Chapter 1: The Crash
Year 3 F.E. (Foundation Era)
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Wanda’s mind floated among a swirling galaxy of equations. A critical branching occurs in 300 years, when....
A knock on the door brought her back to reality. Reluctantly, Wanda deactivated the Prime Radiant, which projected the equations on the walls. The display disappeared and now the Radiant was merely a simple black cube. "Come in. "
“Wanda Seldon?” The dignified elderly visitor inclined her head. “I have sad news. I’m sorry to tell you that your grandfather Hari Seldon has passed away. My condolences, dear.”
“Lady Parkerstowe.” Wanda caught her breath, and grabbed the chair arms to keep from collapsing. The death was expected, but that didn’t make it hurt less. “Was there pain?”
“I don’t believe so, dear.” Lady Parkerstowe folded her hands. One of the noble class, she also held a doctorate and was one of the last remaining members of the Psychohistory Department. “He was found at his desk, holding his Prime Radiant just like you are. Also, this box was found nearby. I believe he wanted you to have it."
She held out the box to Wanda. Inside was a glass sphere full of shifting lights in a rainbow pattern, and nodes that looked like air bubbles.
“It’s beautiful, Wanda murmured. “What is it?”
“This letter came with it.”
Dear Wanda, an artist friend made this for me. This is a data crystal, called the Arc. It works like the Radiant. Place your fingers according to the equation 33A2D17A and figure out the mathematical puzzle and touch the proper nodes to activate it.
Wanda looked at the Arc from different angles, wondering at Grandpa’s purpose in sending it, and turned back to the letter.
Dear Wanda, don’t grieve for me, I am thankful I lived long enough to finish my task. Don’t waste effort with any grand memorial gestures. The two Foundations are my monument. One has already taken root at the far edge of the galaxy. Yours will be the Second. In a way, dear Wanda, yours will have the greater responsibility. Keep searching for people who can mind-touch. This will be your group who will carry on the Plan, and be its Guardians and Protectors. I am sorry to be placing the fate of the Galaxy on your shoulders, my dear girl. I wanted for you to have a normal life, but Psychohistory had other ideas.
Love
Grandpa
“Again, my condolences. There will be a small memorial at the department in two days. Please come. You need to get out more. But come early. We have to be done by 5. The streets will be impassable later."
"They will? Why?"
“What? Don’t you know? The new Space Station is going to be launched. There’s going to be a huge celebration!”
“There is?”
“Why yes, dear! The Emperor himself is going to be there for the dedication.”
“I don’t have time for festivities,” said Wanda. “We have a galaxy to save.”
“Oh, nonsense. The Galaxy will always be here,” said the Lady. “You should take your nose out of your books sometime, young lady. There’s a whole world out there!”
***
They walked through the crowded Main Concourse thoroughfare in Melkor Sector. It seemed all of Trantor had turned out today.
“I hate goodbyes,” Wanda muttered, holding onto the arm of her husband Stettin Palver.
First, her father Raych, mother Manella and sister Bellis had got on a ship: right at that space transport launch tower that arched up through the roofdome nearby. Her family went off to Santanni and Wanda never saw them again.
After the crushing loss of her family, her grandfather Hari Seldon had withdrawn emotionally. Then all of her associates at the Psychohistory Project had boarded a slowship for Terminus. She vividly remembered the day they all lined up at that same Spaceport and she had to say good bye to hundreds of friends and associates...colleagues and professors and students at the University, their friend Bor Alurin, everyone who was part of Hari Seldon’s Psychohistory Project.
And now, her grandpa was dead. Leaving Psychohistory, and the future of the galaxy, in her hands.
“He kept telling me we should go to Star’s End. Where in the skies is that?”
“You could sense nothing?”
“It seemed he was hiding the answer, as much as he wanted me to find it.” A mind was like a house, with a variable number of doors and windows that might be open or shut. “I kept trying to read the secret from him, but...now he’s gone too.” She wiped her eyes. “Everyone's gone.”
“What about me? I’ll always be here.” Stettin gave her shoulder a fond squeeze. “I’m the bodyguard, remember?”
She held onto Stettin’s muscular arm. He had the build of a prizefighter, and that was why Hari Seldon had hired him as a bodyguard. Only later had Wanda discovered his intelligence—and mentalic ability. “Yes, my strong protector. And you better not leave, ever.”
“We’ll always have each other. We’ll shoulder the burden together.” Stettin was not much for talking. He did most of his speaking in the mind-level. "We’ll find others like ourselves."
They had found so few. And those they found were shy and scholarly, and didn't seem like the type who could help Wanda shoulder the fate of the Galaxy.
***
It seemed that the whole world had gathered here for the big celebration: the launch of the massive new Magnus V Orbital Space Station: the largest Station ever to orbit Imperial Trantor.
“I don’t really like crowds,” Stettin said.
“Me neither, but I guess we have no choice. Can’t avoid them today. Anyway this is a historic occasion. I want to get a look at this new Emperor.”
His Imperial Majesty Magnus V had just taken the throne last month. Wanda had been studying him, entering every bit of information into the Radiant. The Imperium was always a huge factor in psychohistorical calculations.
This new Emperor seemed to have a taste for the grandiose. Emperor Magnus V was celebrating his ascension with the launch of this Station named after himself. For the first time in Wanda’s memory, a great section of the roofdome was rolled back, allowing the populace of Trantor a view into the real sky. And there they could see the real stars and the real clouds of nebular dust, but most of the sky was blotted out by the great disc of the Station hovering above. Big as a city, surely as big as a small sector in itself, its ranks of flashing lights even outshone Trantor’s brilliant night sky.
“He doesn’t think small, does he.”
“Must have cost the resources of the entire Sajji Arm. Probably bankrupted the Imperium for a decade.” Wisely, Stettin kept his criticism of the Imperium on the silent level.
The populace was beside themselves with excitement as Emperor Magnus appeared on a hovering antigrav platform. The Emperor of the Galaxy was handsome and young, his bulked up muscles visible beneath a sleeveless vest. The visi-screen gave a closeup view of his tanned face, curled hair and perfect teeth.
“Artificially enhanced.” Wanda grinned, evaluating him. “Vain of his physical appeal. Thinks he is a heartthrob for the ladies."
Then came the speeches. “Beloved Citizens, experts from all over the Galaxy have united to create this glorious Station, a marvel unmatched in the history of Trantor!” The Minister of Engineering described every component of this new technical marvel, the First Minister extolled the glory of the Empire, and then the Emperor stepped forward.
“Beloved citizens!” Huge speaker towers broadcast his words to the crowds. “I Magnus V, Lord of the Magell Cloud, Star King of the Cygnus marches and Emperor of All the Galaxy, hereby inaugurate... the Magnus V Orbital Space Station!”
The crowds responded with a deafening cheer. The Emperor preened and waved and tossed gifts, while the massive speakers played a fanfare. “And now let our glorious Station ascend to the majesty of the heavens!”
The ship blazed with even more lights and rose up with a whine and a roar.
Wanda stared at the Station and for some reason the lights triggered something in her brain. Perhaps a pattern she had seen in the Radiant. The equations that predicted the future. This branch shows what happens if… and that one there…
“Stettin!” she grabbed her husband’s arm in a sudden, inexplicable panic. “Let’s get out of here.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know.” Too crowded...too exposed. “It just feels...dangerous. Come on!” In her sudden urgency she pulled him away and began pushing through the crowd. "Run," she cried. They reached a sheltering overhang at the far edge, just as a crackling noise filled the air and everyone cheered, anticipating a firework show.
A blinding flash lit up the sky, followed by a shockwave. Then a huge flower of fire exploded from the center of the Station disc. For a second no one realized it wasn’t part of the show. An even larger explosion erupted and people put their hands over their ears. And then the Magnus Station broke apart and the pieces separated and began to fall...
Finally it dawned on people that something awful was happening. A scream began and rippled thru the crowd. Then came the most prolonged, deafening explosion in the universe. Tremendous shapes began falling out of the sky. They punched through the surface of Trantor, creating massive craters, collapsing the levels in smoke and fire.
Wanda and Stettin clung together. This is it. We’ll die together.
Metal and plasteel and stone collapsed. An eternity of darkness enveloped her.
***
I must be dead. It’s so quiet.
Wanda? Are you there? What's happened?
Wanda struggled to find her arms and legs. Guess I’m not dead. Hurts too much. She crawled through wreckage, gasping and coughing. It was so quiet: were they buried in a tomb?
And yet was picking up cries everywhere. “Help me! I’m scared! I’m dying!’’
After awhile she realized these were cries on the mental level. Stettin? Is that you?
No. It was a woman. “Where are you?” she called, but heard no answer. “Is anyone there?”
She could not even hear her own voice. She wondered if she had been deafened by the crash. But yet she could sense so many people calling out: helpmehelpme Don’t let me die.
Amid darkness and silence, Wanda could feel jumbled impressions. destroyed apartment blocks….the roof of a transit station. People in the tunnels. Entire levels collapsed.
Stettin? Please, please, answer me. Please don't be dead! If her soulmate was dead, Wanda could not go on.
Wanda? His fingertips reached for her through a gap in the rubble. Oh Wanda thank God you’re alive.
She squeezed the fingers. Oh thank the Star Spirit!
There was a blank in her consciousness for awhile...she must have passed out. She woke, to sense the calling of even more people in the midst of the dead silence.
She called back. Who are you?
I'm Allita. Where’s my brother? We snuck out to see the Station.
I’m Dr. Chaka. I was on my way to the clinic! My shift started 2 hours...three...ten hours...
I’m Caryn. Bureau of Records. By the Ten Comets, I’m going to be late for my meeting!
I’m drunk. Is this for real? Is this what it’s like when you’re dead?
Wanda wondered the same thing.
Friends...wherever you are...my name is Wanda Seldon, she tried to tell them. If I survive, I’ll find you. We’ll all help each other. Like brothers and sisters!
Eventually a light came: emergency workers were trying to open a passage. She saw the flashing lights, but it was soooo quiet. She should be hearing sirens, excavating machines. All she heard was the people calling for help, calling for each other.
***
Hours later, or maybe days... medics led her and Stettin to an emergency shelter and they sat drinking kaffa. The rescuers’ voices seemed to come from miles away. She sat with her hands over her ears.
“Was your hearing affected, Ma’am?”
“Yes, I...guess it was. It was...so quiet.” In fact Wanda was still not sure if her ears were working, or if she was just hearing the medics on the mental level.
And still she could hear the others so well, calling and lamenting and crying in pain. With the hearing loss, her mentalic sense had expanded exponentially. “Stettin, I can hear all of them. The mind-touching people.”
"But we couldn't find them before. Searched for so long....”
“We found them now. Feels like hundreds of minds. Oh Stettin, it’s too much.”
She put her head on his shoulder and slept.
***
Wanda could never remember most of it: it was too much for a human brain to handle. Many weeks later, her mind sorted out the chaos so that she could understand what was going on.
Dazed, shellshocked people at the Red Star disaster shelter just kept talking about it. In whispers, of course. Never knew who might be listening.
"My husband is gone. My mother, my grandma, my son!"
“They say the Space Station crashed. It was terrorists!”
“Some say it was poor construction.”
“The Emperor rushed the production. Wanted it to be done for his inauguration.”
“That’s treason. Our Imperial Majesty had nothing to do with it.”
“I say it was an enemy attack. He’s gonna declare war on the Nebulons!”
“They say he’s furious and that there is going to be an investigation. The Special Police are going to be set loose!”
“He wants executions. Lots of them!”
They learned that the Station had broken in pieces and landed in various parts of the Imperial World City. The metal roof of Trantor had been shattered, and the sector was exposed to the sky: the real sky, not a sky dome. A blazing sun speared down through the holes in the roofdome.
Rescue vehicles and evac vans and emergency material haulers buzzed back and forth. Pieces of the Station had rained down across the Imperial Sector and Fenix, Melkor and Commerce Three. Upper levels had collapsed onto the main section of Dahl, killing thousands. The number of casualties could not even be determined, but it was sure to be in the millions.
People wandered back and forth, staring at the huge crater cutting deep into the layers of the Trantor world-city.
Wanda and Stettin were like so many others: blank-eyed refugees, wandering around stunned, their homes and livelihoods disrupted. While they lay on their cots in the crowded Red Star refugee center, they had a lot of time to use their minds. Without their computers and bookfilms, they made calculations in their heads.
“Grandpa was smart. He got his Foundation project out of Trantor just in time.”
“I wouldn’t be surprised,” said Stettin, “if he predicted all of this.”
