Financial Management And Analysis Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Financial Management And Analysis - Assignment Example Interests in entrepreneurship and study within the field of entrepreneurship have risen, even though the aim and direction of the research has diverted. In recent research, there is great focus on the entrepreneurial operation on firm level within organizations, than on entrepreneurship by people. Great economists insist that the renewal of the economic system is sensitive as it is important for a competent and a competitive economic growth and development. It is effective for old ideas being substituted by new ones and that old products and services are replaced with those that are modern and more effective. In various organizations development and entrepreneurship of new commodities and have become major dimensions in the strategies (Bygrave and Zacharakis, 2011). It not, only important for the new internet entrepreneur to support the process of new product development but also utilize the old or long time ideas. This can only be a success by a well-structured financial management system that blends new and old ideologies and create a balance that brings out the best returns to the internet business for selling academic materials. According to various research activities within the analysis of financial management and entrepreneurship should be done through effectives methods of management. The objective of this study is to show the current operation of financial management in firms with various entrepreneurial point of reference. There is also a purpose to compare how the financial management systems are designed and used in firms with different levels of entrepreneurial experience. The focus is found on various selected sectors of the financial management analysis system with the basis of incentives programs. With these concepts, the new entrepreneur in the internet business for marketing educational stuffs in the website and use appropriate financial management principle. The results show that there exist some

American Slavery 1606-1775 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

American Slavery 1606-1775 - Essay Example However, this also suggests that slavery was an important institution within the colonies long before the need for outside support was necessary. â€Å"Unquestionably it was a demand for labor which dragged the Negro to American shores, but the status which he acquired here cannot be explained by reference to that economic motive. Long before black labor was as economically important as unfree white labor, the Negro had been consigned to a special discriminatory status which mirrored the social discrimination Englishmen practiced against him.†2 This treatment of the black individual within the new continent began with the Spanish, expanded to the colonies as the native populations began dying out and became increasingly abhorrent in regards to denying human rights as the nation moved toward Revolutionary War. Initially, when the Spanish controlled the Caribbean islands, their interests were only in the mining of silver and gold. When the riches of the mines had been exhausted, the search for additional wealth moved inland and the Spaniards adopted a plantation based economy.3 Products from the Americas such as tobacco, cotton, cocoa and sugar were becoming increasingly popular in Europe which caused the Caribbean plantations growing these commodities to grow accordingly. The shortage of man-power to operate these ever-growing plantations required many numbers of slaves from Africa to be imported. As the Spaniards were reaping the rewards from its colonization of the Americas, their need for additional labor in the mines and plantations continued to grow. However, the local population was dwindling with the influx of disease and abuse and this, combined with Spain abolishing the enslavement of natives in the Americas in the mid 1500’s, necessitated a need to acquire Africans to fil l their labor requirements.4 In the initial phase of slavery in the

Observation of Challenging Behaviour by Child

Observation of Challenging Behaviour by Child ECE 214 Observations and Child Development Early Childhood PORTFOLIO ASSIGNMENT 40 % Sociogram Write an anecdote that describes the behaviours that concerns you. You may include more than one example from different instances. Child’s name: Alisha Observer: Meng Ting Yu (Angela) Age/D.O.B: Date: March 3, 2014 Time of Observation: 4:30 p.m. 5:00 p.m. Setting: Bayview fairway public school Purpose: The purpose of this observation is to identify the child’s challenging behaviour. Context: It is afternoon free play time in the gym; there are 11 children in total and three adults. Two boys are playing basketball; three are running around and six girls are playing roller cart game with teachers. Observation: I was playing the roller cart game with Alisha in the gym, she cross her leg and sat on a cart. She held a Hula in her hand and asked me to hold on the other side to drag her around. After a while, C came and asked â€Å"can I join?† I said â€Å"sure†. Then Alisha started pushing at her, said â€Å"no, I don’t want you to play here†. C looked at Alisha then looked at me. Then I looked at Alisha and ask â€Å"She is your friend, we don’t push our friend. She would like to play with you. Can you tell me why you don’t want her to stay?† â€Å"Because she’s been mean to me all the time† Alisha answered. C continued keep silence and looked at Alisha, â€Å"Alisha, I didn’t been mean to, because you didn’t be nice to me†. Then I said â€Å"but she didn’t be mean to you today. She loves to be your friend, why don’t we forgive her past and try to build a friendship with C?† Alisha looked at C, thought about it and said â€Å"ok, I’ll try†. Alisha walked toward to the shelf from her table, she then bend her knees down and took out her favourite board game â€Å"Candy Land† with her both hand. She then stand up and jumped quickly back to her table and ask S, â€Å"S let’s play Candy Land together†. Alisha and S walked to the back of the room; they sat down on the floor face to face. Alisha opened the box with her both hands and took out the ice cream character for herself. S took out the board map of the game from the box, she opened and put it between them, and then she put the candy shape spinner on the top of the map with her right hand. Alisha looked in the box and found a marshmallow character and hand it over to S and said â€Å"Here S, you can be marshmallow†. S looked at the box and said â€Å"No I don’t want the marshmallow, I want the Gingerbread man†. Both of them put the character at the bottom of the map and ready to start the game. â€Å"I’m first because I’m the youngest† said Alisha. She took the spinner into her left hand and rotated the spinner between her right thumb and index finger. The spinner pointed at the edge of color green and almost at peanut area, so she moved her â€Å"Ice Cream† on the peanut area. S looked at the spinner and said â€Å"Alisha, you suppose to move to one green, is pointing the green area†. â€Å"No, is peanut† Alisha replied. S took the spinner in her hand and start to show Alisha, â€Å"Look its green!† â€Å"No, you moved it, give it back to me† Alisha start yelled at S. S did not give back the spinner to Alisha, â€Å"No is my turn now†. S rotated the spinner, she rotated it with her left thumb and index finger and the spinner stopped and pointed at the cupcake. She moved her Gingerbread man to the top of the map almost near the end, and then Alisha became angry. She yelled at S â€Å"No! You are cheating! You s upposed to be red!† Alisha took the Gingerbread from the top to the bottom and put beside her ice cream man. â€Å"Look Alisha, it pointed at the cupcake, you have to follow the rule† said S by showing the spinner. Then Alisha stood up and bent her elbows beside her body and yelled â€Å"No, this is not fair, you’re cheating†. S stood up and took the game tutorial sheet from the box and showed to Alisha, â€Å"Look Alisha, it says move the character to the next space, to matches the colour.† I have already talked to you in the hall way about my situation. The problem of the child in my placement is playing games. Write a developmental inference based on the sociogram where you describe the child’s problem in developmental terms. Provide an in text citation to support. Inference: According to the observation, Alisha seems to have trouble in social, emotional and behavioural. Children misbehaviour are based on their own perspective, for example, when Alisha think C’s arrival into the game is being mean to her, so she started to push C around with addition of a loud voice. Both verbal and non-verbal behaviour comes up in her mind without thinking, and she did not realize that her word and action can hurt other’s feelings. As children enter the school years, they become much more selective about whom they choose as friends. Just as kids compares themselves to others, they also start making judgments about other children (Cherry), just like Alisha judge that C is not her friend because they contain different personality. She observed C by looking her outfit, appearance and her friends, then think about it whether this person can be friend or not. Children at the age 6 to 8 try to convince others that their views are right, just like Alisha judged with S about the spinner. The child did not have enough ability to identify or understand the rule of the game. In order to achieve her goal of winning the game, she would rather use cheating strategies to succeed. The biggest problem is that the child is ego-centrism; she thinks that her own behaviour is correct instead of allowing others to do the same. Base on Piaget’s levels of moral reasoning, she did not know that the rule of the game is unchangeable, she think maybe change the rule will be more enjoyable, but her action might cause cheating without telling other about her own rule at the beginning of the game. Create a developmental goal based on your inference. These goals are to be written in paragraphs. Outline your rationale or reason for your goals. This should be the detailed evidence to back up your goal. Why is your goal developmentally appropriate for this child? Ensure you follow APA formatting. My goal for Alisha is to develop her social and emotional skills base on activities. The reason is because she needs to learn self-regulation and empathy for another’s