Asimov's Foundation Trilogy and Other Works

Citation preview

CliffsNotes on ASIMOV'S

FOUNDATION TRILOGY & OTHER WORKS

www.cliffs.com

ASIMOV'S FOUNDATION TRILOGY & OTHER WORKS Notes including • • •

Life and Background of the Author Introduction to Asimov's Science Fiction Critical Commentaries The Foundation Trilogy Pebble in the Sky The Stars, Like Dust The Currents of Space The End of Eternity The Gods Themselves

by L. David Allen, Ph.D. Department of English University of Nebraska

LINCOLN, NEBRASKA 68501

1-800-228-4078 www.CLIFFS.com ISBN 0-8220-7253-X © Copyright 1977 by Cliffs Notes, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Cliffs Notes on Asimov's Foundation Trilogy & Other Works © 1977

1

www.cliffs.com

LIFE AND BACKGROUND OF THE AUTHOR The occasion: Discon II, the 1974 World Science Fiction Convention held in Washington, D.C. The scene: a huge, pillared hallway of the convention area of a large hotel. A huge crowd gathers around one of the pillars. In the middle, his back to the pillar, stands Isaac Asimov, enjoying himself thoroughly. One hand busily signs books, programs, scraps of paper--whatever people hand to him. The other arm holds a succession of girls who get kissed soundly; most of them return the kiss enthusiastically. In the meantime, between kisses, Asimov carries on conversations with several people and declaims bawdy limericks, some original and some not so original, as people toss him words to rhyme. (Asimov characteristically turned this penchant for bawdy limericks into two published volumes.) Later, a bashful fan, who has never attended a WorldCon before and who is awed by all the people (almost five thousand people attended) and by all these well-known writers, attends the Meet-the-Authors party. Many of the authors are rather brusque, signing autographs quickly and turning away. Others talk with a favored few and ignore all the rest. Asimov is the most famous writer attending. With trembling, the fan approaches and asks for his autograph. Asimov turns his attention to the fan, and, for the moment, that fan receives all of Asimov's attention. This man with one of the most renown reputations in science fiction seems genuinely interested in the neophyte; in fact, were the fan less bashful, a more extended conversation might have taken place. Isaac Asimov is a writer who made a good living from his writing. As of November 1976, he had published one hundred and seventy-nine books. Keeping that date in mind is important, for he has averaged a book a month since the autumn of 1969. Of the books he has written and published, one hundred and fifty-four of them were in print in November 1976. This is truly amazing--Asimov calls it a single-author world's record--for the works of most other prolific writers do not last long. Several things produce writing that is remarkable in its quantity and also clear and always interesting. Asimov was a compulsive writer who spent up to eighteen hours a day in his study, reading, answering his correspondence, and checking over his facts, but mostly typing. At ninety words a minute, or a page in less than five minutes, Asimov usually produced over fifty pages a day. In this process, Asimov was aided by an immense intelligence (reportedly, his IQ was so high that it could not be measured) and by a memory that seldom forgot. Add to this the fact that whenever a "dry spell" halted the piece he was working on, Asimov turned to another--at the time his 179th was being published, he had six other books in various stages of completion, as well as a number of articles and columns (he wrote monthly columns for several magazines)--and by the time he returned, his unconscious processes had solved the problem. The result is a flood of words that increased, rather than decreased, as he grew older. Asimov's road to fame and fortune began in Russia, near Smolensk, in 1920. Three years later, his family moved to Brooklyn. While Asimov grew up, his father operated several small candy stores; after he was nine, he was expected to help. It was in the candy stores that he came across science-fiction literature since a wide range of papers and magazines were also sold. Although his father strongly discouraged him, Asimov nevertheless managed to look through the pulp magazines. The science-fiction pulps, with their often lurid covers, seemed to have a particular attraction for him. At the same time, he methodically read his way through the shelves of the public library. He wrote his first science-fiction story at the age of fifteen. The same year, he was admitted to Columbia University. At eighteen, in 1938, he sold his first story, earning $64.00 for a 6,400 word effort. About the same time, he became associated with the Futurian Science Literary Society of New York, founded by Frederick Pohl, Donald A. Wolheim, Cyril Kornbluth, Walter Kubilius, and Robert W. Lowndes.

Cliffs Notes on Asimov's Foundation Trilogy & Other Works © 1977

2

www.cliffs.com In 1939, Asimov earned his B.A. degree, and he gained his M.A. two years later. In the meantime, several stories appeared, including "Strange Play-fellow" in 1940, the first of the robot stories. In April 1941, Astounding Science-Fiction published "Reason," which established the Three Laws of Robotics. This is the first basis for Asimov's continuing reputation. In 1942, Asimov married Gertrude Blugerman, and the marriage lasted until 1973, producing two children. During the early years of this marriage, Asimov worked as a chemist in the experimental laboratories of a naval aircraft laboratory. In the midst of this, the idea for the Foundation trilogy was developed. The individual stories were published between 1942 and 1949; they were collected as Foundation (1951), Foundation and Empire (1952), and Second Foundation (1953). After the war, Asimov worked toward his doctorate at Columbia, receiving it in 1949. Through the urging of a fan of his science fiction, Asimov became an instructor in biochemistry at Boston University that summer. By this time, Asimov had made his reputation as a superb author of science fiction, but he hadn't made much money from his part-time writing, not much more than he earned for one year's teaching. In 1955, Asimov was the guest of honor at the Thirteenth World Science Fiction Convention in Cleveland. He was also promoted to Associate Professor at Boston University, where he was teaching, doing research in nucleic acids, and continuing his writing. Juggling these three activities, much less doing any of them justice, was getting progressively more difficult. Matters were resolved in 1958. About that time, Boston University officials began pressuring Asimov to do more research and less popular writing. Asimov felt that what he was doing in translating science for the general public (not through science fiction but through books about the sciences) was more worthwhile, even to the university, than any research he might do. Although the rules had changed and Boston University officials preferred to use the new rules, Asimov took his right to retain his academic rank even though he resigned (guaranteed under the old rules) to the full faculty. Science fiction was not paying very well then, and Asimov had a genuine interest in making science clear to people without a scientific background. Sputnik also roused concern and interest in science, which contributed to Asimov's turning to articles and books explaining science, and there was a long period of time when Asimov published very little science fiction. The Gods Themselves, published in 1972, marked his return to science fiction. It is a better novel than his earlier ones, and it won both the Hugo and Nebula Awards for best science-fiction novel of the year. In 1972, Asimov had surgery to remove malignant tissue from his thyroid. The following year, he was divorced. He then married Janet Jeppson, a psychiatrist whose first effort in science fiction was published as The Second Experiment. In the meantime, Asimov's flood of published work swept along; since The Gods Themselves, a steady stream of science-fiction stories appeared. The best source of information about Asimov's personality, taste in science fiction, biography, and just about everything one would want to know came from Isaac Asimov himself. In absolutely delightful fashion, Asimov told stories on and about himself at every opportunity, in introductions to collections of his own work and to collections he has edited. Three seem to stand out as sources of this kind of information: The Early Asimov, edited by Isaac Asimov. New York: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1972. Before the Golden Age: A Science Fiction Anthology of the 1930's, edited by Isaac Asimov. New York: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1974. Opus 100, Isaac Asimov. New York: Dell Books, 1969. (1st Dell printing, 1970).

Cliffs Notes on Asimov's Foundation Trilogy & Other Works © 1977

3

www.cliffs.com Asimov died in 1992.

INTRODUCTION TO ASIMOV'S SCIENCE FICTION Nearly all of Asimov's published work touches directly or indirectly on science, although sometimes the connection is not particularly obvious on first glance. His books explaining science have covered all the sciences, as well as a biographical encyclopedia of science. He has wittily annotated Shakespeare, Milton, Byron, and the Bible (literary scholars have mixed feelings about these but many find them useful). He has written volumes on history, about widely scattered times and places. There are also mysteries, children's books, anthologies, collections of bawdy limericks, a joke book, and The Sensuous Dirty Old Man (a satire on popular sex manuals). There are, if they can be found, a host of articles covering, if possible, an even wider range of topics. And, of course, Isaac Asimov has written science fiction. Asimov's first book was published in 1950. By that time, he had been publishing short stories in the science-fiction magazines for twelve years; throughout his career, he continued doing so. Consequently, collections of his stories are important in following his career. I, Robot was the first in 1950, and technically the Foundation trilogy is a collection, but both have distinctive characteristics that put them into other categories for this discussion. Aside from these, The Martian Way and Other Stories, Earth Is Room Enough, Nine Tomorrows, Nightfall and Other Stories, Opus 100, The Early Asimov, Have You Seen These?, Buy Jupiter and Other Stories, and The Bicentennial Man and Other Stories contain Asimov's collected short stories. The Early Asimov has a lot of "historical" interest, dealing as it does with his first eleven years as a writer; the early stories are here, along with Asimov's comments about the stories and the times during which they were written. The title story in Nightfall and Other Stories is perhaps Asimov's best single story, and it is one of the very best in all of science fiction. Opus 100 has samples of all of the varieties of Asimov's writing, not just his fiction; it may be the best work introducing the range of interests and the ways in which these interests interact. Singling out these three for particular comment should not be taken as denigrating the other collections: Each one has some fine stories, and none of the stories in them are pot-boilers. The stories which first made Asimov's reputation as a science-fiction writer are those stories about robots and those developing the Three Laws of Robotics. The individual stories were written and published primarily during the 1940s. I, Robot collected nine of these stories and tied them together with a framestory to make a historical narrative of sorts on the development of robots and robotics. Beginning with "Robbie" (originally "Strange Play-fellow"), the huge non-speaking robot who is nursemaid and playmate for an eight-year-old girl, the stories trace the steps that lead to the supercomputers that control and manage the world. In between are robots who can read minds and lie, robots who reason like Descartes and who have a sense of humor, robots who have mental breakdowns, and a robot who may be human (or a human who is thought to be a robot). Each story focuses on a particular problem that arises as a new model is introduced and on the way in which it is solved, opening the way for further developments. Susan Calvin, the waspish spinster who invented the science of robo-psychology and who solves a number of the problems, is certainly one of Asimov's memorable characters in science fiction. The Caves of Steel is a novel that has three major points of interest. First, it pictures an Earth gone underground; it details life under such conditions and the ways in which people react to it. The fear of open spaces that has developed is also reflected in the fear and hatred of the spacers, men from other planets who travel the space lanes. Second, it is a mystery, following the efforts of Lije Baley and R. Daneel Olivaw to solve the murder of one of the spacers before further trouble develops. Third, it is a robot story, for the R. in R. Daneel stands for robot. Involved in this aspect of the story is Earth's fear of robots, the process by which Lije Baley learns to work with R. Daneel, and the personality of R. Daneel Olivaw. In spite of the fact that many people have said that science fiction and the mystery story could not

