Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 89 (click to see context) from:
* ThreeLawsCompliant:[[RobotNames R.]] Daneel Olivaw's positronic brain suffers greatly when he realizes that Hari Seldon used him and the other [[RidiculouslyHumanRobots humaniform robots]] to identify Lamurk's agents for assassins using the tiktoks (which are robots that are not supposed to be capable of [[ArtificialIntelligence human-level general intelligence]]). Also explored is Dors Venabili's willingness to break the First Law, due to the influences of the Second Law (Daneel told her to protect Seldon) and Zeroth Law (because Seldon is humanity's best chance at surviving [[AnarchyIsChaos the collapse of civilization]]). In addition, she "enjoys" watching Seldon murder a primate while the two of them are [[BrainUploading possessing other primates through a machine]].
to:
* ThreeLawsCompliant:[[RobotNames ThreeLawsCompliant: [[RobotNames R.]] Daneel Olivaw's positronic brain suffers greatly when he realizes that Hari Seldon used him and the other [[RidiculouslyHumanRobots humaniform robots]] to identify Lamurk's agents for assassins using the tiktoks (which are robots that are not supposed to be capable of [[ArtificialIntelligence human-level general intelligence]]). Also explored is Dors Venabili's willingness to break the First Law, due to the influences of the Second Law (Daneel told her to protect Seldon) and Zeroth Law (because Seldon is humanity's best chance at surviving [[AnarchyIsChaos the collapse of civilization]]). In addition, she "enjoys" watching Seldon murder a primate while the two of them are [[BrainUploading possessing other primates through a machine]].
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 3 (click to see context) from:
to:
[[quoteright:290:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/51ugddymz8l.jpg]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 84,85 (click to see context) from:
** "De herrijzenis van Isaac Asimovs ''Foundation[[note]]''The resurrection of Isaac Asimov's ''Foundation[[/note]] -- Creator/{{Meulenhoff}}'s cover from 1997
** "Après Asimov''[[note]]''After Asimov''[[/note]] -- Creator/PressesPocket's cover from 2002
** "Après Asimov''[[note]]''After Asimov''[[/note]] -- Creator/PressesPocket's cover from 2002
to:
** "De herrijzenis van Isaac Asimovs ''Foundation[[note]]''The ''Foundation''[[note]]The resurrection of Isaac Asimov's ''Foundation[[/note]] -- Creator/{{Meulenhoff}}'s cover from 1997
**"Après ''Après Asimov''[[note]]''After Asimov''[[/note]] -- Creator/PressesPocket's cover from 2002
**
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 79 (click to see context) from:
* SarcasticConfession: When [[KingBobTheNth Emperor Cleon I]] asks Seldon how he eliminated his political rival, Seldon admits that he knows a bunch of illegal robot, and he used them to carry out multiple simultaneous assassinations. Cleon laughs at the joke.
to:
* SarcasticConfession: When [[KingBobTheNth Emperor Cleon I]] asks Seldon how he eliminated his political rival, Seldon admits that he knows a bunch of illegal robot, robots, and he used them to carry out multiple simultaneous assassinations. Cleon laughs at the joke.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 66 (click to see context) from:
* MathematiciansAnswer: During "The Eternal Equations", Seldon is so distracted by working on psychohistory in his head, that when he's asked where the lift he's in is going, he misinterprets the question and simply answers "yes".
to:
* MathematiciansAnswer: During "The Eternal Equations", Seldon (an actual mathematician) is so distracted by working on psychohistory (represented by mathematical formulas) in his head, that when he's asked where the lift he's in is going, he misinterprets the question and simply answers "yes".
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
Dewicked trope
Changed line(s) 19 (click to see context) from:
* TheAlternet: The "Mesh" is a network of computers and mechanical devices that do computational work, as well as {{robot}}. [[spoiler:And it has been inhabited by [[BrainUploading uploaded aliens]] since roughly the time it was created]]. A PortalNetwork of wormholes allow the Mesh to function across interstellar distances, but it's primarily contained on Trantor, due to being a CityPlanet.
to:
* TheAlternet: The "Mesh" is a network of computers and mechanical devices that do computational work, as well as {{robot}}.robot. [[spoiler:And it has been inhabited by [[BrainUploading uploaded aliens]] since roughly the time it was created]]. A PortalNetwork of wormholes allow the Mesh to function across interstellar distances, but it's primarily contained on Trantor, due to being a CityPlanet.
Changed line(s) 23 (click to see context) from:
** "Tiktoks" are [[{{Robot}} mechanical servants]] with deliberately subhuman capabilities. They're not supposed to be capable of general intelligence and are often utilized for simple/unwanted tasks.
to:
** "Tiktoks" are [[{{Robot}} [[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman mechanical servants]] with deliberately subhuman capabilities. They're not supposed to be capable of general intelligence and are often utilized for simple/unwanted tasks.
Changed line(s) 47 (click to see context) from:
* DoAndroidsDream: This novel uses an array of {{Artificial Intelligence}}s and hosts an InUniverse discussion on if digitally-based lifeforms have souls. The [[HistoricalDomainCharacter computer-reconstructed personalities]] of UsefulNotes/JoanOfArc and {{Creator/Voltaire}} are chosen to act as representatives of each side in the debate. Joan is to represent Faith, and views the problem through the lens of {{UsefulNotes/Christianity}}; God exists and has created each human with a soul, but {{robot}} and [[BrainUploading digital copies of people]] are JustAMachine. Voltaire is to represent Reason, and views the problem through the lens of [[RomanticismVersusEnlightenment Enlightenment]]; manufactured servants are a perfect answer to the aristocracy's need of a lower class, but granting them sentience means granting that AndroidsArePeopleToo. As the two characters grow in {{Transhuman}} style, their overall points converge in time to support Seldon's desire to [[spoiler:parley with the digital aliens of the [[TheAlternet Mesh]]]].
to:
* DoAndroidsDream: This novel uses an array of {{Artificial Intelligence}}s and hosts an InUniverse discussion on if digitally-based lifeforms have souls. The [[HistoricalDomainCharacter computer-reconstructed personalities]] of UsefulNotes/JoanOfArc and {{Creator/Voltaire}} are chosen to act as representatives of each side in the debate. Joan is to represent Faith, and views the problem through the lens of {{UsefulNotes/Christianity}}; God exists and has created each human with a soul, but {{robot}} robot and [[BrainUploading digital copies of people]] are JustAMachine. Voltaire is to represent Reason, and views the problem through the lens of [[RomanticismVersusEnlightenment Enlightenment]]; manufactured servants are a perfect answer to the aristocracy's need of a lower class, but granting them sentience means granting that AndroidsArePeopleToo. As the two characters grow in {{Transhuman}} style, their overall points converge in time to support Seldon's desire to [[spoiler:parley with the digital aliens of the [[TheAlternet Mesh]]]].
Changed line(s) 79 (click to see context) from:
* SarcasticConfession: When [[KingBobTheNth Emperor Cleon I]] asks Seldon how he eliminated his political rival, Seldon admits that he knows a bunch of illegal {{robot}}, and he used them to carry out multiple simultaneous assassinations. Cleon laughs at the joke.
to:
* SarcasticConfession: When [[KingBobTheNth Emperor Cleon I]] asks Seldon how he eliminated his political rival, Seldon admits that he knows a bunch of illegal {{robot}}, robot, and he used them to carry out multiple simultaneous assassinations. Cleon laughs at the joke.