feelings while interact in the game. In Erickson’s second stage, children are trying to master skills at home, school and in their community. When they are successful they get the tools they need for important social tasks such as getting along with others. When they are unsuccessful, they feel inferior—set up a pattern for possible failure throughout life (Santrock, 2012) Games with Rules Record an anecdote of a child playing a game with rules. Child’s name: Alisha Observer: Meng Ting Yu (Angela) Age/D.O.B: Date: March 10, 2014 Time of Observation: 4:30 p.m. 5:00 p.m. Setting: Bayview fairway public school Purpose: The purpose of this observation is to identify the child’s behaviours during the game. Context: It is afternoon free play time in the classroom; there are 20 children in total and three adults. Four boys are chatting with each other, five girls are knitting, three boys are playing blocks beside the window, five boys are playing words puzzle game, and three girls are playing board game. Observation: Alisha walked to M and pulled her hand, said â€Å"Let’s play games together†. She pulled M to a table with games. They took out the game board together and four chess pieces with different colour. Alisha took the entire green colour and placed them one by one at her side, â€Å"Here you can be the yellow side† she said by picking all the yellow chess and handed over to M. â€Å"I like red; I want to play the red side† M replied. â€Å"No you can’t have red, you must be yellow† Alisha began to rise her voice up. Then M asked â€Å"why†, â€Å"because this is my game, you must follow my rule† she answered. M said â€Å"no, I don’t like yellow, if you don’t give me red, I’m not play with you†. Alisha looked around the room then said â€Å"fine, you can be red†. Alisha placed all four colours of chess on the board and started to do the dice. After few turns, Alisha continued took her green chess and began to move. When she moved to the yellow area, she substituted for yellow chess and continued move on. M saw it and said â€Å"hey, Alisha, you can’t do that. You suppose to use the green one; you can’t switch it during the game.† â€Å"Oh yes I can. This is my rule for this game† Alisha looked at M and answered. Write a developmental inference which explains the child’s knowledge of games with rules using course resources. Base on this observation, Alisha seems to having trouble playing games with others. She usually likes to make up her own rule while playing board games. She did not understand that the rule of the game must set up before the games begin; also she will play in her own way without telling others about her rule at the beginning, this sometimes makes people confuse or think she cheated the game. Before they start the game, the hierarchy of roles is established for individuals and roles. Alisha always goes first without asking the other child, she often self-talk â€Å"I’ll go first† and others just keep silence. In Erickson’s theory, for middle childhood it is important to be good at something in school. For example, Alisha is the girl who takes seriously about winning, in her world, winning means â€Å"I am the best†. If Alisha win a game, she will raise her voice in front of the other child and said â€Å"oh yeah, I win†, then the child will tell Alisha that playing game is for fun not about winning. She did not understand the process of playing a game is more enjoyable social with other children; also this is not appropriate way to express her feeling. Create a developmental goal and how you would implement it based on your inference. Outline your rationale or reason for your goals. Why is your goal developmentally appropriate for this child? Ensure you follow APA formatting. My goal for Alisha is to let her understand that participant in the game will be more interesting than winning the game. According to Piagets research and theory, convince constructive educators of the value of group games for intellectual and moral development as well as for social and physical development (Piaget J., 1932/1965). Social and moral development is promoted as the child tries to figure out how to cooperate and negotiate with partners in order to play fairly (DeVries) such as group games. Playing in a group will lead the child to learn to problem solving and cooperate from each other, for example, one child can read about the rule at the beginning of the game, then decide the role of who will go first; another child can be the referee which avoid foul. The reason I plan to set up the group game is because Alisha often like to cheat in the game in order to win the game, but this may cause the game finish faster, and also she did not show respect to other children. From th is point, group game can help the child learn to empathize other’s emotion and express her feeling in proper ways. When conflicts arise, other child and adult can support and help (scaffolding) Alisha discuss rules and reach mutual agreement about how to play the game by following the rule, and learn to negotiate and compromise. Self-Concept and Stage of Friendship Interview your child for the purpose of understanding the child’s Stage of Friendship according to Selman. In order to avoid any negative effect on the children’s relationships in the room, ask the child to think of a friend, but not name them! Then ask the child to describe what makes that person of friend and what friends do with each other. Write up what happened in the interview using an anecdotal format including your questions and the child’s answers. After snack time, I took a chair and sat beside Alisha, â€Å"hi Alisha, do you have any homework today?† â€Å"No† she answered. Then I said â€Å"okay, can I ask you some questions?† She nodded and replied â€Å"sure’. I asked â€Å"the first question is who do you usually or like to play with? Think of the name in your mind, and do not speak out.† Alisha stood up and looked around the room, â€Å"Okay I got one in my head.† I asked â€Å"is it a girl or a boy?† â€Å"Of course is a girl† Alisha replied. I continued asking â€Å"So why do you think she is your friend?† â€Å"Because we are in the same class, and we are cousin. Her mom and my mom are sister, and we live really close. Oh and she help me to do my homework sometimes. Can I go get some water? I’m really thirsty†. I stop my writing and looked at her, said â€Å"sure, go ahead†. When she came back, she asked â€Å"can you play Candy Land with me?† â€Å"I just have three more questions for you to answer it, and then I will play with you, okay?† I answered. Alisha seems fidgeted in her seat, but she still listened to my questions. â€Å"Alisha, what do you think a friend is?† She said ‘I don’t know, someone I like and doesnt been mean to me†. â€Å"How do you treat your friend?† I asked, she then answered â€Å"we play games together†. â€Å"Okay the last question is how many friends do you have?† Alisha stood up and count the number by pointed other child with her left index finger, said â€Å"Hmm, I guess everyone is my friend†, she sat on her chair and continued â€Å"except A and BS, they are the oldest, especially they are boys. Can we play now?† â€Å"Yes sure, go get your game and set up on this table.† I said. What can you infer regarding the child’s stage of friendship according to Selman? According to Selman’s five stages of friendships, the children at the age between 3 to 7 years old like to play with a friend who lived nearby, such as Alisha’s cousin. They went to the same school, live in the same area, their age are close and as well as family relationships. At this age, Alisha view her cousin as momentary playmate, it shows that they both are having fun while playing with each other. However, Alisha always likes to play in her own way and expect others to follow her rule, she have very limited ability to see other perspectives, she will think that other child will have the same thought as her. If other children do not agree with her, she will get upset very easy. Alisha is the girl who likes to do things in her own way, and she changes frequently. For instance, she might say â€Å"C is my best friend, I like to play with her† for today, and the next day when she find out S is playing a game that she interested in, she will say â€Å"S is my best friend now†. On the other hand, Alisha likes to play with a child who has similar cultural with her. For example, C is a nice Chinese girl in our room, but Alisha does not like to play with her because she think that C always be mean to her. Base on a third person’s point of view, C always friendly to Alisha and never have any misbehaviour to her, all the things come up in Alisha’s own perspective. I also find out that she usually sit with her cousin and her other friends instead of Chinese. Analysis of self-concept Ask the child a series of questions that will let you infer the child’s understanding of sense of self ; Self-concept (p. 370) class notes During homework time, I interviewed Alisha again. I sat in front of her but she continued eating her snack. So I began to ask â€Å"what do you think about yourself?† she took a carrot in her hand and said â€Å"I’m the best, because I always win†. I continued asked â€Å"do you like your cousin S? What do you usually do with her?† she said â€Å"we do almost everything together. But we usually play games.† After I took note of her sentence, and asked â€Å"another question, who do you think is the leader? And who is the follower?† â€Å"Me, I’m the leader because I’m the youngest. She has to listen to me† Alisha pointed to herself. In the early years as kids realize that they are independent individuals and progressing to a firm understanding of whom they are and what they like. (Santrock, 2012) Works Cited Cherry, K. (n.d.). Social and Emotional Development in Middle Childhood. Retrieved from Psychology: http://psychology.about.com/od/early-child-development/a/social-emotional-development-in-middle-childhood.htm DeVries, R. (n.d.). How to Promote Childrens Development Through Playing. Retrieved from Moral and Intellectual Development Through Play: http://www.uni.edu/coe/regentsctr/publications/Moralandintellect.pdf Kelly. (n.d.). The Cognitive Developmental Theory. Retrieved from Moral Development in Children: http://ehlt.flinders.edu.au/education/DLiT/2000/KESPres/cog.nit Piaget, J. (1932/1965). The moral judgment of the child. London: Free Press. Santrock, J. (2012). Children. New York: McGraw-Hill. Please submit this page with your assignment.

