Chapter 13 chapter eight

Hari Seldon looked at his own hologram, which was projected by Hummin's projector, which was more visible and practical than looking in a mirror.In fact, there seemed to be two Seldons in the room now. Seldon scrutinized the sleeves of the new short-sleeved tunic. Helican's mentality made him wish the colors were more modest, but he was thankful, because Hummin's chosen colors were much softer than the world's prevalent. (Seldon shudders at the thought of the clothes those two young rascals were wearing.) "I think I'll have to wear this hat," he said. "It's true in the Imperial Quarter, where not wearing a hat is a sign of imbecility. But in other places, the etiquette is different."

Seldon sighed.Made of soft material, the round cap automatically adjusts to the shape of his head.The brim was the same width all the way around, but narrower than the brims of the two rascals.Seldon took some comfort in noticing that the brim of the hat curved into an elegant arc when he put it on. "It doesn't have a hat strap under the chin." "Of course not, that's the most avant-garde fashion for young punks." "Young what?" "Punkers refer to people who wear certain clothes to shock the world. I'm sure there are such people on your Helicon."

Seldon snorted. "Some people wear one side of their hair to shoulder length and shave the other." He couldn't help laughing at the thought. The corner of Hummin's mouth twitched slightly: "I think that must be extremely ugly." "It's even worse. They're obviously left and right, and neither side can stand the other's haircut, and the two factions often fight in the streets." "Then I reckon you can live with the hat, and it has no strap." Seldon said, "I'll get used to it." "It's going to attract some attention. It's so plain that it makes you look like you're in mourning, and it's not the right size. Also, you obviously look uncomfortable in it. We won't, however. Too long in the Imperial Quarter—have you seen enough?" The hologram disappeared without a trace.

Seldon said, "How much did this cost you in total?" "Does it matter?" "I'm upset that I owe you money." "Don't bother about it, it's my choice. But if we've been here long enough, someone will remember what I look like, I'm pretty sure. They'll track me all the way to this place." "In that case," said Seldon, "the credits you spend are negligible. You're putting yourself in danger for me!" "I know, but it's voluntary and I can take care of myself." "But why..." "We'll discuss the rationale for this later—by the way, I atomized your clothes, and I don't think anyone else saw them. Of course, there was a surge of energy, and that would leave a record. Someone might Will guess what's going on from that, it's really hard to hide all the action from the prying eyes and ears. But hopefully we're out of here safely before they put it all together."