“You think?” Wanda reviewed some of the equations with him. “Level 8, equation 21: Substandard materials...poor training in engineering.”
“Level 9, equation ten: Disaffected Factions. Governors and worlds who resent Trantor’s rule.”
“Palace rivals? Caused the Crash to weaken the Emperor?”
When Wanda tired of calculations, she could not help but Listen. Many times the emotional and physical exhaustion weakened her barriers, and that was when she could sense the mentalic presence of others. So many others.
Since the disaster, it seemed like the talent had sprouted up exponentially. She wondered if there was a biological explanation. Perhaps a radiation leak. Or some of the Station fuel had contaminated the water supply, causing changes in human metabolism?
Stettin had a different theory. “In times of disaster, humans find new strengths and talents. Put that in your equations.”
I know you’re out there, she would try to tell these new people. We’ll find each other. We’ll all get together soon.
****
The Emperor made a video appearance. “Good Citizens, I offer my condolences to everyone who has lost loved ones." Out of respect for the dead, Magnus V wore a black robe that covered his muscles and rippling abs.
"Be assured that your Emperor will take care of you. We are investigating the cause of the disaster. The traitors who caused it will be brought to justice. Every sector will be evaluated for its needs, and given relief accordingly, as soon as it is determined whether it is harboring traitors and speculators.”
“Talks about traitors a lot,” people muttered. “More than he talks about us, and what’s to become of our lives.”
“Aye, he looks crazy if you ask me,” someone else whispered.
The Emperor’s mood must have changed during that week, because by the next week, areas of Crash destruction were cordoned off and nobody allowed near. News coverage of the disaster ceased, to be replaced by ‘positive messages’.
Citizens of Trantor, return to normality. The Authorities will take care of everything.
It was only a nasty rumor, circulated by unpatriotic types, that the reactor core of the Orbital Station had ruptured, exposing swaths of the north-easterly quadrant to risk of contamination.
Rumors said that water mains and air circulation in some areas were affected. Citizens were moved out of those areas, but cautioned not to complain, and to tell no one of the widespread disruption of essential utilities.
Citizens were urged to do their patriotic duty by refraining from criticism. A Productive Citizen is a Good Citizen! said the announcements in the transport stations. And A Positive Citizen is a Patriotic Citizen!
Forever after, Trantor would reckon time as Before and After the crash. Before, it seemed like everything was smooth, serene...normal. After, was a time of chaos, fear, hardship. The Crash had disrupted shipments of food and vital supplies from other planets. Trantor was so dependent on the produce of the surrounding worlds, that the shortage was felt immediately. Food riots flared in some of the poorer sectors.
Citizens of Trantor shared unauthorized news sites, and these were full of stories about the surrounding worlds and their grumbling. We have our own problems. Imperial taxes are already too high. Why should we pay for the incompetence of the Imperial Space Engineers Guild! We don’t want refugees.
“Imperial forces are impounding our grain supplies,” complained a representative from the Twenty Worlds.
“Galactic society is breaking down,” Wanda murmured. “My grandfather was so right. I wish he wasn’t.”
Chapter 3: Psychology Clinic
Dr. Chaka brought the group to a lab at the Psych Clinic. “Hello everyone. So, I hear you can all do this mind-touch thing.”
People smiled. “Yes, we can all hear you.”
After getting acquainted with the group, he brought out a headband with a small display screen attached. “I’ve been doing some research in encephalographic frequencies. I built this little monitor screen. Let me try it on myself and demonstrate.” He put the apparatus around his forehead. “Come look at the screen. I’m thinking about a nice meal. Watch the waves. They look tranquil, happy. OK now I’m remembering the Station crash!”
The waves jumped ferociously.
Chaka pointed to a numerical readout on the side. “See those? It’s actually measuring the frequency of the waves, and their intensity. You say you’re students of Seldon? Maybe you can run some calculations. I’m going to think an angry thought. Here’s what I’d like to do if I got my hands on those scumbags who are diverting the aid shipments!”
The students peered at the readout. “Look at that! Anger and violence! Spiking like a monster’s teeth!”
They took detailed notes of the different mental states and the shapes they produced on the monitor.
Wanda stepped forward. “Now let's talk about how to change them.” She sat across from the Doctor and put one of his monitors on her forehead.
“The mind is like a whole world," she began. "Every neural pathway has its own frequency. You have to find that one thought or emotion with your empathic sense, and stay in resonance with it. It's like trying to detect one musical instrument in a huge orchestra. ”
“Is it dangerous?” Allita wondered. “I mean, people can have some crazy thoughts.”
“I'm sure it could be extremely dangerous. Don’t let yourself get distracted and rummage around in a person’s intimate secrets. Not only is it unethical, but you’d probably get lost and go insane.
“Well that’s scary.”
“Also, if someone is aware of what you’re doing, they might throw you out,” Wanda added. “Just like the body has antibodies to fight intruders...I think the mind is similar. You could be swept away yourself. That’s why we need to do mental exercises and build strength, and even more, we have to build delicacy.”
“Now let me demonstrate.” She took the Doctor’s hand and met his eyes. “I can feel that spike of anger. You can see it on the monitor. Now, I'll enter a Listening state and get in resonance with you, Doctor.”
They all watched the two, and studied the monitor screens they wore. “Oh, look, see how the waves are synchronizing,” Stuben said.
“Now I’m holding onto that one strand...and nudging it, ever so delicately. See? How do you feel, Doctor?”
Chaka grinned. “Just fine, Miss Wanda.”
“You felt no pain?”
“Nothing at all. Of course, this was just a demo. I knew what you were going to do.”
Well, at least we got to see how the waves synchronized, which is the basic concept. In the real world, things won’t be so easy. People could fight you, you might be under stress, you may have to get into a state of empathy with someone who is aggressive and dangerous.”
“How would you handle such a case?” Chaka asked.
“Usually there is a desire or emotion, that you can strengthen, or a weakness you can exploit. The first time I consciously used ‘the Push’, was when Grandfather and I were trying to get funding for our project. I used the most obvious hook of all.”
“And what was that?” Beka asked.
“I don’t want to brag, but I made them aware of the fact that I was an attractive woman.” Wanda gave a wink. “Ladies, let me give you a little secret. Men can be very vulnerable to certain kinds of Persuasion. We visited a wealthy financier who said ‘I very much want to help you, because of that beautiful young granddaughter of yours.’ I’m sorry...I knew it was a bit creepy, but I rationalized it, because it was for Seldon’s Plan.”
A ripple of laughter spread through the group. Dr. Chaka looked at her and she could feel his adoration. Stop that, she wanted to tell him.
Then Wanda quickly put levity aside and faced the group with a severe expression. “I don’t have to tell you all, that this psychology talent of ours is never to be used for personal gain, but only for the good of humankind. Correct?”
“What if someone else…”
“I’m sure there are corrupt people out there. We’ll have to learn how to stop them. We must all watch and support each other and make sure we stay careful, and ethical. Is that clear?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
All of the students took their turn wearing the monitor screen. Wanda continued to teach. “It works best with eye contact. Those with stronger powers may be able to send it farther. Doctor, is there a way to measure the strength of the mentalic frequency which we generate? Like if we Persuade with a feather touch or punch with a fist?”
“Yeah, Muscle Boy," Caryn poked at Stettin’s burly arm. "You’d be the one to punch with a fist.”
Dr. Chaka took notes on his pad. “We’ll work on that. This has to be a precise science. We don’t want anyone punching holes in someone else’s brain.”
“Yes, and in case someone tries it on us, we’ll have to learn how to block out interference, how to keep our own privacy, how to respect boundaries. And how to create partitions. Keep your own emotions free of the patient’s.”
“Most people’s minds are a sort of soup,” Wanda observed. “Thoughts and emotions just swirl around, mostly uncontrolled. We’ll have to be more disciplined.”
“I can’t control my thoughts,” Tynek complained. “My brain does what it wants. And usually it wants a drink.”
“Yes, our brains should be like the desks at the Information Bureau,” said Caryn. “Everything in its own file, in its filing cabinet, tucked away but available when needed.”
“If the mentalic frequency is a force of nature, rather than some mystical voodoo, then perhaps it can be quantified, and then be included in psychohistorical calculations,” said math student Stuben.
“The mind is a muscle, it gets stronger with training,” Stettin observed.
Wanda smiled. “You all are doing well. The science of Psychology is advancing every day.”
***
Just to be safe, they often moved their meeting space around to other deserted locations.
“I’ve checked the area,” said Stettin. “There are no Eyes about.”
“Why do we have to keep our meetings secret?” Allita asked.
“Because it’s risky to be unusual,” said Wanda. “A lot of suspicion could fall on us.”
Allita reached for Beka’s hand. The two young women were inseparable.
“If anyone is afraid,” said Wanda, “feel free to drop out.” She could not hide her flash of guilt. Her grandfather had laid a burden on her and now she was doing the same for all these people. “You should know what you’re facing. Our work could get difficult and dangerous.”
Stettin stood by the door, arms folded: still in his bodyguard function. “For example: if the Observers knew about our Listening talent, they’d immediately execute us for spies.”
“Mm-hmm,” said Caryn. “Or else they’d want us to spy for them.”
For a second Wanda thought about sending everyone home. Go back to your normal lives while you still can.
“No. I want to stay,” said Allita, picking that thought up." I want to do something more with my life than get grabbed by creepy men."
"Who says we ever had normal lives anyway?” Beka added.
“Yeah, I got bullied for being a freak,” said Stuben. “Had to quit school for awhile.”
“I was kicked out of my home,” said Beka, “when my parents discovered I could Listen. They thought I was watching their...you know, their bedroom activities.”
No one dropped out. In the short time this group had been meeting, Wanda sensed the unbreakable bond that was already developing between all of them.
***
After several months of training and practice, Dr. Chaka addressed them. “Folks, you’re as ready as you could be. I’m getting all of you volunteer credentials as ‘psychology students’ at the Clinic. The doctors will be thrilled to get some help. Any help.”
And so Wanda’s people began working at the Psychology Clinic, mind-touching those with the deepest trauma. It soon became a fulltime job. After a few months’ experience, they were no longer considered students, but master healers.
A new science of mentalics was being invented right there on the spot. They would compare notes later, and discuss what they’d learned.
“I used to think that ‘telepaths’ go around casually snooping on people's secrets. It doesn’t work like that.”
“No, because people have a natural barrier. You have to find a way in. Takes a lot of energy.”
“It’s more like surgery. People let surgeons cut them open and fix what’s wrong. Well, that’s what we’re trying to do, too.”
“It’s more dangerous than surgery,” said Barr. “Those gangsters who are stealing the food shipments...they suspected I knew what they were doing and I almost got one of those Dahlite knives in my gut."
“Yeah, cause they’re the cancer we’re trying to operate on.” Stuben scowled. “A cancer that fights back.”
“Well here’s one thing I’m thinking,” Wanda said. “Persuasion works like the laws of physics. For every action there’s an equal and opposite reaction.”
“How do you mean?”
“If a Persuader used their gift dishonorably, it would bounce back on them. That guy who came to us a few months ago, wanting to get rich? I heard he was arrested for some kind of crime.”
“Is that right?”: said Chaka. “I guess he thought his mentalic powers would make him immune to justice. Couldn’t Persuade the entire police department.”
“Yeah,” Allita put in. “And that other one, who wanted a string of lovers? She started doing drugs and went insane.”
***
For over a year after the Crash, the mentalic healers honed their practice while giving aid to the people of Trantor. Although they tried to keep it secret, eventually the name of the Clinic became renowned for its high rate of cures.
“You’ve done some miracles. We have never seen anything like this,” the regular doctors marveled. “What’s your secret?”
Chaka watched the healers work, his arms folded. He came to Wanda after the shift was over. “I’m impressed with what we’ve accomplished, but...it has occurred to me that the power to control other people’s thoughts...it could be abused. Suppose one of your students decides to take advantage of someone?”
“Oh, my dear Doctor Chaka, after experiencing the thoughts and sufferings of others, none of us could ever dream of causing hurt. We are consumed with the need to heal.”
“I hope you’re right.”
“Yes. Being able to sense all of it, we’re compelled to respond. Not to respond would be the worse torture. The only danger is that some of my recruits might go insane themselves.”
“How could they prevent that?”
“Discipline. Developing a perfect mental structure, under the control of an ethical, compassionate superego. The creation of a perfect mind was probably the goal of Seldon’s psychohistory, although he didn’t express it in those terms.”
Chaka could do nothing but smile. Wanda picked up his thoughts. “Stop it,” she said.
“Stop what?”
“Stop adoring me. I’m flesh and blood like you.”
