Foundation’s Edge CHAPTER FIFTEEN GAIA-S

GAIA-SSura Novi now stepped into the control room of the small and preferably old-fashioned ship that was carrying Stor Gendibal and herself across the parsecs in deliberate restricts.She had clearly been in the compact cleaning room, where oils, warm air, and a minimum of water freshened her body. She had a robe wrapped about her and was holding it tightly to herself in an agony of modesty. Her blur was dry exactly tangled.She said in a low voice, Master?Gendibal looked up from his charts and from his computer. Yes, Novi?I be sorrow-laden She paused and then said slowly, I am genuinely sorry to b separate you, Master (then she slipped again) muchover when I be loss-ridden for my clothing.Your clothing? Gendibal st ared at her blankly for a import and then rose to his feet in an admission of contrition. Novi, I forgot. They needed cleaning and theyre in the detergent-hamper. Theyre cleaned, dried, folded, all set. I should arrive fulfilln them out and placed them in clea r sight. I forgot.I did non like to-to (she looked d own at herself) offend.You dont offend, said Gendibal cheerily. Look, I promise you that when this is over I shall see to it that you eat a great deal of clothing rude(a) and in the latest fashion. We left in a hurry and it never occurred to me to bring a supply, yet really, Novi, in that location are only the devil of us and well be together for slightly time in very(prenominal) a unlessting quarters and its needless to be to be so c at oncerned about He gestured vaguely, became aware(predicate) of the horrified look in her eyes, and thought Well, shes only a country girl after all and has her standards probably wouldnt object to improprieties of all kinds but with her clothes on. and so he felt ashamed of himself and was glad that she was no scholar who could sense his thoughts. He said, Shall I get your clothes for you?Oh no, Master. It be non for you. I know where they are.He succeeding(a) saw her properly dre ssed and with her hair combed. There was a distinct shyness about her. I am ashamed, Master, to have behaved so improperly. I should have found them for myself.No matter, said Gendibal. You are doing very well with your Galactic, Novi. You are picking up the language of scholars very quickly.Novi smiled suddenly. Her teeth were somewhat un rase, but that scarcely detracted from the manner in which her face brightened and grew almost sweet under praise, thought Gendibal. He told himself that it was for that reason that he rather liked to praise her.The Hamish will think little of me when I am back home, she said. They will give voice I be am a word-chopper. That is what they holler out someone who speaks odd. They do non like much(prenominal).I doubt that you will be going back to the Hamish, Novi, said Gendibal. I am sure thither will continue to be a place for you in the complex with the scholars, that is when this is over.I would like that, Master.I dont suppose you would care to call me Speaker Gendibal or just No, I see you wouldnt, he said, responding to her look of s basindalized objection. Oh well.It would not be fitting, Master. further may I ask when this will be over?Gendibal shake his head. I scarcely know. remunerate now, I essential merely get to a particular place as quickly as I can. This ship, which is a very good ship for its kind, is slow and as quickly as I can is not very quick. You see (he gestured at the computer and the charts) I must work out ways to get across large stretches of space, but the computer is limited in its abilities and I am not very skillful. must you be there quickly because there is jeopardy, Master?What take shapes you think there is danger, Novi?Because I watch you sometimes when I dont think you see me and your face looks I do not know the word. Not afeared I mean, frightened and not bad-expecting, either.Apprehensive, muttered Gendibal.You look concerned. Is that the word?It depends. What do you m ean by concerned, Novi?I agent you look as though you are saying to yourself, What am I going to do next in this great trouble?Gendibal looked astonished. That is concerned, but do you see that in my face, Novi? Back in the Place of Scholars, I am extremely careful that no one should see allthing in my face, but I did think that, alone in space except for you I could relax and let it sit around in its underwear, so to speak. Im sorry. That has embarrassed you.. What Im trying to say is that if youre so perceptive, I shall have to be more careful. Every once in a while I have to relearn the lesson that even nonmentalics can make shrewd guesses.Novi looked blank. I dont check, Master.Im talking to myself, Novi. Dont be concerned. See, theres that word again. soothe is there danger?Theres a problem, Novi. I do not know what