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Book table

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Serialization Collections
Publication Date Original Title Retitle Book Title Publication Date
Original Trilogy
May 1942 "Foundation (short story)" "The Encyclopedists" Foundation 1951
June 1942 "Bridle and Saddle" "The Mayors (short story)"
August 1944 "The Big and the Little" "The Merchant Princes (novella)"
October 1944 "The Wedge (short story)" "The Traders"
"The Psychohistorians"
April 1945 "Dead Hand (novella)" "The General (novella)" Foundation and Empire 1952
November 1945
December 1945
"The Mule" "The Mule (novella)"
January 1948 "Now You See It... (novella)" "Part I: Search by the Mule" Second Foundation 1953
November 1949
December 1949
January 1950
"...And Now You Don't" "Part II: Search by the Foundation"

Characters

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Sequels

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  • Bliss, full name Blissenobiarella, is an inhabitant of the planet Gaia, introduced in Foundation's Edge (1982). She is chosen to escort two Foundation men, Golan Trevize and Janov Pelorat during their visit.

Bliss, like all Gaians, has an enormous affinity for life and can't bear to see life destroyed. She is long distrusted by Trevize while his partner, Pelorat, is quickly fascinated and they become lovers.


  • Harla Branno is the mayor of Terminus during the Eighth Seldon Crisis in Foundation's Edge. Suspicions arise that the Second Foundation has not been destroyed as previously believed, because it or some other galactic force is keeping Seldon's Plan too closely on course. Branno schemes to trap the Second Foundation into revealing itself, which it eventually does.[1]: 192–193  Gunn suggests that though the novel gives more agency to female characters that previous installments in the series, Branno "is cast in the same mold" as key male characters Salvor Hardin and Hober Mallow.[1]: 193 

  • Stor Gendibal

  • Sura Novi

  • Janov Pelorat

  • Golan Trevize is a Foundation councilman who speaks out against Seldon's plan in Foundation's Edge.

Foundation's Edge (1982)

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Five hundred years after the establishment of the Foundation, the Mayor of Terminus, Harla Branno, is basking in a political glow, as her policies having been vindicated by the recent successful resolution of a Seldon Crisis. Golan Trevize, a former officer of the Navy and now a member of Council, believes the Second Foundation, which is almost universally thought to be extinct, still exists and is controlling events. He attempts to question the continued existence of the Seldon Plan during a Council session, but Branno has him arrested on a charge of treason. Branno also believes that the Second Foundation still exists and is in control, but she cannot admit it publicly for political reasons, and treats that as a state secret, hence her alarm and her swift action.

So, she orders Trevize to leave Terminus to search for the Second Foundation. As a cover, he is to be accompanied by Janov Pelorat, a professor of Ancient History and mythologist, who is interested in the location of Earth, the fabled original world of the human species. They are provided a highly advanced computer-controlled "gravitic" ship to carry out their mission. Branno also sends out Munn Li Compor in another similar vessel to follow and monitor Trevize.

Indeed, the Second Foundation still does exist, but rather than being in complete control, as the First Foundation fears, it has similar worries. On Trantor, home of the Second Foundation, Stor Gendibal, a rising intellect in the Second Foundation hierarchy, reveals to Quindor Shandess, the current First Speaker, his finding that the Seldon Plan, which the Second Foundation diligently protects and furthers along, is being manipulated by some unknown group, probably more powerful than the Second Foundation, with unknown motivations. Shandess dubs this group the "Anti-Mules", as they seem to possess powers similar to the Mule, but to be using them not to destroy the Seldon Plan, as the Mule had tried to do, but rather to preserve it.

At first, Gendibal's ideas are very badly received by the other Speakers, with Shandess alone supporting him, and he is threatened with expulsion, but the Speakers' resistance is overcome when Gendibal demonstrates that the brain of Sura Novi, a member of the Hamish, the rude people of farmers who inhabit and cultivate Trantor, shows a subtle change to her mind that would be far beyond the Second Foundation's capabilities to make, and could only have been made by a much more powerful entity, probably the "Anti-Mules". Gendibal and Novi are sent out on a spaceship to track Trevize and determine the goals of the "Anti-Mules".

