Foundation's Triumph
Encyclopedia
Foundation's Triumph is a science fiction
novel
by David Brin
, set in Isaac Asimov
's Foundation
universe. It is the third book of the Second Foundation trilogy, which was written after Asimov's death by three authors, authorized by the Asimov estate. Brin synthesizes dozens of Foundation-Empire-Robots novels and short stories by Asimov, Roger MacBride Allen, and authorized others into a consistent framework. Foundation's Triumph includes an appendix chronology compiled by Attila Torkos.
who reviews his life and has to accept the fact that his “purpose” is completed. One day he meets a bureaucrat, Horis Antic, who explains his theory about the correlation of certain soil
s on planets and psychohistory
. Seldon agrees to take a trip to some of the planets which fit Antic’s theory. Hari and Horis travel to Demarchia, where they rent a yacht.
Parallel to Seldon’s story, Dors Venabili
starts out on the planet Panucopia to meet Lodovik Trema, a robot
whose Three Laws of Robotics
have been erased. Lodovic gives her the head of R. Giskard Reventlov, an important robot who founded the Zeroth Law with R. Daneel Olivaw
. She finds out that Giskard and Daneel never consulted a human while founding the Zeroth Law.
Later Trema meets a faction of cyborg
s and joins them. After Dors has become a rebel, she fights for the cyborgs as well.
The third plot of the novel is on Eos. Daneel talks to his possible successor Zun Lurrin. An interesting point is that all chapters with Olivaw as the main character are written in a different typeface.
In Seldon's story, during the flight to the first planet the yacht is taken over by rebels, who are from the renaissance or chaos planet Ktlina. They show Seldon ancient spaceships with many data capsules from the human past.
Robots take over the yacht and destroy the data capsules and the ancient ships with the permission of Seldon. During the flight back to Trantor
a rebel, Gornon Vlimt, turns out to be another robot from a faction of Calvinians, who want to send Hari into the future.
At last all factions meet on Earth. The Calvinians are stopped by Daneel and Wanda Seldon
. Old friends Seldon and Daneel meet one final time, to discuss philosophy. Despite the apparent eventual dominance of Galaxia, Seldon confides his belief that the second Galactic Empire will include both the two Foundations, following the Seldon Plan, and Galaxia. "Will there be an Encyclopedia Galactica
a thousand years from now," asks Seldon, betting that if his belief is correct, there will be regularly updated editions of it. Since most Foundation novels use the Encyclopedia as a framing device for its chapters, it seems that Seldon has correctly predicted the successful synthesis of the two Foundations and Galaxia.
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
by David Brin
David Brin
Glen David Brin, Ph.D. is an American scientist and award-winning author of science fiction. He has received the Hugo, Locus, Campbell and Nebula Awards.-Biography:...
, set in Isaac Asimov
Isaac Asimov
Isaac Asimov was an American author and professor of biochemistry at Boston University, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books. Asimov was one of the most prolific writers of all time, having written or edited more than 500 books and an estimated 90,000...
's Foundation
The Foundation Series
The Foundation Series is a science fiction series by Isaac Asimov. There are seven volumes in the Foundation Series proper, which in its in-universe chronological order are: Prelude to Foundation, Forward the Foundation, Foundation, Foundation and Empire, Second Foundation, Foundation's Edge, and...
universe. It is the third book of the Second Foundation trilogy, which was written after Asimov's death by three authors, authorized by the Asimov estate. Brin synthesizes dozens of Foundation-Empire-Robots novels and short stories by Asimov, Roger MacBride Allen, and authorized others into a consistent framework. Foundation's Triumph includes an appendix chronology compiled by Attila Torkos.
Plot summary
Foundation’s Triumph starts with Hari SeldonHari Seldon
Hari Seldon, a fictional character, is the intellectual hero of Isaac Asimov's Foundation Series. In his capacity as mathematics professor at Streeling University on Trantor, he developed psychohistory, allowing him to predict the future in probabilistic terms...
who reviews his life and has to accept the fact that his “purpose” is completed. One day he meets a bureaucrat, Horis Antic, who explains his theory about the correlation of certain soil
Soil
Soil is a natural body consisting of layers of mineral constituents of variable thicknesses, which differ from the parent materials in their morphological, physical, chemical, and mineralogical characteristics...
s on planets and psychohistory
Psychohistory (fictional)
Psychohistory is a fictional science in Isaac Asimov's Foundation universe which combines history, sociology, and mathematical statistics to make general predictions about the future behavior of very large groups of people, such as the Galactic Empire...
