Prelude to Foundation Chapter 13 Heatsink

AMARYL, YUGO-†¦ A mathematician who, next to Hari Seldon himself, may be considered most responsible for working out the details of psychohistory. It was he who†¦ †¦ Yet the conditions under which he began life are almost more dramatic than his mathematical accomplishments. Born into the hopeless poverty of the lower classes of Dahl, a sector of ancient Trantor, he might have passed his life in utter obscurity were it not for the fact that Seldon, quite by accident, encountered him in the course of†¦ Encyclopedia Galactica 61. The Emperor of all the Galaxy felt weary-physically weary. His lips ached from the gracious smile he had had to place on his face at careful intervals. His neck was stiff from having inclined his head this way and that in a feigned show of interest. His ears pained from having to listen. His whole body throbbed from having to rise and to sit and to turn and to hold out his hand and to nod. It was merely a state function where one had to meet Mayors and Viceroys and Ministers and their wives or husbands from here and there in Trantor and (worse) from here and there in the Galaxy. There were nearly a thousand present, all in costumes that varied from the ornate to the downright outlandish, and he had had to listen to a babble of different accents made the worse by an effort to speak the Emperor's Galactic as spoken at the Galactic University. Worst of all, the Emperor had had to remember to avoid making commitments of substance, while freely applying the lotion of words without substan ce. All had been recorded, sight and sound-very discreetly-and Eto Demerzel would go over it to see if Cleon, First of that Name, had behaved himself. That, of course, was only the way that the Emperor put it to himself. Demerzel would surely say that he was merely collecting data on any unintentional self-revelation on the pan of the guests. And perhaps he was. Fortunate Demerzel! The Emperor could not leave the Palace and its extensive grounds, while Demerzel could range the Galaxy if he wished. The Emperor was always on display, always accessible, always forced to deal with visitors, from the important to the merely intrusive. Demerzel remained anonymous and never allowed himself to be seen inside the Palace grounds. He remained merely a fearsome name and an invisible (and therefore the more frightening) presence. The Emperor was the Inside Man with all the trappings and emoluments of power. Demerzel was the Outside Man, with nothing evident, not even a formal title, but with his fingers and mind probing everywhere and asking for no reward for his tireless labors but one-the reality of power. It amused the Emperor-in a macabre sort of way-to consider that, at any moment, without warning, with a manufactured excuse or with none at all, he could have Demerzel arrested, imprisoned, exiled, tortured, or executed. After all, in these annoying centuries of constant unrest, the Emperor might have difficulty in exerting his will over the various planets of the Empire, even over the various sectors of Trantor-with their rabble of local executives and legislatures that he was forced to deal with in a maze of interlocking decrees, protocols, commitments, treaties, and general interstellar legalities-but at least his powers remained absolute over the Palace and its grounds. And yet Cleon knew that his dreams of power were useless. Demerzel had served his father and Cleon could not remember a time when he did not turn to Demerzel for everything. It was Demerzel who knew it all, devised it all, did it all. More than that, it was on Demerzel that anything that went wrong could be blamed . The Emperor himself remained above criticism and had nothing to fear-except, of course, palace coups and assassination by his nearest and dearest. It was to prevent this, above all, that he depended upon Demerzel. Emperor Cleon felt a tiny shudder at the thought of trying to do without Demerzel. There had been Emperors who had ruled personally, who had had a series of Chiefs of Staff of no talent, who had had incompetents serving in the post and had kept them-and somehow they had gotten along for a time and after a fashion. But Cleon could not. He needed Demerzel. In fact, now that the thought of assassination had come to him-and, in view of the modern history of the Empire, it was inevitable that it had come to him-he could see that getting rid of Demerzel was quite impossible. It couldn't be done. No matter how cleverly he, Cleon, would attempt to arrange it, Demerzel (he was sure) would anticipate the move somehow, would know it was on its way, and would arrange, with far superior cleverness, a palace coup. Cleon would be dead before Demerzel could possibly be taken away in chains and there would simply be another Emperor that Demerzel would serve-and dominate. Or would Demerzel tire of the game and make himself Emperor? Never! The habit of anonymity was too strong in him. If Demerzel exposed himself to the world, then his powers, his wisdom, his luck (whatever it was) would surely desert him. Cleon was convinced of that. He felt it to be beyond dispute. So while he behaved himself, Cleon was safe. With no ambitions of his own, Demerzel would serve him faithfully. And now here was Demerzel, dressed so severely and simply that it made Cleon uneasily conscious of the useless ornamentation of his robes of state, now thankfully removed with the aid of two valets. Naturally, it would not be until he was alone and in dishabille that Demerzel would glide into view. â€Å"Demerzel,† said the Emperor of all the Galaxy, â€Å"I am tired!† â€Å"State functions are tiring, Sire,† murmured Demerzel. â€Å"Then must I have them every evening?† â€Å"Not every evening, but they are essential. It gratifies others to see you and to be taken note of by you. It helps keep the Empire running smoothly.† â€Å"The Empire used to be kept running smoothly by power,† said the Emperor somberly. â€Å"Now it must be kept running by a smile, a wave of the hand, a murmured word, and a medal or a plaque.† â€Å"If all that keeps the peace, Sire, there is much to be said for it. And your reign proceeds well.† â€Å"You know why-because I have you at my side. My only real gift is that I am aware of your importance.† He looked at Demerzel slyly. â€Å"My son need not be my heir. He is not a talented boy. What if I make you my heir?† Demerzel said freezingly, â€Å"Sire, that is unthinkable. I would not usurp the throne. I would not steal it from your rightful heir. Besides, if I have displeased you, punish me justly. Surely, nothing I have done or could possibly do deserves the punishment of being made Emperor.† Cleon laughed. â€Å"For that true assessment of the value of the Imperial throne, Demerzel, I abandon any thought of punishing you. Come now, let us talk about something. I would sleep, but I am not yet ready for the ceremonies with which they put me to bed. Let us talk.† â€Å"About what, Sire?† â€Å"About anything.-About that mathematician and his psychohistory. I think about him every once in a while, you know. I thought of him at dinner tonight. I wondered: What if a psychohistorical analysis would predict a method for making it possible to be an Emperor without endless ceremony?† â€Å"I somehow think, Sire, that even the cleverest psychohistorian could not manage that.† â€Å"Well, tell me the latest. Is he still hiding among those peculiar baldheads of Mycogen? You promised you would winkle him out of there.† â€Å"So I did, Sire, and I moved in that direction, but I regret that I must say that I failed.† â€Å"Failed?† The Emperor allowed himself to frown. â€Å"I don't like that.† â€Å"Nor I, Sire. I planned to have the mathematician be encouraged to commit some blasphemous act-such acts are easy to commit in Mycogen, especially for an outsider-one that would call for severe punishment. The mathematician would then be forced to appeal to the Emperor and, as a result, we would get him. I planned it at the cost of insignificant concessions on our part-important to Mycogen, totally unimportant to us-and I meant to play no direct role in the arrangement. It was to be handled subtly.† â€Å"I dare say,† said Cleon, â€Å"but it failed. Did the Mayor of Mycogen â€Å"He is called the High Elder, Sire.† â€Å"Do not quibble over titles. Did this High Elder refuse?† â€Å"On the contrary, Sire, he agreed and the mathematician, Seldon, fell into the trap neatly.† â€Å"Well then?† â€Å"He was allowed to leave unharmed.† â€Å"Why?† said Cleon indignantly. â€Å"Of this I am not certain, Sire, but I suspect we were outbid.† â€Å"By whom? By the Mayor of Wye?† â€Å"Possibly, Sire, but I doubt that. I have Wye under constant surveillance. If they had gained the mathematician, I would know it by now.† The Emperor was not merely frowning. He was clearly enraged. â€Å"Demerzel, this is bad. I am greatly displeased. A failure like this makes me wonder if you are perhaps not the man you once were. What measures shall we take against Mycogen for this clear defiance of the Emperor's wishes?† Demerzel bowed low in recognition of the storm unleashed, but he said in steely tones, â€Å"It would be a mistake to move against Mycogen now, Sire. The disruption that would follow would play into the hands of Wye.† â€Å"But we must do something.† â€Å"Perhaps not, Sire. It is not as bad as it may seem.† â€Å"How can it be not as bad as it seems?† â€Å"You'll remember, Sire, that this mathematician was convinced that psychohistory was impractical.† â€Å"Of course I remember that, but that doesn't matter, does it? For our purposes?† â€Å"Perhaps not. But if it were to become practical, it would serve our purposes to an infinitely great extent, Sire. And from what I have been able to find out, the mathematician is now attempting to make psychohistory practical. His blasphemous attempt in Mycogen was, I understand, part of an attempt at solving the problem of psychohistory. In that case, it may pay us, Sire, to leave him to himself. It will serve us better to pick him up when he is closer to his goal or has reached it.† â€Å"Not if Wye gets him first.† â€Å"That, I shall see to it, will not happen.† â€Å"In the same way that you succeeded in winkling the mathematician out of Mycogen just now?† â€Å"I will not make a mistake the next time, Sire,† said Demerzel coldly. The Emperor said, â€Å"Demerzel, you had better not. I will not tolerate another mistake in this respect.† And then he added pettishly, â€Å"I think I shall not sleep tonight after all.† 62. Jirad Tisalver of the Dahl Sector was short. The top of his head came up only to Hari Seldon's nose. He did not seem to take that to heart, however. He had handsome, even features, was given to smiling, and sported a thick black mustache and crisply curling black hair. He lived, with his wife and a half-grown daughter, in an apartment of seven small rooms, kept meticulously clean, but almost bare of furnishings. Tisalver said, â€Å"I apologize, Master Seldon and Mistress Venabili, that I cannot give you the luxury to which you must be accustomed, but Dahl is a poor sector and I am not even among the better-off among our people.† â€Å"The more reason,† responded Seldon, â€Å"that we must apologize to you for placing the burden of our presence upon you.† â€Å"No burden, Master Seldon. Master Hummin has arranged to pay us generously for your use of our humble quarters and the credits would be welcome even if you were not-and you are.† Seldon remembered Hummin's parting words when they finally arrived in Dahl. â€Å"Seldon† he had said, â€Å"this is the third place I've arranged as sanctuary. The first two were notoriously beyond the reach of the Imperium, which might well have served to attract their attention; after all, they were logical places for you. This one is different. It is poor, unremarkable, and, as a matter of fact, unsafe in some ways. It is not a natural refuge for you, so that the Emperor and his Chief of Staff may not think to turn their eyes in this direction. Would you mind staying out of trouble this time, then?† â€Å"I will try, Hummin,† said Seldon, a little offended. â€Å"Please be aware that the trouble is not of my seeking. I am trying to learn what may well take me thirty lifetimes to learn if I am to have the slightest chance of organizing psychohistory.