Foundation

Foundation Plot Summary

Introduction

In the vast expanse of the Galactic Empire, as its influence wanes and its once-mighty reach begins to falter, a remarkable story unfolds on a small, seemingly insignificant planet at the edge of the galaxy. This is a tale of foresight and strategy, where mathematics becomes a tool not just for understanding the universe, but for predicting and shaping the course of human history itself. As the old powers decline, we witness the birth of a new force—one based not on military might, but on the careful application of science, religion, and trade. The historical significance of this narrative extends beyond its immediate setting. It explores how societies respond when traditional sources of authority collapse, examining the cycles of growth and decay that characterize all civilizations. Through the lens of "psychohistory"—a fictional science that combines history, sociology, and mathematical statistics—readers gain insight into how small groups of determined individuals can influence events on a galactic scale. Whether you're interested in power transitions, the interplay between technology and society, or simply appreciate a masterfully crafted historical speculation, this chronicle of humanity's future past offers valuable perspectives on our own historical patterns.

Chapter 1: Hari Seldon's Vision: The Mathematics of Decline (50 FE)

The Foundation's story begins with Hari Seldon, a mathematician who perfected the science of psychohistory—a method of predicting the future behavior of large populations through mathematical analysis. Working in the twilight years of the Galactic Empire, around 12,000 years into human galactic civilization, Seldon made a disturbing discovery: the Empire was dying. More troublingly, his equations revealed that its fall would usher in a dark age lasting thirty thousand years. Seldon's calculations showed that while this collapse was inevitable, its aftermath could be managed. By establishing a Foundation of scientists and scholars on Terminus, a planet at the galaxy's edge, he could reduce the coming dark age to just one thousand years. The Empire, suspecting sedition, put Seldon on trial. During this pivotal moment, he revealed that his Foundation was merely creating an encyclopedia to preserve human knowledge. This seemingly innocuous purpose concealed his true plan—to create the seed of a Second Empire that would rise from the ashes of the first. What made Seldon's approach revolutionary was not just his ability to predict the fall, but his understanding that historical forces, rather than individual actions, determined humanity's trajectory. He recognized that while the actions of single individuals couldn't be forecast, the behaviors of masses followed statistical patterns. Just as gas laws can predict the behavior of trillions of atoms without tracking each one, psychohistory could chart the course of quadrillions of humans across the galaxy. The true brilliance of Seldon's plan lay in its subtlety. He arranged matters so the people of the Foundation would face a series of crises—later known as "Seldon Crises"—that would force them along the optimal path of development. The first generation of Foundation citizens didn't even know their true purpose, believing they were simply scholars working on an encyclopedia. This deception was necessary, as Seldon understood that people who knew their predicted future might act differently, invalidating the predictions. Thus began the Foundation's journey, guided by the invisible hand of a man who would not live to see his vision fulfilled, but who set in motion forces that would shape galactic history for centuries to come.