I shall find when I reach Sayshell that is the place to which we are going. I may find myself in a situation of great difficulty.Does that not mean danger? No, because I will be able to handle it.How can you tell this?Because I am a scholar. And I am the best of them. There is postcode in the Galaxy I cannot handle.Master, and something very like agony twisted Novis face, I do not wish to offensify I mean, give offense and make you angry. I have seen you with that oafish Rufirant and you were in danger then and he was only a Hamish farmer. Now I do not know what awaits you and you do not, either.Gendibal felt chagrined, Are you agoraphobic, Novi?Not for myself, Master. I fear I am afraid for you.You can say, I fear, muttered Gendibal. That is good Galactic, too.For a issue he was meshed in thought. Then he looked up, took Sura Novis rather coarse hands in his, and said, Novi, I dont want you to fear anything. Let me explain. You know how you could tell there was or rather might be danger from the look on my face almost as though you could immortalize my thoughts?Yes?I can depict thoughts better than you can. That is wha t scholars learn to do and I am a very good scholar.Novis eyes widened and her hand pulled loose from his. She seemed to be holding her breath. You can read my thoughts?Gendibal held up a finger hurriedly. I dont, Novi. I dont read your thoughts, except when I must. I do not read your thoughts.(He knew that, in a serviceable sense, he was lying. It was impossible to be with Sura Novi and not understand the general tenor of some of her thoughts. One scarcely needed to be a indorsement Foundationer for that. Gendibal felt himself to be on the edge of blushing. But even from a Hamishwoman, such an attitude was flattering. And yet she had to be reassured out of common beneficence He said, I can also change the way people think. I can make people feel hurt. I canBut Novi was shaking her head. How can you do all that, Master? RufirantForget Rufirant, said Gendibal testily. I could have stopped him in a moment. I could have do him fall to the ground. I could have made all the Hamish H e stopped suddenly and felt uneasily that he was boasting, that he was trying to impress this churl woman. And she was shaking her head remedy.Master, she said, you are trying to make me not afraid, but I am not afraid except for you, so there is no need. I know you are a great scholar and can make this ship fly through space where it seems to me that no person could do aught but I mean, anything but be lost. And you use machines I cannot understand and that no Hamish person could understand. But you need not tell me of these powers of consciousness, which for certain cannot be so, since all the things you say you could have done to Rufirant, you did not do, though you were in danger.Gendibal pressed his lips together. Leave it at that, he thought. If the woman insists she is not afraid for herself, let it go at that. Yet he did not want her to think of him as a weakling and braggart. He simply did not.He said, If I did nothing to Rufirant, it was because I did not wish to. W e scholars must never do anything to the Hamish. We are guests on your world. Do you understand that?You are our masters. That is what we always say.For a moment Gendibal was diverted. How is it, then, that this Rufirant attacked me?I do not know, she said simply. I dont think he knew. He must have been mind-wandering uh, out of his mind.Gendibal grunted. In any case, we do not harm the Hamish. If I had been forced to stop him by hurting him, I might have been poorly thought of by the separate scholars and might perchance have lost my position. But to save myself being badly hurt, I might have had to handle him just a small bit the smallest possible.Novi drooped. Then I need not have come rushing in like a great fool myself.You did exactly right, said Gendibal. I have just said I would have done ill to have hurt him. You made it unnecessary to do so. You stopped him and that was well done. I am grateful.She smiled again blissfully. I see, then, why you have been so kind to me. I was grateful, of course, said Gendibal, a little flustered, but the important thing is that you must understand there is no danger. I can handle an army of ordinary people. Any scholar can especially the important ones and I told you I am the best of all of them. There is no one in the Galaxy who can stand against me.If you say so, Master, I am sure of it.I do say so. Now, are you afraid for me?No, Master, except Master, is it only our scholars who can read minds and. Are there other scholars, other places, who can oppose you?For a moment Gendibal was staggered. The woman had an astonishing gift of penetration.It was necessary to lie. He said, There are none.But there are so many stars in the