Meanwhile, Trevize and Pelorat engage in the latter's project to locate Earth, but there is no planet with that name in the galactic table of planets, and none with its exact predicted characteristics either. However, Pelorat mentions having heard of a planet called Gaia, whose name he somehow discovered to mean Earth in some ancient language. Its coordinates are unknown, but it is supposed to be somewhere in the Sayshell Sector. Trevize decides that they must go there to follow up on this lead. On the Sayshell main planet, Trevize and Pelorat meet a scholar, Professor Quintesetz, who is able to reluctantly give them the coordinates to Gaia. They travel there and discover that Gaia is a "superorganism" where all things, both living and inanimate, participate in a larger group consciousness, while still retaining any individual awareness they might have. Pelorat slowly falls in love with a Gaian woman named Blissenobiarella, commonly called Bliss.

Gendibal finds Trevize's location with information from Compor, who is secretly a Second Foundation agent. On approaching Gaia, Gendibal is met by a First Foundation warship, commanded by Mayor Branno. As Gendibal's mental powers stalemate with Mayor Branno's force shield, Novi reveals herself as an agent of Gaia. She joins the stalemate and the three are locked until Trevize can join them. Bliss explains to Trevize that he had been led to Gaia so that his untouched mind, which has unique, remarkable powers of intuition, can decide the galaxy's fate — whether it will be ruled by the First Foundation, by the Second Foundation, or by Gaia, which envisions an extension of its group consciousness to the entire galaxy, thus forming the new entity Galaxia. He also learns that the stalemate between the First Foundation (Branno), the Second Foundation (Gendibal), and Gaia (Novi) was intentional, and that through his ship's computer, he can decide who shall ultimately prove victorious.

Trevize decides upon Gaia, and through mental adjustments, Gaia makes Branno and Gendibal believe they have won minor victories, and that Gaia does not exist. But Trevize is troubled by one final missing piece of information: In the course of their investigation, Trevize and Pelorat had found out that all references to Earth had been removed from the Galactic Library at Trantor. Trevize wants to know who did this and why, as Gaia denies having done that. He announces his intention to find Earth, since without knowing the answers to those questions, he cannot be certain his choice was the right one. Trevize also explains that he chose Gaia because that was the only choice of the three that was reversible in case his choice should prove to be wrong, due to the large length of time required for the formation of Galaxia.


  • Review: "Foundation's Edge by Isaac Asimov". Kirkus Reviews. October 22, 1982. Retrieved September 14, 2011.

Review
Foundation’s Edge by Isaac Asimov

By John Folk-Williams[2]

A key aspect of the story is that it goes beyond the “Seldon crises” of psychohistory that drive the plot of the original trilogy. It is now almost 500 years since the founding of Terminus and the first Foundation. The Galactic Empire has fallen, as Seldon predicted, Trantor has been sacked, reverting to agriculture for its vastly reduced population, and the first Foundation is well on its way to dominating the galaxy and forming an empire of its own. But, strangely enough, the story begins with a Foundation councilman on Terminus shouting out that the Seldon plan is meaningless.

That is Golan Trevise, who is promptly arrested and sent into exile by Mayor Harla Branno (a strong older female character, so unusual in Asimov’s male world) who is basking in the glory of having acted correctly to avert the latest Seldon crisis. Joining Trevise on this journey is Janov Pelorat, a retiring older scholar whose fascination is studying the legends of ancient Earth, rumored to be the original home of humankind. Mayor Branno thinks Trevise could be under the control of the Second Foundation and that he could lead the Foundation to determine the whereabouts of that shadowy organization and root it out once and for all. I never quite grasped why the two Foundations, both created as part of Seldon’s plan, should be antagonistic, but that has been the driving force of several stories in the cycle to this point. The original Foundation on Terminus has succeeded primarily by virtue of its vastly superior technology and economic power and looks forward to extending its reach to the entire range of worlds once controlled by the now failed empire that preceded it.

