Chapter 78 Chapter 62

Gilad Tishaffer of Dal was a short man whose head reached only to the tip of Seldon's nose.However, he didn't seem to take this matter to heart.He has a handsome, well-proportioned facial features, always likes to smile, and has two thick and black mustaches, and a head of wavy curly black hair. He lives with his wife and a half-old daughter in a seven-room apartment.They have taken care to keep the home clean, but there is little furniture in it. "I'm sorry, Lord Seldon and Lady Venabili, but I cannot provide you with the luxuries that you must be used to," said Tishaffer. "But Dahl is a poor place, and I am one of my fellow countrymen. It can’t be considered a good mix.”

"That is why," replied Seldon, "we must apologize to you for burdening you with our presence." "No burden, Master Seldon. Master Hummin is generous enough to pay a large rent for your use of our humble quarters. Even if I don't welcome you, I welcome those credits—I'm only joking." Seldon still remembered what Hummin had said as parting after they arrived in Dar: "Seldon," he said, "this is the third shelter I found for you. The first two places are Notoriously less powerful than her, the emperors are likely to attract their attention. After all, they are reasonable hiding places for you. This place is different, it is quite poor, unremarkable, and in fact, It's not entirely safe. It's not your natural choice to seek asylum, so the Emperor and his chief executive probably wouldn't think to look in that direction. So, would you like to stay out of trouble this time?"

"I will work hard, Hummin." Seldon was a little unhappy, "Please understand one thing, what I am looking for is not trouble. Even if I have a little chance to create psychohistory, what I am trying to find is very It may be knowledge that takes thirty lifetimes to find." "I understand," said Hummin, "that your efforts to find the answer have taken you to Strulling's dome, and to Myqusen's elders' chamber, and who can guess where else you will go in Dahl .As for you, Dr. Venabili, I know you have been trying to take care of Seldon, but you have to work harder. Please remember that Dr. Seldon is the most important person on Trantor, maybe even the most important person in the galaxy character, you must protect his safety at any cost."

"I'll do my best," said Dors in a harsh tone. "As for the Tishaffer family, I have dealt with them before. They have their strange things, but they are basically good people. You should also try not to get them into trouble." Still, at least Dessaffer doesn't seem to be anticipating any trouble from the new tenants.His joy at their arrival seemed quite genuine—almost irrelevant to the rent he would receive. He had never set foot outside Dahl, so he had a great appetite for rumors from far away; Mrs. Tishaffer, who was always nodding and smiling, liked to hear it.As for their daughter, as usual, she sucked a finger and peeped with one eye from behind the door.

Usually after dinner, when the whole family was together, they would ask Seldon and Dors to tell about the outside world.The food was plentiful, but bland and always rather crude.Since they had just enjoyed the fragrant wheat koji raw food not long ago, the two felt that this food was almost unpalatable. The "dining table" was just a long shelf against the wall, and everyone ate standing up. Seldon asked the truth in a tactful way, and it turned out that this was quite a common situation in Dahl, not because of special poverty.Of course, Mrs. Tishaffer explained, Dahl also had people in high positions of government who tended to accept various customs of civilization, such as chairs—what she called "body racks."However, purely middle-class people look down on those things.

Although they disapproved of unnecessary extravagance, the Dessaforts loved hearing such narratives.They never cease to marvel at mattresses propped up on trestles, ornate cupboards and armoires, and tables full of cutlery. They also heard descriptions of the custom of Maiqusheng.At the time, Gilad Tishaffer was stroking her hair triumphantly, which obviously meant that she would rather die than undergo hair removal surgery.Lord Tessafort was always indignant at the mention of women's obedience and obedience, and refused to believe that the sisters would accept such treatment in silence.

However, the one thing they couldn't let go of was the Royal Palace and Royal Garden that Seldon casually mentioned.After further questioning, they discovered that Seldon had not only seen the emperor with his own eyes, but had also spoken to the emperor, and an atmosphere of awe immediately enveloped the family.It was a while before they dared to continue asking questions, but Seldon found that he could not satisfy them.After all, he didn't do much browsing of the imperial garden, let alone the interior of the imperial palace. This made the Tessafo family quite disappointed, so they chased after him.Tried to ask more things.After Seldon had told of his adventures in the palace, Feng Si declared that he had never set foot in the palace, which was beyond their belief.Seldon once said in passing that the emperor's words and deeds were very similar to ordinary people, which they especially refused to accept. For the Tishaffers, it seemed impossible.

After three such nights, Seldon grew weary.At first, he rejoiced at the chance to do nothing for a while (at least during the day) and just read a few historical film books that Dors recommended.The Tessaforts showed generosity by giving up their reading machines to guests during the day.It's just that the little girl didn't seem very happy, because she was sent to a neighbor's apartment by her parents and borrowed someone else's reading machine to do her homework. "It doesn't help," Seldon said irritably, shutting himself in his room and making some music in case anyone eavesdropped. "I can see how fascinated you are by history. But it's all endless detail, it's a mountain—no, a galaxy of data, and I can't see the basic laws of it."

"I dare say," said Dors, "that there must have been a time when humans could not see the organization of the stars in the sky, but they discovered the structure of the Milky Way after all." "I'm sure it will take generations, not just weeks. There must have been a time, too, when physics seemed to be a bunch of disconnected observations until the core laws of nature were discovered, and those discoveries required many Generations—what's the deal with Tessafort's family?" "What about them, I think they've been pretty good." "They're just too curious."

