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基地系列:第二基地|Second Foundation

第二章 二人无骡|Chapter 2

属类： 双语小说 【分类】魔幻小说 -[作者: 艾萨克-阿西莫夫] 阅读：[15295]
《第二基地》是“基地”系列三部曲的最后一部。“谜”一般的第二基地的存在成了众矢之的，骡要铲除它，而第一基地的移民为了一个完全不同的理由也必须找到它，但是它究竟在哪里呢？这部故事就是各方人马找寻第二基地的传奇。骡倾全力寻找并铲除第二基地，却失败了。随后，基地人员也千方百计寻找第二基地，因为他们不愿把建立新帝国的功业拱手让人。谁也没想到，寻找的线索竟维系在一位小女孩身上。十四岁的艾嘉蒂娅怕得要死，她究竟发现了有关第二基地的什么秘密呢？
《 字+字- 行+行- 页+页- 字+字- 行+行- 页+页- 》
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星舰已经准备就绪，除了目的地之外，其他一切都已齐备。骡建议他们再到川陀去一次，因为这个如今早已衰亡的世界，一度曾经是众星之首，是历史上最庞大的帝国之都，是银河中独一无二的大都会。

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然而普利吉却否定了这项建议，因为那是一条老掉牙的路线，早就已经彻彻底底寻找过了。

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现在，他在导航室中碰到了拜尔·程尼斯。这个年轻人的一头卷发蓬乱得恰到好处，刚好只有一绺垂到前额——好像是仔细梳成那样的——甚至连他微笑时露出的牙齿，也都与发型配合得天衣无缝。不过这位刚毅的将军，却感到自己似乎对这一切都无动于衷。

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程尼斯的兴奋之情溢于言表，他说：“普利吉，这实在是太巧了一点。”

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将军冷淡地答道：“我不知道你指的是什么。”

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“哦——好吧，那么你拽过一把椅子来，老前辈，让我们好好谈一谈。我已经看过了你的笔记，我认为实在了不起。”

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“这……真是过奖了。”

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“但是我不知道，你是否也得到了我心目中的结论。你有没有试过用演绎法分析这个问题？我的意思是说，以随机的步骤搜索各个星体当然很好，为了执行这种搜索，你在过去五次的远征中，做了无数的星际跃迁，这是很明显的事情。不过，你是否计算过，照你这种进度，想要将所有已知世界搜完一遍，得花多少时间？”

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“算过，而且不止一次。”普利吉丝毫不愿与这个年轻人妥协，但是打探对方内心的想法，却是一件很重要的事——因为这是一个未受控制的心灵，根本无从预测。

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“好吧，那么，让我们试图分析一下，再决定我们真正要找的是什么。”

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“当然是第二基地。”普利吉绷着脸说。

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“是由心理学家组成的基地。”程尼斯纠正对方的话，又接着说：“他们在物理科学的发展上处于劣势，正如同第一基地在心理学上的成就不彰。哎，你是从第一基地来的，而我却不是，这话的含意对你而言或许很明显。我们要找的是一个由精神力量所统治的世界，可是这个世界的科学却非常落后。”

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“一定如此吗？”普利吉以平稳的语调问道：“可是，我们这个行星联邦的科学并不落后。虽然我们统治者的权力来源正是一种精神力量。”

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“那是因为有第一基地为他提供各种科技支援，”对方的回答带着轻微的不耐烦，“可是放眼银河，第一基地是如今惟一的知识之源。第二基地一定藏在银河帝国瓦解后的残躯中，那里不会有任何有用的东西剩下来。”

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“所以你就假设，虽然他们的精神力量足以统治若干世界，他们的物理科学却很拙劣。”

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“他们的物理科学并非绝对拙劣，跟周围退化的邻邦相较之下，他们仍有充足的自卫能力。然而，骡却拥有精良的核能科技，面对骡的下一波攻势，他们势必无法抵抗。否则的话，第二基地为什么要藏得那么隐秘？最初，它的创建者哈里·谢顿就讳莫如深，如今那些人仍然谨遵这个传统。你们的第一基地从来就不讳言自己的存在，也从来没有人想将它隐藏起来。即使在三百年前，当它还是一颗孤独行星上的一个不设防的单一城市之时，它也没有刻意要藏头缩尾。”

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普利吉阴郁面容上的线条抽动了一下，仿佛是在嘲讽对方。他说：“既然你已经做完了高深的分析，要不要我拿一张名单给你？那上面列着所有符合你所描述的政治蛮荒地带，并且还符合其他几个因素，包括各个王国、共和国、行星邦联，还有各种独裁政体。”

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“这么说，这些你都考虑过了？”程尼斯的口气没有表现出一丝软弱。

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“名单自然不在这里，不过我们做成了一份指南，囊括了‘银河外缘对角’的所有政治集团。说实在话，你认为骡真的会完全盲目地摸索吗？”

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“好吧，那么——”年轻人的声音变得中气十足，“‘达辛德寡头国’有没有可能？”

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普利吉摸摸耳朵，若有所思地说：“达辛德？哦，我想我知道那个地方，他们并不在银河外缘，对不对？我好像记得，他们位于距离银河中心三分之二处。”

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“没错，那又怎样？”

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“根据我们拥有的记录，第二基地应该在银河的另一端。天晓得，那可是我们惟一的线索。可是你为什么会提到达辛德呢？它与第一基地的角度差，仅介于一百一十到一百二十度之间，没有任何一处是接近一百八十度的。”

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“在你所谓的记录中，其实还提到了另外一点——第二基地的位置设在‘群星的尽头’。”

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“银河中从来没有这么一个地名。”