Grinning, the Doctor shrugged. “See what I mean? No privacy.”
***
There was no privacy, but Wanda still told Stettin where she was going. “Grandpa wanted me to lead this Second Foundation, so I need some answers. Did he write anything more about our long-range purpose and function? I need to access his papers at the University.”
When she got to the offices of the Psychohistory Project, she found the offices empty but for a single student tapping at a portable pad, and a pile of boxes on the floor.
“Well if it isn’t our dear young Miss Seldon.” Lady Parkerstowe came out of a storeroom, addressing her with the sweet cultured tones of the nobility.
Wanda felt a pang, remembering how these offices had once bustled with hundreds of people. All of them out there on Terminus now I suppose.
“Good day, Lady. Where’s everyone?”
“I’m sorry, but the University closed the Psychohistory Project. They don’t wish to be associated with the name ‘Seldon’ any longer."
Wanda sighed. So much for her grandfather’s lifetime labors. “I came to look at some of Grandpa's papers.”
Lady Parkerstowe brought out a small folio of papers. “These were found in his office after his death. The rest has already been packed away for storage at the Imperial Library.”
The student looked up from his bookfilm. “You want some equations? Well here it is.” He tapped his pad. “It’s going to get a lot worse in Trantor. The Empire can’t maintain its infrastructure. Jobs are given to the suckups, not those who understand nucleonics. There was no one on that Station who actually understood how it worked.”
A fellow in a wig and starched shirt approached. “Good Day Ma’am, I’m Lord Dupree. I like to dabble in the sciences, including psychohistory. I met Dr. Seldon when he was First Minister. Now, in regards to the Station Crash, Miss Seldon, the equations predicted with 73 percent probability that within 3 years of the Foundation’s departure, there would be a major act of sabotage by outside forces, or internal rebels who would like to give his Imperial Majesty a poke. Sabotaging his prize Station on the day of its inauguration, that sure gave him a poke all right.”
Wanda studied the pad full of equations, searching through several levels, looking for anything that might reference the Second Foundation, or the sudden appearance of mentalic healers. “Are there any further calculations about the suffering, and, um, psychological trauma from the Crash?”
Lady Parker-Stowe cleared her throat. “It’s interesting you should ask, Miss Seldon. I hear you’ve started some kind of unorthodox healing practice. This is...a bit puzzling. Explain the connection between psychohistory and voodoo medicine.”
‘Let me answer with my own question. Grandfather said that the mentalic ability would be instrumental in his plan. What do you think he meant?
“Why, so we could share our work, doing calculations in common. So much quicker and more complete than talking.”
"I see." These people had minimal Persuasion talent; sharing work would be the limit of their ability.
“Young lady, we think you have gone a bit beyond what your grandfather had in mind. I hear you associate with the lower elements of society,” said Lord Dupree. “You surround yourself with servants, Dahlite street people and women of low repute.”
Wanda bit back her irritation. “They are the ones with the most talent. They have to deal with real human beings, not just books. I believe that women in prostitution have some of the highest level of talent. Mentalic empathy is necessary for their survival.”
The shock in the Scholars’ faces gratified her. Even in a community of high ideals, like the Second Foundation, there was still room for the usual human weaknesses such as narrow-minded snobbery.
“Of course you folks can’t feel empathy for the common humanity, because you don’t have to rub shoulders with them while hiding here in the halls of Academe.”
The two members of the nobility met each other’s eyes. If there was one thing the gentry excelled at, it was politeness. “We believe Seldon meant for the Second Foundation to simply concentrate on psychohistorical calculations to develop his Plan. We are not a public welfare project.”
Wanda blinked. Suppose they were right? What did Seldon really envision for the Second Foundation? Sometimes she was so overcome with doubt. Though she was Seldon’s granddaughter, she still felt like a child next to these dignified elderly scholars.
Dupree pressed the attack. “In addition, young lady, have you any idea how much danger your actions pose to our group?”
Yes, they’re certainly right about that. “Well.” she sighed. “It has been nice catching up, learned colleagues. It’s time I left you to your studies.”
“Indeed,” said Lord Dupree. “We don’t need to include your...extracurricular activities, in the official record.”
Wanda matched her polite smile with theirs. “I guess my name will have to disappear from the history books then.”
“Miss Seldon.” Lady Parkerstowe put a hand on her arm. “You don’t have to leave, you know. You can stay. Come back to the Project with us. We’re still hard at work on psychohistory and we could use your help. We’ll give you a comfortable suite in the Library with unlimited materials access and…”
Wanda stared past the Lady. The words resonated: you don’t have to leave. Your own comfortable suite...unlimited access…
Wanda had had no home for over a year. First she’d lived at the Red Star Shelter and then she'd slept on ratty mattresses in the back of the various storefronts, and finally on an unused patient bed at the Clinic. The sudden offer of her own living quarters...the idea of peacefully sitting in her own room and studying in comfort, leaving the turmoil and suffering of the world behind her…the longing struck her with overwhelming force. Safety...peace...security. She gripped the noblewoman's hand and struggled so hard with the temptation, tears came to her eyes.
“Wh...what about my group? Could you offer them a place of comfort and safety too?” The Clinic was pretty far from the Library and Wanda was pretty sure none of them would go for the arrangement. But she had to ask.
If the Scholars refused, Wanda would be able to turn down their offer of comfort and security.
The two members of the nobility exchanged glances. Lord Dupree cleared his throat. ‘Hmm...uh, well...Miss Seldon, that would be rather irregular; those people of yours aren’t exactly…”
“They aren’t associated with the University,” said Lady Parkerstowe. “I’m sorry, we just couldn’t approve of...turning the Library into a public homeless shelter. There are basic standards.”
“That’s what I thought.” Wanda opened the door. “My Grandfather would have approved. He adopted a homeless street urchin from Dahl...my father, Raych Seldon. Guess he didn’t have any standards.”
The barb bounced harmlessly off Lady Parkerstowe's aristocratic dignity. “Good day, Wanda dear. Perhaps we’ll meet again.”
Chapter 4: The EyesHigh Inspector Hammen, of the Imperial Bureau of Inspection, missed nothing. His job was to watch—always watch for anything that might be of interest to his Imperial Majesty, Magnus V. His men frequented taverns, public meetings, industrial hubs.
One day he confronted an underling, Rixon. “I understand you went to that MidConcourse Psych Clinic. Something wrong?”
“Yes, Inspector. I have been having nightmares.”
“What did they do for you?”
“I’m not sure what they did. They seem to have a way of fixing the brain. Removing memories, or altering them.”
“Is that right?” Hammen fixed a searchlight gaze on his underling. “And how did they accomplish this...mind alteration?”
“I don’t know. They use a small device. It goes around your head, with a monitor screen.”
“Hmm. Probably quackery, but...it needs to be investigated.”
“They are doing good work, sir.”
Hammen folded his arms. “Really. How do you know?”
“Because...the nightmares have completely disappeared.”
“So you think. You say they’re doing good work? They could just as well be doing evil. Do you know what they do to you while you’re asleep, or under anesthesia, or whatever it is they do?”
Rixon knew that look. It meant a whole new set of nightmares.
“Suppose they are implanting rebellious thoughts? I’m putting a unit on their case. As for you, you can’t be trusted now. You’re fired.”
When the story reached Emperor Magnus, he was beside himself. “I want those people. They could work with their Emperor in discovering traitors. If they refuse, then they themselves are the most dangerous traitors the Empire has ever seen. Bring them to me!”
***
Tynek’s hands were shaking. He needed a drink!
Tynek didn’t trust his ability to do the healing work. Mentally and physically, he was too unsteady. So he confined his volunteer efforts to janitorial work at the Clinic. He just wanted to be around the group...the only people who didn’t shun him.
Especially Wanda: Once he had seen a holo of Hari Seldon, and this granddaughter of his had the same aura of wisdom and authority. Though she was younger than Tynek, she felt almost like the mom he wished he’d had.
Before, he used to drink Purple Rave and it would help quiet the Voices. He always thought the voices in his head were because he was crazy. Those new people, the Psychologists...they had told him the voices in his head were real. He was hearing people’s thoughts! And who wants to listen to people thinking that Tynek was a no-good drunk? He already knew that about himself.
Wanda’s people showed him how to make the voices stop. But Tynek found he didn’t like the silence either. It made him so lonely. If only he could be like Wanda, and the others. Their lives mean something.
Tynek’s thoughts started running around in circles, and the trembling started. So instead of the Clinic, he headed toward his favorite drinking place.
“I’ll take a shot of Comet’s Tail.”
The potion did a good job of numbing his awareness. On the way back, three men appeared out of nowhere. “You there. Come with us.”
A group of black-clad men surrounded him: the Imperial Inspectors, known as the Eyes!
***
Wanda stopped just before touching a patient. This one’s a spy.
“We are being watched,” Stettin warned all of the healers on duty. A moment later: Danger! Get out quickly! The Eyes are coming!
As Wanda grabbed her pack, she caught one glimpse of the Imperials swarming in like a black tide. She heard their shouts, booted feet, the screams of patients.
"This clinic is closed by order of the Emperor!"
Stettin pulled her by the arm. “In here. Hurry!” He pulled up a metal panel and herded the group into a ventilation shaft. “Crawl down. Quietly!”
Wanda thought about how easily the metal panel had come off and realized: "you were ready for this, weren't you."
"Yes. Knew it was bound to happen. Don't be afraid," he reassured them, "I've been preparing plans, keeping supplies handy, in case we had to run."
She gave his arm a fond squeeze. "Thanks. You're a hero!"
They hid in the tight space and listened to the boots of the Imperials and felt the fear wash over them: their own, and that of every patient. Wanda hoped none of the Imperials could hear her pounding heart, or feel her emotions.
Outside their hiding place, they could hear crashes and thuds as furniture was overturned and patients roughly shoved aside. “All psychology practitioners are wanted for questioning! Get those devices!”
Delicate instruments were trampled underfoot. Doctors were ripped away from their patients; rounded up and handcuffed.
Wanda choked with terror. "Where’s the rest of us?"
"In a laundry shaft." Stettin shut his eyes and went into a Listening trance, trying to scan the Eyes' locations. "Everyone...it's safe for the moment. We're heading for the trash chute. Run for it!"
As they dashed across the shiny hall of the Clinic, Wanda pictured the group as tiny, invisible mice. If anyone's looking, you won't see us!
Holding hands with Stettin and Beka, she leaped down the chute. At the bottom, Beka brushed smelly trash off herself. "Ick."
Every building had an area for trash and recycling units. Behind the largest containers, Stettin led them into a tunnel. “Trust me. I was Seldon’s bodyguard. He had to hide from enemies quite a few times.”
“Wait, where’s Tynek?” Beka said. “I think they got him.”
The group absorbed the news of this disaster. “Can we rescue him?”
Wanda and Stettin and Chaka looked at each other and assessed the possibility. No one had ever been rescued from the Black Box Detention Center.
Stettin shook his head in silent negation. “Keep the rest of us safe...get as far away as possible.”
He tried to send them reassurance, as they crawled their way through the tight passage. “Don’t be afraid. This is a conveyor for recycling wagons. Probably only run once a day.” He visualized a map of the sector. “Trantor is full of passageways, utility complexes, unused storage zones.”
“You know your way around here?" Orvil wanted to know.
“I was Seldon’s bodyguard. I did more than just show off my muscles and scare teenage thugs.” Stettin grinned. “I made some advanced studies in Bodyguarding. Got a few universal entrance cards too. In case Seldon had to disappear.”
Stettin still did most of his communication on the mentalic level. All of them spoke in a mixture of whispers and thought-flashes.
Wanda took a moment to search for the rest of the Psychology group. About 12 of them had escaped the Clinic, just ahead of the raid. That left 3 missing. And what about the others she had trained? The Second Foundation had about 25 active members, not including those contacted but not yet trained, and the Library-bound scholars’ contingent.
“You think it’s us they wanted?” Beka and Allita held hands, like always.
Dr. Chaka nodded. “Someone must have talked. About the psychs who could alter thoughts.”
"Oh, by the Star Spirit."
“They’ll turn the Clinic upside down." Dr. Chaka chewed his nails. "They’ll find our monitor screens, diagrams and equations. They’ll terrorize our patients. All of our healing efforts will be undone.”
“And then they’ll probably raid the University.” Wanda imagined the Imperial boots in the halls where her Grandfather had worked. “They’ll find our connection to Hari Seldon, and some hint of our talents.”
A fresh spike of terror flashed through all of them.
We'd better get out of this sector, quick, Stettin considered. “Maybe we can hide in Dahl for awhile.”
