Foundation's Triumph

by David Brin

  Either way, it made him smile.

  Ah, there you are again! Are you real? Or a manifestation of wishful thinking?

  The motif was that of a circle, returning to its origins.

  Hari looked up at Daneel, no doubt the noblest person he had ever met. After twenty thousand years, struggling for the sake of humanity, the robot was undeterred, unbowed, as resolute as ever to deliver his masters to some destination that was safe, happy, and secure.

  Surely he will keep his final promise to me. I will get to see my beloved wife, one last time.

  Having lived more intimately with a robot than any human, Hari had some sympathy for Zorma and Cloudia, who wanted greater union between the two races. Perhaps in many centuries their approach would combine with others in some rich brew. But their hopes and schemes were irrelevant at present. For now, only two versions of destiny showed any real chance of success. Daneel’s Galaxia, on the one hand... and the glimmering figure Hari now saw floating in the sky above him.

  “Our children may surprise you, Daneel,” he commented at last, breaking the long silence.

  Pondering briefly, his robot friend replied, “These children--you refer to the descendants of those exiled to Terminus?”

  Hari nodded. “Five hundred and some odd years from now, they will already be a diverse and persnickety people, proud of both their civilization and their individuality. You may fool a majority of robots with your ‘man who is always right,’ but I doubt many in the Foundation will accept it.”

  “I know,” Daneel acknowledged with pain in his voice. “There will be resistance against assimilation by Gaia. Shortsighted panic, perhaps even violence. All of it unavailing in the long run.”

  But Hari reacted with a smile.

  “I don’t think you quite understand, Daneel. It’s not resistance that you have to worry about. It will be a strange kind of acceptance that poses the greatest danger to your plan.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, how can you be so sure that it won’t be Gaia that’s assimilated? Perhaps the culture of that future Foundation will be so strong, so diverse and open, that they will simply absorb your innovation, give Gaia citizenship papers, and then move on to even greater things.”

  Daneel stared at Hari. “I...find this hard to envision.”

  “It’s part of the pattern life has followed since it climbed from the ooze. The simple gets incorporated into the complex. For all of its power and glory, Gaia--and Galaxia--are simple beings. Perhaps their beauty and power will only be part of something larger. Something more diverse and grand than you ever imagined.”

  “I cannot encompass this. It sounds risky. There is no assurance...”

  Hari laughed.

  “Oh, my dear friend. Both of us have always been obsessed with predictability. But sometimes you just have to understand--the universe isn’t ours to control.”

  Though his body felt weak, Hari sat up higher in the flotation chair.

  “I’ll tell you what, Daneel. Let’s make a wager.”

  “A wager?”

  Hari nodded. “If you have your way, and Gaia assimilates everybody, eventually creating a vast unitary Galaxia, tell me this--will there be any more need for books?”

  “Of course not. By definition, all members of the collective will know, almost instantaneously, anything that is learned by the others. Books, in whatever form, are a technique for passing information between separate minds.”

  “Ah. And this assimilation should be complete, by say, six hundred years from now? Seven hundred, at the outside?”

  “It should be.”

  “On the other hand, suppose I am right. Imagine that my Foundation turns out to be stronger, wiser, and more robust than you, Wanda, or any of the robots expect. Perhaps it will defeat you, Daneel. They may decide to reject outside influence by robots, or human mentalics, or even all-wise cosmic minds.

  “Or else, maybe they will accept Galaxia as a marvelous gift, incorporate it in their culture, and move on. Either way, human diversity and individualism will continue in some form. And there will still be a need for books! Perhaps even an Encyclopedia Galactica.”

  “But I thought the Encyclopedia was just a ruse, to get the Foundation started on Terminus.”

  Hari waved a hand in front of him. “Never mind that. There will be encyclopedias, though perhaps not at first. But the question that now lies before us--the subject of our wager--is this.

  “Will there still be editions of the Encyclopedia Galactica published a thousand years from now?

  “If your Galaxia plan succeeds, in its pure and simple form, there will be no books or encyclopedias in one millennium’s time. But if I am right, Daneel, people will still be creating and publishing compendiums of knowledge. They may share countless insights and intimacies through mentalic powers, the way people now make holovision calls. Who knows? But they will also maintain a degree of individuality, and keep on communicating with each other in old-fashioned ways.