Comparison of Leonardo and Tintorettos Last Supper Paintings Essay

Comparison of Leonardo and Tintoretto's Last Supper Paintings The Last Supper by Leonardo is very different to Tintoretto’s representation of the same incident. The last supper is one of the most important occurrences which took place in the Christian religion such an important event that many have seen the need for the event visually recorded through art the two most famous of these representations are by far Tintoretto’s and Leonardo’s works. The Last Supper by Leonardo was created during the renaissance period and is a simple symbolic work with little emotion. Tintoretto however chose to represent the event in a surrealistic manner to give full impact; A way in which was typical of the art period in which he painted the work, the Mannerist period. The two works although essentially containing the same subject differ immensely. This difference is strongly evident through the artists contrasting use of colour, light, realism, technique perception and focal point/s. Leonardo’s version of the Last Supper was painted El fresco depicting the scene passively without emotion. The work has the supper table horizontal across the lower third and Jesus and his twelve disciples dining behind it, before a backdrop of both man made structure and natural landscape. The artwork is un-cluttered and simple. The lighting is subtle and non-dramatic. Colour is conservative and dull this is partly due to the limited paint available and the technique and decay of fresco painting. The wor...

Pacs Essay

Groups and Teams at Kluster 1. What are the challenges of working together as a team? How have members of the Illuminator project overcome these challenges? What are the benefits of a team-based approach? Teamwork is a huge factor of the success for many companies around the world. The performance of teamwork in the workplace will bring the sense of trust, loyalty and security among every worker. The morale and productivity will be higher as a result of that. However, working on a team has its own challenges. Working with people that have different personalities, ideas, cultures, backgrounds, ages, needs and values is one of the most challenges that teamwork faces during its performance. Conflict, mistrust, poor performance can be created as result of these differences. Finding a way to overcome these obstacles is the foundation of a strong and successful teamwork. Illuminator project has overcome these challenges by respecting and using every skill and idea that each team member delivers. That makes every team member feel important and productive. Also communication among each member is very critical for the success of the Illuminator project. Today, teamwork has been found to be as a better way on using every employee’s talent and skill toward a more effective and efficient organization. † Management has found that teams are more flexible and responsive to changing events than are traditional departments. Teams have the capability to quickly assemble, deploy, refocus, and disband. † Robbins and Judge, pg 323. 2. What type of individual would fit in well on the Illuminator team? What characteristics are important? According to the engineer of the Illuminator project, each team member should have self-disciplined and self-leadership. Individuals that are careful, reliable, organized, hardworking, persistent, and honest are those that are more likely to give a higher performance than those that lack any of these characteristics. Conscientious personality which describes someone that is responsible, persistent and organized would fit in well on the Illuminator team. Also, someone who is emotionally stable meaning a confidence, calmness and secure personality would fit in well on this team. . How has technology changed the way we do business? Identify how Kluster has embraced technology in its operations. Advanced technology such as computers and computer networks have changed and helped businesses on being more efficient and effective. Downsizing, outsourcing and empowerment are some of the substantial gains of the organizations due to the technology. New ways of communicating among members, stor ing information and researching for ideas and ways to achieve and succeed are result of the advanced technology. Kluster has taken advantage of the technology by using the telecommuting as a way of communication among team members. Since members of Kluster project live in different areas and some of them travel to different cities, it’s very important to communicate with each other at all the time. Therefore telecommuting through Web based program has made it possible. â€Å"Telecommuting refers to employees who do their work at home on a computer that is linked to their office. † Robbins and Judge, pg 223. 4. Describe the different parts of the Illuminator team. Why is it necessary to have each of these parts represented? The illuminator team is created by combining different ideas and skills of different individuals. Each team member has to be self- disciplined and committed to their job. As every organization, Illuminator team has the founder, the project designer, the engineer of the team and the project manager. The importance of this system is to keep the work in place and run effectively and naturally. Each member has different responsibilities that need to be established and require different skills. Illuminator project runs under job enlargement design which increases the degree of each member to control, plan and evaluate the work done. â€Å" An enriched job organizes tasks so as to allow the worker to do a complete activity, increases the employee’s freedom and independence, increases responsibility, and provides feedback so individuals will be assess and correct their own performance†. Robbins and Judge, pg 220. 5. Ben Kaufman, founder of Illuminator, says it is important to recognize that sometimes people need a break from the team. Explain what he means by this. Sometimes, personal life issues can cause stress, pressure, disorientation and weak performance. Therefore, it’s very important that every team member to have the right and be able to work sometimes on their own away from the team as long as they work on their job responsibilities. Depending on the personality, some individuals can perform better while under stress when they work alone. Being able to accept that break from the rest of the team, the organization is helping their member to establish his/her responsibilities required for the organization’s success. . What two or three suggestions would you provide to address ways that virtual teams could celebrate successes? How would you implement them? I would give two suggestions that could help virtual team succeed. The first one is to set a time of the day every week for all the team members to participate in a meeting via internet. In this way, everyone will be able to get the same feedbacks, ask questions and receiv e answers at the same time and share their ideas with the rest of the team. So every week the meeting will provide each member with the result of their work, how much has been achieved and where they need improvement. The second suggestion would be for the virtual team to have a leader where the team members can address all their questions and concern. The team leader should be reached at anytime of the day and be able to address these concerns in the best way possible. 7. As a manager, what two or three suggestions would you implement to ensure that individual members were recognized for their contribution? Obviously, financial incentives will help motivate every employee to perform better. A pay raise would be one of the suggestions that would ensure that the good work of a member has been recognized. Also, bonuses such as a paid day off or a gift card would be another suggestion. Employee of the month nomination can be a third suggestion. This way the competition to get any of these recognitions among employees will provide a better performance and more productive workers. Therefore, I as a manager will be able to lead a successful organization.

