PART III THE MAYORS Chapter 1

THE FOUR  KINGDOMS ? The name given  to those portions of  the Province ofAnacreon which  broke away from the First Empire in  the early years of theFoundational Era to form  independent and short-lived kingdoms. The largestand  most   powerful  of  these  was   Anacreon  itself  which  in  area...
...  Undoubtedly the  most interesting  aspect of  the history of  the FourKingdoms involves the strange society forced temporarily upon it during theadministration of Salvor Hardin....
ENCYCLOPEDIA GALACTICAA deputation!
That Salvor  Hardin had seen it  coming made it none  the more pleasant. Onthe contrary, he found anticipation distinctly annoying.
Yohan Lee advocated extreme measures. "I don't see, Hardin," he said, "thatwe  need  waste any  time.  They can't  do  anything till  next election  ?
legally,  anyway ? and that  gives us  a year.  Give them  the brush-off."Hardin pursed  his lips. "Lee, you'll never learn.  In the forty years I'veknown you,  you've never  once learned the  gentle art of  sneaking up frombehind.""It's not my way of fighting," grumbled Lee.
"Yes, I  know that.  I suppose that's why  you're the one man  I trust." Hepaused  and reached  for a  cigar. "We've  come a  long way, Lee,  since weengineered our  coup against the Encyclopedists  way back. I'm getting old.
Sixty-two.  Do   you  ever  think  how   fast  those  thirty  years  went?"Lee snorted. "I don't feel old, and I'm sixty-six.""Yes, but I haven't  your digestion." Hardin sucked lazily at his cigar. Hehad long  since stopped  wishing for the  mild Vegan tobacco  of his youth.
Those days when the planet, Terminus, had trafficked with every part of theGalactic Empire belonged in the limbo to which all Good Old Days go. Towardthe same  limbo where the Galactic Empire was  heading. He wondered who thenew emperor  was ?or if  there was a new  emperor at all ? or any Empire.
Space! For  thirty years now,  since the breakup of  communications here atthe edge  of the  Galaxy, the whole  universe of Terminus  had consisted ofitself and the four surrounding kingdoms.
How the  mighty had fallen!  Kingdoms! They were  prefects in the old days,all part  of the  same province, which in  turn had been part  of a sector,which in turn  had been part of a quadrant, which in  turn had been part ofthe allembracing Galactic Empire.  And now that the Empire had lost controlover the  farther reaches  of the Galaxy,  these little splinter  groups ofplanets  became kingdoms ? with comic-opera  kings and nobles,  and petty,meaningless wars,  and a  life that went  on pathetically among  the ruins.
A  civilization  falling.  Nuclear   power  forgotten.  Science  fading  tomythology ? until the Foundation had stepped  in. The Foundation that HariSeldon   had  established   for  just   that  purpose  here   on  Terminus.
Lee was at the  window and his voice broke in on Hardin's reverie. "They'vecome," he said, "in a late-model ground car, the young pups." He took a fewuncertain   steps   toward   the   door   and  then   looked   at   Hardin.
Hardin smiled, and waved  him back. "I've given orders to have them broughtup here.""Here! What for? You're making them too important.""Why go  through all  the ceremonies of  an official mayor's  audience? I'mgetting  too old  for  red tape.  Besides  which, flattery  is useful  whendealing  with  youngsters ? particularly  when  it doesn't  commit you  toanything." He winked. "Sit  down, Lee, and give me your moral backing. I'llneed it with this young Sermak.""That  fellow,  Sermak,"  said  Lee, heavily,  "is  dangerous.  He's got  afollowing, Hardin, so don't underestimate him.""Have I ever underestimated anybody?""Well,  then,  arrest  him.  You  can  accuse  him of  something  or  otherafterward."Hardin ignored that last  bit of advice. "There they are, Lee." In responseto the signal, he  stepped on the pedal beneath his desk, and the door slidaside.
They filed in, the four that composed the deputation, and Hardin waved themgently to the armchairs that faced his desk in a semicircle. They bowed andwaited for the mayor to speak first.
Hardin flicked  open the curiously carved silver lid  of the cigar box thathad  once  belonged to  Jord  Fara  of the  old  Board of  Trustees in  thelong-dead days of the  Encyclopedists. It was a genuine Empire product fromSantanni, though  the cigars it now contained  were home-grown. One by one,with grave solemnity, the four of the deputation accepted cigars and lit upin ritualistic fashion.