Cliffs Notes on Asimov's Foundation Trilogy & Other Works © 1977

4

www.cliffs.com be combined, Asimov has proven that they can, and very well indeed. The Naked Sun is a companion to The Caves of Steel, bringing Lije Baley and R. Daneel Olivaw together again. This time, Baley must overcome his fear of space flight and of open spaces since he has been specifically requested to solve a murder on a planet with so few people and so much land that people almost never meet in person; many, in fact, have developed a fear of physical contact. He is also instructed by his superiors to gather as much information as he can about the Outer Worlds, for they feel that the relationship between the Outer Worlds and Earth is rapidly becoming explosively dangerous to Earth. He solves both problems. When it was originally published, The Rest of the Robots included both The Caves of Steel and The Naked Sun, as well as a number of short stories. The paperback version (Pyramid Books, first printed in 1966) includes eight stories. These stories continue the theme that runs throughout all of Asimov's robot stories: People have an unreasoning and unreasonable fear of robots, a "Frankenstein complex"; contrary to this fear, Asimov's robots are a benefit to humanity and any problems involved in their development can be overcome without much difficulty. The mystery stories that Asimov has written--Asimov's Mysteries and Murder at the ABA--descend from the robot detective novels, although they are similar to conventional mystery novels, with a modern setting and human characters. Murder at the ABA is good fun; one of the characters is named Isaac Asimov, and the narrator/detective has certain traits that Asimov is fond of attributing to Harlan Ellison, although pains are taken to make sure the identification is not complete. The Foundation trilogy provides an anchor for most of the rest of Asimov's novels. As with the stories collected in I, Robot, the stories which make up Foundation, Foundation and Empire, and Second Foundation were published primarily in the 1940s and later collected. These three volumes chronicle the fall of the Galactic Empire, the establishment and growth of the First Foundation at the edges of the galaxy on Terminus, the search for the almost legendary Second Foundation, and, finally, the nature of the Second Foundation and its role (the reader, but not the members of the First Foundation, have this glimpse). The science of psychohistory is the basic innovation, and it supposedly guides the development of the historical events of these novels. Elsewhere, Asimov has demonstrated that history does indeed follow general patterns, providing an outline which can be filled in by at least three historical periods in European history. Pebble in the Sky portrays a radioactive Earth that is an outcast in the galaxy and whose claims to being the home of all humanity are scornfully rejected until the end of the novel, when a Galactic citizen, two Earth people, and a man from the past stop a threat to Galactic civilization. It is a rather melodramatic novel, with a theme of discrimination infused throughout rather heavily. Although it cannot be considered a part of an overall "future history," it does make use of a Galactic civilization, which ties it to the Foundation stories. The Stars, like Dust is also rather melodramatic, ending as it does with the revelation that the Declaration of Independence is the most potent weapon against the forces of repression and tyranny. (It may be melodramatic, but it is effective as well.) In the novel, a young man, whose father was executed because he was a member of the underground opposing the Tyranni, matures in the course of a series of adventures while he seeks the planet that is supposed to be the center of the rebellion. In this novel, there is no far-reaching Galactic Empire. If it ties into the Foundation stories at all, it is at a stage not long after colonization from Earth began; there are some indications that groups of planets are beginning to band together, but that is all.

Cliffs Notes on Asimov's Foundation Trilogy & Other Works © 1977

5

www.cliffs.com The Currents of Space uses the Empire based on Trantor more definitely. The Empire is not yet Galactic, but it has aspirations in that direction and is moving steadily toward the goal, now using diplomacy rather than conquest. One of the major threads of the novel is the delicate political maneuvering undertaken by the Trantorian ambassador to Sark. For the rest, a Spatio-analyst whose memory has been erased gradually regains his memory enough to sound the warning that Florina's sun will become a nova before many years. Since it is the source of wealth and power for Sark, it takes skillful negotiating to win the evacuation of Florinians before their sun destroys the planet. The End of Eternity belongs with these works only because it is one of the early novels. The emphasis is on time travel outside the normal flow of time. Through the organization named Eternity, events in historical time are manipulated so that life meets Eternity's idea of how people should live. Through love, the protagonist is brought to see that this is ultimately counter-productive, working against humanity's survival in the far future. Because he is strategically placed, he is able to stop the development of Eternity and, thus, to allow humanity to develop as chance will have it. The Gods Themselves does not belong with these novels either, at least in the sense that it does not deal with the Galactic Empire or with the kind of future history found in the Foundation trilogy and the other early novels. Nevertheless, it rounds out Asimov's novels and shows his growth as a novelist more definitely than any other work. For the first time in his novels, Asimov deals with alien beings and does so imaginatively and vividly. (Reportedly, aliens were avoided earlier because of disagreements with science fiction critic and editor John W. Campbell about their treatment; rather than treat them as Campbell wanted to do, it is said that Asimov decided to deal strictly with humans.) The workings of the scientific establishment is a major target in the novel. In the first section of The Gods Themselves, Peter Lamont runs afoul of the scientific establishment while trying to find the truth about the development of the Electron Pump and, later, trying to publish warnings of possible danger. In the second section, one of the aliens, Dua, tries to stop their Positron Pump because of the danger it poses to humanity. The final section concerns Ben Denison's solving the problem by attacking it in a way that by-passes the questions of initial publicity and thus stopping the Electron Pump. Although it might not seem like it in summary, the focus of The Gods Themselves is tighter, and the development is much more solid, than in the earlier novels. It is probably Asimov's best. Other Asimov works are rather miscellaneous. Fantastic Voyage is a novel which Asimov wrote after the movie was released. The two volumes of The Hugo Winners are a selection of works which won Hugo Awards, at least one for each year the Hugos were given through 1970; lists of all the winners are provided, and there are the inimitable introductions by Asimov. Before the Golden Age is a selection of stories Asimov liked while he was growing up with science fiction, again with informative and delightful introductions. Where Do We Go from Here? is an anthology aimed at the classroom, with comments and questions by Asimov for each story; it is quite a good anthology. Fifty Short Science Fiction Tales is a collection edited by Asimov and Groff Conklin that includes stories that are usually only eight pages long or less. Categories of Science Fiction Although science fiction continues to defy a neat and complete definition, there are a number of points which contribute toward a definition that is useful to keep in mind. These points can help suggest the general directions in which science fiction seems to aim its efforts, and they can also help clarify some of the things that science fiction does not aim at. Throughout the field, there seem to be two basic constants which provide guideposts, around which other points seem to cluster. The first of these constants is that science fiction is concerned with the effects of change on human beings; this change may be brought about by the straight extrapolation of current scientific knowledge to

Cliffs Notes on Asimov's Foundation Trilogy & Other Works © 1977

6

www.cliffs.com its logical development in the near future. It may be caused by new factors that are related in some way to current science, although we cannot logically predict them at this time; we can, in other words, speculate about future developments in the sciences. Or it may be caused by simply postulating the introduction of a set of factors which are not related to current sciences at all, such as the development of psychic powers or a change in a single detail of the past. Whatever brings about the change in the conditions of life, of environment, or of mind, science fiction is primarily concerned with examining the human effects of that change. One point related to this is that nearly any organized body of knowledge can serve for the "science" in science fiction. Although it was once popular to think of science fiction as dealing with developments in such "hard" sciences as chemistry, biology, physics, and their subdivisions, combinations, and technological applications, more and more science fiction using such "soft" sciences as linguistics, sociology, psychology, political science, anthropology, theology, and so on, as well as that using "imaginary" sciences such as the laws of magic, time travel, and psychic powers, has been written and accepted as science fiction. One thing that all of these have in common is the fact that they are all organized ways of knowing something. Another point related to this first constant is that science fiction is a literary sub-genre of prose fiction in which some kind of science happens to be an important part. An important fact to remember is that when some aspect of science and some aspect of literature, such as telling the story, characterization, or theme, come in conflict, it is the science that will be modified most. Of course, most writers of science fiction try to be as accurate as possible about their science, but sometimes it must be de-emphasized or hedged a bit if the novel or story as a whole is to work. Asimov is, of course, a scientist, and his explanations of science for the general reader are both clear and accurate. However, in his fiction, the science is tailored to the needs of the story, not the story to the science. Nevertheless, in a novel like The Gods Themselves, where the conditions for the exchange of materials between alternate universes are not now present, the conclusions and processes are plausible, and they are derived by application of the scientific method. The second constant, which is basic to both science and science fiction, is the assumption that we live in an orderly universe; this is important because it means that the causes of changed conditions can be discovered and explained and that the results will be regular and, within limits, predictable. For example, in The Gods Themselves, humans and para-men cannot communicate directly at the beginning of the novel; however, Bronowski continues to attempt to communicate because he knows that languages have underlying conceptual systems that have form and pattern, and he believes that if he and the para-men correspond long enough, one or the other of them may gather sufficient data to grasp that system, with a resulting communication between them. Even with these constants and related points, science fiction is a broad field covering many possible materials, many possible approaches to those materials, and many possible ways of handling them. For this reason, many people find it sometimes helpful to have some kind of categories and sub-categories to help them sort things out. However, it is important to remember that any label chooses some aspect of a work to emphasize and plays down all the rest of the work; consequently, if such labels and the process of sticking them on becomes an end in itself, rather than a momentary convenience, the richness and worth of the literary work is virtually destroyed. Furthermore, any set of labels can never be final, and any application of any set will depend in part on a personal point of view. With these cautions in mind, the following set of categories for science fiction is suggested. The first category, then, might be called Hard Science Fiction. This would be science fiction in which the major impetus for the exploration which takes place is one of the so-called Hard, or Physical, Sciences, including chemistry, physics, biology, astronomy, geology, and possibly mathematics, as well as the technology associated with, or growing out of, one of those sciences. Such sciences, and consequently

