Chapter 17 Chapter Eleven

After Hummin said those words calmly, Hari Seldon held an uneasy silence.His sudden recognition of his own weakness made him utterly ashamed. He invented a brand new science - psychohistory.He extended the laws of probability in a very subtle way to handle new complexities and inaccuracies, resulting in a beautiful set of equations.There were countless variables in this set of equations—perhaps infinitely many, but he couldn't tell. But it's just a math game and nothing else. He had psychohistory, at least the foundations of psychohistory, but it was a mathematical curio.Where is the historical knowledge that might give some meaning to these empty equations?

He knew nothing, he had never been interested in history.He knew only the outlines of Helicon's history, and this small section of human history was of course compulsory at all levels of Helicon's schools.But what else?The rest of the historical knowledge he has absorbed is undoubtedly only the superficial outline of what others say--half is legend, and the other half is obviously distorted. Still, how can it be said that the Galactic Empire is about to perish?It had been a universally recognized empire for 10,000 years, and even before that, there were still 2,000 years before Trantor, as the capital of a dominant kingdom, was tantamount to leading an empire.During the first few centuries of the empire, there were occasional revolts in various regions of the galaxy that refused to lose their independent status, and finally the empire survived this bottleneck safely.The empire also surmounted the occasional mutiny, the wars of regime change, and the ups and downs of some periods of serious collapse.A. Most of the worlds were hardly troubled by these problems, and Trantor itself grew steadily, until eventually the entire world was populated by humans, and now proudly calls itself the "Eternal World".

Admittedly, in the past four centuries, the turmoil seems to have increased unabated, and the assassination of the emperor and the usurpation of the throne are like child's play.But those turbulences have gradually subsided, and today's galaxy has returned to the peaceful days of the past.All worlds prospered under Creon I, and before that, under his father Stanel V.Kryon himself was never seen as a tyrant, and even those who disliked the monarchy had little real ill to say about Kryon, though they often lashed out at Itur Demmerzel. So, why did Hummin say that the Galactic Empire is about to perish, and he said it so firmly?

Hummin is a journalist, he may have some knowledge of galactic history, and he must have a full understanding of the current situation.Is it because of this that he has enough knowledge to back up this assertion?If so, what is that knowledge? Seldon wanted to ask questions several times, seeking an answer, but Hummin's serious expression made him hesitate to speak.Another reason that prevents him from asking is that he has a deep-rooted idea that the Galactic Empire is a premise, a postulate, and a cornerstone on which all arguments are based.In any case, if "it" is wrong, I don't want to know.

No, he couldn't believe he was wrong.The Galactic Empire will not be destroyed just like the universe, or it should be said that if the universe is really destroyed one day, only in that case, the empire will be buried with it. Seldon closed his eyes and tried to take a nap, but couldn't.Did he have to study the history of the entire universe in order to advance his theory of psychohistory? How could he do it?Twenty-five million worlds, each with its own infinitely complicated history, how could he finish his research?He knew that there were tons of volumes on film on the history of the galaxy, and he had even skimmed one of them, for reasons he had forgotten, only to find it too dull to read even half of it.

Those film books dealt with important worlds.Some worlds have all or nearly all of their histories recorded, others only between their rise and fall.He remembered looking up Helicon in the Index and finding only one mention of it.So he pressed a few keys to check the contents of that section, and saw that Helicon was listed alongside some other worlds.It turned out that for a brief period these worlds supported a claimant to the throne, but that man was unsuccessful in the end.Helicon was not punished for that incident, perhaps because it was too insignificant to deserve punishment. What is the use of such history?Of course, psychohistory must take into account the actions and reactions of each world, and their interactions with each other—every world, big and small.How can one study the history of twenty-five million worlds and consider the various possible interactions between them?That was certainly an impossible job, and it reinforced Seldon's conclusion that psychohistory had only theoretical value and absolutely no practical utility.

At this moment, Seldon felt a weak thrust forward, and decided that the speed taxi must be slowing down. "What's wrong?" he asked. "I think we've come far enough," said Hummin, "that we might as well venture to stop and get something to eat and drink while we look for the bathroom." For the next fifteen minutes, the speed taxi decelerated steadily and gradually until it came to a brightly lit alcove.The flying car got in immediately and found a parking space between five or six cars.