certain. If you don't come, it means that the second crisis is not something you can handle."

He showed a charming smile and continued: "But I don't think so, because my calculations show that the probability of no major deviations from the plan during the first eighty years is 984 per thousand. "According to our calculations, you are now able to control several barbaric kingdoms next to the base. In the first crisis, you used the 'balance of power' to prevent their invasion; in the second time, you used the 'metaphysical force' ' to defeat 'physical forces'. "However, I want to warn you again here, don't be too confident. In these videos, I don't want you to predict any future developments, but I can still tell you one thing, that is what you have now, but It's just a new balance—even if your situation is much better than before. Although the "metaphysical force" is enough to resist the attack launched by the "metaphysical force", it is not enough to attack in reverse. Due to localism or national "Metaphysical forces" cannot maintain their superiority forever due to the continuous growth of resistance to doctrines and so on. I believe that some of you have already thought of what I said.

"However, please forgive me for being so vague. The vocabulary I use now is at best an approximate narrative. But you don't understand the terms and symbols of psychohistory, so I can only try to explain in ordinary language . "In the current situation, the base has only come to the starting point of the Second Galactic Empire. The neighboring kingdoms are still countless times better than you in terms of manpower and resources. Outside these kingdoms is the chaos that fills the entire galaxy. The wild jungle; and in the inner regions of the galaxy, there is the remnant of the Galactic Empire - although the Empire is constantly declining, its power is still unrivaled."

Speaking of this, Hari Seldon picked up the book and opened it, his face turned solemn: "You must also not forget that we established another base eighty years ago. It is on the other side of the galaxy, at the The end of the stars, you cannot ignore its existence for a moment. Ladies and gentlemen, what unfolds in front of you is a future that has been planned for 920 years, and it depends on how you face it!" Seldon lowered his eyes to the book, and the memory suddenly disappeared, and the room returned to its original light.Over the ensuing uproar, John whispered in Harding's ear, "He didn't say when he'd be back."

Harding replied, "I know—but I hope he never comes back before you and I die!"