Just as Trevise is challenging the basis of the Seldon Plan on Terminus, so is another brilliant young man doing the same on Trantor, the secret home of the Second Foundation. Stor Gendibal hopes to become the youngest First Speaker, or guiding intellect, of the elite group of Speakers who monitor and make adjustments to the plan created by Hari Seldon. Gendibal persuades the current First Speaker, Quindor Shandess, that the Seldon plan’s perfection in recent decades is the sure sign of its irrelevance. He believes that there must be a third force keeping the plan on track through a source of intellectual power unknown to either of the existing Foundations. Gendibal believes that Trevise might be the key to discovering this new power, and so he is sent off to locate the ship from Terminus and track its movements. His companion on this trip is Sura Novi, a farm woman who wants to become a scholar. She at first appears to be totally subservient to the condescending Gendibal, but their relationship becomes a real friendship as time goes on. And later in the story she plays a crucial role.

All the action converges in a star system which has never been catalogued in the vast databases of the Galaxy, the Gaia system. Trevise and Pelorat arrive there first when their ship is grabbed by a powerful force emanating from a space station orbiting a planet they suspect could be Earth. A ship from the station comes alongside theirs and soon a mysterious figure enters their ship. This turns out to be “a young and undeniably pretty woman.” Here comes the most cringeworthy scene, as the woman, calling herself Bliss, steps out of her space suit in translucent clothing, giving the narrator a chance to describe her body in detail. She throws wide her arms, declaring ”Men have died for this body.” It turns out she is a representative of the planet Gaia where consciousness infuses every living and nonliving thing. She is also a much more complicated figure than she at first appears to be. Her initial role is to escort Trevise and Pelorat down to the surface where an elder named Dom (for short, there are another fifty or so syllables to his name) can explain fully what is going on.

I won’t go into the rest of the story, except to say that robots and the three laws of robotics come up for discussion, and it becomes clear that Gaia is not Earth. So Foundation’s Edge sets up the search for Earth in Foundation and Earth, the last novel in the chronology of the Foundation universe, and the one that most explicitly weaves together this series with the robot novels. (Asimov would go on to write two prequel novels at the end of his life in the 1990s.) What I enjoy about Foundation’s Edge is that it pushes the unfolding story of the first trilogy in a different direction and introduces a lot of exciting ideas. While Asimov’s characters, especially the women, and his scene structure show little change over time, his great strength is creating an interesting battle of wits while leading the story into intriguing new territory. I would call this essential reading for fans of the Foundation trilogy.


Foundation and Earth (1986)

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References
  1. ^ a b c Gunn, James (1982). Isaac Asimov: The Foundations of Science Fiction (2005 Revised ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-8108-5420-1. Archived from the original on 2024-03-08. Retrieved 2024-02-26.
  2. ^ a b Folk-Williams, John (January 22, 2024). "Foundation's Edge by Isaac Asimov". SciFi Mind. Archived from the original on February 27, 2024. Retrieved February 27, 2024.
  3. ^ Wimmer, Josh; Wilkins, Alasdair (May 12, 2011). "Foundation's Edge by Isaac Asimov: The End Is the Beginning Is the End". Gizmodo. Archived from the original on February 26, 2024. Retrieved February 26, 2024.
  4. ^ Wimmer, Josh; Wilkins, Alasdair (May 13, 2011). "Home Again, Home Again, in So Many Ways: Isaac Asimov's Foundation and Earth". Gizmodo. Archived from the original on February 26, 2024. Retrieved February 26, 2024.

Sources

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  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference scifimike was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference gizmodo 1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference gizmodo 2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference scifimike 2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference gizmodo 3 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference scifimind 3 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference scifimike 4 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference gizmodo 4 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference gizmodo 5 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference gizmodo 6 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference gizmodo 7 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

TV

Literary

TV Tropes
Hardin
  • The barbarian kingdoms are unable to differentiate between science and magic Scientism

Foundation (TV series)

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Season 1 (2021)