Foundation’s Edge CHAPTER SIXTEEN CONVERGENCE

CONVERGENCE When Stor Gendibal finally made out Compor's ship on his viewscreen, it seemed like the end of an incredibly long journey. Yet, of course, it was not the end, but merely the beginning. The journey from Trantor to Sayshell had been nothing but prologue. Novi looked awed. â€Å"Is that another ship of space, Master?† â€Å"Spaceship, Novi. It is. It's the one we have been striving to reach. It is a larger ship than this one – and a better one. It can move through space so quickly that if it fled from us, this ship could not possibly catch it – or even follow it.† â€Å"Faster than a ship of the masters?† Sura Novi seemed appalled by the thought. Gendibal shrugged. â€Å"I may be, as you say, a master, but I am not a master in all things. We scholars do not have ships like these, nor do we have many of the material devices that the owners of those ships have.† â€Å"But how can scholars lack such things, Master?† â€Å"Because we are masters in what is important. The material advances that these others have are trifles.† Novi's brows bent together in thought. â€Å"It seems to me that to go so quickly that a master cannot follow is no trifle. Who are these people who are wonder – having – who have such things?† Gendibal was amused. â€Å"They call themselves the Foundation. Have you ever heard of the Foundation?† (He caught himself wondering what the Hamish knew or did not know of the Galaxy and why it never occurred to the Speakers to wonder about such things. – Or was it only he who had never wondered about such things – only he who assumed that the Hamish cared for nothing more than grubbing in the soil.) Novi shook her head thoughtfully. â€Å"I have never heard of it, Master. When the schoolmaster taught me letter-lore – how to read, I mean – he told me there were many other worlds and told me the names of some. He said our Hamish world had the proper name of Trantor and that it once ruled all the worlds. He said Trantor was covered with gleaming iron and had an Emperor who was an allmaster.† Her eyes looked up at Gendibal with a shy merriment. â€Å"I unbelieve most of it, though. There are many stories the wordspinners tell in the meeting-halls in the time of longer nights. When I was a small girl, I believed them all, but as I grew older, I found that many of them were not true. I believe very few now; perhaps none. Even schoolmasters tell unbelievables.† â€Å"Just the same, Novi, that particular story of the schoolmaster is true – but it was long ago. Trantor was indeed covered by metal and had indeed an Emperor who ruled all the Galaxy. Now, however, it is the people of the Foundation who will someday rule all the worlds. They grow stronger all the time.† â€Å"They will rule all, Master?† â€Å"Not immediately. In five hundred years.† â€Å"And they will master the masters as well?† â€Å"No, no. They will rule the worlds. We will rule them – for their safety and the safety of all the worlds.† Novi was frowning again. She said, â€Å"Master, do these people of the Foundation have many of these remarkable ships?† â€Å"I imagine so, Novi.† â€Å"And other things that are very-astonishing?† â€Å"They have powerful weapons of all kinds.† â€Å"Then, Master, can they not take all the worlds now?† â€Å"No, they cannot. It is not yet time.† â€Å"But why can they not? Would the masters stop them?† â€Å"We wouldn't have to, Novi. Even if we did nothing, they could not take all the worlds.† â€Å"But what would stop them?† â€Å"You see,† began Gendibal, â€Å"there is a plan that a wise man once devised†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He stopped, smiled slightly, and shook his head. â€Å"It is hard to explain, Novi. Another time, perhaps. In fact, when you see what will happen before we ever see Trantor again, you may even understand without my explaining.† â€Å"What will happen, Master?† â€Å"I am not sure, Novi. But all will happen well.† He turned away and prepared to make contact with Compor. And, as he did so, he could not quite keep an inner thought from saying: At least I hope so. He was instantly angry with himself, for he knew the source of that foolish and weakening drift of thought. It was the picture of the elaborate and enormous Foundation might in the shape of Compor's ship and it was his chagrin at Novi's open admiration of it. Stupid! How could he let himself compare the possession of mere strength and power with the possession of the ability to guide events? It was what generations of Speakers had called â€Å"the fallacy of the hand at the throat.† To think that he was not yet immune to its allures. Munn Li Compor was not in the least sure as to how he ought to comport himself. For most of his life, he had had the vision of allpowerful Speakers existing just beyond his circle of experience, Speakers, with whom he was occasionally in contact and who had, in their mysterious grip, the whole of humanity. Of them all, it had been Stor Gendibal to whom, in recent years, he had turned for direction. It was not even a voice he had encountered most times, but a mere presence in his mind-hyperspeech without a hyper-relay. In this respect, the Second Foundation had gone far beyond the Foundation. Without material device, but just by the educated and advanced power of the mind alone, they could reach across the par. sees in a manner that could not be tapped, could not be infringed upon. It was an invisible, indetectable network that held all the worlds fast through the mediation of a relatively few dedicated individuals. Compor had, more than once, experienced a kind of uplifting at the thought of his role. How small the band of which he was one; how enormous an influence they exerted. – And how secret it all was. Even his wife knew nothing of his hidden life. And it was the Speakers who held the strings – and this one Speaker, this Gendibal, who might (Compor thought) be the next First Speaker, the more-than-Emperor of a more-than-Empire. Now Gendibal was here, in a ship of Trantor, and Compor fought to stifle his disappointment at not having such a meeting take place on Trantor itself. Could that be a ship of Trantor? Any of the early Traders who had carried the Foundation's wares through a hostile Galaxy would have had a better ship than that. No wonder it had taken the Speaker so long to cover the distance from Trantor to Sayshell. It was not even equipped with a unidock mechanism that would have welded the two ships into one when the crosstransfer of personnel was desired. Even the contemptible Sayshellian fleet was equipped with it. Instead, the Speaker had to match velocities and then cast a tether across the gap and swing along it, as in Imperial days. That was it, thought Compor gloomily, unable to repress the feeling. The ship was no more than an old-fashioned Imperial vessel and a small one at that. Two figures were moving across the tether – one of them so clumsily that it was clear it had never attempted to maneuver through space before. – Finally they were on board and removed their space suits. Speaker Stor Gendibal was of moderate height and of unimpressive appearance; he was not large and powerful, nor did he exude an air of learning. His dark, deep-set eyes were the only indication of his wisdom. But now the Speaker looked about with a clear indication of being in awe himself. The other was a woman as tall as Gendibal, plain in appearance. Her mouth was open in astonishment as she looked about. Moving across the tether had not been an entirely unpleasant experience for Gendibal. He was not a spaceman – no Second Foundationer was – but neither was he a complete surface worm, for no Second Foundationer was allowed to be that. The possible need for space flight was, after all, always looming above them, though every Second Foundationer hoped the need would arise only infrequently. (Preem Palver – the extent of whose space travels was legendary – had once said, ruefully, that the measure of the success of a Speaker was the fewness of the times he was compelled to move through space in order to assure the success of the Plan.) Gendibal had had to use a tether three times before. This was his fourth use and even if he had felt tension over the matter, it would have disappeared in his concern for Sura Novi. He needed no mentalics to see that stepping into nothingness had totally upset her. â€Å"I be afeared, Master,† she said when he explained what would have to be done. â€Å"It be naughtness into which I will make footstep.† If nothing else, her sudden descent into thick Hamish dialect showed the extent of her disturbance. Gendibal said gently, â€Å"I cannot leave you on board this ship, Novi, for I will be going into the other and I must have you with me. There is no danger, for your space suit will protect you from all harm and there is no place for you to fall to. Even if you lose your grip on the tether, you will remain nearly where you are and I will be within arm's reach so that I can gather you in. Come, Novi, show me that you are brave enough – as well as bright enough – to become a scholar.† She made no further objection and Gendibal, unwilling to do anything that might disturb the smoothness of her mind-set, nevertheless managed to inject a soothing touch upon the surface of her mind. â€Å"You can still speak to me,† he said, after they were each enclosed in a space suit. â€Å"I can hear you if you think hard. Think the words hard and clearly, one by one. You can hear me now, can't you?