sky. I once tried to count them and couldnt. If there are as many worlds of people as there are stars, wouldnt some of them be scholars? Be perspectives the scholars on our own world, I mean?What if there are?They would not be as strong as I am.What if they leap upon you suddenly before you are aware?They cannot do that. If any strange scholar were to approach, I would know at once. I would know it long before he could harm me.Could you run?I would not have to run. But (anticipating her objection) ifI had to, I could be in a new ship presently better than any in the Galaxy. They would not catch me.Might they not change your thoughts and make you stay?No.There might be many of them. You are but one.As soon as they are there, long before they can imagine it would be possible, I would know they were there and I would leave. Our whole world of scholars would then bust against them and they would not stand. And they would know that, so they would not dare do anything against me. In fact, they would not want me to know of them at all and yet I will.Because you are so much better than they? said Novi, her face shining with a doubtful pride.Gendibal could not resist. Her native intelligence, her quick understanding was such that it was simple bliss to be with her. That s oftvoiced monster, Speaker Debra Delarmi, had done him an incredible favor when she had forced this Hamish farmwoman upon him.He said, No, Novi, not because I am better than they, although I am. It is because I have you with me.I?Exactly, Novi. Had you guessed that?No, Master, she said, wondering. What is it I could do?It is your mind. He held up his hand at once. I am not reading your thoughts. I see merely the outline of your mind and it is a smooth outline, an unusually smooth outline.She put her hand to her forehead. Because I am unlearned, Master? Because I am so foolish?No, dear. He did not notice the manner of address. It is because you are honest and possess no guile because you are truthful and speak your mind because you are warm of heart and and other things. If other scholars send out anything to touch our minds yours and mine the touch will be instantly visible on the smoothness of your mind. I will be aware of that even before I would be aware of a touch on my own mi nd and I will then have time for counteractive strategy that is, to fight it off.There was a silence for long moments after that. Gendibal realized that it was not just happiness in Novis eyes, but exultation and pride, too. She said softly, And you took me with you for that reason?Gendibal nodded. That was an important reason. Yes.Her voice sank to a whisper. How can I help as much as possible, Master?He said. take a breather calm. Dont be afraid. And just just stay as you are.She said, I will stay as I am. And I will stand between you and danger, as I did in the case of Rufirant.She left the room and Gendibal looked after her.It was strange how much there was to her. How could so simple a creature hold such complexity? The smoothness of her mind structure had, beneath it, enormous intelligence, understanding, and courage. What more could he ask of anyone?Somehow, he caught an image of Sura Novi who was not a Speaker, not even a Second Foundationer, not even educated grimly at his side, playing a vital auxiliary role in the free rein that was advent.Yet he could not see the details clearly. He could not yet see precisely what it was that awaited them.A single Jump, muttered Trevize, and there it is.germanium? asked Pelorat, looking over Trevizes shoulder at the screen. atomic number 32s sun, said Trevize. betoken it Gaia-S, if you like, to avoid confusion. Gaiactographers do that sometimes.And where is Gaia itself, then? Or do we call it Gaia-P for planet?Gaia would be sufficient for the planet. We cant see Gaia yet, however. Planets arent as easy to see as stars are and were still a hundred microparsecs away from Gaia-S. Notice that its only a star, even though a very bright one. Were not close enough for it to show as a disc. And dont stare at it directly, Janov. Its still bright enough to damage the retina. Ill throw in a filter, once Im through with my observations. Then you can stare.How much is a hundred microparsecs in units which a mytholog ist can understand, Golan?Three billion kilometers about twenty times the remoteness of finis from our own sun. Does that help?Enormously. But shouldnt we get adjacent?No Trevize looked up in surprise. Not right away. After what weve heard about Gaia, why should we rush? Its one thing to have guts its another to be crazy. Lets take a look first.At what, Golan? You said we cant see Gaia yet?Not at a glance, no. But we have telescopic viewers and we have an excellent computer for rapid digest. We can certainly study Gaia-S, to begin with, and we can