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No.
overall
No. in
season
TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal release date
11[1][2][3]"The Emperor's Peace"Rupert SandersDavid S. Goyer & Josh FriedmanSeptember 24, 2021 (2021-09-24)
22[1][2][3]"Preparing to Live"Andrew BernsteinJosh Friedman & David S. GoyerSeptember 24, 2021 (2021-09-24)
33[4]"The Mathematician's Ghost"Alex GravesOlivia PurnellOctober 1, 2021 (2021-10-01)
44[5]"Barbarians at the Gate (Foundation)"Alex GravesLauren BelloOctober 8, 2021 (2021-10-08)
55[6]"Upon Awakening"Alex GravesLeigh Dana JacksonOctober 15, 2021 (2021-10-15)
66[7]"Death and the Maiden (Foundation)"Jennifer PhangMarcus GardleyOctober 22, 2021 (2021-10-22)
77[8]"Mysteries and Martyrs"Jennifer PhangCaitlin SaundersOctober 29, 2021 (2021-10-29)
88[9]"The Missing Piece (Foundation)"Roxann DawsonSarah NolenNovember 5, 2021 (2021-11-05)
99[10][11]"The First Crisis"Roxann DawsonVictoria MorrowNovember 12, 2021 (2021-11-12)
1010[12]"The Leap (Foundation)"David S. GoyerDavid S. GoyerNovember 19, 2021 (2021-11-19)

Season 2 (2023)