Chapter 2: Religious Authority: The Encyclopedists' Crisis

Fifty years after the Foundation's establishment, the first Seldon Crisis emerged. By this time, the Empire had withdrawn from the Periphery, leaving a power vacuum that was quickly filled by independent kingdoms formed from former Imperial prefectures. The Foundation, still believing its primary purpose was to compile the Encyclopedia Galactica, suddenly found itself surrounded by potentially hostile neighbors, particularly the Kingdom of Anacreon. Salvor Hardin, the first Mayor of Terminus City, recognized the danger before his colleagues. While the Board of Trustees, led by Dr. Lewis Pirenne, continued to focus exclusively on the Encyclopedia, Hardin understood that Anacreon's growing military presence threatened the Foundation's existence. The crisis came to a head when Anacreon attempted to establish a military base on Terminus, claiming it was for the planet's protection but clearly intending eventual annexation. What made this situation particularly challenging was the Foundation's lack of resources. As Hardin astutely observed, "Terminus has no metals worth mentioning. We import it all. Consequently, we have no gold, and nothing to pay unless you want a few thousand bushels of potatoes." This material vulnerability forced the Foundation to develop a completely different form of power—one based on knowledge rather than physical resources or military might. The true turning point came when a time vault, prepared by Hari Seldon decades earlier, automatically opened at the moment of crisis. Seldon's recorded message revealed that the Encyclopedia had always been a fraud—merely a pretext to get the Foundation established. The actual mission was to create the nucleus of a Second Galactic Empire. More importantly, Seldon confirmed Hardin's assessment that the solution lay not in resistance but in playing the surrounding kingdoms against each other. Hardin's response demonstrated the Foundation's first major strategic innovation. He transformed scientific knowledge into a religion, with technicians becoming priests who maintained "sacred" nuclear power plants on the surrounding worlds. As Hardin explained, "It's a form of ancestor worship. Their traditions tell of an evil past from which they were saved by the simple and virtuous heroes of the past generations." By controlling the religious hierarchy, the Foundation gained influence far beyond its physical capabilities. This religious authority became the Foundation's first tool of expansion, proving Hardin's famous maxim: "Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent." The crisis established a pattern that would repeat throughout Foundation history—facing seemingly insurmountable external threats by developing novel, non-military sources of power.

Chapter 3: Economic Control: Mayor Hardin's Bloodless Revolution

In the decades following the first Seldon Crisis, Mayor Salvor Hardin consolidated the Foundation's position through his policy of religious control over the surrounding kingdoms. However, as the Foundation grew more secure, internal tensions emerged. A new faction called the Actionists, led by Sef Sermak, began advocating for a more aggressive, militaristic policy. They criticized Hardin's approach as appeasement, arguing that the Foundation should build up its own military forces rather than relying on religious manipulation. This ideological conflict reached its peak during Anacreon's revival under Prince Regent Wienis, who aimed to break free from the Foundation's religious control. Working behind the scenes, Wienis orchestrated a plan to seize a Foundation-repaired imperial cruiser and use it to attack Terminus directly. What made this crisis particularly dangerous was that it combined both external and internal threats—Wienis's military ambitions from outside and Sermak's political challenge from within. Hardin's response revealed the sophisticated political maneuvering that characterized this era. Rather than confronting either threat directly, he allowed events to unfold while positioning himself to exploit the inevitable crisis. He permitted the Imperial cruiser to be repaired while secretly ensuring that the Foundation's technician-priests maintained control over its operation. When Wienis finally moved against the Foundation, Hardin ordered all priests throughout Anacreon to cease their functions—effectively shutting down Anacreon's power plants, communications, and even the newly-repaired warship. The religious mechanism Hardin had established proved its effectiveness in spectacular fashion. The people of Anacreon, believing the Foundation's technology to be divinely blessed, viewed Wienis's actions as blasphemy. The resulting popular uprising forced Anacreon to surrender without the Foundation firing a single shot. As Hardin explained, "When you have a hammer, don't use a screwdriver for the job." The religion he had established was the perfect hammer for this particular problem. This resolution cemented Hardin's position and philosophy. The crisis demonstrated that control over essential infrastructure provided leverage that military force could not match. By making neighboring kingdoms dependent on the Foundation's technical expertise, disguised as religious authority, Hardin created an economic stranglehold that proved more effective than any fleet of ships. This approach would guide Foundation policy for generations, though as Seldon had predicted, each crisis would eventually require new solutions as circumstances evolved.

