Foundation Summary

Foundation begins with Gaal Dornick, a young mathematician from Synnax, traveling to the Galactic Empire’s capital, Trantor. There, he meets Hari Seldon, the renowned psychohistorian whose predictive mathematical science foretells the Galactic Empire’s collapse. Seldon explains that Trantor will fall within 300 years, after which there will be 30,000 years of darkness. However, Seldon’s plan to establish the Foundation—can reduce this period of darkness to just 1,000 years. Seldon’s work alarms the Commission of Public Safety, who interrogate Gaal about his role in the project and arrest Seldon for predicting such dire events. During Seldon’s trial, Seldon reveals his plan to create the Encyclopedia Galactica, a comprehensive repository of human knowledge, to preserve civilization during the dark age. The Commission, reluctant to execute him and inadvertently accelerate collapse, agrees to exile Seldon and his team to Terminus, a barren planet at the galaxy’s edge.

Fifty years later, on Terminus, the Foundation focuses on compiling the Encyclopedia. Hari Seldon is now dead and Gaal is nowhere to be found. Salvor Hardin, the Mayor of Terminus, grows concerned as neighboring kingdoms like Anacreon threaten the planet. Hardin warns the Encyclopedia’s leaders, led by Lewis Pirenne, about the galaxy’s deteriorating political situation, but they dismiss his concerns, trusting the Empire’s protection. When Anacreon demands control over Terminus, Hardin uses diplomacy and strategy to outmaneuver them. He capitalizes on Anacreon’s lack of nuclear capabilities and the Foundation’s advanced technology, which it distributes under the guise of religion. Hardin strengthens the Foundation’s influence by positioning its nuclear science as divine power, creating a priesthood that administers technology. On the 50th anniversary of Terminus, a vault opens, revealing a pre-recorded message from Seldon. The message reveals that the Encyclopedia project was a ruse to gather resources and people to serve a greater purpose: ensuring the rise of a Second Galactic Empire. He explains that crises will occur periodically, forcing the Foundation onto specific paths guided by psychohistorical predictions.

Years later, Hardin faces a Seldon Crisis involving political opposition on Terminus. Sef Sermak, leader of the “Action Party,” accuses Hardin of appeasing the barbaric kingdoms. Hardin defends his strategy of trade and religious influence, which secures the Foundation’s position without violence. When Anacreon’s Prince Regent Wienis plots to attack Terminus using an old Imperial cruiser, Hardin orchestrates a brilliant counter-strategy. He declares a religious interdict, shutting down power across Anacreon except in Foundation-controlled temples. The priests rally the population, and Wienis’s attempt to attack collapses as the Foundation’s influence prevails. Humiliated, Wienis takes his own life, solidifying Hardin’s leadership and the Foundation’s dominance.

More time passes, and the story shifts to Limmar Ponyets, a trader sent to rescue Eskel Gorov, a Foundation agent imprisoned on the planet Askone. Askone rejects nuclear technology as heretical, and the planet’s leaders imprisoned Gorov for attempting to sell it. Ponyets uses his trading skills to manipulate Askone’s leaders, showing them a nuclear-powered device that transmutes iron into gold. He negotiates Gorov’s release by exploiting the council’s greed and records his dealings to blackmail Pherl, an ambitious council member. Ponyets’s ingenuity secures Gorov’s freedom, sets up trade with Askone, and ensures Foundation influence spreads through commerce rather than force.

More years pass and the focus turns to Hober Mallow, a Master Trader tasked with investigating the disappearance of Foundation trade ships in the Korellian Republic. Mallow suspects the planet Korell may possess advanced nuclear weapons, potentially supplied by the remnants of the Galactic Empire. Posing as a merchant, Mallow establishes trade relations with Korell’s ruler, Commdor Asper Argo. He impresses the Commdor with advanced gadgets powered by nuclear technology but avoids religious ties, presenting himself solely as a trader.

During his time in Korell, Mallow discovers weapons bearing the Empire’s insignia. He also encounters Onum Barr, a former patrician on Siwenna, who talks to him about the Empire’s corruption and decline. Then, Mallow visits a tech-man to see Imperial nuclear generators firsthand, and he realizes that the Empire’s technological knowledge has degraded, leaving them unable to innovate or repair their systems. Upon returning to the Foundation, Mallow faces political opposition from Jorane Sutt and Publis Manlio, who accuse him of abandoning a missionary to die in Korell. Mallow defends his actions, revealing the missionary was a Korellian agent attempting to provoke conflict. He exposes Sutt and Manlio’s political machinations and clears his name, solidifying his power.

Mallow becomes Mayor of Terminus and prepares for a Seldon Crisis involving Korell’s military aggression. Rather than engage in war, Mallow adopts an economic strategy, halting trade with Korell. The Republic’s reliance on Foundation technology causes widespread failure of critical systems, leading to economic collapse and public dissatisfaction. Korell surrenders without a fight, proving Mallow’s belief in the power of commerce over military force.