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No.
overall
No. in
season
TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal release date
111[13]"In Seldon's Shadow"Alex GravesDavid S. Goyer & Jane EspensonJuly 14, 2023 (2023-07-14)
122[14]"A Glimpse of Darkness"David S. GoyerJane Espenson & David S. GoyerJuly 21, 2023 (2023-07-21)
133[15]"King and Commoner"David S. GoyerLeigh Dana Jackson & Jane EspensonJuly 28, 2023 (2023-07-28)
144[16]"Where the Stars are Scattered Thinly"Mark TonderaiLeigh Dana Jackson & David S. GoyerAugust 4, 2023 (2023-08-04)
155[17][18]"The Sighted and the Seen"Alex GravesJoelle Garfinkel & Jane EspensonAugust 11, 2023 (2023-08-11)
166[19]"Why the Gods Made Wine"Alex GravesStory by : David S. Goyer
Teleplay by : Jane Espenson
August 18, 2023 (2023-08-18)
177[20]"A Necessary Death"Mark TonderaiEric Carrasco & David KobAugust 25, 2023 (2023-08-25)
188[21][22]"The Last Empress (Foundation)"Roxann DawsonLiz Phang, Addie Manis & Bob OltraSeptember 1, 2023 (2023-09-01)
199[23][24]"Long Ago, Not Far Away"Roxann DawsonJane Espenson & Eric CarrascoSeptember 8, 2023 (2023-09-08)
2010[25][26]"Creation Myths (Foundation)"Alex GravesDavid S. Goyer & Liz PhangSeptember 15, 2023 (2023-09-15)
  1. ^ a b Motamayor, Rafael (September 24, 2021). "Foundation Premiere Review: 'The Emperor's Peace' and 'Preparing to Live'". IGN. Archived from the original on February 28, 2024. Retrieved February 28, 2024.
  2. ^ a b East, Michael (September 24, 2021). "Foundation Premiere Review: 'The Emperor's Peace' and 'Preparing to Live'". Winter Is Coming. Archived from the original on January 16, 2022. Retrieved January 16, 2022.
  3. ^ a b Wanserski, Nick (September 24, 2021). "Foundation Arrives to Bring Hope in the Encroaching Darkness". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on February 28, 2024. Retrieved March 5, 2024.
  4. ^ Wanserski, Nick (October 1, 2021). "A Clumsy Foundation Tries to Clear Space for New Stories". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on February 13, 2023. Retrieved March 5, 2024.
  5. ^ Wanserski, Nick (October 8, 2021). "A Serviceable Foundation Settles into a Pattern". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on February 13, 2023. Retrieved March 5, 2024.
  6. ^ Wanserski, Nick (October 15, 2021). "Foundation Pairs a Weak Flashback with a Strong Move Forward". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on March 1, 2024. Retrieved March 5, 2024.}
  7. ^ Wanserski, Nick (October 22, 2021). "Foundation Explores the Many Ways an Empire Can Decay". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on July 14, 2023. Retrieved March 5, 2024.}
  8. ^ Wanserski, Nick (October 29, 2021). "Foundation Explores Old Mysteries and New Discoveries". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on July 14, 2023. Retrieved March 5, 2024.}
  9. ^ Wanserski, Nick (November 5, 2021). "As Foundation Nears the End, It Remains a Fun Story Lacking Focus". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on September 22, 2023. Retrieved March 5, 2024.
  10. ^ Sáenz, Lissete Lanuza (November 12, 2021). "Foundation Season 1, Episode 9, 'The First Crisis', Recap & Spoilers". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on November 22, 2021. Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  11. ^ Wanserski, Nick (November 12, 2021). "With One Episode Remaining, Foundation Becomes Needlessly Messy". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on July 14, 2023. Retrieved March 5, 2024.
  12. ^ Wanserski, Nick (November 19, 2021). "In Its Finale, Foundation Narrows the Entire Galaxy Down to Two People". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on March 1, 2024. Retrieved March 1, 2024.
  13. ^ Collins, Sean T. (July 14, 2023). "Foundation Season 2 Episode 1 Recap: 'In Seldon's Shadow'". Decider. Archived from the original on October 22, 2023. Retrieved March 5, 2024.
  14. ^ Collins, Sean T. (July 21, 2023). "Foundation Season 2 Episode 2 Recap: 'A Glimpse of Darkness'". Decider. Archived from the original on August 4, 2023. Retrieved March 5, 2024.
  15. ^ Collins, Sean T. (July 28, 2023). "Foundation Season 2 Episode 3 Recap: 'King and Commoner'". Decider. Archived from the original on August 1, 2023. Retrieved March 5, 2024.
  16. ^ Collins, Sean T. (August 4, 2023). "Foundation Season 2 Episode 4 Recap: 'Where the Stars Are Scattered Thinly'". Decider. Archived from the original on March 1, 2024. Retrieved March 1, 2024.
  17. ^ Collins, Sean T. (August 11, 2023). "Foundation Season 2 Episode 5 Recap: 'The Sighted and the Seen'". Decider. Archived from the original on August 16, 2023. Retrieved March 5, 2024.
  18. ^ Motamayor, Rafael (August 11, 2023). "Foundation Recap: Forget It, Jake, It's Trantor". Vulture. Archived from the original on March 1, 2024. Retrieved March 1, 2024.
  19. ^ Collins, Sean T. (August 18, 2023). "Foundation Season 2 Episode 6 Recap: "'Why the Gods Made Wine'". Decider. Archived from the original on August 29, 2023. Retrieved March 5, 2024.
  20. ^ Collins, Sean T. (August 25, 2023). "Foundation Season 2 Episode 7 Recap: 'A Necessary Death'". Decider. Archived from the original on September 10, 2023. Retrieved March 5, 2024.
  21. ^ Collins, Sean T. (September 1, 2023). "Foundation Season 2 Episode 8 Recap: 'The Last Empress'". Decider. Archived from the original on September 22, 2023. Retrieved March 5, 2024.
  22. ^ Motamayor, Rafael (September 2, 2023). "Foundation Recap: I, Demerzel". Vulture. Archived from the original on February 29, 2024. Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  23. ^ Collins, Sean T. (September 8, 2023). "Foundation Season 2 Episode 9 Recap: 'Long Ago, Not Far Away'". Decider. Archived from the original on October 14, 2023. Retrieved March 5, 2024.
  24. ^ Motamayor, Rafael (September 8, 2023). "Foundation Recap: Robot and Empire". Vulture. Archived from the original on February 29, 2024. Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  25. ^ Collins, Sean T. (September 15, 2023). "Foundation Season 2 Finale Recap: 'Creation Myths'". Decider. Archived from the original on September 29, 2023. Retrieved March 5, 2024.
  26. ^ Leite, Marcelo (September 15, 2023). "Foundation Season 2's Ending Explained". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on November 17, 2023. Retrieved February 28, 2024.

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