After they crept through the recycling tunnel for several hours, they reached a larger freight passage. Stettin ventured out of their hiding place to briefly scout around a few streets.
“The Eyes are on a rampage. Arresting everyone. There’s a cloud of fear, like a bad smell everywhere.”
Allita put a hand on his arm. “Stettin, how long do we have to hide?”
“Until the Eyes find some other group to persecute.”
They spoke in whispers, mixed with thoughts. “Could we get to the Library?” asked an older man, Professor Dekam. “Streeling has a section there.”
“I bet they don’t anymore," Wanda said. "I wouldn't be surprised if Magnus closes the whole place down. He doesn't strike me as the type who respects learning."
“He can’t do that! The Library has always been independent of the Empire.”
“By tradition, yes. But who could stop the Imperials? They're the ones with the weapons.”
Wanda remembered how important the Library had been to her grandfather. He seemed to believe that the Second Foundation could simply hole up there and await the Empire’s fall. “The Library is larger than you know. I hear some areas are mazes that no one has ever explored.”
“No one’s ever explored them? Then how did the books get there,” Beka burst out, grinning. “They walked in by themselves?”
***
The Eyes raided Streeling University and returned with a load of papers and computer equipment, as well as the trembling professor Lord Dupree.
“Nothing but loads of math and gibberish,” Inspector Hammen grumped. “You!” He turned to his prisoner. “What does all of it mean?”
“I don’t know. I’m a history professor and a member of the nobility. You can’t treat me like--”
“Shut up! I don’t care if you’re the Emperor’s grandmother! Now let’s get real, mister.” He leaned in. “What is a history professor doing in a psychology department? What in Space are you up to?”
“They are...merely...quadratic equations. It relates to...economic cycles.”
After a few rounds of questioning, with the application of some 'enhanced techniques', the Eyes extracted some useful information. “Oh, so this has to do with that notorious traitor Hari Seldon! It appears that he left a group of disciples behind to continue his sedition.”
“I was right,” said Hammen. “There is a conspiracy afoot. Who is your leader?”
“We don’t have a l-leader. Our Department head is Dr. Falan Stark.”
“Give us one name, wretch. Or you die slowly.”
Lord Dupree could hold out no longer, and the name of Wanda Seldon leaked out. This name spared his life.
***
“Tell us about your friends at this Psych Clinic,” said Inspector Hammen.
“They are just volunteers,” said Tynek.
“Are they connected with the Seldonite rebels?”
“No. They are just trying to help.”
“Trying to help, eh? There’s a report you and your friends can alter people’s thoughts! Is that true?’’
“Oh, no. That’s p-preposterous,” said Tynek.
“In that case, we will just have to dispose of you. His majesty loves executions—the gorier, the better.”
Tynek began to shake all over.
“But if you can help us---if you can lead us to the others, you’ll be well rewarded. Set for life! Fine suite at the Lofts, beautiful women, all the whiskey you can drink. Here, fellow, why don’t you have a sip. It’s fine Alurite Comet-water.”
Tynek accepted it, and wondered if he could pretend to go along. Make up something phony! Wanda had taught him how to close off a part of his mind, and he tried to do that now. “S-sure, I’ll help you.”
“Good. Because otherwise, you will face execution by any number of methods, some of them quite excruciating. His Imperial Majesty likes to think of imaginative ways.”
“Y-yes sir.”
“Now this is what you’re going to do. We’re going to put you out in the street and you are going to use your thought-reading ability to track the Seldonite traitors.”
“Y-yes sir. I’ll try.”
“And don’t try to run away, because we’ll put a tracker on you. You’ll lead us to the rebel leader. Who is your leader?"
Tynek pressed his lips together. If Wanda was here she would know how to keep her mouth shut.
“Would you like me to describe the last three executions ordered by His Imperial Majesty?”
Tynek would have put his hands over his ears, if his hands had not been restrained.
“Her name is W...Wanda,” he cried. “Wanda Seldon!”
“Much better. Now you’re going to use your thought-reading ability to find this Wanda Seldon.”
Tynek wondered if he could use his mentalic ability--such as it was--to make himself get a heart attack first.
Chapter 5: FlightAfter several hours of creeping through a recycling tunnel, the fugitives emerged at a run-down industrial area. Stettin scouted around to make sure nobody was about, and Beka picked some packets out of a bin. “Oh look, yeast cakes. Yum.”
They took refuge in a factory full of recycling machines, which made a deafening din as they ground up material in their giant teeth.
Stettin found some protein concentrate and some water from a sanitation faucet. “I think it’s safe here, for the moment.” Right now, Stettin had become the group's leader.
They sat together, tried to pretend they were on an outing. “See? This is just like eating at the Platinum Platter.” Beka lifted her yeastcake in a pretend toast. ”Cheers!”
“Gimme some of that purple stuff. What is it?”
“Chock-Y. Supposed to taste like chocolate. I think.”
“No, more like...vinegar. Ick!”
“Come on, we’d better keep moving,” Stettin urged them.
Past the sleeping-hour, the group made their way through more industrial zones and seldom-used passages. Stettin motioned frequently for them to stay still, while he went into a deep Listening state and scouted for pursuit.
“Grandpa had to go into hiding too,” Wanda remembered, when they rested again. “Everyone wanted him because he could ‘predict the future’. And for the next few decades people assaulted him in the streets because they were unhappy with conditions and blamed the ‘fortuneteller’.”
“That’s why he needed a bodyguard,” Stettin said.
The group crowded together, their eyes shining in the dim light of their hiding place.
“When you have something people want, you’re not safe.”
“We were way too public at the Clinic,” said Dr. Chaka. “Big mistake. It was my fault.”
“Should have picked a secret way,” Caryn said, “maybe pretend to be one of those cults that roam around in the streets.”
Wanda sighed. “Yes, in our early meeting we were talking about this. Now the Emperor is probably telling everyone we're dangerous spies. Maybe even blaming us for the Crash. Meanwhile he'd love to get his hands on us, so we could spy for him.”
“Our gift is more dangerous than parading around the Lawless Zone covered with platinum jewelry,” Beka lamented.
The girls, Beka and Allita, huddled together. Wanda felt the current of fear spreading through the group and cursed herself for doing this to all of them. Should have tried harder to get them all into the Library where it was safe. If even the Library could have been safe from the Eyes.
“Grandpa kept telling Stettin and me to go to this refuge called Star’s End.”
“Well, where is it? Can we go there?”
Wanda shrugged. “I could never figure out where it was.”
“What? Hari Seldon didn’t tell you his secrets? Why didn’t you read his mind then?”
“I tried...couldn’t understand what he meant. His emotions were clouding it. His guilt was so tremendous.” Wanda tried to control the tears that welled up.
Caryn pulled Wanda into a maternal embrace against her pillowy bosom. “Guilt? What do you mean, girl?”
“He...he wished I could have had a normal life. He was sorry for...all that he was getting me involved in. He didn’t like to talk about it. He just told me to look in the Prime Radiant, to find this 'Star's End'.”
“So what did you find there?”
Wanda thought of some of the equations she had seen, under the heading 33A2D17: Star’s End. “He wanted me to go away somewhere. So I pretended to. I just stayed in my office and studied, night and day.”
“He sent you away? Why?”
“He...he was obsessed with the thought that I was in danger. That I would need to find this...safe refuge. I didn’t understand it at the time.” Wanda wiped her eyes. “I think he couldn’t bear to tell his granddaughter, ‘you must go into hiding because your unusual talent will put you in danger.’ Those equations…”
She visualized the numbers. Elements she hadn’t understood before, made sense now. “The equations say the same thing for our whole group. ‘The Second Foundation…’ ” She stared at the dingy wall of their hiding place, and recited as though reading the answer there. “ ‘The Second Foundation must always remain secret because it will be in danger from enemies... exploiters, hatred and fear.’ Grandpa’s last words to me were ‘I wanted a normal life for you. But psychohistory had other ideas'."
Beka sighed. “So...there’s no equations where we get the choice to be normal. Is there.”
Wanda shook her head “I don’t think so.” She looked at her people. “I should never have called you together. I wish I could tell all of you to go home, forget all of this, go back to your regular, safe lives.”
“We never did have those,” Stuben said. “Remember?”
“I’ve been thinking,” said Dr. Chaka. “If we’re in such danger, then we have to ensure we can keep the secret. There should be a way to create a mental block. So if any of us defects, or is captured, they can never betray us. Their tongue would just...freeze up.”
Wanda wrapped her arms around herself. What have I led you into? Mind-blocks and a life of fear and hiding.
The others crowded around in mind-touching comfort. Don’t be sad. You’ve given us something. A bond, closer than anything we’ve ever had.
“And a goal. Being heroes and saving the world, with our mind-touching power.” Allita grinned.
Everyone curled up in their coats and tried to rest.
***
The Eyes began stopping people at random. “There’s a new conspiracy and we’re getting to the bottom of it. What do you know about Hari Seldon?”
“He was a famous professor, I think,” people would say. “First Minister under Cleon I. I think he was exiled though.”
Inspector Hammen gave his report to the Emperor. “Everyone knows about that crackpot Hari Seldon. But what they don’t know is that he left a substantial fifth column of rebels behind.”
Emperor Magnus’ fists clenched on the arms of his throne. “You think he’s undermining the Empire, so his predictions will come true? You think whenever something bad happens, he’s out there laughing?”
“Sire, Hari Seldon died several years ago.”
His Imperial Majesty got up and paced back and forth. “Well, his followers then. I wouldn't be surprised if they engineered the Station Crash, just to make me look bad!” Magnus V’s face turned red, as it always did when talking about the worst disaster in Trantor’s history. “It’s up to you to find them. Make sure you don’t fail me!”
Hammen bowed as deeply as he could. "I will find them."
The Emperor paged through the report. “And what about this leader of theirs, this ‘Wanda Seldon’?”
Hammen took a breath. “Census data confirms the existence of a person by that name. The daughter of Manella and Raych Seldon, granddaughter of Hari Seldon, born in the year 12040 GE, in Streeling Sector. Age 31. But...her trail has gone cold. She seemed to have vanished from the world.”
“No she hasn’t. She’s out there, defying me...laughing at me! You will get her, Hammen—or you yourself will die!”
Magnus reached out with hands clawed, as if he could grasp this elusive quarry and crush the life from her.
***
Three men emerged from the shadows, with their hands on a fourth man in their midst.
“I’m sorry,” Tynek whispered. “I...can’t pick anything up.”
“Oh, that’s a shame,” said the sarcastic one. “Too tired? Then let’s head back to the Black Box Detention Chamber for a nice rest until an interesting execution can be arranged.”
This same conversation had happened a number of times. After being interrogated and denied sleep for three days, Tynek found it hard to disobey or think straight. But he could sense the presence of Wanda. Her mind was like a blazing beacon, so bright he felt sure that everyone else in the street could sense it.
Please, Wanda, run away, Tynek addressed the mental beacon. I’m sorry I’ve betrayed you. I couldn’t help it. They’ve tied my mind in a knot.
Against his own will, his shaking finger lifted up and pointed toward the spot, where he sensed Wanda’s group hiding in a storage complex.
“That’s much better. You’re a good fellow. As soon as we capture them, you’ll be rewarded with a lifetime supply of the finest liquor a man can drink.”
No. All the liquor in the universe wouldn’t fix Tynek now.
***
It was night-hours dark in Ery Sector. As the fugitives rested in a warehouse between Kalmid street and the Elitemark shopping emporium, Wanda awoke hearing a mentalic cry.
Wanda! Stettin! Run away! Danger!
She woke Stettin. “Oh, by the Mercy. It’s Tynek. They’ve made him turn informant!”
“Oh, by the flaming deathstar.” Stettin peered through a small ventilation grate. “They've got the whole place blocked off. All the exits.”
Wanda looked out the opening. There stood a whole regiment of Imperials lined up in their black armor and face helmets, with their blasters, clubs and gas launchers.
The night exploded into life. A deafening amplified voice boomed out. “Attention, Seldonites! We know you’re in there. You are surrounded. Give yourselves up or be extracted with Paramid gas.”
The whole group sprang to alertness, only to realize they were trapped.
“By the Darkness.” Wanda watched the line of Imperials advancing in their black suits. She could feel their thoughtwaves like an invisible bristling aura around them, and these waves were a terror as intense as physical blows. She felt the constriction in her chest like she couldn’t breathe. Claustrophobia came back, as terrifying as it had been after the Crash:
She looked at her people, as they clung together. There is no force stronger than a mother defending her children, and these people were her children!
