"My daughter-in-law and granddaughter are on that ship, Commander," Seldon said in a tight voice.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Professor," said an abashed commander. "I'll be in touch with you as soon as I hear anything."
Dispiritedly Hari closed the visiscreen contact. How tired I am, he thought. And, he mused, I'm not surprised-I've known that this would come for nearly forty years.
Seldon chuckled bitterly to himself. Perhaps that commander had thought he was shocking Seldon, impressing him with the vivid detail of life "on the fringe." But Seldon knew all about the fringe. And as the fringe came apart, like a piece of knitting with one loose thread, the whole piece would unravel to the core: Trantor.
Seldon became aware of a soft buzzing sound. It was the door signal. "Yes?"
"Grandpa," said Wanda, entering the office, "I'm scared."
"Why, dear?" asked Seldon with concern. He didn't want to tell her yet what he had learned-or hadn't learned-from the commander on Anacreon.
"Usually, although they're so far away, I feel Dad and Mom and Bellis-feel them in here"-she pointed to her head-"and in here"-she placed her hand over her heart. "But now, today, I don't feel them-it feels less, as if they're fading, like one of the dome bulbs. And I want to stop it. I want to pull them back, but I can't."
"Wanda, I really think this is merely a product of your concern for your family in light of the rebellion. You know that uprisings occur all over the Empire all the time-little eruptions to let off steam. Come now, you know that chances of anything happening to Raych, Manella, or Bellis are vanishingly small. Your dad will call any day to say all is well; your mom and Bellis will land on Anacreon at any moment and enjoy a little vacation. We are the ones to be pitied-we're stuck here up to our ears in work! So, sweetheart, go to bed and think only good thoughts. I promise you, tomorrow, under the sunny dome, things will look much better."
"All right, Grandpa," said Wanda, not sounding entirely convinced. "But tomorrow-if we haven't heard by tomorrow-we'll have to-to-"
"Wanda, what can we do, except wait?" asked Hari, his voice gentle.
Wanda turned and left, the weight of her worries showing in the slope of her shoulders. Hari watched her go, finally allowing his own worries to come to the surface.
It had been three days since the hologram transmission from Raych. Since then-nothing. And today the naval commander at Anacreon denied ever having heard of a ship called Arcadia VII
Hari had tried earlier to get through to Raych on Santanni, but all communication beams were down. It was as if Santanni-and the Arcadia VII-had simply broken off from the Empire, like a petal from a flower.
Seldon knew what he had to do now. The Empire might be down, but it was not out. Its power, when properly wielded, was still awesome. Seldon placed an emergency transmission to Emperor Agis XIV.
29
"What a surprise-my friend Hari!" Agis's visage beamed at Seldon through the holoscreen. "I am glad to hear from you, although you usually request the more formal personal audience. Come, you've piqued my interest. Why the urgency?"
"Sire," began Seldon, "my son, Raych, and his wife and daughter live on Santanni."
"Ah, Santanni," the Emperor said as his smile faded. "A bunch of misguided wretches if I eve -"
"Sire, please," broke in Seldon, surprising both the Emperor and himself with this flagrant breach of Imperial protocol. "My son was able to get Manella and Bellis onto a hypership, the Arcadia VII, bound for Anacreon. He, however, had to remain. That was three days ago. The ship has not landed at Anacreon. And my son seems to have disappeared. My calls to Santanni have gone unanswered and now the communication beams are broken.
"Please, Sire, can you help me?"
"Hari, as you know, officially all ties between Santanni and Trantor have been severed. However, I still hold some influence in selected areas of Santanni. That is, there are still a few loyal to me who have not yet been found out. Although I cannot make direct contact with any of my operatives on that world, I can share with you any reports I receive from there. These are, of course, highly confidential, but considering your situation and our relationship, I will allow you access to those pieces that might interest you.
"I am expecting another dispatch within the hour. If you like, I'll recontact you when it arrives. In the meantime, I'll have one of my aides go over all transmissions from Santanni for the past three days to look for anything pertaining to Raych, Manella, or Bellis Seldon."
"Thank you, Sire. I thank you most humbly." And Hari Seldon dipped his head as the Emperor's image faded from the holoscreen.
Sixty minutes later Hari Seldon was still sitting at his desk, waiting to hear from the Emperor. The past hour had been one of the most difficult he had ever spent, second only to the hours after Dors's destruction.
It was the not knowing that did Hari in. He had made a career of knowing-the future as well as the present. And now he had no idea at all about three of the people most precious to him.
The holoscreen buzzed softly and Hari pressed a contact in response. Agis appeared.
"Hari," began the Emperor. From the soft slow sadness in his voice, Hari knew this call brought bad news.
"My son," said Hari.
"Yes," replied the Emperor. "Raych was killed, earlier today, in a bombardment on Santanni University. I've learned from my sources that Raych knew the attack was coming but refused to desert his post. You see, a good number of the rebels are students and Raych felt that if they knew that he was still there, they would never... But hate overcame all reason.