Changed line(s) 87 (click to see context) from:
* ThreeLawsCompliant:[[RobotNames R.]] Daneel Olivaw's positronic brain suffers greatly when he realizes that Hari Seldon used him and the other [[RidiculouslyHumanRobots humaniform robots]] to identify Lamurk's agents for assassins using the tiktoks (which are {{robot}} that are not supposed to be capable of [[ArtificialIntelligence human-level general intelligence]]). Also explored is Dors Venabili's willingness to break the First Law, due to the influences of the Second Law (Daneel told her to protect Seldon) and Zeroth Law (because Seldon is humanity's best chance at surviving [[AnarchyIsChaos the collapse of civilization]]). In addition, she "enjoys" watching Seldon murder a primate while the two of them are [[BrainUploading possessing other primates through a machine]].
to:
* ThreeLawsCompliant:[[RobotNames R.]] Daneel Olivaw's positronic brain suffers greatly when he realizes that Hari Seldon used him and the other [[RidiculouslyHumanRobots humaniform robots]] to identify Lamurk's agents for assassins using the tiktoks (which are {{robot}} robots that are not supposed to be capable of [[ArtificialIntelligence human-level general intelligence]]). Also explored is Dors Venabili's willingness to break the First Law, due to the influences of the Second Law (Daneel told her to protect Seldon) and Zeroth Law (because Seldon is humanity's best chance at surviving [[AnarchyIsChaos the collapse of civilization]]). In addition, she "enjoys" watching Seldon murder a primate while the two of them are [[BrainUploading possessing other primates through a machine]].
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
minor edits
Changed line(s) 19 (click to see context) from:
* TheAlternet: The "Mesh" is a network of computers and mechanical devices that do computational work, as well as {{robot}}. [[spoiler:And it has been inhabited by [[BrainUploading uploaded aliens]] since roughly the time it was created. A PortalNetwork of wormholes allow the Mesh to function across interstellar distances, but it's primarily contained on Trantor, due to being a CityPlanet.
to:
* TheAlternet: The "Mesh" is a network of computers and mechanical devices that do computational work, as well as {{robot}}. [[spoiler:And it has been inhabited by [[BrainUploading uploaded aliens]] since roughly the time it was created.created]]. A PortalNetwork of wormholes allow the Mesh to function across interstellar distances, but it's primarily contained on Trantor, due to being a CityPlanet.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
fixing wicks
Changed line(s) 19 (click to see context) from:
* TheAlternet: The "Mesh" is a network of computers and mechanical devices that do computational work, as well as {{robots}}. [[spoiler:And it has been inhabited by [[BrainUploading uploaded aliens]] since roughly the time it was created. A PortalNetwork of wormholes allow the Mesh to function across interstellar distances, but it's primarily contained on Trantor, due to being a CityPlanet.
to:
* TheAlternet: The "Mesh" is a network of computers and mechanical devices that do computational work, as well as {{robots}}.{{robot}}. [[spoiler:And it has been inhabited by [[BrainUploading uploaded aliens]] since roughly the time it was created. A PortalNetwork of wormholes allow the Mesh to function across interstellar distances, but it's primarily contained on Trantor, due to being a CityPlanet.
Changed line(s) 23 (click to see context) from:
** "Tiktoks" are [[{{Robots}} mechanical servants]] with deliberately subhuman capabilities. They're not supposed to be capable of general intelligence and are often utilized for simple/unwanted tasks.
to:
** "Tiktoks" are [[{{Robots}} [[{{Robot}} mechanical servants]] with deliberately subhuman capabilities. They're not supposed to be capable of general intelligence and are often utilized for simple/unwanted tasks.
Changed line(s) 47 (click to see context) from:
* DoAndroidsDream: This novel uses an array of {{Artificial Intelligence}}s and hosts an InUniverse discussion on if digitally-based lifeforms have souls. The [[HistoricalDomainCharacter computer-reconstructed personalities]] of UsefulNotes/JoanOfArc and {{Creator/Voltaire}} are chosen to act as representatives of each side in the debate. Joan is to represent Faith, and views the problem through the lens of {{UsefulNotes/Christianity}}; God exists and has created each human with a soul, but {{robots}} and [[BrainUploading digital copies of people]] are JustAMachine. Voltaire is to represent Reason, and views the problem through the lens of [[RomanticismVersusEnlightenment Enlightenment]]; manufactured servants are a perfect answer to the aristocracy's need of a lower class, but granting them sentience means granting that AndroidsArePeopleToo. As the two characters grow in {{Transhuman}} style, their overall points converge in time to support Seldon's desire to [[spoiler:parley with the digital aliens of the [[TheAlternet Mesh]]]].
to:
* DoAndroidsDream: This novel uses an array of {{Artificial Intelligence}}s and hosts an InUniverse discussion on if digitally-based lifeforms have souls. The [[HistoricalDomainCharacter computer-reconstructed personalities]] of UsefulNotes/JoanOfArc and {{Creator/Voltaire}} are chosen to act as representatives of each side in the debate. Joan is to represent Faith, and views the problem through the lens of {{UsefulNotes/Christianity}}; God exists and has created each human with a soul, but {{robots}} {{robot}} and [[BrainUploading digital copies of people]] are JustAMachine. Voltaire is to represent Reason, and views the problem through the lens of [[RomanticismVersusEnlightenment Enlightenment]]; manufactured servants are a perfect answer to the aristocracy's need of a lower class, but granting them sentience means granting that AndroidsArePeopleToo. As the two characters grow in {{Transhuman}} style, their overall points converge in time to support Seldon's desire to [[spoiler:parley with the digital aliens of the [[TheAlternet Mesh]]]].
Changed line(s) 79 (click to see context) from:
* SarcasticConfession: When [[KingBobTheNth Emperor Cleon I]] asks Seldon how he eliminated his political rival, Seldon admits that he knows a bunch of illegal {{robots}}, and he used them to carry out multiple simultaneous assassinations. Cleon laughs at the joke.
to:
* SarcasticConfession: When [[KingBobTheNth Emperor Cleon I]] asks Seldon how he eliminated his political rival, Seldon admits that he knows a bunch of illegal {{robots}}, {{robot}}, and he used them to carry out multiple simultaneous assassinations. Cleon laughs at the joke.
Changed line(s) 87 (click to see context) from:
* ThreeLawsCompliant:[[RobotNames R.]] Daneel Olivaw's positronic brain suffers greatly when he realizes that Hari Seldon used him and the other [[RidiculouslyHumanRobots humaniform robots]] to identify Lamurk's agents for assassins using the tiktoks (which are {{robots}} that are not supposed to be capable of [[ArtificialIntelligence human-level general intelligence]]). Also explored is Dors Venabili's willingness to break the First Law, due to the influences of the Second Law (Daneel told her to protect Seldon) and Zeroth Law (because Seldon is humanity's best chance at surviving [[AnarchyIsChaos the collapse of civilization]]). In addition, she "enjoys" watching Seldon murder a primate while the two of them are [[BrainUploading possessing other primates through a machine]].
to:
* ThreeLawsCompliant:[[RobotNames R.]] Daneel Olivaw's positronic brain suffers greatly when he realizes that Hari Seldon used him and the other [[RidiculouslyHumanRobots humaniform robots]] to identify Lamurk's agents for assassins using the tiktoks (which are {{robots}} {{robot}} that are not supposed to be capable of [[ArtificialIntelligence human-level general intelligence]]). Also explored is Dors Venabili's willingness to break the First Law, due to the influences of the Second Law (Daneel told her to protect Seldon) and Zeroth Law (because Seldon is humanity's best chance at surviving [[AnarchyIsChaos the collapse of civilization]]). In addition, she "enjoys" watching Seldon murder a primate while the two of them are [[BrainUploading possessing other primates through a machine]].