Chapter 4: The Traders: Nuclear Power and Missionary Work

As the Foundation's influence continued to expand beyond the Four Kingdoms, a new class of pioneers emerged—the Traders. These independent operators ventured into regions where Foundation control had not yet been established, combining commercial enterprise with missionary work. Operating alone or in small groups, they traveled in armed ships, bringing both nuclear technology and the religious framework that had become the Foundation's primary means of expansion. The Traders represented a natural evolution in the Foundation's approach to galactic conquest. Where Hardin's policies had established religious control over neighboring systems, the growing resistance to Foundation missionaries in more distant regions required a new strategy. As one trader observed, "After all, it's one thing to blow your way into a royal court with a blaster, and quite another to win your way with a pocket full of pretty trinkets." These men developed a reputation for cunning, adaptability, and a certain moral flexibility—embodying the unofficial motto adapted from Hardin's philosophy: "Never let your sense of morals prevent you from doing what is right." What made the Traders particularly effective was their dual nature as both commercial agents and religious representatives. They would enter new territories ostensibly as merchants, offering advanced technology that local governments coveted. However, this technology came with strings attached—it required maintenance by Foundation-trained technicians who were also priests of the "religion of science." Over time, this arrangement created dependencies that could be leveraged for political influence, just as Hardin had done with the Four Kingdoms. The case of Limmar Ponyets exemplified the Trader approach. When sent to rescue a fellow trader imprisoned on Askone—a world hostile to Foundation technology due to religious prohibitions—Ponyets didn't rely on force or even traditional religious conversion. Instead, he exploited the greed of a high official by demonstrating a gold-transmuting device. Though the technology was merely a modified food irradiator creating temporarily stable gold, it served its purpose. As Ponyets explained, "It's not just a question of what you sell, but how you sell it." The Traders era marked a significant transition in Foundation history. While still utilizing the religious framework established by Hardin, they introduced economic incentives as an additional tool of influence. This period demonstrated how the Foundation's methods evolved to meet new challenges, with commerce increasingly supplementing religion as the primary vehicle of expansion. The Traders' success established patterns that would later be refined and systematized by the emerging class of Merchant Princes.

Chapter 5: Merchant Princes: Mallow's Commercial Conquest

Approximately seventy-five years after the Foundation's establishment, a new Seldon Crisis emerged that would fundamentally transform its expansion strategy. At the center of this transformation stood Hober Mallow, a trader of unprecedented ambition and vision. Born on Smyrno, one of the former Four Kingdoms, Mallow represented a new generation of Foundation citizens—those who respected its traditions but weren't bound by them. The crisis began when Foundation ships mysteriously disappeared in the region controlled by the Republic of Korell. Suspecting that Korell had somehow acquired nuclear weapons—technology that should have been beyond their capabilities—Foundation authorities sent Mallow to investigate. What made this mission particularly challenging was the hostile attitude toward Foundation missionaries in the Periphery. As Mallow discovered, "There isn't a ruler in the Periphery now that wouldn't sooner cut his own throat than let a priest of the Foundation enter the territory." Mallow's approach represented a radical departure from established policy. During his visit to Korell, he encountered a Foundation missionary being threatened by a mob. Rather than intervening to save him—the expected action of a Foundation representative—Mallow turned him over to local authorities. This shocking decision turned out to be strategically brilliant when Mallow discovered the "missionary" was actually an agent of Korell's secret police, planted to provoke an incident that would justify attacking the Foundation. The most significant aspect of Mallow's mission was his discovery that Korell was receiving nuclear technology from remnants of the Empire itself. Rather than responding with alarm or advocating military action, Mallow established trade relations with Korell, providing them with consumer goods and industrial equipment powered by nuclear generators. This trade made Korell increasingly dependent on Foundation supplies and maintenance. Upon returning to Terminus, Mallow faced political challenges from traditionalists who accused him of abandoning the religious strategy that had served the Foundation for decades. In his defense, Mallow articulated a new philosophy: "It is a form of ancestor worship. Advanced science and nuclear power in particular became identified with the old imperial regime they remember with horror. That is what we must change." He argued that economic dependence was more effective than religious control in an increasingly sophisticated Periphery. Mallow's vision was validated when war eventually broke out. Rather than fighting, he simply cut off trade with Korell. As their nuclear-powered devices began failing one by one, from household appliances to industrial machinery, popular pressure forced Korell's government to surrender. This "war without battles" established a new paradigm for Foundation expansion—one based on commercial rather than religious dominance. As Mallow explained, "A king, or a Commdor, will take the ships and even make war. But it's still the little things in life that count." Mallow's approach ushered in the era of the Merchant Princes, with economic power replacing religious authority as the Foundation's primary tool of influence.