† â€Å"Yes, Master,† she said. He could see her lips move through the transparent faceplate and he said, â€Å"Say it without moving your lips, Novi. There is no radio in the kind of suits that scholars have. it is all done with the mind.† Her lips did not move and her look grew more anxious: Can you hear me, Master? Perfectly well, thought Gendibal – and his lips did not move either: Do you hear me? I do, Master. Then come with me and do as I do. They moved across. Gendibal knew the theory of it, even if he could handle the practice only moderately well. The trick was to keep one's legs extended and together and to swing them from the hips alone. That kept the center of gravity moving in a straight line as the arms swung forward in steady alternation. He had explained this to Sura Novi and, without turning to look at her, he studied the stance of her body from the set of the motor areas of her brain. For a first-timer, she did very well, almost as well as Gendibal was managing to do. She repressed her own tensions and she followed directions. Gendibal found himself, once again, very pleased with her. She was, however, clearly glad to be on board ship again – and so was Gendibal. He looked about as he removed his space suit and was rather dumbfounded at the luxury and style of the equipment. He recognized almost nothing and his heart sank at the thought that he might have very little time to learn how to handle it all. He might have to transfer expertise directly from the man already on board, something that was never quite as satisfactory as true learning. Then he concentrated on Compor. Compor was tall and lean, a few years older than himself, rather handsome in a slightly weak way, with tightly waved hair of a startling buttery yellow. And it was clear to Gendibal that this person was disappointed in, and even contemptuous of, the Speaker he was now meeting for the first time. What was more, he was entirely unsuccessful in hiding the fact. Gendibal did not mind such things, on the whole. Compor was not a Trantorian – nor a full Second Foundationer – and he clearly had his illusions. Even the most superficial scan of his mind showed that. Among these was the illusion that true power was necessarily related to the appearance of power. He might, of course, keep his illusions as long as they did not interfere with what Gendibal needed, but at the present moment, this particular illusion did so interfere. What Gendibal did was the mentalic equivalent of a snap of the fingers. Compor staggered slightly under the impress of a sharp but fleeting pain. There was an impress of enforced concentration that puckered the skin of his thought and left the man with the awareness of a casual but awesome power that could be utilized if the Speaker chose. Compor was left with a vast respect for Gendibal. Gendibal said pleasantly, â€Å"I am merely attracting your attention, Compor, my friend. Please let me know the present whereabouts of your friend, Golan Trevize, and his friend, Janov Pelorat.† Compor said hesitantly, â€Å"Shall I speak in the presence of the woman, Speaker?† â€Å"The woman, Compor, is an extension of myself. There is no reason, therefore, why you should not speak openly.† â€Å"As you say, Speaker. Trevize and Pelorat are now approaching a planet known as Gaia.† â€Å"So you said in your last communication the other day. Surely they have already landed on Gaia and perhaps left again. They did not stay long on Sayshell Planet.† â€Å"They had not yet landed during the time I followed them, Speaker. They were approaching the planet with great caution, pausing substantial periods between micro-Jumps. it is clear to me they have no information about the planet they are approaching and therefore hesitate.† â€Å"Do you have information, Compor?† â€Å"I have none, Speaker,† said Compor, â€Å"or at least my ship's computer has none.† â€Å"This computer?† Gendibal's eyes fell upon the control panel and he asked in sudden hope, â€Å"Can it aid usefully in running the ship?† â€Å"It can run the ship completely, Speaker. One need merely think into it.† Gendibal felt suddenly uneasy. â€Å"The Foundation has gone that far?† â€Å"Yes, but clumsily. The computer does not work well. I must repeat my thoughts several times and even then I get but minimal information.† Gendibal said, â€Å"I may be able to do better than that.† â€Å"I am sure of it, Speaker,† said Compor respectfully. â€Å"But never mind that for the moment. Why does it have no information on Gaia?† â€Å"I do not know, Speaker. It claims to have – as far as a computer may be said to be able to claim – records on every human – inhabited planet in the Galaxy.† â€Å"It cannot have more information than has been fed into it and if those who did the feeding thought they had records of all such planets when, in actual fact, they had not, then the computer would labor under the same misapprehension. Correct?† â€Å"Certainly, Speaker.† â€Å"Did you inquire at Sayshell?† â€Å"Speaker,† said Compor uneasily, â€Å"there are people who speak of Gaia on Sayshell, but what they say is valueless. Clearly superstition. The tale they tell is that Gaia is a powerful world that held off even the Mule.† â€Å"Is that what they say, indeed?† said Gendibal, suppressing excitement. â€Å"Were you so sure that this was superstition that you asked for no details?† â€Å"No, Speaker. I asked a great deal, but what I have just told you is all that anyone can say. They can speak on the subject at great length, but when they have done so, all that it boils down to is what I have just said.† â€Å"Apparently,† said Gendibal, â€Å"that is what Trevize has heard, too, and he goes to Gaia for some reason connected with that – to tap this great power, perhaps. And he does so cautiously, for perhaps he also fears this great power.† â€Å"That is certainly possible, Speaker.† â€Å"And yet you did not follow?† â€Å"I did follow, Speaker, long enough to make sure he was indeed making for Gaia. I then returned here to the outskirts of the Gaian system.† â€Å"Why?† â€Å"Three reasons, Speaker. First, you were about to arrive and I wanted to meet you at least partway and bring you aboard at the earliest moment, as you had directed. Since my ship has a hyperrelay on board, I could not move too far away from Trevize and Pelorat without rousing suspicion on Terminus, but I judged I could risk moving this far. Second, when it was clear that Trevize was approaching Gaia Planet very slowly, I judged there would be time enough for me to move toward you and hasten our meeting without being overtaken by events, especially since you would be more competent than I to follow him to the planet itself and to handle any emergency that might arise.† â€Å"Quite true. And the third reason?† â€Å"Since our last communication, Speaker, something has happened that I did not expect and do not understand. I felt that – for that reason, too – I had better hasten our meeting as soon as I dared.† â€Å"And this event that you did not expect and do not understand?† â€Å"Ships of the Foundation fleet are approaching the Sayshellian frontier. My computer has picked up this information from Sayshellian news broadcasts. At least five advanced ships are in the flotilla and these have enough power to overwhelm Sayshell.† Gendibal did not answer at once, for it would not do to show that he had not expected such a move – or that he didn't understand it. So, after a moment, he said negligently, â€Å"Do you suppose that this has something to do with Trevize's movement toward Gaia?† â€Å"It certainly came immediately afterward – and if B follows A, then there is at least a possibility that A caused B,† said Compor. â€Å"Well then, it seems we all converge upon Gaia – Trevize, and I, and the First Foundation. – Come, you acted well, Compor,† said Gendibal, â€Å"and here is what we will now do. First, you will show me how this computer works and, through that, how the ship may be handled. I am sure that will not take long. â€Å"After that, you will get into my ship, since by then I will have impressed on your mind how to handle it. You will have no trouble maneuvering it, although I must tell you (as you have no doubt guessed from its appearance) that you will find it primitive indeed. Once you are in control of the ship, you will keep it here and wait for me.† â€Å"How long, Speaker?† â€Å"Until I come for you. I do not expect to be gone long enough for you to be in danger of running out of supplies, but if I am unduly delayed, you may find your way to some inhabited planet of the Sayshell Union and wait there. Wherever you are, I will find you.† â€Å"As you say, Speaker.† â€Å"And do not be alarmed. I can handle this mysterious Gaia and, if need be, the five ships of the Foundation as well.