the room that hari seldon found himself in was larger than hummins room in the imperial sector. it was a bedroom with one corner serving as a washroom and with no sign of any cooking or dining facilities. there was no window, though set in the ceiling was a grilled ventilator that made a steady sighing noise. seldon looked about a bit ruefully.

hummin interpreted that look with his usual assured manner and said, "its only for tonight, seldon. tomorrow morning someone will come to install you at the university and you will be more comfortable."

"pardon me, hummin, but how do you know that?"

"i will make arrangements. i know one or two people here"--he smiled briefly without humor--"and i have a favor or two i can ask repayment for. now lets go into some details."

he gazed steadily at seldon and said, "whatever you have left in your hotel room is lost. does that include anything irreplaceable?"

"nothing really irreplaceable. i have some personal items i value for their association with my past life, but if they are gone, they are gone. there are, of course, some notes on my paper. some calculations. the paper itself."

"which is now public knowledge until such time as it is removed from circulation as dangerous--which it probably will be. still, ill be able to get my hands on a copy, im sure. in any case, you can reconstruct it, cant you?"

"i can. thats why i said there was nothing really irreplaceable. also, ive lost nearly a thousand credits, some books, clothing, my tickets back to helicon, things like that."

"all replaceable.--now i will arrange for you to have a credit tile in my name, charged to me. that will take care of ordinary expenses."

"thats unusually generous of you. i cant accept it."

"its not generous at all, since im hoping to save the empire in that fashion. you must accept it."

"but how much can you afford, hummin? ill be using it, at best, with an uneasy conscience."

"whatever you need for survival or reasonable comfort i can afford, seldon. naturally, i wouldnt want you to try to buy the university gymnasium or hand out a million credits in largess."

"you neednt worry, but with my name on record--"

"it might as well be. it is absolutely forbidden for the imperial government to exercise any security control over the university or its members. there is complete freedom. anything can be discussed here, anything can be said here."

"what about violent crime?"

"then the university authorities themselves handle it, with reason and care--and there are virtually no crimes of violence. the students and faculty appreciate their freedom and understand its terms. too much rowdiness, the beginning of riot and bloodshed, and the government may feel it has a right to break the unwritten agreement and send in the troops. no one wants that, not even the government, so a delicate balance is maintained. in other words, demerzel himself can not have you plucked out of the university without a great deal more cause than anyone in the university has given the government in at least a century and a half. on the other hand, if you are lured off the grounds by a student-agent--"

"are there student-agents?"

"how can i say? there may be. any ordinary individual can be threatened or maneuvered or simply bought--and may remain thereafter in the service of demerzel or of someone else, for that matter. so i must emphasize this: you are safe in any reasonable sense, but no one is absolutely safe. you will have to be careful. but though i give you that warning, i dont want you to cower through life. on the whole, you will be far more secure here than you would have been if you had returned to helicon or gone to any world of the galaxy outside trantor."

"i hope so," said seldon drearily.

"i know so," said hummin, "or i would not feel it wise to leave you."

"leave me?" seldon looked up sharply. "you cant do that. you know this world. i dont."

"you will be with others who know this world, who know this part of it, in fact, even better than i do. as for myself, i must go. i have been with you all this day and i dare not abandon my own life any longer. i must not attract too much attention to myself. remember that i have my own insecurities, just as you have yours."

seldon blushed. "youre right. i cant expect you to endanger yourself indefinitely on my behalf. i hope you are not already ruined."

hummin said coolly, "who can tell? we live in dangerous times. just remember that if anyone can make the times safe--if not for ourselves, then for those who follow after us--it is you. let that thought be your driving force, seldon."