Chapter 60 Chapter Forty Seven

"Touch your hair?" said Dors Venabili, looking at Seldon's hair as if she wanted to touch it herself. Seldon took a step back, "Please don't do that, that woman is acting like she's a bit of a pervert." "From her point of view, I suppose it is. Don't you have fun with it yourself?" "Fun? It gave me goosebumps. When she finally stopped, I was able to breathe. I was always worried, what kind of conditions would she ask?" Dors laughed. "Are you afraid she'll force you to have sex—or is that what you expect?" "I assure you I don't think so, I just want that tome."

Now that they were in their room, Dors turned on her field twister to make sure no one could overhear their conversation. The night of Maiqusheng is coming.Seldon had already taken off his fur cap and jacket, and had already bathed.He took extra care of his hair in the shower, rinsing it twice in total.Now he was sitting on his cot, wearing a light pajamas he found in a closet. Dors's eyes flicked. "Does she know that you have hair on your breasts, too?" "I was just praying that she wouldn't think of that." "Poor Harry. It's absolutely natural, you know. If I were alone with a brother, I might have a similar trouble. I'm sure it's worse, because he'll believe it—from Myco From the perspective of this social structure—as a woman, I will definitely obey his orders without any hesitation or objection.”

"No, Dors. You may think this is absolutely natural, but you haven't experienced it yourself. The poor woman was in a state of high sexual excitement at the time. All her senses were engaged...not only smelling her fingers, and sticks out her tongue to lick. If she could hear the sound of hair growing, she would listen greedily and intently." "But that's what I call 'natural', anything that's forbidden creates sexual attraction. If you lived in a society where women were always topless, wouldn't you be particularly interested in women's breasts?"

"I think I might." "Wouldn't you be more interested if they were always covered, as they are in most societies? "Listen, let me tell you a personal experience. At that time, I was in a lakeside resort on the mother planet Sina...I guess you Heliken also have resorts, such as beaches and the like." "Of course." Seldon was a little annoyed. "What do you think of Helicon? A world with only mountains and rocks, and only well water to drink?" "No offense, Harry, just make sure you get the background. On the sands of Sienna, we don't care much about what we wear...or what we don't wear."

"Nude beach?" "It's not that far, but I think if someone takes off all their clothes, people won't say much. Customary dress is the lower limit of decency, but I must admit that decency in our minds does not exist. Leave nothing to the imagination." Says Seldon, "At Helicon, we have a somewhat higher standard of propriety." "Yes, you can tell from your cautious attitude towards me, but there are always individual differences in each world. Closer to home, one time, I was sitting on the beach by the lake when a young man came over. I had a few words with him when I was in the hospital. He was a decent man and I didn't think there was anything wrong with him. He sat on the arm of my chair and put his right hand on my left thigh for stability. Clinging to his body. Of course, my thighs are exposed.

"After we chatted for about a minute and a half, he said in a playful tone: 'I'm sitting here. You barely know me, but it seems natural to me to put my hand on your thigh. Not only that, but you also seem to feel it comes naturally, because you don't seem to mind letting it stay there.' “Until then, I didn’t really notice his hands on my thighs. The skin that’s exposed in public, loses some of its sexual nature. As I said, the key is what’s not visible. "The young man was quicker, too, because he went on: 'But if I met you at a more formal occasion, and you were wearing a dress, you would never have dreamed of me lifting your dress and holding your hand in the exact same spot on your lap.'

"I laughed, and we went on to talk about something else. Of course, since I had noticed where his hand was, the young man felt it was inappropriate to leave it there, so he moved it away. “At dinner that night, I dressed more thoughtfully than usual. The occasion didn’t require any particular attire, but I was dressed more formally than the other ladies in the restaurant. I found the young man who was sitting at one of the tables. I Go up, say hello to him, and say: 'I am wearing a dress, but my left leg is bare. I give you permission to lift my dress and place your hand on my left thigh. where you put it earlier.'

"He tried it - I have to admire him for that. Everyone was staring at us. I wasn't going to stop him and I was sure no one else was going to stop him, but he couldn't bring himself to actually do that. At the time The occasion was no more public than it was during the day, and the same people were present. It was obviously me who took the initiative, and I would never object, but he just couldn't let himself go beyond the rules. It no longer exists, which is more important than any logical sense." Seldon said, "I would have put my hand on your lap." "are you sure?"

