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. In short, Sayshell seems to have had theprotection of Gaia, even in Imperial times. Well then? But the Second Foundation was brought into existence by HariSeldon at the same time our Foundation was.The Second Foundation did notexist in Imperial times--and Gaia did.Gaia, therefore, isnot the SecondFoundation.It is something else--and, just possibly, something worse. I don t propose to be terrified by the unknown, Liono.Thereare only two possible sources of danger--physical weapons and mentalweapons--and we are fully prepared for both.--You get back to your ship andkeep the units on the Sayshellian outskirts.This ship will move toward Gaiaalone, but will stay in contact with you at all times and will expect you tocome to us in one Jump, if necessary.--Go, Liono, and get that perturbed lookoff your face. One last question? Are you sure you know what you re doing? I do, she said grimly. I, too, have studied the history ofSayshell and have seen that Gaia cannot be the Second Foundation, but, as Itold you, I have the full report of the scouts and from that-- Yes? Well, I know where the Second Foundation is located and wewill take care of both, Liono.We will take care of Gaia first and thenTrantor. 17.GAIA1.IT TOOK HOURS FOR THE SKIP FROM THE SPACE STATION TO REACH THE vicinityof theFar Star --very long hours for Trevize to endure.Had the situation been normal, Trevize would have tried tosignal and would have expected a response.If there had been no response, hewould have taken evasive action.Since he was unarmed and there had been no response, there wasnothing to do but wait.The computer would not respond to any direction hecould give it that involved anything outside the ship.Page 233 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlInternally, at least, everything worked well.The life-supportsystems were in perfect order, so that he and Pelorat were physicallycomfortable.Somehow, that didn t help.Life dragged on and the uncertainty ofwhat was to come was wearing him down.He noticed with irritation that Peloratseemed calm.As though to make it worse, while Trevize felt no sense of hungerat all, Pelorat opened a small container of chicken-bits, which on opening hadrapidly and automatically warmed itself.Now he was eating it methodically.Trevize said irritably, Space, Janov! That stinks! Pelorat looked startled and sniffed at the container. Itsmells all right to me, Golan. Trevize shook his head. Don t mind me.I m just upset.But douse a fork.Your fingers will smell of chicken all day. Pelorat looked at his fingers with surprise. Sorry! I didn tnotice.I was thinking of something else. Trevize said sarcastically, Would you care to guess at whattype of nonhumans the creatures on the approaching ship must be? He wasashamed that he was less calm than Pelorat was.He was a Navy veteran (thoughhe had never seen battle, of course) and Pelorat was a historian.Yet hiscompanion sat there quietly.Pelorat said, It would be impossible to imagine whatdirection evolution would take under conditions differing from those of Earth.The possibilities may not be infinite, but they would be so vast that theymight as well be.However, I can predict that they are not senselessly violentand they will treat us in a civilized fashion.If that wasn t true, we wouldbe dead by now. At least you can still reason, Janov, my friend--you canstill be tranquil.My nerves seem to be forcing their way through whatevertranquilization they have put us under.I have an extraordinary desire tostand up and pace.Why doesn t that blasted ship arrive? Pelorat said, I am a man of passivity, Golan.I have spent mylife doubled over records while waiting for other records to arrive.I donothing but wait.You are a man of action and you are in deep pain when actionis impossible. Trevize felt some of his tension leave.He muttered, Iunderestimate your good sense, Janov. No, you don t, said Pelorat placidly, but even a naïveacademic can sometimes make sense out of life. And even the cleverest politician can sometimes fail to doso. I didn t say that, Golan. -- No, but I did.--So let me become active.I can stillobserve.The approaching ship is close enough to seem distinctly primitive. Seem? Trevize said, If it s the product of nonhuman minds andhands, what may seem primitive may, in actual fact, be merely nonhuman. Page 234 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html Do you think it might be a nonhuman artifact? asked Pelorat,his face reddening slightly. I can t tell.I suspect that artifacts, however much they mayvary from culture to culture, are never quite as plastic as products ofgenetic differences might be. That s just a guess on your part.All we know are differentcultures.We don t know different intelligent species and therefore have noway of judging how different artifacts might be
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