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“那也许是当地人用的名称，后来为了保密故意不让它流传出来，或者，也可能是谢顿那帮人取的名字。无论如何，‘群星的尽头’与‘达辛德寡头国’之间，的确应该有些关联，你难道不以为然吗？你到过那里没有？”

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“没有。”

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“可是在你的记录中，却曾经提到那个地方。”

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“那里？哦，没错，不过我们只是去补充食物和饮水，那个世界当然没有任何值得注意之处。”

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“你是在首都行星登陆的吗？我是说，政府的中枢？”

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“我不敢确定。”

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在普利吉的冷眼凝视下，程尼斯沉思了一会儿，然后说：“你愿意花一点时间，陪我一起去看‘透镜’吗？”

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“当然。”

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“透镜”也许是当时星际巡弋舰上最先进的设备。它其实是一台极为复杂的电脑，可以将银河任意一处所见的夜空景象，重现在一个立体大荧幕上。

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程尼斯调整着坐标点，并且关掉舱内的灯光。他的脸庞被透镜控制盘发出的微弱红光映得通红。普利吉则坐在驾驶座上，翘起一条长腿，面孔隐没在幽暗中。

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慢慢地，当暖机时间一过，荧幕上现出了许多光点。普利吉一眼就看出那是银河中心附近的星象，稠密明亮的群星紧紧聚集在一起。

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“这个，”程尼斯解释道，“是川陀所见的冬季夜空。据我所知，有一个很重要的关键，在你过去的搜寻行动中都被忽略了。任何一个明智的定向，一定都会拿川陀作原点。因为川陀是银河帝国的首都，除了身为政治中枢之外，它在科学与文化上更是全银河的中心。所以说，银河中的任何地名，十之八九都会以川陀作标准。此外，你也应该记得，虽然谢顿来自接近银河外缘的赫利肯，他所领导的研究却都是在川陀进行的。”

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“你到底想要说明什么？”普利吉以冰冷平板的声音问道，等于朝对方的热情浇下一盆冷水。

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“星云图会说明一切的，你看到那个黑暗星云没有？”程尼斯手臂的阴影把荧幕上的银河遮掩了一部分。他的手指指着一个微小的黑点，它看起来像是光网中的一个小洞。他解释道：“根据星云图的记录，它叫做贝洛星云。注意看这里，我要把影像放大。”

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普利吉以前也曾经看过“透镜影像”放大的过程，不过他仍旧屏息以待。这种感觉就像是凝望着星舰的显像板，而这艘星舰正穿越过银河中骇人的稠密星带，但却没有进入超空间。他看见群星向他们迎面扑来，从一个共同的中心四散纷飞；星光纷纷向外扑去，最后消失在荧幕的边缘；原来一些单独的光点，渐渐地一分为二，最后变作一团光球，朦胧的光带则分解成无数的光点。这些快速的影像变化，总是给人一种相对运动的错觉。

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程尼斯不停地解说着：“你可以注意到，这等于我们正由川陀沿直线飞往贝洛星云。所以事实上，我们所看的影像，一直维持着从川陀望向这个星空的方向。其中可能有一点误差，因为我并未将重力造成的星光偏折考虑在内。我手边没有数学工具能计算这个因素，不过我确定影响不会太大。”

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现在黑暗区域已经在荧幕上展开，当放大速率减缓时，可以看出星辰依依不舍地从荧幕的四周消失。而在那个逐渐变大的星云周围，突然涌现出许多明亮的星体。那是由于附近数立方秒差距的太空中，充满着钠与钙原子所构成的黯淡漩涡，将那些星体的光芒遮掩起来，因此只有在靠近时才看得见。

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程尼斯又指着荧幕说：“那个星域的居民，将这个地方称作‘星口’。这有很重大的意义，因为只有从川陀的方向看过去，它看起来才会像是一个嘴巴。”

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他所指的是那个星云中的一个裂隙，里面充满着闪耀的星光，参差不齐的轮廓看来仿佛是一个微笑的嘴形。“沿着星口，”程尼斯又说：“沿着星口向前走，星光越来越稀疏分散，就好像是进入了‘咽喉’。”

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荧幕中的影像又放大了一些，直到星云以星口为中心伸展开来，占据了整个荧幕，只剩下星口露出细微的光芒。程尼斯的手指默默跟着星口走，直到它陡然停止，然后手指又继续移动，一直滑移到一颗孤独的明亮星体，才终于停在那里。如果再往外走的话，就是一片完全黑暗的深渊了。

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“群星的尽头，”年轻不假加思索地说道，“星云在那儿变得稀疏，所以这颗星所发出的光线，能够向惟一的一个方向延伸——一路射向川陀。”

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“你想要告诉我……”由于无法置信，将军的话说到一半就打住了。

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“我不是想要说什么，就是达辛德——它就是‘群星的尽头’。”

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透镜随即被关上，室内的灯光重新亮起。普利吉大步冲到程尼斯面前：“你是怎么想到的？”

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程尼斯靠在椅背上，脸上现出诡异而为难的表情：“纯粹是偶然，我的确想将它归功于我的聪明，不过事实上真的只是巧合。无论如何，反正这个结论合情合理。根据我们手头的资料，达辛德是一个寡头政治国，统治了二十七个住人行星，但是它的科学并不发达。最重要的是，它是一个偏僻而隐匿的世界，在该星域的区域性政治中严守中立，也没有实行扩张主义。我认为，我们应该到那里去看一看。”

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“你向骡报告过这些吗？”

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“没有，我们也暂时不准备告诉他。现在我们已经身在太空了，马上就要进行第一次跃迁。”

