Prelude to Foundation
Foundation and Empire
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Tom Clancy Red Storm Rising
Sacks Oliver Antropolog na Marsie
Rice Anne Godzina czarownic Tom 1
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Jordan Robert Kolo Czasu t 6 cz 1 Triumf chaosu
Jones J V Kolczasty wieniec
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."And what was it?""Well, I'm not certain.Five short words.But its interesting.""Look," broke in Semic, with a worried interest, "there's something I don'tunderstand.""What's that?"Semic chose his words carefully, his old upper lip lifting with each word as ifto let them out singly and reluctantly."Well, now, Homir Munn was saying just awhile ago that Hari Seldon was faking when he said that he had established aSecond Foundation.Now you're saying that it's not so; that Seldon wasn'tfaking, eh?""Right, he wasn't faking.Seldon said he had established a Second Foundation andso he had.""All right, then, but he said something else, too.He said he established thetwo Foundations at opposite ends of the Galaxy.Now, young man, was that a fake– because Kalgan isn't at the opposite end of the Galaxy."Anthor seemed annoyed, "That's a minor point.That part may well have been acover up to protect them.But after all, think– What real use would it serve tohave the Mind-masters at the opposite end of the Galaxy? What is their function?To help preserve the Plan.Who are the main card players of the Plan? We, theFirst Foundation.Where can they best observe us, then, and serve their ownends? At the opposite end of the Galaxy? Ridiculous! They're within fiftyparsecs, actually, which is much more sensible.""I like that argument," said Darell."It makes sense.Look here, Munn's beenconscious for some time and I propose we loose him.He can't do any harm,really."Anthor looked rebellious, but Homir was nodding vigorously.Five seconds laterhe was rubbing his wrists just as vigorously."How do you feel?" asked Darell."Rotten," said Munn, sulkily, "but never mind.There's something I want to askthis bright young thing here.I've heard what he's had to say, and I’d just likepermission to wonder what we do next."There was a queer and incongruous silence.Munn smiled bitterly."Well, suppose Kalgan is the Second Foundation.Who onKalgan are they? How are you going to find them? How are you going to tacklethem if you find them, eh?""Ah," said Darell, "I can answer that, strangely enough.Shall I tell you whatSemic and I have been doing this past half-year? It may give you another reason,Anthor, why I was anxious to remain on Terminus all this time.""In the first place," he went on, "I've been working on encephalographicanalysis with more purpose than any of you may suspect.Detecting SecondFoundation minds is a little more subtle than simply finding a Tamper Plateau –and I did not actually succeed.But I came close enough."Do you know, any of you, how emotional control works? It's been a popularsubject with fiction writers since the time of the Mule and much nonsense hasbeen written, spoken, and recorded about it.For the most part, it has beentreated as something mysterious and occult.Of course, it isn't.That the brainis the source of a myriad, tiny electromagnetic fields, everyone knows.Everyfleeting emotion varies those fields in more or less intricate fashion, andeveryone should know that, too."Now it is possible to conceive a mind which can sense these changing fields andeven resonate with them.That is, a special organ of the cerebrum can existwhich can take on whatever field-pattern it may detect.Exactly how it would dothis, I have no idea, but that doesn't matter.if I were blind, for instance, Icould still learn the significance of photons and energy quanta and it could bereasonable to me that the absorption of a photon of such energy could createchemical changes in some organ of the body such that its presence would bedetectable.But, of course, I would not be able, thereby, to understand color."Do all of you follow?"There was a firm nod from Anthor; a doubtful nod from the others."Such a hypothetical Mind Resonating Organ, by adjusting itself to the Fieldsemitted by other minds could perform what is popularly known as 'readingemotion’ or even 'reading minds,’ which is actually something even more subtle.It is but an easy step from that to imagining a similar organ which couldactually force an adjustment on another mind.It could orient with its strongerField the weaker one of another mind – much as a strong magnet will orient theatomic dipoles in a bar of steel and leave it magnetized thereafter."I solved the mathematics of Second Foundationism in the sense that I evolved afunction that would predict the necessary combination of neuronic paths thatwould allow for the formation of an organ such as I have just described – but,unfortunately, the function is too complicated to solve by any of themathematical tools at present known.That is too bad, because it means that Ican never detect a Mind-worker by his encephalographic pattern alone."But I could do something else.I could, with Semic's help, construct what Ishall describe as a Mental Static device.It is not beyond the ability of modemscience to create an energy source that will duplicate an encephalograph-typepattern of electromagnetic field.Moreover, it can be made to shift at completerandom, creating, as far as this particular mind-sense is concerned, a sort of'noise' or 'static' which masks other minds with which it may be in contact."Do you still follow?"Semic chuckled.He had helped create blindly, but he had guessed, and guessedcorrectly.The old man had a trick or two left–Anthor said, "I think I do.""The device," continued Darell, "is a fairly easy one to produce, and I had allthe resources of the Foundation under my control as it came under the heading ofwar research.And now the mayor's offices and the Legislative assemblies aresurrounded with Mental Static.So are most of our key factories.So is thisbuilding.Eventually, any place we wish can be made absolutely safe from theSecond Foundation or from any future Mule.And that's it."He ended quite simply with a flat-palmed gesture of the hand.Turbor seemed stunned."Then it's all over.Great Seldon, it's all over.""Well," said Darell, "not exactly.""How, not exactly? Is there something more?""Yes, we haven't located the Second Foundation yet!""What," roared Anthor, "are you trying to say–""Yes, I am.Kalgan is not the Second Foundation.""How do you know?""It's easy," grunted Darell."You see I happen to know where the SecondFoundation really is."21The Answer That SatisfiedTurbor laughed suddenly – laughed in huge, windy gusts that bounced ringinglyoff the walls and died in gasps.He shook his head, weakly, and said, "GreatGalaxy, this goes on all night [ Pobierz caÅ‚ość w formacie PDF ]
