Chapter 79 Chapter 63

"You need proper attire," said Tishaffer, and Mrs. Tishaffer let out a distinct snort behind her. The careful Seldon immediately thought of the clothes, and felt a vague annoyance in his heart.He said, "What do you think of proper attire?" "Light clothes, like the ones I wear. Short-sleeved blouse, baggy trousers, baggy underwear, socks, open sandals. I've got it all ready for you." "Very good, sounds good." "As for Mrs. Vanabili, I have also prepared a set, hoping that it will fit well." Tessafort provided them both with clothing (both his own) that fitted them well and was even comfortable.When they were ready, they took leave of Mrs. Tishaffer, who stood at the door and watched them go with an air of still disapproval but of giving up the effort.

It was late afternoon, and there was an enchanting yellow twilight overhead, and it was evident that Dahl's lights would soon be blinking.The temperature is moderate, there is hardly any traffic on the streets, and everyone is walking.The endless hum of the Maglev MRT can be heard in the distance, and the occasional lights are not difficult to see. Seldon noticed that the Dahl did not seem to be heading for a particular destination.Instead, they appear to be part of a walking parade, just for the fun of it.If Dahl really was a poor neighborhood, as Tishaffer suggested, cheap entertainment might be a big deal.And what could be more fun, and less expensive, than an evening stroll?

Seldon blended naturally into this aimless and leisurely pace, and felt a friendly warmth all around him.When people pass by, they will always greet each other and have a brief conversation.Black mustaches of different types and thicknesses are displayed everywhere, as if they are a must-have for Dahl men, just as ubiquitous as the bald heads of the Mechssen brothers. It's an evening ritual to make sure that another day has passed and that friends are still in good health and good spirits.One thing that quickly became apparent was that Dors was drawing everyone's daylight.In the yellow twilight, her reddish blond hair grew brighter, and gleamed like a gold coin across a pile of coals against a sea of ​​black hair (except for the occasional gray hair).

"It's a real pleasure." "That's right," said Tishaffer. "Usually, I walk with my wife, and she's always at home. She knows the name, occupation, and relationship of anyone within a kilometer." .I can't do that, and at this hour, half the people I greet...I can't tell you their names. But anyway, we must not go too slowly, we must go to the elevator. The bottom Hierarchy is a busy world." When they were in the lower elevator, Dors said, "I think the so-called hot house, Lord Tessavard, is a place where the heat from Trantor's earth is used to generate steam to turn turbines to generate electricity."

"Oh no, here's direct electricity generation using large, highly efficient thermopiles. Don't ask me for details, please, I'm just a holographic TV show planner. In fact, don't ask anyone for details down here. The whole thing It's a big black box that works, but no one knows how." "What if something goes wrong?" "Normally not, but if something does go wrong, there are specialists coming in from elsewhere, people who understand computers. Of course, everything is highly computerized." At this moment, the elevator stopped, and the three of them came out in a single file, and a wave of heat rushed towards them immediately.

"It's hot," Seldon said redundantly. "That's right," said Tessaffer. "That's what makes Dahl such a valuable source of energy. The magma layers are closer to the surface here than anywhere else on the planet, so you have to work in the heat." "Why not use air conditioning?" "There is air conditioning, but it has to do with cost. We use air conditioning to ventilate, dehumidify, cool down, but if you do it too much, it uses too much energy and the whole process becomes too expensive." Tishaffer stopped at a door and pressed the signal button.After the door opened, there was a gust of cool wind.He murmured: "We should be able to find someone to show us around. He can control the scene, otherwise Mrs. Vanabili will be... At least the male worker will definitely ridicule her."

"I'm not embarrassed by cynicism," Dors said. "It would be embarrassing for me," said Tishaffer. A young man who called himself Hanno Linde came out of the office. He looked very similar to Tishaffer, but Seldon knew in his heart that after he was used to almost the same short stature, dark skin, black hair, and thick Before the mustache, he couldn't easily see the individual differences. "I'd be happy to show you around the places to see. It's not your idea of ​​a spectacle, you know," Lind said, talking to the three of them, his eyes fixed on Dors. "It won't be very comfortable. I suggest you take off your shorts."

"It's very cool here," said Seldon. "Of course, but that's because we're managers and class has its own privileges. Outside we can't keep the air conditioner so strong, that's why they get paid more than me. In fact, it's the highest paid in Dahl This is the only reason we can find workers here. Even so, hot workers are getting harder and harder to find." He took a deep breath, "Okay, let's get into the hot pot." He took off his shirt and tucked it into his belt.Tisafo did the same, but Seldon had to follow suit. Lind glanced at Dors and said, "Be comfortable for yourself, ma'am, but it's not forced."

"It's all right," said Dors, taking off her blouse. Her bra was white and unlined, with a sizeable middle slit. "Ma'am," Linde said, "that's not..." He thought for a moment, then shrugged, "It's okay, we'll get through." At first, Seldon only noticed the computers and mechanisms, including the huge delivery tubes, the flickering lights, and the flickering fluorescent screens. The overall lighting is rather dim, but there is plenty of lighting around the parts.Seldon raised his head, looked at the almost completely dark environment and said, "Why not brighten it up?"