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普利吉大吃一惊，赶紧跳到显像板旁。当他将焦距调整好之后，眼前的景象赫然是冰冷的太空。他目不转睛凝视良久，然后才猛然转过头来，而他的手已经下意识地摸到了坚硬、能带给他安全感的核铳把手。

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“是谁下的命令？”

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“报告将军，是我下的命令，”这是程尼斯第一次称呼对方的军衔，“当我对你滔滔不绝的时候，你也许没注意到星舰已在加速。因为当时我正将透镜的像场放大，你虽然感觉到了，却以为那是星体运动的影像引起的错觉。”

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“为什么？你究竟在做什么？你胡扯了一大堆关于达辛德的事情，到底有什么目的？”

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“我可没有胡扯，我的态度非常严肃认真，我们现在正朝那儿飞去。我会选在今天启程，就是因为我们原本预计三天之后出发。将军，你不相信有第二基地，可是我却深信不疑；你只是奉骡之命行事，自己完全没有信心，我却看出了有极度的危险。如今，第二基地已经积极准备了五年，我不知道他们究竟是如何准备的，但是，万一他们在卡尔根布置了特务呢？如果我的心里藏着第二基地的下落，很可能就会被他们发现，我的性命或许就会受到威胁。而我非常珍惜这条小命，纵使只有一丝一毫的危险，我都希望能够完全避免。所以除了你之外，没有任何人晓得有关达辛德的事，而你也是在我们进入太空之后才知道的。不过即使如此，我们还得顾虑舰员呢。”程尼斯又露出了嘲讽式的微笑，显然他已经完全掌握了局势。

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普利吉的手从腰际的核铳滑落，突然之间，一股模糊的不快向他袭来。究竟是什么使他不愿意采取行动？是什么使他变得优柔寡断？过去，当他效忠第一基地那个商业帝国的时候，他是一名充满叛逆性格、永远晋升不了的上尉。那时候，应该是他——而不是程尼斯——会对这种状况当机立断，毫不犹豫采取大胆的行动。难道骡真的说对了？他受控的心灵由于将服从摆在第一位，因而做事不再主动积极？

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他顿时感到意志消沉，陷入一种奇异的疲惫状态。

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他说：“做得好！可是从今以后，在你做出类似决策之前，一定要先跟我商量一下。”

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此时，闪动的讯号吸引了他的注意。

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“那是发动机室，”程尼斯随口说道，“我命令他们暖机五分钟，我还交代他们，如果发现任何问题要立刻通知我。你想留在这里吗？”

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普利吉默默地点了点头。随后，他想起了自己已经接近五十岁，遂在孤独中沉思着这个可怕的事实。显像板现在只映出稀稀落落的几颗星，而银河的主体则挤在一旁，看起来十分朦胧。如果自己能够解脱骡的枷锁，那该……他刚刚想到这个念头，就吓得赶紧打住了。

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轮机长哈克斯兰尼以锐利的目光，瞪着面前那位穿便服的年轻人。这个年轻人似乎很有权威的地位，还带着舰队军官特有的自信。哈克斯兰尼乳臭未干时就进了舰队，总是将权威与阶级划上等号，所以照理是不会将对方放在眼里。

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不过这个人却是骡亲自指定的，而骡所说的一切，自然没有任何讨价还价的余地。单凭骡的一句话，就使他连下意识都毫无怀疑。情感的控制将他深深地、牢牢地抓住。

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他半句话都没有说，只是将一个小小的卵形物体交给程尼斯。

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程尼斯接过来，用手掂掂它的分量，露出了迷人的笑容。

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“你是基地人，对不对，轮机长？”

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“是的，长官。在第一公民接收基地前，我曾经在基地舰队中服役十八年。”

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“你是在基地接受技术训练的吗？”

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“我是一名合格的一级技术员——安纳克瑞昂中央军校毕业。”

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“很好。这是你在通讯线路中找到的吗？就在我请你检查的那个地方？”

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“报告长官，是的。”

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“它是零件的一部分吗？”

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“报告长官，不是的。”

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“那么它到底是什么？”

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“报告长官，是一个超波中继器。”

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“你这么说还不够清楚，我可不是基地来的。它有什么作用？”

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“将这个装置放在星舰上，就可以在超空间中追踪这艘星舰。”

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“换句话说，我们不论走到哪里，都会被人跟上？”

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“报告长官，是的。”

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“好的。这是一种新近的改良型，对不对？它是由第一公民创建的研究院所研发出来的，是吗？”

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“报告长官，我相信你说的没错。”

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“而它的结构与功能都是政府的机密，对吗？”

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“报告长官，我相信你说的没错。”

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“可是它却跑到这里来了，真有意思。”

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程尼斯两只手来回将超波中继器扔来扔去，几秒钟之后，他才猛然将手向前一伸，同时说道：“你拿去，把它原封不动放回原处，懂不懂？然后忘掉这件事情，完全忘掉！”

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轮机长差一点就要行礼，却在最后关头硬生生地煞住。一个利落的转身之后，他就头也不回地离开了。

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星舰在银河中进行着一次又一次的跃迁，它的轨迹是群星之间一条稀疏的虚线。虚线之中的“点”，是它在普通空间中行进十至六十光秒的短程路径；而“点”与“点”之间许多秒差距的空隙，则是星舰在超空间中跃迁一次的结果。

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拜尔·程尼斯坐在透镜的控制盘前沉思，不禁对它兴起一股近乎崇敬的情绪。他不是基地人，对他而言，推动把手、启动开关这些事情，并不是一种从小就自然而然熟练的技能。

