Forward the Foundation

"Since we have established a Galactic Empire that has been conducting its business in reasonable fashion for thousands of years, there is no possibility of robbing a neighbor, except as the result of an occasional rebellion and its repression. This does not happen often enough to support a government-and, if it did, the government would be too unstable to last long, in any case."

Seldon drew a deep breath and went on. "Therefore, credits must be raised by asking the citizens to hand over part of their wealth for government use. Presumably, since the government will then work efficiently, the citizens can better spend their credits in this way than to hoard it-each man to himself-while living in a dangerous and chaotic anarchy.

"However, though the request is reasonable and the citizenry is better off paying taxes as their price for maintaining a stable and efficient government, they are nevertheless reluctant to do so. In order to overcome this reluctance, governments must make it appear that they are not taking too many credits, and that they are considering each citizen's rights and benefits. In other words, they must lower the percentage taken out of low incomes; they must allow deductions of various kinds to be made before the tax is assessed, and so on.

"As time goes on, the tax situation inevitably grows more and more complex as different worlds, different sectors within each world, and different economic divisions all demand and require special treatment. Me result is that the tax-collecting branch of the government grows in size and complexity and tends to become uncontrollable. The average citizen cannot understand why or how much he is being taxed; what he can get away with and what he can't. The government and the tax agency itself are often in the dark as well.

"What's more, an ever-larger fraction of the funds collected must be put into running the overelaborate tax agency-maintaining records, pursuing tax delinquents-so the amount of credits available for good, and useful purposes declines despite anything we can do.**

"In the end, the tax situation becomes overwhelming. It inspires discontent and rebellion. The history books tend to ascribe these things to greedy businessmen, to corrupt politicians, to brutal warriors, to ambitious viceroys-but these are just the individuals who take advantage of the tax overgrowth."

The General said harshly, "Are you telling me that our tax system is overcomplicated?"

Seldon said, "If it were not, it would be the only one in history that wasn't, as far as I know. If there is one thing that psychohistory tells me is inevitable, it is tax overgrowth."

"And what do we do about it?"

"That I cannot tell you. It is that for which I would like to prepare a report that-as you say-may take a while to get ready."

"Never mind the report. The tax system is overcomplicated, isn't it? Isn't that what you are saying?"

"It is possible that it is," said Seldon cautiously.

"And to correct that, one must make the tax system simpler-as simple as possible, in fact."

"I would have to study-"

"Nonsense. The opposite of great complication is great simplicity. I don't need a report to tell me that."

"As you say, General," said Seldon.

At this point the General looked up suddenly, as though he had been called-as, indeed, he had been. His fists clenched and holovision images of Colonel Linn and Dors Venabili suddenly appeared in the room.

Thunderstruck, Seldon exclaimed, "Dors! What are you doing here?"

The General said nothing, but his brow furrowed into a frown.

17

The General had had a bad night and so, out of apprehension, had the colonel. They faced each other now-each at a loss.

The General said, "Tell me again what this woman did."

Linn seemed to have a heavy weight on his shoulders. "She's The Tiger Woman. That's what they call her. She doesn't seem to be quite human, somehow. She's some sort of impossibly trained athlete, full of self-confidence, and, General, she's quite frightening."

"Did she frighten you? A single woman?"

"Let me tell you exactly what she did and let me tell you a few other things about her. I don't know how true all the stories about her are, but what happened yesterday evening is true enough."

He told the story again and the General listened, puffing out his cheeks.

"Bad," he said. "What do we do?"

"I think our course is plain before us. We want psychohistory-"

"Yes, we do," said the General. "Seldon told me something about taxation that-But never mind. That is beside the point at the moment. Go on."

Linn, who, in his troubled state of mind, had allowed a small fragment of impatience to show on his face, continued, "As I say, we want psychohistory without Seldon. He is, in any case, a used-up man. The more I study him, the more I see an elderly scholar who is living on his past deeds. He has had nearly thirty years to make a success of psychohistory and he has failed. Without him, with new men at the helm, psychohistory may advance more rapidly."