Second Foundation
Encyclopedia
Second Foundation is the third novel published of the Foundation series by Isaac Asimov
, and the fifth in the in-universe chronology. It was first published in 1953 by Gnome Press
.
Second Foundation saw multiple publications. The stories comprising this volume were originally published in Astounding Magazine (with different titles) between 1948 and 1950. Two other books of short stories were published shortly before, and decades later, Asimov wrote two further sequel novels and two prequels. Later writers have added authorized tales to the series. The Foundation Series is often regarded as one of Isaac Asimov's best works, along with his robot series.
The term also describes the organization by that name which is the focus of the book. The organization's existence (and nothing more) had been revealed in Foundation
, searched for in Foundation and Empire
, and makes brief appearances in this novel. It would not be described in detail until Foundation's Edge
.
's search for the elusive Second Foundation, with the intent of destroying it. The executive council of the Second Foundation is aware of the Mule's intent and, in the words of the First Speaker
, allows him to find it -- "in a sense". In the end the agents of the Second Foundation are able to catch the Mule off guard and telepathically alter his psyche, causing him to return to Kalgan to live out the remainder of his short life as essentially a benevolent despot. Search by the Mule was originally published in the January 1948 issue of Astounding Science Fiction under the title "Now You See It—".
Part II: Search By the Foundation takes place sixty years after the first part, fifty-five years after the Mule's death (by natural causes). The members of the (First) Foundation are now fully aware that the Second Foundation is out there (they had known of its existence all along, but had not known its purpose or nature until the Mule's arrival). Also concurrent with this plot thread is the Foundation's ongoing conflict with the Mule's former imperial capital at Kalgan. The ensuing war is won by the Foundation, and is listed in the Encyclopedia Galactica
as the last major conflict before the rise of the Second Empire.
After inventing a device that can jam telepathic abilities and can even be used to cause telepaths great pain, the Foundation finds and locates telepaths on Terminus
, "at the other end of the galaxy" (from the First Foundation, also at Terminus). Since, as Arkady Darell
puts it, "a circle has no end", then by tracing the disc of the galaxy around its edge, one would come back to Terminus. Thus, they declare the Second Foundation destroyed after finding the roughly 50 mentalist agents on Terminus, and are content to forget the matter. Finally, in response to the question "Where is the Second Foundation?", the First Foundation had found an answer that fit. However, although this was "the answer that satisfied", this was not "the answer that was true".
The Second Foundation was actually located on Trantor
, at the centre of the galaxy. It was called "Star's End" due to the ancient saying that "All roads lead to Trantor, and that is where all stars end". The location was also said to fit the "other end of the galaxy" location since the galaxy is not in fact a disc, but a spiral — and from the edge, the other end of a spiral lies at the centre. The book also noted that Hari Seldon
was a social
scientist, not a physical
one. When the two Foundations were founded, they could be described as being at opposite social ends of the Galaxy — with Trantor at the very center of galactic power and prestige, and Terminus at the other extreme, something the First Foundation failed to realize because its members were inclined to analyze Seldon's statement in physical terms.
The Second Foundation would again be revisited in Foundation's Edge
.
Search by the Foundation was originally published in the November and December 1949 and January 1950 issues of Astounding Science Fiction under the title "—And Now You Don't".
reviewer Groff Conklin
described Second Foundation as "a thoroughly satisfying and adult play of the scientific imagination." P. Schuyler Miller
reported it to be "good, sound, middle-of-the-road science fiction with a carefully hidden surprise."
The Second Foundation was founded by Hari Seldon
as a budding colony of mentalic
s, people with telepathic abilities, located at "Star's End", an intentionally obscure term used by Seldon, which is later revealed to refer to the planet Trantor
. In Forward the Foundation
, the original Second Foundation is revealed to also include Hari's own granddaughter, Wanda Seldon
, and his bodyguard Stettin Palver.
The establishment, location and development of this Foundation was a secret, "drowned in silence" to increase its effectiveness and security.
Whilst the First Foundation was strong in the physical sciences, the Second Foundation was strong in the mental sciences, including the continued development of psychohistory. Their function is to ensure that the Seldon plan comes to pass, both by refining the plan's contingencies to allow for even the most unlikely events, and to guard against unexpected developments, such as the Mule
. Their eventual goal is to become the ruling class of the Second Empire in an effort to introduce mental sciences to humanity (whose benefits are, according to one Second Foundationer, less apparent, but longer lasting than physical sciences), while the First Foundation they manipulate forms the necessary political union.
The Second Foundation are governed by a council of the strongest mentalics, called the Speakers. However, the name "Speaker" is a misnomer, because, being telepaths, the use of actual speech is quite unnecessary. The leader of the group is the First Speaker. The only formal power of the First Speaker was to speak first at meetings of the Speaker's Table, but in practice it conferred significantly more power.