Cliffs Notes on Asimov's Foundation Trilogy & Other Works © 1977

7

www.cliffs.com any science fiction based on them, assume the existence of an orderly universe whose laws are regular and discoverable. A second general category can be labeled Soft Science Fiction. This encompasses science fiction in which the major impetus for the exploration is one of the so-called Soft Sciences--that is, sciences focusing on human activities, most of which have not been fully accepted as being as rigorous or as capable of prediction as the physical sciences. Soft Science Fiction would include any stories based on such organized approaches to knowledge as sociology, psychology, anthropology, political science, historiography, theology, linguistics, and some approaches to myth. Stories about any technology related to these would also come under this heading. In this category, as well, the assumption of an orderly universe with regular, discoverable laws is a basic criterion for inclusion. A third category that seems required is Science Fantasy. Under this heading would go those stories which, assuming an orderly universe with regular and discoverable natural laws, propose that the natural laws are different from those we derive from our current sciences. What is sometimes called paraphysics, but especially those branches dealing with telepathy and the laws of magic, most often provides these alternative laws. To qualify as Science Fantasy, it is necessary that these alternate laws receive at least a minimum of direct exploration. The final category, Fantasy, is somewhat controversial, for its connection with any of the sciences, as such, is minimal. Nevertheless, it borders on science fiction and helps round out this system of categories. As it is used here, Fantasy has this much in common with the other categories: it, too, assumes a universe which has order and a set of discoverable natural laws even though they are different from our own. Unlike Science Fantasy, where these laws are treated explicitly, in Fantasy these laws are merely implicit--that is, a sufficiently interested reader can formulate the laws governing this fantasy world, but the author gives little or no assistance in doing so in any direct way. Asimov's works belong largely under Soft Science Fiction. Perhaps The Gods Themselves shows the greatest balance between Soft and Hard Science Fiction, though it, too, stresses the "human" side of the problem. The problem in the novel is a result of physical law and the technology devised to utilize it. The solution to the problem is found through the creative application of the scientific method and the expansion of the same physical law in other directions. If this were the primary focus of the novel, it would be Hard Science Fiction. However, the focus is on the "human" effects of the problem, the beings involved in it, and their reactions to it. This focus leaves The Gods Themselves as Soft Science Fiction with a strong Hard Science background.

CRITICAL COMMENTARIES THE FOUNDATION TRILOGY Hugo Award, Best Series, 1966 ("The Foundation Trilogy" by L. David Allen, reprinted from Science Fiction: A Reader's Guide; Centennial Press, 1974, by permission of Centennial Press. Lincoln, Nebraska.) One of the staples of science fiction, especially in its earlier days, has been that kind of adventure story called the "Space Opera." The term, of course, is derived from its similarity to the "Horse Opera" dealing with stories about the West; replace the horse with a rocket ship, the six-shooter with a ray gun or some other such advanced weapon, the chaps and spurs and boots with a space suit, the moustachioed villain with a Bug-Eyed Monster (BEM for short), and the Old West with a strange planet which we have not yet reached, and the two kinds of stories will not be very different at all. Just as the sweep of the wide open

Cliffs Notes on Asimov's Foundation Trilogy & Other Works © 1977

8

www.cliffs.com spaces accounts for a part of the popularity of the "Horse Opera," so too is the sense of wonder at the vastness and the possibilities of the universe partly responsible for the appeal of the "Space Opera." There are, however, two main differences. "Space Opera" traditionally places a great deal of emphasis on superscience, on gadgets and devices and weapons that have been produced by sciences that are far advanced. The other difference lies in the fact that the battles with the enemies encountered as humanity penetrates the reaches of space tend to become bigger and more fearsome, as do the weapons, at a geometric rate. Presented in this way, "Space Opera" might seem to be a waste of time, a kind of story that has no business being considered seriously at all. Many of the stories that fall under this heading probably should not be seriously considered, though they can make for enjoyable reading. To dismiss all the stories in this category as worthless, however, would be a mistake, for many interesting ideas and many possibilities of what man might face in the universe have originated in the pages of "Space Opera" and have become important elements within the field of Science Fiction. What has all this to do with the Foundation trilogy? It provides us with one point from which to measure Asimov's achievement in writing the three novels that make up the trilogy, for the "Space Opera" seems to be the nearest science fictional ancestor of this work. Much of the framework is the same, particularly in the sweep of time and space that these three novels cover. There are also many new and wonderful gadgets in these stories, products of an advanced science and civilization; there is a change here, however, for these gadgets remain largely in the background, most of them taken for granted as parts of the civilization which people have lived with most of their lives. Of course, since these novels span some four hundred years or so, and since they deal with planets at various stages of development, there are new devices developed in the course of things, some of them quite useful in resolving some of the conflicts that take place; even so, they do not receive the attention that they probably would have received in straight "Space Opera," where their development and workings and effects would be a major focus of a novel or some section of it. Many "Space Operas" chronicle the rise and fall of galactic empires; usually the emphasis is on the fall, which is normally brought about by warfare on a huge scale. Here again there is a difference between the traditional story and the Foundation trilogy, for Asimov concentrates on the fall and rise of an empire, focusing on the rising of a new empire out of the ashes of the old. Furthermore, instead of viewing this process either on a broad, general scale where humans are virtually ignored as individuals or on the plane of the mechanical forces which are brought to bear in the destruction of a civilization, Asimov uses individual human beings who have played a role in some pivotal event in the history being made; we, as readers, see the social situation largely through the eyes of these individuals, as we also see the events in which they are involved. And although these characters are all heroic in the sense that they are agents who bring about significant changes in their society, the reader comes to know them as individuals with strengths and weaknesses, rather than simply having to accept only heroic qualities on a remote level. Finally, Asimov shifted the entire focus from the physical sciences to the social sciences. This is not to say that physical science is ignored in these novels, for it does play an important role and is accurate within the limits of the time at which they were written. However, the major scientific advance postulated in this trilogy is the development of psychohistory; this development is made possible by the fact that humanity has reached sufficient numbers by the time of the stories that the Uncertainty Principle can quite accurately predict what will happen under certain sets of circumstances, in much the same way that we can make predictions about atomic theories today. Furthermore, the emphasis in these novels is on people and their societies and the means by which they cope with the various crises that they face. Any one of these modifications would represent a significant achievement; that Asimov has accomplished all of these things, and in a literate and extremely readable fashion, emphasizes this achievement and explains why the Foundation trilogy merits the Hugo awarded it as the best all-time series.

Cliffs Notes on Asimov's Foundation Trilogy & Other Works © 1977

9

www.cliffs.com In a sense, the Foundation trilogy should not be considered a trilogy at all, for it is composed of nine different stories published in three volumes. On the other hand, those stories included in Foundation, the first volume of the series, all deal with the beginning of Hari Seldon's plan and with the smooth workings of his predictions; the stories in Foundation and Empire, the second in the series, deal with the middle period and with the unpredictable appearance of a powerful mutant, the Mule, thus marking the pivotal point where the plan and the predictions can go awry; in Second Foundation, the search for the Second Foundation that Seldon was supposed to have established to watch over the first, and the misdirected successes which allow the citizens of the First Foundation to return to the path of the prediction, are emphasized. Perhaps at this point it would be helpful to have a brief overview of the stories, the major characters and the events in them, and the relative time scheme involved. The dates are given in Foundational Era (F.E.) notation; 1 F.E. is approximately the year 12,069 of the Galactic Era; the number of years from the present until the time that man moved beyond the solar system into the galaxy to inaugurate the Galactic Era is not suggested.

FOUNDATION Part I "The Psychohistorians" 2 F.E. Hari Seldon, the originator of psychohistory and the founder of the two foundations, and Gaal Dornick, a new assistant to Seldon who recently arrived on the Empirial capital world of Trantor, are the two major characters. The story deals with the reaction of the court to Seldon's predictions and the way in which he manipulates the government into supporting the First Foundation, the only official one, on a remote world. Part II "The Encyclopedists" Approximately 50 F.E. Lewis Pirenne, the director of the Foundation's Encyclopedia project on Terminus and consequently the highest authority on the planet, and Salvor Hardin, Mayor of Terminus City, are the main characters. The story focuses on the attempted annexation of Terminus by the Kingdom of Anacreon which Salvor Hardin averts, and in the process, he supercedes the Encyclopedists as the central authority; in showing this first crisis, the story also shows, indirectly, the deterioration of the Empire. Part III "The Mayors" Approximately 80 F.E. Once again Salvor Hardin is a main character; his primary opposition is Prince Regent Wienis of Anacreon. The story deals with the second crisis of the First Foundation, another attempt to annex Terminus to Anacreon which is thwarted by the use of a "religious" power established after the first attempt. Part IV "The Traders" Approximately 135 F.E. Limmar Ponyets, an independent trader, and Eskel Gorov, Master Trader and agent of the Foundation, are the main characters. The Foundation has been spreading its influence, using a priesthood of engineers as a necessary part of its assistance to other worlds; in this story, Gorov has been imprisoned on a planet which refuses to accept either the atomics which the Foundation is peddling or the "religion" which goes with them, so Ponyets manages both the rescue and the introduction of the atomics into the society, though without the religion. Part V "The Merchant Princes" Approximately 155 F.E. Jorane Sutt, secretary to the Mayor of Terminus, Hober Mallow, Master Trader of Smyrno, and Commdor Asper Argo, ruler of the Korellian Republic, are the central figures in this story in which an attempted war by Korell against the Foundation is halted by establishing trade and in which the Mayorality passes into a plutocracy of the merchant princes.