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
Page Creation
Added DiffLines:
%%[[quoteright:350:link]]
%% [[caption-width-right:350:caption]]
Creator/GregoryBenford's 1997 {{Novel}}, the first in ''Literature/TheSecondFoundationTrilogy''. This ScienceFiction story is an {{Interquel}}, [[{{Continuation}} continuing immediately]] after ''Literature/ForwardTheFoundation'''s "Eto Demerzel".
Emperor Cleon wants Seldon to be his First Minister, but is opposed by Betan Lamurk and his factions. Seldon will have to wade through a political morassess while the Dhalite ethnic group is struggling to make itself heard in the court of politics. Meanwhile, Yugo Amaryl has purchased a couple of "sims", simulations of human beings, which he and Seldon can use to test their psychohistorical theories on. Despite trying to hold this at a distance, Seldon gets caught up in the politics of the computer simulations, the tiktok men, and the prehistoric laws against creating ArtificialIntelligence.
Yugo's sims are of two historical figures; UsefulNotes/JoanOfArc and {{Creator/Voltaire}}, [[RecycledScript reprising their role]] from Benford's {{novella}}, "Literature/TheRoseAndTheScalpel" (part of the ''Literature/TimeGate'' anthologies). They drive a large fraction of the plot, and become deeply enmeshed with the tiktok riots and in resolving the conflict against aliens.
During "Panucopia", Seldon and Venabili hide from their enemies on the titular planet. The planet is named after the "Pans", creatures imported from Earth. The name is short for "Pan troglodytes", the meaning of which has been [[LanguageDrift forgotten]]. This particular section [[RecycledScript borrows heavily]] from Benford's ShortStory "{{Literature/Immersion}}". While avoiding Lamurk and his minions, Hari and Dors spend time in the bodies of chimpanzees.
This story is followed by Creator/GregBear's ''Literature/FoundationAndChaos''.
----
!!''Foundation's Fear'' provides examples of:
* AdiposeRex: [[KingBobTheNth Emperor Cleon I]] is an enormous man in this {{Interquel}}, something that Seldon internally comments on several times as the emperor is usually eating in his presence.
* AffectionateNickname: When Seldon is walking around Streeling University, he is given two names by the excited students; "Prof Minister" and "Math Minister".
* AlcubierreDrive: Unlike the {{Hyperspace|OrSubspace}} drives established by ''Literature/TheFoundationTrilogy'', this book utilizes space warping to create FTL transportation of cargo.
* AlternativeCalendar: (SubvertedTrope) As noted in the [[WordOfGod Afterword]], how year 1 of the Galactic Era fits in with Anno Domini can be difficult to determine, as ''Literature/PebbleInTheSky'' establishes hyperspace travel has been around for hundreds of thousands of years, ''Literature/Foundation1951'' establishes atomic power has only existed for fifty thousand years, and ''Literature/PreludeToFoundation'' establishes R. Daneel as being twenty thousand years old. Since these conflicting dates were [[ContinuitySnarl impossible to reconcile]], Benford chose to simply rename A.D. to G.E., and treat the Trantorian calendar as a continuation of Earth's Western calendar. However, it also renames the months, such as Octdent (October) and Marlass (March).
* TheAlternet: The "Mesh" is a network of computers and mechanical devices that do computational work, as well as {{robots}}. [[spoiler:And it has been inhabited by [[BrainUploading uploaded aliens]] since roughly the time it was created. A PortalNetwork of wormholes allow the Mesh to function across interstellar distances, but it's primarily contained on Trantor, due to being a CityPlanet.
* ArtificialIntelligence:
** As established by ''Literature/PreludeToFoundation'', there are a few positronic robots (like those of ''Literature/TheCavesOfSteel'') running around this setting in secret.
** "Sims", or "self-organized simulations", are software designed to run an imitation of an [[HistoricalDomainCharacter historical figure]], such as UsefulNotes/JoanOfArc or {{Creator/Voltaire}}.
** "Tiktoks" are [[{{Robots}} mechanical servants]] with deliberately subhuman capabilities. They're not supposed to be capable of general intelligence and are often utilized for simple/unwanted tasks.
** The remnants of [[spoiler:alien life [[BrainUploading as digital copies]]. They managed to preserve themselves as digital lifeforms and uploaded their memories into the galactic "[[TheAlternet Mesh]]". The appearances of the [[HistoricalDomainCharacter historical sims]], Joan and Voltaire, force them to activate a long-planned insurrection, taking over the tiktok creations]]. Because of this "virus", the tiktoks have to be eliminated.
* BeneficialDisease: The childhood illness of BrainFever is an [[InvertedTrope inversion]] because catching "brain fever" makes one susceptible to R. Daneel's PsychicPowers. Hari Seldon had been lucky enough not to get sick at a young age, which means Danell could not read his mind.
* BilledAboveTheTitle:
** The Dutch translation, published by Creator/{{Meulenhoff}} in 1997, includes the {{tagline}}, then the series title, and then Benford's name (in larger font), and then the book's title (also in larger font).
** The German translation, published by Creator/{{Heyne}} in 2000, includes Benford's name above the title in larger font.
** The French translation, published by Creator/PressesPocket in 2002, includes the {{tagline}}, then Benford's name (in the largest font), then the title (in medium-sized font), and then the series title (in small font like the tagline).
* BrainFever: Brain fever is the name of a childhood illness. Because Hari never got sick from it, he is [[BeneficialDisease immune to R. Daneel's telepathic powers]]. Daneel could not predict that [[spoiler:Hari would have the tiktoks murder Lamurk's minions]].
* BrainUploading:
** The concept of "immersion" is using computers to take digital posession of animals on "Panucopia", [[RecycledScript adapted]] from "{{Literature/Immersion}}".
** Seldon asks a few programmers to create a similar sort of immersion for him to view his psychohistorical equations, which puts him on Trantor's version of the internet, called [[TheAlternet the Mesh]].
** While on the Mesh, Seldon discovers [[spoiler:that the reason [[AbsentAliens all non-human civilizations are gone]] is they've been hiding as digital representations. Eons ago, the robots had [[{{Realpolitik}} exterminated the potential threat to humanity]]. The one they blame most is the "man-who-is-not--Daneel"]].
* BringMyBrownPants: While Hari Seldon and Dors Venabili are training to pilot a tiny spaceship through a [[OurWormholesAreDifferent tiny "wild worm"]], he notices that the apparently risk-loving pilots have memorial plaques on their urinals, rather than public memorials or gravestones. They record their use of the place to "relieve" themselves, rather than their death. As you might expect, he shit himself on the first training run.
-->In the men’s room, above the urinal he used, Hari saw a small gold plaque: Senior Pilot Joquan Beunn relieved himself here Octdent 4, 13,435.\\
Every urinal had a similar plaque. There was a washing machine in the locker room with a large plaque over it, reading The entire 43rd Pilot Corps relieved themselves here Marlass 18, 13,675.\\
Pilot humor. It turned out to be absolutely predictive. He messed himself on his first training run.
* CallARabbitASmeerp: The chimpanzees of "Panucopia" are called "Pans". The name is short for "Pan troglodytes", the meaning of which has been [[LanguageDrift lost over the millennia since Earth]].
