Chapter 73 Chapter 58

Seldon pushed Dors aside, perhaps a little rougher than he meant. "I don't need protection, this is our old friend Sun Lord Fourteen." The man facing them wore a pair of shoulder straps, which may be a right of his senatorship.He said, "And you are the foreign man Seldon." "Of course," said Seldon. "And this, though she wears masculine attire, is the foreign woman Venabili." Dors said nothing. Sun Lord Fourteen said: "Of course you are right, foreign man. You are in no danger, and I will not harm you. Please sit down, you two. Since you are not a sister, foreign woman, there is no need for you to step back. You can sit here, and if you value the honor, you will be the first woman to sit in this seat."

"I don't value such an honor," Dors said emphatically. Rizhu Fourteen nodded: "As you like. I will sit down too, because I have to ask you some questions, and I don't like to do it standing up." They sat in a corner of the room, and Seldon's eyes wandered to the metal robot. Sun Lord Fourteen said, "That's a mechanical servant." "I know," Seldon replied curtly. "I know this." Sun Lord Fourteen's words were equally brief, "But now that we have reached this consensus, now I want to ask, what are you doing here?"

Seldon stared at Sunlord Fourteen intently: "Come and see this servitor." "Did you know that except for the elders, no one is allowed to enter the Elder's Pavilion?" "I didn't know about it, but I expected it." "Did you know that foreigners are not allowed to enter the church?" "I heard about it." "And you ignore that, don't you?" "As I said, we want to see the servitor." "Did you know that except for some specific and rare festivals, no woman, even sisters, are allowed to enter the church?"

"I heard about it." "Did you know that women are not allowed to wear men's clothes at any time and for any reason? Within the boundaries of Myrtle, it applies not only to sisters, but also to foreign women." "I've never heard of that, but I'm not surprised." "Very well, I want you to understand the premise of all this. Now tell me, why do you want to see this servitor?" Seldon shrugged. "Out of curiosity. I've never seen a servitor. I didn't even know there was such a thing." "Then how do you know that it exists, not only that, but that it's here?"

Seldon was silent for a while, then said, "I don't want to answer that question." "That's why Humming, a foreigner, brought you to Maiqusheng? To investigate the machine servant?" "No, the alien man Hummin brought us here just to ensure our safety. However, we are scholars, Dr. Venabili and I are. Knowledge is our battleground, and seeking knowledge is our goal. Little is known about Myqusheng, we hope to know more about your customs and ways of thinking. This is a natural desire, and in our view, it is not only harmless, but also admirable." "Well, we don't want the aliens and other worlds to understand us. That is our natural desire. As for what is harmless to us and what is harmful to us, it is up to us to judge. So I ask you again, alien man, How do you know that there is a servant in Maiqu's habitat, and it is hiding in this room?"

"Heard and hearsay." Seldon finally replied. "Do you insist on that answer?" "Heard and hearing, I stick to this answer." Sun Lord Fourteen's piercing blue eyes seemed to sharpen, but he didn't raise his voice. "Seldon the alien man, we have a long-standing relationship with Hummin the alien man. As far as aliens are concerned, he seems to be a noble and trustworthy one - as far as only one alien is concerned! When he takes the two of you When you came here and entrusted us to protect you, we agreed to this matter. But no matter how many virtues the foreign man Hummin has, he is still a foreigner, and we are still worried. At the beginning, we were completely unable to determine your—or What's his—what's his real purpose?"

"Our purpose is knowledge," said Seldon, "scholarly knowledge. The foreign woman Venabili is a historian, and I like history myself. Why shouldn't we be interested in the history of Myqusheng?" "One of the reasons is because we don't want you to. Anyway, we sent two trusted sisters to your side. They were ordered to cooperate with you and try to find out what you want, and—you aliens are How do you say it? They are pretending to be real with you. However, they don’t let you know their real intentions.” Sun Lord Fourteen smiled, but it was a sinister smile.

"Four or five raindrops," Sun Lord Fourteen continued, "accompanying the foreign girl Vanabili to go shopping. But in several trips, nothing unusual happened—of course, we received a complete Report. Raindrop 43 will lead you, the foreign man Seldon, to visit our microbiological farm. Originally, you might wonder why she is willing to accompany you alone, which is absolutely impossible for us. But you Clever reasoning that the rules that apply to brothers do not apply to foreign men; you presumptuously believe that such flimsy reason can disarm her psychological defenses. She complied with your wishes, though it did a great deal to her peace of mind Injury. Finally, you asked for the tome. If it was given to you too easily, it might arouse your suspicion, so she pretended to have a perverse desire that only you can satisfy. We will never forget her self-sacrifice. I think, alien man, you still have the tome, and I assume you're carrying it with you. May I have it back?"

Seldon sat in pained, silent silence. Sun Lord Fourteen firmly stretched out his wrinkled hands.He said, "Isn't that better than taking it from you by force?" So Seldon handed him the book.Sun Lord Fourteen flipped through it casually, as if to make sure it wasn't damaged. He sighed softly.He added: "It must be destroyed discreetly and in a sanctioned manner, sadly! But we are not at all surprised that, having given you this tome, you would set off for the sanctuary. You are under surveillance at all times and everywhere. You I don’t think there are any brothers or sisters, as long as they don’t have no intentions, they will not be able to recognize you as foreigners at a glance. When we see human fur hats, we can tell them immediately, and in the whole Maiqusheng, there are Fewer than seventy fur hats went out—nearly all of them belonged to foreign men who came to discuss business, and they stayed in the secular government buildings throughout their stay here. So you are not only seen, but always Get it right, time and time again.