Cliffs Notes on Asimov's Foundation Trilogy & Other Works © 1977

10

www.cliffs.com

FOUNDATION AND EMPIRE Part I "The General" Approximately 195 F.E. As befits a longer story, the cast of characters is longer here: General Bel Riose, a young, ambitious first-rate general of the Empire; Cleon II, the Emperor; Brodrig, his most trusted advisor; Lathan Devers, a trader of the Foundation who is "captured" by the General's forces; and Ducem Barr, a patrician of Siwenna, a long-time rebel against the Empire, and the son of a man whom Hober Mallow met in "The Merchant Princes." Picturing the decay of the Empire, this story presents the last confrontation between the Foundation and the Empire, lost by the Empire because the Emperor distrusted his men. Part II "The Mule" This section covers a five-year span, approximately 295-300 F.E. Again the cast of characters is larger, including Bayta and Toran Darell, newlyweds who are pressed into the service of trying to find out about the Mule; Captain Han Pritcher, a Foundation Army man who comes under the influence of the Mule; Ebling Mis, the Foundation's foremost scientist; and the Mule, a mutant totally unexpected within the Seldon Plan who conquers the Foundation; Magnifico, a clown and court jester taken in by Bayta and Toran. There are two main sequences to the action: first, the process by which the Mule conquers the Foundation; second, the search for the Second Foundation, with its disclosure prevented just in time to halt the Mule. Running through both of these is the question of exactly who and what the Mule is.

SECOND FOUNDATION Part I "Search by the Mule" Approximately 305 F.E. The Mule and Han Pritcher both reappear in this story, with Bail Channis, a young adventurer who turns out to be a member of the Second Foundation, added as a major character. The Mule once again searches for the Second Foundation; Bail Channis misdirects, unknowingly, this search and thus lures the Mule into a situation where his mind can be adjusted from conquest to consolidation in the five years remaining before his death. Part II "Search by the Foundation" Approximately 400 F.E. The characters include Arkady Darell, an adventurous fourteen-year-old girl who is the granddaughter of Bayta and Toran; Dr. Toran Darell, her father, one of the foremost scientists of the Foundation, and a firm believer that the Second Foundation must be eliminated; Pelleas Anthor, an agent of the Second Foundation who manages a large part of the misdirection; Preem Palver, First Speaker of the Second Foundation, who also assists in the misdirection; Stettin, the Mule's successor. The Second Foundation is seen to be manipulating events so that the First Foundation will return to a course that is closer to the original Seldon Plan and will regain at least an illusion that it is guiding its own destiny; the war with Kalgan and the "discovery" of the Second Foundation on Terminus are both parts of the strategy of the Second Foundation. Clearly, the most fascinating thing about this series of stories is the sweep of history that it portrays; most of the themes that hold these stories together as a series are related to the historical process. However, one of the features that makes the Foundation trilogy such a great achievement is the fact that each of the stories is excellent in itself, with its own themes and perspectives; all of them could stand alone and still be fascinating stories. Perhaps the most significant of the overall themes in these stories is revealed at the conclusion of the third volume, when Preem Palver is talking to the student; the idea is that a saner way of life may result from the reunion of the two foundations after each has had a thousand years to develop separately at "opposite"

Cliffs Notes on Asimov's Foundation Trilogy & Other Works © 1977

11

www.cliffs.com ends of the galaxy. The concentration of scientists on Terminus with the First Foundation serves two purposes. First of all, it insures that someplace in the galaxy there will be a world in which education and development in the sciences will continue, despite the political upheaval suffered elsewhere in the galaxy; instead of being scattered throughout the remnants of the Empire, a large number are together in one spot. Second, it creates a situation in which the physical sciences, but especially physics and the related technology, will have to be developed to a much higher degree than that achieved by Empirial science; the planet on which Seldon plants them is very poor in natural resources and in a very vulnerable spot; thus, the scientists must make both the most efficient use of the materials that they have available to them and the new developments that will allow them to use other materials if they are to survive. In addition, they need some means to hold possible conquerors at bay; the technology which they command, even though it is not a military technology, accomplishes this goal. While the scientists on Terminus are developing the physical sciences and honing knowledge of the physical universe, the members of the Second Foundation (where it is located is a mystery to be solved throughout these novels) have been given the task of perfecting psychohistory and the "human" sciences, especially involving the development of the potentials of the human mind. As we see in the last volume of the series, they have moved at least as far in that direction as the physical scientists have moved in theirs. It is, however, apparent in "Search by the Foundation" that a certain amount of time will be necessary before the members of the First Foundation will be capable of accepting the knowledge and abilities offered by the Second Foundation, for they are rather paranoid about the idea of anyone's shaping their future, or even predicting it, especially after the Mule shows that psychohistory is not infallible. The Second Foundation is, of course, aware of this and in the last two stories attempts to create the illusion of self-sufficiency and self-determination for the First Foundation but, at the same time, subtly moves the course of events toward the path predicted by Seldon. Over the first four hundred years after the launching of the Seldon Plan, the First Foundation has steadily widened its sphere of influence in a peaceful manner through its technological abilities, while the Second Foundation has kept watch, developed human potentials, and modified the Seldon Plan according to the precise events that occur; it is implied that over the following six hundred years the First Foundation will continue to spread its influence and create a high level of civilization, thus unifying the galaxy into a loosely-knit empire once again, while the Second Foundation will continue as before while gradually introducing the fruits of its labors unobtrusively, so that when the two foundations finally meet again after a thousand years, it will be a reunion rather than a confrontation. The reunion of these developments by both groups should, it is suggested, produce a civilization on a higher level than either of the parts and higher than the civilization that gave rise to them. Another of the overall themes that unites these nine stories deals with the rise, fall, and change of governments. One thread deals with the fall of the galactic empire which had unified and ruled all the inhabited planets in the galaxy, a task so large that everything was devoted to it. The first story, "The Psychohistorians," portrays Trantor, the capitol world, just before the dissolution of the Empire begins; the people involved are of the last generation who can say that Trantor rules all the inhabited worlds. One of the weaknesses of the Empire is the fact that, except for one hundred square miles for the Imperial Palace, the city covers the planet completely, thus Trantor and the rulers of the galaxy are dependent on others for many of the necessities of life, but especially for food. In addition, the numbers of worlds rebelling against the Empirial rule seem to be increasing; when the number reaches a certain point, not only would the Empirial forces be spread very thinly, decreasing the chances of putting down the revolt, but the flow of supplies could be easily cut, leaving Trantor to face severe shortages. Thus, some worlds would be able to gain a freedom of action; those farthest away from the capitol would be the first to go, with the circle moving closer and closer in. However, the quality of the rulers is likely to decline. It is a common charge today that those in Washington have little realization of what is going on in the rest of the country and take refuge in the forms and technicalities of their jobs; the possibilities of this sort of thing

Cliffs Notes on Asimov's Foundation Trilogy & Other Works © 1977

12

www.cliffs.com would be immensely magnified in a galactic civilization and its government. The growth of a court surrounding the Empirial leaders would also insulate the rulers from the situations they are governing, create the setting for a variety of intrigues, and institute other means than merit and knowledge for placing people in important positions. Suspicion will be rampant in such situations, with protecting what power one has being a primary motivation at all levels, including the Emperor. All of these things can be clearly seen throughout the Foundation trilogy. Suspicion is rampant, both in the court during Seldon's time and under the reign of Cleon II; in the first case, Seldon is able to manipulate it to gain his ends; in the second, this suspicion actually weakens the Empire, although it strengthens Cleon's position momentarily. In addition, it is the really capable people who suffer from being capable--and thus a threat to the power of the Emperor; Seldon, Bel Riose, and Brodrig are either eliminated or relegated to minor positions away from the seats of power. Siwenna rebels against the Empire because of a corrupt, self-serving Empirial governor; because it is quite close to Trantor, as such distances go, the Siwennese rebellion is put down. However, Anacreon annexes three other worlds and successfully tells the Empire to mind its own business because of its distance from Trantor. When Terminus asks for Empirial protection, the diplomat that is sent out is a fop, knows nothing about the situation, and seems to care for nothing outside Trantor; he does, however, have the talent of seeming to promise a great deal while actually promising nothing, but this is hardly the mark of a vigorous government. By the time of "The Mule," about 300 years after Seldon, the Empire has shrunk to a few poor worlds nearest Trantor; thus is the fall of the Empire charted. Parallel to this fall of the Empire is the rise of the First Foundation and the changes that take place as the situations it faces change. Although the Foundation has been on Terminus for about fifty years at the time, the first Seldon crisis, the attempted annexation by Anacreon marks the beginning of the Foundation's rise to influence (power is not quite the right word, for they seem to let things go their own course as long as Terminus itself is not threatened). It also marks the passing of the rather passive governance by the scientists of the Foundation itself into the hands of the Mayors of Terminus City, a post which grows in power and significance as the population grows. The situation is quite simple: Anacreon wishes to take over Terminus, while Terminus feels that it must remain independent; there is no question of waging war to remain independent, for the resources to build weapons are not available (probably one of Seldon's reasons for selecting Terminus for the Foundation) and because the Foundationeers are philosophically against such a course. The Empire will provide no assistance whatsoever, and the scientists cannot be convinced that some decisive action must be taken to forestall the invasion. When they do not, the Mayor takes it upon himself to do so and thus assumes political power on the planet. The strategy is quite simple: seem to give in and to supply the Kingdom of Anacreon with atomic devices, but insist that a "priesthood" which can service these devices is also a necessary part of the deal, as is the absence of an occupational force. Thus, Anacreon seems to get what it wants, Terminus retains at least a great deal of independence, and a base is established from which to disrupt any further plans Anacreon might have against Terminus. The importance of the atomic devices and the priesthood is very clearly seen in "The Mayors," where it is effectively used to stop an invasion of Terminus and to consolidate further the influence of the Foundation. By the time of "The Traders," somewhat over fifty years later, we see that this same method of introducing atomics and the priesthood has been used on a great many worlds; the traders have gained a great deal of power by this time, and in this story the first chink is made in the usual method of expanding influence, for Ponyets does not involve the priesthood with the atomics. This device and the rationale behind it are fully exploited in the following story, "The Merchant Princes." Hober Mallow establishes the simple existence of trade as a means of control as effective, but less obnoxious, as the priesthood; he points out that trade and goodwill are necessary to anyone who has bought atomics from members of the Foundation, for the power runs out and repairs are needed--and the Foundation has the only people who can remedy those problems. In the process, he confronts the office of the Mayor, and