"Of course they would. If you were them, wouldn't you?" "But is that just curiosity? They seem to be very interested in the fact that I met the emperor." Dors seemed impatient: "Same reason...it's just a natural reaction. Wouldn't you, if it happened to be the other way around?" "It makes me nervous." "Hummin brought us here." "True, but he wasn't perfect. He took me to Trantor University, and I was tricked into the dome; he took us to the Fourteenth Sunlord, and the man set us up, and you know he had a plan. Twice fooled, at least one time to be good. I'm tired of being asked questions."

"Then turn it into a guest, Harry. Are you not interested in Dahl?" "Of course, how much did you know about it?" "Nothing. It's just one of eight hundred districts, and I've only been on Trantor for a little over two years." "Exactly. There are twenty-five million worlds in the galaxy, and I've only been working on this problem for a little over two months. Let me tell you, I want to go back to Helicon and get back to studying the mathematics of turbulence, That was the title of my doctoral dissertation. I was going to forget that I saw—or thought I saw—that turbulence could provide an insight into human society." Still, that evening, he asked Tishaffer, "Do you know, Master Tishafer, that you never told me what you do or the nature of your work." "Me?" Tishaffer pressed a few fingers to his chest.He was wearing a thin white blouse with nothing underneath, which seemed to be the standard uniform for Dahl men. "Nothing, I do festival planning at the local holo TV station. Very boring job, but I support my family from it." "And it's a respectable occupation," said Mrs. Tishaffer. "It means he doesn't have to work in Gerald." "Relu?" Dors raised her eyebrows faintly, looking very interested. "Ah," said Tessafer, "that's what Dahl is famous for. It's nothing, but the four billion people on Trantor need energy, and we provide a good deal of it. Nobody thanks us, but I do. See what happens when some high-level areas lose energy." Seldon looked rather confused. "Isn't Trantor's energy coming from solar power stations in orbit?" "Only partly," said Tessafer, "and partly from fusion power stations on some islands, partly from microfusion generators, and partly from wind farms on the domes. But half," he held up a The fingers strengthen the tone, and the expression is abnormally serious? "Half from Relu. There are Relu in many places, but none—nowhere—as rich as Dahl's. Don't you really know what Relu is? You sit there and stare at me Take a look." Dors quickly answered, "We're aliens, and you know that." (She was about to say "alien," but stopped just in time.) "Especially Dr. Seldon, who only For a few months." "Really?" said Mrs. Tishaffer.She was a little shorter than her husband, plump and not fat, with a pair of rather beautiful black eyes.Her black hair was pulled back in a tight bun.Like her husband, she appears to be in her thirties. (After living in Myrksen for a while, though not really for long, it now seemed strange to Dors, because of the intensive immersion, for a woman to join a man's conversation at will. Custom and habit are easy Unknowingly built up, she thought, and made a mental note of it, ready to mention it to Seldon at some point, to add to his psychohistory.) "Oh, yes," she said, "Dr. Seldon is from Helicon." Mrs. Tishaffer was politely ignorant: "Where is that?" Dors said, "Ah, it's..." She turned to Seldon. "Where is it, Harry?" Seldon looked embarrassed: "To tell you the truth, if I don't check the coordinates, I don't think I can easily find its location in the galaxy model. I can only say that it is located on the other side of the central black hole from Trantor. , it's just a matter of getting there in a hyperspace ship." Mrs. Tishaffer said: "I don't think Girard and I will ever get on a hyperspace ship." "Some day, Cacilia," said Tishaffer, in a cheerful tone, "perhaps we shall have a chance. But tell us about Helicon, Lord Seldon." Seldon shook his head. "That's a boring thing to me. It's just a world, like any world, except Trantor is different from all the others. There's no heat on Helicon, maybe Nowhere else, except on Trantor. Tell me about Relu." ("Only Trantor is different from all other worlds." The words were repeated in Seldon's mind, and for a moment it was almost within his grasp. For some reason, the story of Dors's hands and feet suddenly resurfaced But since Tishaffer had begun to speak, the light came and went quickly, and slipped out of Seldon's mind.) Tishaffer said: "If you really want to know Relu, I can show you." He turned to his wife, "Casilia, if I take Master Seldon to Relu tomorrow evening, will you Would you mind?'' "And me," Dors added immediately. "And Madame Venabili?" Madame Tishaffer frowned, and said sharply, "I don't think that's a good idea. Our guests will be bored." "I don't think so, Lady Tishaffer," said Seldon in a flattering tone. "We would very much like to see Rell, and we would be very glad if you would join us... and your little daughter, if If she wants to go too." "To Relu?" Madame de Safort's attitude turned hard. "That's not a place for a dignified woman at all." Seldon was embarrassed by his recklessness: "I mean no harm, Lady Tishaffer." "Never mind," said Tishaffer, "Casilia thinks it's a lowly place, and it is. But as long as I'm not working there, it's fine to show people around. It's uncomfortable, Cassie." Leah couldn't find anything to wear either." When the chat was over, they rose from their crouched positions.Dahl's "chair" is just a plastic cushion with a few small wheels attached to it.Seldon's knees were almost immobilized by it, and the chair seemed to wobble whenever he moved.The Tessavos, however, had practiced rock-solid stability, and had no trouble getting up, unlike Seldon, who had to rely on their arms.Dors also rose easily, and Seldon again marveled at her natural grace. Before they went back to their rooms for bed, Seldon said to Dors, "Are you sure you don't know anything about Relu? Lady Tishaffer doesn't seem very interesting to hear." "It shouldn't be boring to such an extent, otherwise Tishaffer would not suggest to take us on a tour. Let us look forward to a surprise."