"The elder brother who met you unexpectedly did not forget to tell you all about the library and the sanctuary, but he did not forget to tell you what not to do, for we do not wish to lure you into a trap .Tianwen Er also warned you - in a strong way. However, you didn't let it stop you. "The store where you purchased the white smock and two shoulder straps informed us immediately, and based on this information, we knew of your intentions. The library was evacuated on purpose, and the librarians were warned in advance. , want him to turn a blind eye to you, and the Holy Church maintains a low-use state. The brother who chatted with you without noticing for a while almost exposed our plot, but after knowing who we are facing , he immediately left in a hurry. Then, you came here.

"So you see, you came here on purpose, we didn't tempt you at all. It was your own actions, your own desires that brought you here. And I'm going to ask you again: why?" This time it was Dors' turn to answer, her voice firm and her eyes stern. "Then we'll tell you once more, Mechs. We're scholars, we think knowledge is sacred, and we're looking for nothing but knowledge. You didn't lure us here, but you didn't stop us—early You were able to do this before we approached the building. Instead, you cleared the way for us to pass through, and even that can be considered a temptation. And did we do any damage? We did not disturb the building at all. A building, or this room, or you, or that thing." She pointed at the robot: "What you hid here is a pile of scrap metal, and now we know it's dead, and that's all the knowledge we're looking for. We thought it was important, but we were disappointed. Now that we know it's nothing more than that, we'll go right away. If you wish, we'll leave McKubson just as soon." Sun Lord Fourteen had no expression on his face when he heard these words, but when she finished speaking, he said to Seldon: "The servant you saw is a symbol, a symbol of everything we lost, All that we no longer have is also a symbol of all that we have not forgotten for thousands of years and will one day reclaim. It is the only thing we have with us now that is a relic that is both concrete and authentic, and so precious to us. But To your woman, it's just 'a pile of junk.' Do you agree with that assessment, foreign man Seldon?" Says Seldon: "We both belong to a society that doesn't tie us to the past thousands of years ago, and doesn't care about everything that exists between the past and us. We live in the present, and we see it as For the sum of all the past, and not just from some ancient moment we have. We understand—intellectually—what this servitor might mean to you, and we would like it to continue to do so to you meaning. But we can only see it with our own eyes, just as you can only see it with your eyes. To us, it is a pile of rubbish." "Now," said Dors, "we're going." "You can't go." Sun Lord Fourteen said, "You have committed a crime when you come here. It is a crime that only exists in our eyes-I know you will hurry to point this out." The corners of his mouth curved A cold smile. "However, this is our territory. Within this scope, everything is defined by us. And in our definition, this is a felony punishable by death." "Are you going to shoot us?" Dors said haughtily. Sun Lord Fourteen showed a contemptuous expression, and continued to speak only to Seldon: "Who do you think we are, foreign man Seldon? Our culture is as old, complex, civilized, and humane as yours. .I am unarmed.You are going to stand trial and due to your evidence you are destined to be executed according to the law.It is quick and painless.If you try to leave here now,I will not stop you,but there are many brothers waiting below,more than you I saw many more when I entered the Pingtang. Your behavior made them grit their teeth, and they might be rough on you, and they will never show mercy. In our history, there have even been foreigners who died under such circumstances. Then Not a pleasant death, and by no means painless." "We've heard the warning," Dors said. "Tianwen Er said it. What a complicated, civilized, and humane culture!" "No matter what kind of humane sentiments the people have when they are calm, the foreign male Seldon," said Sun Master Fourteen calmly, "when they are emotional, they can be incited to violence. This is the same in all cultures, Your woman is said to be a historian, and she must know that." Seldon said, "Let's be sane, Sun Lord Fourteen. In local matters, you may be able to represent Mycosen's law, but you are not our law, and you know that. Neither of us is Qu Shengren, but a citizen of the Galactic Empire, any felony punishable by death should be handed over to the emperor or the judicial officials appointed by him." Sun Lord Fourteen said: "It may be so in decrees, documents, or holographic TV screens, but we are not talking about theory now. For a long time, the elders have always had the power to punish blasphemy, and have never been interfered by the imperial power .” "If the culprit is one of your own people, of course," said Seldon, "but it is quite different if it is an outsider." "As far as this case is concerned, I have serious doubts about it. Humming, a foreigner, brought you here as if he was a fugitive. The people who lived in Myqusheng did not have hair powder in their heads. We suspect that you are evading the emperor's law. .If we do it for him, why should he object?" "Because—" said Seldon, "he will. Even if we are fugitives wanted by the imperial authorities; even if he wants to take us back just to punish us, he will still want to capture us alive. Either way, for For what reason, if you kill a non-Medrogen without proper imperial legal procedures, it is tantamount to challenging his authority. No emperor can set such a precedent. No matter how much he wants the trade of micro-food Undisturbed, he would still feel compelled to re-establish the emperor's authority. Do you wish, because you killed us so quickly, to bring in an imperial army to plunder your farms and dwellings, desecrate your sanctuaries, and Molesting your sister? Please think twice." Sun Lord Fourteen smiled again, but he did not seem to soften: "Actually, I have thought twice, and there is indeed another choice. After we convict the two of you, we can postpone the execution of the death penalty and allow you to report to the emperor. File an appeal and ask for a retrial of your case. This proves that we submit to his authority and hand you over to him. The emperor may be pleased with the Sacred Heart, and Mequsheng may benefit. Therefore, this Is that what you want? Find an opportunity to appeal to the emperor, and then be sent to him?" Seldon and Dors glanced at each other quickly, but neither said a word. "It seems that you would rather be sent to the emperor than die here." Sun Lord Fourteen said, "But why do I have a feeling that you think there is no difference between these two options?" "Actually," said a new voice, "I don't think either of these options is acceptable. We must find a third way."