And at the other end of town, in homelier surroundings, Hober Mallow kept asecond appointment. He had listened long, and now he said cautiously, "Yes,I've heard  of your campaigns to get  trader representation in the council.
But why me, Twer?"Jaim Twer, who would  remind you any time, asked or unasked, that he was inthe first group of Outlanders to receive a lay education at the Foundation,beamed.
"I  know what I'm  doing," he said.  "Remember when  I met you  first, lastyear.""At the Trader's Convention.""Right. You ran the meeting. You had those red-necked oxen planted in theirseats,  then put  them in your  shirtpocket and  walked off with  them. Andyou're all  right with the Foundation masses, too. You've  got glamor ?or,at  any  rate,  solid   adventure-publicity,  which  is  the  same  thing.""Very good," said Mallow, dryly. "But why now?"'Because now's our chance.  Do you know that the Secretary of Education hashanded in  his resignation? It's not out in the open  yet, but it will be.""How do you know?""That ? never mind?  He waved a  disgusted hand. "It's  so. The Actionistparty is splitting wide  open, and we can murder it right now on a straightquestion  of equal  rights  for traders;  or, rather,  democracy,  pro- andanti-."Mallow lounged  back in his chair and stared  at his thick fingers, "Uh-uh.
Sorry, Twer. I'm leaving  next week on business. You'll have to get someoneelse."Twer stared, "Business? What kind of business?""Very super-secret. Triple-A priority.  All that, you know. Had a talk withthe mayor's own secretary.""Snake  Sutt?" Jaim  Twer grew  excited. "A  trick. The  son-of-a-spacer isgetting rid of you. Mallow?
"Hold on!" Mallow's hand  fell on the other's balled fist. "Don't go into ablaze. If  it's a  trick, I'll be  back some day  for the  reckoning. if itisn't,  your snake,  Sutt,  is playing  into our  hands. Listen,  there's aSeldon crisis coming up."Mallow waited for a reaction but it never came. Twer merely stared. "What'sa Seldon crisis?""Galaxy!" Mallow exploded angrily  at the anticlimax, "What the blue blazesdid  you do  when you went  to school? What  do you  mean anyway by  a foolquestion like that?"The elder man frowned, "If you'll explain?
There was  a long  pause, then, "I'll explain."  Mallow's eyebrows lowered,and he  spoke slowly. "When the Galactic Empire began  to die at the edges,and when  the ends  of the Galaxy  reverted to barbarism  and dropped away,Hari Seldon and his band o............