Prelude to Foundation by Isaac Asimov

tile in his name, but it will take me a day or two to extort one out of the University bureaucracy. Until that’s done, I’ll be responsible for your expenses and you can pay me back later. —And we can use you. Chetter Hummin told me you’re a mathematician and for some reason there’s a serious lack of good ones at the University.”
    “Did Hummin tell you that I was a good mathematician?”
    “As a matter of fact, he did. He said you were a remarkable man.”
    “Well.” Seldon looked down at his fingernails. “I would like to be considered so, but Hummin knew me for less than a day and, before that, he had heard me present a paper, the quality of which he has no way of judging. I think he was just being polite.”
    “I don’t think so,” said Dors. “He is a remarkable person himself and has had a great deal of experience with people. I’ll go by his judgement. In any case, I imagine you’ll have a chance to prove yourself. You can program computers, I suppose.”
    “Of course.”
    “I’m talking about teaching computers, you understand, and I’m asking if you can devise programs to teach various phases of contemporary mathematics.”
    “Yes, that’s part of my profession. I’m assistant professor of mathematics at the University of Helicon.”
    She said, “Yes, I know. Hummin told me that. It means, of course, that everyone will know you are a non-Trantorian, but that will present no serious problems. We’re mainly Trantorian here at the University, but there’s a substantial minority of Outworlders from any number of different worlds and that’s accepted. I won’t say that you’ll never hear a planetary slur but actually the Outworlders are more likely to use them than the Trantorians. I’m an Outworlder myself, by the way.”
    “Oh?” He hesitated and then decided it would be only polite to ask. “What world are you from?”
    “I’m from Cinna. Have you ever heard of it?”
    He’d be caught out if he was polite enough to lie, Seldon decided, so he said, “No.”
    “I’m not surprised. It’s probably of even less account than Helicon is. —Anyway, to get back to the programming of mathematical teaching computers, I suppose that that can be done either proficiently or poorly.”
    “Absolutely.”
    “And you would do it proficiently.”
    “I would like to think so.”
    “There you are, then. The University will pay you for that, so let’s go out and eat. Did you sleep well, by the way?”
    “Surprisingly, I did.”
    “And are you hungry?”
    “Yes, but—” He hesitated.
    She said cheerfully, “But you’re worried about the quality of the food, is that it? Well, don’t be. Being an Outworlder myself, I can understand your feelings about the strong infusion of microfood into everything, but the University menus aren’t bad. In the faculty dining room, at least. The students suffer a bit, but that serves to harden them.”
    She rose and turned to the door, but stopped when Seldon could not keep himself from saying, “Are you a member of the faculty?”
    She turned and smiled at him impishly. “Don’t I look old enough? I got my doctorate two years ago at Cinna and I’ve been here ever since. In two weeks, I’ll be thirty.”
    “Sorry,” said Seldon, smiling in his turn, “but you can’t expect to look twenty-four and not raise doubts as to your academic status.”
    “Aren’t you nice?” said Dors and Seldon felt a certain pleasure wash over him. After all, he thought, you can’t exchange pleasantries with an attractive woman and feel entirely like a stranger.

18
    Dors was right. Breakfast was by no means bad. There was something that was unmistakably eggy and the meat was pleasantly smoked. The chocolate drink (Trantor was strong on chocolate and Seldon did not mind that) was probably synthetic, but it was tasty and the breakfast rolls were good.
    He felt it only right to say as much. “This has been a very pleasant breakfast. Food. Surroundings.