* CallBack: In the early chapters, Cleon misquotes ClarkesThirdLaw while talking to Seldon as "Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced". He decides to have this statement publicized as "royal wisdom". In the last quarter of the book, while on Sark, Seldon hears someone agreeing with the Emperor, quoting his line about "technology distinguishable from magic".
* CompositeCharacter: ''Literature/ForwardTheFoundation'' establishes Yugo Amaryl and Raych Seldon as Dahlites that Hari rescued from the underclasses of society, taking them to the upscale Streeling University sector. Yugo is like Hari, a mathematician always working on theorems and proofs. Raych is more politically minded, trying to scrape every possible advantage he can, to defend himself against the injustices of the elite. Creator/GregoryBenford decided to [[SequelNonEntity send Raych to school]] and give his political leanings to Yugo, forcing appointee First Minister Hari to deal with political problems every day he went to work, and freely share his secrets when he went home (Raych was unaware that Dors or Daneel are RidiculouslyHumanRobots, which limited Hari's ability to mention that fact when he was around).
* {{Dedication}}:
** Benford dedicates this book to the other two authors writing the {{trilogy}}.
--->''To Creator/GregBear and Creator/DavidBrin''\\
''Fellow voyagers on strange seas''
** In addition to the front-of-book dedication, Benford thanks a number of creators at the end of his Afterword, crediting general and specific assistance. [[note]](He thanks his wife, Joan Benford, and Abbe, Creator/LouAronica, Creator/JanetAsimov, Creator/GregBear, Creator/JenniferBrehl, Creator/DavidBrin, Creator/ElisabethBrown, Creator/PaulCarter, Creator/JohnClute, Creator/DonDixon, Creator/JohnDouglas, Creator/JamesGunn, Creator/JenniferHershey, Creator/DonaldKingsbury, Creator/MarkMartin, Creator/JoeMiller, Creator/ChrisSchelling, Creator/JohnStilbersack, Creator/RalphVicinanza, Creator/GaryWestfahl, and Creator/GeorgeZebrowski.)[[/note]]
* DoAndroidsDream: This novel uses an array of {{Artificial Intelligence}}s and hosts an InUniverse discussion on if digitally-based lifeforms have souls. The [[HistoricalDomainCharacter computer-reconstructed personalities]] of UsefulNotes/JoanOfArc and {{Creator/Voltaire}} are chosen to act as representatives of each side in the debate. Joan is to represent Faith, and views the problem through the lens of {{UsefulNotes/Christianity}}; God exists and has created each human with a soul, but {{robots}} and [[BrainUploading digital copies of people]] are JustAMachine. Voltaire is to represent Reason, and views the problem through the lens of [[RomanticismVersusEnlightenment Enlightenment]]; manufactured servants are a perfect answer to the aristocracy's need of a lower class, but granting them sentience means granting that AndroidsArePeopleToo. As the two characters grow in {{Transhuman}} style, their overall points converge in time to support Seldon's desire to [[spoiler:parley with the digital aliens of the [[TheAlternet Mesh]]]].
* EncyclopediaExposita: This novel is broken into 8 parts:
** "Mathist Minister" begins with an ''Encyclopedia Galactica'' excerpt for Hari Seldon.
** "The Rose Meets the Scalpel" begins with an ''Encyclopedia Galactica'' excerpt for Computational Representation.
** "Body Politics" begins with an ''Encyclopedia Galactica'' excerpt for the Early History of Foundation, which describes the early stage of psychohistory.
** "A Sense of Self" begins with an ''Encyclopedia Galactica'' excerpt for simulation spaces, the need to create simulated environments for [[BrainUploading representations of human/pseudo-human minds]].
** "Panucopia" begins with an ''Encyclopedia Galactica'' excerpt for the History of Biogenesis, the creation of worlds set aside for primate experiments, especially for the "pans", short for "pan troglodytes".
** "Ancient Fogs" begins with an ''Encyclopedia Galactica'' excerpt for the Galactic Prehistory, which explains that the lack of records for pre-galactic civilization is due to the multiple eras of warfare, the evidence for which is still extant.
** "Stars Like Grains of Sand" begins with an ''Encyclopedia Galactica'' excerpt for Sociometrics, the general problem of social stability.
** "The Eternal Equations" begins with an ''Encyclopedia Galactica'' excerpt for the General Theory of Psychohistory, describing some of the fundamental mathematics taken from thermodynamic expressions.
* FakinMacGuffin: When Amaryl took the two data cores into Seldon's office to talk about the human-like simulations, Venabili destroyed them. Two chapters later, and Amaryl reveals that the data cores he had were unrelated worthless cores that he had brought as a precaution in case she had gotten angry.
* FameThroughInfamy: The first piece of advice that [[KingBobTheNth Emperor Cleon I]] asks of Hari is how to handle "The Renegatum", rebels who desire to ‘demonstrate their contempt for society’ by murder and grand larceny. Being put to death for their crimes makes them famous. So Seldon suggests to UnPerson them as well, by recording them as "Moron One", "Moron Two", and so on, instead of using their names. It's a resounding success.
* FutureFoodIsArtificial: The story takes place so far into the future, humanity has spread out across the entire Milky Way, and people on Trantor eat meals recycled directly from the sewage. A "[[MatterReplicator food-manufacturum]]" creates food like eggs, sausage, and carrots, which are crafted to taste good to their audience.
-->''It was easy to forget, amid the tastes specially designed to fit his own well-tabulated likes, that the manufacturum built their meal from sewage. Eggs that had never known the belly of a bird. Meat appeared without skin or bones or gristle or fat. Carrots arrived without topknots. A food-manfac was delicately tuned to reproduce tastes, just short of the ability to actually make a live carrot. The minor issue of whether his souffle tasted like a real one, made by a fine chef, faded to unimportance compared with the fact that it tasted good to him--the only audience that mattered.''
* GrewBeyondTheirProgramming: Dors Venabili, a [[RidiculouslyHumanRobots humaniform robot]], admits to R. Daneel that she's [[RoboticSpouse fallen in love with Seldon]], something that is not part of her basic programming. During ''Literature/PreludeToFoundation'', this had been something that she had told Hari specifically that it could not happen.
* HistoricalDomainCharacter: UsefulNotes/JoanOfArc and {{Creator/Voltaire}} appear in this work as "sims", [[ArtificialIntelligence software]] designed to believe it is a famous historical person.
* {{Interquel}}: This book picks up [[{{Continuation}} directly after]] the events of "Eto Demerzel", from ''Literature/ForwardTheFoundation''.
* IsTheAnswerToThisQuestionYes: In "The Eternal Equations", when Marq asks if Seldon and Amaryl really have the money that he's demanding, Yugo responds with the self-evident question, "Is the Emperor fat?" (which is [[AdiposeRex true]] for this novel).
* LanguageDrift: Early in the book, two quotes about Rome are misquoted due to the intervening millennia since humanity left Earth; "Fiddling while Roma burns" and "All worms lead to Roma". They're distortions of "Fiddle WhileRomeBurns" and "All roads lead to Rome".
* MathematiciansAnswer: During "The Eternal Equations", Seldon is so distracted by working on psychohistory in his head, that when he's asked where the lift he's in is going, he misinterprets the question and simply answers "yes".
