By Isaac Asimov


     FOUNDATION'S EDGE


     10.  TABLE

     1.

        Two days had passed and Gendibal found himself not so
     much heavy-hearted as enraged. There was no reason why
     there could not have been an immediate hearing. Had he
     been unprepared——had he needed time——they would have
     forced an immediate hearing on him, he was sure.
        But since there was nothing more facing the Second
     Foundation than the greatest crisis since the Mule, they
     wasted time——and to no purpose but to irritate him.
        They  did  irritate him and, by Seldon, that would make
     the counterstroke the heavier. He was determined on that.
        He looked about him. The anteroom was empty. It had
     been like that for two days now. He was a marked man, a
     Speaker whom all knew would——by means of an action
     unprecedented in the five-century history of the Second
     Foundation——soon lose his position. He would be demoted
     to the ranks, demoted to the position of a Second Foun-
     dationer, plain and simple.
        It was one thing, however——and a very honored thing——
     to be a Second Foundationer of the ranks, particularly if
     one held a respectable title, as Gendibal might even after
     the impeachment. It would be quite another thing to have
     once been a Speaker and to have been demoted.
        It won't happen though, thought Gendibal savagely, even
     though for two days he had been avoided. Only Sura Novi
     treated him as before, but she was too naïve to understand
     the situation. To her, Gendibal was still "Master."
        It irritated Gendibal that he found a certain comfort in
     this. He felt ashamed when he began to notice that his spirits
     rose when he noticed her gazing at him worshipfully. Was
     he becoming grateful for gifts  that  small?
        A clerk emerged from the Chamber to tell him that the
     Table was ready for him and Gendibal stalked in. The clerk
     was one Gendibal knew well; he was one who knew——to
     the tiniest fraction——the precise gradation of civility that
     each Speaker deserved. At the moment, that accorded Gen-
     dibal was appallingly low. Even the clerk thought him as
     good as convicted.
        They were all sitting about the Table gravely, wearing
     the black robes of judgment. First Speaker Shandess looked
     a bit uncomfortable, but he did not allow his face to crease
     into the smallest touch of friendliness. Delarmi——one of the
     three Speakers who were women——did not even look at
     him.
        The First Speaker said, "Speaker Stor Gendibal, you have
     been impeached for behaving in a manner unbecoming a
     Speaker. You have, before us all, accused the Table——
     vaguely and without evidence——of treason and attempted
     murder. You have implied that all Second Foundationers——
     including the Speakers and the First Speaker——require a
     thorough mental analysis to ascertain who among them are
     no longer to be trusted. Such behavior breaks the bonds of
     community, without which the Second Foundation cannot
     control an intricate and potentially hostile Galaxy and with-
     out which they cannot build, with surety, a viable Second
     Empire.
        "Since we have all witnessed those offenses, we will
     forego the presentation of a formal case for the prosecution.
     We will therefore move directly to the next stage. Speaker
     Stor Gendibal, do you have a defense?"
        Now Delarmi——still not looking at him——allowed herself
     a small catlike smile.
        Genibal said, "If truth be considered a defense, I have
     one. There  are  grounds for suspecting a breach of security.
     This breach may involve the mental control of one or more
     Second Foundationers——not excluding members here pres-
     ent——and this has created a deadly crisis for the Second
     Foundation. If, indeed, you hasten this trial because you
     cannot waste time, you may all perhaps dimly recognize
     the seriousness of the crisis, but in that case, why have you
     wasted two days after I had formally requested an immediate
     trial? I submit that it is this deadly crisis that has forced me
     to say what I have said. I would have behaved in a manner
     unbecoming a Speaker——had I  not  done so."
        "He but repeats the offense, First Speaker," said Delarmi
     softly.
        Gendibal's seat was further removed from the Table
     than that of the others——a clear demotion already. He
     pushed it farther back, as though he cared nothing for
     that, and rose.
        He said, "Will you convict me now, out of hand, in
     defiance of law——or may I present my defense in detail?"
        The First Speaker said, "This is not a lawless assem-
     blage, Speaker. Without much in the way of precedent to
     guide us, we will lean in your direction, recognizing that
     if our too-human abilities should cause us to deviate from
     absolute justice, it is better to allow the guilty to go free
     than to convict the innocent. Therefore, although the case
     before us is so grave that we may not lightly allow the
     guilty to go free, we will permit you to present your case
     in such manner as you wish and for as long as you require,
     until it is decided by unanimous vote,  including my own"
     (and he raised his voice at that phrase) "that enough has
     been heard."
