Prelude to Foundation
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Prelude to Foundation is a novel written by Isaac Asimov. It is one of two prequels to the Foundation Series. For the first time, Asimov chronicles the life of Hari Seldon, the man who invented psychohistory and the intellectual hero of the series.
Plot
The story takes place on Trantor during the reign of Emperor Cleon I. It starts with Hari's presentation of a paper at a mathematics convention detailing how practical use of psychohistory might theoretically be possible. The Emperor of the Galactic Empire learns of this and wants to use Hari for political gain. After an interview with Hari, however, Cleon concludes that Hari is of no use to the Empire.
Hari then meets reporter Chetter Hummin, who convinces him that Cleon's first minister Eto Demerzel is attempting to capture him, and that it is therefore imperative for Hari to escape and to try to make psychohistory practical. Thus, Hari goes on his "Flight" and is introduced to Dors Venabili by Hummin. Hari takes an immediate liking to Dors, and (in a later book) he marries her.
Hari and Dors narrowly evade capture at Streeling University, following which the pair move to Mycogen, where Hummin arrives in the nick of time to save them from certain death. The action then shifts to the Dahl sector, where Dors displays her amazing knife fighting skills. While in Dahl they meet a guttersnipe named Raych (whom Hari later adopts as his son), and Yugo Amaryl (who would become Hari's partner in developing psychohistory).
Towards the end of the novel, Hari, Dors, and Raych are kidnapped by agents from Wye, a powerful sector situated at Trantor's south pole. The finale reveals that "Hummin" is actually Cleon's first minister Eto Demerzel, who we later learn is in fact the robot R. Daneel Olivaw. By the end of the novel, Hari suspects that Dors is a robot, too. This theme would later be picked up in Forward the Foundation.
| Preceded by: | Series: | Followed by: |
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Blind Alley | Foundation Series | Foundation's Fear by Gregory Benford |