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然而，即使对于基地人而言，透镜也不是一种单调无聊的装置。在它不可思议的紧致体积之中，藏有数不清的电子电路，足以记忆数亿颗恒星精确的相对位置。此外，它还具有一项更惊人的功能，那就是能将“银河像场”的任何一部分，沿着任意的三度空间轴进行平移，也可以使像场绕着任何一个中心旋转。

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由于具有这些先进的功能，在星际旅行科技的进展中，透镜扮演了一个近乎革命性的角色。在星际旅行的早期，想要做一次超空间跃迁，必须先花一天至一周的时间进行计算——这其中大部分的时间，都花在计算船舰在银河中的准确位置。简单地说，就是至少要对三个相互距离很远的恒星，进行非常精确的观测，而这三颗恒星相对于某个银河坐标原点的位置，则必须都是已知的。

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而关键便在于“已知”这两个字。一个熟悉某个方位“星像场”的人，可以轻易分辨出其中每个星体，就像能叫出朋友的名字一样。然而，在跃迁了十个秒差距之后，却可能连母星的太阳都认不出来，甚至根本就看不见了。

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解决之道当然就是光谱分析，因为每个恒星的光谱都不尽相同，就好像是恒星的签名一样。数个世纪以来，星际交通工程学的主要课题，就是如何将更多恒星的光谱分析得更为仔细。随着星光光谱分析的发展，以及跃迁的准确度不断提升，银河旅行的标准航道逐渐建立起来。而星际航行也就从一门艺术，逐渐蜕变成为真正的科学。

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不过，即使拥有像基地这样的科技水准——船舰上配备精良的电脑，还能利用崭新的星像场扫描法来分析恒星的“星光签名”，但只要是在一个不熟悉的星域中，驾驶员有时也得花上数天的时间，才能找到三颗已知的恒星来计算船舰的位置。

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直到透镜发明之后，才使得一切完全改观。透镜的特色之一，在于只需要以一个已知恒星作为参考点；而另外一项特色，则是像程尼斯这样的太空生手也能操作自如。

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根据跃迁的计算，此时最接近而体积也够大的天体是凯旋星。现在，显像板中央已经显现出一颗明亮的星体，程尼斯希望它正是凯旋星。

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透镜影像的投影荧幕紧邻着显像板，程尼斯仔细地将凯旋星的坐标一个个键入，然后开启某个电驿，星像场立刻出现在荧幕上。荧幕中央也有一颗明亮的恒星，不过似乎与显像板上那颗没有明显的关系。于是他开始调整透镜，让星像场沿着z轴平移。接着他一面将画面放大，一面注意着光度计的读数，直到星像场中央的那颗恒星，其亮度与显像板中央的恒星完全相同为止。

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程尼斯又在显像板上选了另一颗恒星，当然也是一个够大够亮的星体，然后从星像场中找到了对应的影像。接下来，他开始缓缓旋转荧幕，一直转到与显像板相同的方位。不过，他却突然咧开嘴，露出不满意的表情，同时放弃了这个结果。然后他又再度旋转荧幕，选择了另外一颗亮星，却发现还是不对。他只好再做第三次尝试，这回他终于露出笑容，总算成功了。一个受过“相对位置判别训练”的专家，也许一次就能成功，但他只试了三次，这个成绩也相当难得了。

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最后剩下的工作便是微调。他先将星像场与显像板的影像重叠起来，起初看起来是不尽相符的一团朦胧，大多数的星体都呈现很接近的两个影像。不过，微调的过程并不需要太多时间，没多久所有星象都融合为一，变成了单一的清晰影像。现在，星舰的位置已经能够直接从刻度盘上读出来，整个过程还不到半个小时。

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程尼斯在汉·普利吉的寝室里找到他，这位将军显然正准备就寝。

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将军抬起头来问：“有什么消息吗？”

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“没有什么特别的消息，我们只要再做一次跃迁，就可以到达达辛德了。”

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“这我知道。”

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“如果你想上床，那我就不打扰你。可是我想问一下，我们在席尔搜集到的胶卷，你究竟有没有好好看过？”

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程尼斯所说的那个胶卷，如今摆在一个矮书架下层的黑色盒子中。汉·普利吉向那里投出一个轻蔑的目光，然后回答：“看过了。”

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“你有什么感想吗？”

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“我认为，即使过去曾经有任何与历史相关的科学，如今在银河系的这个区域，也已经几乎失传了。”

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程尼斯露出了尖刻的笑容：“我知道你这句话的意思，资料相当的贫乏，对不对？”

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“也不尽然，如果你对统治者的实录情有独钟，那又另当别论。我认为，这些东西无论如何都不会可靠。那些专注于个人事迹的历史，评价完全取决于作者的主观意识，好的可以抹黑，坏的也能够漂白，我发觉它一点用处也没有。”

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“但是里面提到了达辛德，我拿胶卷给你，就是想让你看看那些。这是我找到的惟一一件相关资料，其他的全都连提也没提。”

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“好吧，他们的统治者有好有坏，他们曾经征服了数个行星，打赢过几场战争，也吃过一些败仗，但是从来没有什么特殊的事迹。我认为你的理论并没有任何价值，程尼斯。”

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“可是你却忽略了一些重点，你难道没有注意到吗？这个世界从来就不曾与其他世界结盟，在那个挤满星辰的角落，他们始终置身于区域性政治之外。正如你所说的，他们曾经征服过数个行星，可是却能适可而止——而且没有吃过什么了不起的败仗。好像他们故意做得恰到好处，扩张到刚好足以自卫，却又不会引起注意的范围。”

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“非常好，”普利吉以毫无感情的语调回答：“我并不反对登陆，反正最坏的结果也只不过是浪费一点时间。”

