Chapter 10 Interpretation of the events of Chapter 10

These two people on earth are in sharp contrast - in this world, one of them has the most power on the surface, while the other has the most real power. On Earth, the Patriarch is the most important Earthling.He is the ruler of this planet by direct edict issued by the Emperor of the Empire that rules the entire galaxy—of course, he must obey the orders of the imperial administrator.As for the headmaster's secretary, it seems that it is really an insignificant role. It is just a member of the ancient religious order, theoretically assigned by the headmaster to handle some non-specific affairs, and theoretically, the headmaster can fire him at will.

The Dean is a figure known and understood by all on Earth, and revered as the supreme arbiter of common law.Only he can announce the "sixty limit" for exempting someone; and only he can judge who has committed the crimes of breaking rituals, violating food rations, failing to meet production schedules, trespassing on forbidden places, and so on.On the contrary, the headmaster's secretary is unknown, and no one even knows his name. The only people who know him are the members of the ancients, and of course the headmaster himself. The dean is very eloquent and often makes speeches to the people.His speech was full of high spirits, and a rich flow of emotion.He has long blonde hair and looks elegant and aristocratic.The secretary of the dean has a snub nose and a bitter face, and he is usually taciturn. This is the case.

On the surface, of course, it is the dean who has the power, and the one who has the real power is the secretary of the dean.This became quite apparent when the two were alone in the Dean's office. Because the patriarch now looks confused and anxious, and the patriarch's secretary is calm and indifferent. "What I don't see," said the Dean, "is any connection between these reports you've sent. Reports, reports!" He threw his arms over his head and slammed down on the imaginary pile of papers. "I don't have time to read that stuff." "Exactly," said the Dean's secretary without any emotion. "That's why you hired me. I'm responsible for reading the report, digesting the report, and conveying the report."

"Well, my good Boches, get to work then. Speak quickly, for these are trifles." "Small things? If His Highness doesn't train his judgment to be sharper, one day he will fail... Let's see what these reports mean, and then I will ask you again, do you still think they are small things. First, let's Discuss the original report, which was sent by Schechter's men seven days ago. It was this document that first brought my attention to something strange." "What's so strange?" Boches smiled with a hint of sarcasm: "Please allow me to remind Your Highness that on our planet, there are several important projects that have been in progress for several years."

"Shhh!" The headmaster lost all dignity and couldn't help but look around quickly. "Your Highness, it was not nervous nerves but full confidence that allowed us to win the final victory... Besides, you know that the success of this plan depends on the wise use of Schector's little toy, the synaptic amplifier. Until now So far, at least as far as we know, it has been used under our supervision, and only for specific purposes. Now, without our knowledge, Schechter has gone out of his way to modify a person of unknown origin, completely against our orders." "That," said the Dean, "is a simple matter. Punish Schechter, detain the reformed, and the matter is over."

"No, no, your thinking is too simple, Your Highness. You miss the point. The question is not what Schechter did, but why he did it. Please note that there is also a coincidence here, it is a series of coincidences The first one. On the same day, the Earth administrator had visited Schechter, and Schechter had shown us loyalty and reliability, personally reporting to us all the contents of the meeting. Ennias wanted that synapse The amplifier is used by the Empire, and he seems to have promised the Emperor's generous support and benevolent assistance." "Well—" replied the Dean.

"Are you interested? Compared with the dangers associated with the current plan, such a compromise seems very attractive?... But, do you remember that during the famine five years ago, the empire promised to aid us with food? You Remember? Every world refuses to ship because we lack empire credits, and Earth's products are unacceptable because they are all radioactively contaminated. The promised free food is delivered? Is it even a loan None? As a result, a total of 100,000 people died of starvation. So, you must never believe the promises of outsiders. "But this is not important. The important thing is that Schechter has shown a good loyalty. Of course, we will never doubt him again. Once the trust in him is doubled, we cannot doubt that he will rebel on the same day. However, that's exactly what happened."

"You mean this unsanctioned experiment was an act of treason, Boches?" "That's what I mean, Your Highness. Who is the person who underwent the transformation? We have his photo, and Schechter's technicians also helped us get a pattern of the retina. After comparing with the global registry database, we found that there is no him at all." Therefore, the inevitable conclusion is that he is not an earthling, but an outsider. Besides, Schechter must know this, because the registration card cannot be forged or embezzled, and the omentum pattern inspection can immediately distinguish the authenticity. Therefore, after Simple reasoning and absolutely true facts can only lead us to one conclusion, that is, Schechter used synaptic amplifiers to transform a person he knew was an outsider. Why is this?…

“The answer, perhaps frighteningly simple, is that Schechter is not our ideal tool. As a young man, he was an assimilationist; Reconciled with the Empire. However, in the end he was defeated." The Dean interrupted: "I don't know about it." "Don't know he was defeated?" "No, I didn't know he ran. Why didn't anyone tell me about it? Schechter's position makes him a very dangerous figure." Boches showed a gentle and tolerant smile: "Schechter is the inventor of the synaptic amplifier, and he is still a person who is really experienced in its operation. He has been monitored, and the monitoring will be stricter in the future. Don't forget For one thing, a traitor who hides among us and is detected by us can do more harm to the enemy than a loyal man can do to us.