"Absolutely." "Even if you have higher standards of beach decency than we do?" "That's right." Dors sat down on her cot, then lay down, resting her head on her hands. "So, even though I'm wearing an evening gown with almost nothing underneath, it won't bother you particularly much." "I wouldn't be particularly shocked. As for distress, that depends on how you define the word. Of course I know how you dress." "Well, if we're going to be locked up here for a while, we've got to learn how to ignore it."

"Or make good use of it." Seldon grinned. "And I like your hair. After seeing you bald all day, I like your hair." "Oh, don't touch it, I haven't washed my hair yet." She half-closed her eyes, "That's interesting, you separate the formal and informal levels of solemnity. Your words show that Heliken It’s more dignified than Cina on a formal level, and less dignified on a formal level. Right?” "Actually, you only speak of the young man who put his hand on your thigh, and ourselves. I dare not say how much the two of us represent the Siena and the Helicon. Just think about it , there are good-natured gentlemen in both worlds, and there are also some rude fellows."

"We're talking about social pressures. I'm not really a galactic visitor, but I have to put a lot of effort into social history. For example, there was a time on Diroit where unmarried sex was absolutely free, and unmarried people could With multiple sexual partners, public sex is only offensive if it blocks traffic. However, once married, both parties are strictly monogamous. Their theory is that first let one person realize all fantasies, and this person can Settle down and face serious life." "is that useful?" "It ended about three hundred years ago, though some of my colleagues say it was the result of pressure from several other worlds, because too many tourists were drawn to Dirode. Don't forget, there's also the Milky Way Social pressure as a whole." "Maybe it should be economic pressure — in this case." "Maybe. Also, even though I'm not a galactic tourist, I'm in college year-round, so I still have the opportunity to study social pressure. I get to meet people from many, many places, in and out of Trantor, and in the One of the favorite pastimes in social science departments is comparing social pressures. "For example, here in Myqusen, I have the impression that sex is strictly controlled and allowed only under the strictest norms, and it must be more strictly enforced than imagined, because no one ever discusses it; but in Sri Lanka Twilight district, where sex is never discussed and it is not condemned; I did a week's research in Kennet district where people talked endlessly about sex for the sole purpose of Condemnation. I don't think any two regions of Trantor—or any two worlds outside of Trantor—will have exactly the same attitudes toward sex." Seldon said, "You know what that sounds like? It's like..." "I'll tell you what it's like," Dors said. "All this talk about sex made me realize one thing: I'm not going to let you out of my sight again." "what?" "Twice I let you act alone, the first time because of my own miscalculation, and the second time because of your threats; both times were clearly wrong decisions. You yourself know what happened the first time." Seldon said angrily, "That's right, but nothing happened the second time." "You almost got into big trouble. What if you and this sister get caught doing sex games?" "That's not sex—" "You said yourself that she was in a state of high sexual arousal." "But--" "It's not right, please put it in your head, Harry. From now on, I'll follow you wherever you go." "Listen," said Seldon in a icy tone, "my purpose was to find out the history of Mykkosen, and as a result of the so-called sex game with a sister, I got a book—the tome .” "Books! Yes, there is a book, let's have a look." Seldon took it out, and Dors weighed it in his hands thoughtfully. She said: "It probably won't work for us, Harry. It doesn't seem to be compatible with any projectors I've seen, which means you'll have to find a McTrozen projector. Then they'll Want to know what you want it to do, and then they will surely find out that you have this tome, and they will definitely take it back from you." Seldon smiled slightly. "If your assumptions are all correct, Dors, then your conclusions are unassailable. It just so happens that it's not the kind of book you're thinking of, and doesn't require the use of a projector. Its contents are printed on many pages, It can be read page by page, and these raindrops have been explained to me." "A printed book!" It was hard to tell whether Dors was shocked or pleased. "It's an antiquity from the Stone Age." "It's certainly from pre-Imperial times," said Seldon, "but there are parts added later. Have you ever seen a printed book?" "Of course I did, Harry, you forgot I'm a historian?" "Ah, but like this one?" He handed over the tome.Dors opened it with a smile, turned to another page, and then quickly flipped through it from beginning to end. "It's blank," she said. "It should be said that it seems to be blank. The people of Mycogen are stubborn