-->''Hari Seldon stood alone in the lift, thinking.''\\
''The door slid open. A woman asked if this elevator was going up or down. Distracted, he answered, “Yes.” Her surprised look told him that somehow his reply was off target. Only after the door closed on her puzzled stare did he see that she meant ''which'' way, not ''if''.''
* MatterReplicator: The "food-manufacturum" used on Trantor takes raw sewage and recycles it into something edible that looks like real meats and veggies, but is flavoured for the person eating it.
-->''It was easy to forget, amid the tastes specially designed to fit his own well-tabulated likes, that the manufacturum built their meal from sewage. Eggs that had never known the belly of a bird. Meat appeared without skin or bones or gristle or fat. Carrots arrived without topknots. A food-manfac was delicately tuned to reproduce tastes, just short of the ability to actually make a live carrot. The minor issue of whether his soufflé tasted like a real one, made by a fine chef, faded to unimportance compared with the fact that it tasted good to him--the only audience that mattered.''
* TheMilkyWayIsTheOnlyWay: In "Stars Like Grains of Sand", Seldon's internal monologue describes a legendary past occurrence; Steffno's Ride. This was the only recorded occasion in which [[PortalNetwork wormhole-travel]] extended beyond UsefulNotes/TheMilkyWayGalaxy. Steffano is recorded to have traveled to Messier 87 (M87 [[note]]now known as PÅwehi[[/note]]), then came back just seconds before [[OurWormholesAreDifferent the wormhole collapsed]].
-->''Something in wormhole physics discouraged extra-galactic adventures.''
* MythologyGag: UsefulNotes/JoanOfArc and {{Creator/Voltaire}}, or rather, the [[ArtificialIntelligence computer simulations]] that are supposed to function as [[HistoricalDomainCharacter the historical figures]], reprise their role from "Literature/TheRoseAndTheScalpel" very literally; it's mentioned that they have memories from ~8,000 years ago where they were first asked to represent the debate between Reason and Faith on the question of "[[DoAndroidsDream Do robots/programs have souls?]]".
* {{Neologism}}: During "Mathist Minister", Seldon notes internally that he has developed psychohistory to the point where he can 'post-dict' history, meaning that instead of ''pre''dicting events, he can tweak his [[PrescienceByAnalysis algorithms]] to describe known historical events.
* OnlyOneName: UsefulNotes/JoanOfArc uses only the name Joan. While her internal narration mentions her father's surname, it also claims she discarded it before she took up her divine quest.
* OurWormholesAreDifferent: Wormholes in this work become very important during "Stars Like Grains of Sand", as Seldon and Venabili are trying to escape Lamurk and his minions. These wormholes are described as labyrinths, with shifting walls within the tunnels causing problems in two-way travel, and altering their destinations unpredictably. The stable wormholes are used as a PortalNetwork, while dying/"wild worms" may collapse at any moment, contain [[SwirlyEnergyThingy electromagnetic storms]], and often go unreported until after their collapse (to avoid paying taxes on them). Most are disk-like, but some are cubic and one example is "a mottled pyramid-shaped wormhole".
* PortalNetwork: The Empire uses a vast network of wormholes for FTL communications. They act as relays, creating bottlenecks like dial-up or DSL. Early chapters establish that [[OurWormholesAreDifferent wormholes]] are only ten meters wide at most, so they cannot be used for cargo shipping, only information trade. Later chapters claim that wormholes vary wildly in size, and are the primary method of FasterThanLightTravel.
* {{Realpolitik}}: R. Daneel admits that the early robotic explorers had traveled through UsefulNotes/TheMilkyWayGalaxy like a prairie fire, destroying ''all'' sapient non-human lifeforms as a precautionary measure, slaughtering them without hesitation since their [[ThreeLawsCompliant hardwired morality]] only applies to humans. This act of xenogenocide leads to a [[AbsentAliens humans-only galaxy]]. The robots never shared this fact before hiding themselves so that humanity could evolve on its own. [[spoiler:This only comes to light in "The Eternal Equations" because the aliens are revealed to have [[BrainUploading uploaded themselves]] and gotten into [[TheAlternet Trantor's Mesh]].]]
* SarcasticConfession: When [[KingBobTheNth Emperor Cleon I]] asks Seldon how he eliminated his political rival, Seldon admits that he knows a bunch of illegal {{robots}}, and he used them to carry out multiple simultaneous assassinations. Cleon laughs at the joke.
-->''Hari had sworn to himself that he would never lie to the Emperor. Not being believed was not part of the agreement.''
* SequelNonEntity: In the previous novel, ''Literature/ForwardTheFoundation'', it is established that Raych Seldon has been living with Dors and Hari for the past eight years. However, he doesn't appear at all in this {{Interquel}}. "Body Politics" briefly mentions that Raych has been sent away to a school. His political leanings [[CompositeCharacter are given to Yugo]], because having an oppressed minority around to tirade about social injustices is narratively useful as Seldon tries to avoid his political appointment of First Minister to the Emperor.
* ShoutOut: Voltaire actually quotes someone other than himself when he quotes from ''Theatre/TheMerryWivesOfWindsor'', saying Falstaff's line; "Let the sky rain potatoes!".
* {{Tagline}}:
** "De herrijzenis van Isaac Asimovs ''Foundation[[note]]''The resurrection of Isaac Asimov's ''Foundation[[/note]] -- Creator/{{Meulenhoff}}'s cover from 1997
** "Après Asimov''[[note]]''After Asimov''[[/note]] -- Creator/PressesPocket's cover from 2002
* TakeThat: In the penultimate chapter of "The Eternal Equations", a bureaucrat tries to convince First Minister Seldon that the Imperial candidacy tests should be re-normed every year to prevent people making comparisons across the years. Seldon's response is to demand a report on the effects of re-norming ''every'' average, including [[FictionalSport holoball]] batting averages and IQ tests. In the [[WordOfGod Afterword]], Creator/GregoryBenford admits that this was a shameless {{satire}} of the "renorming" of the UsefulNotes/SATs.
* ThreeLawsCompliant:[[RobotNames R.]] Daneel Olivaw's positronic brain suffers greatly when he realizes that Hari Seldon used him and the other [[RidiculouslyHumanRobots humaniform robots]] to identify Lamurk's agents for assassins using the tiktoks (which are {{robots}} that are not supposed to be capable of [[ArtificialIntelligence human-level general intelligence]]). Also explored is Dors Venabili's willingness to break the First Law, due to the influences of the Second Law (Daneel told her to protect Seldon) and Zeroth Law (because Seldon is humanity's best chance at surviving [[AnarchyIsChaos the collapse of civilization]]). In addition, she "enjoys" watching Seldon murder a primate while the two of them are [[BrainUploading possessing other primates through a machine]].
* UnconventionalFormatting: Halfway through the story, in "A Sense of Self", non-standard formatting begins to appear, tied to the perspective of data-space. {{Creator/Voltaire}}'s "To be sensual is to be mortal" quote is rendered in a different font, and indented to stand out from the page. As Voltaire listens to the blankness that Joan called an ''It'', it is bracketed by a hard line across the page, above and below the paragraph. Voltaire's eavesdropping on Marq is shown by creating two columns on the page, like in a PulpMagazine. His experiment in forking digital consciousness is also written as two columns on the same page. By "The Eternal Equations", unconventional formatting appears on nearly every page with Voltaire and UsefulNotes/JoanOfArc's perspective.