. Seldon agrees to take a trip to some of the planets which fit Antic’s theory. Hari and Horis travel to Demarchia, where they rent a yacht.
Parallel to Seldon’s story, Dors Venabili
Dors Venabili
In Isaac Asimov's Foundation Series, Dors Venabili is a good friend, protector and later wife of Hari Seldon, the primary character of Prelude to Foundation and Forward the Foundation. At face value, Dors is an attractive woman, two years younger than Seldon...
starts out on the planet Panucopia to meet Lodovik Trema, a robot
Robot
A robot is a mechanical or virtual intelligent agent that can perform tasks automatically or with guidance, typically by remote control. In practice a robot is usually an electro-mechanical machine that is guided by computer and electronic programming. Robots can be autonomous, semi-autonomous or...
whose Three Laws of Robotics
Three Laws of Robotics
The Three Laws of Robotics are a set of rules devised by the science fiction author Isaac Asimov and later added to. The rules are introduced in his 1942 short story "Runaround", although they were foreshadowed in a few earlier stories...
have been erased. Lodovic gives her the head of R. Giskard Reventlov, an important robot who founded the Zeroth Law with R. Daneel Olivaw
R. Daneel Olivaw
R. Daneel Olivaw is a fictional robot created by Isaac Asimov. The "R" initial in his name stands for "robot," a naming convention in Asimov's future society...
. She finds out that Giskard and Daneel never consulted a human while founding the Zeroth Law.
Later Trema meets a faction of cyborg
Cyborg
A cyborg is a being with both biological and artificial parts. The term was coined in 1960 when Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline used it in an article about the advantages of self-regulating human-machine systems in outer space. D. S...
s and joins them. After Dors has become a rebel, she fights for the cyborgs as well.
The third plot of the novel is on Eos. Daneel talks to his possible successor Zun Lurrin. An interesting point is that all chapters with Olivaw as the main character are written in a different typeface.
In Seldon's story, during the flight to the first planet the yacht is taken over by rebels, who are from the renaissance or chaos planet Ktlina. They show Seldon ancient spaceships with many data capsules from the human past.
Robots take over the yacht and destroy the data capsules and the ancient ships with the permission of Seldon. During the flight back to Trantor
Trantor
Trantor is a fictional planet in Isaac Asimov's Foundation Series and Empire Series of science fiction novels.Trantor was first described in a short story by Asimov appearing in Early Asimov Volume 1. Later Trantor gained prominence when the 1940s Foundation Series first appeared in print . Asimov...
a rebel, Gornon Vlimt, turns out to be another robot from a faction of Calvinians, who want to send Hari into the future.
At last all factions meet on Earth. The Calvinians are stopped by Daneel and Wanda Seldon
Wanda Seldon
Wanda Seldon is a fictional character in Isaac Asimov's science fiction Foundation series. The daughter of Raych Seldon and Manella Dubanqua, Wanda played a key role in creating the two Foundations....
. Old friends Seldon and Daneel meet one final time, to discuss philosophy. Despite the apparent eventual dominance of Galaxia, Seldon confides his belief that the second Galactic Empire will include both the two Foundations, following the Seldon Plan, and Galaxia. "Will there be an Encyclopedia Galactica
Encyclopedia Galactica
The Encyclopædia Galactica is a fictional or hypothetical encyclopædia of a future human galaxy-spanning civilization, containing all the knowledge accumulated by a society with quadrillions of people and thousands of years of history...
a thousand years from now," asks Seldon, betting that if his belief is correct, there will be regularly updated editions of it. Since most Foundation novels use the Encyclopedia as a framing device for its chapters, it seems that Seldon has correctly predicted the successful synthesis of the two Foundations and Galaxia.