Foundation And Chaos by Greg Bear Page B

lower before she gave up her independence and actually joined
     a movement, even if they claimed to be like her...
    Perhaps especially if they were like her! The thought of being among people who could do
     what she did-
    Suddenly, everyone around her made her scalp itch. With a moan, she pushed through the
     roiling crowds, looking for the entrance to a plunger, the large, ancient elevators that
     worked the levels in Dahl and most of the other Sectors of Trantor.
    Vara Liso, exhausted and haggard, begged the stolid young major by her side to let her
     rest. “I've been here for hours, ” she groaned. Her head ached, her clothes were drenched
     in sweat, her vision blurred.
    Major Namm plucked at his Imperial insignia absently,
    chewing on his lower lip. Vara focused on him with a hatred she had seldom felt before-but
     she dared not hurt him.
    “Nobody?” he asked in a gruff tone.
    “I've found nobody for the last three days, ” she said. “You've scared them all away. ”
    He stepped back from the edge of the balcony overlooking the crowded Trans-Dahl
     thoroughfare through Fleshplay. Throngs on foot passed below the balcony, while trains and
     robos on elevated rails and narrow slaveways rumbled a few meters above them, rattling the
     empty apartment. Vara had been surveying the crowds from that location for seven hours;
     dark was falling quickly and the bright street signs across the thoroughfare were
     beginning to give her a headache. She simply wanted to sleep.
    “Councilor Sinter would appreciate some results, ” the young man said.
    “Farad must have some concern for my health!” Vara shot back. “If I become ill or burn
     myself out, what will he do then? I'm all the ammunition he has in this little war of
     his!” Her tone surprised her. She was close to the limits of her endurance. But rather
     than keep the focus on Farad's need for her, she pushed the onus onto the major. “If
     you're responsible for my effectiveness being reduced... What will Councilor Sinter say
     then?”
    The young man considered this possibility with little apparent emotion. “You're the one
     who has to answer to him. I'm just here to watch over you. ”
    Vara Liso held back a sharp bolt of anger. How close they come! They don't even know!
    “Well, take me to a place where I can rest, ” she demanded sharply. “She's not here. I
     don't know where she is. I haven't sensed her for three days!”
    “Councilor Sinter is especially concerned that you should find her. You told us she was
     the strongest-”
    “Other than me!” Vara shouted. “But I haven't felt her!”
    The blond major seemed to get it through his head that she wasn't going to work anymore
     today.
    “The councilor will be disappointed, ” he said, then bit his lower lip again.
    Is everybody here an idiot? Vara raged inwardly, but realized anger, letting her
     exhaustion control her, would get her nowhere, and could even harm her chances of getting
     what she wanted from Sinter. “I need to be alone for a while, rest, not talk, ” she said
     hoarsely. “We can try again tomorrow, in another Sector. I need a smaller area to work
     in-a few blocks at most. We need more agents and better reports. ”
    “Of course, ” the major said, matching her tone with a more reasonable approach of his
     own. “Our intelligence has been a little weak. We'll try it again tomorrow. ”
    “Thank you, ” she said softly. The major walked through the empty apartment and stood by
     the door, holding it open for her. She was almost through the door when a sharp spike of
     what she could only call envy shot through her: the sudden awareness she was close to a
     fellow human with talents like her own. Her face went white, and she stammered, “N-n-not
     yet. She's here!”
    “Where?” the major demanded, pushing her back to the window.
    “Yes, yes, yes, ” Vara muttered as he propelled her. They treat me like a despicable runt!
     But