Prelude to Foundation Chapter 6 Rescue

LEGGEN, JENARR- His contri just nowions to meteorology, however, although considerable, pale before what has ever since been k at presentn as the Leggen Contr oversy. That his actions swear let oned to place Hari Seldon in jeopardy is undisputable, but argument rages-and has al appearances raged-as to whether those actions were the result of unintentional circumstance or part of a deliberate conspiracy. Passions agree been raised on two sides and even the most elaborate studies have coif to no definite conclusions. Nevertheless, the suspicions that were raised helped poison Leggens career and private life in the years that followedcyclopedia Galactica25.It was non quite the end of daylight when Dors Venabili sought kayoed Jenarr Leggen. He answered her rather anxious greeting with a grunt and a brief nod. Well, she verbalise a trifle impatiently. How was he?Leggen, who was entering data into his information processing system, say, How was who?My library student Hari. Dr. Ha ri Seldon. He went up with you. Was he all help to you?Leggen retravel his hands from the keys of his computer and swivelled close to. That Heliconian fellow? He was of no use at each(prenominal). Showed no interest whatever. He kept aspect at the panorama when there was no scenery to look at. A real oddball. Why did you want to send him up?It wasnt my idea. He cherished to. I push asidet see to it it. He was very interested. Where is he at once?Leggen shrugged. How would I fuck? Somewhere around.Where did he go after he came down with you? Did he say?He didnt come down with us. I told you he wasnt interested. therefore when did he come down?I dont agnise. I wasnt watching him. I had an enormous amount of work to do. There must have been a windstorm and roughly sort of downpour about two days ago and neither was expected. zipper our instruments showed offered a good explanation for it or for the fact that some sunshine we were expecting today didnt appear. immediately I m trying to function sense of it and youre bothering me.You mean you didnt peck him go down?Look. He wasnt on my mind. The idiot wasnt correctly garbed and I could see that inside of half an hour he wasnt going to be able to take the cold. I gave him a sweater, but that wasnt going to help much for his legs and feet. So I left the elevator open for him and I told him how to use it and explained that it would take him down and then return automati phone cally. It was all very impartial and Im sure he did get cold and he did go down and the elevator did come confirm and then lastly we all went down.solely you dont k at one cartridge clip exactly when he went down?No, I dont. I told you. I was busy. He certainly wasnt up there when we left, though, and by that time twilight was coming on and it looked as though it might sleet. So he had to have gone down.Did anyone else see him go down?I dont know. Clowzia may have. She was with him for a bit. Why dont you shoot her?Dors found Clowzia in her quarters, clean emerging from a hot shower.It was cold up there, she tell.Dors said, Were you with Hari Seldon Upperside?Clowzia said, eyebrows lifting, Yes, for a slice. He wanted to wander about and ask questions about the vegetation up there. Hes a sharp fellow, Dors. Everything seemed to interest him, so I told him what I could t inauspicious Leggen called me back. He was in one of his knock-your-head-off tempers. The weather wasnt working and he-Dors interrupted. Then you didnt see Hari go down in the elevator?I didnt see him at all after Leggen called me over.-But he has to be down here. He wasnt up there when we left.But I cant find him anywhere.Clowzia looked perturbed. Really?-But hes got to be somewhere down here.No, he doesnt have to be somewhere down here, said Dors, her disturbance growing.What if hes still up there?Thats impossible. He wasnt. Naturally, we looked about for him before we left. Leggen had shown him how to go down. He wasnt properly dre ssed and it was rotten weather. Leggen told him if he got cold not to bide for us. He was getting cold. I know So what else could he do but go down?But no one saw him go down.-Did anything go wrong with him up there?Nothing. Not while I was with him. He was perfectly fine except that he had to be cold, of course.Dors, by now quite uncolonized, said, Since no one saw him go down, he might still be up there. Shouldnt we go up and look?Clowzia said nervously, I told you we looked around before we went down. It was still quite light and he was nowhere in sight.Lets look anyway.But I cant take you up there. Im just an medical intern and I dont have the combination for the Upperside dome opening. Youll have to ask Dr. Leggen.26.Dors Venabili knew that Leggen would not pull up stakesingly go Upperside now. He would have to be forced.First, she checked the library and the dine areas once again. Then she called Seldons room. Finally, she went