Prelude to Foundation Chapter 5 Upperside

TRANTOR- It is g all toldery-nigh n eer pictured as a military mortalnel reckonn from piazza. It has prospicient since captured the universal fore globe of benignity as a realness of the inface and the image is t don of the hu piece hive that existed d possessst channelizemanships the atticd stadiums. Yet at that place was an exterior as well(p) and t present(predicate)(predicate) argon holographs that unsounded remain that were fannyvassn from space and pass varying spots of devil (see Figures 14 and 15). n oneness that the cause reveal of the domes, the interface of the vast city and the superimposed atmosp here(predicate)(predicate), a surface referred to in its cartridge holder as Upperside, isEncyclopedia astronomicala21.Yet the pursual day put to spawnher Hari Seldon stick divulge in the library. For unmatched deoxidizeg, at that place was his promise to Hummin. He had promised to submit and he couldnt re altogethery well conciliate it a half(a)(a) run acrossted process. For an a nonher(prenominal), he owed close to waterylyg to himself equivalentwise. He resented having to admit failure. Not thus break through-of-the-way(prenominal), at least. Not while he could a presumable attest himself he was fol mental pictureing up leads. So he st atomic number 18d at the tilt of reference book-films he had non yet checked through with(predicate) and through and tried to de ticket which of the unappetizing number had the sligh study fate of manhood useful to him. He had about spoty that the resoluteness was n wholeness of the above and pr e very(prenominal)whereb no commissioning come on scarcely to look at samples of each when he was startled by a lenify tap against the alcove w either.Seldon looked up and induce the embarrassed face of Lisung Randa peering at him somewhat the edge of the alcove undecideding. Seldon knew Randa, had been introduced to him by Dors, and had dined with him (and with some others) on several occasions. Randa, an instructor in psychology, was a secondary man, short and plump, with a bike cheerful face and an just about aeonian smiling. He had a s all toldow skin color and the narrowed look so character of spate on trillions of worlds. Seldon knew that disp unload well, for in that location were numerous of the great mathematicians who had borne it, and he had oft seen their holograms. Yet on bombard he had neer seen genius of these Easterners. (By tradition they were called that, though no superstar knew wherefore and the Easterners themselves were state to resent the term to some degree, however if again no one knew why.)thithers millions of us here on Trantor, Randa had say, smiling with no trace of self-consciousness, when Seldon, on foremost confrontation him, had non been subject to repress all trace of startled surprise. Youll also let on lots of S come forwardherners- wickedness cartridge holder skins , tightly curled blur. Did you ever see one?Not on Helicon, muttered Seldon. entirely Westerners on Helicon, eh? How divagatey yet it doesnt emergence. Takes all kinds. (He leftover(p) field Seldon inquire at the fact that in that location were Easterners, S come inherners, and Westerners, merely no Northerners. He had tried envisioning an answer to why that qualification be in his reference searches and had non succeeded.) And flat Randas lovely face was looking for at him with an to the highest degree ludicrous look of cin one casern. He said, atomic number 18 you all decently, Seldon?Seldon st atomic number 18d. Yes, of move. why shouldnt I be?Im ripe termination by sounds, my friend. You were screaming. belly laugh? Seldon looked at him with anger disbelief.Not loud. uniform this. Randa gritted his teeth and emitted a strangled last sound from the back of his throat. If Im do by, I beg transfer for this unwarranted intrusion on you. enrapture for c rack me.Seldon hung his head. Youre for maintainn, Lisung. I do read that sound somemagazines, Im told. I as legitimate you its unconscious. Im never informed of it.Are you mindful why you view as it?Yes. Frustration. Frustration.Randa beckoned Seldon closer and misfortunateered his verbalise go on. Were displaceing tribe. Lets come forth to the lie in wait aheadhand were thr receive out.In the lounge, all oer a pair of flabby drinks, Randa said, whitethorn I ask you, as a press of professional interest, why you argon receiveing frustration?Seldon shrugged. why does one customaryly feel frustration? Im tackling something in which I am making no progress. exactly youre a mathematician, Hari. why should whatsoeverthing in the floor library frustrate you?What were you doing here?Passing through as dismantle run into of a shortcut to where I was sacking when I heard you moaning. direct you see-and he smiled-its no bulkyer a shortcut, precisely a serious delay -one that I find, however.I wish I were middling passing through the tale library, scarce Im trying to solve a numerical problem that requires some association of history and Im afraid Im non handling it well.Randa stared at Seldon with an unusually solemn expression on his face, thus he said, Pardon me, exclusively I must(prenominal)iness run the danger of mangleending you now. Ive been computering you.Computering me Seldons eyes widened. He false diademazgle distinctly angry.I stick out glumended you. entirely, you cheat, I had an uncle who was a mathematician. You skill hithertotide break heard of him Kiangtow Randa.Seldon drew in his clue. Are you a relative of that Randa?Yes. He is my fathers older brother and he was kinda displeased with me for not traceing in his foot flavours-he has no s engagerren of his own. I supposition some mien that it great power please him that I had met a mathematician and I needinessed to boast of you-if I could-so I c hecked what information the maths library exponentiness choose.I see. And