Chapter 6: The Korellian Crisis: Trade Without Priests

The confrontation with Korell marked a pivotal transition in Foundation strategy. Under Hober Mallow's leadership, the Foundation abandoned its previous reliance on religious manipulation and fully embraced commercial domination. This shift wasn't merely tactical but represented a fundamental evolution in how the Foundation exercised power across the Periphery. As Mallow himself put it, "The old days when the Empire began to die at the edges are gone, and so are the days when barbarism and anarchy were spreading. The old days of the Galactic Empire are gone, too, never to return." At the heart of this new approach was a sophisticated understanding of economic dependency. Mallow's genius lay in recognizing that nuclear-powered consumer goods created an addiction more powerful than religious devotion. When war finally erupted between Korell and the Foundation, Mallow refused to respond with military force. Instead, he imposed what modern observers might call sanctions—cutting off all trade and technical support. Without Foundation technicians to maintain their equipment, Korell's economy began to collapse as both household appliances and industrial machinery failed. What made this strategy particularly effective was its targeted impact on different segments of Korellian society. As Mallow explained to his critics: "When two years of the stalemate have gone, the machines in the factories will, one by one, begin to fail. Those industries which we have changed from first to last with our new nuclear gadgets will find themselves very suddenly ruined." By affecting both common citizens and powerful industrialists, the trade embargo created internal pressure that no military force could match. The Korellian Crisis also highlighted the contrast between Foundation and Imperial technology. During his investigations, Mallow had discovered that while the Empire still possessed nuclear power, its technology had become stagnant and inefficient. Imperial generators required entire buildings to house equipment that the Foundation could miniaturize to pocket size. This technological edge gave the Foundation a crucial advantage, even against opponents supplied with Imperial weapons. Perhaps most significantly, this crisis vindicated Hari Seldon's psychohistorical predictions. As Mallow defended his unconventional approach: "I'm sure of the Seldon crisis and the historical validity of their solutions, externally and internally." By transforming the Foundation from a quasi-religious entity into a commercial empire, Mallow fulfilled the next stage of Seldon's plan without even fully understanding it. This demonstrated how Seldon's psychohistory operated—guiding the Foundation along the optimal path through a series of crises that forced adaptive responses, regardless of whether the participants comprehended the larger pattern.

Chapter 7: Seldon's Plan Unfolds: Economic Forces Over Military Power

The Foundation's victory over Korell through economic means rather than military force represented the culmination of nearly a century of evolution in its approach to expansion. From the religious control established by Salvor Hardin to the trade dominance perfected by Hober Mallow, the Foundation had developed increasingly sophisticated methods of extending its influence across the Periphery. These developments were not random but followed the invisible path laid out by Hari Seldon's psychohistorical calculations. What made this evolution particularly remarkable was how it contradicted conventional wisdom about power and empire-building. Traditional political entities throughout galactic history had relied on military conquest to expand their territories. The Empire itself had maintained control through its overwhelming fleet of warships and garrisons of troops. The Foundation, by contrast, conquered without armies. As Mallow explained during his trial: "I hate to describe my feelings when I first heard that we had a refugee missionary on board. I even hate to remember them. Essentially, they consisted of wild uncertainty." The Foundation's commercial strategy proved devastatingly effective against Korell precisely because it targeted not just the government but the entire social fabric. When household appliances began failing and factories shut down, popular pressure forced the Korellian leadership to capitulate without a single battle being fought. This approach validated Mallow's insight that "It's still the little things in life that count—and Asper Argo won't stand up against the economic depression that will sweep all Korell in two or three years." Beyond its immediate effectiveness, this transition to commercial dominance represented a fulfillment of Seldon's predictions about how the Foundation would evolve. Each crisis had forced the Foundation to develop new tools of influence appropriate to its growing power and changing circumstances. From Encyclopedia to religion to trade, each phase built upon the previous while adding new dimensions of control. As one Foundation official noted: "There will be other crises in the time to come when money power has become as dead a force as religion is now." Perhaps the most profound insight from this period was the recognition that true power lay not in destructive capability but in creating systems of dependency. While the Empire could obliterate worlds, the Foundation could make them prosper—but only on its terms. This approach ensured not just compliance but willing participation from conquered territories. As Mallow predicted: "And so after three years of a war which was certainly the most unfought war on record, the Republic of Korell surrendered unconditionally." With this victory, Hober Mallow joined Hari Seldon and Salvor Hardin in the pantheon of Foundation heroes, each having guided it through a critical transition. The Foundation's first century had seen it progress from a vulnerable outpost to a dominant economic force in the Periphery, well on its way to fulfilling Seldon's ultimate vision of a Second Galactic Empire—one built not on military might but on the seemingly irresistible forces of commerce and technology.