† â€Å"I understand,† said Hummin. â€Å"Your efforts at learning brought you to Upperside in Streeling and to the Elders' aerie in Mycogen and to who can guess where in Dahl. As for you, Dr. Venabili, I know you've been trying to take care of Seldon, but you must try harder. Get it fixed in your head that he is the most important person on Trantor-or in the Galaxy, for that matter-and that he must be kept secure at any cost.† â€Å"I will continue to do my best,† said Dors stiffly. â€Å"And as for your host family, they have their peculiarities, but they are essentially good people with whom I have dealt before. Try not to get them in trouble either.† But Tisalver, at least, did not seem to anticipate trouble of any kind from his new tenants and his expressed pleasure at the company he now had-quite apart from the rent credits he would be getting-seemed quite sincere. He had never been outside Dahl and his appetite for tales of distant places was enormous. His wife too, bowing and smiling, would listen and their daughter, with a finger in her mouth, would allow one eye to peep from behind the door. It was usually after dinner, when the entire family assembled, that Seldon and Dors were expected to talk of the outside world. The food was plentiful enough, but it was bland and often tough. So soon after the tangy food of Mycogen, it was all but inedible. The â€Å"table† was a long shelf against one wall and they ate standing up. Gentle questioning by Seldon elicited the fact that this was the usual situation among Dahlites as a whole and was not due to unusual poverty. Of course, Mistress Tisalver explained, there were those with high government jobs in Dahl who were prone to adopt all kinds of effete customs like chairs-she called them â€Å"body shelves†-but this was looked down upon by the solid middle class. Much as they disapproved of unnecessary luxury, though, the Tisalvers loved hearing about it, listening with a virtual storm of tongue-clicking when told of mattresses lifted on legs, of ornate chests and wardrobes, and of a superfluity of tableware. They listened also to a description of Mycogenian customs, while Jirad Tisalver stroked his own hair complacently and made it quite obvious that he would as soon think of emasculation as of depilation. Mistress Tisalver was furious at any mention of female subservience and flatly refused to believe that the Sisters accepted it tranquilly. They seized most, however, on Seldon's. casual reference to the Imperial grounds. When, upon questioning, it turned out that Seldon had actually seen and spoken to the Emperor, a blanket of awe enveloped the family. It took a while before they dared ask questions and Seldon found that he could not satisfy them. He had not, after all, seen much of the grounds and even less of the Palace interior. That disappointed the Tisalvers and they were unremitting in their attempts to elicit more. And, having heard of Seldon's Imperial adventure, they found it hard to believe Dors's assertion that, for her part, she had never been anywhere in the Imperial grounds. Most of all, they rejected Seldon's casual comment that the Emperor had talked and behaved very much as any ordinary human being would. That seemed utterly impossible to the Tisalvers. After three evenings of this, Seldon found himself tiring. He had, at first, welcomed the chance to do nothing for a while (during the day, at least) but view some of the history book-films that Dors recommended. The Tisalvers turned over their book-viewer to their guests during the day with good grace, though the little girl seemed unhappy and was sent over to a neighbor's apartment to use theirs for her homework. â€Å"It doesn't help,† Seldon said restlessly in the security of his room after he had piped in some music to discourage eavesdropping. â€Å"I can see your fascination with history, but it's all endless detail. It's a mountainous heap-no, a Galactic heap-of data in which I can't see the basic organization.† â€Å"I dare say,† said Dors, â€Å"that there must have been a time when human beings saw no organization in the stars in the sky, but eventually they discovered the Galactic structure.† â€Å"And I'm sure that took generations, not weeks. There must have been a time when physics seemed a mass of unrelated observations before the central natural laws were discovered and that took generations.-And what of the Tisalvers?† â€Å"What of them? I think they're being very nice.† â€Å"They're curious.† â€Å"Of course they are. Wouldn't you be if you were in their place?† â€Å"But is it just curiosity? They seem to be ferociously interested in my meeting with the Emperor.† Dors seemed impatient. â€Å"Again†¦ its only natural. Wouldn't you be-if the situation was reversed?† â€Å"It makes me nervous.† â€Å"Hummin brought us here.† â€Å"Yes, but he's not perfect. He brought me to the University and I was maneuvered Upperside. He brought us to Sunmaster Fourteen, who entrapped us. You know he did. Twice bitten, at least once shy. I'm tired of being questioned.† â€Å"Then turn the tables, Hari. Aren't you interested in Dahl?† â€Å"Of course. What do you know about it to begin with?† â€Å"Nothing. It's just one of more than eight hundred sectors and I've only been on Trantor a little over two years.† â€Å"Exactly. And there are twenty-five million other worlds and I've been on this problem only a little over two months.-I tell you. I want to go back to Helicon and take up a study of the mathematics of turbulence, which was my Ph.D. problem, and forget I ever saw-or thought I saw-that turbulence gave an insight into human society.† But that evening he said to Tisalver, â€Å"But you know, Master Tisalver, you've never told me what you do, the nature of your work.† â€Å"Me?† Tisalver placed his fingers on his chest, which was covered by the simple white T-shirt with nothing underneath, which seemed to be the standard male uniform in Dahl. â€Å"Nothing much. I work at the local holovision station in programming. It's very dull, but it's a living.† â€Å"And it's respectable,† said Mistress Tisalver. â€Å"It means he doesn't have to work in the heatsinks.† â€Å"The heatsinks?† said Dors, lifting her light eyebrows and managing to look fascinated. â€Å"Oh well,† said Tisalver, â€Å"that's what Dahl is best known for. It isn't much, but forty billion people on Trantor need energy and we supply a lot of it. We don't get appreciated, but I'd like to see some of the fancy sectors do without it.† Seldon looked confused. â€Å"Doesn't Trantor get its energy from solar power stations in orbit?† â€Å"Some,† said Tisalver, â€Å"and some from nuclear fusion stations out on the islands and some from microfusion motors and some from wind stations Upperside, but half†-he raised a finger in emphasis and his face looked unusually grave-â€Å"half comes from the heatsinks. There are heatsinks in lots of places, but none-none-as rich as those in Dahl. Are you serious that you don't know about the heatsinks? You sit there and stare at me.† Dors said quickly, â€Å"We are Outworlders, you know.† (She had almost said ‘tribespeople,' but had caught herself in time.) â€Å"Especially Dr. Seldon. He's only been on Trantor a couple of months.† â€Å"Really?† said Mistress Tisalver. She was a trifle shorter than her husband, was plump without quite being fat, had her dark hair drawn tightly back into a bun, and possessed rather beautiful dark eyes. Like her husband, she appeared to be in her thirties. (After a period in Mycogen, not actually long in duration but intense, it struck Dors as odd to have a woman enter the conversation at will. How quickly modes and manners establish themselves, she thought, and made a mental note to mention that to Seldon-one more item for his psychohistory.) â€Å"Oh yes,† she said. â€Å"Dr. Seldon is from Helicon.† Mistress Tisalver registered polite ignorance. â€Å"And where might that be?† Dors said, â€Å"Why, it's-† She turned to Seldon. â€Å"Where is it, Hari?† Seldon looked abashed. â€Å"To tell you the truth, I don't think I could locate it very easily on a Galactic model without looking up the coordinates. All I can say is that it's on the other side of the central black hole from Trantor and getting there by hypership is rather a chore.† Mistress Tisalver said, â€Å"I don't think Jirad and I will ever be on a hypership.† â€Å"Someday, Casilia,† said Tisalver cheerfully, â€Å"maybe we will. But tell us about Helicon, Master Seldon.† Seldon shook his head. â€Å"To me that would be dull. Its just a world, like any other. Only Trantor is different from all the rest. There are no heatsinks on Helicon-or probably anywhere else-except Trantor. Tell me about them.† (â€Å"Only Trantor is different from all the rest.† The sentence repeated itself in Seldon's mind and for a moment he grasped at it, and for some reason Dors's hand-on-thigh story suddenly recurred to him, but Tisalver was speaking and it passed out of Seldon's mind as quickly as it had entered.) Tisalver said, â€Å"If you really want to know about heatsinks, I can show you.† He turned to his wife. â€Å"Casilia, would you mind if tomorrow evening I take Master Seldon to the heatsinks.† â€Å"And me,† said Dors quickly. â€Å"And Mistress Venabili?† Mistress Tisalver frowned and said sharply, â€Å"I don't think it would be a good idea. Our visitors would find it dull.† â€Å"I don't think so, Mistress Tisalver,† said Seldon ingratiatingly. â€Å"We would very much like to see the heatsinks. We would be delighted if you would join us too†¦ and your little daughter-if she wants to come.† â€Å"To the heatsinks?† said Mistress Tisalver, stiffening. â€Å"It's no place at all for a decent woman.† Seldon felt embarrassed at his gaffe. â€Å"I meant no harm, Mistress Tisalver.† â€Å"No offense,† said Tisalver. â€Å"Casilia thinks it's beneath us and so it is, but as long as I don't work there, it's no distress merely to visit and show it to guests. But it is uncomfortable and I would never get Casilia to dress properly.† They got up from their crouching positions. Dahlite â€Å"chairs† were merely molded plastic seats on small wheels and they cramped Seldon's knees terribly and seemed to wiggle at his least body movement. The Tisalvers, however, had mastered the art of sitting firmly and rose without trouble and without needing to use their arms for help as Seldon had to. Dors also got up without trouble and Seldon once again marveled at her natural grace. Before they parted to their separate rooms for the night, Seldon said to Dors, â€Å"Are you sure you know nothing about heatsinks? Mistress Tisalver makes them seem unpleasant.† â€Å"They can't be that unpleasant or Tisalver wouldn't suggest taking us on tour. Let's be content to be surprised.† 63. Tisalver said, â€Å"You'll need proper clothing.† Mistress Tisalver sniffed markedly in the background. Cautiously, Seldon, thinking of kirtles with vague distress, said, â€Å"What do you mean by proper clothing?† â€Å"Something light, such as I wear. A T-shirt, very short sleeves, loose slacks, loose underpants, foot socks, open sandals. I have it all for you.† â€Å"Good. It doesn't sound bad.† â€Å"As for Mistress Venabili, I have the same. I hope it fits.