The Foundation Trilogy by Isaac Asimov
The Foundation Trilogy by Isaac Asimov is a seminal science fiction series that explores the rise and fall of a Galactic Empire spanning 25 million planets. The narrative begins with the arrival of Gaal Dornick on Trantor, the Empire's capital, where he collaborates with Hari Seldon, the creator of psychohistory—a mathematical approach to predict the future of large populations. Following Seldon's trial for treason, he convinces the court to allow him to establish the Foundation on Terminus, ostensibly to compile the Encyclopedia Galactica but with the deeper aim of preserving knowledge to mitigate the impending collapse of the Empire.
As the story unfolds over centuries, the Foundation, led by characters like Mayor Salvor Hardin and trader Hober Mallow, faces various political and military crises, engaging in clever strategies to ensure its survival against more powerful neighbors. The plot thickens with the emergence of the Mule, a unique individual with the power to manipulate emotions, who poses a significant threat to the Foundation's stability. The trilogy culminates with the search for the elusive Second Foundation, a hidden group of psychohistorians who hold the key to Seldon’s long-term plan.
Asimov’s work delves into themes of knowledge, power, leadership, and the complexities of human behavior, making it a profound commentary on the cyclical nature of history and societal evolution. The trilogy is celebrated for its intellectual depth and has significantly influenced the science fiction genre and broader popular culture.
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The Foundation Trilogy by Isaac Asimov
First published: 1963; includes Foundation, 1951; Foundation and Empire, 1952; Second Foundation, 1953
Type of work: Novel
Type of plot: Science fiction
Time of plot: More than twelve thousand years in the future
Locale: Galactic human empire
Principal characters
Gaal Dornick , a young psychohistorianHari Seldon , inventor of psychohistorySalvor Hardin , mayor of TerminusLimmar Ponyets , a Foundation traderHober Mallow , a Foundation traderJorane Sutt , the mayor’s secretaryBel Riose , an ambitious general of the dying EmpireLathan Devers , a young Foundation traderDucem Barr , an authority on the FoundationToran , son of a small trader on HavenBayta , a discontented Foundation citizen and Toran’s brideThe Mule/Magnifico , a mysterious conqueror of many worlds, who pretends to be his own foolHan Pritcher , a Foundation spyEbling Mis , a Foundation scientistBail Channis , a capable Mule assistantThe First Speaker , leader of the Second FoundationToran Darell , a Foundation scientistArkady Darell , Toran’s fourteen-year-old daughterPelleas Anthor , a new arrival on TerminusHomir Munn , a librarian sent to KalganLord Stettin , ruler of KalganLady Callia , Stettin’s mistressPreem Palver , a Trantor trading representative
The Story:
In Foundation, Gaal Dornick arrives on Trantor, the roofed-over planet that is the center of government for a Galactic Empire of 25 million planets, to work with Hari Seldon, the inventor of a predictive science called psychohistory. Psychohistory is able to predict far future events on an extremely large scale, but not to predict more localized events. Almost immediately, Seldon goes on trial for treason, because his calculations predict the fall of the Empire. Seldon escapes punishment by persuading the judges that everyone will benefit if he is allowed to set up the Foundation on the planet Terminus, on the edge of the galaxy, to compile a massive encyclopedia, the Encyclopedia Galactica, that will preserve all of human knowledge. Seldon then tells Dornick that the entire crisis has been manufactured so that 100,000 encyclopedists and their families will agree to leave Trantor for Terminus.
Fifty years later, Terminus is facing a crisis: It is under threat from ambitious rulers of nearby planets, one of whom, the ruler of Anacreon, wants to annex Terminus. Anacreon has a rival, the planet Smyrno. Terminus has few mineral resources but much technology because of the high proportion of scientists that live there. No psychologists live on Terminus, because Seldon included none when he brought the encyclopedists there. During the crisis, Seldon appears in a “time vault” with prepared comments about a predicted crisis (later called a “Seldon crisis”); he announces that the encyclopedia project was a ruse concocted to influence history without any encyclopedist’s knowledge—a necessary element of effective psychohistory. The lack of freedom of action is an essential part of a Seldon Crisis. Terminus, Seldon says, is an island of atomic power in an ocean of more primitive energy resources; the solution to their problem is obvious, but it is obvious only to Mayor Salvor Hardin, who has assumed control of Terminus.
Thirty years later, Hardin has solved the crisis by playing one barbarian planet against another, stoking each one’s fears of the other gaining atomic control. He sells devices to everyone but reserves the science to a newly created religious order. When Anacreon attacks Terminus, the priests rebel. Seldon appears again and warns that regionalism is stronger than religion.
Fifty years later, religious science has allowed the Foundation to take over its barbarian neighbors. Some planets view technology as sacrilegious. One of them, Askone, has imprisoned a trader for meddling in local politics. Another trader, Limmar Ponyets, tricks the ruler into accepting a transmutation machine for turning base metals into gold and then blackmails him into allowing the import of Foundation machines.
About twenty-five years after this, religion in the Foun dation has rigidified to the point that is has itself become a problem. To get rid of a rival, Jorane Sutt, the power behind the ruling mayor, sends a trader named Hober Mallow to investigate the disappearance of Foundation ships near the planet Korell. Mallow persuades the Korellian ruler to import Foundation atomic devices. Mallow traces the source of Korellian atomic handguns to Siwenna, where he discovers that atomic science has degenerated into ritual. On Terminus, Mallow is tried for the death of a priest he turned over to the Korellians, but he clears himself by proving the priest was a Korellian spy; Mallow is elected mayor. When Korell attacks the Foundation, their atomic devices begin to fail, and the Korellians rebel to regain their prosperity.
