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Chapter 38
Seldon looked with some distress at their quarters. It had a small but individual kitchen and a small but individual bathroom. There were two narrow beds, two clothes closets, a table, and two chairs. In short there was everything that was necessary for two people who were willing to live under cramped conditions.
"We had an individual kitchen and bathroom at Cinna," said Dors with an air of resignation.
"Not I," said Seldon. "Helicon may be a small world, but I lived in a modern city. Community kitchens and bathrooms.--What a waste this is. You might expect it in a hotel, where one is compelled to make a temporary stay, but if the whole sector is like this, imagine the enormous number and duplications of kitchens and bathrooms."
"Part of the egalitarianism, I suppose," said Dors. "No fighting for favored stalls or for faster service. The same for everyone."
"No privacy either. Not that I mind terribly, Dors, but you might and I dont want to give the appearance of taking advantage. We ought to make it clear to them that we must have separate rooms--adjoining but separate."
Dors said, "Im sure it wont work. Space is at a premium and I think they are amazed by their own generosity in giving us this much. Well just make do, Hari. Were each old enough to manage. Im not a blushing maiden and youll never convince me that youre a callow youth."
"You wouldnt be here, were it not for me."
"What of it? Its an adventure."
"All right, then. Which bed will you take? Why dont you take the one nearer the bathroom?" He sat down on the other. "Theres something else that bothers me. As long as were here, were tribespeople, you and I, as is even Hummin. Were of the other tribes, not their own cohorts, and most things are none of our business.--But most things are my business. Thats what Ive come here for. I want to know some of the things they know."
"Or think they know," said Dors with a historians skepticism. "I understand they have legends that are supposed to date back to primordial times, but I cant believe they can be taken seriously."
"We cant know that until we find out what those legends are. Are there no outside records of them?"
"Not that I know of. These people are terribly ingrown. Theyre almost psychotic in their inward clinging. That Hummin can break down their barriers somewhat and even get them to take us in is remarkable--really remarkable."
Seldon brooded. "There has to be an opening somewhere. Sunmaster was surprised--angry, in fact--that I didnt know Mycogen was an agricultural community. That seems to be something they dont want kept a secret."
"The point is, it isnt a secret. Mycogen is supposed to be from archaic words meaning yeast producer. At least, thats what Ive been told. Im not a paleolinguist. In any case, they culture all varieties of microfood--yeast, of course, along with algae, bacteria, multicellular fungi, and so on."
"Thats not uncommon," said Seldon. "Most worlds have this microculture. We have some even on Helicon."
"Not like Mycogen. Its their specialty. They use methods as archaic as the name of their section--secret fertilizing formulas, secret environmental influences. Who knows what? All is secret."
"Ingrown?"
"With a vengeance. What it amounts to is that they produce protein and subtle flavoring, so that their microfood isnt like any other in the world. They keep the volume comparatively low and the price is skyhigh. Ive never tasted any and Im sure you havent, but it sells in great quantities to the Imperial bureaucracy and to the upper classes on other worlds. Mycogen depends on such sales for its economic health, so they want everyone to know that they are the source of this valuable food. That, at least, is no secret."
"Mycogen must be rich, then."
"Theyre not poor, but I suspect that its not wealth theyre after. Its protection. The Imperial government protects them because, without them, there wouldnt be these microfoods that add the subtlest flavors, the tangiest spices, to every dish. That means that Mycogen can maintain its odd way of life and be haughty toward its neighbors, who probably find them insupportable."
Dors looked about. "They live an austere life. Theres no holovision, I notice, and no book-films."
"I noticed one in the closet up on the shelf." Seldon reached for ............
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