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Foundation - Isaac Asimov's Foundation

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From: Mich...@xenite.org (Michael Martinez)
Subject: WorldFAQ: Isaac Asimov's Empire/Foundation
Date: 1998/12/16
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                            WorldFAQ:
                 Isaac Asimov's Empire/Foundation

-------------------------------------------------------------
1].  Quick Reference

     Asimov's Empire/Foundation stories are set in a science
     fiction futuristic chronology which was loosely
     constructed over three+ decades.  The collection of
     novels and stories gradually developed into a thesis on
     human evolutionary options, but incorporates a fair
     amount of traditional space opera/action/adventure SF.
     Primary sources are the books listed in the bibliography
     given below.
-------------------------------------------------------------
2].  Printed Sources Bibliography
The order in which the books should be read (according to the
author's own list in PRELUDE TO FOUNDATION, where he says all
were published by Doubleday) is as follows:

THE COMPLETE ROBOT, Doubleday, 1982.  A collection of Robot
stories.

THE CAVES OF STEEL, Doubleday, 1954.  The first Robot novel.

THE NAKED SUN, Doubleday, 1957.  The second Robot novel.

THE ROBOTS OF DAWN, Doubleday, 1983.  The third Robot novel.

ROBOTS AND EMPIRE, Doubleday, 1985.  The fourth Robot novel.

THE STARS, LIKE DUST, Doubleday, 1951, 1983.  Although Asimov
once said this occurred after THE CURRENTS OF SPACE, the
story seems to occur within a few thousand years after
the Space Age began.  See PEBBLE IN THE SKY for why I
place this book earlier chronologically.  I note that
other Asimov bibliographies posted to Usenet concur
with my assessment.

Michael F. Stemper also points out that THE STARS, LIKE DUST
does not mention Trantor, whereas there is the Trantorian
Empire in THE CURRENTS OF SPACE and by the time of PEBBLE
IN THE SKY Trantor has become the capitol of the Galactic
Empire.

THE CURRENTS OF SPACE, Doubleday, 1952.  This story occurs
within a generation or two before the Galactic Empire is
formed (the Trantorian Empire controls about half the galaxy).

PEBBLE IN THE SKY, Doubleday, 1950.  I have this book in
paperback, published by Bantam Pathfinder in 1964.  There is
a passage in the story which claims that about 50,000 years
have passed since the 20th Century.  The story takes place
around 800 GE (Galactic Era -- after the Trantorian Empire
became the Galactic Empire).

PRELUDE TO FOUNDATION, Doubleday, 1988.  Set about the year
12,020 GE, it deals with the young Hari Seldon, the
mathematician who establishes Psychohistory as a science
and sets into motion the factors that create the two
foundations.

FORWARD THE FOUNDATION.  I'm told Asimov wrote this book just
before he died.  It follows Hari Seldon's career after
PRELUDE but prior to FOUNDATION.

FOUNDATION, Doubleday (originally published by Gnome Press),
1951.  This "novel" was originally four short stories,
published in Street & Smith publications (ASTOUNDING) from
1942-44.  The introductory material was written for the
novel in 1949.   Occurs from circa 12,068 GE or thereabouts
(towards the end of Seldon's life) to about 150 years later.

FOUNDATION AND EMPIRE, Doubleday (originally published by
Gnome Press), 1952.  Originally two stories published in
ASTOUNDING in 1945, it occurs from about 200 years after
the opening of FOUNDATION to the end of the third century.
Seldon's plan for shortening the period of barbarism
between Galactic Empires is unsettled by the appearance
of a mutant.

SECOND FOUNDATION, Doubleday (originally published by Gnome
Press), 1953.  Again, this was originally two stories
published by Street & Smith publications and then combined
into a novel.  It takes up where FOUNDATION AND EMPIRE left
off: with the Mule.  The Second Foundation has to intercede
on behalf of the First Foundation.  Covers perhaps another
50-100 years.

FOUNDATION'S EDGE, Doubleday, 1982.  Takes up about 500 years
after the creation of the Foundation.

FOUNDATION AND EARTH, Doubleday, 1986 (erroneously said to be
1983 in PRELUDE).  I never bought this one.

