Prelude to Foundation by Isaac Asimov Read Free Book Online Page B

would have been. In fact, it seemed as though there were two of him in the room.
    Seldon studied the sleeve of his new tunic. His Heliconian attitudes made him wish the colors were less vibrant, but he was thankful that, as it was, Hummin had chosen softer colors than were customary here on this world. (Seldon thought of the clothing worn by their two assailants and shuddered inwardly.)
    He said, “And I suppose I must wear this hat.”
    “In the Imperial Sector, yes. To go bareheaded here is a sign of low breeding. Elsewhere, the rules are different.”
    Seldon sighed. The round hat was made of soft material and molded itself to his head when he put it on. The brim was evenly wide all around, but it was narrower than on the hats his attackers had worn. Seldon consoled himself by noticing that when he wore the hat the brim curved rather gracefully.
    “It doesn’t have a strap under the chin.”
    “Of course not. That’s advanced fashion for young lanks.”
    “For young what?”
    “A lank is someone who wears things for their shock value. I’m sure you have such people on Helicon.”
    Seldon snorted. “There are those who wear their hair shoulder-length on one side and shave the other.” He laughed at the memory.
    Hummin’s mouth twisted slightly. “I imagine it looks uncommonly ugly.”
    “Worse. There are lefties and righties, apparently, and each finds the other version highly offensive. The two groups often engage in street brawls.”
    “Then I think you can stand the hat, especially without the strap.”
    Seldon said, “I’ll get used to it.”
    “It will attract some attention. It’s subdued for one thing and makes you look as if you’re in mourning. And it doesn’t
quite
fit. Then, too, you wear it with obvious discomfort. However, we won’t be in the Imperial Sector long. —Seen enough?” And the holograph flickered out.
    Seldon said, “How much did this cost you?”
    “What’s the difference?”
    “It bothers me to be in your debt.”
    “Don’t worry about it. This is my choice. But we’ve been here long enough. I will have been described, I’m quite certain. They’ll track me down and they’ll come here.”
    “In that case,” said Seldon, “the credits you’re spending are a minor matter. You’re putting yourself into personal danger on my account. Personal danger!”
    “I know that. But it’s my free choice and I can take care of myself.”
    “But why—”
    “We’ll discuss the philosophy of it later. —I’ve atomized your clothes, by the way, and I don’t think I was seen. There was an energy surge, of course, and that would be recorded. Someone might guess what happened from that—it’s hard to obscure
any
action when probing eyes and mind are sharp enough. However, let us hope we’ll be safely away before they put it all together.”

9
    They traveled along walkways where the light was soft and yellow. Hummin’s eyes moved this way and that, watchful, and he kept their pace at crowd speed, neither passing nor being passed.
    He kept up a mild but steady conversation on indifferent topics.
    Seldon, edgy and unable to do the same, said, “There seems to be a great deal of walking here. There are endless lines in both directions and along the crossovers.”
    “Why not?” said Hummin. “Walking is still the best form of short-distance transportation. It’s the most convenient, the cheapest, and the most healthful. Countless years of technological advance have not changed that. —Are you acrophobic, Seldon?”
    Seldon looked over the railing on his right into a deep declivity that separated the two walking lanes—each in an opposite direction between the regularlyspaced crossovers. He shuddered slightly. “If you mean fear of heights, not ordinarily. Still, looking down isn’t pleasant. How far does it go down?”
    “Forty or fifty levels at this point, I think. This sort of thing is common in the Imperial Sector and a few other highly developed regions. In