Cliffs Notes on Asimov's Foundation Trilogy & Other Works © 1977

13

www.cliffs.com especially the Mayor's secretary, and wins; although the name of the office remains the same, the nature of its power has shifted, for Mallow is the first of a plutocracy of businessmen who hold the office. That the mayor does not appear in the story and that his secretary has such great power suggest both that the office has degenerated and that the problems of governing, or coordinating, the ever-growing sphere of influence have gone beyond the directly democratic stage; it might be noted, however, that just as those most capable of dealing with the situation facing the Foundation in Anacreon's attempted annexation took power at that time, so also do those most capable of dealing with this situation take the power. By the time of "The Mule," the office of Mayor has become hereditary and held by a man who is far more concerned with the forms of the office than with any real functionality. There is the possibility that had a stronger figure held the office, the Mule might have been stopped; the probabilities, though, are that he could not have been stopped by anything less than someone with equal abilities. From the point where the Mule enters the scene, the Foundation moves downhill as a political influence, only partly because of the weakness of the office of the Mayor and the man holding it. Much more important is the fact that the Mule is a mutant who has the ability to create moods and to control minds; he is totally outside the scope of the Seldon Plan. Two things that center about the Mule are enough to shatter the confidence of the members of the Foundation: first, the fact that he conquers them and the ease with which he does it, and second, the realization that this is something that was not a part of the Seldon Plan or involved in the calculations. It is obvious, too, that under the Mule the direction taken by the galaxy will not be in accord with the Seldon Plan; even though galactic unification may be accomplished in much less time, the cause of civilization will be driven back. Under these circumstances, it becomes apparent that the Second Foundation must take steps to neutralize the influence of the Mule, to restore confidence in the First Foundation, and to move the course of history back to a path in closer accord with Seldon's vision. The implications are twofold: the First Foundation will again begin to expand its sphere of trade and influence, and the Second Foundation will unobtrusively keep a careful watch and manipulate events whenever necessary. Although much has been said about the nature of the foundations, a few words should be said explicitly about the major assumption that gives impetus to the trilogy. Because the idea of psychohistory is a prediction of a development that may happen in the far future but is not actually available to us now, Asimov had two basic choices to make in order to use the idea; he could either provide a minimum of information that would suggest the possibilities to the reader or go into great detail and, in effect, create the field himself, with the first being both the easier and the wiser course. Thus, there is not a great deal of direct information about psychohistory; in fact, most of the information is contained in the "excerpt" from the Encyclopedia Galactica just before the fourth section of "The Psychohistorians." One of the first requirements of this field is a sufficiently large number of humans; Seldon points out that there are approximately a quintillion people in the galaxy governed by the Empire. He seems to suggest that something less than that might be sufficient, but it is also significant that psychohistory only became a precise science during the lifetime of Hari Seldon; before that it was only a vague set of axioms. It also seems to be true of psychohistory that, while it evolves from the individual to the larger mass, it can work from the larger mass down to, at least, significant individuals or individuals who play roles at significant moments, although the accuracy of its predictions on this level is much less than its accuracy on the larger scale. Another necessary element in psychohistory seems to be an extensive and detailed knowledge of the past, both in its trends and in its particular events; at his trial, Hari Seldon makes the claim that he has more complete knowledge of the history of the Empire than any man in the audience or among the judges. It is interesting to note in this connection that Asimov has constructed a fill-in-the-blank outline of history that can be filled in so that it portrays three distinct historical eras in three different countries; on one level, this is something that any psychohistorian should be able to do, but he would also have to know the particulars of each situation, the ways in which they differ, and the relations between stimuli and action in these cases. Another major element of psychohistory is mathematical sophistication, for the predictions and the degree of probability of each is derived mathematically. The precise nature of the mathematical,

Cliffs Notes on Asimov's Foundation Trilogy & Other Works © 1977

14

www.cliffs.com statistical processes that are used are never explained, but they do seem to have some similarity to symbolic logic and to the mathematics used in dealing with the uncertainty principle. The final element involved in any valid psychohistory is that the masses of people who are the basis for the mathematical calculations must be unaware of psychohistory, for if they are not, their actions will not have the randomness that is required; at most, a small group can be aware and working toward a change. Because of these elements and because psychohistory not only predicts future events and trends but also moments at which the trends of history might be successfully altered, we can see the urgency that Seldon feels in forcing the government to establish the First Foundation--that is, even though five hundred years might pass before the Empire finally dissolves, it is necessary to introduce the machinery through which the 30,000 years of dark ages might be reduced to 1,000 years so that it will be firmly entrenched when the fall finally comes. Even though the compendium of all knowledge that is the announced purpose of the Foundation on Terminus is a ploy, something that the government in power can accept, the purpose of the foundation is nevertheless to preserve knowledge and to advance it, concentrated in one place so that it will not be lost and so that its influence can spread when necessary. Furthermore, by making public this First Foundation and its avowed purpose, the Second Foundation is hidden from sight and can be allowed to develop without public knowledge and without interference; they, too, are absolutely necessary to the plan to shorten the interregnum to a thousand years, but since they are the psychohistorians, it is essential that their existence be kept secret. From these elements, then, arise the stories and the sweep of the whole that constitutes the Foundation trilogy. The themes of the individual stories all tend to revolve around these larger themes that hold the trilogy together. For example, in "The Psychohistorians," much of the thematic material is centered around the nature of the field, the way in which Seldon forces events, and the methods which a decaying Empire uses to preserve the status quo, treating each of these in some depth. In addition, Asimov does a fine job in this story of giving a sense of a young man's first visit to the planet-wide capitol city of the galaxy; it is not so much a matter that he goes into great detail about any part of this description, but rather that he focuses on the telling incidents, such as Gaal Dornick's disappointment at not seeing Trantor from space and his elevator ride to the observation deck: A great deal of information both about Gaal and about the Empire centered in Trantor are packed into these rather brief scenes. In fact, this is a technique that Asimov uses extremely effectively throughout the trilogy; he focuses attention on a few scenes and a few key individuals and chooses details with which he fills out these scenes, and thus the reader comes to feel that he has seen much more of the situation than he has in a direct way. For example, when Gaal goes up the elevator, we learn that it travels at such speed that foot grips are necessary, suggesting a great deal of the technology available on Trantor as opposed to other places in the galaxy; we learn that most of Trantor is underground, with the building which Dornick is in rising only five hundred feet; we learn that most Trantorians rarely go places where they can see the sky, which may be symbolic also of the way the government is run; we learn something of the awe and admiration which much of the population seems to feel toward Trantor, both in itself and as a symbol of the Empire; we learn something about Gaal Dornick, as well as a number of other details. A great deal is packed into a rather brief, two-page scene. The two stories which follow this one, "The Encyclopedists" and "The Mayors," also embody similar techniques, dealing with the first and second crises faced by the First Foundation. In the fifty years that pass between the founding of Terminus as the Foundation planet and that first crisis, a great deal must have happened; after all, approximately 100,000 people have been moved from Trantor to Terminus, they have established themselves on a rather difficult planet, a city has sprung up, conflicts have risen between the scientists and the people necessary to support them, the work on the Encyclopedia has gone on, four of the neighboring planets have broken away from Empirial rule--and these are only some of the major happenings. However, for the purposes of the overall history of the two foundations, these are important only as background so Asimov only hints at them, slipping in a detail here and a detail there that allows the reader to fill in a good deal of the background. Just as individuals are relatively unimportant to

Cliffs Notes on Asimov's Foundation Trilogy & Other Works © 1977

15

www.cliffs.com psychohistory, so, too, are most events unimportant except as they indicate trends and possible directions; much more important than individuals and most events are those situations and events which the trends can change, when history can evolve in several directions. For example, if Terminus capitulated to Anacreon, it is probable that the interregnum between civilizations would last the original 30,000 years, for the First Foundation would have been firmly controlled by someone with no such mission as they have and would have no chance to build their sphere of influence. Very much the same is true of "The Mayors"; much has happened in the meantime, with changes taking place in the society and in the relations between Terminus and Anacreon; for that matter, the solution reached in "The Encyclopedists" is never explained there, but rather is shown in "The Mayors" through the action. Thus, each of these stories deals with a situation in which the direction of history can be changed, and each story focuses very carefully on a rather restricted set of events. However, the events focused on are crucial ones, ones showing both the crisis and its effects; by the astute use of details, Asimov manages to make these scenes come alive and to provide enough information about what has happened since the previous story so that we feel that we have actually been following a history and are involved in its flow. Without the successful application of this technique, the Foundation trilogy could have fallen far short of its goal. A very similar technique is used in his creation of characters to people the crises and adventures. There are a number of memorable characters in these stories: Salvor Hardin, Jorane Sutt, Hober Mallow, General Bel Riose, the Mule, Bayta Darell, Han Pritcher, Arkady Darell, and Preem Palver suggest themselves immediately, but others also stand out against the background quite clearly. As we read these stories, we have a feeling that we know these characters quite well. However, on very close analysis, we can see that they are not all that well-developed, that only a very few characteristics have been given to each of them, and that they are really quite flat. This is not to suggest that Asimov should have done a better job at characterization, but rather to congratulate him for choosing those details of characterization so carefully and making them fit the character in a particular situation so well that we feel that they are real and solid. Part of this success is due to the fact that much of the characterization is done through the action in which the characters participate--that is, we watch them do things in a particular way and then imagine what kind of person would do that sort of thing in that way, thus drawing on our experiences with people to flesh out the skeleton that Asimov has provided. In this way, a number of things can be accomplished: the reader can feel that he knows the characters, Asimov can spend a minimum of time on individuals, and, thus, he can spend a maximum of time on the subject at hand, the historical processes of a civilization. Reading the Foundation trilogy is an exceptional experience in many ways. It has the sweep of the "Space Opera," and the details of a closely examined situation on a small scale. Its major interest is in societies and in historical processes, but we also seem to know the characters well. Very few works of any kind, but especially very few pieces of science fiction, work well on both the general and the specific levels at the same time; that Asimov did so in the early 1950s, before science fiction had gained even such sophistication as it now has, makes this all the more impressive.

