Prelude to Foundation - Isaac Asimov [106]
"Because those are my orders."
She seized Seldon's arms just above his elbow and, as always, he was surprised by her firm grip. She said, "I'm against this, Hari, but if you feel you must go in, then I must go in too."
"All right, then. But if anything happens and you can wriggle out of it, run. Don't worry about me."
"You're wasting your breath, Hari. And you're insulting me."
Seldon touched the entrance panel and the portal slid open. Together, almost in unison, they walked through.
57.
A large room, all the larger because it was empty of anything resembling furniture. No chairs, no benches, no seats of any kind. No stage, no drapery, no decorations.
No lights, merely a uniform illumination of mild, unfocused light. The walls were not entirely blank. Periodically, arranged in spaced fashion at various heights and in no easy repetitive order, there were small, primitive, twodimensional television screens, all of which were operating. From where Dors and Seldon stood, there was not even the illusion of a third dimension, not a breath of true holovision.
There were people present. Not many and nowhere together. They stood singly and, like the television monitors, in no easy repetitive order. All were white-kirtled, all sashed.
For the most part, there was silence. No one talked in the usual sense. Some moved their lips, murmuring softly. Those who walked did so stealthily, eyes downcast.
The atmosphere was absolutely funereal.
Seldon leaned toward Dors, who instantly put a finger to her lips, then pointed to one of the television monitors. The screen showed an idyllic garden bursting with blooms, the camera panning over it slowly.
They walked toward the monitor in a fashion that imitated the others-slow steps, putting each foot down softly.
When they were within half a meter of the screen, a soft insinuating voice made itself heard: "The garden of Antennin, as reproduced from ancient guidebooks and photographs, located in the outskirts of Eos. Note the-"
Dors said in a whisper Seldon had trouble catching over the sound of the set, "It turns on when someone is close and it will turn off if we step away. If we're close enough, we can talk under cover, but don't look at me and stop speaking if anyone approaches."
Seldon, his head bent, his hands clasped before him (he had noted that this was a preferred posture), said, "Any moment I expect someone to start wailing."
"Someone might. They're mourning their Lost World," said Dors.
"I hope they change the films every once in a while. It would be deadly to always see the same ones."
"They're all different," said Dors, her eyes sliding this way and that. "They may change periodically. I don't know."
"Wait!" said Seldon just a hair's breadth too loud. He lowered his voice and said, "Come this way."
Dors frowned, failing to make out the words, but Seldon gestured slightly with his head. Again the stealthy walk, but Seldon's footsteps increased in length as he felt the need for greater speed and Dons, catching up, pulled sharply-if very briefly-at his kirtle He slowed.
"Robots here," he said under the cover of the sound as it came on.
The picture showed the corner of a dwelling place with a rolling lawn and a line of hedges in the foreground and three of what could only be described as robots. They were metallic, apparently, and vaguely human in shape.
The recording said, "This is a view, recently constructed, of the establishment of the famous Wendome estate of the third century. The robot you see near the center was, according to tradition, named Bendar and served twenty-two years, according to the ancient records, before being replaced."
Dors said, "'Recently constructed,' so they must change views."
"Unless they've been saying `recently constructed' for the last thousand years."
Another Mycogenian stepped into the sound pattern of the scene and said in a low voice, though not as low as the whisperings of Seldon and Dors, "Greetings, Brothers."
He did not look at Seldon and Dons as he spoke and after one involuntary and startled glance, Seldon kept