Chapter 18 Chapter Seventeen

Hari Seldon watched the raindrops on the windows of the Royal Landing, and an indescribable nostalgia welled up in his heart.It was the second time in his eight years on Trantor that he had been summoned to the only open-air area on the planet to meet the Emperor—and both times the weather had been bad.The first time, shortly after he arrived on Trantor, the bad weather didn't bother him much.He thought it was nothing new.Storms are commonplace on his home planet Helicon, at least, where he was born.But now he has lived in a virtual climate for eight years, where the so-called storms are just clouds dotted randomly by computers, and only a few drops of drizzle fall in an orderly manner when people fall asleep.Storms give way to mild winds and drizzle, and extreme cold and hot heat are unheard of—the difference in temperature is only enough to make you unbutton your shirt front or pull on a thin coat.Yet even with such mild deviations, he still heard complaints.And now that Seldon had seen actual rain pouring from the vast sky—he had not seen such a sight for many years—there was love in the sight.This reminded him of Helicon, his youth, and those carefree days, and he could hardly help trying to persuade the driver to take a long detour to the palace.This is obviously impossible.The emperor was waiting to see him, and the journey would have been long enough for a land vehicle, even in a straight line with no barriers.Of course, there is no reason for the emperor to wait.Compared with when he first met Seldon eight years ago, Kryon was almost a different person.He had put on about ten pounds, and he had a sad look on his face.Even though the skin around his eyes and cheeks was taut, Seldon could tell it was the result of too many tiny adjustments.Seldon couldn't help feeling pity for Cleon—the emperor was on the decline due to the instability of the monarchy and the empire.Kryon and Hari Seldon were alone again—in the same lavishly furnished room they had first met.As was customary, Seldon waited for inquiries.After looking at Seldon for a while, the emperor said in a calm tone: "It's a pleasure to meet you, professor. We don't need to be formal, it's as good as when we met last time."

"Yes, Your Majesty," Seldon replied respectfully.Not being formal is not really unnecessary, it's just that the emperor ordered you to do so at the whim of the emperor. Kryon made an imperceptible gesture, and the room suddenly came alive under automatic control, the dining table was set up by itself, and the dishes were arranged on it.Seldon was dazzled in his bewilderment. The emperor said casually, "Have a meal with me, Seldon?" Although it was a questioning tone, there was somehow an irresistible force. "It is my honor, Your Majesty," Seldon said.He looked around cautiously.He knew very well that nobody (or, at least, shouldn't) ever ask the emperor questions, but he found he had to.So he said it quietly, trying not to sound like a question: "The prime minister won't eat with us?"

"He's not coming," Kryon said, "he has other important business at the moment, and I also want to talk to you privately." They ate in silence, Kryon gazing at Seldon, who occasionally smiled back. Kryon was not known for his brutality or injustice, but in theory he was perfectly capable of arresting Seldon on trumped-up charges without a trial at all, as long as the Emperor was willing to wield his influence.It would have been good to avoid the Emperor's attention, but there was nothing Seldon could do at the moment.Of course, the situation was worse eight years ago than it is now, when he was escorted to the palace by guards with live ammunition. — but that didn't make Seldon much easier.

Finally Kryon spoke again. "Seldon," he said, "the Prime Minister is a man of great ability, and so I place a heavy responsibility on him, but I feel that sometimes people may think that I am a king without a strong opinion. Do you think so?" "Never, Your Majesty." Seldon said calmly.It is useless to rush to justify. "I don't believe it. However, I do have my own opinions. I remember you proposed a thing called psychohistory when you first came to Trantor." "I believe you must also remember another thing, Your Majesty." Seldon said softly, "I explained that it was just a pure mathematical theory with no practical significance."

"You did say that. You still say it?" "Yes, Your Majesty." "Have you done any research on this since?" "Occasionally dabbled, but unfortunately nothing. Unfortunately, the interference of Chaos is inevitable, and predictability is not—" The Emperor interrupted: "I have a specific problem that I would like you to solve for me. —Feel free to use some dessert, Seldon. It is very tasty." "What is the problem, Your Majesty?" "The man named Jo Ruonan. Demmerzel told me - oh, put it quite mildly - that he meant that I could not arrest this man, nor use armed force against his followers. He said that It's going to make things worse."

"If that's what the prime minister said, then I guess that's probably true." "But I don't want this man named Qiao Ruonan... Anyway, I don't want to be his puppet. Demerzel has nothing to do with it." "I believe he is doing what he can, Your Majesty." "If what he's doing helps alleviate the problem, he's clearly not venting to me." "Perhaps, Your Majesty, this is out of the consideration of expecting you to be detached from the struggle. This is also a natural idea. The Prime Minister may feel that if Joranan can-if he can-"

"Seize power." Kryon called out, his tone extremely disgusted. "Your Majesty is wise. It may not be wise for you to act too much against him personally. For the stability of the empire, you must maintain a detached identity." "I would rather base the stability of the Empire on the absence of Joranan. What's your opinion on that, Seldon?" "Are you talking about me, Your Majesty?" "It's about you, Seldon." Kryon said impatiently, "If I ask you, I don't believe your claim that psychohistory is just a game. Demerzel has always maintained a friendly relationship with you." Relationship. Do you think I'm too stupid to know that? He wants something from you. It's called psychohistory, and I'm not a fool, I want it too. - Seldon, don't you Agree with Qiao Ruonan? Tell the truth!"

"No, Sire, I do not approve of him. I think he is an absolute threat to the Empire." "Very well, I believe you. I hear that you single-handedly stopped a potential Joranan uprising at your university." "That was purely a whim of my duty, Your Majesty." "Take that to a fool, don't tell me. I'm sure you're extrapolating from psychohistory." "His Majesty." "No need to quibble. How are you going to deal with Qiao Ruonan? If you are on the side of the empire, you have to do something." "Your Majesty," Seldon said cautiously, not sure how much the emperor knew, "I have sent my son to the Dar area to meet Qiao Ruonan."

"why?" "My son is a Dahl—he's shrewd. He might find something useful for us." "Maybe?" "It can only be possible, Your Majesty." "Will you ventilate with me?" "Yes, Your Majesty." "Okay, Seldon, stop telling me that psychohistory is just a game, and don't tell me it doesn't exist. I don't want to hear that. I expect you to deal with Joronan. How it's done is out of my hands, but You must do something. I have no choice. Now you can go." Seldon returned to Sterling University, but his mood was far more gloomy than when he went there.Kryon's words sounded like he could only promise success but not failure.Now it's all up to Ricky.