Those Imperials. Bastards! Filth-eating, diseased… Her terror transmuted into rage. The force of her desperation exploded, hurling the images out like splinters of hatred and repulsion: the most primitive, animal fury of the prey trapped in its hole. How dare you threaten my people! May your eyes burn out of your heads! May your breath turn to fire! May your blood turn to acid!
Another mind joined hers—she recognized Tynek—and both of them were caught up in the whirlwind. Yes! Wanda! Kill them all!
In her madness she ripped open the locker door and faced them, head-on. Die, all of you! Collapse and foam at the mouth and die!
The invading Eyes held onto their heads. One of them fell down, then another. Several began to scream. They thrust their helmets off, dropped their weapons and ran. Yes, Run, rat suckers! You can’t escape the fire inside your heads! Your chests exploding--
Wanda grabbed her head. For a second she felt what the Imperials felt: her own rage and hatred bounced back on her.
“Wanda! Shh. Don’t give us away!” The others grabbed her and pulled her away, while her body shook uncontrollably and her heart seized up.
The others tried to soothe her with waves of calm. Shh. It’s all right. No hate, no fear, no violence. Calm, Wanda, Calm.
“Come on! They've run away! Let's get out!” Stettin grabbed her and all of them dashed out of the building. They passed several dead men. Her mind registered one of their faces: eyes bulging, spittle down the chin. Tynek.
They ran, and there was no pursuit. Still they kept running till Wanda felt her chest would explode. “Come on. In here.” Stettin guided the shaken group into another service tunnel. He took his universal key card and led them inside.
It took several minutes before she got her breathing and heart rate under control. Stettin tried to hurry them along. “Come on...gotta get out of this area before they come back.” He kept his arm around Wanda, who could barely stand.
“Wh-what did I do?” She could not stop shaking and crying. “I killed them all...didn’t I? I killed people with my mind!"
“Shh.” Stettin kept stroking her hand, trying to soothe her.
"I'm a m-monster!"
“The bastards deserved it,” cried Stuben. “They were about to gas us! I'm glad you did it! It was magnificent! Wanda, you saved us!”
“Yes.” Chaka rubbed his forehead “I felt some of it. Oh, stars, that was quite a show. Your brain, it’s a like a neutron torpedo.”
“You have a lethal weapon there.” Stuben kept looking at Wanda with admiration. “They won’t mess with us for awhile.”
“S-stop it! It’s not a w-weapon,” she muttered. “Can’t use thoughts to kill. Didn’t you see what happened to Tynek? It bounced right back. Killed all of them...almost killed myself!”
"Shhh. You did what you had to, dear." Caryn took Wanda's hand. "I'd probably do the same, if I could. Wish I had the mental force you do."
Stettin wrapped her in a tight embrace and stroked her hair, and wiped away her tears. I turned into a horrible person, Stettin...like Them.
"No you didn't. You'll never be like them, my love. You're the kindest person in Trantor."
Allita stood over them. "Stop beating yourself up. If not for you, they'd have taken us all. Either killed us right there, or took us to their torture chambers. Then the Emperor would make us into his slaves, like they did with Tynek. How do you s'pose that would have helped this Seldon Plan of yours?"
"She's right," Professor Dekam said. "The thought is chilling. We can't let them get their hands on us, no matter what."
“But it's true, Wanda...the destructive thoughts are very dangerous," said Chaka. "Remember what we learned in Psych Clinic? Create partitions in your brain. If you have to fight, keep the emotions in the back where they don’t get in the way.”
“Yes, Doctor. Have to be icy and controlled...like a creature made of stone." Wanda wiped her eyes. M-most basic lesson." Finally, her heart rate quieted to normal.
***
"Folks, now that the Eyes have pinpointed us, they’re probably closing off the area already. We’ll have to take a detour.”
Wanda could tell that Stettin was trying to barrier his fear. “It won’t be pretty. The good news is, it will get us to Dahl. Even the Imperials are cautious in Dahl. Rough area, you know.”
“What’s the bad news?” asked Orvil.
“It leads through a sewage conduit.”
“Gross!" Beka wrinkled her nose.”
He shrugged, grinning. The only way to deal with this unpleasantness was humor. “If you don’t like the job I’m doing, get yourself a better tour guide to Trantor’s hottest vacation spots."
He opened the cover to a dark hole, and beckoned them in. “Come on...right this way please. We have to hurry. And don’t make a sound!”
They began to crawl, trying not to breathe the fetid odor. “It’s not too far.” Stettin told them. But it seemed like an eternity.
“If Lady Parkerstowe could see me now! She was right...no standards at all.”
***
At last, gratefully, they stepped out of the dark passage. Stettin and Orvil scouted up ahead. “There’s an abandoned transit line. Commerce Three Route L.”
The group held hands as they walked, trying to dispel their fear.
“You think we lost them?” said Allita.
“I don’t sense anyone else around,” said Stettin. “Although I wish I had an electronic scanner.”
They came to a passenger station, and collapsed for a rest.
They found a water tap and tried to clean up. "If we don't get a shower soon, even Dahl won't want anything to do with us."
Food was the next item on the agenda.
“Well look at this.” Stuben discovered a food dispenser. “Pro-Teen Deluxe Packs from the year 12040 G.E. Let’s see if I can get a few out.”
Allita sighed. “Gosh, I'm tired of stale yeast cakes.”
“I’ll scout around,” said Stuben. “Maybe there’s some Myco-G in one of those bins.”
“Don’t waste your time. That’s made of yeast too.”
A verbal conversation helped keep their minds off their situation. “What do you think has happened to the others?” The raid of the Psych Clinic had displaced a group of about 15 Psychologists.
“Perhaps they’re still safe. Hiding in Streeling maybe?”
“Hope so.”
Stettin motioned everyone. “We’ve got to keep moving. Put at least a days worth of travel between us and them.”
***
The mention of the Eyes was enough to get them moving, and they spent the rest of that day walking and sometimes crawling through the tunnels. They moved in darkness, except for Stettin’s tiny battery light and the occasional ventilation shaft opening from above. He called a halt when they reached another abandoned station, which was full of rubble. Pieces of the roof had collapsed.
“I don’t get any sense of people around.” Wanda said. “You think it’s safe here?”
Stettin shrugged. “I don’t know, but I’m about done. I can’t go any farther. ”
They all collapsed for a rest, huddled in a corner together.
“I’m tired, but I can’t relax,” Beka said. “We need some bedtime stories to unwind. Wanda, they say Hari Seldon had to run and hide like us. Tell us about his adventures!”
Wanda sat against a wall. “Yes. He ran from one sector to the next. Went to a place called Mycogen. They had this weird religion...he was chased by a raging mob because he violated their taboos. But they were said to be the best yeast farmers on the planet. I bet if we could get some of their authentic, high-end yeast seasonings, you wouldn’t be complaining. These others are fake.” She tossed away a half-eaten cake.
“So then Seldon visited Dahl and that was where he met my father, Raych—who was nothing but a scrappy little street kid back then. I think he tried to pick my grandpa Hari’s pocket the first time.”
The group loved that. “Then Dors Venabili broke his arm. Right?”
“Tell us about your grandmother Dors,” said Beka.
“Yes. Dors and Hari fought off a gang of Dahlite hoodlums. She took on 20 of them. No one could beat her. Even the Imperials were afraid of her! They called her the Tiger Woman. ”
“Wish she was here now.” Allita spoke up from the darkness. “We could use her help.”
Wanda sure did wish she had her unstoppable grandmother Dors here. And her father Raych, and mother, sister, and grandfather Hari. “Yes, the Mycogenians worshiped these artificial beings. Robots, they called them, that supposedly existed all over the galaxy as servants and protectors. When he learned about this, he went on a planet-wide quest to find out if any of these Robots still existed. Oh, you’ve probably heard all these stories before,” she concluded, after awhile.
“Yeah, I saw a holodrama about Seldon’s adventures on the forbidden channel,” said Stuben. “Thought it was just fiction!”
“Yes, Grandpa was quite a firebrand when he was young. He was a Twister, y'know. They say he could handle himself in a fight, and he got in a lot of fights. Not his fault of course.” This discussion brought up a whole lot more memories. “In his older years he got so discouraged. They cut off his project funding, and he didn’t see how he could go on any further with psychohistory. But then...what I can’t understand…”
“Yes? Go on,” Beka encouraged.
“When he learned of my mind-touch ability, he got super excited. He went back and re-did most of his calculations. He said it was ‘a revolution in psychohistory.’ Said ‘this changes everything!’ I wondered why it was so important.”
“Perhaps it signaled the further evolution of humanity,” said the Professor.
Story time was over. Now it was Psychohistory time. “Till then, grandpa was just describing the goal of his Plan as a return of civilization from barbarism. But then, it seems like his thinking evolved. The University gave me few of his final papers, and I found an entry in his journal. Dated a few months before his death. It was titled ‘Beyond Psychohistory'. I learned some things that he had never shared before. He didn’t like to talk about his childhood, and I didn’t snoop.”
Wanda put her hands together. “I learned that my grandfather lived through a rebellion on his homeworld. A space armada bombarded his planet. He lost his mother and was trapped for several days. I think it was the critical moment of his life—just like what happened to us. That was when he vowed to use his math to change the direction of the future, so these things wouldn’t happen again.”
“Amazing,” said the Professor.
“That was how he became preoccupied with psychohistory. But...eventually he saw it as a dead end. Psychohistory predicted that war and violence would just keep happening, because of the human weakness for aggression and corruption. None of it would end until there was a basic change in human beings. 'I dream of a humanity that knows its unity and feels its one-ness,'" Wanda quoted, “’a humanity that needs no weapons, no battles, no empires.’ He dreamed that humans would step beyond psychohistory.”
‘Well that’s interesting,” said Professor Dekam. “I thought psychohistory was supposed to be the answer to everything.”
“How did Seldon believe he could change humanity?” said the doctor. “That sounds like the expression ‘pie in the sky’.”
“Well, that’s where mind-touching came in. Originally he thought of a Second Foundation merely as a backup if the first one failed. But then he discovered the existence of mentalic talent. He learned that I could influence thoughts, and realized that even my dad Raych had that ability. How else did a little street kid like Raych become the favorite of Hari Seldon?”
“Good point,” Caryn said.
“I've figured it all out. Seldon realized that a group with this ability could use Persuasion to steer humanity away from wars, hate and aggression. They could guide humanity to that place 'beyond psychohistory'. That was to be the purpose of the Second Foundation.”
“Hm.” The Professor pondered. “All this was part of your plan, when you first recruited us?”
“Well...I knew we were very important to Seldon's Plan. I wasn't sure of the specifics, or how to explain. I’m not really a leader, you know. I...had a vague idea of our potential. But after I saw how we could heal with Persuasion, and understood the science behind it, it’s all become much more real for me.” Wanda looked at the group. “So...how do you feel about our true purpose? Would you want to drop out?”
“I don’t know,” said Stuben. “It’s kind of heroic. ‘Saving the Galaxy’ and all that.”
Wanda could tell his mind was on those heroic space captains in the holo-shows.
“It’s an inspiring idea,” said Caryn. “Although probably impossible.”
Allita looked up from braiding her purple hair. “I’m proud to be part of something more noble and meaningful than pleasing grabby customers. Anyway I was s’posed to do more with my life. I was gonna go to college, but the Eyes took my parents when I was 6. I’d like to stick it to the Empire. Who needs it anyway? Got to be something better.”
"It's not just the Empire," said Stuben. "The entire human race is fucked up."
“Wow,” said the Professor. “We went from helping a few crash victims, to removing all the evil behaviors of humanity. There’s a bedtime story for you.”
“I dunno.” Stuben frowned. “I don’t think people will take kindly to a group that can influence thoughts. Soon as anyone found out, we’d be squashed like bugs. It’d be a war of ‘us versus them’. So how are we supposed to carry out this idealistic plan of yours?”
Wanda held onto her head. "I wish I knew. Of course, no matter what anyone thinks, our influence will only be for healing and things that are beneficial. We’ll take an oath to be helpers of humanity and stick to it.”
Beka spoke up. “Yeah, people love galactic saviors. I can just see people saying ‘thanks for taking away all the fun stuff we love...like playing with deadly weapons, blowing stuff up, killing each other, and being jerks’!”
Wanda laughed. Her family always managed to pull her out of her down moods. “Well, at least I love you guys. I lost everyone I loved, but now I have you, my soul-family.” She enveloped all of them in a mental embrace.
Chapter 6: The Temple of Serene Hope“Ladies and gentlemen,” said Stettin, imitating a transport guide, “we have arrived at our destination in Dahl Industrial. Please disembark in an orderly fashion. And please consider traveling with Stettin Palver Underground Lines for all your future escape needs.”
