"Asimov, Isaac - 1. Foundation" - читать интересную книгу автора (Asimov Isaac)

Seldon was filled with the intense excitement of a man whose body only had grown
old. "Come, come. You saw how the result was arrived at. Put it into words.
Forget the symbolism for a moment."
Gaal said, "As Trantor becomes more specialized, it be comes more vulnerable,
less able to defend itself. Further, as it becomes more and more the
administrative center of Empire, it becomes a greater prize. As the Imperial
succession becomes more and more uncertain, and the feuds among the great
families more rampant, social responsibility disappears. "
"Enough. And what of the numerical probability of total destruction within three
centuries?"
"I couldn't tell."
"Surely you can perform a field-differentiation?"
Gaal felt himself under pressure. He was not offered the calculator pad. It was
held a foot from his eyes. He calculated furiously and felt his forehead grow
slick with sweat.
He said, "About 85%?"
"Not bad," said Seldon, thrusting out a lower lip, "but not good. The actual
figure is 92.5%."
Gaal said, "And so you are called Raven Seldon? I have seen none of this in the
journals."
"But of course not. This is unprintable. Do you suppose the Imperium could
expose its shakiness in this manner. That is a very simple demonstration in
psychohistory. But some of our results have leaked out among the aristocracy."
"That's bad."
"Not necessarily. All is taken into account."
"But is that why I'm being investigated?"
"Yes. Everything about my project is being investigated."
"Are you in danger, sir?"
"Oh, yes. There is probability of 1.7% that I will be executed, but of course
that will not stop the project. We have taken that into account as well. Well,
never mind. You will meet me, I suppose, at the University tomorrow?"
"I will," said Gaal.

5.
COMMISSION OF PUBLIC SAFETYЦ... The aristocratic coterie rose to power after the
assassination of Cleon I, last of the Entuns. In the main, they formed an
element of order during the centuries of instability and uncertainty in the
Imperium. Usually under the control of the great families of the Chens and the
Divarts, it degenerated eventually into a blind instrument for maintenance of
the status quo.... They were not completely removed as a power in the state
until after the accession of the last strong Emperor, Cleon H. The first Chief
Commissioner....
... In a way, the beginning of the Commission's decline can be traced to the
trial of Hari Seldon two years before the beginning of the Foundational Era.
That trial is described in Gaal Dornick's biography of Hari Seldon....
ENCYCLOPEDIA GALACTICA
Gaal did not carry out his promise. He was awakened the next morning by a muted
buzzer. He answered it, and the voice of the desk clerk, as muted, polite and
deprecating as it well might be, informed him that he was under detention at the
orders of the Commission of Public Safety.