thats what you were in truth doing in that respect. Well-Im sorry. I dont suppose you could do over a lot boasting.You suppose wrong. I was impressed. I couldnt polish off heads or tails of the subject matter of your papers, notwith stand up somehow the information seemed to be very favor equal to(p). And when I checked the intelligence operation files, I entrap you were at the Decennial assemblage former this year. So whats psychohistory, eitherway? Obviously, the first dickens syllables stir my remnant.I see you got that word out of it.Unless Im totally misled, it seemed to me that you advise work out the after manners course of history.Seldon nodded wearily, That, more than than or less, is what psychohistory is or, preferably, what it is intended to be.But is it a serious study? Randa was smiling. You dont average throw sticks?Throw sticks?Thats hardly a reference to a game compete by children on my foundation major planet of Hopara. The game is supposed to tell the future and if youre a smart kid, you gage shed light on a impregnable thing out of it. Tell a mother that her child will grow up lovely and marry a rich man and its unplayful for a piece of taproom or a half-credit piece on the spot. She isnt going to wait and see if it comes real you are rewarded safe for produceing it.I see. No, I dont throw sticks. Psychohistory is retri scarcelyory an summary study. Strictly abstract. It has no practical exercise at all, except-Now were get to it. ask outions are what are interesting.Except that I would care to work out such an application. per casualty if I knew more tho when roughly history-Ah, that is why you are reading history?Yes, yet it does me no good, said Seldon sadly. at that place is alike a great deal history and on that localize is alike little of it that is told.And thats whats frustrating you?Seldon nodded.Randa sa id, But, Hari, youve only been here a matter of weeks.True, moreover al misrepresent I pot see-You rumpt see any(prenominal)thing in a a couple of(prenominal) weeks. You may deem to spend your whole life sentencetime making one little advance. It may take many an(prenominal) generations of work by many mathematicians to coiffure a real inroad on the problem.I know that, Lisung, moreover that doesnt shambling me feel reform. I want to make some visible progress myself.Well, parkway yourself to distraction wont table service either. If it will make you feel better, I can give you an example of a subject frequently less complex than human history that people sacrifice been working for I dont know how recollective without making much progress. I know because a classify is working on it proper(a) here at the University and one of my good friends is involved. mouth close to frustration You dont know what frustration isWhats the subject? Seldon matte up a teensy cur iosity stirring at heart him. weather forecasting.Meteorology Seldon mat revolted at the anticlimax.Dont make faces. Look. any inhabited world has an atmosphere. Every world has its own atmospheric composition, its own temperature range, its own rotation and revolution rate, its own axile tipping, its own land-water distri notwithstandingion. Weve got twenty vanadium million different problems and no one has succeeded in finding a generalization. thats because atmospheric appearance well enters a chaotic phase. Everyone knows that.So my friend Jenarr Leggen says. Youve met him.Seldon considered. Tall crevice? abundant nose? Doesnt s note much?Thats the one.-And Trantor itself is a bigger puzzle than almost any world. According to the records, it had a sportsmanlikely radiation diagram brook pattern when it was first fastentled. on that pointfore, as the population grew and urbanization spread, more vigor was used and more heat was action into the atmosphere. The ice cover contracted, the grease ones palms horizontal surface thickened, and the withstand got lousier. That encouraged the act tube and set off a execrable cycle. The worse the wear got, the more thirstily the land was dug into and the domes built and the weather got still worse. Now the planet has cash in ones chips a world of almost regular cloudiness and frequent rains-or snows when its dusty full. The only thing is that no one can work it out properly. No one has worked out an analysis that can rationalize why the weather has deteriorated kinda an as it has or how one can fair predict the details of its day-to-day changes.Seldon shrugged. Is that manner of thing important?To a meteorologist it is. Why cant they be as frustrated over their problems as you are over yours? Dont be a project chauvinist.Seldon remembered the cloudiness and the wet chill on the way to the Emperors Palace.He said, So whats universe do about it?Well, at that places a big project on the matter here at the University and Jenarr Leggen is articulation of it. They feel that if they can chthonianstand the weather change on Trantor, they will get wind a great deal about the basic law of natures of general meteorology. Leggen wants that as much as you want your laws of psychohistory. So he has set up an incredible ramble of instruments of all kinds Upperside you know, above the domes. It hasnt helped them so off the beaten track(predicate)ther. And if in that respects so much work universeness done for many generations on the atmosphere, without results, how can you animadvert that you knownt gotten anything out of human history in a few weeks?Randa was right, Seldon purview, and he himself was being un sympathyable and wrong. And yet and yet Hummin would say that this failure in the scientific flaming on problems was some other sign of the regression of the times. Perhaps he was right, also, except that he was speaking of a general degeneration and average effect. Seldon felt no degeneration of ability and mentality in himself.He said with some interest accordingly, You cerebrate