the sisters arrived some six hours later after seldon and dors had slept some more, hoping to readjust their biological clocks. the sisters entered the apartment shyly, almost on tiptoe. their gowns (which, it turned out, were termed "kirtles" in the mycogenian dialect) were soft velvety gray, each uniquely decorated by a subtle pattern of fine, darker gray webbing. the kirtles were not entirely unattractive, but they were certainly most efficient at covering up any human feature. and, of course, their heads were bald and their faces were devoid of any ornamentation. they darted speculative glances at the touch of blue at the corners of dorss eyes and at the slight red stain at the corners of her lips. for a few moments, seldon wondered how one could be certain that the sisters were truly sisters.

the answer came at once with the sisters politely formal greetings. both twittered and chirped. seldon, remembering the grave tones of sunmaster and the nervous baritone of graycloud, suspected that women, in default of obvious sexual identification, were forced to cultivate distinctive voices and social mannerisms.

im raindrop forty-three," twittered one, "and this is my younger sister."

"raindrop forty-five," chirped the other. "were very strong on raindrops in our cohort." she giggled.

"i am pleased to meet you both," said dors gravely, "but now i must know how to address you. i cant just say raindrop, can i?"

"no," said raindrop forty-three. "you must use the full name if we are both here."

seldon said, "how about just forty-three and forty-five, ladies?"

they both stole a quick glance at him, but said not a word.

dors said softly, "ill deal with them, hari."

seldon stepped back. presumably, they were single young women and, very likely, they were not supposed to speak to men. the older one seemed the graver of the two and was perhaps the more puritanical. it was hard to tell from a few words and a quick glance, but he had the feeling and was willing to go by that.

dors said, "the thing is, sisters, that we tribespeople dont know how to use the kitchen."

"you mean you cant cook?" raindrop forty-three looked shocked and censorious. raindrop forty-five smothered a laugh. (seldon decided that his initial estimate of the two was correct.)

dors said, "i once had a kitchen of my own, but it wasnt like this one and i dont know what the foods are or how to prepare them."

"its really quite simple," said raindrop forty-five. "we can show you."

"well make you a good nourishing lunch," said raindrop forty-three. "well make it for ... both of you." she hesitated before adding the final words. it clearly took an effort to acknowledge the existence of a man.

"if you dont mind," said dors, "i would like to be in the kitchen with you and i would appreciate it if youd explain everything exactly. after all, sisters, i cant expect you to come here three times a day to cook for us."

"we will show you everything," said raindrop forty-three, nodding her head stiffly. "it may be difficult for a tribeswoman to learn, however. you wouldnt have the ... feeling for it."

"i shall try," said dors with a pleasant smile. they disappeared into the kitchen.

seldon stared after them and tried to work out the strategy he intended to use.

microfarm

mycogen-- ... the microfarms of mycogen are legendary, though they survive today only in such oft-used similes as "rich as the microfarms of mycogen" or "tasty as mycogenian yeast." such encomiums tend to intensify with time, to be sure, but hari seldon visited those microfarms in the course of the flight and there are references in his memoirs that would tend to support the popular opinion ...

encyclopedia galactica