Amaryl arrived a few minutes before 1400, looking warily about. His hair was neat and his thick mustache was combed and turned up slightly at the edges. His T-shirt was startlingly white. He did smell, but it was a fruity odor that undoubtedly came from the slightly overenthusiastic use of scent. He had a bag with him.
Seldon, who had been waiting outside for him, seized one elbow lightly, while Dors seized the other, and they moved rapidly into the elevator. Having reached the correct level, they passed through the apartment into Seldons room. Amaryl said in a low hangdog voice, "Nobody home, huh?"
"Everyones busy," said Seldon neutrally. He indicated the only chair in the room, a pad directly on the floor.
"No," said Amaryl. "I dont need that. One of you two use it." He squatted on the floor with a graceful downward motion.
Dors imitated the movement, sitting on the edge of Seldons floor-based mattress, but Seldon dropped down rather clumsily, having to make use of his hands and unable, quite, to find a comfortable position for his legs. Seldon said, "Well, young man, why do you want to see me?"
"Because youre a mathematician. Youre the first mathematician I ever saw--close up--so I could touch him, you know."
"Mathematicians feel like anyone else."
"Not to me, Dr. ...         Seldon?"
"Thats my name."
Amaryl looked pleased. "I finally remembered.--You see, I want to be a mathematician too."
"Very good. Whats stopping you?"
Amaryl suddenly frowned. "Are you serious?"
"I presume something is stopping you. Yes, Im serious."
"Whats stopping me is Im a Dahlite, a heatsinker on Dahl. I dont have the money to get an education and I cant get the credits to get an education. A real education, I mean. All they taught me was to read and cipher and use a computer and then I knew enough to be a heatsinker. But I wanted more  So I taught myself."
"In some ways, thats the best kind of teaching. How did you do that?"
"I knew a librarian  She was willing to help me  She was a very nice woman and she showed me how to use computers for learning mathematics. And she set up a software system that would connect me with other libraries. Id come on my days off and on mornings after my shift  Sometimes shed lock me in her private room so I wouldnt be bothered by people coming in or she would let me in when the library was closed. She didnt know mathematics herself, but she helped me all she could  She was oldish, a widow lady. Maybe she thought of me as a kind of son or something. She didnt have children of her own."
(Maybe, thought Seldon briefly, there was some other emotion involved too, but he put the thought away. None of his business.)
"I liked number theory," said Amaryl. "I worked some things out from what I learned from the computer and from the book-films it used to teach me mathematics. I came up with some new things that werent in the book-films." Seldon raised his eyebrows. "Thats interesting. Like what?"
"Ive brought some of them to you. Ive never showed them to anyone. The people around me--" He shrugged. "Theyd either laugh or be annoyed. Once I tried to tell a girl I knew, but she just said I was weird and wouldnt see me anymore  Is it all right for me to show them to you?"
"Quite all right. Believe me "
Seldon held out his hand aaaaafter a brief hesitation, Amaryl handed him the bag he was carrying.
For a long time, Seldon looked over Amaryls papers. The work was naive in the extreme, but he allowed no smile to cross his face  He followed the demonstrations, not one of which was new, of course--or even nearly new--or of any importance.
But that didnt matter.
Seldon looked up. "Did you do all of this yourself?"
Amaryl, looking more than half-frightened, nodded his head. Seldon extracted several sheets. "What made you think of this?" His finger ran down a line of mathematical reasoning.
Amaryl looked it over, frowned, and thought about it  Then he explained his line of thinking.
Seldon listened and said, "Did you ever read a book by Anat Bigell?"
"On number theory?"
"The title was Mathematical Deduction. It wasnt about number theory, particularly."
Amaryl shook his head. "I never heard of him. Im sorry."
"He worked out this theorem of yours three hundred years ago.
Amaryl looked stricken. "I didnt know that."
"Im sure you didnt. You did it more cleverly, though. Its not rigorous, but--"
"What do you mean, rigorous?"
"It doesnt matter." Seldon put the papers back together in a sheaf, restored it to the bag, and said, "Make several copies of all this. Take one copy, have it dated by an official computer, and place it under computerized seal. My friend here, Mistress Venabili, can get you into Streeling University without tuition on some sort of scholarship. Youll have to start at the beginning and take courses in other subjects than mathematics, but--"
By now Amaryl had caught his breath. "Into Streeling University? They wont take me "
"Why not? Dors, you can arrange it, cant you?"
"Im sure I can."
"No, you cant," said Amaryl hotly. "They wont take me  Im from Dahl "
"Well?"
"They wont take people from Dahl "
Seldon looked at Dors. "Whats he talking about?"
Dors shook her head. "I really dont know."
Amaryl said, "Youre an Outworlder, Mistress  How long have you been at Streeling?"
"A little over two years, Mr. Amaryl."
"Have you ever seen Dahlites there--short, curly black hair, big mustaches?"
"There are students with all kinds of appearances."
"But no Dahlites. Look again the next time youre there."
"Why not?" said Seldon.
"They dont like us. We look different. They dont like our mustaches."
"You can shave your--" but Seldons voice died under the others furious glance.
"Never. Why should I? My mustache is my manhood."
"You shave your beard. Thats your manhood too."
"To my people it is the mustache."
Seldon looked at Dors again and murmured, "Bald heads, mustaches ... madness."
"What?" said Amaryl angrily.
"Nothing. Tell me what else they dont like about Dahlites."
"They make up things not to like. They say we smell. They say were dirty. They say we steal. They say were violent. They say were dumb."
"Why do they say all this?"
"Because its easy to say it and it makes them feel good. Sure, if we work in the ............