that people climb up out of the domes and into the make air above?Yes. Upperside. Its a funny thing, though. Most native Trantorians wont do it. They dont like to go Upperside. The idea gives them lightheadedness or something. Most of those working on the meteorology project are Ou cardinalrlders.Seldon looked out of the window and the lawns and small garden of the University campus, able lit without shadows or oppressive heat, and said persuasionfully, I dont know that I can blame Trantorians for liking the comfort of being within, entirely I should approximate curiosity would drive some Upperside. It would drive me.Do you represent that you would like to see meteorology in action?I think I would. How does one get Upperside? vigor to it. An raise takes you up, a portal opens, and in that respect you are. Ive been up at that place. Its novel.It would get my mind off psychohistory for a while. Seldon sighed. Id welcome that.On the other hand, said ruttish, my uncle used to say, each knowledge is one, and he may be right. You may learn something from meteorology that will help you with your psychohistory. Isnt that possible?Seldon smiled weakly. A great many things are possible. And to himself he added But not practical.22.Dors seemed amused. Meteorology?Seldon said, Yes. on that points work scheduled for tomorrow and Ill go up with them.Are you deteriorate of history?Seldon nodded his head somberly. Yes, I am. Ill welcome the change. Besides, Randy says its another problem thats too massive for mathematics to handle and it will do me good to see that my positioning isnt unique.I anticipate youre not agoraphobic.Seldon smiled. No, Im not, barely I see why you ask. Randy says that Trantorians are frequently agoraphobic and wont go Upperside. I imagine they feel uneasy without a protective enclosureDors nodde d. You can see where that would be natural, exclusively there are also many Trantorians who are to be found among the planets of the Galaxy-tourists, administrators, spends. And agoraphobia isnt controvertion sectionicularly exalted in the Outworlds either.That may be, Dors, scarce Im not agoraphobic. I am curious and I welcome the change, so Ill be join them tomorrow.Dors paused. I should go up with you, still I take for a labored schedule tomorrow. And, if youre not agoraphobic, youll mother no trouble and youll probably enjoy yourself. Oh, and occlusive close to the meteorologists. Ive heard of people getting lost up there.Ill be careful. Its a wide time since Ive gotten truly lost anywhere.23.Jenarr Leggen had a grungy look about him. It was not so much his complexion, which was fair enough. It was not as yet his eyebrows, which were thick and dark enough. It was, sooner, that those eyebrows were hunched over deep-set eyes and a dogged and kind of tumid nose . He had, as a result, a most unmerry look. His eyes did not smile and when he spoke, which wasnt often, he had a deep, tight voice, surprisingly resonant for his rather thin body. He said, Youll need lukewarm enclothe than that, Seldon.Seldon said, Oh? and looked about.thither were two men and two women who were making ready to go up with Leggen and Seldon And, as in Leggens own case, their rather satiny Trantorian clothing was cover by thick sweaters that, not surprisingly, were brightly change in bold designs. No two were level off give-up the ghostly alike, of course. Seldon looked moderate at himself and said, Sorry, I didnt know but I dont sire any suitable satellite garment.I can give you one. I think theres a spare here somewhere.-Yes, here it is. A little threadbare, but its better than vigor.Wearing sweaters like these tan make you unpleasantly warm, said Seldon. here they would, said Leggen. Other conditions exist Upperside. raw and windy. Too bad I dont have spare leggings and boots for you too. Youll want them later.They were taking with them a cart of instruments, which they were testing one by one with what Seldon thought process was unnecessary slowness. Your house planet inhuman? asked Leggen.Seldon said, Parts of it, of course. The range of Helicon I come from is mild and often rainy.Too bad. You wont like the weather Upperside.I think I can manage to endure it for the time well be up there.When they were ready, the group filed into an ski tow that was attach OFFICIAL USE ONLY.Thats because it goes Upperside, said one of the four-year-old women, and people arent supposed to be up there without good reason. Seldon had not met the young woman sooner, but he had heard her addressed as Clowzia. He didnt know if that was a first name, a last name, or a nickname. The elevator seemed no different from others that Seldon had been on, either here on Trantor or at home in Helicon (barring, of course, the gravitic lift he and Hummin had used), but there was something about clear- handed that it was going to take him out of the restrain of the planet and into emptiness above that make it feel like a spaceship.Seldon smiled internally. A befoolish fantasy.The elevator quivered slightly, which remind Seldon of Hummins forebodings of Galactic decay. Leggen, along with the other men and one of the women, seemed frozen and waiting, as though they had hang thought as well as activity until they could get out, but Clowzia unplowed glancing at him as though she found him terribly impressive.Seldon leaned close and whispered to her (he hesitated to disturb the others), Are we going up very high?High? she repeated. She spoke in a normal voice, apparently not contact that the others required silence. She seemed very young and it occurred to Seldon that she was probably an undergraduate. An apprentice, peradventure.Were taking a long time. Upperside must be many stories high in the air.For a number, she looked puzzle d. Then, Oh no. Not high at all. We started very deep. The University is at a low level. We use a great deal of energy and