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.We are being hailed- The pilot uses the name Dors Venabili-Dors nodded.Daneel must have learned of her apostasy and sent someone after her.For daysshe had rehearsed what she d say, either to the Immortal Servant or one of hisZeroth Law emissaries, when he tried to win her back into the fold withappeals to her sense of duty.However much distaste she felt toward pastevents, Olivaw would insist that her sole choice now was to help hislong-range plan for human salvation.Page 130 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlThere is even a chance they ll shoot, if I try to run away.Yet Dors felt awild urge to do just that-to show Daneel s minions her heels.Action wouldspeak her revulsion more eloquently than words.The pilot of the incoming craft again requests contact- There is now apersonal identification code.and a message-Reluctantly, Dors opened herselfto the data burst. Hello, Dors, I assume that s you.Have you had enough timeto think things over? Don t you figure it s time we talked? She rocked back, surprised.But then, in another way, it seemed she hadexpected this all along.There was a symmetry that required her to confrontLodovic Trema once again.Nearby, the holographic image of a young medieval knight shivered, then halfsmiled. I sense Voltaire! He s near, in one of his manifestations. Simulationprograms crafted a perfect facsimile of a resigned sigh us Dors said- Ah, well.Let s hear what the two boys have to say. · 7-Hari stared at Pengia, wondering what it was about the planet that struck himas odd.From orbit the place was unassuming, like any typical imperial world,with glistening blue seas and immense, flat agricultural regions, covered bycheckerboard cornfields and rich orchards.The small cities clearly did notdominate life here.In fact, this bucolic place must have looked exactly thesame for many thousands of years.And yet, the broad fertile plains looked suddenly strange to I lari, now thathe knew the source of their well-ordered geometries.Some incredible machinehad probably created them.His mind envisioned a time-not long ago by galacticstandards-when artificial fire fell from the sky, blasting and pulverizingwhole watersheds, carving ideal river courses, then seeding that earlierversion of Pengia with all the vegetation and foods needed by human settlers.Hari realized something else.I haven t seen many typical imperial worlds.I ve spent most of my lifedashing around, investigating the strange.trying to understanddeviations from the rules of psychohistory.Struggling to encompass everyhitch and variation in our growing model.It just never seemed important tovisit a place like this, where the vast majority of human beings are born.Where they experience lives nearly identical to their ancestors , and die inmodest contentment or desperation-according to their own personal dramas.Even Helicon, where he had spent his early years, was widely known as anPage 131 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlanomaly.Though agriculture dominated the planet s economy, a local geneticfluke resulted in a notorious cottage industry-supplying mathematical geniusesto the bureaucracy and meritocracy.Small wonder that Daneel chose to performhis search and experiment there!This place may be typical, Hari thought.But I am not certain what that wordmeans anymore.Again, humility felt surprisingly comfortable at his age.Of course, all of these strange musings might be a by-product of his recentrejuvenation treatment.Hari felt new strength in his limbs, a greatersteadiness in his step, which could not but help affect his overall mood,infecting him with an eagerness that, ironically, he resented somewhat,knowing it was artificial.And yet, part of him felt surprised by how little had changed.I m still anold man.I don t look all that different.I can sense that I ve been given abit more vigor, but I frankly doubt that will translate into much more lifespan.Is this all the disparity between what Sybyl s renaissance canaccomplish, and the secret biotechnologies the Calvinians have been hoardingfor centuries? The contrast isn t all that impressive.Hari had a vague feeling-almost like a dream-that as much had been taken fromhim as he had been given, while lying in the big white box.More had happenedthan was apparent.The gentle blue world swam closer in the Pride of Rhodia s view screens as R.Gornon Vlimt piloted them toward a landing.For some reason, everyone facedeastward as they descended.No one cared about the western view, which was,after all, nearly identical.Jeni Cuicet sat in a suspensor chair, barelymoving, fighting waves of alternating heat and chills.Horis Antic kept pointing to features of the geography below, sharing withBiron Maserd a new excitement of understanding how the terrain had been made-agreedy intellectual pleasure that Hari well understood.It made him smile forhis two young friends.Sybyl and Planch huddled together by the forwardmost window, mutteringsecretively, though Hari could guess what concerned them.The lesser crewmenfrom Ktlina and the Pride of Rhodia had recently received a treatment of drugsand hypnosis from R.Gornon.Those men went about their tasks somewhatstonily, and clearly without any memory of the extravagant events that hadtaken place during the past week.Sybyl and Planch are wondering when their turn will come, Hari thought.Theymust be striving to come up with some plan to avoid it, or else to leave asecret message for their friends.I know because it is what I would do intheir place.Antic and Maserd seemed less concerned, perhaps relying on the protection ofHari s friendship, or because they were more trustworthy.Neither of them waslikely to support anything that could cause chaos.Still, Hari wondered.R.Gornon acts in many ways as if he has the same agenda as Daneel.And yet,he slaughtered one of Daneel s agents, and clearly is fleeing as fast as hecan to escape being caught by the Immortal Servant.Clearly there were complexities involved that Hari didn t yet grasp.So Bironand Horis might be relying too much on friendship and trust to preserve theirmemory of recent events.Page 132 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlPlanch and Sybyl reached a conclusion.They walked toward Hari, a grim set totheir jaws. We are ready to acknowledge that you ve won again, Seldon, the woman fromKtlina said. So let s strike a deal. Hari shook his head. It is exaggeration to say that I ve won anything
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