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his. "A... a small issue, surely, sire. "
"Then turn your calculations to the Dahlite Sector matter, Hari. They are
restive. Everyone is, these
\nd the Zones of Dahlite persuasion throughout the Galaxy?"
They back the local Dahlites in the Councils. It's about this representation
question. The plan we felon Trantor will be mirrored throughout the : \y.
Indeed, in the votes of whole Zones. "
" ell, if most people think "
"Ah, my dear Hari, you still have a mathist's myopia. History is determined
not by what people think, but by what they feel. "
startled for this remark struck him as true Hari could only say, "I see, sire.
"
"We you and I, Hari must decide this issue. "
"I'll work on the decision, sire. "
How he had come to hate the very word! Decide had the same root as suicide and
homicide. Decisions felt like little killings. Somebody lost.
Hari now knew why he was not cut out for these matters. If his skin was too
thin, he would have too ready empathy with others, with their arguments and
sentiments. Then he would not make decisions which he knew could only be
approximately right and would cause some pain.
On the other hand, he had to steel himself against the personal need to be
liked. In a natural politician, that would lead to a posture that said he
cared about others, when in fact he cared what they thought of him because
being liked was what counted, far down in the shadowy psyche. It also came in
handy for staying in office.
Cleon brought up more issues. Hari dodged and stalled as much as he could.
When Cleon abruptly ended the talk, he knew he had not come over well.
He had no chance to reflect on this, for Yugo came in.
"I'm so glad you're back!" Yugo grinned. "The
Dahl issue really needs your attention " ""Enough!" Hari could not vent his
ire at the
Emperor, but Yugo would do nicely. "No political talk. Show me your research
progress. " "Uh, all right. " Yugo looked chastened and Hari at once regretted
being so abrupt. Yugo hurried to set up his latest data displays. Hari
blinked; for a moment, he had seen in
Yugo's haste an odd similarity to pan gestures. Hari listened, thinking along
two tracks at once.
This, too, seemed easier since Panucopia. Plagues were building across the
entire Empire.
Why? With rapid transport between worlds, diseases thrived. Humans were the
major petri dish. Ancient maladies and virulent new plagues appeared around
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distant stars.
This inhibited Zonal integration, another hidden factor.
Diseases filled an ecological niche, and for some, humanity was a snug nook.
Antibiotics knocked down infections, which then mutated and returned, more
virulent still. Humanity and microbes made an intriguing system, for both
sides fought back quickly.
Cures propagated quickly through the wormhole system, but so did disease
carriers. The entire problem, Yugo had found, could be described by a method
known as "marginal stability, " in which disease and people struck an uneasy,
ever-shifting balance. Major plagues were rare, but minor ones became common.
Afflictions rose and inventive science damped them within a generation. This
oscillation sent further ripples spreading among other human institutions,
radiating into commerce and culture. With intricate coupling terms in the
equations, he saw patterns emerging, with one sad consequence.
The human lifespan in the "natural" civilized human condition living in cities
and towns had an equally "natural"
limit. While some few attained 150 years, most died well short of 100. The
steady hail of fresh disease insured it. In the end, there was no lasting
shelter from the storm of biology. Humans lived in troubled balance with
microbes, an
unending struggle with no final victories.
"Like this tiktok revolt, " Yugo finished.
Hari jerked to attention. "What?"
"It's like a virus. Dunno what's spreading it, though. "
"All over Trantor?"
"That's the focus, seems like. Others Zones are getting tiktok troubles, too.
"
They refuse to harvest food?"
"Yup. Some of the tiktoks, mostly the recent models, 590s and higher they say
it's immoral to eat other living things.
"
"Good grief. "
Hari remembered breakfast. Even after the exotica of Panucopia, the
autokitchen's meager offering had been a shock.
Trantorian food had always been cooked or ground, blended or compounded.
Properly, fruit was presented as a sauce or preserve. To his surprise,
breakfast appeared to have come straight from the dirt. He had wondered if it
had been washed and how he would know for sure. Trantorians hated their meals
to remind them of the natural world.
"They're refusing to work the Caverns, even, " Yugo said.
"Bat that's essential!"
"Nobody can fix 'em. There's some tiktok meme
"Like the plagues you're analyzing. "
Hari had been shocked at Trantor's erosion in just a few months. He and Dors
had slipped into Steering with Daneel's help, amid messy, trash-strewn
corridors with phosphors malfunctioning, lifts dead. Now this.
Yugo's stomach suddenly rumbled. "Uh, sorry. People are having to work the
Caverns for the first time in centuries!
They have no hands-on experience. Everybody but the gentry's on slim rations.
"
Hari had helped Yugo escape that sweltering work years before. In vast vaults, [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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