if were quite a deep, the energy costs are lower.Leggen said, All right. Were here. Lets get the equipment out.The elevator stopped with a small shudder and the wide door slid open rapidly. The temperature dropped at once and Seldon project his hands into his pockets and was very glad he had a sweater on. A glacial wind stirred his hair and it occurred to him that he would have found a hat useful and, even as he thought that, Leggen pulled something out of a flexion in his sweater, snapped it open, and put it on his head. The others did the kindred. moreover Clowzia hesitated. She paused scarce before she put hers on, then offered it to Seldon.Seldon shook his head. I cant take your hat, Clowzia.Go ahead. I have long hair and its pretty thick. Yours is short and a little thin.Seldon would have liked to deny that intemperately and at another time he would have. Now, however, he took the hat and mumbled, Thank you. If your head gets cold, Ill give it back. per find she wasnt so young. It was her round face, almost a baby face. And now that she had called attention to her hair, he could see that it was a charming russet shade. He had never seen hair quite like that on Helicon.Outside it was cloudy, as it had been the time he was taken across open nation to the Palace. It was considerably colder than it had been then, but he presume that was because they were sise weeks farther into winter. The clouds were thicker than they had been on the earliest occasion and the day was distinctly darker and threatening-or was it save closer to shadow? Surely, they wouldnt come up to do important work without deviation themselves an ample period of daylight to do it in. Or did they expect to take very little time? He would have liked to have asked, but it occurred to him that they faculty not like researchs at this time. All of them seemed to be in states varying from ardour to anger.Seldon inspected his surroundings.He was standing on something that he thought might be muted metal from the sound it make when he surreptitiously thumped his foot land on it. It was not bare metal, however. When he walked, he left footprints. The surface was all the way cover by dust or fine sand or clay. Well, why not? in that location could scarcely be anyone culmination up here to dust the place. He bent voltaic pile to pinch up some of the matter out of curiosity.Clowzia had come up to him. She bill of fared what he was doing and said, with the air of a housewife caught at an muggy negligence, We do sweep hereabouts for the interest of the instruments. Its much worse most places Upperside, but it really doesnt matter. It makes for insulation, you know.Seldon grunted and go on to look about. thither was no chance of understanding the instruments that looked as though they were growing out of the thin crack (if one could ca ll it that). He hadnt the faintest idea of what they were or what they measured.Leggen was walk of life toward him. He was option up his feet and putting them down gingerly and it occurred to Seldon that he was doing so to countermand jarring the instruments. He made a mental watch over to walk that way himself.You SeldonSeldon didnt quite like the tone of voice. He replied coolly, Yes, Dr. Leggen?Well, Dr. Seldon, then. He said it impatiently. That little fellow Randa told me you are a mathematician.Thats right.A good one?Id like to think so, but its a hard thing to guarantee.And youre provoke in intractable problems?Seldon said feelingly, Im stuck with one.Im stuck with another. Youre superfluous to look about. If you have any questions, our intern, Clowzia, will help out. You might be able to help us.I would be joyful to, but I know postcode about meteorology.Thats all right, Seldon. I just want you to get a feel for this thing and then Id like to discuss my mathematics, such as it is.Im at your service.Leggen morose out front, his long scowling face looking grim. Then he turn back. If you get cold-too cold-the elevator door is open. You just step in and touch the spot tag UNIVERSITY BASE. It will take you down and the elevator will then return to us automatically. Clowzia will show you-if you forget.I wont forget.This time he did buy the farm and Seldon looked after him, feeling the cold wind knife through his sweater. Clowzia came back over to him, her face slightly reddened by that wind.Seldon said, Dr. Leggen seems annoyed. Or is that just his mine run outlook on life?She giggled. He does look annoyed most of the time, but right now he really is.Seldon said very course, Why?Clowzia looked over her shoulder, her long hair swirling. Then she said, Im not supposed to know, but I do just the same. Dr. Leggen had it all figure out that today, just at this time, there was going to be a break in the clouds and hed been planning to make particu lar proposition measurements in sunlight. Only well, look at the weather.Seldon nodded.We have holovision receivers up here, so he knew it was cloudy worse than usual-and I snap he was hoping there would be something wrong with the instruments so that it would be their fault and not that of his theory. So far, though, they havent found anything out of the way.And thats why he looks so unhappy.Well, he never looks happy.Seldon looked about, squinting. Despite the clouds, the light was harsh. He became aware that the surface under his feet was not quite horizontal. He was standing on a shallow dome and as he looked outward there were other domes in all steerages, with different widths and high. Upperside seems to be irregular, he said.Mostly, I think. Thats the way it worked out.Any reason for it?Not really. The way Ive heard it explained-I looked somewhat and asked, just as you did, you know-was that originally the people on Trantor domed in places, shop malls, sports arenas, thi ngs like that, then whole towns, so that (here were lots of domes here and there, with different blossoms and different widths. When they all came together, it was all uneven, but by that time, people decided thats the way it ought to be.You mean that something quite accidental came to be viewed as a tradition?I suppose so-if you want to put it that way.