Foundation and Earth

"But that is horrible. It is its rules that hold society together and bind it into a whole. Is it such a light thing to disregard the rules for trivial reasons?"

"Well," said Trevize, in instant defensiveness, "some of the rules are themselves trivial. Few worlds are very particular about passage in and out of their space in times of peace and commercial prosperity, such as we have now, thanks to the Foundation. Comporellon, for some reason, is out of step-probably because of an obscure matter of internal politics. Why should we suffer over that?"

"That is beside the point. If we only obey those rules that we think are just and reasonable, then no rule will stand, for there is no rule that some will not think is unjust and unreasonable. And if we wish to push our own individual advantage, as we see it, then we will always find reason to believe that some hampering rule is unjust and unreasonable. What starts, then, as a shrewd trick ends in anarchy and disaster, even for the shrewd trickster, since he, too, will not survive the collapse of society."

Trevize said, "Society will not collapse that easily. You speak as Gaia, and Gaia cannot possibly understand the association of free individuals. Rules, established with reason and justice, can easily outlive their usefulness as circumstances change, yet can remain in force through inertia. It is then not only right, but useful, to break those rules as a way of advertising the fact that they have become useless-or even actually harmful."

"Then every thief and murderer can argue he is serving humanity."

"You go to extremes. In the superorganism of Gaia, there is automatic consensus on the rules of society and it occurs to no one to break them. Opt might as well say that Gaia vegetates and fossilizes. There is admittedly an element of disorder in free association, but that is the price one must pay for the ability to induce novelty and change. On the whole, it's a reasonable price."

Bliss's voice rose a notch. "You are quite wrong if you think Gaia vegetates and fossilizes. Our deeds, our ways, our views are under constant self-examination. They do not persist out of inertia, beyond reason. Gaia learns by experience and thought; and therefore changes when that is necessary."

"Even if what you say is so, the self-examination and learning must be slow, because nothing but Gaia exists on Gaia. Here, in freedom, even when almost everyone agrees, there are bound to be a few who disagree and, in some cases, those few may be right, and if they are clever enough, enthusiastic enough, right enough, they will win out in the end and be heroes in future ages-like Hari Seldon, who perfected psychohistory, pitted his own thoughts against the entire Galactic Empire, and won."

"He has won only so far, Trevize. The Second Empire he planned for will not come to pass. There will be Galaxia instead."

"Will there?" said Trevize grimly.

"It was your decision, and, however much you argue with me in favor of Isolates and of their freedom to be foolish and criminal, there is something in the hidden recesses of your mind that forced you to agree with me/us/Gaia when you made your choice."

"What is present in the hidden recesses of my mind," said Trevize, more grimly still, "is what I seek. There, to begin with," he added, pointing to the viewscreen where a great city spread out to the horizon, a cluster of low structures climbing to occasional heights, surrounded by fields that were brown under a light frost.

Pelorat shook his head. "Too bad. I meant to watch the approach, but I got caught up in listening to the argument."

Trevize said, "Never mind, Janov. You can watch when we leave. I'll promise to keep my mouth shut then, if you can persuade Bliss to control her own."

And the Far Star descended a microwave beam to a landing at the spaceport.

14.

KENDRAY looked grave when he returned to the entry station and watched the Far Star pass through. He was still clearly depressed at the close of his shift.

He was sitting down to his closing meal of the day when one of his mates, a gangling fellow with wide-set eyes, thin light hair, and eyebrows so blond they seemed absent, sat down next to him.

"What's wrong, Ken?" said the other.

Kendray's lips twisted. He said, "That was a gravitic ship that just passed through, Gatis."

"The odd-looking one with zero radioactivity?"

"That's why it wasn't radioactive. No fuel. Gravitic."

Gatis nodded his head. "What we were told to watch for, right?"

"Right."

"And you got it. Leave it to you to be the lucky one."

"Not so lucky. A woman without identification was on it-and I didn't report her."

"What? Look, don't tell me. I don't want to know about it. Not another word. You may be a pal, but I'm not going to make myself an accomplice after the fact."

"I'm not worried about that. Not very much. I had to send the ship down. They want that gravitic-or any gravitic. You know that."

"Sure, but you could at least have reported the woman."