tamwile elar was thirty-six years old and had joined seldon's psychohistory project as senior mathematician four years earlier. he was a tall man, with a habitual twinkle in his eye and with more than a touch of self-assurance as well.

his hair was brown and had a loose wave in it, the more noticeable because he wore it rather long. he had an abrupt way of laughing, but there was no fault to be found with his mathematical ability.

elar had been recruited from the west mandanov university and seldon always had to smile when he remembered how suspicious yugo amaryl had been of him at first. but then, amaryl was suspicious of everyone. deep in his heart (seldon felt sure), amaryl felt that psychohistory ought to have remained his and hari's private province.

but even amaryl was now willing to admit that elar's membership in the group had eased his own situation tremendously. yugo said, "his techniques for avoiding chaos are unique and fascinating. no one else in the project could have worked it out the way he did. certainly nothing of this sort ever occurred to me. it didn't occur to you, either, hari."

"well," said seldon grumpily, "i'm getting old."

"if only," said amaryl, "he didn't laugh so loud."

"people can't help the way they laugh."

yet the truth was that seldon found himself having a little trouble accepting elar. it was rather humiliating that he himself had come nowhere near the "achaotic equations," as they were now called. it didn't bother seldon that he had never thought of the principle behind the electro-clarifier-that was not really his field. the achaotic equations, however, he should, indeed, have thought of-or at least gotten close to.

he tried reasoning with himself. seldon had worked out the entire basis for psychohistory and the achaotic equations grew naturally out of that basis. could elar have done seldon's work three decades earlier? seldon was convinced that elar couldn't have. and was it so remarkable that elar had thought up the principle of achaotism once the basis was in place?

all this was very sensible and very true, yet seldon still found himself uneasy when facing elar. just slightly edgy. weary age facing flamboyant youth.

yet elar never gave him obvious cause for feeling the difference in years. he never failed to show seldon full respect or in any way to imply that the older man had passed his prime.

of course, elar was interested in the forthcoming festivities and had even, as seldon had discovered, been the first to suggest that seldon's birthday be celebrated. (was this a nasty emphasis on seldon's age? seldon dismissed the possibility. if he believed that, it would mean he was picking up some of dors's tricks of suspicion.

elar strode toward him and said, "maestro-" and seldon winced, as always. he much preferred to have the senior members of the project call him hari, but it seemed such a small point to make a fuss over.

"maestro," said elar. "the word is out that you've been called in for a conference with general tennar."

"yes. he's the new head of the military junta and i suppose he wants to see me to ask what psychohistory is all about. they've been asking me that since the days of cleon and demerzel." (the new head! the junta was like a kaleidoscope, with some of its members periodically falling from grace and others rising from nowhere.)

"but it's my understanding he wants it now-right in the middle of the birthday celebration."

"that doesn't matter. you can all celebrate without me."

"no, we can't, maestro. i hope you don't mind, but some of us got together and put in a call to the palace and put the appointment off for a week."

"what?" said seldon annoyed. "surely that was presumptuous of you-and risky, besides."

"it worked out well. they've put it off and you'll need that time."

"why would i need a week?"

elar hesitated. "may i speak frankly, maestro?"

"of course you can. when have i ever asked that anyone speak to me m any way but frankly?"

elar flushed slightly, his fair skin reddening, but his voice remained steady. "it's not easy to say this, maestro. you're a genius at mathematics. no one on the project has any doubt of that. no one in the empire-they knew you and understood mathematics-would have any doubt tout it. however, it is not given to anybody to be a universal genius."

"i know that as well as you do, elar."

"i know you do. specifically, though, you lack the ability to handle ordinary people-shall we say, stupid people. you lack a certain deviousness, a certain ability to sidestep, and if you are dealing with someone who is both powerful in government and somewhat stupid, you can easily endanger the project and, for that matter, your own life, simply because you are too frank."