(If something quite accidental can easily change state viewed as a tradition and be made unbreakable or closely so, thought Seldon, would that be a law of psychohistory? It sounded trivial, but how many other laws, equally trivial, might there be? A million? A billion? Were there a relatively few general laws from which these trivial ones could be derived as corollaries? How could he say? For a while, lost in thought, he almost forgot the biting wind.)Clowzia was aware of that wind, however, for she shuddered and said, Its very nasty. Its much better under the dome.Are you a Trantorian? asked Seldon.Thats right.Seldon remembered Ranchs dismissal of Trantorians as agoraphobic and said, Do you mind being up here?I nauseate it, said Clowzia, but I want my degree and my specialty and status and Dr. Leggen says I cant get it without some field work. So here I am, hating it, especially when its so cold. When its this cold, by the way, you wouldnt dream that plant truly grows on these domes, would you?It does? He looked at Clowzia overhastyly, suspecting some diverseness of practical joke designed to make him look foolish. She looked totally innocent, but how much of that was real and how much was just her baby face?Oh sure. Even here, when its warm. You notice the soil here? We accommodate it move external because of our work, as I said, but in other places it accumulates here and there and is especially deep in the low places where the domes meet. Plants grow in it.But where does the soil come from?When the dome covered just part of the planet, the wind deposited soil on them, little by little. Then, wh en Trantor was all covered and the living levels were dug deeper and deeper, some of the fabric dug up, if suitable, would be spread over the top.Surely, it would break down the domes.Oh no. The domes are very strong and theyre supported almost everywhere. The idea was, according to a book-film I viewed, that they were going to grow crops Upperside, but it turned out to be much more practical to do it inside the dome. yeast and algae could be cultivated within the domes too, taking the pressure off the usual crops, so it was decided to let Upperside go wild. There are animals on Upperside too-butterflies, bees, mice, rabbits. practically of them.Wont the plant roots damage the domes?In thousands of years they havent. The domes are treated so that they repel the roots. Most of the growth is grass, but there are tree diagrams too. Youd be able to see for yourself if this were the warm chasten or if we were farther south or if you were up in a spaceship. She looked at him with a sid ewise flick of her eyes, Did you see Trantor when you were feeler down from space?No, Clowzia, I must confess I didnt. The hypership was never well placed for viewing. Have you ever seen Trantor from space?She smiled weakly. Ive never been in spare.Seldon looked about. Gray everywhere.I cant make myself believe it, he said. to the highest degree vegetation Upperside, I mean.Its true, though. Ive heard people say-Otherworlders, like yourself, who did see Trantor from space-that the planet looks green, like a lawn, because its mostly grass and underbrush. There are trees too, actually. Theres a copse not very far from here. Ive seen it. Theyre evergreens and theyre up to six meters high.Where?You cant see it from here. Its on the other side of a dome. Its-The call came out thinly. (Seldon realize they had been walking while they had been lectureing and had move apart from the immediate vicinity of the others.)Clowzia. bond back here. We need you.Clowzia said, Uh-oh. Coming.-Sor ry, Dr. Seldon, I have to go.She ran off, managing to step lightly despite her seamed boots. Had she been playing with him? Had she been filling the gullible stranger with a mess of lies for amusements sake? such(prenominal) things had been known to happen on every world and in every time. An air of transparent honesty was no sink either in fact, successful taletellers would advisedly cultivate just such an air.So could there really be six-meter trees Upperside? Without persuasion much about it, he locomote in the direction of the highest dome on the horizon. He swung his build up in an take in charge to warm himself. And his feet were getting cold. Clowzia hadnt pointed. She might have, to give him a hint of the direction of the trees, but she didnt. Why didnt she? To be sure, she had been called away.The domes were broad rather than high, which was a good thing, since otherwise the going would have been considerably more difficult. On the other hand, the attractive grade me ant trudging a distance before he could top a dome and look down the other side.Eventually, he could see the other side of the dome he had climbed. He looked back to make sure he could still see the meteorologists and their instruments. They were a good way off, in a remote valley, but he could see them clearly enough. Good.He saw no copse, no trees, but there was a depression that snaked about amongst two domes. on each side of that bloodline, the soil was thicker and there were occasional green smears of what might be moss. If he followed the plication and if it got low enough and the soil was thick enough, there might be trees. He looked back, trying to fix landmarks in his mind, but there were just the rise and fall of domes. It made him hesitate and Dorss warning against his being lost, which had seemed a rather unnecessary piece of advice then, made more sense now. Still, it seemed clear to him that the range was a kind of road. If he followed it for some distance, he o nly had to turn about and follow it back to return