† The clothes Tisalver supplied each of them (which were his own) fit fine-if a bit snugly. When they were ready, they bade Mistress Tisalver good-bye and she, with a resigned if still disapproving air, watched them from the doorway as they set off. It was early evening and there was an attractive twilight glow above. It was clear that Dahl's lights would soon be winking on. The temperature was mild and there were virtually no vehicles to be seen; everyone was walking. In the distance was the ever-present hum of an Expressway and the occasional glitter of its lights could be easily seen. The Dahlites, Seldon noted, did not seem to be walking toward any particular destination. Rather, there seemed to be a promenade going on, a walking for pleasure. Perhaps, if Dahl was an impoverished sector, as Tisalver had implied, inexpensive entertainment was at a premium and what was as pleasant-and as inexpensive-as an evening stroll? Seldon felt himself easing automatically into the gait of an aimless stroll himself and felt the warmth of friendliness all around him. People greeted each other as they passed and exchanged a few words. Black mustaches of different shape and thickness flashed everywhere and seemed a requisite for the Dahlite male, as ubiquitous as the bald heads of the Mycogenian Brothers. It was an evening rite, a way of making sure that another day had passed safely and that one's friends were still well and happy. And, it soon became apparent, Dors caught every eye. In the twilight glow, the ruddiness of her hair had deepened, but it stood out against the sea of black-haired heads (except for the occasional gray) like a gold coin winking its way across a pile of coal. â€Å"This is very pleasant,† said Seldon. â€Å"It is,† said Tisalver. â€Å"Ordinarily, I'd be walking with my wife and she'd be in her element. There is no one for a kilometer around whom she doesn't know by name, occupation, and interrelationships. I can't do that. Right now, half the people who greet me†¦ I couldn't tell you their names. But, in any case, we mustn't creep along too slowly. We must get to the elevator. It's a busy world on the lower levels.† They were on the elevator going down when Dors said, â€Å"I presume, Master Tisalver, that the heatsinks are places where the internal heat of Trantor is being used to produce steam that will turn turbines and produce electricity.† â€Å"Oh, no. Highly efficient large-scale thermopiles produce electricity directly. Don't ask me the details, please. I'm just a holovision programmer. In fact, don't ask anyone the details down there. The whole thing is one big black box. It works, but no one knows how.† â€Å"What if something goes wrong?† â€Å"It doesn't usually, but if it does, some expert comes over from somewhere. Someone who understands computers. The whole thing is highly computerized, of course.† The elevator came to a halt and they stepped out. A blast of heat struck them. â€Å"It's hot,† said Seldon quite unnecessarily. â€Å"Yes, it is,† said Tisalver. â€Å"That's what makes Dahl so valuable as an energy source. The magma layer is nearer the surface here than it is anywhere else in the world. So you have to work in the heat.† â€Å"How about air-conditioning?† said Dors. â€Å"There is air-conditioning, but it's a matter of expense. We ventilate and dehumidify and cool, but if we go too far, then we're using up too much energy and the whole process becomes too expensive.† Tisalver stopped at a door at which he signaled. It opened to a blast of cooler air and he muttered, â€Å"We ought to be able to get someone to help show us around and he'll control the remarks that Mistress Venabili will otherwise be the victim of†¦ at least from the men.† â€Å"Remarks won't embarrass me,† said Dors. â€Å"They will embarrass me,† said Tisalver. A young man walked out of the office and introduced himself as Hano Linder. He resembled Tisalver quite closely, but Seldon decided that until he got used to the almost universal shortness, swarthiness, black hair, and luxuriant mustaches, he would not be able to see individual differences easily. Lindor said, â€Å"I'll be glad to show you around for what there is to see. It's not one of your spectaculars, you know.† He addressed them all, but his eyes were fixed on Dors. He said, â€Å"It's not going to be comfortable. I suggest we remove our shirts.† â€Å"It's nice and cool in here,† said Seldon. â€Å"Of course, but that's because we're executives. Rank has its privileges. Out there we can't maintain air-conditioning at this level. That's why they get paid more than I do. In fact, those are the best-paying jobs in Dahl, which is the only reason we get people to work down here. Even so, it's getting harder to get heatsinkers all the time.† He took a deep breath. â€Å"Okay, out into the soup.† He removed his own shirt and tucked it into his waistband. Tisalver did the same and Seldon followed suit. Linder glanced at Dors and said, â€Å"For your own comfort, Mistress, but it's not compulsory.† â€Å"That's all right,† said Dors and removed her shirt. Her brassiere was white, unpadded, and showed considerable cleavage. â€Å"Mistress,† said Lindor, â€Å"That's not-† He thought a moment, then shrugged and said, â€Å"All right. We'll get by.† At first, Seldon was aware only of computers and machinery, huge pipes, flickering lights, and flashing screens. The overall light was comparatively dim, though individual sections of machinery were illuminated. Seldon looked up into the almost-darkness. He said, â€Å"Why isn't it better lit?† â€Å"It's lit well enough†¦ where it should be,† said Lindor. His voice was well modulated and he spoke quickly, but a little harshly. â€Å"Overall illumination is kept low for psychological reasons. Too bright is translated, in the mind, into heat. Complaints go up when we turn up the lights, even when the temperature is made to go down.† Dors said, â€Å"It seems to be well computerized. I should think the operations could be turned over to computers altogether. This sort of environment is made for artificial intelligence.† â€Å"Perfectly right,† said Lindor, â€Å"but neither can we take a chance on any failures. We need people on the spot if anything goes wrong. A malfunctioning computer can raise problems up to two thousand kilometers away.† â€Å"So can human error. Isn't that so?† said Seldon. â€Å"Oh. yes, but with both people and computers on the job, computer error can be more quickly tracked down and corrected by people and, conversely, human error can be more quickly corrected by computers. What it amounts to is that nothing serious can happen unless human error and computer error take place simultaneously. And that hardly ever happens.† â€Å"Hardly ever, but not never, eh?† said Seldon. â€Å"Almost never, but not never. Computers aren't what they used to be and neither are people.† â€Å"That's the way it always seems,† said Seldon, laughing slightly. â€Å"No, no. I'm not talking memory. I'm not talking good old days. I'm talking statistics.† At this, Seldon recalled Hummin talking of the degeneration of the times. â€Å"See what I mean?† said Lindor, his voice dropping. â€Å"There's a bunch of people, at the C-3 level from the looks of them, drinking. Not one of them is at his or her post.† â€Å"What are they drinking?† asked Dors. â€Å"Special fluids for replacing electrolyte loss. Fruit juice.† â€Å"You can't blame them, can you?† said Dors indignantly. â€Å"In this dry heat, you would have to drink.† â€Å"Do you know how long a skilled C-3 can spin out a drink? And there's nothing to be done about it either. If we give them five-minute breaks for drinks and stagger them so they don't all congregate in a group, you simply stir up a rebellion.† They were approaching the group now. There were men and women (Dahl seemed to be a more or less amphisexual society) and both sexes were shirtless. The women wore devices that might be called brassieres, but they were strictly functional. They served to lift the breasts in order to improve ventilation and limit perspiration, but covered nothing. Dors said in an aside to Seldon, â€Å"That makes sense, Hari. I'm soaking wet there.† â€Å"Take off your brassiere, then,† said Seldon. â€Å"I won't lift a finger to stop you.† â€Å"Somehow,† said Dors, â€Å"I guessed you wouldn't.† She left her brassiere where it was. They were approaching the congregation of people-about a dozen of them. Dors said, â€Å"If any of them make rude remarks, I shall survive.† â€Å"Thank you,† said Lindor. â€Å"I cannot promise they won't.-But I'll have to introduce you. If they get the idea that you two are inspectors and in my company, they'll become unruly. Inspectors are supposed to poke around on their own without anyone from management overseeing them.† He held up his arms. â€Å"Heatsinkers, I have two introductions to make. We have visitors from outside-two Outworlders, two scholars. They've got worlds running short on energy and they've come here to see how we do it here in Dahl. They think they may learn something.† â€Å"They'll learn how to sweat!† shouted a heatsinker and there was raucous laughter. â€Å"She's got a sweaty chest right now,† shouted a woman, â€Å"covering up like that.† Dors shouted back, â€Å"I'd take it off, but mine can't compete with yours.† The laughter turned good-natured. But one young man stepped forward, staring at Seldon with intense deep-set eyes, his face set into a humorless mask. He said, â€Å"I know you. You're the mathematician.† He ran forward, inspecting Seldon's face with eager solemnity. Automatically, Dors stepped in front of Seldon and Lindor stepped in front of her, shouting, â€Å"Back, heatsinker. Mind your manners.† Seldon said, â€Å"Wait! Let him talk to me. Why is everyone piling in front of me?† Lindor said in a low voice, â€Å"If any of them get close, you'll find they don't smell like hothouse flowers.† â€Å"I'll endure it,† said Seldon brusquely. â€Å"Young man, what is it you want?† â€Å"My name is Amaryl. Yugo Amaryl. I've seen you on holovision.† â€Å"You might have, but what about it?† â€Å"I don't remember your name.† â€Å"You don't have to.† â€Å"You talked about something called psychohistory.† â€Å"You don't know how I wish I hadn't.† â€Å"What?† â€Å"Nothing. What is it you want?† â€Å"I want to talk to you. Just for a little while. Now.† Seldon looked at Lindor, who shook his head firmly. â€Å"Not while he's on his shift.† â€Å"When does your shift begin, Mr. Amaryl?† asked Seldon. â€Å"Sixteen hundred.† â€Å"Can you see me tomorrow at fourteen hundred?† â€Å"Sure. Where?† Seldon turned to Tisalver. Would you permit me to see him in your place?† Tisalver looked very unhappy. â€Å"Its not necessary. He's just a heatsinker.† Seldon said, â€Å"He recognized my face. He knows something about me. He can't be just an anything. I'll see him in my room.† And then, as Tisalver's face didn't soften, he added, â€Å"My room, for which rent is being paid. And you'll be at work, out of the apartment.† Tisalver said in a low voice, â€Å"It's not me, Master Seldon. It's my wife, Casilia. She won't stand for it.† â€Å"I'll talk to her,† said Seldon grimly. â€Å"She'll have to.† 64. Casilia Tisalver opened her eyes wide. â€Å"A heatsinker? Not in my apartment.† â€Å"Why not? Besides, he'll be coming to my room,† said Seldon. â€Å"At fourteen hundred.† â€Å"I won't have it,† said Mistress Tisalver. â€Å"This is what comes of going down to the heatsinks. Jirad was a fool.† â€Å"Not at all, Mistress Tisalver. We went at my request and I was fascinated. I must see this young man, since that is necessary to my scholarly work.† â€Å"I'm sorry if it is, but I won't have it.† Dors Venabili raised her hand. â€Å"Hari, let me take care of this. Mistress Tisalver, if Dr. Seldon must see someone in his room this afternoon, the additional person naturally means additional rent. We understand that. For today, then, the rent on Dr. Seldon's room will be doubled.† Mistress Tisalver thought about it. â€Å"Well, that's decent of you, but it's not only the credits. There's the neighbors to think of. A sweaty, smelly heatsinker-â€Å" â€Å"I doubt that he'll be sweaty and smelly at fourteen hundred, Mistress Tisalver, but let me go on. Since Dr. Seldon must see him, then if he can't see him here, he'll have to see him elsewhere, but we can't run here and there. That would be too inconvenient. Therefore, what we will have to do is to get a room elsewhere. It won't be easy and we don't want to do it, but we will have to. So we will pay the rent through today and leave and of course we will have to explain to Master Hummin why we have had to change the arrangements that he so kindly made for us.† â€Å"Wait.† Mistress Tisalver's face became a study of calculation. â€Å"We wouldn't like to disoblige Master Hummin†¦ or you two. How long would this creature have to stay?† â€Å"He's coming at fourteen hundred. He must be at work at sixteen hundred. He will be here for less than two hours, perhaps considerably less. We will meet him outside, the two of us, and bring him to Dr. Seldon's room. Any neighbors who see us will think he is an Outworlder friend of ours.† Mistress Tisalver nodded her head. â€Å"Then let it be as you say. Double rent for Master Seldon's room for today and the heatsinker will visit just this one time.