PEBBLE IN THE SKY 1950 Pebble in the Sky, another of Asimov's earliest novels, is interesting in a number of ways. The plotting is fairly complex, following two major lines of development, as well as several minor ones, until they are brought together in the final chapters of the novel. However, these lines of development are rather melodramatic and depend on coincidence quite heavily at the points where they touch. From another perspective, interest is provided by the background of a galaxy-wide government with its center on Trantor; this government, of course, provides the focus for the Foundation trilogy. Thematically, two threads stand out: the potentials of the human mind and the nature and workings of prejudice, the latter on

Cliffs Notes on Asimov's Foundation Trilogy & Other Works © 1977

16

www.cliffs.com a level that is quite different from, but still the same as, the way we understand it now. As is usual for Asimov, Pebble in the Sky reads rather well, with its strengths standing out and the flaws fading into the background. The story of Joseph Schwartz begins in twentieth-century Chicago as he lifts his foot to step over a doll while taking a walk; due to a freak accident, he puts his foot down into an autumn countryside thousands of years later, perhaps as much as one hundred thousand years or so in the future. He is, of course, completely disoriented. Nevertheless, he manages to convince himself that he is sane and must have some assistance. When he finds a farmhouse, he discovers that he cannot understand anything the people say. In addition, the couple is very suspicious of him and are afraid of taking him in. However, at last, they do. Because they think him retarded, the couple, Loa and Arbin Maren, decide to take him to Chica as a volunteer for experiments with the Synapsifier, which is supposed to help people learn information quickly and which Loa's father had seen mentioned in the paper. If their plan succeeds, they will gain a worker, though illegally; if it does not, he will no longer be their responsibility. Loa's father, Grew, also notices an article on the impending arrival of an Imperially funded archaeological expedition to Earth, headed by Dr. Bel Arvardan. After the decision that Schwartz will be volunteered for the Synapsifier has been made, attention in the novel is shifted to Bel Arvardan and his visit to the Procurator of Earth at his headquarters north of the Himalayas. This section of the story has very little action, being almost totally conversation; these conversations, however, present a great deal of the background necessary to the thematic development of the novel. One element of this conversation, though, sustains the action and provides several links between the various lines of the story: Arvardan has heard of Dr. Affret Shekt and his development of the Synapsifier; his mention of this knowledge sends Ennius, the Procurator of Earth, to Chica quietly, and before midnight, to visit with Shekt. Arbin Maren, afraid and very cautious, brings Schwartz to the Institute of Nuclear Research at the same time that Ennius is talking with Shekt. Shekt's daughter, Pola, interrupts them to announce a volunteer; when invited to watch the operation, Ennius declines and leaves. After some difficulties with Maren, Shekt manages to take Schwartz and begin the Synapsifier treatment. Schwartz survives the ordeal, and Maren is persuaded to leave him there awhile. For about a week Schwartz stays at the Institute, being tested and learning; then, due to a small act of carelessness, Shekt fails to lock a door, and Schwartz escapes. After a scene in which the Procurator talks over his apprehensions of rebellion with his wife and decides to warn Earth's High Minister of Arvardan's plans to enter the radioactive Forbidden Areas, the story shifts again to Bel Arvardan and his experiences on a slow-flying commercial flight to Chica. Again, the emphasis focuses more on thematic elements than on action: he is ignorant of Earth's customs and is horrified by some of the things he hears; he also reveals himself as being from the Sirian Sector and finds himself immediately rejected by the Earthmen aboard. He lands in Chica on the same day that Joseph Schwartz escapes from the Institute for Nuclear Research. When Schwartz's escape is discovered, Pola Shekt runs out after him. Schwartz is delayed somewhat by his ignorance when he tries to get food at a Foodomat. Arvardan, in his wanderings about Chica to get acquainted, happens to be eating in the Foodomat when Schwartz enters and leaves; when Arvardan leaves, he encounters Pola Shekt and offers his assistance in her search for Schwartz. Together, they pursue Schwartz through the crowds, with Arvardan capturing Schwartz in a department store. In the meantime, two men in the Foodomat who had assisted Schwartz noticed Pola's white uniform, heard her say that the man she sought was a little sick, and jumped to the conclusion that he had Radiation Fever; Natter, a "messenger" for the Society of Ancients (the controlling group on Earth) hears enough to start an alarm to trap Schwartz. The department store alarm traps Pola, Arvardan, and Schwartz in the store. Now a serious problem occurs: Schwartz has no papers. However, Natter offers to get Schwartz back to the

Cliffs Notes on Asimov's Foundation Trilogy & Other Works © 1977

17

www.cliffs.com Institute. This leaves Pola and Arvardan to face the Imperial troops responding to the alarm. Arvardan objects to their treatment by the officer in charge and becomes violent and is totally paralyzed for his actions. Later, his status clears them, but Pola feels betrayed and rejects him, for she had thought him an Earthman rather than an Outsider. Still, however, she is intrigued. The scene then shifts to the High Minister, who has the appearance of the greatest power on Earth, and his Secretary, a member of the Society of Ancients, who has the actual power. The Secretary, Balkis, weaves for the Minister a web of intrigue that involves Shekt as a traitor to Earth, and Arvardan and Schwartz as Imperial agents, commenting on the coincidences involved in the meetings that have taken place and interpreting them as purposeful. The Secretary is revealed as having visions of Imperial power, with a hint that he has some plan for gaining that power. As a result of the Secretary's planning, Schwartz is sent back to the Maren farm to work for them. While he is there, he learns of the changes which Earth has undergone; in addition, he learns the new language, and he learns of some of the changes that have taken place in him as a result of the Synapsifier. One of the most important changes is that he learns very quickly, needing to hear directions only once; his memory, always near-total recall, also seems to be enhanced. More important to the future development of the novel, he realizes that he is aware of other minds and their locations. In this way, he discovers that there is someone nearby, someone apparently watching him. When he learns of the "Sixty" (euthanasia is required whenever one reaches sixty years old or can no longer produce), Schwartz (being sixty-two) decides to leave the farm and, after two months there, find some way to continue living. The mind that has been hidden and watching him follows, and Natter reveals himself when it becomes obvious that Schwartz is aware of him. Natter becomes threatening, and, in his panic, Schwartz, unknowingly, uses his mind to kill his foe. Shaken, he continues to Chica but is recaptured within hours. In Washenn, the Secretary reports Schwartz's escape and Arvardan's impending arrival to the High Minister, interpreting these events as part of the intrigue. Arvardan arrives to discuss the possibility of entering the Forbidden Areas in his archaeological searches. As expected, and as Ennius had hoped, he discovers that his request must be sanctioned by the Society of Ancients. As he leaves, he requests a letter of introduction to Dr. Shekt so he can meet him and find out more about the Synapsifier and discuss brain-current types with him. The Secretary, of course, has been listening and interprets all that Arvardan has said as further evidence of intrigue; he also reveals why he is so worried about this intrigue: he believes that in a few days, Earth plans to attack all the Galaxy. When Arvardan goes to meet Shekt, he is met with an odd rudeness, but as he leaves, a note is slipped unobtrusively into his hand, directing him to a meeting later that evening. Pola Shekt meets him and guides him to their garage, where she asks his help, gives him a preliminary indication of the plot against the Galaxy, and also kisses him. He agrees to help, and she takes him to her father, who explains that a group of Zealots on Earth plan to use a virus to which Earthmen are immune, but others are not, as their weapon. After these explanations are completed, the Secretary of the High Minister and his men enter, paralyze them, and take them to a prison. Schwartz is brought to join them in their cell, but he remains aloof from them. Arvardan, Shekt, and Pola try to figure out a way from being exterminated, and they try to convince Schwartz to do the same. Schwartz is hostile to them, however, even after they begin to accept his story about being from the past, but he does not seem to have complete control of his Mind Touch, and his awareness of the minds of the other three begins to work on him, as do their arguments. Finally, they persuade him to look into the mind of Balkis, the Secretary; as Balkis gloats over his victims, Schwartz uses his mind to hold Balkis while Arvardan, still coming out of his paralysis, tries to reach Balkis' full-size blaster being held on them. This mental activity puts a strain on Schwartz, but the others manage to overpower Balkis. Shekt proposes a way of gaining control, and when this works, the Secretary leads them out of prison under Schwartz's