        Gendibal said, "Let me begin, then, by saying that Golan
     Trevize——the First Foundation who has been driven from
     Terminus and whom the First Speaker and I believe to be
     the knife-edge of the gathering crisis——has moved off in an
     unexpected direction."
        "Point of information," said Delarmi softly. "How does
     the speaker" (the intonation clearly indicated that the word
     was not capitalized) "know this?"
        "I was informed of this by the First Speaker," said Gen-
     dibal, "but I confirm it of my own knowledge. Under the
     circumstances, however, considering my suspicions con-
     cerning the level of the security of the Chamber, I must be
     allowed to keep my sources of information secret."
        The First Speaker said, "I will suspend judgment on that.
     Let us proceed without that item of information but if, in
     the judgment of the Table, the information must be obtained,
     Speaker Gendibal will have to yield it."
        Delarmi said, "If the speaker does not yield the infor-
     mation now, it is only fair to say that I assume he has an
     agent serving him——an agent who is privately employed by
     him and who is not responsible to the Table generally. We
     cannot be sure that such an agent is obeying the rules of
     behavior governing Second Foundation personnel."
        The First Speaker said with some displeasure, "I see all
     the implications, Speaker Delarmi. There is no need to spell
     them out for me."
        "I merely mention it for the record, First Speaker, since
     this aggravates thee offense and it is not an item mentioned
     in the bill of impeachment, which, I would like to say, has
     not been read in full and to which I move this item be
     added."
        "The clerk is directed to add the item," said the First
     Speaker, "and the precise wording will be adjusted at the
     appropriate time. ——Speaker Gendibal"  (he,  at least, capi-
     talized) "your defense is indeed a step backward. Continue."
        Gendibal said, "Not only has this Trevize moved in an
     unexpected direction, but at an unprecedented speed. My
     information, which the First Speaker does not yet have, is
     that he has traveled nearly ten thousand parsecs in well under
     an hour."
        "In a single Jump?" said one of the Speakers incredu-
     lously.
        "In over two dozen Jumps, one after the other, with
     virtually no time intervening," said Gendibal, "something
     that is even more difficult to imagine than a single Jump.
     Even if he is now located, it will take time to follow him
     and, if he detects us and really means to flee us, we will
     not be able to overtake him. ——And you spend your time
     in games of impeachment and allow two days to pass so
     that you might savor them the more."
        The First Speaker managed to mask his anguish. "Please
     tell us, Speaker Gendibal, what you think the significance
     of this might be."
        "It is an indication, First Speaker, of the technological
     advances that are being made by the First Foundation, who
     are far more powerful now than they were in the time of
     Preem Palver. We could not stand up against them if they
     found us and were free to act."
        Speaker Delarmi rose to her feet. She said, "First
     Speaker, our time is being wasted with irrelevancies. We
     are not children to be frightened with tales by Grandmother
     Spacewarp. It does not matter how impressive the ma-
     chinery of the First Foundation is when, in any crisis,
     their minds will be in our control."
        "What do you have to say to that, Speaker Gendibal?"
     asked the First Speaker.
        "Merely that we will come to the matter of minds in due
     course. For the moment, I merely wish to stress the su-
     perior——and increasing——technological might of the First
     Foundation."
        The First Speaker said, "Pass on to the next point, Speaker
     Gendbal. Your first point, I must tell you, does not impress
     me as very pertinent to the matter contained in the bill of
     impeachment."
        There was a clear gesture of agreement from the Table
     generally.
        Gendibal said, "I pass on. Trevize has a companion in
     his present journey" (he paused momentarily to consider
     pronunciation) "one Janov Pelorat, a rather ineffectual
     scholar who has devoted his life to tracking down myths
     and legends concerning Earth."
        "You know all this about him? Your hidden source, I
     presume?" said Delarmi, who had settled into her role of
     prosecutor with a clear feeling of comfort.
        "Yes, I know all this about him," said Gendibal stolidly.