"It's bright enough—for this place," Lind said.He spoke in a well-balanced manner, and spoke very quickly, but in a somewhat stern tone. “The overall lighting stays the way it is based on psychological factors, too bright and you convert the light into heat in the mind. If we turn the lights up, even if we lower the temperature, the workers’ complaints will increase.” "It seems to be very computerized here," Dors said. "I think the whole operation can be handed over to a computer. This environment is dominated by artificial intelligence." "Exactly," Linde said, "but we dare not take that risk. If anything goes wrong, we need someone to be there at all times. A faulty computer can cause problems two thousand kilometers away."

"Human error is just as bad, isn't it?" Wetton said. "Ni, yes, but since humans and computers work together, computer errors can be quickly found out, and then manually corrected; on the contrary, with computers, human errors can be corrected quickly. This is equivalent to saying that unless at the same time There is human error and computer error, and nothing serious would happen otherwise, and in fact, it almost never happens." "Almost never happens, but not never, does it?" Seldon said. "Almost never, but not never. Computers are not what they used to be, and neither are people." "The world always seems to be like this." Seldon smiled slightly after finishing speaking. "Oh no, I don't mean nostalgic, I don't mean the good old days, I mean the statistics." Hearing this, Seldon thought again of what Hummin had said about the decay of time. "Do you understand what I mean?" Linde's voice gradually decreased. "There is a group of people over there. From their appearance, it seems that they are on the third floor of C. They are drinking drinks, and none of them are at work." "What are they drinking?" Dors asked. "Special drinks to replenish lost electrolytes, fruit juices." "Then you can't blame them," said Dors angrily. "In this dry and hot environment, of course people have to drink." "You know how much time a skilled C3 worker can kill with an excuse to drink a can of drink? Besides, there's nothing we can do about it. If you only give them five minutes to drink water, and stagger each worker's breaks so that They don't all get together in a bunch and it's tantamount to instigating a mutiny." Now they are walking towards the group.The workers were both male and female (Dahl seems to be a more or less gender egalitarian society), and neither male nor female wore short shirts.A device worn on the upper body of a woman, which can barely be called a bra, but is purely functional.Its function is to prop up the breasts to improve ventilation and reduce perspiration, but it does not cover anything. Dors leaned closer to Seldon and said, "It makes sense, Harry, I'm already soaked." "Then take off your bra," Seldon said. "I won't lift a finger to stop you." "Somehow," said Dors. "I just guessed you wouldn't." She left the bra in place. They approached the group—eleven or twelve in all. Dors said, "If one of them came up with a foul language, I'd stand by it." "Thank you," Linde said, "I can't promise they won't—but I have to introduce you. If they mistake the two of you for inspectors, and you're with me, they'll become lawless. Inspectors should visit everywhere independently, without supervision from any management department.” He raised his arms: "Heart workers, I introduce two people to you. They are visitors from the outside world - two aliens, two scholars. Their world is increasingly short of energy. They came here and wanted to To see what we do at Dahl. They think maybe they can learn something." "They'll learn how to sweat," yells one heat worker, followed by harsh laughter. "That woman's chest is covered with sweat now," a woman shouted, "It's covered up like that." Dors yelled back, "I'd like to take it off, but I don't have any breasts like yours." The laughter turned friendly. Unexpectedly, a young male worker came forward, staring at Seldon with a pair of deep-set eyes, and his face turned into an expressionless mask.He said, "I know you, you're the mathematician." He rushed forward, examining Seldon's rim with eager seriousness.Dors naturally stood in front of Seldon, and Linde stood in front of her, and shouted, "Stay back, Relugong, and pay attention to your manners." Seldon said, "Wait! Let him talk to me. Why is everyone lining up in front of me?" Linde said in a low voice, "If any of them get close, you will find that they don't smell like greenhouse flowers." "I can bear it," said Seldon bluntly. "Young man, what do you want?" "My name is Amarel. Hugo Amarel. I saw you on the holo." "You may have seen it, but so what?" "I don't remember your name." "You don't have to remember." "You mentioned a thing called psychohistory." "You don't know how I wish I had never mentioned it." "what?" "Nothing, what are you going to do?" "I want to talk to you. Just for a moment, right now." Seldon looked at Linde, who shook his head resolutely: "Absolutely not when he is on duty." "When do your classes start, Mr. Amarel?" asked Seldon. "1600 o'clock." "Could you come and see me tomorrow at one four o'clock?" "Of course, where?" Seldon turned to Tishaffer. "Would you allow me to meet him at your place?" Tisafort looked very displeased: "There's no need for that, he's just a hot worker." Seldon said, "He recognizes my face, and he knows something about me. He can't be just an ordinary man. I want to meet him in my room." Then, as Tessavo's face did not soften, he added: "In my room, the rent will be paid to you sooner or later. And you were at work, not in the apartment." Tishaffer said in a low voice, "It's not me, Lord Seldon. It's my wife, Cacilia, who won't accept such a thing." "I'll talk to her," Seldon said sullenly. "She'll have to accept it."