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“噢，不对。最坏的结果是我们全军覆没——如果那里真的是第二基地的大本营。你别忘了，天晓得那个世界藏有多少和骡一样的人物。”

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“那你计划怎么做呢？”

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“先降落在某个不起眼的藩属行星上，尽可能搜集有关达辛德的一切，然后再见机行事。”

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“好吧，我没有意见。如果你不介意的话，我想要熄灯了。”

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程尼斯摆摆手，就径自离开了。

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这座漂浮在广袤太空的金属岛屿上，有一间小小的寝室立刻陷入了黑暗。不过，汉·普利吉将军仍然醒着，任由脑海里的思绪胡乱奔腾。

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假如他硬着头皮决定的每件事情都是对的——许多事实都已开始相互印证——那么达辛德的确就是第二基地，不可能会另有蹊跷，可是为什么？为什么呢？

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真的就是达辛德吗？一个平凡的世界？没有一点特出之处？只是帝国残骸中的一个贫民窟？断垣残壁之间的一个碎片？他还记得很清楚，每当骡提到昔日基地的心理学家艾布林·米斯——那个曾经（也许曾经）发现了第二基地秘密的人，总是会皱着眉头，连声音也变得有气无力。

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普利吉想起骡话语中的紧张情绪：“米斯好像突然被吓呆了，仿佛第二基地的秘密超乎他预料之外，跟他原先的假设完全背道而驰。我多希望能直接读出他的思想，而不是他的情绪。那些情绪是那么明显——尤其是那股压盖一切的惊愕。”

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惊愕是米斯情绪中的主调，他一定发现了难以置信的事实！而现在，则换成了这个男孩，这个老是笑眯眯的青年，他对达辛德充满信心，滔滔不绝地解释着最不起眼就是最不平凡的道理。而他一定没错，他的说法绝对是正确的。否则的话，天底下不会再有任何合理的事了。

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普利吉在进入睡眠状态之前，最后一丝清醒的意识是冷酷的得意。以太管旁边的那个超波追踪器仍在原处，他在一小时前还去检查过，而程尼斯对此则完全不知情。

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在评议会大厅的休息室中，几位发言者聚在一起——他们马上就要进入大厅，展开一天的工作——此时，两三个念头迅疾地在他们之间飞来跃去。

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“所以说，骡已经开始行动了。”

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“我也听说了。危险！太危险了！”

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“如果一切都依循既定的函数运作，就不会有什么危险。”

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“骡不是一个普通人——想要左右他所选定的傀儡，很难不被他察觉。受他控制的心灵更是不能轻易碰触，据说已经有几个被他发现了。”

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“没错，但我实在想不出有什么办法能够避免。”

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“未受控制的心灵比较容易对付，可是他手下的重要人物中，却很少有这样的人……”

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然后他们就走进了大厅，第二基地的其他成员则跟在他们后面。

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The ship was in near-readiness. Nothing lacked, but the destination. The Mule had suggested a return to Trantor ?the world that was the bulk of an incomparable Galactic metropolis of the hugest Empire mankind had ever known ?the dead world that had been capital of all the stars.

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Pritcher disapproved

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. It was an old path ?sucked dry.

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He found Bail Channis in the ship's navigation room. The young man's curly hair was just sufficiently disheveled to allow a single curl to droop over the forehead ?as if it had been carefully placed there ?and even teeth showed in a smile that matched it. Vaguely , the stiff officer felt himself harden against the other.

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Channis' excitement was evident, "Pritcher, it's too far a coincidence."

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The general said coldly: "I抦 not aware of the subject of conversation."

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"Oh?Well, then drag up a chair, old man, and let抯 get into it. I've been going over your notes. I find them excellent."

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"How ... pleasant that you do."

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"But I抦 wondering if you've come to the conclusions I have. Have you ever tried analyzing the problem deductively? I mean, it's all very well to comb the stars at random , and to have done all you did in five expeditions is quite a bit of star-hopping. That's obvious. But have you calculated how long it would take to go through every known world at this rate?"

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"Yes. Several times," Pritcher felt no urge to meet the young man halfway , but there was the importance of filching the other's mind ?the other's uncontrolled, and hence, unpredictable, mind.

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"Well, then, suppose we're analytical about it and try to decide just what we're looking for?"

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"The Second Foundation," said Pritcher, grimly.

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"A Foundation of psychologists," corrected Channis, "who are is weak in physical science as the First Foundation was weak in psychology . Well, you're from the First Foundation, which I'm not. The implications are probably obvious to you. We must find a world which rules by virtue of mental skills, and yet which is very backwards scientifically."

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"Is that necessarily so?" questioned Pritcher, quietly. "Our own 慤nion of Worlds' isn't backwards scientifically, even though our ruler owes his strength to his mental powers."

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"Because he has the skills of the First Foundation to draw upon," came the slightly impatient answer, "and that is the only such reservoir of knowledge in the Galaxy . The Second Foundation must live among the dry crumbs of the broken Galactic Empire. There are no pickings there."

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"So then you postulate mental power sufficient to establish their rule over a group of worlds and physical helplessness as well?"

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"Comparative physical helplessness. Against the decadent neighboring areas, they are competent to defend themselves. Against the resurgent forces of the Mule, with his background of a mature atomic economy, they cannot stand. Else, why is their location so well-hidden, both at the start by the founder , Hari Seldon, and now by themselves. Your own First Foundation made no secret of its existence and did not have it made for them, when they were an undefended single city on a lonely planet three hundred years ago."

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The smooth lines of Pritcher's dark face twitched sardonically

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. 'And now that you've finished your deep analysis, would you like a list of all the kingdoms, republics, planet states and dictatorships of one sort or another in that political wilderness out there that correspond to your description and to several factors besides?"

