Chapter 2

It was evening of  the same day, and in Jorane Sutt's bachelor apartment onthe twenty-first  floor of  the Hardin Building, Publis  Manlio was sippingwine slowly.
It was  Publis Manlio in whose slight, aging  body were fulfilled two greatoffices of the Foundation. He was Foreign Secretary in the mayor's cabinet,and to  all the outer suns, barring only the  Foundation itself, he was, inaddition, Primate  of the Church, Purveyor of the  Holy Food, Master of theTemples,  and  so  forth  almost  indefinitely in  confusing  but  sonoroussyllables.
He was  saying, "But  he agreed to  let you send  out that trader.  It is apoint.""But such  a small  one," said Sutt.  "It gets us  nothing immediately. Thewhole business  is the crudest sort  of stratagem, since we  have no way offoreseeing it  to the end.  It is a mere  paying out of rope  on the chancethat somewhere along the length of it will be a noose.""True. And this Mallow  is a capable man. What if he is not an easy prey todupery?""That  is a  chance that  must be  run. If  there is  treachery, it  is thecapable men  that are implicated. If  not, we need a  capable man to detectthe   truth.  And   Mallow  will   be  guarded.   Your  glass   is  empty.""No, thanks. I've had enough."Sutt filled his own glass and patiently endured the other's uneasy reverie.
Of whatever  the reverie consisted, it  ended indecisively, for the primatesaid   suddenly,  almost   explosively,  "Sutt,   what's  on   your  mind?""I'll tell  you, Manlio." His thin  lips parted, "We're in  the middle of aSeldon crisis."Manlio stared,  then said softly, "How do you  know? Has Seldon appeared inthe Time Vault again?""That much,  my friend,  is not necessary.  Look, reason it  out. Since theGalactic Empire  abandoned the Periphery, and threw us  on our own, we havenever had an opponent who possessed nuclear power. Now, for the first time,we  have one. That  seems significant even  if it  stood by itself.  And itdoesn't. For  the first time in  over seventy years, we  are facing a majordomestic political  crisis. I  should think the synchronization  of the twocrises, inner and outer, puts it beyond all doubt."Manlio's eyes  narrowed, "If that's  all, it's not enough.  There have beentwo Seldon  crises so far, and  both times the Foundation  was in danger ofextermination.  Nothing can be  a third  crisis till that  danger returns."Sutt never  showed impatience, "That danger is coming.  Any fool can tell acrisis when  it arrives. The real  service to the state  is to detect it inembryo. Look,  Manlio, we're  proceeding along a  planned history. We  knowthat Hari Seldon worked  out the historical probabilities of the future. Weknow  that some day we're  to rebuild the Galactic Empire. We  know that itwill take a thousand years or thereabouts. And we know that in the intervalwe will face certain definite crises.
"Now  the first  crisis  came fifty  years after  the establishment  of theFoundation,  and   the  second,  thirty  years   later  than  that.  Almostseventy-five  years  have  gone  since.  It's  time,  Manlio,  it's  time."Manlio rubbed  his nose  uncertainly, "And you've  made your plans  to meetthis crisis?"Sutt nodded.
"And I," continued Manlio, "am to play a part in it?"Sutt nodded again, "Before  we can meet the foreign threat of atomic power,we've got to put our own house in order. These traders?
"Ah!" The primate stiffened, and his eyes grew sharp.
"That's right.  These traders. They are  useful, but they are  too strong ?
and too uncontrolled. They are Outlanders, educated apart from religion. Onthe  one hand,  we put  knowledge into  their hands,  and on the  other, weremove our strongest hold upon them.""If we can prove treachery?""If  we could,  direct  action would  be  simple and  sufficient. But  thatdoesn't signify  in the  least. Even if  treason among them  did not exist,they would form an uncertain element in our society. They wouldn't be boundto  us by  patriotism or common  descent, or  even by religious  awe. Undertheir secular leadership, the  outer provinces, which, since Hardin's time,look to us as the Holy Planet, might break away.""I see all that, but the cure?
"The cure  must come  quickly, before the  Seldon Crisis becomes  acute. Ifnuclear weapons are without  and disaffection within, the odds might be toogreat."  Sutt put  down the  empty glass  he had  been fingering,  "This isobviously your job.""Mine?""I can't  do it. My office is appointive  and has no legislative standing.""The mayor?
"Impossible. His personality is  entirely negative. He is energetic only inevading  responsibility.  But  if an  independent  party  arose that  mightendanger re-election, he might allow himself to be led.""But, Sutt, I lack the aptitude for practical politics.""Leave  that to  me.  Who knows,  Manlio? Since  Salvor Hardin's  time, theprimacy and the mayoralty  have never been combined in a single person. Butit might happen now ?if your job were well done."