Don't worry. I'll keep the peace, if I have to start a war to do it. - Isaac Asimov

(theatrically) Do you realize, Dr. Seldon, that you are speaking of an Empire that has stood for twelve thousand years, through all the vicissitudes of the generations, and which has behind it the good wishes and love of a quadrillion human beings? A. I am aware both of the present status and the past history of the Empire. Without disrespect, I must claim a far better knowledge of it than any in this room. Q. And you predict its ruin? A. It is a prediction which is made by mathematics. I pass no moral judgements. Personally, I regret the prospect. Even if the Empire were admitted to be a bad thing (an admission I do not make), the state of anarchy which would follow its fall would be worse. It is that state of anarchy which my project is pledged to fight. The fall of Empire, gentlemen, is a massive thing, however, and not easily fought. It is dictated by a rising bureaucracy, a receding initiative, a freezing of caste, a damming of curiosity — a hundred other factors. It has been going on, as I have said, for centuries, and it is too majestic and massive a movement to stop.

Robots could learn!

Los equites eran lo bastante ricos como para ser senadores, pero no pertenecían a las viejas familias senatoriales. A algunos de ellos Octavio los hizo senadores, pero a otros los colocó en cargos administrativos importantes. Se convirtieron en los "funcionarios públicos" del Imperio, por así decir. Fue de esa manera como las clases medias, bien tratadas, se hicieron ardientemente leales a Octavio y a sus sucesores.