originalists, but not completely. They will stick to the essence of the original, but they are not opposed to making improvements with modern technology for convenience. Who knows? " "Perhaps so, Harry, but I don't understand what you're talking about." "These pages aren't blank, they've got microprint on them. Here, give me back. If I press this little ball on the inside edge of the cover—Look!" Printed characters suddenly appeared on the opened page, and the characters moved up slowly line by line. Seldon said: "You just need to twist the ball back and forth a little, and you can adjust the speed of moving up and down to suit your own reading speed. When the writing on this page reaches the lower limit, that is, when you read the line at the bottom When the time comes, they will slam down and turn off automatically. At this time, you should turn to the next page." "Where does the energy to perform these functions come from?" "Enclosed inside is a microfusion battery that will last as long as the book." "Then when the battery runs out..." "You'd have to throw the book away—maybe before the battery runs out, you'd have to throw it away because it's worn out so much. New books are always there—you'll never have to change the batteries." Dors took the tome again, examining it from all corners: "I must admit, I've never heard of a book like this." "Neither have I. It's mediocre and bitter. The Galaxy has already jumped over this stage and entered the video technology, so that it skipped this possibility." "This is video." "Yes, but it lacks the effect of orthodox video. However, this form of book has its own advantages. It is many times larger than ordinary video books." Dors said, "Where's the switch? Ah, let me see if I can operate it." She turned a page and set the typography to move up. Then she added: "I'm afraid it won't be of any use to you, Harry, it's pregalactic. I don't mean the book, I mean the typeface . . . its language." "Can you read, Dors? As a historian... "As a historian, I'm used to ancient languages, but there's always a limit. It's too old for me, and I can recognize a few words in some sentences, but not enough to be useful. " "Well," said Seldon, "if it is really old enough, it will be useful." "It's useless if you can't read." "I can read it," said Seldon. "It's bilingual. You don't think Raindrop can read ancient manuscripts, do you?" "If she's well educated, why not?" "Because I suspect that the education of the women of the Mycogens will not go beyond housework. Some of the more learned should be able to read it, but everyone else will need a translation of Galactic Standard." He pressed another small ball, "that's fine." The printed characters immediately became the standard language of the galaxy. "Excellent!" exclaimed Dors. "There are things we could have learned from these mycogenes, but we didn't." "Because we don't know." "I can't believe it. Now I know it, and you know it too. There must be outsiders who come to Myqusheng now and then, for business or political purposes, otherwise there wouldn't be many fur hats on hand. So every once in a while There will always be people who catch a glimpse of the printed book and see it in action. But it may be dismissed as something curious but not worth studying, because it is a product of Mycosan. " "But is it really worth studying?" "Of course, everything is worth it, or should be. Hummin might see the indifference to these books as a sign that the Empire is in decline." He held up the tome and said with excitement, "But I'm curious, I'll read this stuff, it might push me on the right path of psychohistory." "I hope so," said Dors, "but if you'll take my advice, you should go to sleep first and come back to it tomorrow morning when you're refreshed. If you keep dozing off at it, it's impossible to learn to something." Seldon hesitated for a moment, then said, "You really have maternal instincts!" "I'm taking care of you." "But my mother is alive and well in Helicon, and I'd rather have you as my friend." "As for this, when I first met you, I was already your friend." She smiled at him, but Seldon hesitated, as if unsure of the proper answer.At last he said: "Then I'll take your advice--a friend's advice, to get some sleep first." His action seemed to put the classic on the small table between the two beds. After hesitating for a while, he turned around again and put it under his pillow. Dors Venabili smiled softly and said again: "I think you are afraid that I will stay up all night, and you will read some of the contents of this classic before you have a chance to read it. Is that so?" "Well," Seldon tried to avoid showing embarrassment, "maybe, even friendships should be done in moderation. This is my book, and my psychohistory." "I agree," Dors said, "and I promise you, we won't argue about it. By the way, you were about to say something, but I interrupted you, remember?" Seldon thought about it quickly: "I don't remember." In the darkness, all he thought about was the classic book, and he didn't put his mind on the frivolous story.In fact, he'd almost forgotten about it—at least consciously.