Asimov Goes Out On A Limb

Foundation's Edge by Isaac Asimov

Isaac Asimov went missing for a lot of years in the Science Fiction community. After Sputnik, he thought that he could do his part in the space race by writing more general science texts, along with the occasional short story. But by the 1980s, the pressures of his publisher had sent him back to his series of books that was the only one to ever win a "Best Series" Hugo Award -- Foundation.

The original Foundation series had been three books, set at the time of the fall of the Galactic Empire, about 20,000 years from present day. The first book (Foundation,) sets the stage for a group called "First Foundation," which is a collective of technical scientists who are isolated from the rest of the Empire in order to establish a second Empire after 1000 years of chaos, rather than the whole galaxy falling to tens of thousands of years of ruin.

The Foundationers are set upon their course by a single man, Hari Seldon, who has developed a branch of science called Psychohistory, which projects the actions of humanity accurately into the future. His divinations of the future, along with guidance of how to get there, are referred to as "the Seldon Plan."

The second book (Foundation and Empire,) again is told from the perspective of the First Foundation, which must face down the remnants of the dying Empire. In the second part of the book, the Foundation has been taken over by a mutant (the Mule) who has the ability to read and alter people's minds.

In the third book (Second Foundation,) the First Foundation is rescued by the Second Foundation, which was set up in secret, and which thrives in the study and growth of mental weaponry every bit as much as the first is technical. The final part of the original trilogy told the story of how the First Foundation became obsessed with wanting to find and destroy the Second, fearing them. It again is told from the perspective of the First Foundation.

The trilogy ended somewhat nebulously, about two hundred years into the 1000 year demise of the Galactic Empire, and the First Foundation thinking, incorrectly, that they'd destroyed the Second. Seldon's Plan was on track.

And that was pretty much where things stood for about 25 years as Asimov worked on other things.

Foundation's Edge (spoilers)

When Asimov was finally dragged back to the series (with a hefty advance, he says,) he reread the original three books, mused a bit on the concept and produced Foundation's Edge in 1982. The book picks up with about 500 years having passed since the inception of the Foundation, and the Seldon Plan appears to be going according to plan.

The main character of the book is one Golan Trevize, member of the government of the First Foundation. Trevize opens the book by declaring the Seldon Plan a sham, and averring that the Second Foundation was not, in fact, destroyed, but continues to guide and manipulate the first group with their mental abilities.

In return for his declarations, Trevise is arrested, exiled from the home planet, Terminous, and sent with an historian on an overt mission to re-discover Earth, long since lost to the myths of the age. However, Trevize is actually charged with locating the Second Foundation and allowing the First to destroy them for good.

Across the galaxy, Trevize's counterfoil within the Second Foundation leaders is Stor Grendibal, who also suspects foul play with the Seldon Plan...everything is going too well, far better than it should have been. Grendibal speculates that there are "anti-mules" who are far more advanced in the science of mental manipulation, but unlike the Mule, they are helping the Foundation along to the second Empire, rather than getting in the way.

Grendibal, like Trevize, is sent away from home to learn what he can about these "anti-mules." He gets wind of Trevize's mission and suspects that Trevize will lead him to those he seeks.

Although they never meet, Grendibal and Trevize, First and Second Foundation and the anti-mules and those they control will all cross paths, with the final result...the future of mankind.

Writing Critique (no spoilers)

As usual, Asimov has a very easy style that affords a quick and interesting read. It's somewhat amazing that there are really so few "scenes" in this book -- it feels a lot broader than it actually is. As with past books, nothing in the novel is particularly scientifically heavy or challenging...this is a traditional conflict novel with some exotic locales and unusual situations and little more.

Within the Foundation realm, this book isn't a tremendous addition. Asimov's intent was the extend the series a bit, but the mystery and the resolution of it (see section below if you want it spoiled) is very unsatisfying. I remember reading this in 1982 and being extremely disappointed with it. Re-reading it now hasn't changed that a whole lot.

There is one further book in the series (chronologically,) Foundation and Earth, which is quite a bit better, but it continues the conclusion of this book, which I really didn't care for.

And I guess that I'm not the only one -- there have been a number of other authors who have written Foundation stories after the death of the Good Doctor in 1992, and I distinctly remember one of them pointing out a conundrum with the previous books that forced the conclusion reached in Foundation's Edge not to have taken place, or later retracted.

Plot Critique (major spoilers)

Trevize is an interesting character, in that he's, out of the countless trillions in the galaxy, the one person who always makes the right decision with insufficient data. I think that's a neat concept, and it's played well -- Trevize is manipulated to a planet, called Gaia, that wants him to decide the future of mankind.

Gaia is a planetary consciousness -- people, plants, animals, rocks, all part of a singular organism that shares a single mind. There is some individuality, but not much. Gaia was set up by robots 18,000 years before with the intent of establishing that exact organism.

It turns out that Gaia is indeed the "anti-mules" that Grendibal had warned about -- they are outside of the Seldon Plan (he didn't know about it,) but they want order in the galaxy. They have brought Trevize to the critical juncture where the mental might of the Second Foundation and the physical power of the First are about to clash, and the power of Gaia can hold them off...long enough for Trevize to make that "right decision without enough information."

Which way will be right? The technical prowess of First Foundation? The mental guidance of the Second? Or the group consciousness of Gaia. Trevize (somewhat predictably) picks Gaia.

And there Asimov and I part ways. All three of the first books, and most of this one, were told from the standpoint of the First Foundation, so there's a lot of sentiment for those guys. Now all of the sudden, he comes in out of left field, invents a wild sociological and biological organism, and we're being told that this is the future of mankind?

Sorry, sir, doesn't work for me. And I suspect that it didn't work for a lot of people -- a fairly good part of Foundation and Earth is an attempt to rationalize and explain this decision at the end of Foundation's Edge.

Conclusion

Is this book necessary to Asimov's Universe? Well, if you go along with the conclusion, I guess so. As a stand alone novel, it is interesting and a quick read, but not a great book. There is really no reason at all to read it unless you've read the previous trilogy. But unless you read this, you can't really many a lot of sense out of the follow-up, Foundation and Earth, which was a much better novel.

If this were an album, I'd say "for completists only." Since it's a book, I'll just say that if you really, really, have to read all of Asimov's Universe books, do 'em in chronological order, in which case you won't get this until the end.

-- A.D. Jensen