Asimov Book Reviews - Foundation

Foundation
by Lacey Kat
This work is copyrighted to the author (c) 2007

First, some important background information.
At the 11th World Science Fiction Convention, held in Philadelphia in 1953, the first Achievement Awards for Excellence in Science Fiction were handed out. These were small wooden bases topped with stainless-steel rocket ships, and were called "Hugos." This was in honor of Hugo Gersback, the first publisher of a magazine devoted entirely to Science Fiction.

In 1966 Isaac Asimov won a retrospective Hugo for his novel series, "The Foundation Trilogy." It was deemed the "All-time Best Series," in Science Fiction. "Foundation" is the first book of that series, and before I review the book proper, I feel its history should be noted.

The Foundation Saga was the only planned series of stories that Asimov ever did. While the Positronic Robot stories revolve around the Three Laws of Robotics, and occasionally there are reoccurring characters, these were stories written for their own sake and not part of a well thought out plan. This was not the case with the Foundation Series. The stories were written with the intent of being connected. One plot relied on the actions of the earlier stories. This was unusual for the Good Doctor and, while he was very good at it, it was not an endeavor he repeated in his writing life.

"Foundation," is not actually a novel, but a collection of short stories and novelettes published in "Astounding Science Fiction Magazine" (Astounding) between May of 1942 and October of 1944.

[Please note: This is a review of Foundation and not the Foundation Trilogy. Each book will be reviewed in its turn – Ed.]

It started on August 1, 1941, on a trip to visit the editor of Astounding, John W. Campbell. Asimov was not yet an established name in Science Fiction and to aid his writing career he would often visit the offices of the various Science Fiction magazines to keep his name fresh in the minds of the editors, and to discuss story ideas they might like to buy. This was a practice Asimov would continue throughout his publishing life.

This time, however, there was a minor problem. Asimov was on his way to meet Campbell, but without a story idea. While on the subway he resorted to free association to see if he could stimulate his creative muse. Asimov opened a book he was carrying, a collection of Gilbert and Sullivan plays, and looked at a picture of the Fairy Queen and Private Willis in "Iolanthe." This led him to thoughts of armies, soldiers, empires, the Roman Empire, and finally an empire that spanned the galaxy. An idea was born.

Asimov had tried working with Galactic Empire stories earlier with mixed success (see "Pilgrimage" A.K.A. "Black Friar of the Flame" in "The Early Asimov."). However, this time he had a different idea. Having read Edward Gibbon’s, "Decline and fall of the Roman Empire," twice, he thought of a story telling of the fall of a great Galactic Empire, and the return to feudalism, written from the perspective of the secure days of the second galactic empire.

Campbell loved the idea but thought it was too broad a theme for a short story or novelette. He suggested an open-ended series of stories. He envisioned a number of short stories, serials, novelettes, whatever it took to present this future history to the reading, and more important, magazine buying, public.

Asimov was a bit taken back at first. He was a short story writer and the thought of a novelette was as large as he ever considered. But, Campbell loved the idea and asked for an outline of the whole saga.  At that time Robert Heinlein was writing his "Future History Series." These were to be various stories that would fit into a broad tapestry at different times. They were not to be written in any order, so he needed an outline to keep all of the story lines consistent.

This was a logical request on the part of Campbell, who probably saw this series stretching over a decade or more. However, Asimov never worked from an outline. He tried to create one, but as it got larger and more complicated, he tore it up and started to write. As the stories progress Asimov had to keep reading previous stories to make sure names, dates, and events corresponded. Even with his phenomenal memory and writing talent, on April 1966, a fan approached him with a carefully made out list of inconsistencies throughout the series.
[Aren’t dedicated fans fun?]

So, on August 11th, 1941, Asimov started to write his first story in the "Foundation" series. He submitted it on September 17 and was paid $126. This was an average sum of money for the times. The stories continued for the next eight years, and, along with the Positronic Robot stories, made up the bulk of Asimov’s creative output. It was also the high-watermark of his Science Fiction writing. He once commented that the years spent on the Foundation Series were the most rewarding of his writing life. They helped him develop his technique and kept his name before the public. They also helped establish him as one of the giants of the Science Fiction World.

After eight stories the series only covered half the time frame laid out. Asimov, though, was growing tired of it and wanted to move on to other endeavors. The stories did represent a large body of work and after World War II publishing houses started to print hardback Science Fiction material (unheard of in the 30’s and 40’s). Science Fiction, once the folly of immature minds, was now respectable in the "Atomic Age."