† â€Å"Just this one time,† said Dors. But later, when Seldon and Dors were sitting in her room, Dors said, â€Å"Why do you have to see him, Hari? Is interviewing a heatsinker important to psychohistory too?† Seldon thought he detected a small edge of sarcasm in her voice and he said tartly, â€Å"I don't have to base everything on this huge project of mine, in which I have very little faith anyway. I am also a human being with human curiosities. We were down in the heatsinks for hours and you saw what the working people there were like. They were obviously uneducated. They were low-level individuals-no play on words intended-and yet here was one who recognized me. He must have seen me on holovision on the occasion of the Decennial Convention and he remembered the word ‘psychohistory.' He strikes me as unusual-as out of place somehow-and I would like to talk to him.† â€Å"Because it pleases your vanity to have become known even to heatsinkers in Dahl?† â€Å"Well†¦ perhaps. But it also piques my curiosity.† â€Å"And how do you know he hasn't been briefed and intends to lead you into trouble as has happened before.† Seldon winced. â€Å"I won't let him run his fingers through my hair. In any case, we're more nearly prepared now, aren't we? And I'm sure you'll be with me. I mean, you let me go Upperside alone, you let me go with Raindrop Forty-Three to the microfarms alone, and you're not going to do that again, are you?† â€Å"You can be absolutely sure I won't,† said Dors. â€Å"Well then, I'll talk to the young man and you can watch out for traps. I have every faith in you.† 65. 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 Seldon's room. Amaryl said in a low hangdog voice, â€Å"Nobody home, huh?† â€Å"Everyone's busy,† said Seldon neutrally. He indicated the only chair in the room, a pad directly on the floor. â€Å"No,† said Amaryl. â€Å"I don't 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 Seldon's 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, â€Å"Well, young man, why do you want to see me?† â€Å"Because you're a mathematician. You're the first mathematician I ever saw-close up-so I could touch him, you know.† â€Å"Mathematicians feel like anyone else.† â€Å"Not to me, Dr†¦ Dr†¦ Seldon?† â€Å"That's my name.† Amaryl looked pleased. â€Å"I finally remembered.-You see, I want to be a mathematician too.† â€Å"Very good. What's stopping you?† Amaryl suddenly frowned. â€Å"Are you serious?† â€Å"I presume something is stopping you. Yes, I'm serious.† â€Å"What's stopping me is I'm a Dahlite, a heatsinker on Dahl. I don't have the money to get an education and I can't 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.† â€Å"In some ways, that's the best kind of teaching. How did you do that?† â€Å"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. I'd come on my days off and on mornings after my shift. Sometimes she'd lock me in her private room so I wouldn't be bothered by people coming in or she would let me in when the library was closed. She didn't 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 didn't 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.) â€Å"I liked number theory,† said Amaryl. â€Å"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 weren't in the book-films.† Seldon raised his eyebrows. â€Å"That's interesting. Like what?† â€Å"I've brought some of them to you. I've never showed them to anyone. The people around me-† He shrugged. â€Å"They'd either laugh or be annoyed. Once I tried to tell a girl I knew, but she just said I was weird and wouldn't see me anymore. Is it all right for me to show them to you?† â€Å"Quite all right. Believe me.† Seldon held out his hand and after a brief hesitation, Amaryl handed him the bag he was carrying. For a long time, Seldon looked over Amaryl's 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 didn't matter. Seldon looked up. â€Å"Did you do all of this yourself?† Amaryl, looking more than half-frightened, nodded his head. Seldon extracted several sheets. â€Å"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, â€Å"Did you ever read a book by Anat Bigell?† â€Å"On number theory?† â€Å"The title was Mathematical Deduction. It wasn't about number theory, particularly.† Amaryl shook his head. â€Å"I never heard of him. I'm sorry.† â€Å"He worked out this theorem of yours three hundred years ago.' Amaryl looked stricken. â€Å"I didn't know that.† â€Å"I'm sure you didn't. You did it more cleverly, though. It's not rigorous, but-â€Å" â€Å"What do you mean, ‘rigorous'?† â€Å"It doesn't matter.† Seldon put the papers back together in a sheaf, restored it to the bag, and said, â€Å"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. You'll have to start at the beginning and take courses in other subjects than mathematics, but-â€Å" By now Amaryl had caught his breath. â€Å"Into Streeling University? They won't take me.† â€Å"Why not? Dors, you can arrange it, can't you?† â€Å"I'm sure I can.† â€Å"No, you can't,† said Amaryl hotly. â€Å"They won't take me. I'm from Dahl.† â€Å"Well?† â€Å"They won't take people from Dahl.† Seldon looked at Dors. â€Å"What's he talking about?† Dors shook her head. â€Å"I really don't know.† Amaryl said, â€Å"You're an Outworlder, Mistress. How long have you been at Streeling?† â€Å"A little over two years, Mr. Amaryl.† â€Å"Have you ever seen Dahlites there-short, curly black hair, big mustaches?† â€Å"There are students with all kinds of appearances.† â€Å"But no Dahlites. Look again the next time you're there.† â€Å"Why not?† said Seldon. â€Å"They don't like us. We look different. They don't like our mustaches.† â€Å"You can shave your-† but Seldon's voice died under the other's furious glance. â€Å"Never. Why should I? My mustache is my manhood.† â€Å"You shave your beard. That's your manhood too.† â€Å"To my people it is the mustache.† Seldon looked at Dors again and murmured, â€Å"Bald heads, mustaches†¦ madness.† â€Å"What?† said Amaryl angrily. â€Å"Nothing. Tell me what else they don't like about Dahlites.† â€Å"They make up things not to like. They say we smell. They say we're dirty. They say we steal. They say we're violent. They say we're dumb.† â€Å"Why do they say all this?† â€Å"Because its easy to say it and it makes them feel good. Sure, if we work in the heatsinks, we get dirty and smelly. If we're poor and held down, some of us steal and get violent. But that isn't the way it is with all of us. How about those tall yellow-hairs in the Imperial Sector who think they own the Galaxy-no, they do own the Galaxy. Don't they ever get violent? Don't they steal sometimes? If they did my job, they'd smell the way I do. If they had to live the way I have to, they'd get dirty too.† â€Å"Who denies that there are people of all kinds in all places?† said Seldon. â€Å"No one argues the matter! They just take it for granted. Master Seldon, I've got to get away from Trantor. I have no chance on Trantor, no way of earning credits, no way of getting an education, no way of becoming a mathematician, no way of becoming any thing but what they say I am†¦ a worthless nothing.† This last was said in frustration-and desperation. Seldon tried to be reasonable. â€Å"The person I'm renting this room from is a Dahlite. He has a clean job. He's educated.† â€Å"Oh sure,† said Amaryl passionately. â€Å"There are some. They let a few do it so that they can say it can be done. And those few can live nicely as long as they stay in Dahl. Let them go outside and they'll see how they're treated. And while they're in here they make themselves feel good by treating the rest of us like dirt. That makes them yellow-hairs in their own eyes. What did this nice person you're renting this room from say when you told him you were bringing in a heatsinker? What did he say I would be like? They're gone now†¦ wouldn't be in the same place with me.† Seldon moistened his lips. â€Å"I won't forget you. I'll see to it that you'll get off Trantor and into my own University in Helicon-once I'm back there myself.† â€Å"Do you promise that? Your word of honor? Even though I'm a Dahlite?† â€Å"The fact that you're a Dahlite is unimportant to me. The fact that you are already a mathematician is! But I still can't quite grasp what you're telling me. I find it impossible to believe that there would be such unreasoning feeling against harmless people.† Amaryl said bitterly, â€Å"That's because you've never had any occasion to interest yourself in such things. It can all pass right under your nose and you wouldn't smell a thing because it doesn't affect you. † Dors said, â€Å"Mr. Amaryl, Dr. Seldon is a mathematician like you and his head can sometimes be in the clouds. You must understand that. I am a historian, however. I know that it isn't unusual to have one group of people look down upon another group. There are peculiar and almost ritualistic hatreds that have no rational justification and that can have their serious historical influence. It's too bad.† Amaryl said, â€Å"Saying something is ‘too bad' is easy. You say you disapprove, which makes you a nice person, and then you can go about your own business and not be interested anymore. It's a lot worse than ‘too bad.' It's against everything decent and natural. We're all of us the same, yellow-hairs and black-hairs, tall and short, Easterners, Westerners, Southerners, and Outworlders. We're all of us, you and I and even the Emperor, descended from the people of Earth, aren't we?† â€Å"Descended from what?† asked Seldon. He turned to look at Dors, his eyes wide. â€Å"From the people of Earth!† shouted Amaryl. â€Å"The one planet on which human beings originated.† â€Å"One planet? Just one planet?† â€Å"The only planet. Sure. Earth.† â€Å"When you say Earth, you mean Aurora, don't you?† â€Å"Aurora? What's that?-I mean Earth. Have you never heard of Earth?† â€Å"No,† said Seldon. â€Å"Actually not.† â€Å"It's a mythical world,† began Dors, â€Å"that-â€Å" â€Å"It's not mythical. It was a real planet.† Seldon sighed. â€Å"I've heard this all before. Well, let's go through it again. Is there a Dahlite book that tells of Earth?† â€Å"What?† â€Å"Some computer software, then?† â€Å"I don't know what you're talking about.† â€Å"Young man, where did you hear about Earth?† â€Å"My dad told me. Everyone knows about it.† â€Å"Is there anyone who knows about it especially? Did they teach you about it in school?† â€Å"They never said a word about it there.† â€Å"Then how do people know about it?† Amaryl shrugged his shoulders with an air of being uselessly badgered over nothing. â€Å"Everyone just does. If you want stories about it, there's Mother Rittah. I haven't heard that she's died yet.† â€Å"Your mother? Wouldn't you know-â€Å" â€Å"She's not my mother. That's just what they call her. Mother Rittah. She's an old woman. She lives in Billibotton. Or used to.† â€Å"Where's that?† â€Å"Down in that direction,† said Amaryl, gesturing vaguely. â€Å"How do I get there?† â€Å"Get there? You don't want to get there. You'd never come back.† â€Å"Why not?† â€Å"Believe me. You don't want to go there.† â€Å"But I'd like to see Mother Rittah.† Amaryl shook his head. â€Å"Can you use a knife?† â€Å"For what purpose? What kind of knife?† â€Å"A cutting knife. Like this.† Amaryl reached down to the belt that held his pants tight about his waist. A section of it came away and from one end there flashed out a knife blade, thin, gleaming, and deadly. Dors's hand immediately came down hard upon his right wrist. Amaryl laughed. â€Å"I wasn't planning to use it. I was just showing it to you.† He put the knife back in his belt. â€Å"You need one in self-defense and if you don't have one or if you have one but don't know how to use it, you'll never get out of Billibotton alive. Anyway†-he suddenly grew very grave and intent-â€Å"are you really serious, Master Seldon, about helping me get to Helicon?† â€Å"Entirely serious. That's a promise. Write down your name and where you can be reached by hypercomputer. You have a code, I suppose.† â€Å"My shift in the heatsinks has one. Will that do?† â€Å"Yes.† â€Å"Well then,† said Amaryl, looking up earnestly at Seldon, â€Å"this means I have my whole future riding on you, Master Seldon, so please don't go to Billibotton. I can't afford to lose you now.† He turned beseeching eyes on Dors and said softly, â€Å"Mistress Venabili, if he'll listen to you, don't let him go. Please.†

