Chapter 13 Chapter Twelve

For the next few days, Seldon put aside his work in the department and used his computer in newsgathering mode all day long. There aren't many computers capable of processing daily news from 25 million worlds.Most of these computers are at Imperial Headquarters, where they are absolutely necessary.Some of the larger Outer World capitals also had such computers, though most of them really only needed a hyperspace link to the press center on Trantor. A computer in a major university's mathematics department, if advanced enough, could be converted into an independent news source, and that's exactly what Seldon did with care.After all, this is an essential resource for his psychohistorical research work. Of course, the performance of this computer will be prevaricated to outsiders with extremely vague reasons.

Theoretically, this computer would report any anomalous events occurring on any world within the Empire.A warning coded to be less obtrusive would highlight itself so that Seldon could easily follow it.Such warnings are rare, as the definition of "unusual event" is so strict that only very dramatic changes on a large scale are included.When there were no anomalous events, Seldon wandered randomly around worlds—not all twenty-five million worlds, of course, but dozens. It's a rather tedious, even tiresome job, because there's hardly any world that doesn't have a little natural or man-made disaster every day.A volcano erupts in the east, a flood in the west, an economic collapse of one kind or another, and, of course, riots.Every day for nearly a thousand years, a hundred or more worlds have rioted for one reason or another.Naturally, such things are not taken seriously.Riots are no different from volcanic eruptions in people's eyes, and they are commonplace on planets inhabited by humans.On the contrary, a day when no riots are reported anywhere is something extraordinary and guaranteed to cause the most serious concern.

Seldon himself was no stranger to these things.Chaos and catastrophe are to the outer world what the waves are to the ocean—and nothing more.He found no clear evidence of the decline of the empire from the events of the past eight or even eighty years.But Demerzel (Seldon would not have called him Daniel even when he was thinking about it when Demerzel was not there) said the decline was ongoing, whereas his diagnosis of the Empire had been from the birth of the Empire Now, it was a way that Seldon could not emulate—unless he was able to manipulate the power of psychohistory at his fingertips.It may be that the magnitude of this decline is quite small, so small that it is not easy to notice until a certain critical moment-like a mansion that is slowly decaying and decaying. It collapsed.But when will the roof collapse?It was a question Seldon could not answer.

Occasionally, Seldon checked the local news on Trantor.Here, the news is always richer by comparison.For one thing, Trantor is the most populous of all the worlds, with 40 billion people.Secondly, the eight hundred regions on Trantor naturally formed a mini-empire.Thirdly, this place is always full of all kinds of tedious government ceremonies and royal social activities. However, what really caught Seldon's attention was in the Dar area.In the Dar District Council election, five people from the Joronan Party were elected.According to background information, this is the first time Qiao Ruonan's party has been elected to a regional office.This is not surprising.If there is any area that is the base of Qiao Ruonan's party, it must be the Dar area.Seldon, however, found this a disturbing sign, a major step forward in the agitator's ambitions.He microchiped the news and took it home with him at night.

Reach looked up from his computer as Seldon entered, apparently feeling the need to explain his existence. "I'm helping Mom sort out the references she needs," he said. "And what about your own work?" "It's done, Dad. It's all done." "Very good.—look at this." He waved the chip to Ricky, and slid it into the microprojector. Rui Qi glanced at the news video in the air and said, "Oh, I know that." "you know?" "Of course. I keep an eye on what's going on in Dar. That's my hometown, you know." "Then what do you think about that?"

"I'm not surprised at all. What about you? The rest of Trantor sees Dahl as rubbish. Why wouldn't they embrace Joronan's point of view?" "Do you also subscribe to these views?" "This—" Richie grimaced thoughtfully. "I admit that some of what he said really appealed to me. He said he wanted everyone to be equal. What's wrong with that?" "Exactly — if that's what he meant. If that's what he meant. If he didn't use it as a mere vote-getting tactic." "Exactly, Dad. But most Darlings would think: What have we got to lose by voting for Joronan? Since we weren't treated equally, even though the law says so."

"Legislation is not an easy task." "But if you're dying in sweat all day long, there's probably nothing that can calm you down." Seldon collected his thoughts.He had already started thinking about this issue when he first saw the news.He said, "Ricky, you haven't been back since me and your mother took you out of Dahl, have you?" "I remember quite clearly. When you went to Dar five years ago, I went with you." "That's right"—Seldon waved his hand impatiently—"but that didn't count. We were staying in an interdistrict hotel, which wasn't even a Dal district. And, as I recall, Dors wasn't Let you walk the streets alone. After all, you were only fifteen years old. Now do you want to go to the Dar District? Go alone and do your own thing-now you are twenty years old?"

Rui Qi chuckled and said, "I'm afraid Mom won't agree even if she dies." "I didn't say I liked her to show me favors. I didn't even want to ask her permission. Now the question is: Will you do it for me?" "Out of curiosity? Of course. I also want to see what happened in my hometown." "Can you find time in your studies?" "Of course. I won't miss another week's class. Besides, you can help me record the lecture content so that I can catch up when I come back. It shouldn't be difficult to ask for leave. After all, my old man is a dean of— —unless you've been fired, Dad."

"Not yet. But I don't see this as a pleasant holiday trip." "I wonder if you think so. I don't think you know what a good holiday trip is, Dad. It really surprises me that you know the term." "Don't talk nonsense. When you get there, I want you to meet Raschin Joronan." Richie looked shocked. "How can I do that? I have no idea where he is." "He's going to Dal. He's been invited to give a speech at Dal District Council, where there's the new Joronan MP. We'll find out the exact date for the speech, and you can go there a few days before."

"And how am I going to see him, Pa. I don't think he'll open the door." "I don't think so either, but I'll leave it up to you to deal with. When you were twelve, you knew how to deal with this kind of thing. I hope you haven't been worn out by all these years of pampering." Sharpness." Richie smiled proudly: "I don't think so. But even if I saw him. So what?" "Then, find out what you can. What are his real plans. What are his real thoughts." "Do you really think he's going to tell me?" "I wouldn't be surprised if he told you. You have a special ability to instill trust in people, you poor little thing. Come, let's talk."

So they discussed the details.If so several times. Seldon's mood was quite painful.He wasn't sure how things were going to play out, but he didn't dare discuss it with Yugo Amarel or Demerzel (let alone Dors).They may prevent him from doing so.Or it might prove that his idea was a bad idea, and he really didn't want that kind of proof.His plan seemed to be the only way to save the crisis, and he didn't want it to be aborted.But does such a path really exist? In Seldon's view, Ricky is the only hope, and he may try to cheat Jo Ruonan's trust.But is Ricky the right tool for this plan?He is a Dahl and a sympathizer of Jo Ruonan.To what extent could Seldon trust him?This is really scary!Ricky was his son—and Seldon had never doubted Ricky's loyalty before.