Having already published his first two novels, Asimov went to Doubleday with his Foundation Series and tried to interest them. Walter I. Bradbury, then editor of Science Fiction for Doubleday, did what most in a new area of publishing do. He said, "We want new stuff, not old stories." Doubleday, with uncharacteristic short-sightedness, turned Asimov down.

Asimov tried other publishing houses but with the same results. Finally, a young man by the name of Martin Greenberg (not to be confused with a later associate, Martin H. Greenberg), who had published Asimov’s Robot stories agreed to publish the Foundation Series as a collection of three books. The second and third books would be 75,000 words apiece, but the first was just under 60,000 words long. Greenberg had always thought the series started too abruptly, so he asked Asimov to write an introductory story. This turned out to be very fortuitous.

Which leads me to the Review.

"Foundation," the first book of the Foundation Trilogy, is actually five short stories connected by an overall plot. This is the fall of a galactic empire and the rise of the last hope for civilization.

Part one, "The Psychohistorians," was written for the book and never appeared in print in Astounding Science Fiction. It was added as an introduction of the character of Hari Seldon, who sees that the Empire is falling and has a plan to shorten the Dark Age that is to come. While no one in power believes that a Galactic civilization that has endured for hundreds of generations could ever fall, they recognize that knowledge is power. If this "Psychohistorian" can help keep them in power, he is worth keeping around. They agree to let Seldon, and a number of his colleges, set up a "Foundation," on a remote planet, to compile an encyclopedia of all of Man’s knowledge. This, Hari has told them, will lessen the fall and keep those in power safe. In reality, Seldon sets up two Foundations with another purpose. A purpose that only a few people know.

As stated before, this story was written as an introduction to the book. The character of Hari Seldon was long dead by the start of the original series and only exists to move the stories along. By having Asimov flesh him out, Greenberg would give Asimov a chance to write other novels in the Foundation series some thirty years into the future. It’s a wonderful life, isn’t it?

The next story in the book, "The Encyclopedists," was, in reality, the first story published in the series. It was the story Asimov sold to Campbell, who published it in the May 1942 issue of "Astounding," under the title, "Foundation."

It is fifty years since the last story and the Encyclopedia Foundation Number One has been set up on a desolate, mineral poor, rock of a planet called Terminus. In five more years they will start to publish their first volume of the "Encyclopedia Galactica." Or so they think.

The Galactic Empire has started to fall just as Seldon predicted. Terminus is now surrounded by star systems that have declared themselves separate from the Empire. These four kingdoms have effectively cut Terminus off from the rest of the Galaxy.

Terminus is run by the Board of Trustees of the Encyclopedia Committee, who has given administrative powers to the Mayor of Terminus City. His name is Salvor Hardin, and he alone recognizes the new political situation in their part of the galaxy.

The Encyclopedists, believing that the soul purpose of the Foundation is their work, still live in the days of the old Empire. They believe that the Seal of the Emperor is all the protection they need against the rising tide of barbarism. Hardin, being born in the present, realizes that times have changed, and with the last trade route closed, problems are approaching. Although it is only a planet of rock, Terminus has one thing that the other star systems lack, scientific knowledge. They alone still poses "atomic power." All of the other neighboring kingdoms must rely on coal and oil for their spaceships.

[Note: This bit of absurdity was unlike Asimov even at this young age. How he ever imagined a coal-fueled spaceship in beyond me –Ed]

Hardin knows that petty dictators only care about conquest and that Terminus is land for the taking. He is also aware that on the Fiftieth Anniversary of the founding of the Foundation, Hari Seldon’s vault will open and he will give a recorded speech (this is the first time that Seldon is mentioned in the published series). At this point in the series, Seldon is referred to as, "the greatest psychologist of our time," and father of the Foundation. Psychohistory is not yet mentioned in the series.

Hardin must find a way to take control of the Foundation from the "Board of Trustees," and stop Terminus from becoming a slave planet for every new leader that comes their way.

The closing scene of the story is in the "Vault of Hari Seldon." It is here, before Hardin and the rest of the Board, that Seldon reveals the true purpose of the Foundation. That the Encyclopedia is a fraud used to obtain an Imperial Charter and the people needed for the Foundation’s true purpose. Seldon then states the poor condition that the Foundation is in, and that this is only the first of a number of crises that he has foreseen in the future. He also refers to the “other Foundation” at the other end of the galaxy. Seldon does not solve the crisis. That is a job for the men in the room. Seldon merely lets them know that they are part of a larger plan to save the galaxy. Only Salvor Hardin sees the solution to the current crisis. To him, it is "obvious as Hell!" And with that, the first story ends.