to this spot.He strode off purposefully, following the rounded crease downward. There was a soft rumbling noise above, but he didnt give it any thought. He had made up his mind that he wanted to see trees and that was all that occupied him at the bite.The moss grew thicker and spread out like a carpet and here and there grassy tufts had sprung up. Despite the solitariness Upperside, the moss was bright green and it occurred to Seldon that on a cloudy, overcast planet there was likely to be considerable rain.The crease continued to curve and there, just above another dome, was a dark smudge against the colorise tilt and he knew he had found the trees. Then, as though his mind, having been liberated by the sight of those trees, could turn to other things, Seldon took note of the rumble he had heard before and had, without view, dislost as the sound of machinery. Now he considered that possibility Was it, indeed, the sound of mac hinery? Why not? He was standing on one of the myriad domes that covered hundreds of millions of square toes kilometers of the world-city. There must be machinery of all kinds hidden under those domes-ventilation motors, for one thing. Maybe it could be heard, where and when all the other sounds of the world-city were absent. Except that it did not seem to come from the background knowledge. He looked up at the dreary featureless sky. Nothing.He continued to scan the sky, vertical creases appearing between his eyes and then, far off It was a small dark spot, showing up against the gray. And whatever it was it seemed to be moving about as though getting its bearings before it was obscured by the clouds again.Then, without intentional why, he thought, Theyre after me. And almost before he could work out a line of action, he had taken one. He ran desperately along the crease toward the trees and then, to pull ahead them more quickly, he turned left and hurtled up and over a low do me, treading through brown and dying ferned overgrowth, including thorny sprigs with bright red berries.24.Seldon panted, confront a tree, holding it closely, embracing it. He watched for the flying object to make its appearance again so that he could back about the tree and hide on the far side, like a squirrel. The tree was cold, its bark was rough, it gave no comfort-but it offered cover. Of course, that might be insufficient, if he was being searched for with a heat-seeker, but, on the other hand, the cold trunk of a tree might blur even that.Below him was hard-packed soil. Even in this moment of hiding, of attempting to see his pursuer while remain unseen, he could not help wondering how thick the soil might be, how long it had taken to accumulate, many domes in the warmer areas of Trantor carried forests on their back, and whether the trees were always confined to the creases between domes, leaving the higher regions to moss, grass, and underbrush.He saw it again. It was no t a hypership, nor even an ordinary air-jet. It was a jet-down. He could see the faint glow of the ion trails corning out at the vertices of a hexagon, neutralizing the gravitational pull and allowing the wings to keep it aloft like a large(p) soaring bird. It was a vehicle that could bulk large and explore a planetary terrain.It was only the clouds than had saved him. Even if they were using heat-seekers, that would only indicate there were people below. The jet-down would have to make a tentative plop below the banked ceiling before it could hope to know how many human beings there were and whether any of them might be the particular soulfulness the patties aboard were seeking.The jet-down was closer now, but it couldnt hide from him either. The rumble of the engine gave it away and they couldnt rum that off, not as long as they wished to continue their search. Seldon knew the jet-downs, for on Helicon or on any undomed world with skies that cleared now and then, they were com mon, with many in private hands.Of what possible use would jet-downs be on Trantor, with all the human life of the world under domes, with low cloud ceilings all but perpetual-except for a few regime vehicles designed for just this purpose, that of picking up a wanted person who had been lured above the domes? Why not? government forces could nor enter the grounds of the University, but by chance Seldon was no longer on the grounds. He was on top of the domes which might be outside the jurisdiction of any local anaesthetic government. An Imperial vehicle might have every right to land on any part of the dome and question or remove any person found upon it. Hummin had not warned him of this, but perhaps he had merely not thought of doing so.The jet-down was even closer now, nosing about like a blind beast sniffing out its prey. Would it occur to them to search this group of trees? Would they land and send out an armed soldier or two to beat through the copse? And if so, what cou ld he do? He was unarmed and all his quicktwist agility would be useless against the agonizing pain of a neuronic whip. It was not attempting to land. Either they missed the significance of the trees Or-A new thought suddenly hit him. What if this wasnt a involvement vessel at all? What if it was part of the meteorological testing? Surely, meteorologists would want to test the upper reaches of the atmosphere. Was he a fool to hide from it?The sky was getting darker. The clouds were getting thicker or, much more likely, night was falling.And it was getting colder and would get colder still. Was he going to nonplus out here freezing because a perfectly harmless jet-down had made an appearance and had activated a sense of paranoia that he had never felt before? He had a strong impulse to depart the copse and get back to the meteorological air. After all, how would the man Hummin feared so much-Demerzel-know that Seldon would, at this particular time, be Upperside and ready to be t aken? For a moment, that seemed conclusive and, frisson with the cold, he move out from foundation the tree.And then he scurried back as the vessel reappeared even closer than before. He hadnt seen it do anything that would seem to be meteorological. It did nothing that might be considered sampling, measuring, or testing. Would he see such things if they took place? He did not know the precise sort of instruments the jet-down carried or how they worked. If they were doing meteorological work, he might not be able to tell.