Wordless Picture Books

Flotsam By David Wiesner A bright, science-minded boy goes to the beach equipped to collect and examine flotsam — anything floating that has been washed ashore. Bottles, lost toys, small objects of every description are among his usual finds. But there's no way he could have prepared for one particular discovery: a barnacle-encrusted underwater camera, with its own secrets to share†¦ and to keep The Three Pigs By David Wiesner Once upon a time three pigs built three houses, out of straw, sticks, and bricks.Along came a wolf, who huffed and puffed†¦ So, you think you know the rest? Think again. With David Wiesner at the helm, it's never safe to assume too much. When the wolf approaches the first house, for example, and blows it in, he somehow manages to blow the pig right out of the story frame. The text continues on schedule–â€Å"†¦ and ate the pig up†Ã¢â‚¬â€œbut the perplexed expression on the wolf's face as he looks in vain for his ham dinner is priceless. One by one, the pigs exit the fairy tale's border and set off on an adventure of their own.Folding a page of their own story into a paper airplane, the pigs fly off to visit other storybooks, rescuing about-to-be-slain dragons and luring the cat and the fiddle out of their nursery rhyme. A Ball for Daisy Chris Rashka 3 and up Daisy is a dog with a ball, and life could not be better. There are games of chase, cuddle times on the couch, and walks in the park; however, tragedy strikes when Daisy’s ball bursts (literally). Daisy is pretty depressed, until she receives a present from an unexpected friend. The good: This is a delightful story. Daisy is the quintessential dog who loves to play, play, play.Chris Raschka (author/illustrator of the 2006 Caldecott winner, â€Å"Hello, Goodbye Window†) tells a story of a dog who loves a ball, and does so entirely through pictures†¦aka: no words. Sometimes these types of books make me nervous because they can be di fficult to ‘read’ aloud to kids; however, Raschka’s watercolor illustrations are playful, fun, and make telling the story a piece of cake. In fact, this is a story that can be told collaboratively. Let the kids tell you what Daisy is doing in a picture and how Daisy feels in another. The flow of the story does get a little confusing when the format of the illustrations switch from page to page.For example, sometimes there is a picture for each page and sometimes the picture goes across both pages. I had to re-read a few pages the first time because I got a little confused on the order of the pictures, but this is a small issue, and you should not be deterred from checking this book out from your local library. This is a story worth reading and telling. The Lion and the Mouse By Jerry Pinkney In award-winning artist Jerry Pinkney's wordless adaptation of one of Aesop's most beloved fables, an unlikely pair learn that no act of kindness is ever wasted.After a feroc ious lion spares a cowering mouse that he'd planned to eat, the mouse later comes to his rescue, freeing him from a poacher's trap. With vivid depictions of the landscape of the African Serengeti and expressively-drawn characters, Pinkney makes this a truly special retelling, and his stunning pictures speak volumes. This is a visual retelling of the classic Aesop fable: A lion, awakened by a mouse climbing over him, catches the tiny animal in his mighty paw. The mouse appeals for mercy and the lion relents. Soon after, the lion is captured in a poachers’ net.The mouse hears his anguished roars and comes to his aid, gnawing the ropes until the great creature is freed. The Red Book By Barbara Lehman Kindergarten-Grade 6–This perfectly eloquent wordless book tells the complex story of a reader who gets lost, literally, in a little book that has the magic to move her to another place. On her winter-gray walk to school, a young girl spies a book's red cover sticking out of a snowdrift and picks it up. During class, she opens her treasure and finds a series of square illustrations showing a map, then an island, then a beach, and finally a boy.He finds a red book buried in the sand, picks it up, opens it, and sees a sequence of city scenes that eventually zoom in on the girl. As the youngsters view one another through the pages of their respective volumes, they are at first surprised and then break into smiles. After school, the girl buys bunches of helium balloons and floats off into the sky, accidentally dropping her book along the way. It lands on the street below and through its pages readers see the girl reach her destination and greet her new friend, and it isn't long before another child picks up that magical red book.Done in watercolor, gouache, and ink, the simple, streamlined pictures are rife with invitations to peek inside, to investigate further, and–like a hall of mirrors–reflect, refract, repeat, and reveal. Lehman's story c aptures the magical possibility that exists every time readers open a book–if they allow it: they can leave the â€Å"real world† behind and, like the heroine, be transported by the helium of their imaginations Pancakes for Breakfast By Tomie DePaola Set in the country, â€Å"Pancakes for Breakfast† is a story of a lady who wakes up one cold winter morning and decides to make warm pancakes.While originally published in l978, it remains a delightful, timeless lesson on how pancakes are really made. There's not a frozen package or mix box in sight. Even though there is no story text, DePaola's signature illustrations leave little doubt about how to whip up a batch of pancakes from scratch. This format provides lots of material for discussion and questions by formative young cooks about the origin of ingredients used to make food. It can also be used as an example of supporting local, sustainable food supplies, which was hip even in the seventies.A pancake recipe i s included, but feel free to encourage your young chef to add their own flair, just like the pros. Think outside the box, or book, and add complementary ingredients, such as bananas, berries, apples, or peaches that would add to the flavor, color and nutrition. Stir imaginations by substituting low fat buttermilk or tossing in a handful of cornmeal, flax meal, crunchy wheat germ, or whole grain flour. Try dipping each bite in low fat maple yogurt instead of syrup. You get the picture. Baby! Baby! by Vicky CeelenWith these striking and adorable photographs, Vicky Ceelen cleverly captures the similiarities between human and animal babies. From a sleeping baby alongside a snoozing kitten to a teetering toddler and a wobbly duckling, Ceelen’s comparisons are striking. Bright photos paired with simple text make this board book perfect for human babies everywhere. The photographs are well done and just a pleasure to look at. I'm not sure if the concept would be ever-obvious to babi es and toddlers. But even if they don't â€Å"get it† get it, they should enjoy looking at the pictures.