From Tom Kalinowski:
  There are also two short stories set in the Empire/Foundation
  universe which can be found in _The Early Asimov_(Doubleday,
  1972).  They are "Mother Earth" (Astounding, May 1949) which
  takes place between _The Complete Robot_ and _The Caves of
  Steel_, and "Blind Alley" (Astounding, March 1945) which takes
  place between _Pebble in the Sky_ and _Prelude to Foundation_.


There is another book which is sort of "related" to this
collection: THE END OF ETERNITY.  There is nothing in the
story which deals with either of the Foundations or the
various Empires.  But towards the end you find out that
this book represents an alternate history.
-------------------------------------------------------------
3].  Visual Sources Bibliography

No known adaptations.
-------------------------------------------------------------
4].  Related Materials Bibliography

Three authors, Gregory Benford, Greg Bear, and David Brin,
are writing a new Foundation Trilogy which is meeting with
mixed reaction from fans.  The trilogy was authorized by
the Isaac Asimov Estate.

FOUNDATION'S FEAR, Gregory Benford, 1997, Harper Prism,
ISBN 0061052434.
   Deals with Hari Seldon as he tries to form the First
   Foundation.

FOUNDATION AND CHAOS, Greg Bear, Harper Prism, 1998.

THIRD FOUNDATION, due in 1999.

CALIBAN, INFERNO, and UTOPIA are new Robot novels written by
Roger MacBride Allen.

From Tom Kalinowski:
In 1989, Tor Books published _Foundation's Friends_, a collection of
stories
by various authors to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Asimov's first
published story.  The collection includes the following stories set in the
Empire/Foundation universe:
Robot Era
"Balance" by Mike Resnick
"Blot" by Hal Clement
"PAPPI" by Sheila Finch
"Plato's Cave" by Poul Anderson
"The Fourth Law of Robotics" by Harry Harrison
"Carhunters of the Concrete Prairie" by Robert Sheckley
Spacer Era
"Strip-Runner" by Pamela Sargent
Foundation Era
"The Originist" by Orson Scott Card
"Trantor Falls" by Harry Turtledove
"Foundation's Conscience" by George Zebrowski
-------------------------------------------------------------
5].  Online References

     A)   News Groups

          alt.books.isaac-asimov.  His works may also be
          discussed in rec.arts.sf.written, alt.pulp, and,
          of course, alt.fan.created-worlds.

     B)   Mailing/Discussion Lists

          There is a foundation mailing list operated out
          of the OneList domain.  Use the following URL to
          subscribe to the list:

          http://www.onelist.com/subscribe.cgi/foundation

     C)   Web sites

          Eckhard Rueggeberg
          
          wrote a document which is located at:
          ftp://vaxa.crc.mssm.edu/asimov/trantorian.empire

          There is an Isaac Asimov FAQ located at:
          http://www.clark.net/pub/edseiler/WWW/asimov_FAQ.html

          Steven Silver has a review of the FOUNDATION'S FEAR
          at:
          http://www.sfsite.com/~silverag/reviews.html

          Jenkins' Spoiler-laden Guide to Isaac Asimov
          http://www.blueneptune.com/~tseng/Asimov/Asimov.html

          My Favorite Passtimes -- SciFi -- Isaac Asimov
          http://math.ucsd.edu/~amedrano/pastimes/scifi/asimov.html
          A few links to Isaac Asimov Websites

          Isaac Asimov, Science Fiction, Mystery, and Fantasy Writer
          http://www.hycyber.com/SF/asimov_isaac.html
          Basically just a fancy bibliography, but it's more visually
          pleasing than most.

          Isaac Asimov's Laws of Robotics
          http://www.kynson.demon.co.uk/asimov.htm

          Isaac Asimov page (in Deutsch)
          http://iaix7.informatik.htw-dresden.de/~htw5630/isaac1.html

          Isaac Asimov -- Foundation's Web
          http://www.hamline.edu/~ddoswald/scifi/asimov.html

          Isaac Asimov Robots Page
          http://www.searchme.demon.co.uk/andrew/asimov.htm
          Comprehensive Robots/Empire/Foundation source.  Contains
          reviews, scans, more.