† Littoral Thoobing had been the Foundation's Ambassador to Sayshell for seven years. He rather liked the position. Tall and rather stout, he wore a thick brown mustache at a time when the predominant fashion, both in the Foundation and in Sayshell, was smooth-shaven. He had a strongly lined countenance, though he was only fifty-four – and was much given to a schooled indifference. His attitude toward his work was not easily seen. Still, he rather liked the position. It kept him away from the hurly-burly of polities on Terminus – something he appreciated and it gave him the chance to live the life of a Sayshellian sybarite and to support his wife and daughter in the style to which they had become addicted. He didn't want his life disturbed. On the other hand, he rather disliked Liono Kodell, perhaps because Kodell also sported a mustache, though one which was smaller, shorter, and grayish-white. In the old days, they had been the only two people in prominent public life who had worn one and there had been rather a competition between them over the matter. Now (thought Thoobing) there was none; Kodell's was contemptible. Kodell had been Director of Security when Thoobing was still on Terminus, dreaming of opposing Harla Branno in the race for Mayor, until he had been bought off with the ambassadorship. Branno had done it for her own sake, of course, but he had ended up owing her goodwill for that. But not to Kodell, somehow. Perhaps it was because of Kodell's determined cheerfulness – the manner in which he was always such a friendly person – even after he had decided on just exactly the manner in which your throat was to be cut. Now he sat there in hyperspatial image, cheerful as ever, brimming over with bonhomie. His actual body was, of course, back on Terminus, which spared Thoobing the necessity of offering him any physical sign of hospitality. â€Å"Kodell,† he said. â€Å"I want those ships withdrawn.† Kodell smiled sunnily. â€Å"Why, so do I, but the old lady has made up her mind.† â€Å"You've been known to persuade her out of this or that.† â€Å"On occasion. Perhaps. When she wanted to be persuaded. This time she doesn't want to be. – Thoobing, do your job. Keep Sayshell calm.† â€Å"I'm not thinking about Sayshell, Kodell. I'm thinking about the Foundation.† â€Å"So are we all.† â€Å"Kodell, don't fence. I want you to listen to me.† â€Å"Gladly, but these are hectic times on Terminus and I will not listen to you forever.† â€Å"I will be as brief as I can be – when discussing the possibility of the Foundation's destruction. If this hyperspatial line is not being tapped, I will speak openly.† â€Å"It is not being tapped.† â€Å"Then let me go on. I have received a message some days ago from one Golan Trevize. I recall a Trevize in my own political days, a Commissioner of Transportation.† â€Å"The young man's uncle,† Kodell said. â€Å"Ah, then you know the Trevize who sent the message to me. According to the information I have since gathered, he was a Councilman who, after the recent successful resolution of a Seldon Crisis, was arrested and sent into exile.† â€Å"Exactly.† â€Å"I don't believe it.† â€Å"What is it that you don't believe?† â€Å"That he was sent into exile.† â€Å"Why not?† â€Å"When in history has any citizen of the Foundation been sent into exile?† demanded Thoobing. â€Å"He is arrested or not arrested. If he is arrested, he is tried or not tried. If he is tried, he is convicted or not convicted. If he is convicted, he is fined, demoted, disgraced, imprisoned, or executed. No one is sent into exile.† â€Å"There is always a first time.† â€Å"Nonsense. In an advanced naval vessel? What fool can fail to see that he is on a special mission for your old woman? Whom can she possibly expect to deceive?† â€Å"What would the mission be?† â€Å"Supposedly to find the planet Gaia.† Some of the cheerfulness left Kodell's face. An unaccustomed hardness entered his eyes. He said, â€Å"I know that you feel no overwhelming impulse to believe my statements, Mr. Ambassador, but I make a special plea that you believe me in this one case. Neither the Mayor nor I had ever heard of Gaia at the time that Trevize was sent into exile. We have heard of Gaia, for the first time, just the other day. If you believe that, this conversation may continue.† â€Å"I will suspend my tendency toward skepticism long enough to accept that, Director, though it is difficult to do so.† â€Å"it is quite true, Mr. Ambassador, and if I have suddenly adopted a formal note to my statements it is because when this is done, you will find that you have questions to answer and that you will not find the occasion joyful. You speak as though Gaia is a world familiar to you. How is it that you know something we did not know? Is it not your duty to see to it that we know everything that you know about the political unit to which you are assigned?† Thoobing said softly, â€Å"Gaia is not part of the Sayshell Union. It, in fact, probably does not exist. Am I to transmit to Terminus all the fairy tales that the superstitious lower orders of Sayshell tell of Gaia? Some of them say that Gaia is located in hyperspace. According to others, it is a world that supernaturally protects Sayshell. According to still others, it sent forth the Mule to prey on the Galaxy. If you are planning to tell the Sayshellian government that Trevize has been sent out to find Gaia and that five advanced ships of the Foundation Navy have been sent out to back him in this search, they will never believe you. The people may believe fairy tales about Gaia, but the government does not – and they will not be convinced that the Foundation does. They will feel that you intend to force Sayshell into the Foundation Federation.† â€Å"And what if we do plan that?† â€Å"It would be fatal. Come, Kodell, in the five-century history of the Foundation, when have we fought a war of conquest? We have fought wars to prevent our own conquest – and failed once – but no war has ended with an extension of our territory. Accessions to the Federation have been through peaceful agreements. We have been joined by those who saw benefits in joining.† â€Å"Isn't it possible that Sayshell may see benefits in joining?† â€Å"They will never do so while our ships remain on their borders. Withdraw them.† â€Å"It can't be done.† â€Å"Kodell, Sayshell is a marvelous advertisement for the benevolence of the Foundation Federation. It is nearly enclosed by our territory, it is in an utterly vulnerable position, and yet until now it has been safe, has gone its own way, has even been able to maintain an anti-Foundation foreign policy freely. How better can we show the Galaxy that we force no one, that we come in friendship to all? – If we take over Sayshell, we take that which, in essence, we already have. After all, we dominate it economically – if quietly. But if we take it over by military force, we advertise to all the Galaxy that we have become expansionist.† â€Å"And if I tell you that we are really interested only in Gaia?† â€Å"Then I will believe it no more than the Sayshell Union will. This man, Trevize, sends me a message that he is on his way to Gaia and asks me to transmit it to Terminus. Against my better judgment, I do so because I must and, almost before the hyperspatial line is cool, the Foundation Navy is in motion. How will you get to Gaia, without penetrating Sayshellian space?† â€Å"My dear Thoobing, surely you are not listening to yourself. Did you not tell me just a few minutes ago that Gaia, if it exists at all, is not part of the Sayshell Union? And I presume you know that hyperspace is free to all and is part of no world's territory. How then can Sayshell complain if we move from Foundation territory (where our ships stand right now), through hyperspace, into Gaian territory, and never in the process occupy a single cubic centimeter of Sayshellian territory?† â€Å"Sayshell will not interpret events like that, Kodell. Gaia, if it exists at all, is totally enclosed by the Sayshell Union, even if it is not a political part of it, and there are precedents that make such enclaves virtual parts of the enclosing territory, as far as enemy warships are concerned.† â€Å"Ours are not enemy warships. We are at peace with Sayshell.† â€Å"I tell you that Sayshell may declare war. They won't expect to win such a war through military superiority, but the fact is, war will set off a wave of anti-Foundation activity throughout the Galaxy. The new expansionist policies of the Foundation will encourage the growth of alliances against us. Some of the members of the Federation will begin to rethink their ties to us. We may well lose the war through internal disarray and we will then certainly reverse the process of growth that has served the Foundation so well for five hundred years.† â€Å"Come, come, Thoobing,† said Kodell indifferently, â€Å"You speak as though five hundred years is nothing, as though we are still the Foundation of Salvor Hardin's time, fighting the pocket-kingdom of Anacreon. We are far stronger now than the Galactic Empire ever was at its very height. A squadron of our ships could defeat the entire Galactic Navy, occupy any Galactic sector, and never know it had been in a fight.† â€Å"We are not fighting the Galactic Empire. We fight planets and sectors of our own time.† â€Å"Who have not advanced as we have. We could gather in all the Galaxy now.† â€Å"According to the Seldon Plan, we can't do that for another five hundred years.† â€Å"The Seldon Plan underestimates the speed of technological advance. We can do it now! – Understand me, I don't say we will do it now or even should do it now. I merely say we can do it now.† â€Å"Kodell, you have lived all your life on Terminus. You don't know the Galaxy. Our Navy and our technology can beat down the Armed Forces of other worlds, but we cannot yet govern an entire rebellions, hate-ridden Galaxy – and that is what it will be if we take it by force. Withdraw the ships!† â€Å"It can't be done, Thoobing. Consider. What if Gaia is not a myth?