Chapter 7

Avakim approached,  nodded to Gaal,  leaned over to whisper  to Seldon. Thecry of adjournment rang  out, and guards separated them. Gaal was led away.
The  next day's  hearings  were entirely  different. Hari  Seldon  and GaalDornick  were  alone with  the  Commission.  They were  seated  at a  tabletogether, with  scarcely a separation  between the five judges  and the twoaccused. They  were even  offered cigars from  a box of  iridescent plasticwhich had the appearance  of water, endlessly flowing. The eyes were fooledinto seeing the motion although the fingers reported it to be hard and dry.
Seldon accepted one; Gaal refused.
Seldon said, "My lawyer is not present."A Commissioner replied, "This is no longer a trial, Dr. Seldon. We are hereto discuss the safety of the State."Linge Chen  said, "I will speak,"  and the other Commissioners  sat back intheir chairs, prepared to listen. A silence formed about Chen into which hemight drop his words.
Gaal held his breath. Chen, lean and hard, older in looks than in fact, wasthe actual  Emperor of all the Galaxy. The child  who bore the title itselfwas only  a symbol  manufactured by Chen,  and not the  first such, either.
Chen said, "Dr. Seldon,  you disturb the peace of the Emperor's realm. Noneof the  quadrillions living now among  all the stars of  the Galaxy will beliving  a century  from now.  Why, then,  should we concern  ourselves withevents of three centuries distance?""I shall not  be alive half a decade hence," said Seldon,  and yet it is ofoverpowering concern to me.  Call it idealism. Call it an identification ofmyself with  that mystical  generalization to which  we refer by  the term,'humanity.'""I do not wish to take the trouble to understand mysticism. Can you tell mewhy I  may not rid myself  of you, and of  an uncomfortable and unnecessarythree-century  future  which  I  will  never  see by  having  you  executedtonight?""A week  ago," said  Seldon, lightly, "you  might have done  so and perhapsretained a  one in  ten probability of  yourself remaining alive  at year'send. Today,  the one in ten  probability is scarcely one  in ten thousand."There were expired breaths in the gathering and uneasy stirrings. Gaal feltthe  short hairs  prickle on  the back  of his  neck. Chen's  upper eyelidsdropped a little.
"How so?" he said.
"The fall  of Trantor," said Seldon, "cannot  be stopped by any conceivableeffort.  It can  be hastened  easily, however.  The tale of  my interruptedtrial will  spread through the  Galaxy. Frustration of my  plans to lightenthe disaster will convince people that the future holds no promise to them.
Already they  recall the lives  of their grandfathers with  envy. They willsee  that political  revolutions and  trade stagnations will  increase. Thefeeling will pervade the  Galaxy that only what a man can grasp for himselfat  that moment will  be of any  account. Ambitious  men will not  wait andunscrupulous men will not hang back. By their every action they will hastenthe decay  of the worlds. Have  me killed and Trantor  will fall not withinthree centuries  but within fifty years and  you, yourself, within a singleyear."Chen said, "These are words to frighten children, and yet your death is notthe only answer which will satisfy us."He lifted his slender hand from the papers on which it rested, so that onlytwo fingers touched lightly upon the topmost sheet.
"Tell  me," he  said, "will your  only activity  be that of  preparing thisencyclopedia you speak of?""It will.""And need that be done on Trantor?""Trantor, my lord, possessss the Imperial Library, as well as the scholarlyresources of the University of Trantor.""And yet  if you were located  elsewhere?, let us  say upon a planet wherethe  hurry  and  distractions  of  a  metropolis will  not  interfere  withscholastic  musings;  where your  men  may devote  themselves entirely  andsingle-mindedly  to   their  work;   杕ight  not  that   have  advantages?""Minor ones, perhaps.""Such a world had been chosen, then. You may work, doctor, at your leisure,with your  hundred thousand  about you. The  Galaxy will know  that you areworking and fighting the Fall. They will even be told that you will preventthe Fall." He smiled,  "Since I do not believe in so many things, it is notdifficult for  me to disbelieve in the Fall as well,  so that I am entirelyconvinced I will be telling the truth to the people. And meanwhile, doctor,you  will not  trouble  Trantor and  there will  be  no disturbance  of theEmperor's peace.
"The alternative is death for yourself and for as many of your followers aswill seem necessary. Your  earlier threats I disregard. The opportunity forchoosing between death and exile is given you over a time period stretchingfrom this moment to one five minutes hence.""Which is the world chosen, my lord?" said Seldon.
"It is called, I  believe, Terminus," said Chen. Negligently, he turned thepapers upon his desk  with his fingertips so that they faced Seldon. "It isuninhabited, but quite habitable, and can be molded to suit the necessitiesof scholars. It is somewhat secluded?
Seldon   interrupted,  "It   is   at  the   edge  of   the   Galaxy,  sir.""As  I  have  said,   somewhat  secluded.  It  will  suit  your  needs  forconcentration. Come, you have two minutes left."Seldon said,  "We will need time  to arrange such a  trip. There are twentythousand families involved.""You will be given time."Seldon  thought a moment,  and the last  minute began  to die. He  said, "Iaccept exile."Gaal's heart skipped a  beat at the words. For the most part, he was filledwith a tremendous joy for who would not be, to escape death. Yet in all hisvast  relief, he  found  space for  a little  regret  that Seldon  had beendefeated.