"what is this? am i suddenly a child? i've been dealing with politicians for a long time. i was first minister for ten years, as perhaps you may remember."

"forgive me, maestro, but you were not an extraordinarily effective one. you dealt with first minister demerzel, who was very intelligent, by all accounts, and with the emperor cleon, who was very friendly. now you will encounter military people who are neither intelligent nor friendly-another matter entirely."

"i've even dealt with military people and survived."

"not with general dugal tennar. he's another sort of thing altogether. i know him."

"you know him? you have met him?"

"i don't know him personally, but he's from mandanov, which, as you know, is my sector, and he was a power there before he joined the junta and rose through its ranks."

"and what do you know about him?"

"ignorant, superstitious, violent. he is not someone you can handle easily-or safely. you can use the week to work out methods for dealing with him."

seldon bit his lower lip. there was something to what elar said and seldon recognized the fact that, while he had plans of his own, it would still be difficult to try to manipulate a stupid, self-important, short-tempered person with overwhelming force at his disposal.

he said uneasily, "i'll manage somehow. the whole matter of a military junta is, in any case, an unstable situation in the trantor of today. it has already lasted longer than might have seemed likely."

"have we been testing that? i was not aware that we were making stability decisions on the junta."

"just a few calculations by amaryl, making use of your achaotic equations." he paused. "by the way, i've come across some references to them as the elar equations."

"not by me, maestro."

"i hope you don't mind, but i don't want that. psychohistoric elements are to be described functionally and not personally. as soon as personalities intervene, bad feelings arise."

"i understand and quite agree, maestro."

"in fact," said seldon with a touch of guilt, "i have always felt it wrong that we speak of the basic seldon equations of psychohistory. the trouble is that's been in use for so many years, it's not practical to try to change it."

"if you'll excuse my saying so, maestro, you're an exceptional case. no one, i think, would quarrel with your receiving full credit for inventing the science of psychohistory. -but, if i may, i wish to get back to your meeting with general tennar."

"well, what else is there to say?"

"i can't help but wonder if it might be better if you did not see him, did not speak to him, did not deal with him."

"how am i to avoid that if he calls me in for a conference?"

"perhaps you can plead illness and send someone in your place."

"whom?"

elar was silent for a moment, but his silence was eloquent.

seldon said, "you, i take it."

"might that not be the thing to do? i am a fellow sectoral citizen of the general, which may carry some weight. you are a busy man, getting 011 in years, and it would be easy to believe that you are not entirely well. and if i see him, rather than yourself-please excuse me, maestro-i can wiggle and maneuver more easily than you can."

"lie, you mean."

"if necessary."

"you'll be taking a huge chance."

"not too huge. i doubt that he will order my execution. if he becomes annoyed with me, as he well might, then i can plead-or you can plead on my behalf-youth and inexperience. in any case, if i get into trouble, that will be far less dangerous than if you were to do so. i'm thinking of the project, which can do without me a great deal more easily than it can without you."

seldon said with a frown, "i'm not going to hide behind you, elar. if the man wants to see me, he will see me. i refuse to shiver and shake and ask you to take chances for me. what do you think i am?"

"a frank and honest man-when the need is for a devious one."

"i will manage to be devious-if i must. please don't underestimate me, elar."

elar shrugged hopelessly. "very well. i can only argue with you up to a certain point."

"in fact, elar, i wish you had not postponed the meeting. i would rather skip my birthday and see the general than the reverse. this birthday celebration was not my idea." his voice died away in a grumble.

elar said, "i'm sorry."

"well," said seldon with resignation, "we'll see what happens."

he turned and left. sometimes he wished ardently that he could run what was called a "tight ship," making sure that everything went as he wished it to, leaving little or no room for maneuvering among his subordinates. to do that, however, would take enormous time, enormous effort, would deprive him of any chance of working on psychohistory himself-and, besides, he simply lacked the temperament for it.

he sighed. he would have to speak to amaryl.