          Interactive Introduction To Ascent of Wonder: Isaac Asimov
          http://ebbs.english.vt.edu/exper/kcramer/anth/Asimov.html

          [Note -- the following URLs were found through Alta Vista.
           They are part of a huge Science Fiction site for Spanish-
           language fans which uses frames and is located at:
           http://www.lokekieras.es/personales/fjsi/indice.htm ]

          Isaac Asimov page (in Espanol)
          http://www.lokekieras.es/personales/fjsi/autores/iasimov.htm

          Opinion on Isaac Asimov (in Espanol)
          http://www.lokekieras.es/personales/fjsi/opinion/op038.htm

          Opinion on Isaac Asimov -- Nemesis (in Espanol)
          http://www.lokekieras.es/personales/fjsi/opinion/op003.htm

          Opinion on Isaac Asimov -- El fin de la Eternidad (in Espanol)
          http://www.lokekieras.es/personales/fjsi/opinion/op013.htm

          Opinion on Isaac Asimov -- Alpha Centauri (in Espanol)
          http://www.lokekieras.es/personales/fjsi/opinion/op004.htm

          [end of list]

          Isaac Asimov
          http://www.ciudadfutura.com/asimov/index.htm

          Steven Silver's Review of UTOPIA (by Roger
          MacBride Allen)
          http://www.sfsite.com/~silverag/allen.html

     D)   Online services

          No special forums.

          NOTE:  There is now a Message Board Directory
          which provides links to individual Web-based
          boards, message board providers, and large
          indexes of boards.  Some of these indexes
          include Science Fiction and Fantasy boards
          and may contain content of interest to people
          who read the WorldFAQs.  The Message Board
          Directory is located at:

          http://www.xenite.org/mb_direct.htm

     E)   IRC

          None.

     F)   Comprehensive lists of resources

          None.
-------------------------------------------------------------
6].  Description

     The premise of this collection is that mankind becomes
     advanced enough to nearly destroy itself, but
     civilization somehow survives or recovers from the
     holocaust enough to expand outward to nearby star
     systems and ultimately to settle the entire galaxy.

     Human technology more-or-less keeps pace with expansion
     so that as mankind spreads across the stars most systems
     are able to remain involved in a growing, evolving
     galactic socio-political structure.  A series of
     kingdoms, republics, and empires over thousands of
     years ultimately produces the Trantorian Empire
     (about 50,000 years from now), which swells to control
     half the galaxy before the final consolidation brings
     to fruition the First Galactic Empire, which endures
     for more than 12,000 standard years (presumably Earth
     solar years).

     Before the final fall of the Empire Hari Seldon, a
     mathematician, develops the discipline of
     psycho-history, an analytical discipline which
     provides a mechanism for deducing the highest
     probabilities for socio-cultural developments.
     The psycho-history Seldon's day is in its infancy,
     but it leads him to foresee the eventual decline
     and self-destruction of the Empire, against which time
     he creates two Foundations, one to preserve knowledge
     and to subtly re-invigorate galactic civilization,
     thus shortening the dark period from 30,000 years to
     1,000, and the other Foundation to exist secretly,
     protecting Seldon's plan for galactic recovery from
     the decline, nurturing the rise of the Second Empire.

     There are obstacles along the path, unforeseen events
     which Seldon's plan did not allow for.  A mutant with
     telepathic abilities and a collective intelligence
     bring the galaxy into new phases that the Foundations
     must both contend with in their own special ways all
     the while playing a cat-and-mouse game with each
     other as the first Foundation slowly perceives the
     second Foundation and tries to determine what their
     relationship is.  Along the way mankind find it has
     some strong but unusual allies: robots, who abide by
     Asimov's three Laws of Robotics.
-------------------------------------------------------------
7].  Maintainer Information

FAQ owner: Michael Martinez 
Last Updated:  November 1, 1998

Contributions to this WorldFAQ or its predecessor document
were made by:

Eef Hartman 
Tom Kalinowski 
Keiran Mol 
Alexandre Pechtchanski 
Steven Silver 
Michael F. Stemper 
Wei-Hwa Huang 
----------------------End of WorldFAQ----------------------

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