The structure of the Foundation is akin to both an intelligence network and a university. A complex of buildings on Trantor, the remnants of those saved from The Great Sack and those not demolished to provide metal for export, house a staff of technicians and analysts. Into these buildings flow reports from agents located in many parts of the Galaxy; these reports form the basis of any action that may be taken in furthering the aim of the Seldon Plan.
The Second Foundation spreads a net over the galaxy to detect and recruit staff and agents. These are then specially trained over many years. Some become statistical technicians, but the best of the trainees are invited to commence an apprenticeship for Speakerhood.
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...
, and the fifth in the in-universe chronology. It was first published in 1953 by Gnome Press
Gnome Press
Gnome Press was an American small-press publishing company primarily known for publishing many science fiction classics.The company was founded in 1948 by Martin Greenberg and David A. Kyle. Many of Gnome's titles were reprinted in England by Boardman Books...
.
Second Foundation saw multiple publications. The stories comprising this volume were originally published in Astounding Magazine (with different titles) between 1948 and 1950. Two other books of short stories were published shortly before, and decades later, Asimov wrote two further sequel novels and two prequels. Later writers have added authorized tales to the series. The Foundation Series is often regarded as one of Isaac Asimov's best works, along with his robot series.
The term also describes the organization by that name which is the focus of the book. The organization's existence (and nothing more) had been revealed in Foundation
Foundation (novel)
Foundation is the first book in Isaac Asimov's Foundation Trilogy . Foundation is a collection of five short stories, which were first published together as a book by Gnome Press in 1951...
, searched for in Foundation and Empire
Foundation and Empire
Foundation and Empire is a novel written by Isaac Asimov that was published by Gnome Press in 1952. It is the second book published in the Foundation Series, and the fourth in the in-universe chronology...
, and makes brief appearances in this novel. It would not be described in detail until Foundation's Edge
Foundation's Edge
Foundation's Edge is a science fiction novel by Isaac Asimov, the fourth book in the Foundation Series. It was written more than thirty years after the stories of the original Foundation trilogy, due to years of pressure by fans and editors on Asimov to write another, and, according to Asimov...
.
Plot summary
Part I: Search By the Mule is about The MuleMule (Foundation)
The Mule is a fictional character from Isaac Asimov's Foundation series. One of the greatest conquerors the galaxy has ever seen, he is a mentalic who has the ability to reach into the minds of others and "adjust" their emotions, individually or en masse, using this capability to forcibly enlist...
's search for the elusive Second Foundation, with the intent of destroying it. The executive council of the Second Foundation is aware of the Mule's intent and, in the words of the First Speaker
First Speaker
First Speaker is a post in Isaac Asimov's Foundation Series of stories and novels.The First Speaker is the effective head of the Second Foundation, actually First Speaker is the Supreme and Highest Monarch all over the Galaxies...
, allows him to find it -- "in a sense". In the end the agents of the Second Foundation are able to catch the Mule off guard and telepathically alter his psyche, causing him to return to Kalgan to live out the remainder of his short life as essentially a benevolent despot. Search by the Mule was originally published in the January 1948 issue of Astounding Science Fiction under the title "Now You See It—".
Part II: Search By the Foundation takes place sixty years after the first part, fifty-five years after the Mule's death (by natural causes). The members of the (First) Foundation are now fully aware that the Second Foundation is out there (they had known of its existence all along, but had not known its purpose or nature until the Mule's arrival). Also concurrent with this plot thread is the Foundation's ongoing conflict with the Mule's former imperial capital at Kalgan. The ensuing war is won by the Foundation, and is listed in the 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...
as the last major conflict before the rise of the Second Empire.
After inventing a device that can jam telepathic abilities and can even be used to cause telepaths great pain, the Foundation finds and locates telepaths on Terminus
Terminus (planet)
Terminus is a fictional planet at the edge of the Galaxy in Isaac Asimov's Foundation Series, home of the Foundation .-Position in the universe:Terminus is the sole planet orbiting an isolated star...
, "at the other end of the galaxy" (from the First Foundation, also at Terminus). Since, as Arkady Darell
Arkady Darell
Arcadia "Arkady" Darell is a fictional character, part of Isaac Asimov's Foundation Series. She appears in Second Foundation...
puts it, "a circle has no end", then by tracing the disc of the galaxy around its edge, one would come back to Terminus. Thus, they declare the Second Foundation destroyed after finding the roughly 50 mentalist agents on Terminus, and are content to forget the matter. Finally, in response to the question "Where is the Second Foundation?", the First Foundation had found an answer that fit. However, although this was "the answer that satisfied", this was not "the answer that was true".
The Second Foundation was actually located on 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...
