Foundation's Edge - Isaac Asimov [53]
"Might that not be coincidence?"
Pelorat laughed. "Now it is you who are talking coincidence. Would you care to lay a wager on such a thing happening by coincidence?"
"Well well," muttered Trevize.
"In fact, there's more to it. There's an archaic measure of time that's called the month--"
"I've heard of it."
"It, apparently, about fits the period of revolution of Earth's satellite about Earth. However--"
"Yes?"
"Well, one rather astonishing factor of the model is that the satellite I just mentioned is huge--over one quarter the diameter of the Earth itself."
"Never heard of such a thing, Janov. There isn't a populated planet in the Galaxy with a satellite like that."
"But that's good," said Pelorat with animation. "If Earth is a unique world in its production of variegated species and the evolution of intelligence, then we want some physical uniqueness."
"But what could a large satellite have to do with variegated species, intelligence, and all that?"
"Well now, there you hit a difficulty. I don't really know. But it's worth examination, don't you think?"
Trevize rose to his feet and folded his arms across his chest. "But what's the problem, then? Look up the statistics on inhabited planets and find one that has a period of rotation and of revolution that are exactly one Galactic Standard Day and one Galactic Standard Year in length, respectively. And if it also has a gigantic satellite, you'd have what you want. I presume, from your statement that you 'have an excellent possibility in mind,' that you've done just this, and that you have your world."
Pelorat looked disconcerted. "Well, now, that's not exactly what happened. I did look through the statistics, or at least I had it done by the astronomy department and--well, to put it bluntly, there's no such world."
Trevize sat down again abruptly. "But that means your whole argument falls to the ground."
"Not quite, it seems to me."
"What do you mean, not quite? You produce a model with all sorts of detailed descriptions and you can't find anything that fits. Your model is useless, then. You must start from the beginning."
"No. It just means that the statistics on populated planets are incomplete. After all, there are tens of millions of them and some are very obscure worlds. For instance, there is no good data on the population of nearly half. And concerning six hundred and forty thousand populated worlds there is almost no information other than their names and sometimes the location. Some galactographers have estimated that there may be up to ten thousand inhabited planets that aren't listed at all. The worlds prefer it that way, presumably. During the Imperial Era, it might have helped them avoid taxation."
"And in the centuries that followed," said Trevize cynically. "It might have helped them serve as home bases for pirates, and that might have, on occasion, proved more enriching than ordinary trade."
"I wouldn't know about that," said Pelorat doubtfully.
Trevize said, "Just the same, it seems to me that Earth would have to be on the list of inhabited planets, whatever its own desires. It would be the oldest of them all, by definition, and it could not have been overlooked in the early centuries of Galactic civilization. And once on the list, it would stay on. Surely we could count on social inertia there."
Pelorat hesitated and looked anguished. "Actually, there--there is a planet named Earth on the list of inhabited planets."
Trevize stared. "I'm under the impression that you told me a while ago that Earth was not on the list?"
"As Earth, it is not. There is, however, a planet named Gaia."
"What has that got to do with it? Gahyah?"
"It's spelled G-A-I-A. It means 'Earth.' "
"Why should it mean Earth, Janov, any more than anything