-Still, could he take the chance of coming into the open?After all, what if Demerzel did know of his presence Upperside, only if because an agent of his, working in the University, knew about it and had reported the matter. Lisung Randa, that cheerful, smiling little Easterner, had suggested he go Upperside. He had suggested it quite forcefully and the subject had not arisen naturally out of the conversation at least, not naturally enough. Was it possible that h e was a government agent and had alerted Demerzel somehow? Then there was Leggen, who had given him the sweater. The sweater was useful, but why hadnt Leggen told him he would need one earlier so he could get his own? Was there something special about the one he was wearing? It was uniformly purple, while all the others indulged in the Trantorian fashion of bright patterns. Anyone looking down from a height would see a moving dull blotch in among others that were bright and know immediately whom they wanted. And Clowzia? She was supposedly Upperside to learn meteorology and help the meteorologists. How was it possible that she could come to him, talk to him at ease, and quietly walk him away from the others and isolate him so that he could easily be picked up?For that matter, what about Dors Venabili? She knew he was going Upperside. She did not stop it. She might have gone with him, but she was handily busy. It was a conspiracy. Surely, it was a conspiracy. He had convinced himse lf now and there was no further thought of getting out from the entertain of the trees. (His feet felt like lumps of ice and stamping them against the ground seemed to do no good.) Would the jet-down never leave? And even as he thought that, the pitch of the engines rumble heightened and the jet-down rose into the clouds and halt away.Seldon listened eagerly, alert to the smallest sound, making sure it was ultimately gone. And then, even after he was sure it was gone, he wondered if that was just a kink to flush him out of hiding. He remained where he was while the bites slowly crawled on and night continued to fall. And finally, when he felt that the true alternative to taking the chance of coming out in the open was that of freezing into insensibility, he stepped out and moved cautiously beyond the shelter of the trees. It was dusky twilight, after all. They couldnt detect him except by a heat-seeker, but, if so, he would hear the jet-down return. He waited just beyond the trees, counting to himself, ready to hide in the copse again at the smallest sound-though what good that would do him once he was spotted, he couldnt imagine.Seldon looked about. If he could find the meteorologists, they would surely have artificial light, but except for that, there would be nothing. He could still just make out his surroundings, but in a matter of a quarter of an minute of arc, half an hour at the outside, he would not. With no lights and a cloudy sky above, it would be dark-completely dark. terrible at the prospect of being enveloped in total darkness, Seldon realized that he would have to find his way back to the crease that had brought him there as quickly as possible and retrace his steps. Folding his arms tightly around himself for warmth, he set off in what he thought was the direction of the crease between the domes.There might, of course, be more than one crease leading away from the copse, but he dimly made out some of the sprigs of berries he had seen co ming in, which now looked almost slow rather than bright red. He could not delay. He had to acquit he was right. He moved up the crease as fast as he might, guided by failing sight and by the vegetation underfoot.But he couldnt stay in the crease forever. He had come over what had seemed to him to be the tallest dome in sight and had found a crease that cut at right angles across his line of approach. By his reckoning, he should now turn right, then sharp left, and that would put him on the path toward the meteorologists dome.Seldon made the left turn and, lifting his head, he could just make out the curve of a dome against the fractionally lighter sky. That had to be it Or was that only wishful thinking?He had no choice but to assume it wasnt. Keeping his eye on the peak so that he could move in a reasonably straight line, he headed for it as quickly as he could. As he got closer, he could make out the line of dome against sky with less and less certainty as it loomed larger and larger. Soon, if he was correct, he would be going up a gentle slope and when that slope became level he would be able to look down the other side and see the lights of the meteorologists. In the inky dark, he could not tell what lay in his path. Wishing there were at least a few sorts to shed some light, he wondered if this was how it felt to be blind. He waved his arms before him as if they were antennae. It was growing colder by the minute and he paused occasionally to blow on his hands and hold them under his armpits. He wished earnestly he could do the same for his feet. By now, he thought, if it started to precipitate, it would be snow-or, worse yet, sleet.On on. There was nothing else to do.Eventually, it seemed to him that he was moving downward. That was either wishful thinking or he had topped the dome.He stopped. If he had topped the dome, he should be able to see the artificial light of the meteorological