Case Study Simulation Cotton On Limited Marketing Essay

Case Study Simulation Cotton On Limited Marketing Essay The purpose of the report is to establish three strategies which will address issues within Cotton-On Ltd causing their current financial troubles. The three chosen strategies are: research consumer buying habits, introduce online sales and expand sales into the European Union countries. These strategies will be explored and discussed to explain how they help improve the situation at Cotton-On Ltd. The first strategy â€Å"research consumer buying habits† shows how we look through the range of methods used for researching consumer buying habits in order to make a recommendation which is most suitable related to Cotton-On Ltd. Gathered data can be used to make decisions regarding various concerns with Cotton-On Ltd, such as product range, pricing or available sales channels. The methods used for researching consumer buying habits helps support other strategies because it allows Cotton-On Ltd to understand potential customers in new market settings. The second strategy â€Å"i ntroduce online sales† refers to Cotton-On Ltd using the internet as a tool to strengthen the company because it is increasingly beneficial for them. Through extensive research Cotton-On Ltd should introduce online sales because of their position within the market otherwise they will be disadvantaged compared to competitors. Also the potential of the online sales channel is an opportunity for them to expand online and take advantage of the internet as a marketing tool. However there is a range of different ways Cotton-On Ltd can choose to approach selling their products online and this will be further discussed within the report. The third strategy â€Å"expand sales into European Union countries† explores this topic in context of online sales. The UK is a leading European country in relation to online sales however there are bigger markets to be explored, since some of these markets are expected to grow in the next few years. The topics which will be discussed is the E uropean market related to Cotton-On Ltd, the aspect of the language barrier, the pricing / currency and any other points will be taken into consideration. All three strategies are explained to show the advantages for Cotton-On Ltd and highlight the main issues. We show how the strategies are linked together and where possible, suggest methods for implementation and overcoming issues. Those strategies are a starting point for the company to overcome their problems. Research Consumer Buying Habits Methodology Consumer buying habit is a complex matter and there are many factors that influence buying decision of the customer. When it comes to researching consumer behaviour for a business it is the greatest mystery of any business to solve (Matt Alderton, no date). There are many ways we could find out about consumer buying habits, but before doing anything else we need to investigate Cotton-On Ltd, its System or any previous study on the matter. One of the following techniques would be chosen to suit Cotton-On Ltd namely, interview, questionnaire, survey and consumer panel, but the best would be to organize customer focus group to help Cotton-On Ltd identify and find consumer specific needs. Customer focus group will produce good customer data in their own words, which would help create more effective marketing campaign and will expose problems within Cotton-On Ltd (Matt Alderton, no date). To get the best out of customer focus group it is important to stay focused on Cotton-On Ltd objectives that would have to be why the business is losing sale and how to save money?

Research Paper Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Proposal - Research Paper Example Through quantitative and qualitative analysis, the proposed study aims to determine how marketers can manipulate these factors to their own advantage. Literature The findings of research study of Kollat and Willett (1969) highlight that 65 percent of buying decisions in supermarkets are made in-stores, 50 percent of these decisions are unplanned and vary based on products and 50.5 percent of the products are bought in supermarkets as unplanned purchases. These unplanned decisions contribute to impulse purchasing which is considered very favourable for the sales of consumer products. Patterson (1963) argues that impulse buying is a result of various factors and one of these factors is the store location. Two important factors that influence impulse buying decisions include product packaging and positioning. Breygelmans, Campo & Gijbrechts (2006) conducted a research to study the impact of self-positioning on online grocery store choices and they have found that shelf management is an important factor even in the case of online grocery stores. By studying the in-store marketing of Norwegian retailing, it has been identified that are the promotional techniques which are used to normalise consumers purchasing behaviour (Dulsrud & Jacobsen, 2009). By positioning products on the top shelf or near the centre, attention and evaluation of brands can be improved whereas, positioning brands on the middle shelves achieve attention but does not improve evaluation (Chandon, Hutchinson, Bradlow & Young, 2009). Another important factor that leads to impulse buying is packaging. The difference in packaging directly contributed to sales appeal (Twedt, 1968). Packaging is very significant for low involvement products like impulse purchase categories because in these categories, consumers do not have the desire or need to investigate the products (Louw & Kimber). Packaging is the key driver of impulse buying and it is significant to understand whether planned versus impulse shoppi ng occurs as a result of packaging (Sorensen Associates). The Henley Centre study (cited in Ogba and Johnson, 2010) has found that 73 percent of the purchasing decisions of the consumers at the point of sales are because of the packaging of the products because packaging influences the choices of the people. In the changing marketing environment, analysing whether shelf-positioning or packaging still plays an important role in impulse or not, will be very significant. Therefore, the proposed research study will be having significant implications for the marketers. Research Objectives The aim of this research is to determine whether better packaging or better shelf-positioning influence the impulse buying of consumers It aims to determine whether high visibility of fast moving consumers’ goods through proper shelf-positioning result in the diminishing impact of packaging on Impulse buying This research study aims to determine whether lower visibility of fast moving consumer go ods lead to a greater role of packaging to play in Impulse buying. Another objective of this research study is to determine whether better packaging and visible shelf-positioning can help the markets to achieve higher Impulse buying. Research Design and Methodology To achieve the mentioned objectives, both the qualitative and quantitative methodologies will used. In qualitative methodology, early research work and secondary data will be collected and analysed. The primary data will

Basque History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Basque History - Essay Example While the ETA did declare a unilateral cease-fire on March 22, 2006, on September 23, 2006, the organization announced that it would resume hostilities until the achievement of Basque independence (ETA). To understand the sentiments at work in all three of these documents - particularly the harsh dichotomies of the Arana piece - it is good to have an understanding of the dynamics at work within the ETA. To people outside of the Basque region, and, in particular, outside of Spain, the mission of the ETA sounds just like one of many small revolutionary groups, agitating for its own few square miles of self-determination, if only to avoid the larger taxing entities in the country around it (Funes, p. 499). Each of these little splinter groups has its own manifesto that spouts idealistic words and phrases, its own shrill anthem that sounds to the modern person listening from abroad much like, quite frankly, the declarations that leapt from the American colonies to the government of Great Britain in the later days of the eighteenth century. The modern chapter of the Basque story begins during the reign of Francisco Franco, and his attempts to drive the Basque nation off the very face of the planet. Because there had been Basque sympathizers with the Republican side in the Spanish Civil War, Franco decided to eliminate any signs of Basque culture from the public consciousness. The Basque flag could not be displayed; Basque holidays could not be publicly celebrated; teaching the Basque language, or even speaking it in public, were forbidden; baptizing children who did not have Spanish surnames was proscribed (Sullivan, p. 88). This crackdown against non-Spanish cultures was not carried out throughout the country, however. While Guipuscoa and Biscay were also singled out for this attempted annihilation of local culture, because of their ostensible sympathies with the Republican cause, other territories were left alone. Because the regions of Alava and Navarre had been allied with Franco's faction during the Spanish Civil War, those regions were permitted to keep a reasonable degree of self-government (Clark 1984, pp. 82-84). The results of this cultural attempt at extermination may have been predictable. Once the civil war ended, many Basques left the rural parts of Castile, Galicia, Extremadura, and Andalusia, which diluted the identity of those regions, in which only a percentage of the initial Basque population remained (Hamilton, p. 138). The rest of the world, however, took notice of this repressive activity. Beginning with the excesses of the Franco era and ending with the transition in Spanish government to a democracy in 1975, the ETA received gestures of sympathy from around the globe. The peak of this support came in 1970, after the controversial "Burgos Trials," in which the Franco government showed its cruel and oppressive side to an international audience (Clark 1984, p. 128). The tide of international opinion, however, began to turn against the ETA as the 1970's progressed. In 1973, the ETA assassinated Franco's successor, Almirante Luis Carrero Blanco, and became increasingly radical after Spain became a democracy. The kidnapping and assassination of Miguel Angel

Comprehensive Developmental School Counseling Essay

Comprehensive Developmental School Counseling - Essay Example By taking this approach, I would be in a better position to take proactive and preventative measures in the development of a counseling program. A comprehensive counseling program responding to the drop-out rate would be designed to identify students where at least one of the factors found to contribute to drop-out rates and to engage those students in counseling. Drawing on national longitudinal studies the baseline for the program would target students with specific family backgrounds, demographics, members of minority and ethnic groups, lower academic performance, low self-esteem and students with disability or health problems (Lamb 2011, 369). National longitudinal studies demonstrate that each of these factors are significant contributing factors in the national school drop-out cohort. It is expected that my local school is no different (Lamb 2011, 369). Essentially, national longitudinal studies show that family background such as the family’s structure and parentsâ€⠄¢ level of education contribute to a student’s propensity to drop-out of school (Lamb 2011, p. 370). Demographic factors like, race, ethnicity, gender and location are also contributing factors. ... Ultimately the program will have as its goals identifying these factors among the student population and reaching out to those students by virtue of counseling and education to encourage retention. An example of the data would be statistics grouping the cohorts into different groups so as to establish priority groups. The statistical grouping would reflect the percentage of students from specific groups that have dropped out of school. A list reflecting the percentage of drop-out students from a shared background or a shared demographic, or a shared individual trait or a shared academic performance will be prepared. This list is necessary for substantiating how students at risk among the current student population should be identified and targeted for the counseling program. It is therefore necessary to establish a list of students who are at risk of dropping out and ensuring that they are targeted by the counseling program. In order to justify this approach, it will be necessary to demonstrate how the counseling program has intervened and prevented students who were at risk in the past dropping out of school. Therefore a list of students who exhibited the factors that contribute to the drop-out rate, who received counseling and did in fact complete school will also be prepared. The collection of data is a necessary prerequisite for a comprehensive school counseling program. As reported by the American School Counselor Association (ASCA): The use of data to effect change within the school system is integral to ensuring that every student receives the benefits of the school program (ASCA National Model, n.d.). This means not only collecting data reflecting the drop-out cohort, but also data demonstrating