Sef Sermak was second from the right, the youngest of the young group ?andthe most  interesting with  his bristly yellow  mustache trimmed precisely,and his  sunken eyes of  uncertain color. The other  three Hardin dismissedalmost immediately; they were  rank and file on the face of them. It was onSermak that he concentrated,  the Sermak who had already, in his first termin the  City Council, turned  that sedate body topsy-turvy  more than once,and it was to Sermak that he said:
"I've  been particularly anxious  to see  you, Councilman, ever  since yourvery excellent speech last month. Your attack on the foreign policy of thisgovernment was a most capable one."Sermak's eyes  smoldered. "Your interest  honors me. The attack  may or maynot have been capable, but it was certainly justified.""Perhaps! Your opinions are  yours, of course. Still you are rather young."Dryly. "It  is a  fault that most  people are guilty  of at  some period oftheir life.  You became mayor of  the city when you  were two years youngerthan I am now."Hardin smiled  to himself.  The yearling was  a cool customer.  He said, "Itake  it now  that you  have come  to see  me concerning this  same foreignpolicy that annoys you  so greatly in the Council Chamber. Are you speakingfor your  three colleagues,  or must I  listen to each  of you separately?"There  were  quick  mutual  glances among  the  four  young  men, a  slightflickering of eyelids.
Sermak said grimly, "I  speak for the people of Terminus ?a people who arenot now  truly represented in the rubberstamp  body they call the Council.""I see. Go ahead, then!""It comes to this, Mr. Mayor. We are dissatisfied?
"By 'we' you mean 'the people,' don't you?"Sermak  stared hostilely, sensing  a trap,  and replied coldly,  "I believethat my views reflect those of the majority of the voters of Terminus. Doesthat suit you?""Well,  a statement  like  that is  all the  better for  proof, but  go on,anyway. You are dissatisfied.""Yes,  dissatisfied  with  the  policy  which  for thirty  years  had  beenstripping Terminus defenseless against the inevitable attack from outside.""I see. And therefore? Go on, go on.""It's  nice  of you  to  anticipate. And  therefore  we are  forming a  newpolitical party;  one that will  stand for the immediate  needs of Terminusand not  for a mystic 'manifest destiny' of future  Empire. We are going tothrow you  and your lick-spittle  clique of appeasers out  of City Hall-andthat soon.""Unless? There's always an 'unless,' you know.""Not much of one in this case: Unless you resign now. I'm not asking you tochange your  policies ? I wouldn't trust  you that far.  Your promises areworth   nothing.   An   outright    resignation   is   all   we'll   take.""I see."  Hardin crossed his legs and teetered his  chair back on two legs.
"That's your  ultimatum. Nice  of you to  give me warning. But,  you see, Irather think I'll ignore it.""Don't  think  it was  a  warning, Mr.  Mayor.  It was  an announcement  ofprinciples and  of action.  The new party  has already been  formed, and itwill  begin its  official activities  tomorrow. There  is neither  room nordesire for  compromise, and, frankly,  it was only our  recognition of yourservices to  the City that induced  us to offer the  easy way out. I didn'tthink you'd take it, but my conscience is clear.
The next  election will be a more  forcible and quite irresistible reminderthat resignation is necessary."He rose and motioned the rest up.
Hardin lifted his arm. "Hold on! Sit down!"Sef Sermak seated himself once more with just a shade too much alacrity andHardin smiled behind a straight face. In spite of his words, he was waitingfor an offer.
Hardin said,  "In exactly what way do you  want our foreign policy changed?
Do you  want us  to attack the  Four Kingdoms, now,  at once,  and all foursimultaneously?""I make  no such suggestion, Mr.  Mayor. It is our  simple proposition thatall appeasement cease immediately. Throughout your administration, you havecarried out a policy of scientific aid to the Kingdoms. You have given themnuclear power.  You have helped rebuild  power plants on their territories.