up there and signaled at the adit. When Seld on did not respond, she had the floor manager open it. He wasnt there. She questioned some of those who, over the last some weeks, had come to know him. No one had seen him.Well, then, she would make Leggen take her Upperside. By now, though, it was night. He would object strenuously and how long could she spend arguing if Hari Seldon was trapped up there on a freezing night with sleet turning to snow?A sentiment occurred to her and she rushed to the small University computer, which kept track of the doings of the students, faculty, and service staff. Her fingers flew over the keys and she soon had what she wanted. There were three of them in another part of the campus. She signed out for a small glidecart to take her over and found the domicile she was looking for. Surely, one of them would be available-or findable. Fortune was with her. The first door at which she signaled was answered by a query light. She punched in her identification number, which included her department affi liation. The door loose and a plump middle-aged man stared out at her. He had obviously been washing up before dinner. His dark blond hair was skew-whiff and he was not wearing any upper garment. He said, Sorry. You catch me at a disadvantage. What can I do for you, Dr. Venabili?She said a morsel breathlessly, Youre Rogen Benastra, the Chief Seismologist, arent you?Yes.This is an emergency. I must see the seismological records for Upperside for the last few hours.Benastra stared at her. Why? Nothings exceeded. Id know if it had. The seismograph would inform us.Im not talking about a meteoric impact.Neither am I. We dont need a seismograph for that. Im talking about gravel, pinpoint fractures. Nothing today.Not that either. delight. Take me to the seismograph and read it for me. This is life or death.I have a dinner appointment-I said life or death and I mean it.Benastra said, I dont see- but he faded out nether Dorss glare. He wiped his face, left quick word on his message rel ay, end struggled into a shirt. They half-ran (under Dorss pitiless urging) to the small squat Seismology Building.Dors, who knew nothing about seismology, said, drop? Were going down?Below the inhabited levels. Of course. The seismograph has to be fixed to bedrock and be removed from the constant clamor and vibration of the city levels.But how can you tell whats happening Upperside from down here?The seismograph is wired to a set of pressure transducers located within the thickness of the dome. The impact of a speck of grit will send the indicator skittering off the screen. We can detect the flattening exploit on the dome of a high wind. We can-Yes, yes, said Dors impatiently. She was not here for a lecture on the virtues and refinements of the instruments. Can you detect human footsteps?Human footsteps? Benastra looked confused. Thats not likely Upperside.Of course its likely. There were a group of meteorologists Upperside this afternoon.Oh. Well, footsteps would scarcely be no ticeable.It would be noticeable if you looked hard enough and thats what I want you to do.Benastra might have resented the firm note of command in her voice, but, if so, he said nothing. He touched(p) a contact and the computer screen jumped to life. At the extreme right center, there was a fat spot of light, from which a thin horizontal attract stretched to the left limit of the screen. There was a tiny wriggle to it, a random non-repetitive seder of little hiccups and these moved steadily leftward. It was almost hypnotic in its effect on Dors.Benastra said, Thats as quiet as it can possibly be. Anything you see is the result of changing air pressure above, raindrops maybe, the distant whirr of machinery. Theres nothing up there.All right, but what about a few hours ago? Check on the records at fifteen hundred today, for instance. Surely, you have some recordings.Benastra gave the computer its necessary instructions and for a second or two there was wild chaos on the screen. The n it settled down and again the horizontal withdraw appeared.Ill sensitize it to maximum, muttered Benastra. There were now pronounced hiccups and as they staggered leftward they changed in pattern markedly.Whats that? said Dors. Tell me.Since you say there were people up there, Venabili, I would imagine they were footsteps-the shifting of weight, the impact of shoes. I dont know that I would have guessed it if I hadnt known about the people up there. Its what we call a benign vibration, not associated with anything we know to be dangerous.Can you tell how many people are present?Certainly not by eye. You see, were getting a resultant of all the impacts.You say not by eye. Can the resultant be analyzed into its components by the computer?I doubt it. These are minimal effects and you have to allow for the inevitable noise. The results would be untrustworthy.Well then. Move the time forward till the footstep indications stop. Can you make it fast-forward, so to speak?If I do-the ca st of fast-forward youre speaking of-then it will all just blur into a straight line with a slight haze above and below. What I can do is move it forward in fifteen-minute stages and study it quickly before moving on.Good. Do thatBoth watched the screen until Benastra said, Theres nothing there now. See?There was again a line with nothing but tiny uneven hiccups of noise.When did the footsteps stop?Two hours ago. A trifle to a greater extent.And when they stopped were there fewer than there were foregoing?Benastra looked mildly outraged. I couldnt tell. I dont remember the finest analysis could make a certain decision.Dors pressed her lips together. Then she said, Are you testing a transducer-is that what you called it-near the meteorological venthole?Yes, thats where the instruments are and thats where the meteorologists would have been. Then, unbelievingly, Do you want me to try others in the vicinity? One at a time?No. Stay on this one. But keep on going forward at fifteen-min ute intervals. One person may have been left behind and may have made his way back to the instruments.Benastra shook his head and muttered something under his breath.The screen shifted again and Dors said sharply, Whats that? She was pointing.I dont know. Noise.No. Its periodic. Could it be a single persons footsteps?Sure, but it could be a dozen other things too.Its coming along at about the time of footsteps, isnt it? Then, after a while, she said, Push it forward a little.He did and when the screen settled down she said, Arent those unevennesses getting bigger?Possibly. We can measure them.We dont have to. You can see theyre getting bigger. The footsteps are approaching the transducer. Go forward again. See when they stop. aft(prenominal) a while Benastra said, They stopped twenty or twenty-five transactions ago.Then cautiously, Whatever they are.Theyre footsteps, said Dors with mountain-moving conviction. Theres a man up there and while you and I have been fooling around here, hes collapsed and hes going to freeze and die. Now dont say, Whatever they are Just call Meteorology and get me Jenarr Leggen. Life or death, I tell you. Say soBenastra, lips quivering, had passed the stage where he could possibly resist anything this strange and passionate woman demanded. It took no more than three minutes to get Leggens hologram on the message platform.He had been pulled off from his dinner table. There was a napkin in his hand and a suspicious unction under his lower lip. His long face was set in a fearful scowl. Life or death? What is this? Who are you? Then his eye caught Dors, who had moved closer to Benastra so that her image would be seen on Jenarrs screen. He said, You again. This is simple harassment.Dors said, It is not. I have consulted Rogen Benastra, who is Chief Seismologist at the University. After you and your party had left Upperside, the seismograph shows relieve oneself footsteps of one person still there. Its my student Hari Seldon, who went up there in your care and who is now, quite certainly, lying in a collapsed stupor and may not live long.You will, therefore, take me up there right now with whatever equipment may be necessary. If you do not do so immediately, I shall keep back to University security-to the President himself, if necessary. One way or another Ill get up there and if anything has happened to Hari because you delay one minute, I will see to it that you are hauled in for negligence, incompetence-whatever I can make stick-and will have you lose all spatial relation and be thrown out of academic life. And if hes dead, of course, thats mans anticter by negligence. Or worse, since Ive now warned you hes dying.Jenarr, furious, turned to Benastra. Did you detect-But Dors cut in. He told me what he detected and Ive told you. I do not intend to allow you to bulldoze him into confusion. Are you coming? Now?Has it occurred to you that you may be mistaken? said Jenarr, thin-lipped.Do you know what I can do to you if this is a mischievous false alarm? Loss of status works both ways.Murder doesnt, said Dors. Im ready to chance a trial for malicious mischief. Are you ready to chance a trial for discharge?Jenarr reddened, perhaps more at the necessity of giving in than at the threat. Ill come, but Ill have no mercy on you, novel woman, if your student eventually turns out to have been safe within the dome these past three hours.27.The three went up the elevator in an inimical silence. Leggen had eaten only part of his dinner and had left his wife at the dining area without adequate explanation. Benastra had eaten no dinner at all and had possibly disappointed some woman companion, too without adequate explanation. Dors Venabili had not eaten either and she seemed the most tense and unhappy of the three. She carried a thermal blanket and two photonic founts.When they reached the entrance to Upperside, Leggen, jaw muscles tightening, entered his identification number and the door opened. A cold wind rushed at them and Benastra grunted. None of the three was adequately dressed, but the two men had no intention of remaining up there long.Dors said tightly, Its snowing.Leggen said, Its wet snow. The temperatures just about at the freezing point. Its not a killing frost.It depends on how long one remains in it, doesnt it? said Dors. And being soaked in melting snow wont help.Leggen grunted. Well, where is he? He stared resentfully out into utter blackness, made even worse by the light from the entrance behind him. Dors said, Here, Dr. Benastra, hold this blanket for me. And you, Dr. Leggen, close the door behind you without locking it.Theres no automatic lock on it. Do you think were foolish?Perhaps not, but you can lock it from the inside and leave anyone outside unable to get into the dome.If someones outside, point him out. Show him to me, said Leggen.He could be anywhere. Dors lifted her arms with a photonic fount circling each wrist.We cant look everywhere, mumbled B enastra miserably. The founts blazed into light, spraying in every direction. The snowflakes glittered like a vast mob of fireflies, making it even more difficult to see.The footsteps were getting steadily louder, said Dors. He had to be approaching the transducer. Where would it be located?I havent any idea, snapped Leggen.-Thats outside my field and my responsibility.Dr. Benastra?Benastras solution was hesitant. I dont really know. To tell you the truth, Ive never been up here before. It was installed before my time. The computer knows, but we never thought to ask it that.-Im cold and I dont see what use I am up here.Youll have to stay up here for a while, said Dors firmly. Follow me. Im going to circle the entrance in an outward spiral.We cant see much through the snow, said Leggen.I know that. If it wasnt snowing, wed have seen him by now. Im sure of it. As it is, it may take a few minutes. We can stand that. She was by no means as confident as her words made it appear.She bega n to walk, swinging her arms, playing the light over as large a field as she could, straining her eyes for a dark blotch against the snow.And, as it happened, it was Benastra who first said, Whats that? and pointed.Dors overlapped the two founts, making a buttonlike cone of light in the indicated direction. She ran toward it, as did the other two. They had found him, huddled and wet, about ten meters from the door, five from the nearest meteorological device. Dors felt for his heartbeat, but it was not necessary for, responding to her touch, Seldon stirred and whimpered.Give me the blanket, Dr. Benastra, said Dors in a voice that was faint with relief. She flapped it open and spread it out in the snow. Lift him onto it carefully and Ill roll him. Then well carry him down.In the elevator, vapors were rising from the wrapped Seldon as the blanket warmed to blood temperature.Dors said, Once we have him in his room, Dr. Leggen, you get a doctor-a good one-and see that he comes at once . If Dr. Seldon gets through this without harm, I wont say anything, but only if he does. Remember-You neednt lecture me, said Leggen coldly. I regret this and I will do what I can, but my only fault was in allowing this man to come Upperside in the first place.The blanket stirred and a low, scant(p) voice made itself heard. Benastra started, for Seldons head was cradled in the crook of his elbow. He said, Hes trying to say something.Dors said, I know. He said, Whats going on? She couldnt help but laugh just a little. It seemed such a normal thing to say.28.The doctor was delighted.Ive never seen a case of exposure, he explained. One doesnt get exposed on Trantor.That may be, said Dors coldly, and Im happy you have the chance to experience this novelty, but does it mean that you do not know how to treat Dr. Seldon?The doctor, an elderly man with a bald head and a small gray mustache, bristled. Of course, I do. Exposure cases on the outmost Worlds are common enough-an everyday affa ir-and Ive read a smashing deal about them. Treatment consisted in part of an antiviral serum and the use of a microwave wrapping.This ought to take care of it, the doctor said. On the Outer Worlds, they make use of much more elaborate equipment in hospitals, but we dont have that, of course, on Trantor. This is a treatment for mild cases and Im sure it will do the job.Dors thought later, as Seldon was recovering without particular injury, that it was perhaps because he was an Outworlder that he had survived so well. Dark, cold, even snow were not utterly strange to him. A Trantorian in all probability would have died in a similar case, not so much from physical trauma as from psychic shock.She was not sure of this, of course, since she herself was not a Trantorian either.And, turning her mind away from these thoughts, she pulled up a chair near to Haris bed and settled down to wait.29.On the second morning Seldon stirred circumspect and looked up at Dors, who sat at his bedside, viewing a book-film and taking notes. In a voice that was almost normal, Seldon said, Still here, Dors?She put down the book-film. I cant leave you alone, can I? And I dont trust anyone else.It seems to me that every time I wake up, I see you. Have you been here all the time?Sleeping or waking, yes.But your classes?I have an assistant who has taken over for a while. Dors leaned over and grasped Haris hand. Noticing his embarrassment (he was, after all, in bed), she removed it.Hari, what happened? I was so frightened.Seldon said, I have a confession to make.What is it, Hari?I thought perhaps you were part of a conspiracy-A conspiracy? she said vehemently.I mean, to gaming me Upperside where Id be outside University jurisdiction and therefore subject to being picked up by Imperial forces.But Upperside isnt outside University jurisdiction. Sector jurisdiction on Trantor is from the worldwide center to the sky.Ah, I didnt know that. But you didnt come with me because you said you ha d a busy schedule and, when I was getting paranoid, I thought you were deliberately abandoning me. Please forgive me. Obviously, it was you who got me down from there. Did anyone else care?They were busy men, said Dors carefully. They thought you had come down earlier. I mean, it was a legitimate thought.Clowzia thought so too?The young intern? Yes, she did.Well, it may still have been a conspiracy. Without you, I mean.No, Hari, it is my fault. I had absolutely no right to let you go Upperside alone. It was my job to protect you. I cant stop blaming myself for what happened, for you getting lost.Now, wait a minute, said Seldon, suddenly irritated. I didnt get lost. What do you think I am?Id like to know what you call it. You were nowhere around when the others left and you didnt get back to the entrance-or to the neighborhood of the entrance anyway-till well after dark.But thats not what happened. I didnt get lost just because I wandered away and couldnt find my way back. I told you I was suspecting a conspiracy and I had cause to do so. Im not totally paranoid.Well then, what did happen?Seldon told her. He had no trouble remembering it in full detail he had lived with it in nightmare for most of the preceding day.Dors listened with a frown. But thats impossible. A jet-down? Are you sure?Of course Im sure. Do you think I was hallucinating?But the Imperial forces could not have been searching for you. They could not have arrested you Upperside without creating the equal ferocious rumpus they would have if they had sent in a police force to arrest you on campus.Then how do you explain it?Im not sure, said Dors, but its possible that the consequences of my failure to go Upperside with you might have been worse than they were and that Hummin will be seriously angry with me.Then lets not tell him, said Seldon. It ended well.We must tell him, said Dors grimly. This may not be the end.30.That evening Jenarr Leggen came to visit. It was after dinner and he looked fro m Dors to Seldon several times, as though enquire what to say. Neither offered to help him, but both waited patiently.He had not impressed either of them as being a master of small talk.Finally he said to Seldon, Ive come to see how you are.Perfectly well, said Seldon, except that Im a little sleepy. Dr. Venabili tells me that the treatment will keep me tired for a few days, presumably so Im sure of getting needed rest. He smiled. Frankly, I dont mind.Leggen breathed in deeply, let it out, hesitated, and then, almost as though he was forcing the words out of himself, said, I wont keep you long. I perfectly understand you need to rest. I do want to say, though, that I am sorry it all happened. I should not have assumed-so casually-that you had gone down by yourself. Since you were a tyro, I should have felt more responsible for you. After all, I had agreed to let you come up. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me. Thats really all I wish to say.Seldon yawned, putting hi s hand over his mouth. release me.-Since it seems to have turned out well, there need be no hard feelings. In some ways, it was not your fault. I should not have wandered away and, besides, what happened was-Dors interrupted. Now, Hari, please, no conversation. Just relax. Now, I want to talk to Dr. Leggen just a bit before he goes. In the first place, Dr. Leggen, I quite understand you are concerned about how repercussions from this affair will affect you. I told you there would be no follow-up if Dr. Seldon recovered without ill effects. That seems to be taking place, so you may relax-for now. I would like to ask you about something else and I hope that this time I will have your free cooperation.I will try, Dr. Venabili, said Leggen stiffly.Did anything unusual happen during your stay Upperside?You know it did. I lost Dr. Seldon, something for which I have just apologized.Obviously Im not referring to that. Did anything else unusual happen?No, nothing. Nothing at all.Dors looked at Seldon and Seldon frowned. It seemed to him that Dors was trying to check on his story and get an independent account. Did she think he was imagining the search vessel? He would have like to object heatedly, but she had raised a quieting hand at him, as though she was preventing that very eventuality. He subsided, partly because of this and partly because he really wanted to sleep. He hoped that Leggen would not stay long.Are you certain? said Dors. Were there no intrusions from outside?No, of course not. Oh-Yes, Dr. Leggen?There was a jet-down.Did that strike you as odd?No, of course not.Why not?This sounds very much as though Im being cross-examined, Dr. Venabili. I dont much like it.I can appreciate that, Dr. Leggen, but these questions have something to do with Dr. Seldons misadventure. It may be that this whole affair is more complicated than I had thought.In what way? A new edge entered his voice. Do you intend to raise new questions, requiring new apologies? In that cas e, I may find it necessary to withdraw.Not, perhaps, before you explain how it is you do not find a hovering jet-down a bit peculiar.Because, my dear woman, a number of meteorological posts on Trantor possess jet-downs for the direct study of clouds and the upper atmosphere. Our own meteorological station does not.Why not? It would be useful.Of course. But were not competing and were not keeping secrets. We will report on our findings they will report on theirs. It makes sense, therefore, to have a scattering of differences and specializations. It would be foolish to duplicate efforts completely. The money and manpower we might spend on jet-downs can be spent on mesonic refractometers, while others will spend on the first and save on the latter. After all, there may be a great deal of competitiveness and ill feeling among the sectors, but science is one thing-only thing-that holds us together. You know that, I presume, he added ironically.I do, but isnt it rather coincidental that s omeone should be direct a jet-down right to your station on the very day you were going to use the station?No coincidence at all. We announced that we were going to make measurements on that day and, consequently, some other station thought, very properly, that they might make simultaneous nephelometric measurements-clouds, you know. The results, taken together, would make more sense and be more useful than either taken separately.Seldon said suddenly in a rather blurred voice, They were just measuring, then? He yawned again.Yes said Leggen. What else would they possibly be doing?Dors blinked her eyes, as she sometimes did when she was trying to think rapidly. That all makes sense. To which station did this particular jet-down belong?Leggen shook his head. Dr. Venabili, how can you possibly expect me to tell?I thought that each meteorological jet-down might possibly have its stations markings on it.Surely, but I wasnt looking up and studying it, you know. I had my own work to do an d I let them do theirs. When they report, Ill know whose jet-down it was.What if they dont report?Then I would cogitate their instruments failed. That happens sometimes. His right fist was clenched. Is that all, then?Wait a moment. Where do you suppose the jet-down might have come from?It might be any station with jet-downs. On a days notice-and they got more than that-one of those vessels can reach us handily from anyplace on the planet.But who most likely?Hard to say Hestelonia, Wye, Ziggoreth, North Damiano. Id say one of these four was the most likely, but it might be any of forty others at least.Just one more question, then. Just one. Dr. Leggen, when you announced that your group would be Upperside, did you by any chance say that a mathematician, Dr. Hari Seldon, would be with you.A look of apparently deep and honest surprise crossed Leggens face, a look that quickly turned contemptuous. Why should I list label? Of what interest would that be to anyone?Very well, said Dors. The truth of the matter, then, is that Dr. Seldon saw the jet-down and it disturbed him. I am not certain why and apparently his memory is a bit fuzzy on the matter. He more or less ran away from the jet-down, got himself lost, didnt think of trying to return-or didnt dare to-till it was well into twilight, and didnt quite make it back in the dark. You cant be blamed for that, so lets forget the whole incident on both sides.Agreed, said Leggen. Good-bye He turned on his frank and left.When he was gone, Dors rose, pulled off Seldons slippers gently, straightened him in his bed, and covered him. He was sleeping, of course.Then she sat down and thought. How much of what Leggen had said was true and what might possibly exist under the cover of his words?She did not know.