In Foundation and Empire, forty years later, Bel Riose, an ambitious and capable general of the dying Empire, is sent to conquer the Foundation. The Merchant Princes, who now rule the Foundation, have no idea how to withstand the assault but send a young trader, Lathan Devers, to be captured by Riose. The suspicious emperor sends Brodrig, his privy secretary, to keep track of Riose but Brodrig instead joins Riose to conquer the Foundation and restore the Empire. Ducem Barr, Riose’s expert on the Foundation, escapes with Devers, and they take word to Trantor about Brodrig. They cannot get through bureaucratic barriers but learn that Brodrig and Riose have been arrested. An emperor cannot tolerate a strong general, lest he take over the Empire, and a weak general could not threaten the Foundation: Thus, the Foundation could not lose.
Toran and Bayta, just married, are sent from the planet Haven to Kalgan, which has just been conquered by the Mule, a mysterious leader to whom worlds surrender. They hope to instigate a war between the Mule and the Foundation. The couple rescues the Mule’s fool, Magnifico, and flees with him and Han Pritcher, a Foundation spy. The Mule declares war on the Foundation and wins every battle, while Seldon appears in the Time Vault to reveal that psychohistory has not foreseen this crisis. Toran, Bayta, scientist Ebling Mis, and Magnifico escape Haven before it falls. They travel to Trantor to search for the Second Foundation, the Foundation’s last hope. Before the dying Mis can reveal the location of the Second Foundation, Bayta shoots him; she has figured out that Magnifico is the Mule. His secret weapon is his ability to adjust people’s emotions, but he has left Bayta unadjusted because she already liked him without needing adjustment. The Mule resolves to keep looking for the Second Foundation, but his ability will die with him; like his namesake, he is sterile.
In Second Foundation, the Mule continues to search for the Second Foundation, with the help of an adjusted Han Pritcher and an unadjusted Bail Channis. The Second Foundation is said to be at “Star’s End.” Channis figures that Star’s End must be Tazenda. He and Pritcher land on Rossem, where they are joined by the Mule, who reveals that he thinks Channis is a Second Foundation agent who would lead him into a Second Foundation trap. Channis admits that the Mule is right, and Rossem is the location of the Second Foundation. The first speaker of the Second Foundation enters to reveal that the Mule has been lured to Rossem so that Second Foundation psychologists can sow rebellion on Kalgan in his absence. In the Mule’s confusion, the first speaker enters the Mule’s mind and reconstructs his memories.
Pelleas Anthor arrives on Terminus and gathers a group of conspirators at the home of Dr. Toran Darell to explore the possibility that Second Foundation psychologists may be controlling their minds. Such a situation would be intolerable to them. A librarian named Homir Munn is sent to Kalgan to explore the Mule’s palace for information on the Second Foundation’s location. Darell’s fourteen-year-old daughter Arkady stows away on Munn’s ship. Meanwhile, Second Foundation psychologists discuss a flaw in Seldon’s plan: Now that people know about the Second Foundation, they are failing to exercise their normal initiative, altering the course of history.
Arkady helps Munn gain permission to perform his research, but in the process Lord Stettin, the Kalgan ruler, decides to marry her. Arkady is saved by a trading representative from Trantor, Preem Palver. Palver and his wife take Arkady to Trantor. Lord Stettin’s fleet attacks the Foundation but is finally defeated. In a final session in Dr. Darrell’s home on Terminus, Munn says there is no Second Foundation, but an encephalograph reveals that his mind has been tampered with. Darell has invented a mental static machine that renders advanced minds helpless. He turns it on, and Munn collapses. With the machine, the Foundation can wipe out Second Foundation psychologists on Terminus, where Darell has deduced the Second Foundation is located. In a final interlude, the first speaker, revealed to be Preem Palver, further reveals that the plan has worked: Fifty psychologists have been sacrificed, but Selden’s plan has been saved. The Second Foundation is located on Trantor, where it all began. “Stars end at Trantor.”
Bibliography
Asimov, Isaac. I, Asimov: A Memoir. New York: Doubleday, 1994. Individual essays about Asimov’s life and experiences, and updates of his earlier autobiographies.
‗‗‗‗‗‗‗. In Memory Yet Green: The Autobiography of Isaac Asimov, 1920-1954. New York: Doubleday, 1979. The first volume of Asimov’s mammoth autobiography, with accounts of his uneventful life and eventful works, researched from his own journals.
‗‗‗‗‗‗‗. In Joy Still Felt: The Autobiography of Isaac Asimov, 1954-1978. New York: Doubleday, 1980. The continuation of Asimov’s autobiography.
Asimov, Janet Jeppson, ed. It’s Been a Good Life. Amherst, N.Y.: Prometheus Books, 2002. A selection from Isaac Asimov’s autobiographical works plus updates and an afterword about the author’s death.
Asimov, Stanley, ed. Yours, Isaac Asimov: A Lifetime of Letters. New York: Doubleday, 1995. Asimov’s correspondence, edited by his brother.
Gunn, James. Isaac Asimov: The Foundations of Science Fiction Rev. ed. Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow Press, 2005. A critical analysis of Asimov’s life and works in the context of the publishing situation of the times.
Hassler, Donald M. Isaac Asimov. Mercer Island, Wash.: Starmont House, 1991. Another insightful survey of Asimov’s life and work.
Knight, Damon. “Asimov and Empire.” In In Search of Wonder. Chicago: Advent, 1967. A fellow Futurian criticizes The Foundation Trilogy for relying too heavily on Gibbons’s The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.
Olander, Joseph D., and Martin H. Greenberg, eds. Isaac Asimov. New York: Taplinger, 1977. Olander and Greenberg bring together a variety of essays about various aspects of Asimov’s work, concluding with Asimov’s unusual reaction to all the analyses.