, at the centre of the galaxy. It was called "Star's End" due to the ancient saying that "All roads lead to Trantor, and that is where all stars end". The location was also said to fit the "other end of the galaxy" location since the galaxy is not in fact a disc, but a spiral — and from the edge, the other end of a spiral lies at the centre. The book also noted that Hari Seldon
Hari 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...
was a social
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
scientist, not a physical
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
one. When the two Foundations were founded, they could be described as being at opposite social ends of the Galaxy — with Trantor at the very center of galactic power and prestige, and Terminus at the other extreme, something the First Foundation failed to realize because its members were inclined to analyze Seldon's statement in physical terms.
The Second Foundation would again be revisited in Foundation's Edge
Foundation's Edge
Foundation's Edge is a science fiction novel by Isaac Asimov, the fourth book in the Foundation Series. It was written more than thirty years after the stories of the original Foundation trilogy, due to years of pressure by fans and editors on Asimov to write another, and, according to Asimov...
.
Search by the Foundation was originally published in the November and December 1949 and January 1950 issues of Astounding Science Fiction under the title "—And Now You Don't".
Reception
On its initial publication, GalaxyGalaxy Science Fiction
Galaxy Science Fiction was an American digest-size science fiction magazine, published from 1950 to 1980. It was founded by an Italian company, World Editions, which was looking to break in to the American market. World Editions hired as editor H. L...
reviewer Groff Conklin
Groff Conklin
Edward Groff Conklin was a leading science fiction anthologist. He edited 40 anthologies of science fiction, one of mystery stories , wrote books on home improvement and was a freelance writer on scientific subjects as well as a published poet...
described Second Foundation as "a thoroughly satisfying and adult play of the scientific imagination." P. Schuyler Miller
P. Schuyler Miller
Peter Schuyler Miller was an American science fiction writer and critic.-Life:Miller was raised in New York's Mohawk Valley, which led to a life-long interest in the Iroquois Indians. He pursued this as an amateur archaeologist and a member of the New York State Archaeological Association.He...
reported it to be "good, sound, middle-of-the-road science fiction with a carefully hidden surprise."
The organization
Hari 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...
as a budding colony of mentalic
Mentalic
Mentalic is a term Isaac Asimov's Foundation series uses to cover a range of unusual psionic capabilities. Not precisely telepathic, the Second Foundationers are able to sense and adjust the emotions of humans. Gaia, the group mind of Foundation's Edge and Foundation and Earth, considers the Second...
s, people with telepathic abilities, located at "Star's End", an intentionally obscure term used by Seldon, which is later revealed to refer to the planet 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...
. In Forward the Foundation
Forward the Foundation
Forward the Foundation is a novel written by Isaac Asimov. It is the second of two prequels to the Foundation Series. It is written in much the same style as the original novel Foundation, a novel composed of chapters with long intervals in between...
, the original Second Foundation is revealed to also include Hari's own granddaughter, 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....
, and his bodyguard Stettin Palver.
The establishment, location and development of this Foundation was a secret, "drowned in silence" to increase its effectiveness and security.
Whilst the First Foundation was strong in the physical sciences, the Second Foundation was strong in the mental sciences, including the continued development of psychohistory. Their function is to ensure that the Seldon plan comes to pass, both by refining the plan's contingencies to allow for even the most unlikely events, and to guard against unexpected developments, such as the Mule
Mule (Foundation)
The Mule is a fictional character from Isaac Asimov's Foundation series. One of the greatest conquerors the galaxy has ever seen, he is a mentalic who has the ability to reach into the minds of others and "adjust" their emotions, individually or en masse, using this capability to forcibly enlist...
. Their eventual goal is to become the ruling class of the Second Empire in an effort to introduce mental sciences to humanity (whose benefits are, according to one Second Foundationer, less apparent, but longer lasting than physical sciences), while the First Foundation they manipulate forms the necessary political union.
The Second Foundation are governed by a council of the strongest mentalics, called the Speakers. However, the name "Speaker" is a misnomer, because, being telepaths, the use of actual speech is quite unnecessary. The leader of the group is the First Speaker. The only formal power of the First Speaker was to speak first at meetings of the Speaker's Table, but in practice it conferred significantly more power.
The structure of the Foundation is akin to both an intelligence network and a university. A complex of buildings on Trantor, the remnants of those saved from The Great Sack and those not demolished to provide metal for export, house a staff of technicians and analysts. Into these buildings flow reports from agents located in many parts of the Galaxy; these reports form the basis of any action that may be taken in furthering the aim of the Seldon Plan.
The Second Foundation spreads a net over the galaxy to detect and recruit staff and agents. These are then specially trained over many years. Some become statistical technicians, but the best of the trainees are invited to commence an apprenticeship for Speakerhood.