"Now, let's move on to those facts. Schechter transformed an outsider with a synapse amplifier. Why? The only possible reason for using a synapse amplifier is to enhance the human mind. And why? Because our Scientists have been engineered with synaptic amplifiers, and that's the only way the outsider can go beyond the minds of those scientists, huh? That means the Empire is at least mildly skeptical of what's going on on Earth. Is that a trifle? , Your Highness?" Scattered beads of sweat appeared on the headmaster's forehead: "Do you really think so?" "These facts are like a jigsaw puzzle, and there can only be one way to put them together. The outsider who underwent the transformation looked inconspicuous, even ugly. This is also a good move, because a bald and fat old man can still be an empire. The most skilled and experienced spy. Oh, yes, yes. Who else could be entrusted with such a mission? ... But we have been following this stranger, incidentally, as far as we know, he used the The pseudonym is Schwartz. Now, let's move on to the second report."

The Dean glanced at the stack of documents: "The information about Bel Avadan?" "Dr. Bel Avardan," Boches said affirmatively, "an outstanding archaeologist, from the fierce Sirius sector, those worlds are full of heroic, chivalrous paranoid." He said the last half of the sentence in a disdainful tone, He said again: "Okay, don't worry about that. In short, this person and Schwartz form a strange and strong contrast, almost a dramatic contrast. He is not unknown, on the contrary, he is a very famous person. He is not a secret The intruder whose arrival has created a whirlwind in the public mind. It was not the little Technician who warned us of him, but the Earth Administrator himself." "Do you think there is a connection, Boches?" "Your Highness can think of it this way. The role of one of them is to deliberately divert our attention from the other. Or it is also possible that since the ruling class of the empire is all cunning and cunning, these two people represent two different disguises. History Vaz is as evasive as possible, and Alvardan is ostentatious. Are we going to find out any truth about these two? . . . Well, what does Ennias warn us about Alvardan?" The dean rubbed his nose thoughtfully: "He said that Alvadan led an archaeological team funded by the Empire, hoping to enter the restricted area for scientific research. He also specifically stated that there will never be any blasphemy. If we can Stop this man in a gentle way, and he will support our actions in the Reichstag. That's about it." "So, we will closely monitor Avadan, but why? Ha, to make sure he didn't trespass in the restricted area. He is the leader of an archaeological team, but he doesn't have any manpower, ships or equipment; he is an outsider, originally He was supposed to be on Mount Everest, but he just couldn't rest easy, running around the globe for some reason, and making his first stop in Chicago. Faced with all the weirdest, most suspicious Circumstances, how is our attention diverted? Ha, to encourage us to monitor things that don't matter. "But please pay attention, Your Highness, Schwartz was hidden in the Nuclear Energy Research Institute for six days, and then escaped. Isn't this strange? The door is suddenly unlocked, and the corridor is suddenly unguarded. What a strange negligence." And what day did he escape? Ah, the same day that Alvadan arrived in Chicago, that's the second strange coincidence." "Well, you think..." said the Dean nervously. "I think Schwartz is an outsider spy on Earth, Schechter is a liaison to the assimilationist traitors here, and Avardan is a liaison to the Empire. See how Schwartz and Avardan are scheduled to meet Gao Ming: Schwartz was released on purpose, and after a reasonable amount of time, his nurse—Schechter’s daughter—came out to find him, which is another not too surprising coincidence. What if their Any error in the precise timetable, apparently she would find him out of the blue; he would be a poor patient to satisfy anyone's curiosity; and then he would be safely brought back to the Institute to wait for the next opportunity. Fact She had told two overly curious taxi drivers that he was a patient, ironically, that they were self-defeating. "Now, listen to me carefully. Schwartz and Alvadan first met in the cafeteria, when they pretended not to know each other existed. It was a preparatory meeting, just to point out that everything was going well so far and we could continue Take the next step... At least we can take comfort in the fact that they didn't underestimate us. "Then Schwartz left first, and a few minutes later, Alvardan also walked out of the restaurant, and Miss Schechter met him. In front of the driver, the two of them acted for a while, and then went to Danghan Department Store together. At this time, the three of them got together. Why is it difficult to go anywhere, but choose a department store? Because it is an ideal meeting place, There is no cave in the mountains so hidden. Too public to be suspicious; too crowded so no one can get close. Wonderful—very wonderful—I have nothing but admiration for this adversary.” The Dean twisted uneasily in his seat: "If our opponent is so admirable, he will win." "No way, he has failed. And for that, we have to give credit to the great Nat." "Who is Nat?" "A negligible spy, but from now on, we must make good use of him. His actions yesterday were impeccable. His long-term task is to monitor Schechter. For this task, he placed a A fruit stand. In the past week, he has accepted a special assignment, which is to monitor the development of the Schwartz incident. "He happened to be there when Schwartz escaped. He had seen a picture of Schwartz, and Nat had caught a glimpse of him when he was brought to the