don’t know. Routine matters. A stock speech of congratulations, perhaps. I don’t think any significance need be placed on the Vault – though the Journal’ – and he glared at Hardin, who grinned back – ‘did try to make an issue of it. I put a stop to that.’
‘Ah,’ said Fara, ‘but perhaps you are wrong. Doesn’t it strike you’ – he paused and put a finger to his round little nose – ‘that the Vault is opening at a very convenient time?’
‘Very inconvenient time, you mean,’ muttered Fulham. ‘We’ve got some other things to worry about.’
‘Other things more important than a message from Hari Seldon? I think not.’ Fara was growing more pontifical than ever, and Hardin eyed him thoughtfully. What was he getting at?
‘In fact,’ said Fara, happily, ‘you all seem to forget that Seldon was the greatest psychologist of our time and that he was the founder of our Foundation. It seems reasonable to assume that he used his science to determine the probable course of the history of the immediate future. If he did, as seems likely, I repeat, he would certainly have managed to find a way to warn us of danger and, perhaps, to point out a solution. The Encyclopedia was very dear to his heart, you know.’
An aura of puzzled doubt prevailed. Pirenne hemmed. ‘Well, now, I don’t know. Psychology is a great science, but – there are no psychologists among us at the moment, I believe. It seems to me we’re on uncertain ground.’
Fara turned to Hardin. ‘Didn’t you study psychology under Alurin?’
Hardin answered, half in reverie: ‘Yes, I never completed my studies, though. I got tired of theory. I wanted to be a psychological engineer, but we lacked the facilities, so I did the next best thing – I went into politics. It’s practically the same thing.’
‘Well, what do you think of the Vault?’
And Hardin replied cautiously, ‘I don’t know.’
He did not say a word for the remainder of the meeting – even though it got back to the subject of the Chancellor of the Empire.
In fact, he didn’t even listen. He’d been put on a new track and things were falling into place – just a little. Little angles were fitting together – one or two.
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