* UpliftedAnimal: The wirehounds, taken from "{{Literature/Immersion}}", are canine in origin, but capable of following rudimentary instructions and slurred speech. The name itself implies tinkering with their minds, but the exact details are left more to the imagination. For this story, they serve as another example of the advances in bioelectrics and biomechanics that are strangely missing in a post-''Literature/RobotsSeries'' setting.
----
%% [[caption-width-right:350:caption]]
Creator/GregoryBenford's 1997 {{Novel}}, the first in ''Literature/TheSecondFoundationTrilogy''. This ScienceFiction story is an {{Interquel}}, [[{{Continuation}} continuing immediately]] after ''Literature/ForwardTheFoundation'''s "Eto Demerzel".
Emperor Cleon wants Seldon to be his First Minister, but is opposed by Betan Lamurk and his factions. Seldon will have to wade through a political morassess while the Dhalite ethnic group is struggling to make itself heard in the court of politics. Meanwhile, Yugo Amaryl has purchased a couple of "sims", simulations of human beings, which he and Seldon can use to test their psychohistorical theories on. Despite trying to hold this at a distance, Seldon gets caught up in the politics of the computer simulations, the tiktok men, and the prehistoric laws against creating ArtificialIntelligence.
Yugo's sims are of two historical figures; UsefulNotes/JoanOfArc and {{Creator/Voltaire}}, [[RecycledScript reprising their role]] from Benford's {{novella}}, "Literature/TheRoseAndTheScalpel" (part of the ''Literature/TimeGate'' anthologies). They drive a large fraction of the plot, and become deeply enmeshed with the tiktok riots and in resolving the conflict against aliens.
During "Panucopia", Seldon and Venabili hide from their enemies on the titular planet. The planet is named after the "Pans", creatures imported from Earth. The name is short for "Pan troglodytes", the meaning of which has been [[LanguageDrift forgotten]]. This particular section [[RecycledScript borrows heavily]] from Benford's ShortStory "{{Literature/Immersion}}". While avoiding Lamurk and his minions, Hari and Dors spend time in the bodies of chimpanzees.
This story is followed by Creator/GregBear's ''Literature/FoundationAndChaos''.
----
!!''Foundation's Fear'' provides examples of:
* AdiposeRex: [[KingBobTheNth Emperor Cleon I]] is an enormous man in this {{Interquel}}, something that Seldon internally comments on several times as the emperor is usually eating in his presence.
* AffectionateNickname: When Seldon is walking around Streeling University, he is given two names by the excited students; "Prof Minister" and "Math Minister".
* AlcubierreDrive: Unlike the {{Hyperspace|OrSubspace}} drives established by ''Literature/TheFoundationTrilogy'', this book utilizes space warping to create FTL transportation of cargo.
* AlternativeCalendar: (SubvertedTrope) As noted in the [[WordOfGod Afterword]], how year 1 of the Galactic Era fits in with Anno Domini can be difficult to determine, as ''Literature/PebbleInTheSky'' establishes hyperspace travel has been around for hundreds of thousands of years, ''Literature/Foundation1951'' establishes atomic power has only existed for fifty thousand years, and ''Literature/PreludeToFoundation'' establishes R. Daneel as being twenty thousand years old. Since these conflicting dates were [[ContinuitySnarl impossible to reconcile]], Benford chose to simply rename A.D. to G.E., and treat the Trantorian calendar as a continuation of Earth's Western calendar. However, it also renames the months, such as Octdent (October) and Marlass (March).
* TheAlternet: The "Mesh" is a network of computers and mechanical devices that do computational work, as well as {{robots}}. [[spoiler:And it has been inhabited by [[BrainUploading uploaded aliens]] since roughly the time it was created. A PortalNetwork of wormholes allow the Mesh to function across interstellar distances, but it's primarily contained on Trantor, due to being a CityPlanet.
* ArtificialIntelligence:
** As established by ''Literature/PreludeToFoundation'', there are a few positronic robots (like those of ''Literature/TheCavesOfSteel'') running around this setting in secret.
** "Sims", or "self-organized simulations", are software designed to run an imitation of an [[HistoricalDomainCharacter historical figure]], such as UsefulNotes/JoanOfArc or {{Creator/Voltaire}}.
** "Tiktoks" are [[{{Robots}} mechanical servants]] with deliberately subhuman capabilities. They're not supposed to be capable of general intelligence and are often utilized for simple/unwanted tasks.
** The remnants of [[spoiler:alien life [[BrainUploading as digital copies]]. They managed to preserve themselves as digital lifeforms and uploaded their memories into the galactic "[[TheAlternet Mesh]]". The appearances of the [[HistoricalDomainCharacter historical sims]], Joan and Voltaire, force them to activate a long-planned insurrection, taking over the tiktok creations]]. Because of this "virus", the tiktoks have to be eliminated.
* BeneficialDisease: The childhood illness of BrainFever is an [[InvertedTrope inversion]] because catching "brain fever" makes one susceptible to R. Daneel's PsychicPowers. Hari Seldon had been lucky enough not to get sick at a young age, which means Danell could not read his mind.
* BilledAboveTheTitle:
** The Dutch translation, published by Creator/{{Meulenhoff}} in 1997, includes the {{tagline}}, then the series title, and then Benford's name (in larger font), and then the book's title (also in larger font).
** The German translation, published by Creator/{{Heyne}} in 2000, includes Benford's name above the title in larger font.
** The French translation, published by Creator/PressesPocket in 2002, includes the {{tagline}}, then Benford's name (in the largest font), then the title (in medium-sized font), and then the series title (in small font like the tagline).
* BrainFever: Brain fever is the name of a childhood illness. Because Hari never got sick from it, he is [[BeneficialDisease immune to R. Daneel's telepathic powers]]. Daneel could not predict that [[spoiler:Hari would have the tiktoks murder Lamurk's minions]].
* BrainUploading:
** The concept of "immersion" is using computers to take digital posession of animals on "Panucopia", [[RecycledScript adapted]] from "{{Literature/Immersion}}".
** Seldon asks a few programmers to create a similar sort of immersion for him to view his psychohistorical equations, which puts him on Trantor's version of the internet, called [[TheAlternet the Mesh]].
** While on the Mesh, Seldon discovers [[spoiler:that the reason [[AbsentAliens all non-human civilizations are gone]] is they've been hiding as digital representations. Eons ago, the robots had [[{{Realpolitik}} exterminated the potential threat to humanity]]. The one they blame most is the "man-who-is-not--Daneel"]].
* BringMyBrownPants: While Hari Seldon and Dors Venabili are training to pilot a tiny spaceship through a [[OurWormholesAreDifferent tiny "wild worm"]], he notices that the apparently risk-loving pilots have memorial plaques on their urinals, rather than public memorials or gravestones. They record their use of the place to "relieve" themselves, rather than their death. As you might expect, he shit himself on the first training run.
-->In the men’s room, above the urinal he used, Hari saw a small gold plaque: Senior Pilot Joquan Beunn relieved himself here Octdent 4, 13,435.\\
Every urinal had a similar plaque. There was a washing machine in the locker room with a large plaque over it, reading The entire 43rd Pilot Corps relieved themselves here Marlass 18, 13,675.\\
Pilot humor. It turned out to be absolutely predictive. He messed himself on his first training run.
* CallARabbitASmeerp: The chimpanzees of "Panucopia" are called "Pans". The name is short for "Pan troglodytes", the meaning of which has been [[LanguageDrift lost over the millennia since Earth]].