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"All this has been considered then?" Channis lost none of his brashness.

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"You won't find it here, naturally, but we have a completely worked out guide to the political units of the Opposing Periphery . Really, did you suppose the Mule would work entirely hit-and-miss?"

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"Well, then" and the young man's voice rose in a burst of energy, "what of the Oligarchy of Tazenda?"

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Pritcher touched his ear thoughtfully, "Tazenda? Oh, I think I know it. They're not in the Periphery, are they? It seems to me they're fully a third of the way towards the center of the Galaxy."

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"Yes. What of that?"

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"The records we have place the Second Foundation at the other end of the Galaxy. Space knows it's the only thing we have to go on. Why talk of Tazenda anyway? Its angular deviation from the First Foundation radian is only about one hundred ten to one hundred twenty degrees anyway. Nowhere near one hundred eighty."

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"There's another point in the records. The Second Foundation was established at 'Star's End.'"

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"No such region in the Galaxy has ever been located."

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"Because it was a local name, suppressed later for greater secrecy . Or maybe one invented for the purpose by Seldon and his group. Yet there's some relationship between 'Star's End' and 'Tazenda,?don't you think?"

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"A vague similarity in sound? Insufficient ."

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'Have you ever been there?"

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"No."

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"Yet it is mentioned in your records."

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"Where? Oh, yes, but that was merely to take on food and water. There was certainly nothing remarkable about the world."

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"Did you land at the ruling planet? The center of government?"

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"I couldn't possibly say."

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Channis brooded about it under the other's cold gaze. Then, "Would you look at the Lens with me for a moment?"

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"Certainly."

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The Lens was perhaps the newest feature of the interstellar cruisers of the day. Actually, it was a complicated calculating machine which could throw on a screen a reproduction of the night sky as seen from any given point of the Galaxy.

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Channis adjusted the co-ordinate points and the wall lights of the pilot room were extinguished. In the dim red light at the control board of the Lens, Channis' face glowed ruddily. Pritcher sat in the pilot seat, long legs crossed, face lost in the gloom.

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Slowly, as the induction period passed, the points of light brightened on the screen. And then they were thick and bright with the generously populated star-groupings of the Galaxy's center.

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"This," explained Channis, "is the winter night-sky as seen from Trantor. That is the important point that, as far as I know, has been neglected so far in your search. All intelligent orientation must start from Trantor as zero point. Trantor was the capital of the Galactic Empire. Even more so scientifically and culturally, than politically. And, therefore, the significance of any descriptive name should stem, nine times out of ten, from a Trantorian orientation. You'll remember in this connection that, although Seldon was from Helicon, towards the Periphery, his group worked on Trantor itself."

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"What is it you're trying to show me?" Pritcher's level voice plunged icily into the gathering enthusiasm of the other.

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"The map will explain it. Do you see the dark nebula ?" The shadow of his arm fell upon the screen, which took on the bespanglement of the Galaxy. The pointing finger ended on a tiny patch of black that seemed a hole in the speckled fabric of light. "The stellagraphical records call it Pelot's Nebula. Watch it. I'm going to expand the image."

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Pritcher had watched the phenomenon of Lens Image expansion before but he still caught his breath. It was like being at the visiplate of a spaceship storming through a horribly crowded Galaxy without entering hyperspace. The stars diverged towards them from a common center, flared outwards and tumbled off the edge of the screen. Single points became double, then globular. Hazy patches dissolved into myriad points. And always that illusion of motion.

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Channis spoke through it all, "You'll notice that we are moving along the direct line from Trantor to Pelot's Nebula, so that in effect we are still looking at a stellar orientation equivalent to that of Trantor. There is probably a slight error because of the gravitic deviation of light that I haven't the math to calculate for, but I'm sure it can't be significant."

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The darkness was spreading over the screen. As the rate of magnification slowed, the stars slipped off the four ends of the screen in a regretful leave-taking. At the rims of the growing nebula, the brilliant universe of stars shone abruptly in token for that light which was merely hidden behind the swirling unradiating atom fragments of sodium and calcium that filled cubic parsecs of space.

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And Channis pointed again, "This has been called 'The Mouth' by the inhabitants of that region of space. And that is significant because it is only from the Trantorian orientation that it looks like a mouth." What he indicated was a rift in the body of the Nebula, shaped like a ragged , grinning mouth in profile, outlined by the glazing glory of the starlight with which it was filled.

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"Follow The Mouth.'" said Channis. "Follow 'The Mouth' towards the gullet as it narrows down to a thin, splintering line of light.

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Again the screen expanded a trifle, until the Nebula stretched away from "The Mouth" to block off all the screen but that narrow trickle and Channis' finger silently followed it down, to where it straggled to a halt, and then, as his finger continued moving onward , to a spot where one single star sparked lonesomely; and there his finger halted, for beyond that was blackness, unrelieved.

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"'Star's End,'" said the young man, simply. "The fabric of the Nebula is thin there and the light of that one star finds its way through in just that one direction ?to shine on Trantor."

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"You're tying to tell me that? the voice of the Mule's general died in suspicion.

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"I'm not trying. That is Tazenda ?Star's End."

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The lights went on. The Lens flicked off. Pritcher reached Channis in three long strides, "What made you think of this?"

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And Channis leaned back in his chair with a queerly puzzled expression on his face. "It was accidental. I'd like to take intellectual credit for this, but it was only accidental. In any case, however it happens, it fits. According to our references, Tazenda is an oligarchy. It rules twenty-seven inhabited planets. It is not advanced scientifically. And most of all, it is an obscure world that has adhered to a strict neutrality in the local politics of that stellar region, and is not expansionist. I think we ought to see it."