  “If I’m right, Daneel, the Encyclopedia will thrive... along with our children...and my first love. The Foundation.”

  Hari Seldon lapsed into silence, a quiet reflection that R. Daneel Olivaw respected.

  Soon, his granddaughter Wanda would come up this slope, a crumbling hill composed of rubble from past human civilizations, and collect him for the journey back to Trantor...and perhaps to a special reunion that he longed for.

  But for the remaining moment, Hari admired a vista stretching overhead--the galactic starscape imbued with his beloved mathematics. He stared up at the radiation-flecked sky, and greeted Chaos, his old enemy.

  I know you at last, he thought.

  You are the tiger, who used to hunt us. You are winter’s cold. You are famine’s bitter hunger...the surprise betrayal...or the illness that struck without warning, leaving us crying out, Why?

  You are every challenge humanity faced, and eventually overcame, as we grew just a little mightier and wiser with each triumph. You are the test of our confidence...our ability to persist and prevail.

  I was justified in fighting you...and yet, without your opposition, humanity would be nothing, and there could never be a victory.

  Chaos, he now realized, was the underlying substance out of which his equations evolved. As well as life itself.

  Anyway, it would be pointless to resent it now. Soon, his molecules would join Chaos in its everlasting dance.

  But up there, amid the stars, his lifelong dream still lived.

  We will know. We will understand and grow beyond all limits that imprison us.

  In time, we will be greater than we ever imagined possible.

  Acknowledgments

  Among the “Asimov experts” who offered wisdom and advice were professors Donald Kingsbury, James Gunn, and Joseph Miller, as well as Jennifer Brehl, Atilla Torkos, Alejandro Rivero, and Wei-Hwa Huang. Also providing valuable comments were Stefan Jones, Mark Rosenfelder, Steinn Sigurdsson, Joy Crisp, Ruben Krasnopolsky, G. Swenson, Sean Huang, Freddy Hansen, Michael Westover, Christian Reichardt, Melvin Leok, J. V. Post, Benjamin Freeman, Scott Martin, Robert Hurt, Anita Gould, Joseph Cook, Alberto Monteiro, R. Sayres, N. Know, A. Faykin, Michael Hochberg, Adam Blake, Jimmy Fung, and Jenny Ives. Sara Schwager and Bob Schwager were conscientious and keen-eyed copy editors. I am also grateful to Janet Asimov, John Douglas, Ralph Vicinanza, and above all to Cheryl Brigham, whose skilled reading caught many errors, whose hands substituted for mine in a crisis, and who kept life going when I felt like a hapless robot.

  The quotation in Part 6, about the Gospel of Uniformity, is from Alfred North Whitehead’s book, Science and the Modern World, 1925.

  Afterword

  It is never easy to write in a universe that was created by another (in this case brilliant} writer. Especially when that writer is lamentably no longer around to consult by letter, or phone, or over a glass of beer. One must study his works in order to forge a new episode that has consistency with the original sto
ries, and yet contribute fresh insights that he might have enjoyed reading. In this case, all three authors of THE SECOND FOUNDATION trilogy--Greg Bear, Gregory Benford, and I--felt compelled by the logic of Isaac Asimov’s universe to add the key element of chaos--a horrible disease of the mind, afflicting all of humanity. Isaac left plenty of clues to this very thing, allowing our innovation to stay consistent with his earlier works. Moreover, chaos explains the major salient feature of his future history--an amnesia that debilitates quadrillions of people for hundreds of generations.

  I could go on about the reasons why I wrote this new layer the way I did, but at this point I’ll forgo any further comments, except to say that I don’t see the story of Hari Seldon being quite finished! As Isaac did habitually, I laced Foundation’s Triumph with clues that others might take up someday, if they choose. Hints that culminate in two wry pages that I considered including as a denouement to this book. But instead of muddying the waters, perhaps I’ll just post them elsewhere sometime. They are not so much a part of Foundation’s Triumph as a dream of what just might happen next.

  That is what’s so much fun about our ongoing dinnertable conversation about destiny. We get to poke away at the future. Explore it with experiments and fantasies. Discover mistakes to avoid. And uncover possibilities that our grandchildren may take for granted.