perhaps make a few other observations. Relax, Janov He reached out and slapped the others shoulder with an avuncular flourish.After a pause Trevize said, Gaia-S is a single star or, if it has a companion, that companion is much farther away from it than we are at the present moment and it is, at best, a red dwarf, which means we need not be concerned with it. Gaia-S is a G4 star, which means it is perfectly loose of having a livabl e planet, and thats good. If it were an A or an M, we would have to turn around and leave right now.Pelorat said, I may be only a mythologist, but couldnt we have determined the spectral class of Gaia-S from Sayshell?We could and we did, Janov, but it never hurts to check at impending quarters. Gaia-S has a planetary system, which is no surprise. There are two gas giants in view and one of them is nice and large if the computers distance estimate is accurate. There could easily be another on the other side of the star and therefore not easily detectable, since we happen by chance to be somewhat close to the planetary plane. I cant make out anything in the inner regions, which is also no surprise.Is that bad?Not really. Its expected. The habitable planets would be of rock and metal and would be much smaller than the gas giants and much closer to the star, if theyre to be warm enough and on both counts they would be much harder to see from out here. It means well have to get in considerably closer in order to probe the area within four microparsecs of Gaia-S.Im ready.Im not. Well make the Jump tomorrow.Why tomorrow?Why not? Lets give them a daytime to come out and get us and for us to get away, perhaps, if we spot them coming and dont like what we see.It was a slow and cautious process. During the day that passed, Trevize grimly say the calculation of several different approaches and tried to choose between them. Lacking hard data, he could depend only on intuition, which unfortunately told him nothing. He lacked that office he sometimes experienced.Eventually he punched in directions for a Jump that moved them far out of the planetary plane.That will give us a better view of the region as a whole, he said, since we will see the planets in every part of their orbit at maximum manifest distance from the sun. And they whoever they may be might not be quite as watchful over regions outside the plane. I hope.They were now as close to Gaia-S as the near est and largest of the gas giants was and they were nearly half a billion kilometers from it. Trevize placed it under full magnification on the screen for Pelorats benefit. It was an impressive sight, even if the three sparse and narrow rings of debris were left out of account.It has the usual train of satellites, said Trevize, but at this distance from Gaia-S, we know that none of them are habitable. Nor are any of them settled by human beings who survive, let us say, under a glass dome or under other strictly artificial conditions.How can you tell?Theres no radio noise with characteristics that point them out as of legal origin. Of course, he added, qualifying his statement at once, it is conceivable that a scientific outpost might go to great pains to shield its radio signals and the gas giant produces radio noise that could cover what I was looking for. Still, our radio reception is delicate and our computer is an extraordinarily good one. Id say the chance of human occupation of those satellites is extremely small.Does that mean theres no Gaia?No. But it does mean that if there is a Gaia, it hasnt bothered to settle those satellites. Perhaps it lacks the capacity to do so or the interest.Well, is there a Gaia?Patience, Janov. Patience.Trevize considered the sky with a seemingly endless supply of patience. He stopped at one point to say, Frankly, the fact that they havent come out to pounce on us is disheartening, in a way. Surely, if they had the capacities they were described as having, they would have reacted to us by now.Its conceivable, I suppose, said Pelorat glumly, that the whole thing is a fantasy.Call it a myth, Janov, said Trevize with a wry smile, and it will be right up your alley. Still, theres a planet moving through the ecosphere, which means it might be habitable. Ill want to observe it for at least a day.Why?To make sure its habitable, for one thing.You just said it was in the ecosphere, Golan.Yes, at the moment it is. But its orbit co uld be very eccentric, and could eventually carry it within a microparsec of the star, or out to fifteen microparsecs, or both. Well have to determine and compare the planets distance from Gaia-S with its orbital speed and it would help to note the direction of its motion.Another day.The orbit is nearly circular, Trevize said finally, which means that habitability becomes a much safer bet. Yet no ones