They stepped out of the tunnel and emerged into a grimy warehouse district. But instead of being abandoned, it was crowded with humanity. People were camped out all along the walls in their blankets, huddled with their belongings. Few took any notice of the group of scruffy fugitives that had showed up.
Keeping their senses open, the group walked along. Ragged people wandered around, or lay on the sidewalks. At the end of the block, a crowd stood in line.
Barr Kender, a Dahlite native, spoke up. “There’s a hostel up ahead. They’re giving meals to hungry folks. Let’s get in line.”
“I wonder what happened here?” said Caryn.
“Part of a level collapsed in the Crash. Dahl still hasn’t got some of its utility grid on line. They’re always the last to get aid and food. The commissioners steal it all. Oh, I know that lady!” Barr Kender pointed to one of the foodline workers. “That’s my friend Hallie Milla!”
The foodline woman caught sight of him and called out. “Hey! It’s Barr Kender!” She opened her arms. “I remember you! You got us a shipment! It came in handy. So what’s up now—who are your friends?”
Barr conferred with Milla and gestured toward the rest of the group.
“Got the Eyes after ya, eh? Here, you look hungry.” She stopped to hand out rations to them.
Barr told her something else and her eyes widened.
“My buddy here tells me you’re connected with Seldon. If you’re friends of his, you’re friends of mine. Dahl loves Seldon,” the lady whispered. “Two of his closest people were from Dahl. He lifted them from poverty. Made them part of his Hope.”
“Yes,” said Wanda. “Raych Fosse, my father. And Yugo Amaryl, my 'uncle'. Both Dahlites.”
“You’re Raych’s daughter?” Milla’s eyes widened. “I'm so, so honored to meet you. Any family of Seldon will always have a welcome in Dahl. But But first...get some clean clothes out of that charity bin. No offense, but you folks could use a wash.”
“Sorry. That’s Stettin’s fault,” Beka said, “for leading us through the--”
"Never mind. You need a place to stay? I got a place under the freight line. It ain't no palace, just a cheap rooming house.”
“We have no rent money...” Wanda began.
“Shut up. You're family.” Milla gave them all an extra serving of something that was at least warm, if not exactly delicious.
The rooming house was a crumbling structure just under a noisy freight transport line. They had to crawl in because the front of the house had partially collapsed.
“Suits me,” said Allita. She promptly curled up on a ratty sofa, while the rest found pallets and blankets. Wanda curled up with Stettin and instantly fell asleep.
***
It seemed they had not rested long when a sense of danger woke Wanda. They peered out the cracked door. The landlady stood there on the walkway in front of the house, arguing with a crowd of tough-looking guys. Their leader looked like he could beat Stettin in a fight, and his mustache was more luxurious than Barr's. He brandished a thick, flashy Dahlite knife in one hand and some sort of blaster in the other.
“Open the door, Milla.”
“Get lost, Pulger. This here’s my house.”
“Get outta the way. That might be your crummy heap of bricks but this here street belongs to the Arrows.”
“Oh, by the Darkstar,” Barr exclaimed.
Stettin grabbed his arm. “What’s he mean? Who’s the Arrows?”
“The gang that controls Lower Dahl Freight Area 10. Got a hand in every kind of crime. They were stealing food shipments too. The rat bastards!”
“We hear them’s valuable folks in there,” the Arrow leader Pulger yelled. “Wanted by the Eyes. A big reward for them.”
Milla let loose some some choice descriptions of Pulger’s lower anatomy. “We ain't traitors. We don’t give up folks to the Eyes.”
“How do we know you don’t? You might want that reward. Give them to us. We can protect them better than you.”
“Bull crap!” Barr clenched his fists. “That’s a filthy lie. I know those sewer-scrapers. They suck up credits like a cleaner sucks dust.”
Stettin began trying to pry up a loose piece of floor board.
“You think you can fight them off with a stick of wood?” Barr grabbed his arm. “There’s too many of them for you.”
“Let me be. I saved Hari Seldon. I’m a Twister.” Stettin flexed his muscles, gearing up for the unique self-defense art.
“Fancy martial arts won’t protect you from illegal large-capacity blasters,” Barr said.
A thrown projectile thudded against the house. The shouting noises increased in volume. The gang’s story seemed to have changed. “There’s traitors in there. Enemies of Dahl! Give'em to us! “
Wanda and the others clumped together, paralyzed with terror. Wanda felt her rage ramping up, and forced it back. No, wait! She had already injured or killed people with mind-power...and almost killed herself in the process!
“Wait,” she said to her people, making a pushing-down motion with her palms. “Calm down. No rage, no anger. Try the opposite approach. Partition your brain. Remember? Put the fear in a tiny box and bring out your most peaceful thoughts.”
Mentally she held hands with the group and thought about the calming emotion of stroking someone’s hair. As calm as that. Send it out to them, serene and peaceful as candle flame. I’ll go out so they can see me. When they see I’m calm, they’ll pick it up. It’s like a shield around me.
“They can’t touch us through this aura,” said Wanda, and stepped out, projecting a halo of calm.
The gangsters stared, eyes bugging out. “What the…”
Stettin and Beka followed her. All three of them joined in the calming projection. To strengthen the Persuasion, Wanda imagined a pool of water, like the one she had once seen at the Streeling Meditation Park. The designers had created in a little ecology of plants; singing insects. What could be more peaceful and serene?. Wanda held out her hands, palms up, sending the visualization of that rippling, luminous pool of water.
She addressed the gang with thoughts, images, emotions. All of you: I can feel our connection. A level where all humanity is One. I know you feel pain and anger, maybe because of injustice and hunger. But there’s a level where you want kindness and peace. See? That’s what I’m sending you.
Gang leader Pulger stared at her. “Wh...what in the...”
What did he see? The waves of empathy and calm emanated from the tall woman with braided hair and the well built muscular man beside her and the shorter woman on her other side. And the rest of the fugitives had come out to join Wanda and magnify the calming field. The whole group was scruffy and filthy from hiding in tunnels...and yet their faces held such a peculiar expression of empathy and resolve and courage. This small group, in existence barely two years, already possessed an aura that set them apart.
“See? This is better than you ever felt from fighting, knifing and hurting people.” And while the gang leader was bemused by the effect that the group had on him, Wanda met his eyes and found the Aggression Spike within him and ever so delicately smoothed the edges. Forget those feelings, forget that you ever wanted to hurt people or take greedy advantage or climb over others or stab anyone with that big Dahlite knife of yours.
Pulger muttered something and tossed the knife aside.
The rest of her group were busy too, smoothing out the other gangsters. They might defend themselves, but they would take no more joy in hurting, starting trouble, terrorizing.
“This is weird,” said his sideman. “What are we doing here? Let’s go.”
As the gang melted away, Wanda noticed that a large number of bystanders had gathered.
“What just happened?” they were whispering among themselves. “‘We saw what you did.”
“What did she do?” asked an old man
“I dunno. It was a ray of light I think. Came from her head.”
“No,” said someone else, “it was like music that made me feel calm.”
“No, it felt like when I was a kid, with my mama.”
“I could feel the peace inside. Like praying, y’know?”
“I never saw Pulger throw away his knife,” said Milla. “It’s a miracle!”
Wanda understood. Surely there wasn’t a human being in the galaxy that couldn’t sense a glimmer of the mentalic frequency, if only on a subconscious level.
“She’s a holy woman. Ain’t you?” The crowd pushed close, wanting to touch her.
“Can ya perform miracles? My little boy needs healing. He...he can’t stop cryin’. He’s been crying since the Crash.”
Wanda turned to the others. The crowd won’t go away unless we heal the boy. Simple mental surgery I guess. "Bring the boy and we’ll try to help.”
“Put him on this blanket.” Wanda and Chaka examined the boy. The memories of the Crash still torment him. There it is. Fairly simple to remove it.
The boy ran to his mom, smiling.
After that, the people of the neighborhood stuck to the visitors like glue. They pressed food into the visitors’ hands and begged them, “please honor me by staying at my house.”
“No, mine!”
Beka winked. “What were we saying about people loving the Second Foundation?”
Wanda shook her head. “Still, we’ve got to invent a cover story. Or word will get around, about the mind-touching Psychologists.”
And she began to invent. The best cover would be...religion.
“My group and I, we’re part of a...spiritual movement,” she told the people. “They call me...Sister Shara.” That sounded sufficiently anonymous. “Our group is called the Temple of...the Temple of Serene Hope,” she invented. Because that’s what Grandpa’s Plan was all about: hope.
“Sister Shara, of the Temple of Serene Hope,” the people murmured, spreading the name around. “We want to join.”
She put a finger to her lips. “This Temple is a secret. We don’t want the Eyes to know.”
“Oh, of course not. We’ll keep you hidden from the Eyes. Dahl is blessed to receive a visit from a saint. It’s been over two years since the Station Crash, but still...people are so afraid, and suffering.”
“We want to help,” said Sister Shara.
“It looks like this is our new Psych Clinic,” Chaka remarked.
“Yes. Under the cover of religion. But...it’s more than just that.. Remember that gang, the Arrows? Couldn’t you feel their minds? An apt name for them. Remember what we were talking about? Seldon’s plan for humanity’s future was that people would lose that warlike aggression and learn empathy for each other. Dahl is a good place to start.”
***
Sister Shara began her ministry by wearing a translucent veil so no video cameras could pick up and identify the face of Wanda Seldon. And she urged the others in her group to do the same.
“Let me teach you about the Serene Hope. You will gain serenity from smoothing the ugly spikes in your brain...the knives of greed, hatred. Smooth out your mind and let empathy come in.”
Word got around in the Lower sectors where the food and light didn’t always reach. There is a saint, Sister Shara. She and her acolytes bring hope and healing for the terrors, nightmares, darkness of the soul.
People had their gods, of course: the Galactic Spirit and the traditional deities. The healing ‘miracles’ were ascribed to them. Any ‘miracle’ must be credited to a supernatural force. People love saints and miracle-workers, but hate mind-readers.
Sister Shara and her Temple would do the same kind of healing they had done at the Clinic: erasing trauma, straightening out mental afflictions. The Temple healers did not preach of a God, only a way of seeing and a way of linking. There was a pathway in the brain for empathy, and a certain frequency. What Wanda and her group did was to strengthen that pathway and make people aware of their common bond. Where they sensed dangerous aggression spikes, they smoothed them out, just the tiniest bit.
In time, it was enough to have an effect. There was less violence, fewer murders. People put away their weapons. People gave up using drugs and alcohol to suppress their traumas. The gangs stopped fighting and started delivering food.
The gangster Pulger asked to meet Sister Shara. All traces of his former hostility were gone. “Sister,” he said, bowing with reverence, “are you a messenger from the Hidden Name?”
Wanda could hear the name he was thinking. “You mean Hari Seldon.”
“Shh. Ya ain't sposed to say the name. The Eyes might hear...but yeah. He left our world, to create a Hopeworld for the future. You’re one of his, ain’t ya. ”
Wanda blinked: the only sign of the emotions she had stored deep inside a private box. How much she missed Grandpa! “I am one of his.”
“I thought so, Sister. Now I gotta tell you. It ain’t safe for your folk here. There’s already spies askin’ questions. Now listen: there’s a Null level below. Not on any city maps. All the outlaw people live there. Secret markets, you can get any kinda tech ya need... I can get ya in and you’ll be safe. No one will bother ya. Ya can come out and visit if you’re careful, do yer preachin’ if ya want, but you need a hideout.”
Chapter 7: Null LevelIt looked like a freight elevator, but Pulger pressed a series of codes and beckoned the group aboard. When they emerged, they found themselves in an area so vast they could not see the other side. The space Wanda could see, resembled one of the malls in the Main sector, except without any of the ostentation or attempt to capture the shoppers. Just plain partitions of bare metal. Within the stalls, every kind of merchandise was heaped in disarray: cheap clothing, throwaway consumer toys, antiques, food packs, and tech. Lots of tech.
"This here's the Null Market," said Pulger. "Anything ya need!"
“We don’t have credits to buy anything,” Stettin told him. “We just need a safe place to hide for a while..”
Pulger made introductions. “These are my buddies. Jael and G’don Eksteen of the Zydii. I’ll leave ya with them.”
The gang leader slipped away, leaving Wanda’s group with a couple of ancient-looking vendors and their pile of small tech toys: code crackers, communicators, battery chargers, key cards.
“Hey there,” said G’don, stroking his bushy beard. The woman Jael, wore an apron with about a thousand pockets. A large collection of children surrounded the visitors and stared.