  Timeline for the Robots and Foundation Universe

  1982 C.E. Birth of Susan Calvin. Incorporation of U.S. Robots and Mechanical Men. [I, Robot]

  2007 C.E. Susan Calvin begins to work for U.S. Robots. Later becomes chief robopsychologist [I, Robot]

  Early 21st Century A social and technical renaissance flourishes on Earth. Development of positronic robots, controlled by Three Laws of Robotics. [The Complete Robot] Hyperatomic Drive allows first successful interstellar journey. [I, Robot]. Through an accident, Joseph Schwartz is sent on a time journey 10,000 years into the future. [Pebble in the Sky]

  2064 C.E. Death of Susan Calvin. [I, Robot] Humanity begins colonizing several planets including Aurora. The first chaos outbreaks affect civilization, breaking down confidence. On Earth, citizens cluster underground, ban robots from cities. Spacers lose empathy. Relations between Earth and Spacer worlds deteriorate. [Foundation’s Triumph]

  300 years before events in The Caves of Steel The planet Solaria (the last Spacer world) settled from the planet Nexon. [The Naked Sun] Decline of the robot-dependent Spacer culture. Later, Han Fastolfe of Aurora creates the humaniform robot, R. Daneel Olivaw.

  appr. 3500 C.E. Spacetown is established near New York City. R. Daneel Olivaw is assigned to work with Earthman detective Elijah Baley. [The Caves of Steel]

  1 year later Elijah Baley and Daneel Olivaw pursue an investigation on Solaria. [The Naked Sun] Fastolfe becomes influential in Auroran government and supports new Earth emigration.

  Opponents led by Kelden Amadiro want Spacers to terraform and populate new planets. [The Robots of Dawn]

  2 years later Baley carries out investigation on Aurora accompanied by Daneel Olivaw and Giskard Reventlov--a telepathic robot. Aurora lets Earth colonize new planets. Giskard suggests Earthfolk must build their new worlds completely without robots. [The Robots of Dawn]

  2 years later The second wave of emigration from Earth begins, led by Ben Baley. First Settler planet is named Baleyworld. [Robots and Empire] Number of Settler planets grows fast. Relations between Settler and Spacer worlds grow tense. [Robots and Empire]

  37 years after the events in The Caves of Steel Death of Elijah Baley on Baleyworld. [Robots and Empire

  ]

  196 years after the events in The Caves of Steel Keldon Amadiro and Levular Manamus begin planting nuclear amplifiers throughout Earth to take revenge for their earlier defeat [Robots and Empire]

  200 years after the events in The Caves of Steel Death of Han Fastolfe. Population of Solaria vanishes. Daneel Olivaw and Giskard Reventlov formulate the Zeroth Law of Robotics, to override original Three Laws. Giskard provides Daneel with telepathic abilities. Amadiro and allies turn on amplifiers to make the Earth radioactive and uninhabitable. Giskard permits this for Zeroth Law reasons, in order to encourage human dispersal then dies because of First Law conflicts. [Robots and Empire] The Great Diaspora (final emigration) begins. A majority of robots split into two camps. Giskardians led by Daneel follow the new Zeroth Law religion. Calvinians think this an outrage. Robotic civil war ensues, mostly unseen by humans fleeing poisoned Earth. Meanwhile robot ships operating under Auroran programming cruise the galaxy ahead of the spreading Settlers, terraforming and preparing planets for colonization. Meme entities will later claim that this devastated existing races. Memes escape to the Galactic Core. [Foundation’s Fear, Foundation and Chaos]

  301 years after the events in The Caves of Steel Spacer-colonized planet Inferno is doomed by ecological and cultural catastrophe. Robots are built to operate under New Laws, giving them greater flexibility and freedom. Settler specialists help terraform the planet. [Caliban] Hostility toward New Law robots grows evident. [Inferno] Comet crashes into the planet. Merging of Spacer and Settler cultures prevents social collapse. [Utopia] The interstellar robot civil war eventually reaches Inferno. New Law robots are destroyed or go into hiding. [Foundation’s Triumph]