Asimov was clever to end the story that way. To most readers, the solution is not so obvious and a second story, with the solution, would surely be called for. Asimov insured another story would be bought.

The third story in the book, and the second one published in Astounding is called "The Mayors" (Originally called "Bridle & Saddle" when published in June of 1942). It starts thirty years after the last story on the Foundation home world Terminus. Salvor Hardin is the mayor of Terminus and some background is given to help any reader who missed the last story (sort of a "Previously, on Foundation").

The crisis, or "Seldon Crisis" as they would become known, has passed and the Foundation is now prized more as a source of technology than of conquest. Each of the surrounding kingdoms wants to ensure that Terminus is free to trade with all, and not the sole domain of any one group. Hardin is thirty yeas older and now having to contend with the next generation of power seekers, both at home and across the spaceways. His "appeasement" policy has begun to end its usefulness and he sees another "Seldon Crisis" on the immediate horizon. Unlike most politicians thought, Hardin has been preparing for this day and has been quietly working to solve the crisis before it happens.

The story ends with the crisis being solved, this time in a way that is easy for any reader to understand, and with all of the principals converged in the Seldon Vault. Here they learn that Seldon predicted this problem and the solution Hardin chose. Seldon also reminds all those assembled that this is only a temporary solution and that more troubles await. This sets the stage for future stories.

Now bear with me for a moment because, for some reason, things become slightly confusing.

The next story, in the book Foundation, is called "The Traders." It was originally the fourth book, published in Astounding, under the name "The Wedge," in October of 1944. However, for some reason I have yet to discover, it is placed before "The Merchant Princes," which in reality was the third story printed.

"The Traders" is the shortest of the Foundation stories and is separate from the plot line established in the previous stories. It is more set in the Foundation universe than a Foundation story.

The traders are Foundation members who troll the rim of the galaxy looking for worlds who wish to buy their atomic goods. The last Seldon Crisis has lead to a consolidation of power within the four kingdoms under the Foundation. While this has added to the security of the Foundation, it has made outside star systems leery of dealing with potential conquerors. On one such world, Askone, a trader has been arrested and it is up to Master Trader Limmer Ponyets to save him and open the hostile world to Foundation goods and influence. Ponyets plays politics with a young councilman who dreams of better things. The Foundation Trader literally turns iron to gold and offers the secret to the ambitious keepers of the local faith, in exchange for the arrested trader, and all of the iron, copper, zinc, and other base metals his ship can carry. This is what Foundation traders trade for. Atomic goods for base metals for the resource poor Terminus.

This is a fun story dealing with the high cost of political ambition. It has no "Seldon Crisis," and no pivotal play in the Foundation Saga. However, it does expand the daily lives of the Foundation, and the problems they encounter in their quest to tame the galaxy.

The final story in Foundation was, now follow me here, the third, not last, story written. Originally called "The Big and Little," it was published in Astounding in July of 1944. For the book, the title was changed to "The Merchant Princes."

By the time this story was written, enough time had elapsed that explanations of the past stories had to be included. The characters are forced to say things like, "You’ve never heard of a Seldon Crisis?" They then explain about the last two crises and how these events have lead to the current situation.

The situation is that seventy-five years have passed since the time of "The Mayors," and the Foundation is now the strongest power outside of the old Empire. The Empire is falling, but it is still around and controls the richest, most densely populated, third of the galaxy. They are aware of the Foundation and are using various ways to keep it in check.

Foundation ships, the most powerful in the area, are disappearing without a trace. Since the Foundation must maintain the guise of supreme power, anyone who can challenge their ships is a threat to the whole Seldon Plan. Huber Malloy, a Master Trader, must go to the Korellian Republic to solve the mystery of the missing ships.

This is the longest of the Foundation stories and contains many elements of the rest of the book. There is politics, intrigue, danger, and a very well written courtroom scene where our hero must explain why he threw a priest to a mad crowd and gave Foundation technology to a potential adversary. The final solution is an economic one and Seldon does not make an appearance. The future is then speculated upon, but that is for the next book.

And with that, Foundation comes to a close.

These are entertaining and well-written stories and are a timely look at power, politics, and the role of economics in the affairs of man. Asimov was in his early twenties when he wrote them yet demonstrated a political wisdom he claims he never had. They have stood the test of time and should be required reading in any political science or humanities, curriculum. They are also an enjoyable read.

Side Note;  Ace published their own version of Foundation as a Double novel, along with "No World of their Own," by Poul Anderson.  They called it "The 1,000-Year Plan," and is an abridged version.  Still, it is interesting for collectors such as myself.