† Thoobing paused, scanning the other's face as though anxious to read his mind. â€Å"A world in hyperspace not a myth?† â€Å"A world in hyperspace is superstition, but even superstitions may be built around kernels of truth. This man, Trevize, who was exiled, speaks of it as though it were a real world in real space. What if he is right?† â€Å"Nonsense. I don't believe it.† â€Å"No? Believe it for just a moment. A real world that has lent Sayshell safety against the Mule and against the Foundation!† â€Å"But you refute yourself. How is Gaia keeping the Sayshellians safe from the Foundation? Are we not sending ships against it?† â€Å"Not against it, but against Gaia, which is so mysteriously unknown – which is so careful to avoid notice that while it is in real space it somehow convinces its neighbor worlds that it is in hyperspace – and which even manages to remain outside the computerized data of the best and most unabridged of Galactic maps.† â€Å"It must be a most unusual world, then, for it must be able to manipulate minds.† â€Å"And did you not say a moment ago that one Sayshellian tale is that Gaia sent forth the Mule to prey upon the Galaxy? And could not the Mule manipulate minds?† â€Å"And is Gaia a world of Mules, then?† â€Å"Are you sure it might not be?† â€Å"Why not a world of a reborn Second Foundation, in that case.† â€Å"Why not indeed? Should it not be investigated?† Thoobing grew sober. He had been smiling scornfully during the last exchanges, but now he lowered his head and stared up from under his eyebrows. â€Å"If you are serious, is such an investigation not dangerous?† â€Å"Is it?† â€Å"You answer my questions with other questions because you have no reasonable answers. Of what use will ships be against Mules or Second Foundationers? Is it not likely, in fact, that if they exist they are luring you into destruction? See here, you tell me that the Foundation can establish its Empire now, even though the Seldon Plan has reached only its midway point, and I have warned you that you would be racing too far ahead and that the intricacies of the Plan would slow you down by force. Perhaps, if Gaia exists and is what you say it is, all this is a device to bring about that slowdown. Do voluntarily now what you may soon be constrained to do. Do peacefully and without bloodshed now what you may be forced to do by woeful disaster. Withdraw the ships.† â€Å"It can't be done. In fact, Thoobing, Mayor Branno herself plans to join the ships, and scoutships have already flitted through hyperspace to what is supposedly Gaian territory.† Thoobing's eyes bulged. â€Å"There will surely be war, I tell you.† â€Å"You are our ambassador. Prevent that. Give the Sayshellians whatever assurances they need. Deny any ill will on our part. Tell them, if you have to, that it will pay them to sit quietly and wait for Gaia to destroy us. Say anything you want to, but keep them quiet.† He paused, searching Thoobing's stunned expression, and said, â€Å"Really, that's all. As far as I know, no Foundation ship will land on any world of the Sayshell Union or penetrate any point in real space that is part of that Union. However, any Sayshellian ship that attempts to challenge us outside Union territory – and therefore inside Foundation territory – will promptly be reduced to dust. Make that perfectly clear, too, and keep the Sayshellians quiet. You will be held to strict account if you fail. You have had an easy job so far, Thoobing, but hard times are upon you and the next few weeks decide all. Fail us and no place in the Galaxy will be safe for you.† There was neither merriment nor friendliness in Kodell's face as contact was broken and as his image disappeared. Thoobing stared open – mouthed at the place where he had been. Golan Trevize clutched at his hair as though he were trying, by feel, to judge the condition of his thinking. He said to Pelorat abruptly, â€Å"What is your state of mind?† â€Å"State of mind?† said Pelorat blankly. â€Å"Yes. Here we are, trapped – with our ship under outside control and being drawn inexorably to a world we know nothing about. Do you feel panic?† Pelorat's long face registered a certain melancholia. â€Å"No,† he said. â€Å"I don't feel joyful. I do feel a little apprehensive, but I'm not panicky.† â€Å"Neither am I. Isn't that odd? Why aren't we more upset than we are?† â€Å"This is something we expected, Golan. Something like this.† Trevize turned to the screen. It remained firmly focused on the space station. It was larger now, which meant they were closer. It seemed to him that it was not an impressive space station in design. There was nothing to it that bespoke superscience. In fact, it seemed a bit primitive. – Yet it had the ship in its grip. He said, â€Å"I'm being very analytical, Janov. Cool! – I like to think that I am not a coward and that I can behave well under pressure, but I tend to flatter myself. Everyone does. I should be jumping up and down right now and sweating a little. We may have expected something, but that doesn't change the fact that we are helpless and that we may be killed.† Pelorat said, â€Å"I don't think so, Golan. If the Gaians could take over the ship at a distance, couldn't they kill us at a distance? If we're still alive†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"But we're not altogether untouched. We're too calm, I tell you. I think they've tranquilized us.† â€Å"Why?† â€Å"To keep us in good shape mentally, I think. It's possible they wish to question us. After that, they may kill us.† â€Å"If they are rational enough to want to question us, they may be rational enough not to kill us for no good reason.† Trevize leaned back in his chair (it bent back at least – they hadn't deprived the chair of its functioning) and placed his feet on the desk where ordinarily his hands made contact with the computer. He said, â€Å"They may be quite ingenious enough to work up what they consider a good reason. – Still, if they've touched our minds, It hasn't been by much. If it were the Mule, for instance, he would have made us eager to go – exalted, exultant, every fiber of ourselves crying out for arrival there.† He pointed to the space station. â€Å"Do you feel that way, Janov?† â€Å"Certainly not.† â€Å"You see that I'm still in a state where I can indulge in cool, analytical reasoning. Very odd! Or can I tell? Am I in a panic, incoherent, mad – and merely under the illusion that I am indulging in cool, analytical reasoning?† Pelorat shrugged. â€Å"You seem sane to me. Perhaps I am as insane as you and am under the same illusion, but that sort of argument gets us nowhere. All humanity could share a common insanity and be immersed in a common illusion while living in a common chaos. That can't be disproved, but we have no choice but to follow our senses.† And then, abruptly, he said, â€Å"In fact, I've been doing some reasoning myself.† â€Å"Yes?† â€Å"Well, we talk about Gaia as a world of Mules, possibly, or as the Second Foundation reborn. Has it occurred to you that a third alternative exists, one that is more reasonable than either of the first two.† â€Å"What third alternative?† Pelorat's eyes seemed concentrating inward. He did not look at Trevize and his voice was low and thoughtful. â€Å"We have a world – Gaia – that has done its best, over an indefinite period of time, to maintain a strict isolation. It has in no way attempted to establish contact with any other world – not even the nearby worlds of the Sayshell Union. It has an advanced science, in some ways, if the stories of their destruction of fleets is true and certainly their ability to control us right now bespeaks it – and yet they have made no attempt to expand their power. They ask only to be left alone.† Trevize narrowed his eyes. â€Å"So?† â€Å"It's all very inhuman. The more than twenty thousand years of human history in space has been an uninterrupted tale of expansion and attempted expansion. Just about every known world that can be inhabited is inhabited. Nearly every world has been quarreled over in the process and nearly every world has jostled each of its neighbors at one time or another. If Gaia is so inhuman as to be so different in this respect, it may be because it really is – inhuman.† Trevize shook his head. â€Å"Impossible.† â€Å"Why impossible?† said Pelorat warmly. â€Å"I've told you what a puzzle it is that the human race is the only evolved intelligence in the Galaxy. What if it isn't? Might there not be one more – on one planet – that lacked the human expansionist drive? In fact,† Pelorat grew more excited, â€Å"what if there are a million intelligences in the Galaxy, but only one that is expansionist – ourselves? The others would all remain at home, unobtrusive, hidden†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Ridiculous!† said Trevize. â€Å"We'd come across them. We'd land on their worlds. They would come in all types and stages of technology and most of them would be unable to stop us. But we've never come across any of them. Space! We've never even come across the ruins or relies of a nonhuman civilization, have we? You're the historian, so you tell me. Have we?† Pelorat shook his head. â€Å"We haven't. – But Golan, there could be one! This one!† â€Å"I don't believe it. You say the name is Gaia, which is some ancient dialectical version of the name ‘Earth. ‘ How can that be nonhuman?