Columbia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Columbia - Essay Example can exacerbate civil wars.† The United States has experienced limited tactical success in fighting the drug menace, by dismantling drug cartels, pressuring the Colombian Government to attack these cartels and fumigating the coco crops. But this has not diffused the problem because drug production continues despite the crackdown measures of the U.S. Government, with drug production shifting inland into territory controlled by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia and aiding in the insurrection of this Party against the Colombian Government. How then can the proliferation in coca production and thereby increase in drug traffic be curtailed? Studies appear to suggest that it is the economic benefits that are to be gained by coca production which is the causal factor that increases production, therefore one of the ways to tackle this problem appears to be by providing better economic incentives. Another reason for the explosion in drug trafficking is the civil war in Colombia which enables the coca and poppy growers to escape the crackdown by the Government and law enforcement authorities. Lastly, the most important reason why the drug trade is flourishing has to do with the strong demand that exist in the United States. This is the major reason why drug production thrives, therefore it appears that coca eradication and aid to end the civil war in Colombia may not be as effective in eliminating the drug problem as tackling the problem of the demand that exists in the United States, through a comprehensive drug eradication policy. Therefore, the best way to control excess production of illegal crops in Colombia is for the United States to clamp down on the growing demand within its own territories. 1. It appears that it is largely economic factors that are propelling the proliferation in growth of coca in Columbia and the concomitant violence that ahs been the result. In a recent, comprehensive study conducted by Holmes et al (2006), the relation between

A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings Research Paper

A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings - Research Paper Example Although this novel and story are different in the content that they analyze and the overall message that is brought to bear upon the reader, the exemplification of the magical realism that typifies Marquez method of conveyance helps the reader to more completely and fully understand the term as a function of what it means to literature and the understanding thereof. As a means to understand the literary contrast and comparisons that exist between these two stories, this analysis will consider the mechanisms by which the author relates the subtext that each story necessarily engenders. The first of these works, Marquez’s Hundred Years of Solitude tells the story of a local town leader who finds his life forever changed by the presence of traders who bring the marvels of modern science to his otherwise simple and somewhat backwards world. As a function of his fascination with these marvels, the protagonist immerses himself in pseudo-scientific study and alchemy in the hopes tha t he can use the marvels that these traders have brought to greatly enhance his own life, the life of his family and that of his people (Ahmad et al 47). However, the result of his experiments does not lead in the direction that he hoped as he merely becomes more and more ostracized from his own family and people; continuously seeking for borderline supernatural approaches to better himself and those around him. The story further evolves as a type of allegory with regards to how the protagonist represents the culture that comes into contact with the marvels of the Western world yet at the same time must suffer the destructive nature that such a contact necessarily brings with it. As a function of creating this comparison, the author invokes the magical understandings of what had previously defined the culture as compared to the rigid scientific methods that the protagonist attempts to force to coincide with a much simpler albeit more mysterious way of life that his people had experi enced prior to the arrival of the gypsy traders. However, what is unique in the mechanics of the story is the scope of action that it encompasses. As compared to the second story which will be considered, the subject matter is spread over a long time period that â€Å"magically† encompasses the life of a single individual (Mills 114). As a means to engage the reader on the range of intercultural issues that arise as a result of Europe meeting the Western Hemisphere, the author has a wealth of information and parallels that can be drawn that work to help the story to cover a much longer time span than would have been available had a different medium other than magical realism been utilized. With regards to the second story in question, â€Å"A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings†, the author takes a different approach to imparting the magical realism that defines the story. Rather than analyzing the action that takes place over an indefinitely long period of time, the auth or instead chooses to focus on the juxtaposition of human emotion as a function of the way that the individuals within the story engage practical versus non-practical as well as the feeling of sympathy and selfishness. As the â€Å"fallen angel† of the story is uniquely different from human interpretations of what an angel should be, the villagers do not know what to make of it (Corso 44). In this way, the protagonist of the story feels compunction to care for the creature. However, rather than representing the action

How much IT involved in Auditing to (reduce Duration, Cost and Dissertation

How much IT involved in Auditing to (reduce Duration, Cost and increase Efficiency and Effectiveness), compare and contrast stud - Dissertation Example To analyse the actual scenario, this research work has adopted qualitative survey method for collecting data about the research scenario. Data have been collected from twelve different organisations that have implemented IT based auditing tools. The data collected were interpreted properly and subjected to Strength, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) analysis to obtain the results of the research. It has been found that IT based auditing tools reduce the time of analysis and data retrieval. They provide good availability of data. They are more accurate, efficient and effective in conducting audit procedures. The cost involved in implementing and maintain them is considerably more. Comparing United Kingdom and Kurdistan, United Kingdom is more extensively using IT based audit tools than Kurdistan. Table of contents Chapter 1 - Research Introduction 1.1. Introduction 1.2. Research Scenario 1.3. Statement of the research Problem 1.4. Aim of the Research 1.5. Main Research Ques tion and Hypotheses 1.6. Scope and Significance of this Research 1.7. Methodology of Research 1.8. Qualitative survey method 1.9. Data collecting instrument 1.10. ... Chapter Summary Chapter 3 –Research Methodology 3.1. Research Methods 3.2. Qualitative survey method 3.3. Qualitative Sampling 3.4. Qualitative Data Collection 3.5. The Qualitative Questionnaire 3.6. Validity and Limitations of the data 3.7. Chapter Summary Chapter 4 - Research Data Analysis 4.1. Qualitative Data representation 4.2. General Qualitative Data Analysis 4.3. SWOT analysis 4.4. SWOT analysis of qualitative data 4.5. SWOT analysis of Research data 4.6. Chapter summary Chapter 5 – Discussion of Results 5.1. Discussion of Results 5.2. Hypotheses testing with SWOT factors 5.3. Recommendations Chapter 6 – Research Conclusion References List of tables Table4.1. SWOT factors in table form List of figures Figure. 2.1. IT in different stages of auditing Fig.4.1. The SWOT matrix representation of the factors. Chapter 1 - Research Introduction 1.1. Introduction: This chapter provides an introduction about this research work with the research problem statement, a im of the research, main research question and the methodology of research to be adopted. 1.2. Research Scenario: The methods of auditing have changed significantly in the recent past due to the advancements in IT. Notable standards for the effectiveness in auditing have evolved. The quality of auditing is critical for financial reporting and auditing (FRC, 2008). Auditing involves the presentation and discussion of financial statements of an organisation. The discussion may be among the audit team and the top level management. Auditing is considered to be critical activity in view of the overall capital assets and market confidence. Present auditing practices are quite adequate but their data authenticity is less. This may be detrimental to an organisation as they suffer from

Gender Criticism based on Feminism and Masculinism in the Book “Skin” Essay Example for Free

Gender Criticism based on Feminism and Masculinism in the Book â€Å"Skin† Essay The book entitled, â€Å"Skin† is written by Ted Dekker and is a fiction novel about a killer who took as captives five people who each had stories to tell and had things about their past to confront. They were brought together by such deadly circumstances and despite their individual differences and suspicions drawn against one another, they had to work together somehow against a common enemy, their captor. â€Å"Skin† covers issues of feminism and masculinism in the details about how the captured characters – namely, Wendy, Colt, Jerry, Nicole and Carey were victimized by the killer, Red. For Wendy, it all started one rainy night when she was driving herself to the place where her estranged mother was. The horror of all that they have gone through, all five of them, turned out to be something none of them was ever prepared for. Thesis The novel â€Å"Skin† relates a story that supports the thesis that the gender-defined roles of the characters therein damaged both sides. The story also presented the question of what true beauty is, both masculine and feminine beauty. Beauty is explored both as an external quality and as something that is more than what meets the eye – in men and in women. It turns out that beauty can be perceived by people as gender-defined. Beauty in men, thus, can be judged by parameters that are supposed to apply to men, and then beauty in women can be judged by altogether different parameters that, in turn, are supposed to apply to women. Feminism in the Story Wendy is an escapist from a cult where men reigned as the superior sex. In fact, even decisions pertaining to her life – who she was to wed eventually, who she could date and kiss – were made by the acknowledged head of their tribe, a man much older that her who was even supposed to be her future husband. Her mom was in the cult, too. As a member of it, she submitted to such leader and went to wherever the group went, never deciding for herself where and how she wanted to live her life. Through it all, she allowed the cult leader to make decisions that she should have made for herself and her daughter, Wendy. Wendy has become a prime feminist since her escape from the group whose members made up her world. She then became totally free – free to make choices for herself, free to make decisions concerning herself, her life and her personal interests. She has been equipped with good education and having been a scholar who made it through college by herself – with no help from parents, whose support usually comes in the form of financial resources to enable their children get through college as a way to have much better chances for a bright future. During her traumatic childhood experiences in the cult where the male leader was practically the ruler of all, Wendy had known what it meant to be eyed or even â€Å"reserved† for an older man. In the story, there was the pre-arranged marriage that Wendy had no choice but to succumb to when the time for it would come. For this reason, Wendy was even punished at one time for having kissed a guy. Through it all, Wendy came to have this fear of men. It was the same fear that went in the way of her having a serious relationship with a guy even when she was already a young woman. Thus, during years since her escape, Wendy had only female friends. Given the life she lived and the role of men in her life, Wendy has grown to be an independent woman who definitely did not need a man to make life easier for her. In contrast, Nicole had her brother, Cary, to adore her, to take care of her and to protect her. She grew up depending on the love and security that her older brother represented. Nicole represents the very image that present day feminists want to totally disassociate from women in general. She’s a victim of men who, like her brother, have to be needed by the women in their lives as the only way they would feel strong, masculine and happy. In such a trap, the likes of Nicole have been raised to believe that women are weak and are in constant need of the protection and support that only men can provide. For an independent woman like Wendy, it was indeed a novelty to watch Carey carry his younger sister all the way and to see for herself how much Carey loves his younger sister, Nicole. And Nicole, loved him, too. He was her older brother who has always been her source of love and protection. The same love and protection, though, can serve to curtail Nicole’s potentials as a person – a free thinker, a decision-maker and the master of her fate. Thus, the protective love of men – in this case, Nicole’s older brother – can be likened to a trap that can prevent women from going out into the world, making mistakes and learning in the process, and living their lives to the fullest. Curtailed freedom was one thing Wendy and Nicole had in common, but Wendy had chosen to break out of her prison cell and fly away toward freedom and self-realization. Men, as oppressors, can clip the wings of the women in their lives either intentionally or not, either lovingly or not – the manner, though, does not change the meaning of what is going on. Masculinism in the Story Colt’s masculinity would seem readily obvious in the light of his being a policeman. His marked skill as a gunman would serve to give his masculinity an added boost. After all, his being an adept shooter can easily be surmised to mean his being a good protector of people under his wings. As a great gunman, then, Colt has won the respect and admiration of his fellow cops in the police department, both male and female. And also as a great gunman, Colt would seem the kind of man who has little or nothing to fear. No one would guess, therefore, that for all his seemingly apparent masculinity, Colt has fears and has doubts of his capabilities and qualities as a man. In fact, the story says that having a woman around or being with one is enough to break Colt’s cool demeanor and to reduce him into a bundle of nerves. He therefore has neven been close to a woman. His life has been lived and has revolved pretty much around male friends. The story has mentioned Colt’s mom who has been murdered but was believed to have committed suicide – she might easily have been the only woman in his life. One’s childhood always leaves its imprints on the person. Events during Colt’s childhood have caused him to have insecurities and doubts about himself. These self-doubts leave no sign in the policeman that Colt has become. Such doubts and insecurities have stayed within him but have been buried way under Colt’s demeanor. In a way, Colt has been victimized by the way ladies ridicule guys they are not interested in, more so when ladies spurn those suitors whom they do not at all find attractive. Being rejected by a girl can have such an adverse impact on a guy’s confidence. Some guys even find it hard to recover their self-esteem after having been rejected by the ladies they loved. While Colt avoided women as characters he was not ready to have in his life, Cary was the type of guy who was instinctively protective of women he loved, like his sister, Nicole. Cary has grown up believing that the male sex is the stronger sex and that the females are therefore to be taken care of and sheltered. While adhering to this belief, being in helpless situations would kill the likes of Cary in their insistence that they be the protectors of the women they love. Thus, in the story, it tore Cary apart to watch his younger sister in pain and so helpless. It likewise broke his heart that he could not do what had to be done to keep them all safe from harm. Thus, independent women like Wendy would be a novelty to Colt, whose perception of women would be more of the clinging and needy sort. In the same way, frail and fragile women like Nicole would disarm Colt’s defense and lead him to overcome his fear of women, who in the person of Nicole can seem to be such weak, dependent and powerless creatures in need of somebody like himself. The story is adroitly set with twists that all served to help the characters eventually face their fears and find themselves. Works Cited Dekker, Ted. Skin. Tennessee: Thomas Nelson, Inc. 2007.

