Forward the Foundation - Isaac Asimov [234]
"Pick it up yourself," the boy snarled and then he turned and walked away.
"It's another sign of society's breakdown, as predicted by your psychohistory, Professor Seldon," Palver said.
"Yes, Stettin. All around us the Empire is falling apart, piece by piece. In fact, it's already smashed-there's no turning back now. Apathy, decay, and greed have all played their parts in destroying the once-glorious Empire. And what will take its place? Why-"
Here Seldon broke off at the sight of Palver's face. The younger man seemed to be listening intently-but not to Seldon's voice. His head was cocked to one side and his face had a far-off look. It was as if Palver were straining to hear some sound inaudible to everyone but himself.
Suddenly he snapped back to the here and now. With an urgent glance around them, Palver took hold of Seldon's arm. "Hari, quick, we must get away. They're coming . . ." And then the still evening was broken by the harsh sound of rapidly approaching footsteps. Seldon and Palver spun around, but it was too late; a band of attackers was upon them. This time, however, Hari Seldon was prepared. He immediately swung his cane in a wide arc around Palver and himself. At this, the three attackers-two boys and a girl, all teenage ruffians-laughed.
"So, you're not goin' to make it easy, are you, old man?" snorted the boy who appeared to be the group's ringleader. "Why, me and my buddies, we'll take you out in two seconds flat. We'll-" All of a sudden, the ringleader was down, the victim of a perfectly placed Twist-kick to his abdomen. The two ruffians who were still standing quickly dropped to a crouch in preparation for attack. But Palver was quicker. They, too, were felled almost before they knew what hit them.
And then it was over-almost as soon as it started. Seldon stood off to the side, leaning heavily on his cane, shaking at the thought of his narrow escape. Palver, panting slightly from exertion, surveyed the scene. The three attackers were out cold on the deserted walkway under the darkening dome.
"Come on, let's get out of here quickly!" Palver urged again, only this time it was not the attackers they would be fleeing.
"Stettin, we can't leave," protested Seldon. He gestured toward the unconscious would-be muggers. "They're really nothing more than children. They may be dying. How can we just walk away? It's inhumane-that’s what it is-and humanity is exactly what I've been working all these years to protect." Seldon struck the ground with his cane for emphasis and his eyes gleamed with conviction.
"Nonsense," retorted Palver. "What's inhumane is the way muggers like that prey on innocent citizens like you. Do you think they'd have given you a second thought? They'd just as soon stick a knife in your gut to steal your last credit-and then kick you as they ran! They'll come to soon enough and slink away to lick their wounds. Or someone will find them and call the central office.
"But, Hari, you must think. After what happened last time, you stand to lose everything if you're linked to another beating. Please, Hari, we must run!" With this, Palver grabbed Seldon's arm and Seldon after a List backward glance, allowed himself to be led away.
As the footsteps of the rapidly departing Seldon and Palver diminished in the distance, another figure emerged from his hiding place behind some trees. Chuckling to himself, the sullen-eyed youth muttered,
"You're a fine one to tell me what's right and what's wrong, Professor." With that, he spun on his heel and headed off to summon the security officers.
26
"Order! I will have order!" bellowed Judge Tejan Popjens Lih. The public hearing of Professor Raven Seldon and his young associate, Stettin Palver, had generated a hue and cry among the populace of Trantor. Here was the man who had predicted the Fall of the Empire, the decay of civilization, who exhorted others to harken