* CallBack: In the early chapters, Cleon misquotes ClarkesThirdLaw while talking to Seldon as "Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced". He decides to have this statement publicized as "royal wisdom". In the last quarter of the book, while on Sark, Seldon hears someone agreeing with the Emperor, quoting his line about "technology distinguishable from magic".
* CompositeCharacter: ''Literature/ForwardTheFoundation'' establishes Yugo Amaryl and Raych Seldon as Dahlites that Hari rescued from the underclasses of society, taking them to the upscale Streeling University sector. Yugo is like Hari, a mathematician always working on theorems and proofs. Raych is more politically minded, trying to scrape every possible advantage he can, to defend himself against the injustices of the elite. Creator/GregoryBenford decided to [[SequelNonEntity send Raych to school]] and give his political leanings to Yugo, forcing appointee First Minister Hari to deal with political problems every day he went to work, and freely share his secrets when he went home (Raych was unaware that Dors or Daneel are RidiculouslyHumanRobots, which limited Hari's ability to mention that fact when he was around).
* {{Dedication}}:
** Benford dedicates this book to the other two authors writing the {{trilogy}}.
--->''To Creator/GregBear and Creator/DavidBrin''\\
''Fellow voyagers on strange seas''
** In addition to the front-of-book dedication, Benford thanks a number of creators at the end of his Afterword, crediting general and specific assistance. [[note]](He thanks his wife, Joan Benford, and Abbe, Creator/LouAronica, Creator/JanetAsimov, Creator/GregBear, Creator/JenniferBrehl, Creator/DavidBrin, Creator/ElisabethBrown, Creator/PaulCarter, Creator/JohnClute, Creator/DonDixon, Creator/JohnDouglas, Creator/JamesGunn, Creator/JenniferHershey, Creator/DonaldKingsbury, Creator/MarkMartin, Creator/JoeMiller, Creator/ChrisSchelling, Creator/JohnStilbersack, Creator/RalphVicinanza, Creator/GaryWestfahl, and Creator/GeorgeZebrowski.)[[/note]]
* DoAndroidsDream: This novel uses an array of {{Artificial Intelligence}}s and hosts an InUniverse discussion on if digitally-based lifeforms have souls. The [[HistoricalDomainCharacter computer-reconstructed personalities]] of UsefulNotes/JoanOfArc and {{Creator/Voltaire}} are chosen to act as representatives of each side in the debate. Joan is to represent Faith, and views the problem through the lens of {{UsefulNotes/Christianity}}; God exists and has created each human with a soul, but {{robots}} and [[BrainUploading digital copies of people]] are JustAMachine. Voltaire is to represent Reason, and views the problem through the lens of [[RomanticismVersusEnlightenment Enlightenment]]; manufactured servants are a perfect answer to the aristocracy's need of a lower class, but granting them sentience means granting that AndroidsArePeopleToo. As the two characters grow in {{Transhuman}} style, their overall points converge in time to support Seldon's desire to [[spoiler:parley with the digital aliens of the [[TheAlternet Mesh]]]].
* EncyclopediaExposita: This novel is broken into 8 parts:
** "Mathist Minister" begins with an ''Encyclopedia Galactica'' excerpt for Hari Seldon.
** "The Rose Meets the Scalpel" begins with an ''Encyclopedia Galactica'' excerpt for Computational Representation.
** "Body Politics" begins with an ''Encyclopedia Galactica'' excerpt for the Early History of Foundation, which describes the early stage of psychohistory.
** "A Sense of Self" begins with an ''Encyclopedia Galactica'' excerpt for simulation spaces, the need to create simulated environments for [[BrainUploading representations of human/pseudo-human minds]].
** "Panucopia" begins with an ''Encyclopedia Galactica'' excerpt for the History of Biogenesis, the creation of worlds set aside for primate experiments, especially for the "pans", short for "pan troglodytes".
** "Ancient Fogs" begins with an ''Encyclopedia Galactica'' excerpt for the Galactic Prehistory, which explains that the lack of records for pre-galactic civilization is due to the multiple eras of warfare, the evidence for which is still extant.
** "Stars Like Grains of Sand" begins with an ''Encyclopedia Galactica'' excerpt for Sociometrics, the general problem of social stability.
** "The Eternal Equations" begins with an ''Encyclopedia Galactica'' excerpt for the General Theory of Psychohistory, describing some of the fundamental mathematics taken from thermodynamic expressions.
* FakinMacGuffin: When Amaryl took the two data cores into Seldon's office to talk about the human-like simulations, Venabili destroyed them. Two chapters later, and Amaryl reveals that the data cores he had were unrelated worthless cores that he had brought as a precaution in case she had gotten angry.
* FameThroughInfamy: The first piece of advice that [[KingBobTheNth Emperor Cleon I]] asks of Hari is how to handle "The Renegatum", rebels who desire to ‘demonstrate their contempt for society’ by murder and grand larceny. Being put to death for their crimes makes them famous. So Seldon suggests to UnPerson them as well, by recording them as "Moron One", "Moron Two", and so on, instead of using their names. It's a resounding success.
* FutureFoodIsArtificial: The story takes place so far into the future, humanity has spread out across the entire Milky Way, and people on Trantor eat meals recycled directly from the sewage. A "[[MatterReplicator food-manufacturum]]" creates food like eggs, sausage, and carrots, which are crafted to taste good to their audience.
-->''It was easy to forget, amid the tastes specially designed to fit his own well-tabulated likes, that the manufacturum built their meal from sewage. Eggs that had never known the belly of a bird. Meat appeared without skin or bones or gristle or fat. Carrots arrived without topknots. A food-manfac was delicately tuned to reproduce tastes, just short of the ability to actually make a live carrot. The minor issue of whether his souffle tasted like a real one, made by a fine chef, faded to unimportance compared with the fact that it tasted good to him--the only audience that mattered.''
* GrewBeyondTheirProgramming: Dors Venabili, a [[RidiculouslyHumanRobots humaniform robot]], admits to R. Daneel that she's [[RoboticSpouse fallen in love with Seldon]], something that is not part of her basic programming. During ''Literature/PreludeToFoundation'', this had been something that she had told Hari specifically that it could not happen.
* HistoricalDomainCharacter: UsefulNotes/JoanOfArc and {{Creator/Voltaire}} appear in this work as "sims", [[ArtificialIntelligence software]] designed to believe it is a famous historical person.
* {{Interquel}}: This book picks up [[{{Continuation}} directly after]] the events of "Eto Demerzel", from ''Literature/ForwardTheFoundation''.
* IsTheAnswerToThisQuestionYes: In "The Eternal Equations", when Marq asks if Seldon and Amaryl really have the money that he's demanding, Yugo responds with the self-evident question, "Is the Emperor fat?" (which is [[AdiposeRex true]] for this novel).
* LanguageDrift: Early in the book, two quotes about Rome are misquoted due to the intervening millennia since humanity left Earth; "Fiddling while Roma burns" and "All worms lead to Roma". They're distortions of "Fiddle WhileRomeBurns" and "All roads lead to Rome".
* MathematiciansAnswer: During "The Eternal Equations", Seldon is so distracted by working on psychohistory in his head, that when he's asked where the lift he's in is going, he misinterprets the question and simply answers "yes".
-->''Hari Seldon stood alone in the lift, thinking.''\\
''The door slid open. A woman asked if this elevator was going up or down. Distracted, he answered, “Yes.” Her surprised look told him that somehow his reply was off target. Only after the door closed on her puzzled stare did he see that she meant ''which'' way, not ''if''.''
