Forward the Foundation (1993)

Isaac Asimov

New York: Bantam Books; ISBN: 0-553-56507-9; Pages: 480.

This is the last Foundation book that Asimov wrote and it is the second entry chronologically. The novel spans the period after Seldon learned who Eto Demerzel was. Instead of a fugitive from the state, in this novel he labors with lavish government funding at Steerling University. He is married to Dors Venabili and they have adopted Raych, the young Dahlite. Seldon enjoys the protection of First Minister Demerzel and the benign attention of Emperor Cleon I.

The first part deals with the rising threat of the demagogue Joranum (JoJo), whose populist slogans find ready audience with the apathetic Trantorians. His movement is busy mounting a challenge to Demerzel himself, who is unable to quash it violently on account of the Zeroeth Law. Seldon sends Raych to tell JoJo a tall story, which the latter (somewhat incredibly) swallows whole: Demerzel is a robot. The fact that JoJo is a renegade Mycogenian---and therefore prone to believe anything that has to do with robots---does not make it easier to accept this. Anyway, when JoJo stakes his reputation on this unverified fact, his political capital is spent as soon as Demerzel deflects the charge publicly. Without warning, however, Demerzel quits, having secured the succession of Seldon as First Minister.

The second part sees Seldon as Cleon I's FM. Resurgent Joranumites are plotting to provoke popular discontent by sabotaging various public utilities and arranging so that the government gets blamed. Raych is (again!) sent to infiltrate the organization and this time he manages to shack up with the beautiful prostitute Manella. The plotters are incredibly stupid for letting him in so easily but everything goes well when he is discovered by the old Joranumite leader. There are some aspects of this story that make no sense (e.g. why would the leader personally meet with members of various cells?) but the upshot is that Raych is drugged and hypnotized to kill Seldon when the latter shows up to inspect the new Imperial gardeners. Asimov's trust deus ex machina kicks in, as it is wont to do, at the last moment, but not in time to save the Emperor who gets killed... by a disgruntled gardener!

Naturally, Seldon quickly abandons the ministerial post and retires to the University to continue work on his Project. The thing gathers momentum even though the new military government is not as benevolently concerned with it. Trouble stirs within the Project when a young ambitious mathematician discovers the true identity of Dors and decides to take over psychohistory, even perhaps selling it to the junta. Dors is especially annoying in this part with her overbearing protectiveness, and this is no excuse for blowing her top off and invading the junta's grounds over an imagined threat. Too late does she realize who the real traitor is, and not before he damages her beyond repair with a special device. Seldon still manages to suggest a tax device to the junta that would surely prove its undoing. This part also sees the first hint of Wanda's (Manella and Raych's daughter) mentalic abilities.

In the final part, Seldon realizes what Wanda's gift implies for psychohistory and decides to set up the two Foundations, the first based of physical science and the second, its protector, based entirely on the mentalics' ability to affect emotions. He battles dwindling budgets, an unsympathetic bureaucracy, a bunch of hostile Trantorians, and the departure of all his dear friends and family. As he sinks into despair, he stumbles across mentalic, Palver (the forefather of the Palver that would later play a significant role in saving the Second Foundation from the Mule), and as soon as Wanda discovers the strength of their combined capabilities, Seldon puts his Plan in motion.

The Epilogue is a brief hook to the first of the original novels, and ends with Seldon left isolated and alone on Trantor. But perhaps happy?

As the reading becomes easier, the stories become strangely lacking in immediacy and potency. What we now have is a straight detective/political story with uninspired twists here and there, and completely devoid of the flourish of imagination that marked the original novels. I have already railed against the forced marriage of the Foundation and Robot universes, but since they are both Asimov's I might as well just pipe down and accept it. The problem here is on a more mundane level, but it is all the more damaging. Asimov could never really write well to make one want to read despite of the story. In fact, I usually read him despite the writing and because the story drags me into it. But what happens once the story sags? This novel.

Let's put aside the amateurish (yes, even after 400 books) trick of having people tell what has happened; let's also put aside the amateurish (and irritating) obligatory flashback that briefly tells us what has happened in the years between two parts---if this was important, it should have been in the story; let's forget the pseudo-scientific trappings of Trantorian depictions; let's also ignore the perennial reliance on last-ditch attempt and miracle saves. The problem is that the novel is lacking one absolutely essential ingredient: a protagonist about whom the reader cares.

Seldon is not it. We know he is going to succeed, so we can't really sympathize with him much. Dors, whose robotic angle has never been properly explored, is annoying in her single-minded pursuit of Hari's safety. Manella and Raych we don't see enough of even though the latter's moustache makes a constant appearance. Even Wanda is shown somewhat self-centered and uninvolved. In short, there is nobody to like in this entire novel. In fact, there is nobody to hate either. These two probably account for the plodding narrative too.

August 19, 2003