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"Have you informed the Mule of this?"

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"No. Nor shall we. We're in space now, about to make the first hop ."

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Pritcher, in sudden horror, sprang to the visiplate. Cold space met his eyes when he adjusted it. He gazed fixedly at the view, then turned. Automatically, his hand reached for the hard, comfortable curve of the butt of his blaster.

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"By whose order?"

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"By my order, general"?it was the first time Channis had ever used the other's title ?while I was engaging you here. You probably felt no acceleration , because it came at the moment I was expanding the field of the Lens and you undoubtedly imagined it to be an illusion of the apparent star motion."

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"Why? Just what are you doing? What was the point of your nonsense about Tazenda, then?"

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"That was no nonsense. I was completely serious. We're going there. We left today because we were scheduled to leave three days from now. General, you don't believe there is a Second Foundation, and I do. You are merely following the Mule's orders without faith; I recognize a serious danger. The Second Foundation has now had five years to prepare. How they've prepared, I don't know, but what if they have agents on Kalgan. If I carry about in my mind the knowledge of the whereabouts of the Second Foundation, they may discover that. My life might be no longer safe, and I have a great affection for my life. Even on a thin and remote possibility such as that, I would rather play safe. So no one knows of Tazenda but you, and you found out only after we were out in space. And even so, there is the question of the crew." Channis was smiling again, ironically, in obviously complete control of the situation.

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Pritcher's hand fell away from his blaster, and for a moment a vague discomfort pierced him. What kept him from action? What deadened him? There was a time when he was a rebellious and unpromoted captain of the First Foundation's commercial empire, when it would have been himself rather than Channis who would have taken prompt and daring action such as that. Was the Mule right? Was his controlled mind so concerned with obedience as to lose initiative? He felt a thickening despondency drive him down into a strange lassitude.

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He said, "Well done! However, you will consult me in the future before making decisions of this nature."

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The flickering signal caught his attention.

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"That's the engine room," said Channis, casually . "They warmed up on five minutes' notice and I asked them to let me know if there was any trouble. Want to hold the fort?"

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Pritcher nodded mutely, and cogitated in the sudden loneliness on the evils of approaching fifty. The visiplate was sparsely starred. The main body of the Galaxy misted one end. What if he were free of the Mule's influence?

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But he recoiled in horror at the thought.

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Chief Engineer Huxlani looked sharply at the young, ununiformed man who carried himself with the assurance of a Fleet officer and seemed to be in a position of authority. Huxlani, as a regular Fleet man from the days his chin had dripped milk, generally confused authority with specific insignia.

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But the Mule had appointed this man, and the Mule was, of course, the last word. The only word for that matter. Not even subconsciously did he question that. Emotional control went deep.

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He handed Channis the little oval object without a word.

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Channis hefted it, and smiled engagingly.

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"You're a Foundation man, aren't you, chief?"

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"Yes, sir. I served in the Foundation Fleet eighteen years before the First Citizen took over."

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"Foundation training in engineering?"

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" Qualified Technician, First Class ?Central School on Anacreon."

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"Good enough. And you found this on the communication circuit, where I asked you to look?"

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"Yes, Sir."

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"Does it belong there?"

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"No, Sir."

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"Then what is it?"

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"A hypertracer, sir."

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"That's not enough. I'm not a Foundation man. What is it?"

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"It's a device to allow the ship to be traced through hyperspace."

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"In other words we can be followed anywhere."

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"Yes, Sir."

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"All right. It's a recent invention, isn't it? It was developed by one of the Research Institutes set up by the First Citizen, wasn't it?"

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"I believe so, Sir."

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"And its workings are a government secret. Right?"

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"I, believe so, Sir."

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"Yet here it is. Intriguing ."

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Channis tossed the hypertracer methodically from hand to hand for a few seconds. Then, sharply, he held it out, "Take it, then, and put it back exactly where you found it and exactly how you found it. Understand? And then forget this incident. Entirely!"

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The chief choked down his near-automatic salute , turned sharply and left.

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The ship bounded through the Galaxy, its path a wide-spaced dotted line through the stars. The dots, referred to, were the scant stretches of ten to sixty light-seconds spent in normal space and between them stretched the hundred-and-up light-year gaps that represented the " hops " through hyperspace.

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Bail Channis sat at the control panel of the Lens and felt again the involuntary surge of near-worship at the contemplation of it.

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He was not a Foundation man and the interplay of forces at the twist of a knob or the breaking of a contact was not second nature to him.

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Not that the Lens ought quite to bore even a Foundation man. Within its unbelievably compact body were enough electronic circuits to pin- point accurately a hundred million separate stars in exact relationship to each other. And as if that were not a feat in itself, it was further capable of translating any given portion of the Galactic Field along any of the three spatial axes or to rotate any portion of the Field about a center.

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It was because of that, that the Lens had performed a near-revolution in interstellar travel. In the younger days of interstellar travel, the calculation of each "hop" through hyperspace meant any amount of work from a day to a week ?and the larger portion of such work was the more or less precise calculation of "Ship's Position" on the Galactic scale of reference. Essentially that meant the accurate observation of at least three widely-spaced stars, the position of which, with reference to the arbitrary Galactic triple-zero, were known.

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And it is the word "known," that is the catch. To any who know the star field well from one certain reference point, stars are as individual as people. Jump ten parsecs, however, and not even your own sun is recognizable. It may not even be visible.

