Foundation
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Series information
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The Foundation series is a science-fiction series of books by Isaac Asimov. The Foundation of the title is an organization founded by psychohistorian Hari Seldon in order to enact his plan for rebuilding human civilization after the fall of the Galactic Empire.
Series
The series is comprised of a number of stories spanning several centuries. As such, many of the stories have separate protagonists.
- Collected in Foundation (1951):
- The Psychohistorians
- The Encyclopedists
- The Mayors
- The Traders
- The Merchant Princes
Characters
See also: List of Foundation characters
- Hari Seldon (Lead Mastermind): The founder of the discipline of psychohistory, which uses mathematics in order to predict future events. Predicting the inevitable collapse of the Galactic Empire, Seldon puts into action a plan to mitigate the effects of this collapse and set humanity back in its course.
- Gaal Dornick (Specialist; Apprentice): A young mathematician invited by Seldon to work with him, who eventually becomes Seldon's biographer.
- Salvor Hardin (Lead Mastermind): The first mayor of Terminus, the colony in the namesake planet which was chosen by Seldon as the base of his Foundation.
The Battle of Wits
Matches in Foundation usually take place during pivotal moments that decide the future direction of the Foundation, and of humanity as a consequence. Some of these are what are known as Seldon Crises, critical historical moments predicted by Seldon using psychohistory. These Matches tend to involve political maneuvering within a planet as well as interplanetary conflicts. Because the series spans hundreds of years, Matches usually take place decades apart and tend to involve different players.