G’don put his palms together and bowed. “Welcome in the name of AKOS the All Knowing Oversoul. Anyone that’s an enemy of Empire, is friends to us. We hear ya need some help.” He pointed to the curtain behind his vending booth. “There’s crash-space in the back. Make yourself at home.”
***
“There’s a whole lot of null space in Trantor,” G’don explained. “We go around from one space to another.”
“I’ve studied the history of Trantor all my life,” said Professor Dekam, while the two vendors shared out bowls of an unidentified type of stew that they cooked on a tiny burner. “And I’ve never heard about the Zydii or the null spaces.”
G’don had invited a bunch of friends, all of them equally bearded, the women sporting aprons full of goods, and all of them trailing children. “That’s good you never heard of us. We don’t want anyone to know about us.”
“No. We don’t got no licenses or permits,” said Jael. “We sell stuff that you’re not sposed to have. You know...hacker modules, forbidden books. Weapons.”
“Stuff from off-planet. We know where the surface exits are. Lots more than the Imperials know.”
“Aye. We been around a lot longer than the Imperials. Since humans lived on one planet!”
“Which is why they don’t like us. They’d like to get rid of us.”
Dekar spoke up. “Why are you telling us your secrets then?”
“Cause they don’t like you either, and that makes you our friends. And of course, cause you came from the Hope Man.”
Wanda already knew they meant Seldon. You might think there was already some telepathy involved: everyone seemed to know about Wanda, her group and their connection with Seldon.
***
Within a few months it was as if Wanda and her group had always lived in the Null Marketspace. Everyone came to see them, everyone wanted to participate in the Temple of Serene Hope, and then there was food and music and gifting.
“See? This here gizmo will open all the access hatches. And this one here, you can send messages on a private level. Not monitored by the Eyes. This one’s a scanner. Senses any Eye activity within 10 blocks. Oh and this one? Has a bit of code to get you a fake identity. That’s always a good idea.”
A lean youth with his hair in a ponytail stood up. “Me and my buddies here, we belong to the Astroguild. We got a few ships with stealth shielding. If ya ever want to get off-planet, we can take ya. Anyplace you’d like to go?”
“I wouldn’t mind leaving Trantor,” Barr muttered.
“And go where?” said Allita.
“I don’t know. Terminus maybe?”
Wanda gave them a sharp look. She had to admit the idea was tempting. Was there some planet where she and Stettin and the others could just live like normal human beings? No, no. That wasn’t in the Plan. Was it?
***
A few months stretched to a year. Wanda’s people picked up skills and trades, while passing on their own knowledge.
“I like it here,” Beka said.
Wanda and the others, many originally from respectable middle-class backgrounds, came to look as ragged and colorful as these underground nomads. And the lines of fear disappeared from their faces.
Like the others, they lived in makeshift cubicles of scrap metal. They practiced their disciplines: mental partitioning, linkage, projecting a field of calm. In this village and on their visits to Dahl, they acted as the Temple, healing those with mental afflictions and teaching the way of mentalic empathy. Barr and Caryn made contacts in Dahl and used some Persuasion to bring more food shipments.
Meanwhile they also learned how to use the clever tech that would help them survive and evade detection. Their hosts introduced them to a whole network of tribes who plied the hidden levels, unlisted in any Empire census.
Now that all her energy wasn’t going to survival, Wanda had more time to think. The equations began to flow once more in her mind. For the first time since the Crash, she activated the Prime Radiant and let the equations flow across the corrugated metal wall of her dwelling. The others came to gaze at the display. Some of them had never seen it before.
“What does it mean?” asked Allita. “Does it tell the future?”
Wanda smiled. Some of her young followers had never even seen the inside of a University. “In a sense. We're right here at the beginning, see? Many possible futures unfold from this point. Grandpa thought we’re to have a hand in shaping the future with our mentalic talents."
“That’s a job for gods,” said Dr. Chaka. “How can mere humans decide what’s best for the galaxy?”
“With constant calculation. Our job will be to study and calculate everything that happens.”
“So what do you think will happen?” Allita and Beka sat close together, like children expecting a story.
“One day in the future, as you can see here, the Empire is going to collapse. It will be up to Seldon’s two Foundations to preserve civilization. The First Foundation at Terminus will gain scientific prominence and lead the other worlds into a renaissance. Meanwhile it will be up to us, the Second Foundation, to find the critical points and use Persuasion to keep humanity on the right path.”
Professor Dekam leaned closer, studying a set of numbers. “What’s this one here?”
“It’s…” Wanda hesitated.. “It’s about the possible reaction by human beings when they suspect there's a secret Foundation that’s guiding them.
Dekam squinted. “I can’t interpret it, but I bet it’s not pretty. Like what’s happened to us already, only more so.”
“We’d better plan for that possibility,” said Stettin. “Protection, defense measures.”
Dekam scratched his short beard. “I wouldn’t blame people for being afraid of a group that can remove and change thoughts. I’m a little afraid of what could happen myself. ”
“Don’t think of us as some sort of omniscient puppet masters,” Wanda said with a laugh. “Our influence would be pretty minimal.”
“Steering the whole galaxy is minimal?”
“We have a long period to work with.”
“You people are insane.” Stuben stood up. “I’m off to look for some dinner.”
Wanda sighed. “He’s right. It is pretty insane. We are going to have to be the most ethical people who ever lived. The minds we’ll most need to control will be our own. I wonder if we’re up to it.”
“We would certainly need to evaluate new recruits better. We should have never accepted that Tynek fellow, for instance” said Doctor Chaka.
“He just seemed so pathetic,” Wanda said. “I felt sorry for him.”
“And so your natural human kindness almost destroyed us. He nearly betrayed us, and thereby wrecked Seldon’s entire plan.”
“What about those other equations?" asked the Professor.
Wanda looked at the next set of numbers. She peered closer and their meaning came together in her mind and she stepped back with a gasp, as if she could escape them. Now I understand.
Stettin looked at her. “Wanda, what did you see? There’s something else in that section, isn’t there. Something bad.”
“I don’t want the others to know.”
Allita stood up and fixed Wanda with a glare. “It’s too late. We already know you’re keeping something from us. Open your thoughts and tell us.”
Wanda put her hands to her head. Sometimes she envied normals for being able to hide things. “Now I understand Grandpa’s mixed signals.”
“What do you mean?”
“He...spoke of Stettin and I ‘casting our nets’, searching for other mentalics. Then he’d turn around and hint that we should be withdrawing into some kind of isolation, at this ‘Star’s End’.”
“So what do you think he meant?” Chaka asked.
“He...realized he’d made a mistake. He conceived of the Second Foundation, and wanted me to lead it...but when he realized what was in store for our descendants, he wanted me to run like hell. The numbers...they predict some very bad times.”
“How bad?”
“This set here, it suggests that...well, the Second Foundation may not even survive the next few centuries. At some point, there’s a 47 percent chance of total extinction.”
They absorbed this in stunned silence.
“Is this...during the fall of Trantor?”
“I think it suggests that...there will be a 'dark time', before the Fall.” Wanda clamped her lips shut, and tried to barrier her thoughts too.
Stettin put an arm around her. “What can we do?”
“We’ll have to make some further calculations.”
Allita made a rude noise. “Ah, it’s just a bunch of stupid numbers. Don’t let ‘em get you down. If you don’t like ‘em, change ‘em!”
Wanda smiled in spite of herself. “Yes, that’s the spirit. Let’s forget the future for awhile, and think about now.”
***
“I wish we could stay here forever,” Wanda said to Stettin, as they lay on their pallet in their scrap dwelling. “Have a family here.”
The dire future prediction weighed on her mind, along with Allita’s words:let’s just think about now.
Yes, let’s turn off our brains and be like normal human beings. Wanda buried all her thoughts beneath another yearning which overwhelmed her. Hold me close, Stettin. They embraced fiercely, and lost themselves and forgot about everything else.
***
A few months later, while Stettin was working on an electronic module with G'don, Wanda took him aside. Stettin, we made a mistake.
Perhaps the fear of future extinction had triggered some primal survival instinct in her. “We wanted so badly to be normal, that we forgot to be careful. I’m pregnant, Stettin.“
Stettin beamed with joy and hugged her close. “Don’t worry. It will be all right. They love children here.”
"We didn't even apply for a permit!”
Wanda was only half joking. Citizens of Trantor were supposed to get permits for children.
"Then we'll have to stay here, won't we. None of these people are legal."
“I’d love to stay. We can raise our own family.” To take the place of all the ones I lost. “The Second Foundation isn’t exactly legal either.”
Legal or not, Wanda had never been this happy, since the awful day the day she had learned that her father, mother and sister had died during a rebellion on distant Santanni. A few months later, she realized that she could sense two children inside. “Guess what Stettin, we’re going to have twins!”
You’ll be safe and secure, she told the children in her expanding belly. You’ll both have a good life.
Happiness and contentment bloomed in her. The months went by, busy and productive. And then one day there was a stir in the Null Market. G’don came running in.
“We gotta clear the town out at once! The scanner’s picking up trouble. The Eyes are coming to raid!”
Stettin began stuffing belongings in a sack. “Is it because of us?”
“No, one of the traders made a slip-up.”
Panic filled the Zydii village. Including Wanda and the rest of her group.
G’don handed Stettin a packet. “Take these here. A map, a few stunners, and a jammer. To maybe disable some of the electronic controls on their weapons.”
He led them to a cargo cart, big enough for the group to crowd together, and pointed to a tunnel. “Take Route C. Turn off to Station Three, several miles ahead. Now go…” He thumped Stettin on the shoulder. “And may AKOS protect you!”
As they left, they heard the sounds of chaos. The Imperials had burst in, and were smashing the market stalls.
Chapter 8: PursuitThe tunnel was barely lit by a line of battery lights, placed by the Null folks. The group made slow progress because of the rubble and tiles that had fallen from the ceiling. “The Imperials don’t maintain this very well.” Professor Dekam tried to crack a joke. “What are we paying our taxes for?”
Stettin consulted the map and went into his Listening trance. “I’m afraid there’s a regiment of them up ahead, waiting at the intersection.”
“Is there some other detour we can take?” Dekam pointed at a small side passage.
“It’s a dead end. Maintenance.”
The group clung together so tightly, both physically and on the mentalic level, it was like they wanted to crawl into each other for safety. “Wanda, you’re taking up too much room,” Beka joked. “Enough for three people!”
And then Wanda felt a sharp pain in her belly.
“What is it?” Caryn turned to her.
“I think...I think I’m starting labor.”
“Oh, by the Mercy. Hold onto me, dear.”
Orvil was driving the cart and he rolled to a stop. “It’s happening now?”
“N-not yet. Maybe soon. Please,” she begged the group. “Don’t let me slow you down. If you need to run, go without me.”
“Shut up,” Stettin said. “You know we’re not abandoning you.”
The group linked together with a field of calm and support. Stettin met her eyes and a whole universe of communication passed between them. They relived all of the time they had spent together. I love you Wanda, and I’ll die to protect you and our children.
No. You mustn’t die. This group needs you.
“Maybe no one will die. Maybe we can stop them.” He turned to his electronic gadgets. “They’re in armored carts, I think. Crawlers.”
Allita got out of their cart. “Let’s block their way. Make them get out of their car. Then you can stun them and we’ll Persuade.”
The group immediately began piling up rubble in the middle of the floor. “This will slow them down, anyway.”
An amplified voice called out from ahead. ‘Attention rebels, give yourselves up or be burned down instantly!”
“They’re bluffing,” Stettin said. “They want us alive.”
“Well they won’t get us. ” Chaka held out a handful of capsules. “A quick death would be better. These will work.”
Wanda doubled over with another pain. Oh, children, I wanted so much for you to live.
Stettin gave a stunner and a jammer to Orvil and they both crept forward, pressing themselves to the wall. “Let them come to us.”
The group hid behind the cart, waiting. Wanda could hear her own pulse, and feel the consciousness of her twins, and the linkage of all her comrades. Whatever happens, it was worth it to know you all, and and work and Link together, she told them.
She had never prayed before, but now she found herself reaching out to something. AKOS, All Knowing Oversoul: help us!
The noise of the Imperial Crawler filled the tunnel.
Stettin gestured toward the jammer in Orvil’s hand. “Press it now. It might stop the motor.”
The crawler came to a stop and the Eye troops emerged. “Now!” Stettin let them have it with the stunner. One went down. Weapons flared, tracing lines of fire. Wanda could feel Stettin’s cool determination. For not one second did he let fear or emotion distract him. With no anger, no hatred, he calmly fired his stunner and took cover behind the cart to fire again. Wanda had never seen such perfection of purpose. She had never loved him so much.