A Look At The Samaritan Woman Religion Essay

A Look At The Samaritan Woman Religion Essay If I was asked to suggest one word which sums up Johns gospel, it would be the word encounter. The word became flesh and dwelt among us encounter. Look, the Lamb of God encounter. John goes on to record many of the people whom Jesus met in the course of His ministry. He constantly drew these people to Himself. He was the answer to the great spiritual needs of their life. Regardless of who they were, their basic need was to meet with Him, for an encounter with Jesus. In Ch 3 there is the encounter between Nicodemus, the teacher of Israel, and Jesus, the redeemer of the world. And then in stark contrast here in Ch4, the women of Samaria encounters Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus meeting with this woman was at noon. Jesus was utterly weary, physically exhausted. He sat on the wall around Jacobs well. Note in passing that, though Christ is the eternal Son of God, He was also truly human, the Word become flesh. He knew weariness, thirst, sadness, suffering and ultimately death. Two whole and perfect natures in one person. It is a comfort to us to know our Saviour is aware of our earthly lot. He is able to understand our needs as well as having the supply of grace to help us in our time of need. It is the grace of Jesus which is the first thing the woman experiences 1. The Grace of Jesus is displayed We learn a great deal about Jesus from His dealings with this woman. The amazing fact is that He took the first step the initiative was His. He made a simple request give me a drink. It appears like a simple gesture, but it explodes the age old myth that God is distant and remote. In actual fact God is close and immediate, and this is so because He comes. He takes the initiative. What is even more remarkable in this first century culture was the fact that He spoke to a woman, and to compound it all, a Samaritan woman at that. Strict social and religious rule held sway among Jewish rabbis forbidding them ever to speak to a woman in the street not even his own mother would be acknowledged some of the Pharisees had utter contempt for women, they would daily thank God that He had not made them a woman. And in particular, Samaritan women the bitter quarrel had gone on for 400 years, the Jews of pure blood despised the half-breed Samaritans who were heretics. Orthodox Jews travelling from Judea north to Galilee where Jesus had grown up went a roundabout way to avoid going the direct route through Samaria, even though it doubled their journey from three to six days. Even if a shadow of a Samaritan fell on an orthodox Jew, he was considered unclean. If a Jew did take the short cut through Samaria on his way to Jerusalem, the Samaritans would not sell him necessities of bread and water. There was mutual loathing and distrust. But theres more. Not only was she a woman, not only was she a Samaritan woman, but also she was sexually immoral and promiscuous. She had had five husbands, and the man she was living with now was not even one of them. A bidey in. No wonder she was at the well at noon instead of the usual evening hour for drawing water. She wanted to avoid knowing looks and sharp tongues of other women who would despise her. Yet despite all that, Jesus shows perfect courtesy and grace in asking her a favour. He knew all about her. If no one else in the world cared for her, He did, and He longed for her to know the peace and life He alone could give her. And to bring things right up to date, the reality is that He has the same sympathy for us in our sins and weaknesses. He longs to offer us His love and power. He offers her water of a very different kind from that which hes just asked her for living water that would satisfy her spiritually. Water elsewhere in Johns Gospel is a symbol of new life through the Holy Spirit into the heart through faith in Christ (e.g. John 7:37-39). The water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life (John 4:14). This water which Jesus gives is so completely satisfying that whoever drinks of it will never be thirsty again. These are words of Jesus that speak very directly to our deepest needs. How many of us, once the masks and disguises we wear have been taken off, can testify to the deep unsatisfied longing within our souls? How often when people talk about the change that Jesus has made in their lives do they speak of emptiness and dissatisfaction that was there before? How they tried everything to meet that need, but all in vain till they came to Christ. Augustine said, Thou hast made us for Thyself and our hearts are restless till they find their rest in Thee. There was an old song which summed up the difference that Jesus makes Now none but Christ can satisfy. There is none other name for me. Theres love and life and lasting joy, Lord Jesus, found in Thee This is what Jesus is trying to get across to her. I can supply you spiritual needs, you spiritual thirst and longing by offering you water which will spring up within you the life that Jesus gives is no tame or stagnant thing. It is abundant life, life in all its fullness, that sparkles, thrills and satisfies. This is the wonder of knowing Christ and the great blessings imparted by Him. If anyone is thirsty let him come to me and drink (John 7:37), says Jesus on another occasion. In Jesus they will be well supplied by an ever-flowing stream, which never runs dry. Yachting!! Unlike the world, Christ offers a real and lasting satisfaction. If we drink at the worlds fountains, we are satisfied for an hour. If we drink at Christs fountain, we have perpetual satisfaction. It is not dependent on adversity or prosperity, fear or joy. This well keeps springing up, and it is all a free gift. 2. The need for Jesus is awakened But we notice from Johns account that at first the woman misunderstood Jesus. She took Him literally, and replied that he did not have a bucket. The well was in fact 100 feet deep. Nicodemus had made the same mistake in taking Jesus literally (How can a man enter his mothers womb for a second time and be born again?). In both cases, Jesus was speaking of spiritual things. But it begins to awaken a sense of need in the woman. To show her how much she needed this new spiritual life He was offering He puts His finger on the weakness, failures and sin in her life things that deep down she was aware of, but probably had never openly admitted to anyone before. She admitted to Him her current living arrangements. He knew her private life perfectly. He knew she had broken the seventh commandment. And now she knew it too. He didnt accuse, nor did he wag his finger or confront her with her sin. He simply touches her conscience, and encourages her to name her own sin. And then she reacts. Shes suddenly faced with herself as she is, as God sees her, and she wants to change, she longs for this new life, a better life the full life, the clean life. Shes had enough of the wagging tongues and turned backs. She longs to belong, to be part of her community once again. We never really see ourselves until we are in Jesus presence. The Christian experience begins with a sense of sin. We are awakened to ourselves, our need of God, of forgiveness and cleansing and life. Not till we see the beauty of Christ do we understand the ugliness of our lives. But now shes feeling uncomfortable. She tries to change the subject, but what a mistake. She enters into theological discussion with the Son of God. If Nicodemus, the teacher of Israel was out of his depth, what hope had she? But it was just a diversion. She entered an argument about the right place of worship. She hoped to divert from Jesus pointing out of her sin by showing Him she did have enough of religion to get by. Its almost as though shes saying, well, I go to church, and at least I go to the right one we Samaritans worship in the right place. But Jesus reply pulls her back to His point. It does not matter where you worship, as long as you worship in spirit and in truth. Right back to the basic issues, its not about the forms of religious observance, its not about which church you go to or not, its the state of your heart that matters. Religion is not about outward forms and ceremonies. Jesus looks at the heart, the state of the inner life. Yet still today people love an argument how to interpret the creation stories in Genesis 1, where did Cains wife come from, (literalism!,) what hymn book should we use, how should the church be governed, what form of baptism, should we use set prayers or free prayerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. These are not the real issues. The question in the forefront ought to be what is the state of my heart? Am I right with God? Do I have new life in Christ Jesus? Ultimately have you accepted the gift that Jesus offers new and abundant life? 3. The gift of Jesus is received It gradually dawns on the woman that she was in the presence of no ordinary person. He knew her private life and secrets. He knew all about God and His worship. And then He reveals He is the promised Saviour and Messiah that the Samaritans, like the Jews, were waiting for. He presents Himself directly as the answer to the womans problem. He is the One sent by God to be the Saviour of the world, of Jew, Samaritan and Gentile alike. How ready Christ is to reveal Himself to the soul of sinners. I am the one you are looking for. Paul Swinson What is it you are looking for? The real question is, Who are you looking for? What is the state of your inner life tonight? Behind the faà §ade, is there loneliness, emptiness, inadequacy, and hunger? Are you in search of satisfaction? Have you tried everything but still feel the same? Jesus reaches out in his grace to you tonight. He wants to awaken that need of Him in you tonight, and offers you the gift of life, which will bubble up within you like living water. Yes He must put His finger on the sin that has to be forsaken and forgiven. Sin has to be brought to the surface. But his desire is not to condemn you, he doesnt want to reproach you, He simply longs to save you, and satisfy the deepest longing of your heart. Hear His voice and respond to His invitation If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink.