"Dors? But she died...she malfunctioned...she..." At that moment R.Hari
Seldon's eyes went blank, as the robot momentarily lost consciousness.
Daneel addressed the rest of the room.
"I have inactivated him. I would ask you please not to mention Dors Venabili, in fact anything leading back to Seldon's previous life. His positronic matrix is still young and it will take some time for it to completely form and settle down, he is still very vulnerable to outside forces." The light came back to R.Seldon's eyes, and for a moment he seemed lost.
"Ah, where was I?"
"Friend Hari, I have a mission for you. Off world. Mr Trevize already knows this, as does Gaia, that when the three futures met their minds had to be altered to forget the incident. There already has been a fault with the First Foundation, they forgot easily about the incident but still remember the ship. It is possible that a similar mistake has been made with the Second Foundation. Although I will not be able to go, another robot who has mentalic powers similar to my own will accompany you to them and make sure you are not detected, and if there are any inconsistencies to fix them. I still posses a few yachts and other faster-than-light capable ships, you can get there easily enough"
"I'll take him." All eyes turned to Trevize. "The Far Star can get you there faster than any old bucket R.Daneel has, and its not like I've got anything better to do. I assume you should be able to provide transport for my friend Pelorat and Bliss."
"Transport? What would we need transport for? We've been to Earth with you, I doubt Stars End will be any deadlier." Trevize shuddered remembering the dogs. "With this robot there and Bliss and as many other Gaians there are we'll be well protected."
"Very well. You shall accompany R.Hari Seldon."
"What about us?" Now it was Mors Planch Speaking up.
"You will be with myself on a quest of our own. And Lord Maserd will be with us. We're going to Madder Loss."
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"Stars End. I don't suppose you'll be able to tell me where this is now R.Seldon." Trevize was now in the Far Stars command room, which seemed crowded when himself and Janov were inside, but was now cramped with himself, Pelorat, Bliss, R.Seldon and another robot who had identified itself as R.Klein Orse.
"Wait Golan, I don't suppose Mr.Seldon will allow an old man to indulge himself at the great game" R.Seldon nodded. "Lets see, Stars End is on Terminus?"
"Of course not man, they'd have been discovered way too quickly."
"In that case it appears Arkady Darell was wrong and a circle does have an end, and by that smile on that face of yours I guess it is a rather obvious one. What about Kalgan? We found quite a few of their spies there after the capture of Anthor and the supposed Second Foundation."
"Once again wrong. I'll even give you a clue. A saying, which you might be familiar with from your field of study. All roads lead to Roma."
"Trantor!" But it was Trevize who came up with the answer first. "All roads lead to Trantor and that is where all stars end." Seldon nodded to confirm the answer.
"You have figured it out. When I made the reference to Stars End and I knew people might assume the opposite end of the geographical Empire. I had done this so as to crate these misconceptions, to further help hide the Second Foundation. But I did not mean geographical opposites, I meant political. The first Foundation was in the Periphery, at the edge of the Empire, not even part of it until the Encyclopaedists arrived there. Where else could the Second Foundation be, but at the heart of the Empire?"
"In that case if I may have some space we can leave this oversize satellite and depart for the Seat of the First Empire."
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"Daneel, why are we going to that hell hole of a planet?"
"It is not a hell hole Maserd, it was the jewel of the Empire, home of the Renaissance, until Seldon destroyed it all."
"Seldon did not destroy any Mr.Planch, chaos did. I have been fighting it all my existence."
"Chaos wouldn't of happened. We were going to triumph! A new Empire with amazing technologies, and now what, a farming world, its population destroyed by its blind trust of Seldons Foundation that couldn't stand up to the Empires last great General." Daneel was going to argue, but sensing the arrogant biased composition of Planch's brain he decided against it. Maserd asked again.
"Why are we going to this Renaissance world then?"
"Madder Loss didn't only hold rebels against the Empire. It held rebels against the Zeroth Law. Calvanians. And I believe they had possession of a very special artefact, possible a working robot. A New Law robot."