You have established medical clinics, chemical laboratories and factories.""Well? And your objection?""You have done this  in order to keep them from attacking us. With these asbribes, you have been  playing the fool in a colossal game of blackmail, inwhich you have allowed Terminus to be sucked dry ?with the result that nowwe are at the mercy of these barbarians.""In what way?""Because you  have given them power,  given them weapons, actually servicedthe  ships of  their navies,  they are  infinitely stronger than  they werethree  decades  ago.  Their  demands are  increasing,  and  with their  newweapons, they will eventually  satisfy all their demands at once by violentannexation  of  Terminus.  Isn't  that  the way  blackmail  usually  ends?""And your remedy?""Stop  the bribes  immediately  and while  you  can. Spend  your effort  instrengthening Terminus itself ?and attack first!"Hardin  watched the  young fellow's  little blond  mustache with  an almostmorbid interest.  Sermak felt sure of himself or  he wouldn't talk so much.
There was  no doubt that his  remarks were the reflection  of a pretty hugesegment of the population, pretty huge.
His voice did not betray the slightly perturbed current of his thoughts. Ifwas almost negligent. "Are you finished?""For the moment.""Well, then,  do you notice the framed statement I  have on the wall behindme? Read it, if you will!"Sermak's  lips twitched.  "It  says: 'Violence  is the  last refuge  of theincompetent.' That's an old man's doctrine, Mr. Mayor.""I applied  it as a young man, Mr. Councilman  ?and successfully. You werebusily being born when it happened, but perhaps you may have read somethingof it in school."He eyed  Sermak closely and continued in  measured tones, "When Hari Seldonestablished  the Foundation  here,  it was  for the  ostensible  purpose ofproducing  a  great Encyclopedia,  and  for  fifty years  we followed  thatwill-of-the-wisp,  before discovering  what  he was  really after.  By thattime, it was almost  too late. When communications with the central regionsof  the old  Empire broke down,  we found  ourselves a world  of scientistsconcentrated in a single  city, possessing no industries, and surrounded bynewly  created kingdoms,  hostile  and largely  barbarous. We  were  a tinyisland  of nuclear  power  in this  ocean of  barbarism, and  an infinitelyvaluable prize.
"Anacreon, then  as now, the  most powerful of the  Four Kingdoms, demandedand later actually established  a military base upon Terminus, and the thenrulers of the City, the Encyclopedists, knew very well that this was only apreliminary to  taking over  the entire planet.  That is how  matters stoodwhen I  ... uh  ... assumed actual  government. What would  you have done?"Sermak shrugged  his shoulders. "That's an  academic question. Of course, Iknow what you did.""I'll repeat  it, anyway. Perhaps  you don't get the  point. The temptationwas  great to  muster what  force we  could and  put up  a fight.  It's theeasiest way  out, and the  most satisfactory to self-respect  ?but, nearlyinvariably, the  stupidest. You  would have done  it; you and  your talk of'attack first.' What I did, instead, was to visit the three other kingdoms,one by one; point  out to each that to allow the secret of nuclear power tofall into  the hands of Anacreon was the quickest  way of cutting their ownthroats; and  suggest gently that they do the  obvious thing. That was all.
One month  after the Anacreonian  force had landed on  Terminus, their kingreceived a  joint ultimatum  from his three  neighbors. In seven  days, thelast Anacreonian was off Terminus.
Now tell me, where was the need for violence?"The  young councilman regarded  his cigar  stub thoughtfully and  tossed itinto the incinerator chute.  "I fail to see the analogy. Insulin will bringa diabetic to normal without the faintest need of a knife, but appendicitisneeds an  operation. You can't  help that. When other  courses have failed,what is  left but,  as you put  it, the last  refuge? It's  your fault thatwe're driven to it.""I? Oh,  yes, again my policy of appeasement. You  still seem to lack graspof  the fundamental necessities  of our  position. Our problem  wasn't overwith  the departure  of  the Anacreonians.  They had  just begun.  The FourKingdoms were more our enemies than ever, for each wanted nuclear power-andeach was  kept off  our throats only  for fear of  the other  three. We arebalanced on the point  of a very sharp sword, and the slightest sway in anydirection ? If, for  instance, one kingdom  becomes too strong;  or if twoform a coalition ?You understand?""Certainly.  That was  the  time to  begin all-out  preparations  for war.""On the  contrary. That was the time to begin  all-out prevention of war. Iplayed them  one against the other.  I helped each in  turn. I offered themscience,  trade, education,  scientific medicine.  I made Terminus  of morevalue to  them as a flourishing  world than as a  military prize. It workedfor thirty years.""Yes, but you were  forced to surround these scientific gifts with the mostoutrageous mummery.  You've made half religion,  half balderdash out of it.