Cliffs Notes on Asimov's Foundation Trilogy & Other Works © 1977

18

www.cliffs.com control and out to his ground car. At Fort Dibburn, the nearest Imperial outpost, where they have gone to give the alarm, they encounter only delays and hostility. Lieutenant Claudy--the officer whose arm Arvardan had broken--takes his revenge by insulting them and humiliating them. The commanding officer will not see them for several hours, taking this time to confer with the Secretary; when he finally does see them, he is hostile, not willing to accept their story or to reach the Procurator for them. However, the Secretary feels in control and suggests that the Procurator be brought in. Even the Procurator, fearful of rebellion but equally fearful of making a wrong move, decides that he cannot act against the Secretary with no more evidence than they can give him, and he finds no fault with Balkis. After the deadline for the virus weapons passes, Balkis returns to gloat and to show his power. Schwartz, however, who had been sent out of the earlier meeting, returns. He has used his powers of mind to take matters into his own hands; nudging the violently anti-Earth Lieutenant Claudy, he had gotten to the hiding place and it was bombed before the deadline. Bel Arvardan marries Pola Shekt. After a tour of the Galaxy as a honeymoon, they plan to return to Earth to help restore it with the help of the rest of the Galaxy. As is fitting, Schwartz is given high honors and will join the Arvardans on their tour of the Galaxy. Pebble in the Sky takes place at least 50,000 years in the future, perhaps as much as 100,000 years; Arvardan's comment that Schartz's language matches that found in the 50,000-year-old strata on Sirius, Arcturus, Alpha Centauri, and other planets makes that figure seem to be the more accurate. In that time, humanity has spread outward into the Galaxy from Earth and inhabits worlds in many scattered star systems. It has been sufficient time for people to lose contact with each other and for them to lose all memory of their common roots. The year given for the events in the novel is 827 G.E.--that is, it is 827 years after the founding of the Galactic Empire and the crowning of the first Emperor. This implies that there was some contact between a fairly large number of planets for some time before that. It also implies that the governments involved were planet-wide. There is some evidence in this novel that the growth of the Empire was not particularly peaceable; the comment is made that it is only in the past couple hundred years that peace has been the rule rather than the exception in the Empire. In addition, the seeds of rebellion and war are still present through resentment at the treatment by government forces and the barriers placed in the way of full rights under galactic law; although the attitude of the Society of Ancients is portrayed as being extreme, it seems reasonable to assume that others share it in some degree. In this galactic society, Earth is not revered as the original home of humanity. Instead, it is viewed as a "rathole," a world whose inhabitants are in some way less than fully human. In addition, it is the only inhabited world in the galaxy which is radioactive, which increases the prejudices between Earthmen and inhabitants of other worlds, for the fear of radioactivity and its results is great. It should be remembered that 50,000 years is a long time. It is certainly long enough for worlds colonized from Earth to have forgotten their origins, especially since the novel suggests that on many worlds there is evidence of a decay of civilization before a rebirth (although not all worlds complete the full cycle to rebirth). Certainly, too, an Earth decimated by nuclear war would be in no position to assert any kind of leadership role. The Earth society pictured in the novel, even 50,000 years after the nuclear holocaust, can barely keep its population alive; it has few resources to allow it to lead, even if the other worlds would allow its leadership. The Earth of Pebble in the Sky is a rathole of a world, even by comparison to the present. Large areas are radioactive. Only a relatively small population can be kept alive given the resources available from the

Cliffs Notes on Asimov's Foundation Trilogy & Other Works © 1977

19

www.cliffs.com non-radioactive areas. This, in turn, necessitates the so-called Sixty, meaning the death of anyone over sixty years old and of anyone under that age who cannot contribute to production. The people are provincial, suspicious of anyone not from Earth, and even of other people from Earth. Although the rule by the Society of Ancients is said to be one swing in the pendulum, it is a harsh and repellent rule that fosters suspicion of everyone and hatred of all Outsiders. The question of prejudice, as it is explored in this novel, is seen as a particularly vicious circle. Outsiders hate Earthmen. In part, this is due to the fear of contamination from the prevalent radioactivity. Another part seems due to the backward state of civilization that is the result of having to struggle for survival on Earth. Yet another part seems due to the distance from Earth to the centers of culture and government. Most of all, however, this dislike that is sometimes strong enough to be hatred is due to the unsubstantiated claims as to the grandeur of the Earthmen and to the apparently unwarranted assumptions of superiority on the part of Earth's leaders. On the other hand, from an Earthman's point of view, the status of Earth as an occupied planet that may never reach full status in the Galactic Empire is galling, even if they are not very interested in attaining that status. Furthermore, the condescension of the most liberal of the Outsiders and the outright hatred and insulting treatment of such specimens as Lieutenant Claudy would be hard to endure under any circumstances. Clearly, prejudice is a mutual antagonism, with the fears and attitudes of each group grating on those of the other group and increasing the antagonism. Nevertheless, the novel also makes it clear that the greatest share of the responsibility for this antagonism, and for removing it, lies with the people of Earth. The responsibility rests primarily with the Society of Ancients, who rule at least what was the United States (which seems to symbolize all of Earth since little else is mentioned), who control the contacts between Earthmen and Outsiders, and who guard the records of Earth's past. The major obstacle is that the Society of Ancients, if their highest ranking official is any indication, is concerned primarily with power: It would not be enough to be accepted as a full member of the Empire or even to be revered as the original home of the human race; what they want is supreme power in the Empire. There is nothing particularly wrong with wanting to regain the status Earth once had when it was the only inhabited planet, but when the means to achieve it include exterminating all life in the Galaxy, except that on Earth, then the people in charge of such plans must be judged insane. This insanity does other damage to the people of Earth, for it means an excessive secrecy about what developments are taking place on Earth. For example, Shekt's Synapsifier is an achievement that would equal any in the Galaxy. Publicizing it would help to bring recognition that a high degree of intelligence could exist on Earth. Working on the mutations, especially the mutated virus, could calm fears throughout the Galaxy, particularly if that work focused on ways to neutralize the virus or its effects. Finding the records of Earth's past, as well as gaining access to the Forbidden Areas, would gain some credence for Earth's claims as humanity's original home. Naturally, it would take a long time to reverse the situation, but any one of these steps would break the circle that scrapes raw the Galaxy's prejudices. Instead, the Society of Ancients has bent its efforts toward destruction. On a more specific, person-to-person, level, it is worth noting that many clichés are mentioned. Lieutenant Claudy is the very worst example of the essence of bigotry, for he wants to kill only the people of Earth; his belief, in essence, is that "the only good Indian is a dead Indian," which is indicated by the ease with which Schwartz can use him to destroy Senloo and by his references to Pola as a squaw. Bel Arvardan is the other pole of bigotry, for he is a man who is aware of bigotry and who is trying to eradicate its traces from his thinking and his actions. Nevertheless, he is filled with prejudiced assumptions about Earth people. The women are good looking but intermarriage is out of the question; he would hire an Earthman for a dig--if there were a place for him; he could eat or sleep with an Earthman-provided he were clean and healthy. These are only a few of the thoughts that pass through his mind as he travels to Chica on a commercial airline; other prejudices appear in his further contacts with the people of earth. The best that can be said for Arvardan, and it may be a trait which makes one truly human, is that whenever he becomes aware of a prejudiced attitude or of something which would make his attitude

Cliffs Notes on Asimov's Foundation Trilogy & Other Works © 1977

20

www.cliffs.com invalid, he does his best to eradicate it from his thinking. Concerning the rulers of Earth, one extreme is represented by Balkis, who considers everything that Outsiders do as a plot against Earth; although he is less straightforward and more cunning in his hatred of Outsiders than Claudy is, Balkis, too, wants to see them crawl before him, to destroy them. Pola Shekt is similar to Arvardan, for her prejudices are automatic results of her background, and she attempts to eliminate them (in a bit of male chauvinism, Asimov seems to make her motivation for doing so at least partly due to the fact that Arvardan is strong and handsome). The prejudice of the Marens is based on fear, fear of anyone different, and fear of what the Society of Ancients will do if they have any contact with Outsiders. In all of this, Shekt seems to be most free of prejudice in any form. The end of the novel, in its treatment of this theme, is somewhat disappointing. It is, of course, very satisfying that the situation is resolved, that Bel Arvardan and Pola Shekt will be married, that Schwartz has been recognized as a hero, that all the other planets will contribute to the rebuilding of Earth, and that Arvardan has apparently proved his point about the origin of humanity on Earth. However, these last two elements are not very convincing. That is, the point is made throughout Pebble in the Sky that it will take a great deal of convincing to educate the people of the Galaxy to accept Earth as the home of humanity or to accept Earthmen as fully human. In addition, it is pointed out that although Schwartz can provide some evidence, he is certainly not a panacea. Nevertheless, between the defeat of Balkis and the summary epilogue, there is no indication that Arvardan has seen any of the records of the Society of Ancients, that he has found any artifacts in the radioactive areas, or that he has made any exhaustive comparisons between Schwartz's language and that found in the early strata on other planets; any of these, and certainly all of them together, would have served to make the acceptance of Earth and of Arvardan's thesis more credible, although not completely, for reason does not immediately eliminate prejudice. Thus, the ending of Pebble in the Sky may be emotionally satisfying, turning out the way that we would like it to, but it is not thematically satisfying, giving short shrift to the novel's most important theme. In a way, Joseph Schwartz's near-total recall, quickened mental abilities, and his ability to read and partially control other minds are devices necessary to the smooth completion of the story line. For example, had Schwartz not been able to control Balkis and Lieutenant Claudy, could Arvardan and the Shekts have escaped from the prison or could the Galaxy have been saved from the machinations of Balkis and the Society of Ancients? These things could probably have taken place, but the way they would have been solved would be much more complicated and involve other coincidences. Giving Schwartz these powers is an economical way for Asimov to solve certain problems of the novel, but it also provides him a chance to explore possible potentials of the human mind. In the exploration of this idea, Asimov uses some fairly standard topics and techniques. Schwartz's memory, which is established on the first page of the novel, is unusual, but it is certainly not unheard of. Furthermore, Asimov provides an explanation of the theory behind the Synapsifier, going into some detail about it. Science, even today, probably knows less about how the brain works than it knows about any other part of the human organism; nevertheless, the theory that is presented squares quite well with current knowledge and theory. Thus, if it were possible to reduce the resistance to the electro-chemical impulses in the brain, it is highly likely that the potentialities of the brain would be changed in some way. Since it is thought that a large portion of the brain is apparently not used, at least in mental processes that we are aware of, and since it seems possible that increasing the electro-chemical processes of the brain might bring other portions of the brain into activity, a writer of science fiction has some basis for postulating potentials that might result and for exploring them. In view of the fact that Schwartz's quickened mental ability, his awareness of other minds, and his ability to exert certain kinds of control over other people are not explored very fully, this thematic element remains largely at the stage of assertion that humans have greater abilities than they now show and that humans would benefit if those abilities could be uncovered or developed.