"I have inactivated him. I would ask you please not to mention Dors Venabili, in fact anything leading back to Seldon's previous life. His positronic matrix is still young and it will take some time for it to completely form and settle down, he is still very vulnerable to outside forces." The light came back to R.Seldon's eyes, and for a moment he seemed lost.
"Ah, where was I?"
"Friend Hari, I have a mission for you. Off world. Mr Trevize already knows this, as does Gaia, that when the three futures met their minds had to be altered to forget the incident. There already has been a fault with the First Foundation, they forgot easily about the incident but still remember the ship. It is possible that a similar mistake has been made with the Second Foundation. Although I will not be able to go, another robot who has mentalic powers similar to my own will accompany you to them and make sure you are not detected, and if there are any inconsistencies to fix them. I still posses a few yachts and other faster-than-light capable ships, you can get there easily enough"
"I'll take him." All eyes turned to Trevize. "The Far Star can get you there faster than any old bucket R.Daneel has, and its not like I've got anything better to do. I assume you should be able to provide transport for my friend Pelorat and Bliss."
"Transport? What would we need transport for? We've been to Earth with you, I doubt Stars End will be any deadlier." Trevize shuddered remembering the dogs. "With this robot there and Bliss and as many other Gaians there are we'll be well protected."
"Very well. You shall accompany R.Hari Seldon."
"What about us?" Now it was Mors Planch Speaking up.
"You will be with myself on a quest of our own. And Lord Maserd will be with us. We're going to Madder Loss."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------
"Stars End. I don't suppose you'll be able to tell me where this is now R.Seldon." Trevize was now in the Far Stars command room, which seemed crowded when himself and Janov were inside, but was now cramped with himself, Pelorat, Bliss, R.Seldon and another robot who had identified itself as R.Klein Orse.
"Wait Golan, I don't suppose Mr.Seldon will allow an old man to indulge himself at the great game" R.Seldon nodded. "Lets see, Stars End is on Terminus?"
"Of course not man, they'd have been discovered way too quickly."
"In that case it appears Arkady Darell was wrong and a circle does have an end, and by that smile on that face of yours I guess it is a rather obvious one. What about Kalgan? We found quite a few of their spies there after the capture of Anthor and the supposed Second Foundation."
"Once again wrong. I'll even give you a clue. A saying, which you might be familiar with from your field of study. All roads lead to Roma."
"Trantor!" But it was Trevize who came up with the answer first. "All roads lead to Trantor and that is where all stars end." Seldon nodded to confirm the answer.
"You have figured it out. When I made the reference to Stars End and I knew people might assume the opposite end of the geographical Empire. I had done this so as to crate these misconceptions, to further help hide the Second Foundation. But I did not mean geographical opposites, I meant political. The first Foundation was in the Periphery, at the edge of the Empire, not even part of it until the Encyclopaedists arrived there. Where else could the Second Foundation be, but at the heart of the Empire?"
"In that case if I may have some space we can leave this oversize satellite and depart for the Seat of the First Empire."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------
"Daneel, why are we going to that hell hole of a planet?"
"It is not a hell hole Maserd, it was the jewel of the Empire, home of the Renaissance, until Seldon destroyed it all."
"Seldon did not destroy any Mr.Planch, chaos did. I have been fighting it all my existence."
"Chaos wouldn't of happened. We were going to triumph! A new Empire with amazing technologies, and now what, a farming world, its population destroyed by its blind trust of Seldons Foundation that couldn't stand up to the Empires last great General." Daneel was going to argue, but sensing the arrogant biased composition of Planch's brain he decided against it. Maserd asked again.
"Why are we going to this Renaissance world then?"
"Madder Loss didn't only hold rebels against the Empire. It held rebels against the Zeroth Law. Calvanians. And I believe they had possession of a very special artefact, possible a working robot. A New Law robot."