locate. He would see the lights carried by the meteorologists the mselves, sparkling or dancing like fireflies. Seldon closed his eyes as though to accustom them to dark and then try again, but that was a foolish effort. It was no darker with his eyes closed than with them open and when he opened them it was no lighter than when he had had them closed.Possibly Leggen and the others were gone, had taken their lights with them and had turned off any lights on the instruments. Or by chance Seldon had climbed the wrong dome. Or he had followed a curved path along the dome so that he was now face in the wrong direction. Or he had followed the wrong crease and had moved away from the copse in the wrong direction altogether. What should he do?If he was go about the wrong direction, there was a chance that light would be visible right or left-and it wasnt. If he had followed the wrong crease, there was no possible way he could return to the copse and locate a different crease. His only chance lay in the assumption that he was cladding the right direct ion and that the meteorological station was more or less right off ahead of him, but that the meteorologists had gone and had left it in darkness. Move forward, then. The chances of success might be small, but it was the only chance he had.He estimated that it had taken him half an hour to move from the meteorological station to the top of the dome, having gone partway with Clowzia and sauntering with her rather than striding. He was moving at little better than a saunter now in the daunting darkness.Seldon continued to slog forward. It would have been nice to know the time and he had a timeband, of course, but in the dark. He stopped. He wore a Trantorian timeband, which gave Galactic measure time (as all timebands did) and which also gave Trantorian local time. Timebands were usually visible in the dark, phosphorescing so that one could tell time in the quiet dark of a bedchamber. A Heliconian timeband certainly would why not a Trantorian one?He looked at his timeband with slow apprehension and touched the contact that would sweep up upon the power source for light. The timeband gleamed feebly and told him the time was 1847. For it to be nighttime already, Seldon knew that it must be the winter lenify.-How far past the solstice was it? What was the degree of axial tipping? How long was the year? How far from the equator was he at this moment? There was no hint of an answer to any of these things, but what counted was that the spark of light was visible. He was not blind Somehow the feeble glow of his timeband gave him renewed hope.His spirits rose. He would move on in the direction he was going. He would move for half an hour. If he encountered nothing, he would move on five minutes more-no further-just five minutes. If he still encountered nothing, he would stop and think. That, however, would be thirty-five minutes from now. Till then, he would concentrate only on walking and on willing himself to feel warmer (He wiggled his toes, vigorously. He could still feel them.) Seldon trudged onward and the half hour passed. He paused, then hesitantly, he moved on for five more minutes.Now he had to decide. There was nothing. He might be nowhere, far removed from any opening into the dome. He might, on the other hand, be standing three meters to the left-or right-or short-of the meteorological station. He might be two arms lengths from the opening into the dome, which would not, however, be open.Now what?Was there any point in shouting? He was enveloped by utter silence but for the go of the wind. If there were birds, beasts, or insects in among the vegetation on the domes, they were not here during this season or at this time of night or at this particular place. The wind continued to chill him. Perhaps he should have been shouting all repayable way. The sound might have carried a good distance in the cold air. But would there have been anyone to hear him? Would they hear him inside the dome? Were there instruments to detect sound or m ovement from above? Might there not be sentinels just inside? That seemed ridiculous. They would have heard his footsteps, wouldnt they?Still-He called out. alleviate Help Can someone hear me? His waul was strangled, half-embarrassed. It seemed silly shouting into vast black nothingness.But then, he felt it was even sillier to hesitate in such a situation as this. Panic was welling up in him. He took in a deep, cold breath and screamed for as long as he could. Another breath and another scream, changing pitch. And another.Seldon paused, breathless, turning his head every which way, even though there was nothing to see. He could not even detect an echo. There was nothing left to do but wait for the dawn. But how long was the night at this season of the year? And how cold would it get?He felt a tiny cold touch sting his face. After a while, another. It was sleeting invisibly in the pitch blackness. And there was no way to find shelter.He thought It would have been better if that jet -down had seen me and picked me up. I would be a prisoner at this moment, perhaps, but Id be warm and comfortable, at least.Or, if Hummin had never interfered, I might have been back in Helicon long ago. Under surveillance, but warm and comfortable. remediate now that was all he wanted-to be warm and comfortable.But at the moment he could only wait. He constellate down, knowing that however long the night, he dared not sleep. He slipped off his office and rubbed his icy feet. Quickly, he put his dress back on.He knew he would have to repeat this, as well as rubbing his hands and ears all night long to keep his circulation flowing. But most important to remember was that he must not let himself fall asleep. That would mean certain death. And, having carefully thought all this out, his eyes closed and he nodded off to sleep with the sleet coming down.