Institute. He observed every action, but he was not caught Discovery. It was the report he sent, detailing the entire incident yesterday. With incredible intuition, he deduced that the only purpose of Schwarz's 'escape' was to try to meet Avadan. He knew that he was alone , could not use the meeting to gain any intelligence, and decided to block their plan. The two taxi drivers, the two whom Miss Schechter told them that Schwartz was ill, guessed that he was suffering from radioactive fever. Nat immediately used his gift of wit to make a big fuss about this. As soon as he found out that the meeting was going to take place in a department store, he immediately reported the fever rumors to the relevant authorities. Thanks to the earth, the authorities in Chicago were also wise enough to Be quick to adopt a cooperative attitude. "The department store was evacuated immediately. They had hoped to use the crowd as a cover to cover their conversation, but now this cover was taken away. They were isolated there and looked very suspicious. Nat did nothing and kept going. He took the initiative to contact them and persuaded them to hand over Schwartz to him, and he escorted him back to the institute. They accepted, otherwise what could they do?...So from the beginning to the end yesterday, Avadan and Schwartz did not talk In a word. "He didn't do the stupid thing of arresting Schwartz, those two people didn't know that they had been exposed, and they would lead us to catch even bigger prey in the future. "Nat further notified the imperial garrison. This action was amazing and put Alvardan in a situation he never expected. At that time, he had only two choices: or reveal his identity as an outsider and make himself a It is useless, because he is on the earth, and obviously he has to pretend to be an earthling to carry out his work smoothly. Otherwise, he must keep it secret until the end, and no matter how unpleasant things happen, he has to bite the bullet and endure. As a result, he chose The heroic second way, in order to strive for realism, even broke the arm of an imperial officer. That incident, at least, will definitely be charged to his account. "The actions he has taken are of great significance in themselves. If something extremely important is not threatened, why is he, an outsider, willing to be a living target for a woman on Earth?" The dean put his hands on the desk in front of him, he showed fierce eyes, the soft lines on his face were wrinkled, and he looked extremely distressed: "You did a good job, Boches, from such poor clues You can weave such a complicated spider web. Your analysis is very clever, and I think what you said is very reasonable. According to logical judgment, we cannot draw the second conclusion...but it shows that they have already Too close, Boches. They're too close . . . and this time, they'll show no mercy." Boches shrugged: "They can't be too close, otherwise, in the face of the potential crisis that the entire empire may be destroyed, they have already taken the initiative... and their time is running out. If you want to make progress, Avadan You will have to meet with Schwartz again. Therefore, I can predict the future development for you." "Say—speak." "Now Schwartz will definitely be sent away, so that the tight wind will gradually die down." "But where will he be sent?" "We know that too. Schwartz was brought to the Institute by another man, apparently a farmer. Both Schechter's technician and Nat had described the man to us. We After going through the registrations of every farmer in a sixty-mile radius around Chicago, Nat identified a man named Abyn Mahron, and the technician backed up the identification. We spied on that man and found that he appeared to be Helping his father-in-law - a hopeless cripple - dodge sixty." The dean slammed his fist on the table: "This kind of cases are really emerging one after another, Boches, we must strictly enforce the law in the future..." "That's not the problem now, Your Highness. The important thing is that since the farmer violated the custom, he has a handle for blackmail." "Oh……" "Schechter and his outsider allies need just such a tool. In other words, Schwartz must find a place to hide in seclusion, longer than he can hide safely in the institute. This may be helpless and innocent The farmer here is a perfect choice. Don't worry, he'll be watched, and Schwartz will never escape our sight... Well, he and Alvardan will surely manage to have another meeting soon, and Next time we'll be prepared. Do you know the whole picture now?" "understood." "Okay, thank you Earth, then I'll take my leave." Then, with a hint of sarcasm, he added, "Of course, with your permission." The dean didn't expect the ridicule in it at all, he just waved his hand and signaled the secretary of the dean to step back. The secretary of the dean walked towards his small office, and there was no one else around at this time.But when alone, his thoughts sometimes escape the strict self-control, and go to the dark corners of the soul to play alone. Those thoughts had nothing to do with Dr. Schechter, Schwartz, Alvadan, and even less with the Dean. Instead, a planet appeared in his mind - Trantor, the entire galaxy was ruled by this giant global metropolis.Also, there was a picture of a royal palace with its spiers and mighty arches that he had never seen with his own eyes.In fact, no one on Earth has ever seen it.He thought of the invisible web of power and glory, stretching from one sun to the next, each invisible thread, cord, cord, finally converging in the central palace, and the symbol of power, the Emperor. , and the emperor is just a mortal after all. His mind clung to the idea that the power only a god deserved was concentrated in a mortal. Just a mortal!Mortals like himself! He can also...