Summary

Across the first century of the Foundation's existence, a clear pattern emerges in how power is exercised and empires are built. Starting with Hari Seldon's mathematical foresight, progressing through Salvor Hardin's religious manipulation, and culminating in Hober Mallow's commercial dominance, we witness an evolution from direct to indirect forms of control. The Foundation's story demonstrates that genuine influence comes not from imposing your will through force, but by creating systems that make others dependent on what you alone can provide. Whether through exclusive access to scientific knowledge, religious authority, or economic necessity, the Foundation consistently found ways to make submission the most rational choice for its neighbors. This historical progression offers profound insights for understanding power dynamics in our own world. First, technological advantage only matters when it creates dependencies that can't easily be broken. Second, social systems are transformed more effectively through economic incentives than through ideological conversion or military conquest. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, resilient power structures are those that adapt their methods to changing circumstances while maintaining core strategic principles. Like the Foundation's leaders, we would do well to recognize when our familiar tools have reached their limits, and be willing to embrace new approaches that better suit evolving conditions. The future, as always, belongs not to those who cling to tradition, but to those who can anticipate and shape the next phase of development.

About Author

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Isaac Asimov

Works of prolific Russian-American writer Isaac Asimov include popular explanations of scientific principles, The Foundation Trilogy (1951-1953), and other volumes of fiction.Isaac Asimov, a professor of biochemistry, wrote as a highly successful author, best known for his books.Asimov, professor, generally considered of all time, edited more than five hundred books and ninety thousand letters and postcards. He published in nine of the ten major categories of the Dewey decimal classification but lacked only an entry in the category of philosophy (100). People widely considered Asimov, a master of the genre alongside Robert Anson Heinlein and Arthur Charles Clarke as the "big three" during his lifetime. He later tied Galactic Empire and the Robot into the same universe as his most famous series to create a unified "future history" for his stories much like those that Heinlein pioneered and Cordwainer Smith and Poul Anderson previously produced. He penned "Nightfall," voted in 1964 as the best short story of all time; many persons still honor this title. He also produced well mysteries, fantasy, and a great quantity of nonfiction. Asimov used Paul French, the pen name, for the Lucky Starr, series of juvenile novels.Most books of Asimov in a historical way go as far back to a time with possible question or concept at its simplest stage. He often provides and mentions well nationalities, birth, and death dates for persons and etymologies and pronunciation guides for technical terms. Guide to Science, the tripartite set Understanding Physics, and Chronology of Science and Discovery exemplify these books. Asimov, a long-time member, reluctantly served as vice president of Mensa international and described some members of that organization as "brain-proud and aggressive about their IQs." He took more pleasure as president of the humanist association. The asteroid 5020 Asimov, the magazine Asimov's Science Fiction, an elementary school in Brooklyn in New York, and two different awards honor his name. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_As...

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