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基地系列:基地与地球|Foundation and Earth

第六章 地球的真面目|Chapter 6: The Nature of Earth

属类： 双语小说 【分类】魔幻小说 -[作者: 艾萨克-阿西莫夫] 阅读：[2790]
《 字+字- 行+行- 页+页- 字+字- 行+行- 页+页- 》
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崔维兹觉得像是吃了迷幻药，不知道时间过了多久。

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他身旁躺着运输部长蜜特札·李札乐。她趴在床上，头转向一侧，张着嘴巴，小时发出清晰的鼾声。知道她睡着了，崔维兹才放心一点。他希望她醒来的时候，能清楚记得自己曾睡了一觉。

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崔维兹其实也困极欲眠，伹他感到自己必须保持清醒，不能让她醒过来的时候，发现他正在呼呼大睡。这点相当着要，必须要让她了解，当她筋疲力尽、不省人事之际，他仍然精神饱满。她会希望基地浪子一直保持生龙活虎的状态，而此时此刻，最好不要令她失望。

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就某方面而言，他做得很好。他猜对了，虽然李札乐魁梧强健、拥有很大的权力、轻视她碰过的所有康普隆男性，并且对于基地浪子性技巧的传说（她是从哪里听来的？崔维兹感到纳闷二父杂着恐惧与神往的心情——不过，她却乐于被男人征服。这甚至可能是她长久以来的愿望，只是她从来没机会表达这种欲望与期待。

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崔维兹的行动便是以这个猜测为原则，结果很幸运，他发现自己猜对了。（永远正确的崔维兹，他自嘲地想。）如此不但取悦了这个女人，也让崔维兹取得主导地位，将她的精力完全榨干，自己却没花太多气力。

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不过这也不容易，她拥有令人赞叹的胴体（她说已经四十六岁，却绝不比二十五岁的运动员逊色），以及无穷无尽的精力。只有与她自己挥霍无度的欲望相比，她的精力才甘拜下风。

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事实上，如果能将她驯服，教她懂得如何节制，并且在不断的练习中（可是他撑得过来吗？）让她对自己的能力更有自知之明，更着要的是，对他的能力也更加了解，那么，这也许会是一件愉快……

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鼾声突然停止，她微微动了一下，他将手放在她的肩上轻轻抚摩——她的眼就张开了。崔维兹用手肘撑着身子，尽量使自己看来毫无倦容、精力充沛。

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“我很高兴你睡着了，亲爱的，”他说：“你实在需要休息。”

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她睡眼惺忪地对他微微一笑，崔维兹突然有点不安，以为她会提议再来云雨一番。不过她只是努力翻了个身，仰躺在床上，用柔和而满足的口吻说：“我从一开始就没看错，你的确是个性爱高手。”

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崔维兹尽量表现出谦逊的态度。“我应该更节制点。”

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“胡说，你做得恰到好处。我本来还在担心，怕你一直保有性生活，精力都被那个年轻女子耗尽了。但你的表现使我相信事实并非如此，你说的都是实话，对不对？”

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“我刚开始就表现得像个半饱的样子吗？”

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“不，你不像。”说完她就爆笑起来。

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“你还想要用心灵探测器吗？”

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她又纵声大笑。“你疯啦？我现在还会愿意失去你吗？”

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“不过你最好能暂时失去一下。”

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“什么？”她皱起眉头。

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“如果我永远待在这里，亲……亲爱的，是不是要不了多久，就会有人窃窃私语、指指点点？然而，如果我能离去，继续执行我的任务，我自然会经常回来向你报到，我们自然会关起门来叙旧一番——况且我的任务极为着要。”

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她一面考虑，一面随手搔了搔右臀。然后她说：“我想你说得对，我不喜欢这个提议，但是——我想你说得对。”

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“而你不用担心我不会回来。”崔维兹说：“我不会那么傻，忘记这里有什么在等我。”

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她对他笑了笑，用手轻轻碰了碰他的脸颊，望着他的眼眸说：“你觉得快乐吗，吾爱？”

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“快乐得难以形容，亲爱的。”

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“不过你是基地人，你正处于人生的黄金岁月，又刚好来自端点星，你一定惯于和具有各种技巧的各种女人……”

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“我从没遇到任何一个——任何一个——有一分像你的女人。”崔维兹毫不费力地说得理直气壮，因为这毕竟是百分之百的实话。

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李札乐以得意的口吻说：“好吧，既然你这么说。但话说回来，有道是积习难改，你知道的，我想我不能没有任何保证就轻易相信男人的话。你和你的朋友裴洛拉特，在我了解并批准你们的任务后，应该就能上路继续进行任务，至于那名年轻女子，我要将她留在这里。她会受到很好的款待，你不用怕，不过我想裴洛拉特博士会想念她，所以他一定会要你经常返回康普隆，即使你对这项任务的狂热，可能让你想在外面逗留很久。”

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“但是，李札乐，这是不可能的。”

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“不可能？”她的双眼立刻透出怀疑的目光，“为什么不可能？你需要那个女的做什么？”

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“我跟你说过，不是为了性，我讲的都是实话。她是裴洛拉特的，我对她没有兴趣。何况，如果她想学你刚才得意洋洋摆出的那些招式，我确定她缓螈坑谙成两截。”

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李札乐差点笑出来，但她克制住笑意，以严厉的口吻说：“那么，如果她留在康普隆，对你又有什么影响？”

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“因为她对我们的任务极为着要，这就是我们必须要她同行的原因。”

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“好吧，那么，你们的任务到底是什么？现在是你告诉我的时候了。”

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崔维兹只迟疑了很短的时间，如今必须实话实说，他根本编不出具有相同说服力的谎言。

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“听我说，”他道：“康普隆也许是个古老的世界，甚至是最古老的世界之一，伹绝不可能是最古老的。人类这种生物并非发源于此，最早在这里生存的人类，是从别的世界迁徒来的：人类可能也不是从那里发源，而是来自另一个更古老的世界。不过，这种回溯的过程终究有个尽头，我们一定会回溯到最初的世界，也就是人类的发祥地——我要寻找的正是地球。”

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蜜特札·李札乐突如其来的强烈反应令他吓了一跳。

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她双眼睁得老大，呼吸突然变得急促，身上每条肌肉似乎全都僵住，两只手臂硬梆梆地向上举起，双手的食、中两指交叉在一起。

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“你说出了它的名字。”她嘶哑地悄声道。

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她没再说什么，也没再望他一眼。她的双臂慢慢垂下，两腿缓缓移到床沿，然后背对着他坐起来。崔维兹仍躺在那里，一动也不动。

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曼恩·李·康普所说的一番话，此时在他脑际响起，当时他们是在那个空洞的赛协尔旅游中心里面。他现在还记得很清楚，当康普提到他的祖星——就是崔维兹如今立足之处，他是这么说的：“他们对地球有迷信式的恐惧，每当提到这个字眼的时候，他们都会举起双手，然后把食指与中指交叉，希望能够藉此祛除霉运。”

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事后才想起这些话有什么用。

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“我应该怎么说呢，蜜特札？”他喃喃问道。

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她轻轻摇了摇头，站起身来，朝一扇门大步走过去。她穿过之后，那扇门随即关上，不一会儿，便有水声从里面传出来。　 现在他全身赤裸，模样狼狈，除等待之外别无良策。他也想到是否应该跟她一起淋浴，却很肯定最好别这样做。他觉得自己似乎被排拒在浴室外，如此一来，想要洗澡的冲动反而立刻剧涨。

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她终于走出来，开始默默地挑选衣服。

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他说：“你介不介意我——”

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她什么都没说，崔维兹便将沈默解释为默许。他本想昂首阔步走进浴室，表现得像个健壮的男子汉，却又觉得很别扭，就像童年时不守规矩惹得母亲生气，而母亲并不处罚他，只是不再跟他说话，使他感到极为难过而沮丧。

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进了那问四壁光滑的小浴室之后，他四下望了望，发现里面空空如也，什么东西都没有。他再更仔细地检查一遍，仍然什么也找不到。

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他把门打开，伸出头说：“我问你，怎样才能打开淋浴？”

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她把体香剂（至少，崔维兹猜想它具有类似功效）放在一旁，大步走到浴室，仍旧看也不看他一眼，只是举起手来指了指。崔维兹的目光顺着她的手指望去，才看到墙上有个淡粉红色的圆点，颜色非常之淡，仿佛设计者不愿为了标示一个小小的功能，而破坏了那种纯白的美感。

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崔维兹陉陉耸了耸肩，向那面墙壁凑过去，伸手碰触那个圆点。想必那就是他该做的动作，因为下一瞬间，大蓬细碎的水花便从四面八方袭来。他大口喘着气，赶紧再碰一下那个圆点，水花立即停止。

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他打开门，知道自己看来一定更加狼狈，因为他全身抖得非常厉害，几乎连话都说不清楚。他以嘶哑的声音问道：“热水怎么开？”

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现在她终于正眼瞧他，他滑稽的模样显然使她忘了愤怒（或是恐惧，或是任何困扰着她的情绪），因为她噗嗤笑了出来，接着又突然冲着他大笑起来。

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“什么热水？”她说：“你以为我们会把能源浪费在洗澡水上？你刚才开的是暖和的温水，寒气已经除掉了，你还想要什么？你这个温室养大的端点星人！给我进去洗！”

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崔维兹犹豫了一下，不过只是一下而已，因为他显然没有其他选择。

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他心不甘、情不愿地又碰了一下那个粉红圆点，这次他已经有心理准备，咬紧牙关忍受着冰冷的水花。温水？他发现身上开始冒起肥皂泡沫，判断现在是“洗涤周期”　，而且猜想时间不会持续太久，于是赶紧把全身上下到处都搓了搓。

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接下来是“冲洗周期”，啊，真暖和——嗯，也许并非真的暖和，只不过没那么冷，但是对他完全冻僵的身体而言，已经算是非常暖和。不久水花突然停了——当时他正想将水关掉，还纳闷着李札乐是如何全身干爽地走出来的，因为这里绝没有毛巾或其他代用品。此时，突然出现一阵急速的气流，若不是各个方向的风力相当，他一定马上被吹得东倒西歪。

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这是一股热气，几乎可说太热了。崔维兹想，那是因为与热水比较之下，加热空气消耗的能源要少得多。热气很快将他身上的水珠蒸干，几分钟后，他已经全身乾爽地走出浴室，就像这辈子从没碰过水一样。

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李札乐似乎完全恢复了。“你觉得还好吗？”

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“相当好。”事实上，崔维兹觉得全身舒畅异常。“我唯一要做的就是洗冷水的心理准备，你没告诉我……”

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“温室里的花朵。”李札乐略带轻蔑地说。

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他借用了她的体香剂，然后准备穿衣服，这才发觉她有干净的内衣可换，而自己却没有。他说：“我应该怎么称呼——那个世界？”

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她说：“我们管它叫‘最古世界’。”

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他说：“我怎么知道刚才说的那个名字是禁忌？你告诉过我吗？”

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“你问过吗？”

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“我怎么知道该问？”

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“你现在知道了。”

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“我一定会忘记。”

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“你最好别忘。”

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“这有什么差别？”崔维兹火大了，“只是一个名宇，一些声音罢了。”

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李札乐以阴郁的语气说：“有些字眼是不能随便说的，你会随时随地说出你知道的每个字眼吗？”

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“有些字眼的确很粗俗，有些不适于说出口，有些在特殊场合会伤人。我刚才说……用的那个宇眼，属于哪一类？”

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李札乐答道：“它是个可悲的字眼，是个严肃的字眼。它代表我们祖先的世界，这个世界已不复存在。它很悲壮，我们感觉得到，因为它距离我们很近。我们尽量不谈到它，要是不得不提及，也不会说出它的名字。”

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“那么手指交叉对着我又是什么意思？这样能抚慰痛苦和悲伤吗？”

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李札乐涨红了脸。“那是反射动作，我是被你逼的。有些人相信那个字眼会带来不幸，甚至光是想想都会倒霉——他们就是用那个动作祛除霉运。”

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“你是否也柑信交叉手指真能祛除霉运？”

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“不相信——嗯，也可以说相信。我不那么做的话，心中就会感到不安。”她说话的时候，眼光一直避开他。然后她仿佛急于改变话题，马上又说：“你们那位黑发姑娘，对于你们寻找——你所说的那个世界，究竟有什么着要性？”

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“说最古世界吧，或是你连这个称呼部下愿意用？”

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“这件事我连谈部不想谈，但我已经问了你一个问题。”

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“我相信，她的祖先就是从最古世界移民到现在那个行星去的。”

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“跟我们一样。”李札乐骄傲地说。

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“可是她的族人拥有一些口传历史，她说那是了解最古世界的关键。但我们必须先找到它，才能研究它上面的纪录。”

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“她在说谎。”

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“或许吧，但我们必须查清楚。”

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“既然你有了这个女子，以及她那些不可靠的知识；既然你准备和她一起去寻找最古世界，为什么你还要来康普隆？”

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“因为我想找出最古世界的位置。我以前有个朋友，他跟我一样是基地人，不过他的祖先来自康普隆。他曾经肯定地告诉我，许多有关最古世界的历史在康普隆是家喻户晓的。”

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“他真这么说？他有没有告诉你任何有关它的历史？”

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“有，”崔维兹再次实话实说，“他说最古世界已经死了，上面充满放射性。他也不清楚为什么，伹他认为可能是核爆的结果，也许是在一场战争中发生的。”

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“不对！”李札乐吼道。

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“不对——是没有任何战争？还是最古世界没有放射性？”

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“它有放射性，但不是因为战争的缘故。”

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“那么它是如何变得具有放射性的？它不可能一开始就有放射性，否则根本不可能有任何生命存在——然而人类这种生物正是起源于最古世界。”

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李札乐似乎在犹豫，她笔直站着，呼吸沉着，几乎是在喘气。她说：“那是一种惩罚。它是使用机器人的世界之一——你知道什么是机器人吗？”

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“知道。”

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“他们使用机器人，因此受到惩罚。每个拥有机器人的世界都受到了惩罚，全都已经不复存在。”

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“惩罚他们的是谁，李札乐？”

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“是‘惩罚者’，是历史的力量，我也不确定。”她的目光又避开他，神情有些不安。然后，她压低声音说：“去问别人吧。”

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“我也希望能问别人，但我该找谁呢？康普隆有人研究过太古历史吗？”

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“有的，他们不受我们欢迎，我是指不受一般康普隆人的欢迎。可是基地——你们的基地，却坚持他们所谓的学术自由。”

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“我认为这个坚持很好。”崔维兹说。

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“凡是被外力强迫实施的，都是不好的。”李札乐回嘴道。

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崔维兹耸了耸肩。辩论这种题目好像没有任何意义，于是他说：“我的朋友袭洛拉特博士，他可算是一位太古历史学家。我相信他一定希望见见康普隆的同道，你能帮忙安排吗，李札乐？”

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她点了点头。“有个名叫瓦希尔·丹尼亚多的历史学家，寄身在本市的大学里。他没有开课，不过你们想知道的事，他也许都能告诉你们。”

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“他为什么没开课？”

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“不是政府不准，只是学生都不选他的课。”

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“我想，”崔维兹尽量避免透出讥讽的口气，“是政府鼓励学生不去选修他的课。”

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“学生为什么会想上他的课？他是个怀疑论者，到处都有这样的人，你知道的。总有些人喜欢跟一般的思想模式唱反调，而且这种人都十分高傲自大，以为只有自己的看法才正确，其他多数人都是错的。”

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“许多时候难道不正是这样吗？”

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“从来没有！”李札乐怒吼道，她的语气非常坚定，表示显然没必要就这个问题再讨论下去。“即使他死抱住他的怀疑论，他告诉你的答案，也注定和任何康普隆人说的完全一样。”

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“什么一样？”

108
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“就是如果你要寻找最古世界，你一定会无功而返。”

109
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在指定给他们的套房里，裴洛拉特仔细听完崔维兹的叙述，他又长又严肃的面容始终毫无表情。最后他说：“瓦希尔·丹尼亚多？我不记得听过这个名字，不过如果是在太空船上，我也许能从我的图书馆中找到他的论文。”

110
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“你确定没听说过这个人？好好想一想！”崔维兹说。

111
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“此时此刻，我实在想不起曾经听过这名字。”裴洛拉特十分谨慎地说：“但无论如何，我亲爱的兄弟，银河中稍有名望的学者，我没听说过或听过却记不起来的，少说也有奸几百个。”

112
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“话说回来，他不可能是第一流的学者，否则你一定听过。”

113
-

“研究地球——”

114
-

“练习说最古世界，詹诺夫，否则你会让事情变得更复杂。”

115
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“研究最古世界，”裴洛拉特又说：“在学术界不是个吃香的领域，因此第一流的学者，即使是钻研太古历史的一流学者，都不愿意涉足其间。或者，让我们换个说法，那些已经钻入这个领域的学者，不可能藉着一个大家都没兴趣的世界，使自己在学术界扬名立万，成为公认的第一流学者，即使他们当之无愧——譬如说，就没有人认为我是一流的，这点我相当肯定。”

116
-

宝绮思温柔地说：“在我心目中就是，裴。”

117
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“对啊，在你心目中当然不一样，亲爱的，”裴洛拉特淡淡一笑，“但你的评断并非根据我的学术成就。”

118
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谤据钟表所指的时间，现在已快入夜了。崔维兹又开始感到有点不耐烦，每当宝绮思与裴洛拉特打情骂俏之际，他总会有这种感觉。

119
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他说：“我会试着安排明天一起去见这位丹尼亚多，伹如果他知道的和那位部长一样少，我们就等于白跑一赵。”

120
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裴洛拉特说：“他也许能带我们去找对我们更有帮助的人。”

121
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“我可不信。这个世界对地球的态度——我想我最好也练习用拐弯抹角的称呼——这个世界对最古世界的态度是愚昧且迷信的。”他背过脸去，又说：“不过这实在是辛苦的一天，我们应该准备吃晚餐了——如果我们能接受他们那种平庸的烹饪术——然后再准备睡上一觉。你们两位学会如何使用淋浴设备了吗？”

122
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“我亲爱的伙伴，”裴洛拉特说：“我们受到很殷勤的款待，学到了各种设备的使用方法，大部分我们都用不着。”

123
-

宝绮思说：“我问你，崔维兹，太空船的事怎么样了？”

124
-

“什么怎么样？”

125
-

“康普隆政府要没收它吗？”

126
-

“不，我想他们不会。”

127
-

“啊，真令人高兴。他们为什么不会？”

128
-

“因为我说服了部长改变心意。”

129
-

裴洛拉特说：“真是难以置信，我认为她不像是特别容易被说服的人。”

130
-

宝绮思说：“这点我不清楚，不过她的心灵纹理显示，她被崔维兹吸引了。”

131
-

崔维兹突然气呼呼地瞪着宝绮思。“你那么做了吗，宝绮思？”

132
-

“你这话什么意思，崔维兹？”

133
-

“我是说干扰她的……”

134
-

“我没有干扰她。然而，当我注意到她被你吸引的时候，我忍不住扯断一两道心灵禁制。这是微不足道的一件小事，那些禁制自己也可能挣断；而确保她对你充满善意，则似乎是件很着要的事。”

135
-

“善意？不只如此而已！她的确软化了，没错，但却是在我们上床之后。”

136
-

裴洛拉特说：“你当然不是认真的，老友……”

137
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“为什么不是？”崔维兹气冲冲地说：“她也许不再年轻，但我向你保证，她精通此道，可不是个生手。我不会装出一副道貌岸然的样子，也不会为她掩饰什么。那是她的王意——这要拜宝绮思之赐，因为宝绮思拉断了她心灵的禁制——在那种情况下我根本无法拒绝，即使我想到应该拒绝，我也不会那么做，何况我并不想拒绝。得了吧，詹诺夫，别表现得像个清教徒，我已经好几个月没这种机缓笏，而你却有——”他朝宝绮思的方向随手挥了挥。

138
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“相信我，葛兰，”裴洛拉特尴尬地说：“如果你将我的表情解释为清教徒的反应，那你就误会我了，我根本一点都不反对。”

139
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宝绮思说：“但她却是个标准的清教徒。我本来只想让她对你热络点，根本没料到她会有性冲动。”

140
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崔维兹说：“但你引发的正是这种结果，爱管闲事的小宝绮思。在公开场合，部长也许必须扮演清教徒，那似乎只会使她的欲火更炽烈。”

141
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“而你若是搔到她的痒处，她就会背叛基地……”

142
-

“反正她本来就准备那么做，她想要那艘太空船——”崔维兹突然住口，又压低声音说：“我们有没有被窃听？”

143
-

宝绮思说：“没有！”

144
-

“你确定吗？”

145
-

“确定。以任何未经允许的方式侵入盖娅的心灵，而想不让盖娅发觉，是绝不可能的事。”

146
-

“这样就好。康普隆想要得到这艘珍贵的太空船——用来充实他们的舰队。”

147
-

“基地一定不会允许的。”

148
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“康普隆不打算让基地知道。”

149
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宝绮思叹了一口气。“这又是你们孤立体演出的闹剧。部长为了康普隆，本来准备背叛基地，结果为了回报一场鱼水之欢，立刻又准备背叛康普隆。至于崔维兹嘛，他很乐意出卖自己的肉体，用来引诱部长叛国。你们的银河根本是处于无政府状态，简直就是一团浑沌。”

150
-

崔维兹冷冷地说：“你错了，小姐……”

151
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“我刚才说话的时候，可不是什么小姐，我是盖娅，我是所有的盖娅。”

152
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“那么你错了，盖娅。我没有出卖肉体，我是心甘情愿地付出，我乐在其中，也没伤害到任何人。至于结果，就我的观点而言，其实是圆满收场，我愿意接受这一切。康普隆若是出于私心而想要那艘太空船，这件事又能说谁对谁错？它虽然是一艘基地的太空船，可是基地已经拨给我，作为寻找地球之用，在我完成这项任务之前，它都是属于我的，我想基地没有权利违背这项协议。至于康普隆，它不喜欢受基地的支配，梦想着要独立；站在它的立场，追求独立、欺骗基地都是正当的，因为这不是叛变的行动，而是爱国的表现。谁能说得清呢？”

153
-

“正是如此，谁能说得清呢？在一个无政府状态的银河中，如何能分辨合理与不合理的行为？如何判断是与非、善与恶、正义与罪愆、有用与无用？部长背叛她自己的政府，让你保留太空船，这个行动你要如何解释？难道是因为她对这个令人窒息的世界不满，而渴望个人的独立？她究竟是个叛徒，还是个忠于自己、追求自主的女人？”

154
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“老实说，”崔维兹道：“她愿意让我保有太空船，我不敢说只是为了感谢我带给她的快乐。我相信，在我告诉她我正在寻找最古世界之后，她才做出这个决定。对她而言，那是个充满恶兆的世界，而我们三个人，以及载运我们的太空船，由于从事这项探索，也都变成了恶兆。我有一种想法，她认为夺取那艘太空船的行动，已经为她自己以及她的世界招来厄运，现在她心中可能充满恐惧。或许她感到，如果让我们和太空船一块离开，继续进行我们的任务，就能使厄运远离康普隆，这可以算是一桩爱国之举。”

155
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“若是真如你所说的——虽然我很怀疑，崔维兹——那么迷信就成了行动的原动力。你认为这是好现象吗？”

156
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“我既不称赞也不谴责这种事。在知识不足的情况下，迷信总是会指导人们的行动。基地上上下下都相信谢顿计划，虽然我们没有人能了解它、解释它的细节，或是用它来进行预测。我们出于无知与信念，盲目地奉行这个计划，难道不也是一种迷信吗？”

157
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“没错，可能就是。”

158
-

“而盖娅也一样，你们相信我做了正确的抉择——盖娅应该将整个银河并成一个超大型有机体，但你们不知道我的选择为何正确、遵循我的决定有多保险。你们甘愿在无知与信念上层开行动，而我试图寻找证据，想帮助你们突破这个窘境，你们竟然还不高兴。这难道不是迷信吗？”

159
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“我认为这回他把你驳倒了，宝绮思。”裴洛拉特说。

160
-

宝绮思说：“没有，这次的寻找只有两个结果，若不是一无所获，便是找到支持他那个决定的佐证。”

161
-

崔维兹又说：“而你的这个信心，也只是靠无知与信念支持。换句话说，就是迷信！”

162
-

瓦希尔·丹尼亚多是个小蚌子，又生得一副小鼻子小眼睛，他看人的时候头也不抬，只是将眼珠向上一翻。这副尊容，再加上他脸上经常闪现的短暂笑容，使他看来像是一直在默默嘲笑这个世界。

163
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他的研究室柑当狭长，里面堆满磁带，看起来凌乱不堪。其实也不是真有多乱，而是由于磁带在架上排列得很不整齐，像是好几排参差不齐的牙齿。他请三位访客坐的三张椅子并非是一套的，而且看得出最近才掸过灰，却没有完全清理干净。

164
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他说：“詹诺夫·裴洛拉特，葛兰·崔维兹，以及宝绮思——我还不知道你的姓氏，女士。”

165
-

她答道：“通常大家就叫我宝绮思。”说完便坐下了来。

166
-

“哦，这就够了，”丹尼亚多一面说，一面对她眨眼睛。“你这么迷人，即使根本没有名字，也不会有人见怪。”

167
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大家坐定之后，丹尼亚多又说：“我久仰你的大名，裴洛拉特博士，虽然我们从来没通过信。你是基地人，对不对？从端点星来的？”

168
-

“是的，丹尼亚多博士。”

169
-

“而你，崔维兹议员，我奸像听说你最近被议会除名，并且遭到放逐，伹我一直不了解是为什么。”

170
-

“我没被除名，阁下，我仍是议会的一员，虽然我不知何时会再着拾权责。而且我也不算真的遭到放逐，而是接受了一项任务，我们希望向你请教的问题，就和这项任务有关。”

171
-

“乐于提供协助，”丹尼亚多说：“这位引人绮思的小姐呢？她也是从端点星来的吗？”

172
-

崔维兹立刻插嘴道：“她是从别处来的，博士。”

173
-

“啊，‘别处’ ，真是个奇怪的世界，那地方似乎专门出产最不平凡的人类。不过，你们两位来自基地的首都端点星，而这位又是年轻迷人的女郎，从来没人知道蜜特札·李札乐对这两种人有好感，她怎么会如此热心地把我推荐给你们呢？”

174
-

“我想，”崔维兹说：“是为了要摆脱我们。你越早协助我们，你知道的，我们就会越早离开康普隆。”

175
-

丹尼亚多看了崔维兹一眼，显得很感兴趣（又是一面眨眼一面微笑），然后才说：“当然啦，像你这样生龙活虎的年轻人，不论是打哪儿来的，都很容易吸引住她。她把冶冰冰的圣女这个角色演得不赖，可是并非十全十美。”

176
-

“这个我完全不清楚。”崔维兹硬梆梆地回道。

177
-

“你最好别知道，至少在公开场合。不过我是个怀疑论者，我的职业病使我不会轻易栢信表面的事物。说吧，议员先生，你的任务是什么？让我看看自己是否帮得上忙。”

178
-

崔维兹说：“这一方面，裴洛拉特博士是我们的发言人。”

179
-

“我没有任何异议。”丹尼亚多说：“裴洛拉特博士？”

180
-

裴洛拉特开口道：“用最简单的方式来说，亲爱的博士，我把成年后的所有岁月全部花在钻研一个特殊的世界上，试图洞察一切相关知识的基本核心，这个世界就是人类这个物种的发源地。后来我和我的好友葛兰·崔维兹一同被送到太空——不过实际上，我原来根本不认识他。我们的任务是要寻找，尽可能寻找那个——呃——最古世界，我相信你们是这么叫的。”

181
-

“最古世界？”丹尼亚多说：“我想你的意思是指地球。”

182
-

裴洛拉特下巴一松，结结巴巴地说：“在我的印象中……我是说，有人告诉我说，你们都不……”

183
-

他望向崔维兹，显然不知如何是好。

184
-

于是崔维兹接口道：“李札乐部长曾告诉我，那个名字在康普隆不能使用。”

185
-

“你是说她这样做？”丹尼亚多的嘴角下垂，鼻子皱成一团，然后使劲向前伸出双臂，双手的食、中两指互相交叉。

186
-

“对，”崔维兹说：“我正是那个意思。”

187
-

丹尼亚多收回手，大笑了几声。“愚不可及，两位先生。我们做这个动作只是一种习惯，在偏远地区的人也许很认真，不过一般人都下把它当一回事。康普隆人生气或受惊的时候，都会随口喊上一声‘地球’，我还从来没见过一个例外，它是我们这里最普通的一句粗话。”

188
-

“粗话？”裴洛拉特细声道。

189
-

“或者说感叹诃，随你喜欢。”

190
-

“然而，”崔维兹说：“当我用到这个字眼时，部长似乎相当慌乱。”

191
-

“喔，对了，她是个山区女人。”

192
-

“那是什么意思，阁下？”

193
-

“就是字面的意思，蜜特札·李札乐来自中央山脉，那里的孩子是所谓优良旧式传统培养出来的。也就是说，不论他们后来接受多好的教育，也永远无法让他们戒除交叉手指的习惯。”

194
-

“那么地球这两个字眼对你完全不会造成困扰，是吗，博士？”宝绮思问。

195
-

“完全不会，亲爱的小姐，我是个怀疑论者。”

196
-

崔维兹说：“我知道‘怀疑论者’在银河标准语中的意思，但你们是怎么个用法？”

197
-

“跟你们的用法一模一样，议员先生。我只接受具有合理可靠的证据而令我不得不接受的观念，但我仍然保持存疑，等待更进一步的证据出现。这种态度使我们不受欢迎。”

198
-

“为什么？”崔维兹说。

199
-

“我们在任何地方都不受欢迎。哪个世界的人会不喜欢安全熟悉、年代又久远的陈腐信仰——不论多么不合逻辑，而去偏爱令人心寒的不确定感呢？想想看，你们又是如何相信缺乏证据的谢顿计划。”

200
-

“没错，”崔维兹边说边审视着自己的指尖。“我昨天也举过这个例子。”

201
-

裴洛拉特说：“我可不可以回到原来的题目，老兄？有关地球的种种说法，哪些是一个怀疑论者可以接受的？”

202
-

丹尼亚多说：“非常少。我们可以假设，人类这个物种的确发源于单一行星。假如说这么相近的物种，相近到能偶配的秤谌，竟然发源自数个世界上，那是极端不可能的情形，甚至不会是在两颗行星上独立发展的。我们可以姑且将这个起源世界称为地球。在我们这里，一般人都相信地球存在于银河的这个角落，因为这里的世界特别古老，而最初的殖民世界想必比较接近地球。”

203
-

“地球除了是起源行星外，还有没有其他独一无二的特色？”裴洛拉特急切地问道。

204
-

“你心里是否有什么特定的答案？”丹尼亚多带着一闪即逝的笑容说。

205
-

“我想到了地球的卫星，有些人称之为月球。它应该颇不寻常，对不对？”

206
-

“这是个诱导性的问题，裴洛拉特博士，你可能正将一些想法灌输给我。”

207
-

“我没说月球有什么不寻常。”

208
-

“当然是它的大小，我说对了吗？没错，我想我说对了。所有关于地球的传说，都提到它拥有一大堆的物种，以及一颗巨大的卫星，直径约在三千到三千五百公里之间。一大堆的生命型态不难理解；如果我们所知的演化过程是正确的，生物演化自然会导致这种结果。但一颗巨大的卫星则较难令人接受，在银河中，没有其他住人世界具有这样的卫星，大型卫星总是伴随着不宜住人也无人居住的气态巨行星。因此，身为一名怀疑论者，我不愿意接受月球的存在。”

209
-

裴洛拉特说：“如果拥有几百万种物种，是地球独一无二的特色，难道它不能也是唯一拥有巨大卫星的可住人行星吗？一个唯一性可能导致另一个唯一陆。”

210
-

丹尼亚多微微一笑。“地球上存在的数百万种物种，如何能无中生有地创造一颗巨大的卫星，这我可真不明白。”

211
-

“但是将因果颠倒过来就有可能，也许一颗巨大的卫星有助于创造几百万种物种。”

212
-

“我也看不出有这个可能。”

213
-

崔维兹说：“有关地球具有放射性的故事，又是怎么一回事？”

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“那是个普遍的说法，大家也都普遍栢信。”

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“可是，”崔维兹说：“地球生养万物已有数十亿年的历史，当初它不可能具有那么强的放射性，否则根本不会有生命出现。它是如何变得带有放射性的？一场核战吗？”

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“那是最普通的解释，崔维兹议员。”

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“从你说这句话的态度，我猜你自己并不相信。”

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“没有证据显示曾发生过这样的战争。普通的说法，甚至为人普遍接受的说法，并不等于证据。”

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“还有可能发生什么其他变故？”

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“没有证据显示发生过任何事，放射性也许和巨大的卫星一样，纯粹只是杜撰出来的传说。”

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裴洛拉特说：“有关地球的历史，哪些故事是一般人所接受的？在我的职业生涯中，我搜集了大量有关人类起源的传说，其中许多都提到一个叫作地球的世界，或者用的是很接近的名称。但我没有搜集到康普隆上的传说，只发现有些资料中，模糊地提到班伯利这个名字。然而即使康普隆的所有传说都有这号人物，他也可能根本是杜撰出来的。”

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“这没什么好奇怪。我们通常不对外宣扬我们的传说，你能找到有关班伯利的参考资料，已经令我十分惊讶——这又是另外一个迷信。”

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“可是你不迷信，谈一谈应该没什么顾忌，是吗？”

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“说得对。”这位矮小的历史学家将眼珠向上扬，看了裴洛拉特一眼。“我要是这么做，一定会使我不受欢迎的秤谌暴增，甚至可能带来危险。不过你们三人很快就会离开康普隆，而我相信你们绝不会指名道姓引用我的话。”

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“我们以人格向你担保。”裴洛拉特立刻说。

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“那么以下就是理论上整个历史的摘要，其中超自然理论和软化的成分都已剔除——过去曾有一段无限久远的时间，地球是唯一拥有人类的世界，然后，大约在两万到两万五千年前，人类发明了超空间跃迁，进而发展出星际旅行，开始向其他行星殖民。

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“那些行星上的殖民者大量使用机器人。早在超空间旅行出现前，地球上就发明了机器人，而……对啦，你们知不知道机器人是什么？”

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“知道，”崔维兹说：“我们被问过不只一次，我们知道机器人是什么。”

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“在完全机器人化的社会中，那些殖民者发展出高等科技和超凡的寿命，因而开始鄙视他们的祖星。根据更戏剧性的说法，他们开始支配并压迫地球。

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“最后，地球送出另一批殖民者，这些人都将机器人视为禁忌。康普隆是这些新殖民者最早建立的世界之一，此地的爱国分子坚持它是最早建立的世界，可是没有任何证据支持这点，因此一个怀疑论者无法接受。后来，第一批殖民者灭绝了，接着——”

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崔维兹插嘴道：“第一批殖民者为什么会灭绝呢，丹尼亚多博士？”

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“为什么？在我们的浪漫主义者想像之中，他们是由于罪孽深着，遭到惩罚者的惩罚。至于袍为何等那么久，则没人追究。伹我们不必求助于这些神话，也很容易解释这件事。一个完全倚赖机器人的社会，由于极度单调无趣，或者说得更玄一点，失去了生存的意志，终究会变得孱弱、衰颓、没落而奄奄一息。

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“而舍弃机器人的第二波殖民者，则渐渐站稳脚跟，进而接掌整个银河。伹地球却变得带有放射性，因此渐渐退出银河舞台。对于这一点，通常的解释是地球上也有机器人，因为第一波殖民运动促进了机器人的发展。”

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宝绮思听到这里，显得有点不耐烦了。“好吧，丹尼亚多博士，不论地球有没有放射性，也下论有过多少波星际殖民运动，关键问题其实很简单——地球究竟在哪里？它的座标是什么？”

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丹尼亚多说：“这个问题的答案是：我不知道——不过嘛，吃中饭的时候到了，我可以叫人将午餐送来这里，我们就能一面用餐，一面讨论地球，随便你们想讨论多久都行。”

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“你不知道？”崔维兹说，他的声调与音量同时提高。

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“事实上，据我所知，没有任何人知道。”

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“但这是不可能的事。”

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“议员先生，”丹尼亚多轻叹了一声，“如果你硬要说事实是不可能的，那是你的权利，可是这样说对你一点帮助都没有。”

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送来的午餐是许多松软、外层裹着面皮的丸子，颜色有很多种，里面包着各式各样的馅。

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丹尼亚多首先拿起一样东西，摊开之后原来是一双透明的薄手套。他戴上手套，客人们也都有样学样。

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宝绮思说：“请问这里面包了些什么？”

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丹尼亚多说：“粉红色的里面包着辛辣鱼浆，那是康普隆的一大美食；这些黄色包的是清淡的干酪；而绿色的则是什锦蔬菜。你们一定要趁热吃，待会儿还有热杏仁派以及饭后饮料，我推荐你们暍热苹果酒。这里气候寒冷，我们习惯将食物加热，甚至甜点也不例外。”

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“你吃得不错嘛。”裴洛拉特说。

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“并不尽然，”丹尼亚多答道：“现在是因为在招待客人。我自己一个人的时候，吃得非常简单。我身上没有多少肉需要养，你们也许已经注意到了。”

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崔维兹咬了一口粉红色丸子，发觉的确有很着的鱼腥味，外面裹的那层辣面皮配上鱼肉相当可口。可是他也想到，这个味道再加上鱼腥味，将会整天挥之不去，他或许还得带着这些味道入梦。

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咬了一口之后，他发现面皮立即合上，把里面的馅着新包起来，根本不会有任何汁液溅漏。他突然觉得纳闷，不知道那副手套有什么作用。即使不戴手套，也不必担心双手会弄湿或变黏，因此他断定那是种卫生习惯。在不方便洗手的时候，可以用手套代替，演变到现在，即使已经洗过手，习惯上还是必须戴上手套。（昨天，当他与李札乐一同进餐时，她并未使用这种手套——可能由于她是来自山区的缘故。）

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他说：“午餐时间谈正事会不会不礼貌？”

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22Trevize felt almost drugged, and wondered how much time hadelapsed.

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Beside him lay Mitza Lizalor, Minister of Transportation. She was onher stomach, head to one side, mouth open, snoring distinctly. Trevizewas relieved that she was asleep. Once she woke up, he hoped she wouldbe quite aware that she had been asleep.

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Trevize longed to sleep himself, but he felt it important that henot do so. She must not wake to find him asleep. She must realize thatwhile she had been ground down to unconsciousness, he had endured. Shewould expect such endurance from a Foundation-reared immoralist and,at this point, it was better she not be disappointed.

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In a way, he had done well. He had guessed, correctly, that Lizalor,given her physical size and strength, her political power, her contemptfor the Comporellian men she had encountered, her mingled horrorand fascination with tales (what had she heard? Trevize wondered)of the sexual feats of the decadents of Terminus, would want to bedominated. She might even expect to be, without being able to expressher desire and expectation.

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He had acted on that belief and, to his good fortune, found he wascorrect. (Trevize, the ever-right, he mocked himself.) It pleased thewoman and it enabled Trevize to steer activities in a direction thatwould tend to wear her out while leaving himself relatively untouched.

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It had not been easy. She had a marvelous body (forty-six, she hadsaid, but it would not have shamed a twenty-five-year-old athlete) andenormous stamina a stamina exceeded only by the careless zest withwhich she had spent it.

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Indeed, if she could be tamed and taught moderation; if practice(but could he himself survive the practice?) brought her to a bettersense of her own capacities, and, even more important, his ,it might be pleasant to The snoring stopped suddenly and she stirred. He placed his handon the shoulder nearest him and stroked it lightly and her eyesopened. Trevize was leaning on his elbow, and did his best to look unwornand full of life.

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"I’m glad you were sleeping, dear," he said. "You needed yourrest."She smiled at him sleepily and, for one queasy moment, Trevize thoughtshe might suggest renewed activity, but she merely heaved herself abouttill she was resting on her back. She said, in a soft and satisfiedvoice, "I had you judged correctly from the start. You are a king ofsexuality."Trevize tried to look modest. "I must be more moderate.""Nonsense. You were just right. I was afraid that you had been keptactive and drained by that young woman, but you assured me you hadnot. That it true, isn’t it?""Have I acted like someone who was half-sated to begin with?""No, you did not," and her laughter boomed.

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"Are you still thinking of Psychic Probes?"She laughed again. "Are you mad? Would I want to lose younow ?""Yet it would be better if you lost me temporarily ""What!" She frowned.

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"If I were to stay here permanently , my my dear, how longwould it be before eyes would begin to watch, and mouths would begin towhisper? It I went off on my mission, however, I would naturally returnperiodically to, report, and it would then be only natural that we shouldbe closeted together for a while and my mission is important."She thought about that, scratching idly at her right hip . Then shesaid, "I suppose you’re right. I hate the thought but I supposeyou’re right.""And you need not think I would not come back," said Trevize. "I amnot so witless as to forget what I would have waiting for me here."She smiled at him, touched his cheek gently, and said, looking intohis eyes, "Did you find it pleasant, love?""Much more than pleasant, dear.""Yet you are a Foundationer. A man in the prime of youth fromTerminus itself. You must be accustomed to all sorts of women with allsoul skills ""I have encountered nothing nothing  in theleast like you," said Trevize, with a forcefulness that came easily tosomeone who was but telling the truth, after all.

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Lizalor said complacently , "Well, if you say so. Still, old habitsdie hard, you know, and I don’t think I could bring myself to trust aman’s word without some sort of surety. You and your friend, Pelorat,might conceivably go on this mission of yours once I hear about it andapprove, but I will keep the young woman here. She will be well treated,never fear, but I presume your Dr. Pelorat will want her, and he willsee to it that there are frequent returns to Comporellon, even if yourenthusiasm for this mission you to stay away too long.""But, Lizalor, that’s impossible.""Indeed?" Suspicion at once seeped into her eyes. "Why impossible? Forwhat purpose would you need the woman?""Not for sex. I told you that, and I told you truthfully. She isPelorat’s and I have no interest in her. Besides, I’m sure she’d breakin two if she attempted what you so triumphantly carried through."Lizalor almost smiled, but repressed it and said severely , "What isit to you, then, if she remains on Comporellon?""Because she is of essential importance to our mission. That is whywe must have her.""Well, then, what is your mission? It is time you told me."Trevize hesitated very briefly . It would have to be the truth. Hecould think of no lie as effective.

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"Listen to me," he said. "Comporellon may be an old world, even amongthe oldest, but it can’t be the oldest. Human life did notoriginate here. The earliest human beings reached here from some otherworld, and perhaps human life didn’t originate there either, but camefrom still another and still older world. Eventually, though, thoseprobings back into time must stop, and we must reach the first world,the world of human origins. I am seeking Earth."The change that suddenly came over Mitza Lizalor staggered him.

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Her eyes had widened, her breathing took on a sudden urgency, andevery muscle seemed to stiffen as she lay there in bed. Her arms shotupward rigidly , and the first two fingers of both hands crossed.

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"You named it," she whispered hoarsely .

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23She didn’t say anything after that; she didn’t look athim. Her arms slowly came down, her legs swung over the side of the bed,and she sat up, back to him. Trevize lay where he was, frozen.

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He could hear, in memory, the words of Munn Li Compor, as theystood there in the empty tourist center at Sayshell. He could hear himsaying of his own ancestral planet the one that Trevize was onnow "They’re superstitious about it. Every time they mention theword, they lift up both hands with first and second fingers crossed toward off misfortune."How useless to remember after the fact.

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"What should I have said, Mitza?" he muttered.

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She shook her head slightly, stood up, stalked toward and then througha door. It closed behind her and, after a moment, there was the soundof water running.

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He had no recourse but to wait, bare, undignified, wondering whetherto join her in the shower, and then quite certain he had better not. Andbecause, in a way, he felt the shower denied him, he at once experienceda growing need for one.

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She emerged at last and silently began to select clothing.

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He said, "Do you mind if I "She said nothing, and he took silence for consent. He tried to strideinto the room in a strong and masculine way but he felt uncommonly ashe had in those days when his mother, offended by some misbehavior onhis part, offered him no punishment but silence, causing him to shrivelin discomfort .

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He looked about inside the smoothly walled cubicle that wasbare-completely bare. He looked more minutely. There wasnothing.

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He opened the door again, thrust his head out, and said, "Listen,how are you supposed to start the shower?"She put down the deodorant (at least, Trevize guessed that was itsfunction), strode to the shower-room and, still without looking at him,pointed. Trevize followed the finger and noted a spot on the wall that wasround and faintly pink, barely colored, as though the designer resentedhaving to spoil the starkness of the white, for no reason more importantthan to give a hint of function. Trevize shrugged

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lightly, leaned toward the wall, and touched thespot. Presumably that was what one had to do, for in a moment a deluge offine-sprayed water struck him from every direction. Gasping , he touchedthe spot again and it stopped.

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He opened the door, knowing he looked several degrees more undignifiedstill as he shivered hard enough to make it difficult to articulatewords. He croaked , "How do you get hot water?"Now she looked at him and, apparently , his appearance overcame heranger (or fear, or whatever emotion was victimizing her) for she snickeredand then, without warning, boomed her laughter at him.

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"What hot water?" she said. "Do you think we’re going to wastethe energy to heat water for washing? That’s good mild water you had,water with the chill taken off. What more do you want? You sludge-softTerminians! Get back in there and wash!"Trevize hesitated, but not for long, since it was clear he had nochoice in the matter. With remarkable reluctance he touched the pink spot again and this timesteeled his body for the icy spray. Mild water? He foundsuds forming on his body and he rubbed hastily here, there, everywhere,judging it to be the wash cycle and suspecting it would not last long.

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Then came the rinse cycle. Ah, warm Well, perhaps not warm, butnot quite as cold, and definitely feeling warm to his thoroughly chilledbody. Then, even as he was considering touching the contact spot againto stop the water, and was wondering how Lizalor had come out dry whenthere was absolutely no towel or towel-substitute in the place thewater stopped. It was followed by a blast of air that would have certainlybowled him over if it had not come from various directions equally.

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It was hot; almost too hot. It took far less energy, Trevize knew,to heat air than to heat water. The hot air steamed the water off himand, in a few minutes, he was able to step out as dry as though he hadnever encountered water in his life.

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Lizalor seemed to have recovered completely. "Do you feel well?""Pretty well," said Trevize. Actually, he felt astonishinglycomfortable. "All I had to do was prepare myself for the temperature. Youdidn’t tell me ""Sludge-soft," said Lizalor, with mild contempt.

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He borrowed her deodorant, then began to dress, conscious of the factthat she had fresh underwear and he did not. He said, "What should Ihave called that world?"She said, "We refer to it as the Oldest."He said, "How was I to know the name I used was forbidden? Did youtell me?""Did you ask?""How was I to know to ask?""You know now.""I’m bound to forget.""You had better not.""What’s the difference?" Trevize felt his temper rising. "It’s justa word, a sound."Lizalor said darkly, "There are words one doesn’t say. Do you sayevery word you know under all circumstances?""Some words are vulgar, some are inappropriate, some under particularcircumstances would be hurtful. Which is that word I used?"Lizalor said, "It’s a sad word, a solemn word. It represents a worldthat was ancestor to us all and that now doesn’t exist. It’s tragic,and we feel it because it was near to us. We prefer not to speak of itor, if we must, not to use its name.""And the crossing of fingers at me? How does that relieve the hurtand sadness?"Lizalor’s face flushed. "That was an automatic reaction, and I don’tthank you for forcing it on me. There are people who believe that theword, even the thought, brings on misfortune and that is how theyward it off.""Do you, too, believe crossing fingers wards off misfortune?""No. Well, yes, in a way. It makes me uneasy if I don’t doit." She didn’t look at him. Then, as though eager to shift the subject,she said quickly, "And how is that black-haired woman of yours of theessence with respect to your mission to reach that world youmentioned.""Say `the Oldest.’ Or would you rather not even say that?""I would rather not discuss it at all, but I asked you a question.""I believe that her people reached their present world as emigrantsfrom the Oldest.""As we did," said Lizalor proudly.

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"But her people have traditions of some sort which she says are thekey to understanding the Oldest, but only if we reach it and can studyits records.""She is lying.""Perhaps, but we must check it out.""If you have this woman with her problematical knowledge, and if youwant to reach the Oldest with her, why did you come to Comporellon?""To find the location of the Oldest. I had a friend once, who, likemyself, was a Foundationer. He, however, was descended from Comporellianancestors and he assured me that much of the history of the Oldest waswell known, on Comporellon.""Did he indeed? And did he tell you any of itshistory?""Yes," said Trevize, reaching for the truth again. "He said thatthe Oldest was a dead world, entirely radioactive. He did not know why,but he thought that it might be the result of nuclear explosions. In awar, perhaps.""No!" said Lizalor explosively.

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"No, there was no war? Or no, the Oldest is not radioactive?""It is radioactive, but there was no war.""Then how did it become radioactive? It could not have been radioactiveto begin with since human life began on the Oldest. There would havebeen no life on it ever."Lizalor seemed to hesitate. She stood erect , and was breathing deeply,almost gasping. She said, "It was a punishment. It was a world that usedrobots. Do you know what robots are?""Yes.""They had robots and for that they were punished. Every world thathas had robots has been punished and no longer exists.""Who punished them, Lizalor?""He Who Punishes. The forces of history. I don’t know." She looked awayfrom him, uncomfortable, then said, in a lower voice, "Ask others.""I would like to, but whom do I ask? Are there those on Comporellonwho have studied primeval history?""There are. They are not popular with us with the averageComporellian but the Foundation, your Foundation,insists on intellectual freedom, as they call it.""Not a bad insistence , in my opinion," said Trevize.

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"All is bad that is imposed from without," said Lizalor.

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Trevize shrugged. There was no purpose in arguing the matter. He sald,"My friend, Dr. Pelorat, is himself a primeval historian of a sort. Hewould, I’m sure, like to meet his Comporellian colleagues. Can youarrange that, Lizalor?"She nodded. "There is a historian named Vasil Deniador, who is basedat the University here in the city. He does not teach class, but he maybe able to tell you what you want to know.""Why doesn’t he teach class?""It’s not that he is forbidden; it’s just that students do not electhis course.""I presume," said Trevize, trying not to say it sardonically , "thatthe students are encouraged not to elect it.""Why should they want to? He is a Skeptic . We have them, youknow. There are always individuals who pit their minds against thegeneral modes of thought and who are arrogant enough to feel that theyalone are right and that the many are wrong.""Might it not be that that could actually be so in some cases?""Never!" snapped Lizalor, with a firmness of belief that made itquite clear that no further discussion in that direction would be of anyuse. "And for all his Skepticism, he will be forced to tell you exactlywhat any Comporellian would tell you.""And that is?""That if you search for the Oldest, you will not find it."24In the private quarters assigned them, Pelorat listenedto Trevize thoughtfully, his long solemn face expressionless, then said,"Vasil Deniador? I do not recall having heard of him, but it may be thatback on the ship I will find papers by him in my library.""Are you sure you haven’t heard of him? Think!" said Trevize.

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"I don’t recall, at the moment, having heard of him," said Peloratcautiously, "but after all, my dear chap, there must be hundreds ofestimable scholars I haven’t heard of; or have, but can’t remember.""Still, he can’t be first-class, or you would have heard of him.""The study of Earth ""Practice saying `the Oldest,’ Janov. It would complicate mattersotherwise.""The study of the Oldest," said Pelorat, "is not a well-rewarded nichein the corridors of learning, so that first-class scholars, even in thefield of primeval history, would not tend to find their way there. Or,if we put it the other way around, those who are already there do notmake enough of a name for themselves in an uninterested world to beconsidered first-class, even if they were. I am notfirst-class in anyone’s estimation, I am sure." Bliss said tenderly, "In mine, Pel.""Yes, certainly in yours, my dear," said Pelorat, smiling slightly,"but you are not judging me in my capacity as scholar."It was almost night now, going by the clock, and Trevize felt himselfgrow slightly impatient, as he always did when Bliss and Pelorat tradedendearments.

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He said, "I’ll try to arrange our seeing this Deniador tomorrow,but if he knows as little about the matter as the Minister does, we’renot going to be much better off than we are now."Pelorat said, "He may be able to lead us to someone more useful.""I doubt it. This world’s attitude toward Earth but I had betterpractice speaking of it elliptically, too. This world’s attitude towardthe Oldest is a foolish and superstitious one." He turned away. "Butit’s been a rough day and we ought to think of an evening meal ifwe can face their uninspired cookery and then begin thinking ofgetting some sleep. Have you two learned how to use the shower?""My dear fellow," said Pelorat, "we have been very kindlytreated. We’ve received all sorts of instructions, most of which wedidn’t need."Bliss said, "Listen, Trevize. What about the ship?""What about it?""Is the Comporellian government confiscating it?""No. I don’t think they will.""Ah. Very pleasant. Why aren’t they?""Because I persuaded the Minister to change her mind."Pelorat said, "Astonishing. She didn’t seem a particularly persuadableindividual to me."Bliss said, "I don’t know. It was clear from the texture of her mindthat she was attracted to Trevize."Trevize looked at Bliss with sudden exasperation . "Did you do that,Bliss?""What do you mean, Trevize?""I mean tamper with her ""I didn’t tamper. However, when I noted that she was attracted toyou, I couldn’t resist just snapping an inhibition or two. It was avery small thing to do. Those inhibitions might have snapped anyway,and it seemed to be important to make certain that she was filled withgood will toward you.""Good will? It was more than that! She softened , yes, butpost-coitally."Pelorat said, "Surely you don’t mean, old man ""Why not?" said Trevize testily . "She may be past her first youth,but she knew the art well. She was no beginner, I assure you. Nor will Iplay the gentleman and lie on her behalf. It was her idea thanksto Bliss’s fiddling with her inhibitions and I was not in aposition to refuse, even if that thought had occurred to me, which itdidn’t. Come, Janov, don’t stand there looking puritanical . It’sbeen months since I’ve had an opportunity. You’ve " And he wavedhis hand vaguely in Bliss’s direction.

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"Believe me, Golan," said Pelorat, embarrassed, "if you areinterpreting my expression as puritanical, you mistake me. I have noobjection."Bliss said, "But she is puritanical. I meant to makeher warm toward you; I did not count on a sexual paroxysm."Trevize said, "But that is exactly what you brought on, my littleinterfering Bliss. It may be necessary for the Minister to play thepuritan in public, but if so, that seems merely to stoke the fires.""And so, provided you scratch the itch , she will betray theFoundation ""She would have done that in any case," said Trevize. "She wantedthe ship " He broke off, and said in a whisper, "Are we beingoverheard?"Bliss said, "No!""Are you sure?""It is certain. It is impossible to impinge upon the mind of Gaia inany unauthorized fashion without Gaia being aware of it.""In that case, Comporellon wants the ship for itself a valuableaddition to its fleet.""Surely, the Foundation would not allow that.""Comporellon does not intend to have the Foundation know."Bliss sighed. "There are your Isolates . The Minister intends tobetray the Foundation on behalf of Comporellon and, in return for sex,will promptly betray Comporellon, too. And as for Trevize, he willgladly sell his body’s services as a way of inducing the betrayal. Whatanarchy there is in this Galaxy of yours. What chaos ."Trevize said coldly, "You are wrong, young woman ""In what I have just said, I am not a young woman, I am Gaia. I amall of Gaia.""Then you are wrong, Gaia . I did not sell my body’sservices. I gave them gladly. I enjoyed it and did no one harm. As forthe consequences, they turned out well from my standpoint and I acceptthat. And if Comporellon wants the ship for its own purposes, who is tosay who is right in this matter? It is a Foundation ship, but it wasgiven to me to search for Earth. It is mine then until I complete thesearch and I feel that the Foundation has no right to go back on itsagreement. As for Comporellon, it does not enjoy Foundation domination,so it dreams of independence. In its own eyes, it is correct to do soand to deceive the Foundation, for that is not an act of treason to thembut an act of patriotism . Who knows?""Exactly. Who knows? In a Galaxy of anarchy , how is it possible to sortout reasonable actions from unreasonable ones? How decide between rightand wrong, good and evil, justice and crime, useful and useless? Andhow do you explain the Minister’s betrayal of her own government, whenshe lets you keep the ship? Does she long for personal independencefrom an oppressive world? Is she a traitor or a personal one-womanself-patriot?""To be truthful," said Trevize, "I don’t know that she was willing tolet me have my ship simply because she was grateful to me for the pleasureI gave her. I believe she made that decision only when I told her I wassearching for the Oldest. It is a world of ill-omen to her and we andthe ship that carries us, by searching for it, have become ill-omened,too. It is my feeling that she feet/ she incurred the ill-omen for herselfand her world by attempting to take the ship, which she may, by now,be viewing with horror. Perhaps she feels that by allowing us and ourship to leave and go about our business, she is averting the misfortunefrom Comporellon and is, in that way, performing a patriotic act.""If that were so, which I doubt, Trevize, Superstition is the springof the action. Do you admire that?""I neither admire nor condemn . Superstition always directs action inthe absence of knowledge. The Foundation believes in the Seldon Plan,though no one in our realm can understand it, interpret its details,or use it to predict. We follow blindly out of ignorance and faith,and isn’t that superstition?""Yes, it might be.""And Gaia, too. You believe I have given the correct decision injudging that Gaia should absorb the Galaxy into one large organism, butyou do not know why I should be right, or how safe it would be for you tofollow that decision. You are willing to go along only out of ignoranceand faith, and are even annoyed with me for trying to find evidencethat will remove the ignorance and make mere faith unnecessary. Isn’tthat superstition?""I think he has you there, Bliss," said Pelorat.

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Bliss said, "Not so. He will either find nothing at all in this search,or he will find something that confirms his decision."Trevize said, "And to back up that belief, you have only ignoranceand faith. In other words, superstition!"25Vasil Deniador was a small man, little of feature, with a way oflooking up by raising his eyes without raising his head. This, combinedwith the brief smiles that periodically lit his face, gave him theappearance of laughing silently at the world.

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His office was long and narrow, filled with tapes that seemed tobe in wild disorder , not because there was any definite evidence forthat, but because they were not evenly placed in their recesses so thatthey gave the shelves a snaggle-toothed appearance. The three seats heindicated for his visitors were not matched and showed signs of havingbeen recently, and imperfectly, dusted.

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He said, "Janov Pelorat, Golan Trevize, and Bliss. I do nothave your second name, madam.""Bliss," she said, "is all I am usually called," and sat down.

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"It is enough after all," said Deniador, twinkling at her. "You areattractive enough to be forgiven if you had no name at all."All were sitting now. Deniador said, "I have heard of you, Dr. Pelorat,though we have never corresponded. You are a Foundationer, are younot? From Terminus?""Yes, Dr. Deniador.""And you, Councilman Trevize. I seem to have heard that recently youwere expelled from the Council and exiled. I don’t think I have everunderstood why.""Not expelled, sir. I am still a member of the Council although Idon’t know when I will take up my duties again. Nor exiled, quite. Iwas assigned a mission, concerning which we wish to consult you.""Happy to try to help," said Deniador. "And the blissful lady? Isshe from Terminus, too."Trevize interposed quickly. "She is from elsewhere, Doctor.""Ah, a strange world, this Elsewhere. A most unusual collection ofhuman beings are native to it. But since two of you are from theFoundation’s capital at Terminus, and the third is an attractive youngwoman, and Mitza Lizalor is not known for her affection for eithercategory, how is it that she recommends you to my care so warmly?""I think," said Trevize, "to get rid of us. The sooner you help us,you see, the sooner we will leave Comporellon."Deniador eyed Trevize with interest (again the twinkling smile) andsaid, "Of course, a vigorous young man such as yourself might attracther whatever his origin. She plays the role of cold vestal well, butnot perfectly .""I know nothing about that," said Trevize stiffly.

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"And you had better not. In public, at least. But I am a Skepticand I am professionally unattuned to believing in surfaces. So come,Councilman, what is your mission? Let me find out if I can help you."Trevize said, "In this, Dr. Pelorat is our spokesman.""I have no objection to that," said Deniador. "Dr. Pelorat?"Pelorat said, "To put it at the simplest, dear Doctor, I have allmy mature life attempted to penetrate to the basic core of knowledgeconcerning the world on which the human species originated, and I wassent out along with my good friend, Golan Trevize although, tobe sure, I did not know him at the time to find, if we could,the uh Oldest, I believe you call it.""The Oldest?" said Deniador. "I take it you mean Earth."Pelorat’s jaw dropped. Then he said, with a slight stutter, "I wasunder the impression that is, I was given to understand thatone did not "He looked at Trevize, rather helplessly.

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Trevize said, "Minister Lizalor told me that that word was not usedon Comporellon.""You mean she did this?" Deniador’s mouth turned downward, his nosescrewed up, and he thrust his arms vigorously forward, crossing thefirst two fingers on each hand.

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"Yes," said Trevize. "That’s what I mean."Deniador relaxed and laughed. "Nonsense, gentlemen. We do it as amatter of habit, and in the backwoods they may be serious about it but,on the whole, it doesn’t matter. I don’t know any Comporellian whowouldn’t say `Earth’ when annoyed or startled. It’s the most commonvulgarism we have.""Vulgarism?" said Pelorat faintly.

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"Or expletive, if you prefer.""Nevertheless," said Trevize, "the Minister seemed quite upset whenI used the word.""Oh well, she’s a mountain woman.""What does that mean, sir?""What it says. Mitza Lizalor is from the Central Mountain Range. Thechildren out there are brought up in what is called the good old-fashionedway, which means that no matter how well educated they become you cannever knock those crossed fingers out of them.""Then the word `Earth’ doesn’t bother you at all, does it,Doctor?" said Bliss.

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"Not at all, dear lady. I am a skeptic."Trevize said, "I know what the word `skeptic’ means in Galactic,but how do you use the word?""Exactly as you do, Councilman. I accept only what I am forcedto accept by reasonably reliable evidence, and keep that acceptancetentative pending the arrival of further evidence. That doesn’t makeus popular.""Why not?" said Trevize.

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"We wouldn’t be popular anywhere. Where is the world whose people don’tprefer a comfortable, warm, and well-worn belief, however illogical,to the chilly winds of uncertainty ? Consider how you believe inthe Seldon Plan without evidence.""Yes," said Trevize, studying his finger ends. "I put that forwardyesterday as an example, too."Pelorat said, "May I return to the subject, old fellow? What is knownabout Earth that a Skeptic would accept?"Deniador said, "Very little. We can assume that there is a singleplanet on which the human species developed, because it is unlikelyin the extreme that the same species, so nearly identical as to beinterfertile, would develop on a number of worlds, or even on just two,independently. We can choose to call this world of origin Earth. Thebelief is general, here, that Earth exists in this corner of the Galaxy,for the worlds here are unusually old and it is likely that the firstworlds to be settled were close to Earth rather than far from it.""And has the Earth any unique characteristics aside from being theplanet of origin?" asked Pelorat eagerly.

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"Do you have something in mind?" said Deniador, with his quicksmile.

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"I’m thinking of its satellite, which some call the moon. That wouldbe unusual, wouldn’t it?""That’s a leading question, Dr. Pelorat. You may be putting thoughtsinto my mind.""I do not say what it is that would make the moon unusual.""Its size, of course. Am I right? Yes, I see I am. All thelegends of Earth speak of its vast array of living species and of itsvast satellite one that is some three thousand to three thousandfive hundred kilometers in diameter. The vast array of life is easyto accept since it would naturally have come about through biologicalevolution, if what we know of the process is accurate. A giant satelliteis more difficult to accept. No other inhabited world in the Galaxy hassuch a satellite. Large satellites are invariably associated with theuninhabited and uninhabitable gas-giants. As a Skeptic, then, I prefernot to accept the existence of the moon."Pelorat said, "If Earth is unique in its possession of millionsof species, might it not also be unique in its possession of a giantsatellite? One uniqueness might imply the other."Deniador smiled. "I don’t see how the presence of millions of specieson Earth could create a giant satellite out of nothing.""But the other way around Perhaps a giant satellite could helpcreate the millions of species.""I don’t see how that could be either."Trevize said, "What about the story of Earth’s radioactivity?""That is universally told; universally believed.""But," said Trevize, "Earth could not have been so radioactive as topreclude life in the billions of years when it supported life. How didit become radioactive? A nuclear war?""That is the most common opinion, Councilman Trevize.""From the manner in which you say that, I gather you don’t believeit.""There is no evidence that such a war took place. Common belief,even universal belief, is not, in itself, evidence.""What else might have happened?""There is no evidence that anything happened. The radioactivity mightbe as purely invented a legend as the large satellite."Pelorat said, "What is the generally accepted story of Earth’shistory? I have, during my professional career, collected a large numberof origin-legends, many of them involving a world called Earth, or somename very much like that. I have none from Comporellon, nothing beyondthe vague mention of a Benbally who might have come from nowhere forall that Comporellian legends say.""That’s not surprising. We don’t usually export our legends and I’mastonished you have found references even to Benbally. Superstition,again.""But you are not superstitious and you would not hesitate to talkabout it, would you?""That’s correct," said the small historian, casting his eyes upwardat Pelorat. "It would certainly add greatly, perhaps even dangerously,to my unpopularity if I did, but you three are leaving Comporellon soonand I take it you will never quote me as a source.""You have our word of honor," said Pelorat quickly.

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"Then here is a summary of what is supposed to have happened,shorn of any supernaturalism or moralizing. Earth existed as thesole world of human beings for an immeasurable period and then, abouttwenty to twenty-five thousand years ago, the human species developedinterstellar travel by way of the hyperspatial Jump and colonized agroup of planets.

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"The Settlers on these planets made use of robots, which had firstbeen devised on Earth before the days of hyperspatial travel and doyou know what robots are, by the way?""Yes," said Trevize. "We have been asked that more than once. We knowwhat robots are.""The Settlers, with a thoroughly roboticized society, developeda high technology and unusual longevity and despised their ancestralworld. According to more dramatic versions of their story, they dominatedand oppressed the ancestral world.

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"Eventually, then, Earth sent out a new group of Settlers, amongwhom robots were forbidden. Of the new worlds, Comporellon was amongthe first. Our own patriots insist it was the first, butthere is no evidence of that that a Skeptic can accept. The first groupof Settlers died out, and "Trevize said, "Why did the first set die out, Dr. Deniador?""Why? Usually they are imagined by our romantics as having beenpunished for their crimes by He Who Punishes, though no one bothersto say why He waited so long. But one doesn’t have to resort to fairytales. It is easy to argue that a society that depends totally on robotsbecomes soft and decadent , dwindling and dying out of sheer boredom or,more subtly, by losing the will to live.

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"The second wave of Settlers, without robots, lived on and took overthe entire Galaxy, but Earth grew radioactive and slowly dropped out ofsight. The reason usually given for this is that there were robots onEarth, too, since the first wave had encouraged that."Bliss, who had listened to the account with some visible impatience,said, "Well, Dr. Deniador, radioactivity or not, and however many wavesof settlers there might have been, the crucial question is a simpleone. Exactly where is Earth? What are its co-ordinates?"Deniador said, "The answer to that question is: I don’t know. Butcome, it is time for lunch. I can have one brought in, and we can discussEarth over it for as long as you want.""You don’t know ?" said Trevize, the sound of his voicerising in pitch and intensity .

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"Actually, as far as I know, no one knows.""But that is impossible.""Councilman," said Deniador, with a soft sigh, "if you wish tocall the truth impossible, that is your privilege, but it will get younowhere."

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