* MatterReplicator: The "food-manufacturum" used on Trantor takes raw sewage and recycles it into something edible that looks like real meats and veggies, but is flavoured for the person eating it.
-->''It was easy to forget, amid the tastes specially designed to fit his own well-tabulated likes, that the manufacturum built their meal from sewage. Eggs that had never known the belly of a bird. Meat appeared without skin or bones or gristle or fat. Carrots arrived without topknots. A food-manfac was delicately tuned to reproduce tastes, just short of the ability to actually make a live carrot. The minor issue of whether his soufflé tasted like a real one, made by a fine chef, faded to unimportance compared with the fact that it tasted good to him--the only audience that mattered.''
* TheMilkyWayIsTheOnlyWay: In "Stars Like Grains of Sand", Seldon's internal monologue describes a legendary past occurrence; Steffno's Ride. This was the only recorded occasion in which [[PortalNetwork wormhole-travel]] extended beyond UsefulNotes/TheMilkyWayGalaxy. Steffano is recorded to have traveled to Messier 87 (M87 [[note]]now known as PÅwehi[[/note]]), then came back just seconds before [[OurWormholesAreDifferent the wormhole collapsed]].
-->''Something in wormhole physics discouraged extra-galactic adventures.''
* MythologyGag: UsefulNotes/JoanOfArc and {{Creator/Voltaire}}, or rather, the [[ArtificialIntelligence computer simulations]] that are supposed to function as [[HistoricalDomainCharacter the historical figures]], reprise their role from "Literature/TheRoseAndTheScalpel" very literally; it's mentioned that they have memories from ~8,000 years ago where they were first asked to represent the debate between Reason and Faith on the question of "[[DoAndroidsDream Do robots/programs have souls?]]".
* {{Neologism}}: During "Mathist Minister", Seldon notes internally that he has developed psychohistory to the point where he can 'post-dict' history, meaning that instead of ''pre''dicting events, he can tweak his [[PrescienceByAnalysis algorithms]] to describe known historical events.
* OnlyOneName: UsefulNotes/JoanOfArc uses only the name Joan. While her internal narration mentions her father's surname, it also claims she discarded it before she took up her divine quest.
* OurWormholesAreDifferent: Wormholes in this work become very important during "Stars Like Grains of Sand", as Seldon and Venabili are trying to escape Lamurk and his minions. These wormholes are described as labyrinths, with shifting walls within the tunnels causing problems in two-way travel, and altering their destinations unpredictably. The stable wormholes are used as a PortalNetwork, while dying/"wild worms" may collapse at any moment, contain [[SwirlyEnergyThingy electromagnetic storms]], and often go unreported until after their collapse (to avoid paying taxes on them). Most are disk-like, but some are cubic and one example is "a mottled pyramid-shaped wormhole".
* PortalNetwork: The Empire uses a vast network of wormholes for FTL communications. They act as relays, creating bottlenecks like dial-up or DSL. Early chapters establish that [[OurWormholesAreDifferent wormholes]] are only ten meters wide at most, so they cannot be used for cargo shipping, only information trade. Later chapters claim that wormholes vary wildly in size, and are the primary method of FasterThanLightTravel.
* {{Realpolitik}}: R. Daneel admits that the early robotic explorers had traveled through UsefulNotes/TheMilkyWayGalaxy like a prairie fire, destroying ''all'' sapient non-human lifeforms as a precautionary measure, slaughtering them without hesitation since their [[ThreeLawsCompliant hardwired morality]] only applies to humans. This act of xenogenocide leads to a [[AbsentAliens humans-only galaxy]]. The robots never shared this fact before hiding themselves so that humanity could evolve on its own. [[spoiler:This only comes to light in "The Eternal Equations" because the aliens are revealed to have [[BrainUploading uploaded themselves]] and gotten into [[TheAlternet Trantor's Mesh]].]]
* SarcasticConfession: When [[KingBobTheNth Emperor Cleon I]] asks Seldon how he eliminated his political rival, Seldon admits that he knows a bunch of illegal {{robots}}, and he used them to carry out multiple simultaneous assassinations. Cleon laughs at the joke.
-->''Hari had sworn to himself that he would never lie to the Emperor. Not being believed was not part of the agreement.''
* SequelNonEntity: In the previous novel, ''Literature/ForwardTheFoundation'', it is established that Raych Seldon has been living with Dors and Hari for the past eight years. However, he doesn't appear at all in this {{Interquel}}. "Body Politics" briefly mentions that Raych has been sent away to a school. His political leanings [[CompositeCharacter are given to Yugo]], because having an oppressed minority around to tirade about social injustices is narratively useful as Seldon tries to avoid his political appointment of First Minister to the Emperor.
* ShoutOut: Voltaire actually quotes someone other than himself when he quotes from ''Theatre/TheMerryWivesOfWindsor'', saying Falstaff's line; "Let the sky rain potatoes!".
* {{Tagline}}:
** "De herrijzenis van Isaac Asimovs ''Foundation[[note]]''The resurrection of Isaac Asimov's ''Foundation[[/note]] -- Creator/{{Meulenhoff}}'s cover from 1997
** "Après Asimov''[[note]]''After Asimov''[[/note]] -- Creator/PressesPocket's cover from 2002
* TakeThat: In the penultimate chapter of "The Eternal Equations", a bureaucrat tries to convince First Minister Seldon that the Imperial candidacy tests should be re-normed every year to prevent people making comparisons across the years. Seldon's response is to demand a report on the effects of re-norming ''every'' average, including [[FictionalSport holoball]] batting averages and IQ tests. In the [[WordOfGod Afterword]], Creator/GregoryBenford admits that this was a shameless {{satire}} of the "renorming" of the UsefulNotes/SATs.
* ThreeLawsCompliant:[[RobotNames R.]] Daneel Olivaw's positronic brain suffers greatly when he realizes that Hari Seldon used him and the other [[RidiculouslyHumanRobots humaniform robots]] to identify Lamurk's agents for assassins using the tiktoks (which are {{robots}} that are not supposed to be capable of [[ArtificialIntelligence human-level general intelligence]]). Also explored is Dors Venabili's willingness to break the First Law, due to the influences of the Second Law (Daneel told her to protect Seldon) and Zeroth Law (because Seldon is humanity's best chance at surviving [[AnarchyIsChaos the collapse of civilization]]). In addition, she "enjoys" watching Seldon murder a primate while the two of them are [[BrainUploading possessing other primates through a machine]].
* UnconventionalFormatting: Halfway through the story, in "A Sense of Self", non-standard formatting begins to appear, tied to the perspective of data-space. {{Creator/Voltaire}}'s "To be sensual is to be mortal" quote is rendered in a different font, and indented to stand out from the page. As Voltaire listens to the blankness that Joan called an ''It'', it is bracketed by a hard line across the page, above and below the paragraph. Voltaire's eavesdropping on Marq is shown by creating two columns on the page, like in a PulpMagazine. His experiment in forking digital consciousness is also written as two columns on the same page. By "The Eternal Equations", unconventional formatting appears on nearly every page with Voltaire and UsefulNotes/JoanOfArc's perspective.
* UpliftedAnimal: The wirehounds, taken from "{{Literature/Immersion}}", are canine in origin, but capable of following rudimentary instructions and slurred speech. The name itself implies tinkering with their minds, but the exact details are left more to the imagination. For this story, they serve as another example of the advances in bioelectrics and biomechanics that are strangely missing in a post-''Literature/RobotsSeries'' setting.
----