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The answer was, of course, spectroscopic analysis. For centuries, the main object of interstellar engineering was the analysis of the "light signature" of more and more stars in greater and greater detail. With this, and the growing precision of the "hop" itself, standard routes of travel through the Galaxy were adopted and interstellar travel became less of an art and more of a science.

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And yet, even under the Foundation with improved calculating machines and a new method of mechanically scanning the star field for a known "light signature," it sometimes took days to locate three stars and then calculate position in regions not previously familiar to the pilot.

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It was the Lens that changed all that. For one thing it required only a single known star. For another, even a space tyro such as Channis could operate it.

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The nearest sizable star at the moment was Vincetori, according to "hop" calculations, and on the visiplate now, a bright star was centered. Channis hoped that it was Vincetori.

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The field screen of the Lens was thrown directly next that of the visiplate and with careful fingers, Channis punched out the co-ordinates of Vincetori. He closed a relay, and the star field sprang to bright view. In it, too, a bright star was centered, but otherwise there seemed no relationship. He adjusted the Lens along the Z-Axis and expanded the Field to where the photometer showed both centered stars to be of equal brightness.

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Channis looked for a second star, sizably bright, on the visiplate and found one on the field screen to correspond. Slowly, he rotated the screen to similar angular deflection. He twisted his mouth and rejected the result with a grimace . Again he rotated and another bright star was brought into position, and a third. And then he grinned. That did it. Perhaps a specialist with trained relationship perception might have clicked first try, but he'd settle for three.

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That was the adjustment. In the final step, the two fields overlapped and merged into a sea of not-quite-rightness. Most of the stars were close doubles. But the fine adjustment did not take long. The double stars melted together, one field remained, and the "Ship's Position" could now be read directly off the dials. The entire procedure had taken less than half an hour.

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Channis found Han Pritcher in his private quarters. The general was quite apparently preparing for bed. He looked up.

106

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"News?"

107

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"Not particularly. We抣l be at Tazenda in another hop."

108

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"I know."

109

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"I don't want to bother you if you're turning in, but have you looked through the film we picked up in Cil?"

110

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Han Pritcher cast a disparaging look at the article in question, where it lay in its black case upon his low bookshelf, "Yes."

111

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"And what do you think?"

112

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"I think that if there was ever any science to History, it has been quite lost in this region of the Galaxy."

113

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Channis grinned broadly, "I know what you mean. Rather barren, isn't it?"

114

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"Not if you enjoy personal chronicles of rulers. Probably unreachable, I should say, in both directions. Where history concerns mainly personalities , the drawings become either black or white according to the interests of the writer. I find it all remarkably useless."

115

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"But there is talk about Tazenda. That's the point I tried to make when I gave you the film. It's the only one I could find that even mentioned them."

116

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"All right. They have good rulers and bad. They've conquered a few planets, won some battles, lost a few. There is nothing distinctive about them. I don't think much of your theory, Channis."

117

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"But you've missed a few points. Didn't you notice that they never formed coalitions ? They always remained completely outside the politics of this corner of the star swarm . As you say, they conquered a few planets, but then they stopped ?and that without any startling defeat of consequence. It's just as if they spread out enough to protect themselves, but not enough to attract attention."

118

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"Very well," came the unemotional response. "I have no objection to landing. At the worst ?a little lost time."

119

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"Oh, no. At the worst ?complete defeat. If it is the Second Foundation. Remember it would be a world of space-knows-how-many Mules ."

120

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"What do you plan to do?"

121

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"Land on some minor subject planet. Find out as much as we can about Tazenda first, then improvise from that."

122

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"All right. No objection. If you don't mind now, I would like the light out."

123

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Channis left with a wave of his hand.

124

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And in the darkness of a tiny room in an island of driving metal lost in the vastness of space, General Han Pritcher remained awake, following the thoughts that led him through such fantastic reaches.

125

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If everything he had so painfully decided were true ?and how all the facts were beginning to fit ?then Tazenda was the Second Foundation. There was no way out. But how? How?

126

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Could it be Tazenda? An ordinary world? One without distinction? A slum lost amid the wreckage of an Empire? A splinter among the fragments? He remembered, as from a distance, the Mule's shriveled face and his thin voice as he used to speak of the old Foundation psychologist, Ebling Mis, the one man who had ?maybe ?learned the secret of the Second Foundation.

127

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Pritcher recalled the tension of the Mule's words: "It was as if astonishment had overwhelmed Mis. It was as though something about the Second Foundation had surpassed all his expectations, had driven in a direction completely different from what he might have assumed. If I could only have read his thoughts rather than his emotions. Yet the emotions were plain ?and above everything else was this vast surprise."

128

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Surprise was the keynote. Something supremely astonishing! And now came this boy, this grinning youngster, glibly joyful about Tazenda and its undistinguished subnormality. And he had to be right. He had to. Otherwise, nothing made sense.

129

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Pritcher's last conscious thought had a touch of grimness. That hypertracer along the Etheric tube was still there. He had checked it one hour back, with Channis well out of the way.

130

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SECOND INTERLUDE It was a casual meeting in the anteroom of the Council Chamber ?just a few moments before passing into the Chamber to take up the business of the day ?and the few thoughts flashed back and forth quickly.

131

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"So the Mule is on his way."

132

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"That's what I hear, too. Risky !

133

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Mighty risky!"

134

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"Not if affairs adhere to the functions set up."

135

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"The Mule is not an ordinary man ?and it is difficult to manipulate his chosen instruments without detection by him. The controlled minds are difficult to touch. They say he's caught on to a few cases."

136

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"Yes, I don't see how that can be avoided."

137

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"Uncontrolled minds are easier. But so few are in positions of authority under him?

138

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They entered the Chamber. Others of the Second Foundation followed them.

139

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