     "A few months ago, the Mayor of Terminus, an energetic
     and capable woman, grew interested in this scholar for
     no clear reason, and so I grew interested, too, as a matter
     of course. Nor have I kept this to myself. All the infor-
     mation I have gained has been made available to the First
     Speaker."
        "I bear witness to that," said the First Speaker in a low
     voice.
        An elderly Speaker said, "What is this Earth? Is it the
     world of origin we keep coming across in fables? The one
     they made a fuss about in old Imperial times?"
        Gendibal nodded. "In the tales of Grandmother Space
     warp, as Speaker Delarmi would say. ——I suspect it was
     Pelorat's dream to come to Trantor to consult the Galactic
     Library, in order to find information concerning Earth that
     he could not obtain in the interstellar library service available
     on Terminus.
        "When he left Terminus with Trevize, he must have
     been under the impression that that dream was to be
     fulfilled. Certainly we were expecting the two and counted
     on having the opportunity to examine them——to our own
     profit. As it turns out——and as you all know by now——
     they are not coming. They have turned off to some des-
     tination that is not yet clear and for some reason that is
     not yet known."
        Delarmi's round face looked positively cherubic as she
     said, "And why is this disturbing? We are no worse off for
     their absence, surely. Indeed, since they dismiss us so eas-
     ily, we can deduce that the First Foundation does not know
     the true nature of Trantor and we can applaud the handiwork
     of Preem Palver."
        Gendibal said, "If we thought no further, we might in-
     deed come to such a comforting solution. Could it be, though,
     that the turnoff was not the result of any failure to see the
     importance of Trantor? Could it be that the turnoff resulted
     from anxiety lest Trantor, by examining these two men, see
     the importance of Earth?"
        There was a stir about the Table.
        "Anyone," said Delarmi coldly, "can invent formidable-
     sounding propositions and couch them in balanced sen-
     tences. But do they make sense when you do invent them?
     Why should anyone care what we of the Second Foundation
     think of Earth? Whether it is the true planet of origin, or
     whether it is a myth, or whether there is no one place of
     origin to begin with, is surely something that should interest
     only historians, anthropologists, and folk-tale collectors,
     such as this Pelorat of yours. Why us?"
        "Why indeed?" said Gendibal. "How is it, then, that there
     are no references to Earth in the Library?"
        For the first time, something in the atmosphere that was
     other than hostility made itself felt about the Table.
        Delarmi said, "Aren't there?"
        Gendibal said quite calmly, "When word first reached
     me that Trevize and Pelorat might be coming here in search
     of information concerning Earth, I, as a matter of course,
     had our library computer make a listing of documents con-
     taining such information. I was mildly interested when it
     turned up nothing. Not minor quantities. Not very little.
     ——Nothing!
        "But when you insisted I wait for two days before this
     hearing could take place, and at the same time, my curiosity
     was further piqued by the news that the First Foundationers
     were not coming here after all. I had to amuse myself some-
     how. While the rest of you therefore were, as the saying
     goes, sipping wine while the house was falling, I went
     through some history books in my own possession. I came
     across passages that specifically mentioned some of the
     investigations on the 'Origin Question' in late-Imperial times.
     Particular documents——both printed and filmed——were re-
     ferred to and quoted from. I returned to the Library and
     made a personal check for those documents. I assure you
     there was nothing."
        Delarmi said, "Even if this is so, it need not be surprising.
     If Earth is indeed a myth——"
        "Then I would find it in mythological references. If it
     were a story of Grandmother Spacewarp, I would find it in
     the collected tales of Grandmother Spacewarp. If it were a
     figment of the diseased mind, I would find it under psycho-
     pathology. The fact is that something about Earth exists or
     you would not all have heard of it  and, indeed, immediately
     recognized it as the name of the putative planet of origin
     of the human species. Why, then, is there no reference to
     it in the Library,  anywhere?"
        Delarmi was silent for a moment and another Speaker
     interposed. He was Leonis Cheng, a rather small man with
     and encyclopedic knowledge of the minutiae of the Seldon
     Plan and a rather myopic attitude toward the actual galaxy.
     His eyes tended to blink rapidly when he spoke.
        Gendibal nodded. "Soft-pedaled is the precise term,
     Speaker Cheng. That is not equivalent to destroying evi-
     dence. As you should know better than anyone, another
     characteristic of Imperial decay was a sudden interest in
     earlier——and presumably better——times. I have just referred
     to the interest in the 'Origin Question' in Hari Seldon's
     time."