† â€Å"The name ‘Gaia' is given the planet by human beings – and who knows why? The resemblance to an ancient word might be coincidental. – Come to think of it, the very fact that we've been lured to Gaia – as you explained in great detail some time ago – and are now being drawn in against our will is an argument in favor of the nonhumanity of the Gaians.† â€Å"Why? What has that to do with nonhumanity?† â€Å"They're curious about us – about humans.† Trevize said, â€Å"Janov, you're mad. They've been living in a Galaxy surrounded by humans for thousands of years. Why should they be curious right now? Why not long before? And if right now, why us? If they want to study human beings and human culture, why not the Sayshell worlds? Why would they reach all the way to Terminus for us?† â€Å"They may be interested in the Foundation.† â€Å"Nonsense,† said Trevize violently. â€Å"Janov, you want a nonhuman intelligence and you will have one. Right now, I think that if you thought you were going to encounter nonhumans, you wouldn't worry about having been captured, about being helpless, about being killed even – if they but gave you a little time to sate your curiosity.† Pelorat began to stutter an indignant negative, then stopped, drew a deep breath, and said, â€Å"Well, you may be right, Golan, but I'll hold to my belief for a while just the same. I don't think we'll have to wait very long to see who's right. – Look!† He pointed to the screen. Trevize – who had, in his excitement, ceased watching – now looked back. â€Å"What is it?† he said. â€Å"Isn't that a ship taking off from the station?† â€Å"It's something,† admitted Trevize reluctantly. â€Å"I can't make out the details yet and I can't magnify the view any further. It's at maximum magnification.† After awhile he said, â€Å"It seems to be approaching us and I suppose it's a ship. Shall we make a bet?† â€Å"What sort of bet?† Trevize said sardonically, â€Å"If we ever get back to Terminus, let's have a big dinner for ourselves and any guests we each care to invite, up to, say, four – and it will be on me if that ship approaching us carries nonhumans and on you if it carries humans.† â€Å"I'm willing,† said Pelorat. â€Å"Done, then,† and Trevize peered at the screen, trying to make out details and wondering if any details could reasonably be expected to give away, beyond question, the nonhumanity (or humanity) of the beings on board. Branno's iron-gray hair lay immaculately in place and she might have been in the Mayoral Palace, considering her equanimity. She showed no sign that she was deep in space for only the second time in her life. (And the first time – when she accompanied her parents on a holiday tour to Kalgan – could scarcely count. She had been only three at the time.) She said to Kodell with a certain weary heaviness, â€Å"It is Thoobing's job, after all, to express his opinion and to warn me. Very well, he has warned me. I don't hold it against him.† Kodell, who had boarded the Mayor's ship in order to speak to her without the psychological difficulty of imaging, said, â€Å"He's been at his post too long. He's beginning to think like a Sayshellian.† â€Å"That's the occupational hazard of an ambassadorship, Liono. Let us wait till this is over and we'll give him a long sabbatical and then send him on to another assignment elsewhere. He's a capable man. – After all, he did have the wit to forward Trevize's message without delay.† Kodell smiled briefly. â€Å"Yes, he told me he did it against his better judgment. ‘I do so because I must' he said. You see, Madam Mayor, he had to, even against his better judgment, because as soon as Trevize entered the space of the Sayshell Union, I informed Ambassador Thoobing to forward, at once, any and all information concerning him?' â€Å"Oh?† Mayor Branno turned in her seat to see his face more clearly. â€Å"And what made you do that?† â€Å"Elementary considerations, actually. Trevize was using a latemodel Foundation naval vessel and the Sayshellians would be bound to notice that. He's an undiplomatic young jackass and they would be bound to notice that. Therefore, he might get into trouble – and if there's one thing a Foundationer knows, it is that if he gets into trouble anywhere in the Galaxy, he can cry out for the nearest Foundation representative. Personally I wouldn't mind seeing Trevize in trouble – it might help him grow up and that would do him a great deal of good – but you've sent him out as your lightning rod and I wanted you to be able to estimate the nature of any lightning that might strike, so I made sure that the nearest Foundation representative would keep watch over him, that's all.† â€Å"I see! Well, I understand now why Thoobing reacted so strenuously. I had sent him a similar warning. Since he heard from us both independently, one can scarcely blame him for thinking that the approach of a few Foundation vessels might mean a great deal more than it actually does. – How is it, Liono, you did not consult me on the matter before sending the warning?† Kodell said coolly, â€Å"If I involved you in everything I do, you would have no time to be Mayor. How is it that you did not inform me of your intention?† Branno said sourly, â€Å"If I informed you of all my intentions, Liono, you would know far too much. – But it is a small matter, and so is Thoobing's alarm, and, for that matter, so is any fit that the Sayshellians throw. I am more interested in Trevize.† â€Å"Our scouts have located Compor. He is following Trevize and both are moving very cautiously toward Gaia.† â€Å"I have the full reports of those scouts, Liono. Apparently both Trevize and Compor are taking Gaia seriously.† â€Å"Everyone sneers at the superstitions concerning Gaia, Madam Mayor, but everyone thinks, ‘Yet what if – † Even Ambassador Thoobing manages to be a little uneasy about it. It could be a very shrewd policy on the part of the Sayshellians. A kind of protective coloration. If one spreads stories of a mysterious and invincible world, people will shy away not only from the world, but from any other worlds close by – such as the Sayshell Union.† â€Å"You think that is why the Mule turned away from Sayshell?† â€Å"Possibly.† â€Å"Surely you don't think the Foundation has held its hand from Sayshell because of Gaia, when there is no record that we have ever heard of the world?† â€Å"I admit there's no mention of Gaia in our archives, but neither is there any other reasonable explanation for our moderation with respect to the Sayshell Union.† â€Å"Let us hope, then, that the Sayshellian government, despite Thoobing's opinion to the contrary, has convinced itself – even just a little bit – of Gaia's might and of its deadly nature.† â€Å"Why so?† â€Å"Because then the Sayshell Union will raise no objections to our moving toward Gaia. The more they resent that movement, the more they will persuade themselves that it should be permitted so that Gaia will swallow us. The lesson, they will imagine, will be a salutary one and will not be lost on future invaders.† â€Å"Yet what if they should be right in such a belief, Mayor? What if Gaia is deadly?† Branno smiled. â€Å"You raise the ‘Yet what if – † yourself, do you, Liono?† â€Å"I must raise all possibilities, Mayor. It is my job.† â€Å"If Gaia is deadly, Trevize will be taken by them. That is his job as my lightning rod. And so may Compor, I hope.† â€Å"You hope? Why?† â€Å"Because it will make them overconfident, which should be useful to us. They will underestimate our power and be the easier to handle.† â€Å"But what if it is we who are overconfident?† â€Å"We are not,† said Branno flatly. â€Å"These Gaians – whatever they are – may be something we have no concept of and cannot properly estimate the danger of. I merely suggest that, Mayor, because even that possibility should be weighed.† â€Å"Indeed? Why does such a notion fall into your head, Liono?† â€Å"Because I think you feel that, at the worst, Gaia is the Second Foundation. I suspect you think they are the Second Foundation. However, Sayshell has an interesting history, even under the Empire. Sayshell alone had a measure of self-rule. Sayshell alone was spared some of the worst taxations under the so-called ‘Bad Emperors. ‘ In short, Sayshell seems to have had the protection of Gaia, even in Imperial times.† â€Å"Well then?† â€Å"But the Second Foundation was brought into existence by Hari Seldon at the same time our Foundation was. The Second Foundation did not exist in Imperial times – and Gaia did. Gaia, therefore, is not the Second Foundation. It is something else – and, just possibly, something worse.† â€Å"I don't propose to be terrified by the unknown, Liono. There are only two possible sources of danger – physical weapons and mental weapons – and we are fully prepared for both. – You get back to your ship and keep the units on the Sayshellian outskirts. This ship will move toward Gaia alone, but will stay in contact with you at all times and will expect you to come to us in one Jump, if necessary. – Go, Liono, and get that perturbed look off your face.† â€Å"One last question? Are you sure you know what you're doing?† â€Å"I do,† she said grimly. â€Å"I, too, have studied the history of Sayshell and have seen that Gaia cannot be the Second Foundation, but, as I told you, I have the full report of the scouts and from that†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Yes?† â€Å"Well, I know where the Second Foundation is located and we will take care of both, Liono. We will take care of Gaia first and then Trantor.†