You've erected a hierarchy of priests and complicated, meaningless ritual."Hardin frowned. "What of  that? I don't see that it has anything to do withthe argument  at all.  I started that  way at first  because the barbarianslooked upon our science as a sort of magical sorcery, and it was easiest toget them to accept  it on that basis. The priesthood built itself and if wehelp it  along we are only following the line of  least resistance. It is aminor matter.""But these  priests are in charge of the power plants.  That is not a minormatter.""True, but  we have trained them. Their knowledge  of their tools is purelyempirical; and they have a firm belief in the mummery that surrounds them.""And if one pierces  through the mummery, and has the genius to brush asideempiricism,  what is to  prevent him  from learning actual  techniques, andselling out  to the most satisfactory  bidder? What price our  value to thekingdoms, then?""Little chance of that,  Sermak. You are being superficial. The best men onthe planets  of the kingdoms are sent here to  the Foundation each year andeducated into the priesthood. And the best of these remain here as researchstudents.  If  you think  that  those  who are  left,  with practically  noknowledge of  the elements of science, or  worse, still, with the distortedknowledge the  priests receive, can penetrate at  a bound to nuclear power,to electronics,  to the theory of the hyperwarp ? you have a very romanticand very  foolish idea  of science. It  takes lifetimes of  training and anexcellent brain to get that far."Yohan Lee had risen abruptly during the foregoing speech and left the room.
He  had returned  now and  when Hardin  finished speaking,  he bent  to hissuperior's ear.  A whisper was exchanged and  then a leaden cylinder. Then,with  one short  hostile  look at  the deputation,  Lee resumed  his chair.
Hardin  turned  the  cylinder  end  for  end  in his  hands,  watching  thedeputation through  his lashes. And then  he opened it with  a hard, suddentwist and only Sermak had the sense not to throw a rapid look at the rolledpaper that fell out.
"In short,  gentlemen," he said, "the Government is  of the opinion that itknows what it is doing."He read  as he spoke. There  were the lines of  intricate, meaningless codethat covered  the page and the  three penciled words scrawled  in one comerthat carried the message.  He took it in at a glance and tossed it casuallyinto the incinerator shaft.
"That," Hardin then said, "ends the interview, I'm afraid. Glad to have metyou all.  Thank you  for coming." He  shook hands with  each in perfunctoryfashion, and they filed out.
Hardin had almost gotten out of the habit of laughing, but after Sermak andhis three  silent partners were well  out of earshot, he  indulged in a drychuckle and bent an amused look on Lee.
"How did you like that battle of bluffs, Lee?"Lee snorted  grumpily. "I'm not sure  that he  was bluffing. Treat him withkid  gloves and  he's quite  liable to  win the  next election, just  as hesays.""Oh,   quite   likely,  quite   likely   ? if   nothing  happens   first.""Make sure  they don't happen in  the wrong direction this  time, Hardin. Itell you this Sermak has a following. What if he doesn't wait till the nextelection? There was a  time when you and I put things through violently, inspite of your slogan about what violence is."Hardin cocked  an eyebrow. "You are  pessimistic today, Lee. And singularlycontrary, too, or you wouldn't speak of violence. Our own little putsch wascarried  through without  loss of  life, you  remember. It was  a necessarymeasure  put  through  at  the  proper  moment,  and  went  over  smoothly,painlessly,  and all  but effortlessly.  As for  Sermak, he's up  against adifferent proposition. You and  I, Lee, aren't the Encyclopedists. We standprepared. Order  your men onto these youngsters in  a nice way, old fellow.
Don't let them know they're being watched ?but eyes open, you understand."Lee laughed in sour  amusement. "I'd be a fine one to wait for your orders,wouldn't I,  Hardin? Sermak and his men have  been under surveillance for amonth now."The  mayor chuckled. "Got  in first, did  you? All  right. By the  way," heobserved, and  added softly, "Ambassador Verisof  is returning to Terminus.
Temporarily, I hope."There was a short  silence, faintly horrified, and then Lee said, "Was thatthe message? Are things breaking already?""Don't know. I can't tell till I hear what Verisof has to say. They may be,though. After  all, they have to before election.  But what are you lookingso dead about?""Because I don't know how it's going to turn out. You're too deep, Hardin,and you're playing the game too close to your chest.""Even you?" murmured Hardin. And aloud, "Does that mean you're going tojoin Sermak's new party?"Lee smiled against his will. "All right. You win. How about lunch now?"