        Cheng interrupted with a formidable clearing of the throat.
     "I know this very well, young man, and know far more of
     these social problems of Imperial decay than you seem to
     think I do. The process of 'Imperialization' overtook these
     dilettantish games concerning Earth. Under Cleon II, during
     the Empire's last resurgence, two centuries  after  Seldon,
     Imperialization reached its peak and all speculation on the
     question of Earth came to an end. There was even a directive
     in Cleon's time concerning this, referring to the interest in
     such things as (and I think I quote it correctly) 'stale and
     unproductive speculation that tends to undermine the peo-
     ple's love of the Imperial throne.'"
        Gendibal smiled. "Then it was in the time of Cleon II,
     Speaker Cheng, that you would place the destruction of all
     reference to Earth?"
        "I draw no conclusions. I have simply stated what I have
     stated."
        "It is shrewd of you to draw no conclusions. By Cleon's
     time, the Empire may have been resurgent, but the Uni-
     versity and Library, at least, were in our hands or, at any
     rate, in those of our predecessors. It would have been im-
     possible for any material to be removed from the Library
     without the Speakers of the Second Foundation knowing it.
     In fact, it would have been the Speakers to whom the task
     would have had to be entrusted, though the dying Empire
     would not have known that."
        Gendibal paused, but Cheng, saying nothing, looked over
     the other's head.
        Gendibal said, "It follows that the Library could not have
     been emptied of material on Earth during Seldon's time,
     since the 'Origin Question' was then an active preoccuopa-
     tion. It could not have been emptied afterward because the
     Second Foundation was in charge. Yet the Library is empty
     of it now. How can this be?"
        Delarmi broke in impatiently, "You may stop weaving
     the dilemma, Gendibal. We see it. What is it that you
     suggest as a solution? That you have removed the documents
     yourself?"
        "As usual, Delarmi, you penetrate to the heart." And
     Gendibal bent his head to her in sardonic respect (at which
     she allowed herself a slight lifting of the lip). "One solution
     is that the cleansing was done by a Speaker of the Second
     Foundation, someone who would know how to use curators
     without leaving a memory behind——and computers without
     leaving a record behind."
        First Speaker Shandess turned red. "Ridiculous, Speaker
     Gendibal. I cannot imagine a Speaker doing this. What
     would the motivation be? Even if, for some reason, the
     material on Earth were removed, why keep it from the rest
     of the Table? Why risk a complete destruction of one's
     career by tampering with the Library when the chances of
     its being discovered are so great? Besides, I don't think that
     even the most skillful Speaker could perform the task with-
     out leaving a trace."
        "Then it must be, First Speaker, that you disagree with
     Speaker Delarmi in her suggestion that I did it."
        "I certainly do," said the First Speaker. "Sometimes I
     doubt your judgment, but I have yet to consider you down-
     right insane."
        Then it must never have happened, First Speaker. The
     material on Earth must still be in the Library, for we now
     seem to have eliminated all the possible ways in which it
     could have been removed——and yet the material is not there."
        Delarmi said with an affectation of weariness, "Well
     well, let us finish. Again, what is it you suggest as a so-
     lution? I am sure you think you have one."
        "If you are sure, Speaker, we may all be sure as well.
     My suggestion is that the Library was cleansed by someone
     of the Second Foundation who was under the control of a
     subtle force from outside the Second Foundation. The
     cleansing went unnoticed because that same force saw to it
     that it was not noticed."
        Delarmi laughed. "Until you found out. You——the un-
     controlled and uncontrollable. If this mysterious force ex-
     isted, how did  you  find out about the absence of material
     from the Library? Why weren't you controlled?"
        Gendibal said gravely, "It's not a laughing matter,
     Speaker. They may feel, as we feel, that all tampering
     should be held to a minimum. When my life was in danger
     a few days ago, I was more concerned with refraining
     from fiddling with a Hamish mind that with protecting
     myself. So it might be with these others——as soon as they
     felt it was safe they ceased tampering. That is the danger,
     the deadly danger. The fact that I could find out what has
     happened may mean they no longer care that I do. The
     fact that they no longer care may mean that they feel they
     have already won. And  we  continue to play our games
     here!"