She massaged her belly and pushed all of the pain away. Comrades, link with me! With a cry, she pulled their mental energy together and sent a tremendous Persuasion:
Attention Imperial Troops! It’s scary in these tunnels. You don’t know what sort of dangers! Could be giant rats! Better turn around! Everyone heard the rumors of giant rats.
The rest of the group added to the imagery. These creepy people down here...they could be mutants...maybe cannibals! Everyone saw the holoshows about Tunnel Mutants. Waiting to trap you...tear into your flesh! Run!
Allita smiled, telling the Imperials You’re so scared, you’re going to pee your pants! Turn around and run!
Wanda couldn’t be sure. Were any of them hesitating? Were any of their weapons malfunctioning? A bright line of laser fire took Orvil directly in the chest and he fell. But Wanda could not let grief distract her. She kept up the Persuasion.
Hey Troopers! The air’s bad in these tunnels and there are constant collapses. Wanda dredged up her memory of being buried during the Crash and broadcast it to the dark figures of the Imperials as strongly as she could. Imagine how it would feel to be buried in rubble! Crushing your ribs! Splintering your chest! It’s going to happen any second! Hear that masonry cracking? Run!!
But in the middle, an excruciating labor pain doubled her over.
The Imperial commander rallied his men. “Come on! You cowards! Why are you weakening! Get them or you'll all go to prison yourselves!”
At that point she heard a new commotion: a group approaching the Imperials from behind. The troops yelled in panic as several huge figures barreled into them, pummeling furiously, ripping weapons from their hands. Wanda got a glimpse of one of the figures grabbing a trooper’s gun and bending the barrel with its bare hands. What in…
The Imperials, already spooked, began to flee up the side passage.
One of the huge figures picked Wanda up, easily as if she were a kitten. “Don’t be afraid.” Its gentle voice contrasted with its mighty physical appearance. “Come—all of you. We’re friends,” In the dim light, she caught a flash of silver in the rescuer’s eye.
After that, the labor pains intensified. Wanda had only blurred impressions of being placed in a fast shuttle, which seemed to fly through a series of barely-lit tunnels at very high speed. She clung to Stettin and rode out the labor pains, and finally they reached an opening, seeming large enough to fly aircraft through. A door lifted upward. Beyond was another enclosure, as vast as the Null level. Only this one had no market booths. Instead, she got a blurred impression of endless rows of bookshelves.
“Where are we?” Stettin asked.
“Beneath the Imperial Library,” said Silver-eye. “Welcome to the Sanctuary.”
Chapter 9: SanctuaryAnd there on a couch between two library stacks, Wanda gave birth to twins: a boy and a girl. “They will be named after my father and mother. Raych and Manella.”
“The first new children of the Second Foundation. Born among knowledge and wisdom,” said Doctor Chaka, who had delivered them. “How appropriate!”
***
One of the Rescuers remained with the group for several days. For some reason Wanda found it difficult to ask him who he was, and why he had rescued them. This fellow has Persuasion, she realized, and he has used it on me.
“All will be explained in good time,” he told her.
She lay in a small cubicle, nursing one of the twins while Stettin held the other. Beyond the partition she could see huge stacks of books and media, arching away to infinity. A soft restful light filled the chamber.
“You say we’re in the Imperial Library? My grandfather and I...we spent a lot of time in the Library. We never knew it had a level like this. This is like...an entire city.”
“The books were brought from other worlds,” said the Rescuer, “back when books were important. Now, refuge will also become important. The University knows nothing of this level. Nor does the Imperium.”
“Who maintains this? Another secret tribe?”
“Our organization. This chamber was excavated from bedrock when Trantor was first settled, before the Empire was even thought of,” said the Rescuer. “This is not part of any Empire map. Are you strong enough now? Then allow me to show you around.”
Wanda and Stettin put the babies into cloth carriers, and their Rescuer took them on a tour.
Plush chairs and couches were arranged in circles, as if waiting for future scholars to relax and hold meetings. “There are the dormitory quarters, kitchens. There's a huge cache of food.”
Wanda waved at the rest of the group, who had already made themselves at home in the kitchen.
“There’s an independent power supply, tapped from the planet’s core. Your people will be able to live here securely for extended periods. And there’s one more thing…”
The Rescuer ushered Wanda and Stettin into a small cart. They whizzed through the Sanctuary to another large door, held secure with a series of code-locks.
“Should you or your descendants find yourselves trapped, this exit tunnel leads to an unregistered launch point.” The Rescuer brought out a small notepad, on which was an image: a structure like a giant wheel, turning against the dark of space, surrounded by necklaces of stars.
“When your grandfather was First Minister, he was given authorization to board a small orbiting station. He used it for various tasks on behalf of the Empire and his work. But it has been decommissioned. Since that time my group has used it, and installed shielding so it is not detectable by official scans.”
“Another space station?” Wanda suppressed a momentary fear. “I hope it’s built better than the Magnus V.”
“Yes. Our group has better engineers than the Empire.” If the Visitor could smile, he would be doing so now. “Trantor has many orbiting stations and docks. This one is currently at a secret location, outside of Trantor’s orbit. We are calling it ‘Star’s End’.
“Star’s End? So that’s what my grandfather meant? That’s where he wanted us to go?”
“Yes. We suggest you begin abstracting the most important books and knowledge, and store it off-world. There is much you should preserve. You know what's in store for Trantor.”
Wanda sighed. “Yes. Trantor will lie in ruins.”
“Seldon removed a group of scientists to the Periphery to ride out the Fall,” said the Rescuer. “This Sanctuary, and the Star’s End station, may become the same thing for your Second Foundation. Your group is too important to be left to chance. Have a backup plan.”
Stettin spoke up. “Yes. I'm in favor of backup plans, but...you’re saying that all of us should just up and leave? I don’t like space stations,” he admitted, with a slight grin.
“Anyway....” Wanda put a hand on the Rescuer’s arm. “I know there’s danger in Trantor, but...I can’t see us just running away. I mean...I’ll discuss it with the others, but...”
Something in her rebelled at the idea. It was like when Lady Parkerstowe had suggested she sequester herself, in comfort and safety, abandoning her comrades and their clinic work. “We’ve been helping our world. People need us.”
“I understand. We know what you’ve been doing. My kind also have the compulsion to help above all.”
The Rescuer met Wanda’s eyes and for a moment she was lost in their silvery depths. What kind of person had silvery eyes…? There were all kinds of races in Trantor, but she had never seen this before. “C-can I ask you now? Who are you, and why did you rescue us, and what sort of being are you?”
“My name is Ladeen. I am a humaniform Robot, my lady.”
“A what?”
“We are artificial beings, created in the dawn of time to serve and protect the human race. We have been guarding humanity long before the first emperor ascended the throne. We must work in secret, with minimal interference. In fact, our very existence must be kept secret from humanity. I’m sorry, but after I leave, your memories of me will be erased.”
“I can keep a secret.”
The Robot did not answer that. “My mission was to see you to safety. Hari Seldon believed you were already safe at Star’s End. I later learned you had merely concealed yourself from him. Then came the Station Crash and we lost track of your group and we feared you were all dead. We sought you most anxiously for the last several years. We are so glad we have finally found you. And now I must leave, friends Wanda and Stettin—and you will forget you ever saw me.”
The Robot touched her forehead and was gone.
Wanda wondered: who were we talking to? Perhaps I imagined it. "We must get back, Stettin. The babies need their nap."
***
Other visitors arrived a few days later. They wore voluminous robes and velvet caps.
Wanda stared in surprise. “Lady Parkerstowe!”
The noble woman inclined her head. “Madame Seldon! Well I must say I’m surprised at how things have turned out.” Her lips quirked, with just a trace of her previous lofty manner, which then quickly vanished. “Somehow you have managed to get your group in here after all. Well...times certainly have changed.”
“So you’ve changed your ‘standards’?”
“So it would seem, dear.”
Wanda recognized Bettar and Marcel Klyn, two of her early psychohistory group who had worked in the Library. “Bettar! I didn’t recognize you with your beard!”
“Yes. I had to make my disguise more perfect.” Bettar laughed. “We heard that the Psych Clinic was raided. We still don’t know what happened to everyone. Some of us took refuge in the Library, and adopted these robes, posing as members of the Librarians’ Guild. How do you like them?”
“It’s just as well you didn’t bring your group to the Library before,” said Lady Parkerstowe. “The Imperials raided that too. Left the place in a shambles. It was an outrage! No emperor has dared to touch the Library before.” She folded her hands in prim disapproval. “Between you and me, Emperor Magnus is vulgar and common...he has no standards.”
“Most of the Librarians' Guild have fled,” said Bettar. “No one cares about books these days.”
“It’s been a frightening time,” said Marcel. “ It’s been open season on anyone associated with the Seldon Project. They arrested a lot of people who were probably innocent. Poor Lord Dupree was exiled to Cinder.”
“It was a miracle you managed to survive and make it to this Sanctuary,” said Bettar. “There’s been a huge reward out for you. You better not show your face in public.”
Marcel nodded. “We’re hoping our Foundation can stay invisible, under the guise of Librarians.”
“We’ve got to find the rest of our people and bring them together,” said Bettar. “There’s hundreds of years of psychohistory to calculate.”
“A lot more to do than just calculate,” Wanda muttered.
“Oh, let’s not talk about work right now,” said Lady Parkerstowe, shedding her aristocratic dignity. “Why don’t you let me hold one of those lovely babies of yours?”
***
They held a farewell ceremony for Orvil, who had been killed in the battle with the Eyes, and then, at two months, Wanda held a naming ceremony for the twins. To mark the occasion, she brought out the shining glass Arc her grandfather had given her. If it was a data crystal, perhaps it would record this occasion. If nothing else, it was a beautiful gift from Hari Seldon. “I name you Raych and Manella Seldon-Palver. You’re my little Mana and Ray.”
“We don’t really have gifts,” said Beka, “except books.”
“It’s traditional in my sector to make a promise to your children,” said Caryn. “Let’s do it!” She picked up baby Mana, who reached out to touch her eyes. “I promise you’ll always have cake! Made with Myco-G!”
Everyone passed the twins around and called them by their names.
“Mana! Ray! Okay I promise when you’re older we’ll take you to the Above levels where there’s art shows.”
“Music festivals.”
“Cute animals to pet!”
Ray put his fist in his mouth and laughed.
“We’ll get a pass to the beautiful Imperial gardens,” said Prof Dekam, “and show you real trees and sun.”
“You’ll go to school and have friends and parties.”
“What’s wrong, Wanda?” asked Caryn, although everyone already knew.
“None of those promises can happen.” Wanda wiped her eyes. “The minute we show our faces, the Imperials will snap us up. I’m more scared now than when I was hiding in a conduit.” She tried to stop crying but she was becoming unsuccessful. “I’m so afraid someone will harm my babies. I’d do anything to make the world safe for them.”
Stettin picked up his son Ray. “Wanda, Wanda. What have you always told us? Put the fear aside in a tiny box. These kids are going to sense every emotion of yours. We’ll protect them...I promise. We’re safe now, Wanda. And we’ve got this beautiful sanctuary to live in. Better than anyplace we’ve ever lived...it’s like a palace!” He enveloped baby and mother in a hug. “And I promise I’ll always protect my family. I’m your bodyguard, you know. I’ll deal with our enemies and I won’t quit till we’re safe.”
“My dear children, Ray and Mana,” said Wanda, “I promise you will not live in fear, hiding in conduits and dark levels in terror of the Imperials. You will not suffer persecution for your heritage as Seldon’s descendants. This I pledge to you.”
Wanda put her head against the baby’s. This is the first time I have ever told a lie.
At last, she got her emotions under control and remembered what her group had accomplished. In the midst of flight and terror, they had created something called the Temple of Serene Hope.
She brought baby Mana up to the Arc and put her hand on it. Ray also reached for the shining object and its light was reflected in his eyes.
“Dear Ray and Mana, I swear that you will always dwell in the Temple of Serene Hope. Not a physical structure, but a Temple of the mind and soul. You will know the serenity and compassion of mental linkage, and the hope of Seldon’s Plan. This I swear to you on the Arc of my grandfather Hari Seldon.”
Wanda made a hand sign, shaped like an arc, and the group copied her gesture. In that moment, the Arc became the sign of the Temple. Wanda had just created a ritual.
Perhaps that was why Grandfather had given her this beautiful object. Just for a symbol. Perhaps we’ll need these things in the future: a faith, an icon, a talisman. People need that in times of hardship.
And for sure there would be a hard road ahead. The struggles of the Second Foundation had just begun.