coming out to get us even now. Well have to try a closer look.Pelorat said, Why does it take so long to arrange a Jump? Youre just taking little ones.Listen to the man. Little Jumps are harder to control than king-sized ones. Is it easier to pick up a rock or a lovely grain of sand? Besides, Gaia-S is nearby and space is sharply curved. That complicates the calculations even for the computer. Even a mythologist should see that.Pelorat grunted.Trevize said, You can see the planet with the unaided eye now. Right there. See it? The period of rotation is about twenty-two Galactic Hours and the axial inclination is twelve degrees. It is practically a textbook example of a habitable planet and it is life-bearing.How can you tell?There are substantial quantities of free oxygen in the atmosphere. You cant have that without well-established vegetation.What about intelligent life?That depends on the analysis of radio-wave radiation. Of course, there could be intelligent life that has abandoned technology, I suppose, but that seems very un presumable.There have been cases of that, said Pelorat.Ill take your word for it. Thats your department. However, its not likely that there would be nothing but pastoral survivors on a planet that frightened off the Mule.Pelorat said, Does it have a satellite?Yes, it does, said Trevize casually.How big? Pelorat said in a voice that was suddenly choking.Cant tell for sure. Perhaps a hundred kilometers across.Dear me, said Pelorat wistfully. I wish I had some worthier set of expletives on instant call, my dear chap, but there was just th at one little chanceYou mean, if it had a giant satellite, it might be country itself?Yes, but it clearly isnt.Well, if Compor is right, Earth wouldnt be in this Galactic region, anyway. It would be over Sirius way. Really, Janov, Im sorry.Oh well.Look, well wait, and risk one more small Jump. If we find no signs of intelligent life, then it should be safe to land except that there will then be no reason to land, will there?After the next Jump, Trevize said in an astonished voice, That does it, Janov. Its Gaia, all right. At least, it possesses a technological civilization.Can you tell that from the radio waves?Better than that. Theres a space station circling the planet. Do you see that?There was an object on display on the viewscreen. To Pelorats unaccustomed eye, it didnt seem very remarkable, but Trevize said, Artificial, metallic, and a radio-source.What do we do now?Nothing, for a while. At this stage of technology, they cannot fail to detect us. If, after a while, they do nothing, I will beam a radio message at them. If they still do nothing, I will approach cautiously.What if they do do something?It will depend on the something. If I dont like it, then Ill have to take payoff of the fact that it is very unlikely that they have anything that can match the facility with which this ship can make a Jump.You mean well leave?Like a hyperspatial missile.But well leave no wiser than we came.Not at all. At the very least well know that Gaia exists, that it has a working technology, and that its done something to scare us.But, Golan, lets not be too easily scared.Now, Janov, I know that you want nothing more in the Galaxy than to learn about Earth at any cost, but please remember that I dont share your monomania. We are in an unarmed ship and those people down there have been isolated for centuries. deem they have never heard of the Foundation and dont know enough to be respectful of it. Or suppose this is the Second Foundation and once were in their deal if theyre annoyed with us we may never be the same again. Do you want them to wipe your mind clear and find you are no lifelong a mythologist and know nothing about any legends whatever?Pelorat looked grim. If you put it that way. But what do we do once we leave?Simple. We get back to Terminus with the news. Or as near to Terminus as the old woman will allow. Then we might return to Gaia once again more quickly and without all this inching along, and we return with an armed ship or an armed fleet. Things may well be different then.They waited. It had grown to be a routine. They had worn-out(a) far more time waiting in the approaches to Gaia than they had spent in all the flight from Terminus to Sayshell.Trevize set the computer to automatic dispirit and was even nonchalant enough to doze in his padded chair.This meant he woke with a start when the alarm chimed. Pelorat came into Trevizes room, just as startled. He bad been cut off while shaving.Have we received a message? a sked Pelorat.No, said Trevize energetically. Were moving.Moving? Where?Toward the space station.Why is that?I dont know. The motors are on and the computer doesnt respond to me but were moving. Janov, weve been seized. Weve come a little too close to Gaia.