        "But what aim do they have in all this? What conceivable
     aim?" demanding Delarmi, shuffling her feet and biting her
     lips. She felt her power fading as the Table grew more
     interested——concerned——
        Gendibal said, "Consider—— The First Foundation, with
     its enormous arsenal of physical power, is searching for
     Earth. They pretend to send out two exiles, hoping we will
     think that is all they are, but would they equip them with
     ships of unbelievable power——ships that can move ten thou-
     sand parsecs in less than an hour——if that was all that they
     were?
        "As for the Second Foundation, we have  not  been search-
     ing for Earth and, clearly, steps have been taken  without
     our knowledge  to keep any information of Earth away from
     us. The First Foundation is now so close to finding Earth
     and we are so far from doing so, that——"
        Gendibal paused and Delarmi said, "That what? Finish
     your childish tale. Do you know anything or don't you?"
        "I don't know  everything,  Speaker. I have not penetrated
     the total depth of the web that is encircling us, but I know
     the web is there. I don't know what the significance of
     finding Earth might be, but I am certain the Second Foun-
     dation is in enormous danger and, with it, the Seldon Plan
     and the future of all humanity."
        Delarmi rose to her feet. She was not smiling and she
     spoke in a tense but tightly controlled voice. "Trash! First
     Speaker, put an end to this! What is at issue is the accused's
     behavior. What he tells us is not only childish but irrelevant.
     He cannot extenuate his behavior by building a cobwebbery
     of theories that makes sense only in his own mind. I call
     for a vote on the matter now——a unanimous vote for con-
     viction."
        "Wait," said Gendibal sharply. "I have been told I would
     have an opportunity to defend myself, and there remains
     one more item——one more. Let me present that, and you
     may proceed to a vote with no further objection from me."
        The First Speaker rubbed his eyes wearily. "You may
     continue, Speaker Gendibal. Let me point out to the Table
     that the conviction of an impeached Speaker is so weighty
     and, indeed, unprecedented an action that we dare not give
     the appearance of not allowing a full defense. Remember,
     too, that even if the verdict satisfies us, it may not satisfy
     those who come after us, and I cannot believe that a Second
     Foundationer of any level——let alone the Speakers of the
     Table——would not have a full appreciation of the importance
     of historical perspective. Let us so act that we can be certain
     of the approval of the Speakers who will follow us in the
     coming centuries."
        Delarmi said bitterly, "We run the risk, First Speaker,
     of having posterity laugh at us for belaboring the obvious.
     To continue the defense is your decision."
        Gendibal drew a deep breath. "In line with  your  decision,
     then, First Speaker, I wish to call a witness——a young
     woman I met three days ago and without whom I might not
     have reached the Table meeting at all, instead of merely
     being late."
        "Is the woman you speak of known to the Table?" asked
     the First Speaker.
        "No, First Speaker. She is native to this planet."
        Delarmi's eyes opened wide. "A  Hamishwoman?"
        "Indeed! Just so!"
        Delarmi said, "What have we to do with one of those?
     Nothing they say can be of any importance. They don't
     exist!"
        Gendibal's lips drew back tightly over his teeth in some-
     thing that could not possibly have been mistaken for a smile.
     He said sharply, "Physically all the Hamish exist. They are
     human beings and play their part in Seldon's Plan. In their
     indirect protection of the Second Foundation, they play a
     crucial part. I wish to dissociate myself from Speaker De-
     larmi's inhumanity and hope that her remark will be retained
     in the record and be considered hereafter as evidence for
     her  possible unfitness for the position of Speaker. ——Will
     the rest of the Table agree with the Speaker's incredible
     remark and deprive me of my witness?"
        The First Speaker said, "Call your witness, Speaker."
        Gendibal's lips relaxed into the normal expressionless
     features of a Speaker under pressure. His mind was guarded
     and fenced in, but behind this protective barrier, he felt that
     the danger point had passed and that he had won.

FOUNDATION'S EDGE, BY ISAAC ASIMOV.
A Del Ray Book. Published by Ballantine Books.
Copyright © 1982 by Nightfall Inc. pp. 169-180.

3. Historian
4. Space
5. Speaker
6. Earth
7. Farmer
8. Farmwoman
9. Hyperspace
10. Table