Chapter 49 Chapter Thirty-eight

Seldon surveyed their dwelling with some displeasure.It contains a small, separate kitchen, and a small, separate bathroom.There are also two narrow beds, two wardrobes, a table and two chairs.In short, as long as two people are willing to squeeze together, all the needs of life are readily available. "In Cina, we also have our own kitchen and bathroom," Dors said resignedly. "I don't," said Seldon, "Heliken may be a small world, but I live in a modern city where everyone uses the communal kitchen and bathrooms—what a waste, in a hotel where we have to live temporarily , it could happen, but if the whole district is like this, imagine how many kitchens and bathrooms there will be, how much duplication there will be."

"It's a part of egalitarianism, I suppose," Dors said. "There's no need to fight over the ones you like, and you don't need to fight over the others. Everyone's the same." "But there's no privacy either. I don't mind too much, Dors, but you might, and I don't want to give the appearance of taking advantage of you. We should make it clear to them that our rooms must be separate, connected but separate." Dors said, "I'm sure it won't be of much use. Space is at a premium here, and I think they'll be amazed at their generosity when they give us such a big space. Let's just make do with it, Harry. We both Not small enough to handle the situation. I'm not a shy girl, and you can't convince me you're a juvenile."

"It's not me. You will come here a little bit." "So what? It's an adventure." "Okay, so, which bed are you going to choose? The one near the bathroom?" He sat down on the other bed. "There's another thing that bothers me. No matter how long we stay here, We were always aliens, you and me, even Hummin. We belonged to other tribes, not their own, and most things had nothing to do with us—but most things had to do with me. That's why I'm here, to know something they know." "Maybe it's something they think they know." Dors said in a historian's skeptical tone. "I know they have many legends, which can theoretically go back to the beginning of time, but I don't believe these legends are worth taking seriously."

"Until we discover what these legends are, we cannot jump to conclusions. Are there no relevant records from the outside world?" "Not as far as I know. These people are extremely closed off, they're so ruthless they're almost insane. How Hummin managed to break through their barriers, and even get them to accept us, is remarkable—it's admirable." Seldon pondered for a while: "There must be a gap that can be cut in. I didn't know that Myqusheng was an agricultural society, which surprised the Sun Lord—it was anger in fact, and it didn't seem like it was something they wanted to keep secret. "

"The thing is that's not a secret. Myqusheng' is supposed to be of ancient origin, meaning 'yeast producer'. At least that's what I've heard, and I'm not an ancient linguist myself. Anyway, they cultivate all kinds of Microbial food, yeast is of course not a problem, in addition to algae, bacteria, multicellular fungi and so on.” "It's nothing unusual," said Seldon. "Most worlds have this kind of microculture, and even we in Helicon have some." "Maiqusheng is different, this is their specialty. The method they use is as old as the name of this district - secret fertilizer formula, secret breeding environment. Who knows what else? It's all secret anyway."

"Stay old." "Extremely thorough! The result is that they develop rich protein and subtle aromas, so their microfoods are completely different from other worlds. They keep the production very low, so they can sell for sky-high prices. I have never tasted it. I'm sure you don't either, but it's sold in large quantities to imperial bureaucrats, as well as the upper classes of other worlds. Mykkosen relies on exports from this village to maintain a healthy economy, so they want everyone to know that this place is where this precious food is produced. This, at least, is not a secret."

"In that case, Myqusheng must be very rich." "They are not poor, but I suspect that what they seek is not wealth, but a kind of protection. The imperial government will protect them, because without them, there would be no these micro-foods to add the most delicate and strong to every dish. This is how the Mycosuns are able to maintain their eccentric way of life, and to assume a haughty attitude towards their neighbors, though the latter may find it intolerable." Dors looked around. "They lived a simple life. I noticed that there were no holographic TVs and no film books."

"I found one in the cupboard on the shelf." Seldon took it down, looked carefully at the label, and said, with obvious distaste, "A cookbook." Dors reached out to take it, and began to fiddle with the controls on it.It took her a while, because the arrangement of the buttons was different from normal usage, but she finally turned on the screen and began to look at the contents of the pages."There are some cookbooks in there, but most of it seems to be philosophical skits about cooking," she said. She closed the film book and flipped it up and down, left and right in her hand. "It seems to be a one-piece stand, and I don't see how I could replace the microfiche cards—a dedicated scanner for this book, which would be called a waste."

"Perhaps, they think this film book is the only thing everyone needs." After speaking, he picked up another thing from the small table between the two beds. "It could be a microphone, but there's no screen." "Maybe they think having a voice is enough." "I don't know how it works?" Seldon held it up and looked at it from different angles, "Have you ever seen something like this?" "Saw it once in a museum—if it's the same thing. Myqusheng seems to be deliberately trying to maintain the archaic style, which I think is another way for them to isolate themselves from the so-called foreigners who are around them in disproportionate proportions. Their archaism and eccentric customs, Makes them obstinate, so to speak. There's a wicked logic to it."

Seldon, still playing with the device, said suddenly, "Ha! It's on, or something is on, but I don't hear anything." Frowning, Dors picked up a small felt-lined cylinder that had been left on the small table, and brought it to her ear. "There's a voice coming from here," she said, "here, try it." Then she handed it to Seldon. Seldon did as he was told, and then exclaimed, "Oh! It's got me." He listened for a while, then said, "Yes, it hurts my ears. I think you can hear me... Yes, this is our room... No, I don't know the number. Dors, you Do you know the room number?"

Dors said, "There's a number on the microphone, maybe it is." "Maybe." Seldon replied with a skeptical n-kiss, and said into the microphone again: "The number on this unit is 6LT3648A, is that ok... well, where can I find this unit, and the proper use of the kitchen What do you mean by 'it's all the usual way'? It doesn't do me any good... Listen, I'm a--a foreigner, a guest. I don't know what's the usual way ... "Yes, sorry for my accent, I'm glad you recognized me as a foreigner when you heard my voice...my name is Hari Seldon." After waiting a moment, Seldon looked up at Dors with a look of suffering on his face. "He'll have to look up my records, and I guess he'll tell me he can't find it at all... oh, you found it? Good! If so, can you provide me with these answers... yes... yes ...yes...and how do I call someone out of McQueen... oh, for example, how do I contact Sun Lord Fourteen...well, then his assistant, his assistant, whatever Who is... oh, oh... thank you." He put down the microphone, and with a little more effort, he took the listening device out of his ear.He flipped the switch off and said, "They'll arrange it for us, get someone to tell us all the details we need to know, but he can't promise when it'll be arranged. You can't call outside of Myrterson—anyway." That doesn't work, so if we need Hummin, we can't get in touch with him. And if I want to find Sunmaster Fourteen, I have to talk a lot of crap first. This may be an egalitarian society, but it seems There are still exceptions, which I bet no one will publicly admit." He looked at the time tape. "Anyway, Dors, I don't want to read a cookbook, much less didactic skits. My time tape is still showing Struering time, so I don't know if it's the end of the day now." It's official bedtime, but at the moment I don't care. We've been up most of the night and I want to sleep." "I have no problem, I'm tired too." "Thanks. No matter what time the day starts, after we catch up on sleep, I'll ask them to show me a microfood farm." Fengsi looked a little surprised: "Are you interested?" "Not very interested, but if it's something they're proud of, they should be willing to talk about it. Once you get them excited, then, taking the opportunity to use all my charms, maybe they'll get them to do it too." Talk about the legend of Myqusheng. In my personal opinion, this is a brilliant strategy." "I hope so, too," Dors said in a dubious tone, "but I don't think the Myers will fall so easily into the trap." "We'll see," Seldon said sullenly.