  appr. 1200 B.G.E. (Before Galactic Era) Planet Rhodia and the Nebular Kingdoms led by the noble Hinriad family, shake off rule by planet Tyrann and rediscover democracy. [The Stars Like Dust] Decadent Spacer worlds “slowly die out. Colonization of Galaxy completed. [Foundation and Earth] R. Daneel Olivaw formulates the Encoding Laws, setting limits to artificial intelligence. [Foundation’s Fear] Damping effects such as historical amnesia, brain fever, and giskardian mentalic persuasion devices are introduced to fight chaos. Human mind, society and technology stagnate. Some human and robot groups fight the amnesia. [Foundations Triumph]

  appr. 500 B.G.E. Trantorian Republic of five worlds becomes Trantorian Confederation, then later the Trantorian Empire. [The Currents of Space] R. Daneel Olivaw uses early “laws of humanics” to guide it. Human origins forgotten.

  200 B.G.E. Half of the inhabited worlds of the Galaxy are part of Trantorian Empire. Trantor supports rebellion of planet Florina against oppression by planet Sark. [The Currents of Space ]

  1 G.E. Trantorian Empire becomes the Galactic Empire. Start of galactic calendar.

  (12500 C.E. = appr. 8,000 years after the Great Diaspora.

  827 G.E. Arrival of Joseph Schwartz (thrown forward in time). A radioactive and sparsely populated Earth tries to revolt against the Empire by using a bioweapon. Rebellion fails, thanks partly to Schwartz and a mentalic amplifier. Empire initially helps Earth recover, then effort is mysteriously abandoned. [Pebble in the Sky, Foundation’s Triumph]

  appr. 900 G.E. Forced evacuation of inhospitable Earth. Establishment of colony on planet Alpha. [Foundation and Earth]

  975 G.E. An alien race is discovered on a desert world and moved to Cepheus 18. Later they mysteriously escape beyond the Galaxy. [BlindAlley]

  appr. 2000 G.E. Daneel Olivaw and R. Yan Kansarv establish a robot production and repair facility on distant Eos. [Foundation and Chaos] The great Ruellis helps establish principles of good paternalistic government, augmenting the stability of an unchanging society against chaos. [Foundation’s Triumph]

  appr. 3000 G.E. During a chaos outbreak, ancient personality simulations Voltaire and Joan of Arc debate about machine intelligence. [Foundation’s Fear] With support of Calvinian robots, the Empress Shoree-Harn tries to introduce anew calendar and shake up social rigidity without success. [Foundation and Chaos]

  8789 G.E. A new “renaissance” begins on planet Lingane. Falls into chaos eight years later. [Foundation’s Triumph]

  11865 G.E. Humanoid robot Dors Venabili is constructed on Eos. [Foundation’s Fear]

  11867 G.E. The only extragalactic human colony is abandoned in the Greater Magellanic Cloud. All data is suppressed. [Foundation and Chaos]

  11988 G.E. Birth of H
ari Seldon and Cleon I. Daneel Olivaw knows the Empire is destabilizing, partly due to frequent chaos outbreaks. He is forced by the Zeroth Law to actively interfere, first as Chief of Staff, then as First Minister. [Prelude to Foundation] His secret genetic experiments lead both to Hari’s mathematical genius and the appearance of human mentalics. [Foundation’s Triumph]

  12010 G.E. Cleon I becomes Emperor. [Prelude to Foundation]

  12020 G.E. Hari Seldon lectures on possibility of psychohistory. Daneel persuades him to develop a practical science to help save the Empire. Dors Venabili becomes Seldon’s wife. They adopt a boy, Raych. Seldon and Yugo Amaryl begin to flesh out psychohistory. [Prelude to Foundation]

  12028 G.E. Calvinian robots, led by R. Plussix, move to Trantor and find historical documents dating from era of Shoree-Ham, as well as the sims Voltaire and Joan of Arc. They help seed a new “renaissance” on planet Sark. [Foundation’s Fear] Seldon helps remove Laskm Joranum from politics. Daneel resigns his post. Cleon I makes Seldon First Minister. [Eto Demerzel] Voltaire and Joan get into the Trantorian Mesh where they meet the ancient memes, triggering a rebellion among “tiktok” robots who kill many of Daneel’s positronic companions. Seldon strikes a deal to get the memes off Trantor. Sark renaissance falls into chaos. [Foundation’s Fear]

  12038 G.E. Death of Cleon I. [Cleon 1] A military junta seizes power. Seldon resigns as First Minister. [Dors Venabili]