Cliffs Notes on Asimov's Foundation Trilogy & Other Works © 1977

21

www.cliffs.com

Pebble in the Sky is not heavy science fiction, freighted down with extensive scientific explanations or with the exploration of the results of esoteric scientific knowledge. Instead, it raises the question of what would happen if planets settled from Earth, then lost contact with Earth over a long period of time, especially if Earth did not control the use of nuclear weapons in a war. The answer provided, that Earth would become a resentful backwater looked down upon by other worlds, is not the only answer possible to this question, but it is one of the possibilities to be considered. On these terms, Pebble in the Sky adequately explores this possibility and provides the reader with an entertaining story that builds interest and suspense. Especially since entertainment value is one of the aims of science-fiction writers, Pebble in the Sky must be regarded as a successful early novel.

THE STARS, LIKE DUST 1951 The Stars, like Dust is early Asimov, a fact that is soon evident. However, before that statement is taken to mean that this novel is bad science fiction or bad fiction, it should be said that many of the weaknesses are those seen in comparison with Asimov's own later efforts, which are good science fiction indeed. Put another way, even one of Asimov's comparatively less successful efforts probably still belongs in the ten percent of science fiction which, according to Theodore Sturgeon, is not trash (Sturgeon also added, when he said that, that ninety percent of anything is trash). This is, then, a novel with weaknesses, but it is still good reading and good science fiction. The novel is set a thousand years in the future; the specific year is not important and not mentioned. Although there are a number of gadgets included, the most significant discovery and invention during that period of time involves hyperspace and both the theory of how to Jump through hyperspace and the technology to accomplish the Jump. There is a brief description of the theory and of what happens during a Jump in Chapter Three, but the major interest is in the results that such an innovation has on human life and has had on human history. Thus, with the development of the ability to Jump through hyperspace, the ability to cover interstellar distances in days or weeks instead of centuries, the human race spread rapidly through space, finding and inhabiting planets that would support human life. By the time the action of The Stars, like Dust opens, great numbers of planets have been settled and have developed distinctive patterns of life and a government based on the particular nature of the planet and the beliefs of the people who settled there. Furthermore, one sector of the galaxy has been recently conquered by the Tyranni, from the bleak and water-limited planet Tyrann; the second generation of Tyranni has been in control only a short time. However, even this length has been sufficient for an active underground to develop and come together. The novel itself begins on Earth, with Biron Farrill being awakened at three-fifteen in the morning by a call on the visiphone. He realizes that the house lights won't go on for nearly four hours, that his lights do not work, then realizes that the ventilation in his room has been stopped, the door to the hallway has been jammed, his visiphone will receive but not send, that a cylinder of Hypnite has been placed in his room, and a small radiation bomb has been hidden in his closet. Sander Jonti, the person who called Biron, arrives with help and the danger is averted. Jonti then takes Farrill aside and provides an explanation for the assassination attempt: Biron's father, the Rancher of Widemos (the head of the government on the planet Widemos), has probably already been executed by the Tyranni as a conspirator, planning a rebellion; although it would be politically dangerous to execute the son after he returns home, it would be expedient for him to die on a distant planet, such as Earth, before he ever returns. Although he has reservations about this explanation, Biron accepts it, as well as Jonti's urgings that he leave Earth immediately, and his suggestion that he go to Hinrik V, the Director of Rhodia, for assistance making the arrangements for leaving. On the spaceship, however, his belongings are searched and important items

Cliffs Notes on Asimov's Foundation Trilogy & Other Works © 1977

22

www.cliffs.com taken; as a result, he is taken into custody and delivered to Simok Aratap, the Tyrannian Commissioner for the region of space including Rhodia, as well as Widemos and Lingane. In spite of the evidence found in Biron's luggage, Aratap pretends to accept his story that his business with the Director of Rhodia is to warn of an assassination plot and sends him on to the Director. Before he can see the Director, however, Farrill is intercepted by Artemisia, the Director's daughter; her uncle, Gillbret oth Hinriad, intervenes in this interview and asserts, on the basis of family resemblance, his belief that Biron is, indeed, the son of the Rancher of Widemos. Hinrik, the Director of Rhodia, becomes very agitated when he hears Biron's story of what has happened to him. Not long after this interview, Hinrik gives the order for Biron's arrest, and he escapes only with the help of Artemisia and Gillbret, who want someone to pilot a spaceship for them so they can search for a planet which he calls the "rebellion world," a planet which Gillbret claims to have accidentally visited over twenty years earlier. They manage to get out of the palace and to the space field, where they hide in a Tyrannian ship; unfortunately, unknown to them, the Tyrannian ships are equipped with locators, thus allowing the Tyranni to follow them. Biron, Gillbret, and Artemisia go, first, toward the semiautonomous Autarchy of Lingane, a planet whose great wealth is based upon trade and the shrewd placement of servicing and trading stations along the shipping lanes of space. Gillbret wishes to make contact with the Autarch of Lingane, for he believes the Autarch to be the head of the conspiracy and Gillbret has confided his knowledge of the rebellion world to him. Biron must apply his theoretical knowledge of space flight, a slow and difficult process; however, they make the flight without mishap and take up station in orbit around the planet. Their behavior eventually draws the Autarch to them. Farrill learns that the man he had known as Sander Jonti is the Autarch of Lingane. They further learn that the Autarch is willing and ready to lead an expedition to find the rebellion world, which he thinks is probably inside the Horsehead Nebula, based on calculations made from Gillbret's story. With the Tyrannian forces maintaining a distance of about two light-years, the expedition led by Biron Farrill and the Autarch of Lingane visits three stars of spectral type K (Earth's sun is type G-0, and it is postulated that the only stars which could support life as we know it would lie in the range between F-0 and G-9) before they come upon an F-2 star with an E (for Earth)-type planet. To their disappointment, they find no trace of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere (thus, no plant life) and their radio signals bring absolutely no response. However, they decide to land so that Biron and the Autarch can set up a radio transmitter in the hope of contacting all of this hemisphere to see if some kind of response can be raised. Rizzett, one of the Autarch's men, but one with whom Biron has been friendly, follows them with a longrange blasting rifle; seeing this, Artemisia follows him even though she and Biron have been feuding during the entire trip. Biron accuses the Autarch (Jonti) of planning this excursion so that he (Biron) will be killed, as well as of plotting his death from the time the "bomb" was planted in his room on Earth. Biron further accuses Jonti of being responsible for the death of his father, the Rancher of Widemos. He builds an excellent case, one which angers the Autarch and causes him to draw a blaster, admitting that Biron's accusations are true. However, when he tries to blast Biron, the Autarch discovers that his blaster will not fire. As they prepare to fight hand-to-hand, Biron is thrown momentarily off guard by Artemisia's shout at Rizzett not to shoot. The Autarch then orders Rizzett to shoot Biron, only to discover that Rizzett has conspired with Biron and seen to it that the Autarch's words have been heard by the entire crew. Rizzett leads the Autarch back to the ships, leaving Biron to revive Artemisia (she hadn't thought to bring bottled carbon dioxide and thus lost consciousness) and to bring her back. The couple are, at last, reconciled. Suddenly, Simok Aratap and a squad of Tyrannian guardsmen appear as Biron attempts to convince the Autarch's crew of their leader's treachery. Gillbret, Artemisia, Rizzett, the Autarch, and Biron are taken

Cliffs Notes on Asimov's Foundation Trilogy & Other Works © 1977

23

www.cliffs.com aboard Aratap's ship, and the ships and crew are sent back to Lingane under escort. The Commissioner brings them together, excluding Jonti, and suggests that they offer him some kind of bargain, hoping to weaken their wills and resistance. Biron, however, calls his bluff, forcing him to put the question of a possible fifth star which might have the rebellion world within the area fitting the Autarch's calculations. Even so, Aratap arranges this questionmg so that Rizzett is maneuvered into killing the Autarch because he provided the coordinates for the fifth planet. During this questioning, Gillbret manages to sneak out, although he is quickly apprehended. When he is alone with Biron, however, he reveals that he has shorted the hyperatomic engines, which will destroy the ship and all of them but, at the same time, will protect the rebellion world. Biron does not want this to happen: He escapes from his compartment and forces his way into the engine room. Finally, Aratap hears of the commotion and orders a complete check of the hyperatomics as a precaution. After repairs are made, they visit the fifth star, which, they discover, is a nova, less than a million years old; thus, it destroyed any planets it might have had. Aratap seems to accept Biron's argument that such a planet was a fantasy of Gillbret's rather than a fact. It becomes politically expedient to send Hinrik oth Hinriad (he had been brought along on the chase by Aratap) and his daughter, Artemisia, back to Rhodia; Biron, relieved of his rights as Rancher of Widemos, is sent with them, as is Rizzett. On this return voyage, Biron reveals his reasoning that somewhere in the Rhodian System is the rebellion world. Briefly dropping his pose as a mental incompetent, Hinrik confirms this theory and points out that Aratap is perfectly capable of constructing the same chain of logic. Hinrik is about to marry Biron and Artemisia, but Biron asks him, first, about a document which his father had asked him to find on Earth and which Hinrik has had for twenty years; his father had thought it to be the most potent weapon in the Universe. The novel ends with Hinrik reciting from the Constitution of the United States. One of the more important thematic focuses of The Stars, like Dust is Biron Farrill's development; indeed, it seems to be this thread which provides much of the impetus, continuity, and unity in the novel. When the reader first meets Biron, initially he seems to panic in an emergency situation, to be suspicious without knowing why but, at the same time, to be easily convinced that his suspicions are rather groundless, and to be willing, though somewhat reluctant, to allow someone to do his thinking and planning for him; he is, in short, rather inexperienced and innocent. By the end of the novel, he has gained a good deal of experience with, and insight into, other people; through his experiences, he has learned to analyze situations, to make his own plans and to act on them, as well as to evaluate people and situations and to plan and execute his actions accordingly. The process by which he moves from one stage of the human condition to the other is essential to the progress of the novel. Very little information about Biron's life before the opening scenes of The Stars, like Dust is provided. The major fact, of course, is that he is the son of the Rancher of Widemos. At the very least, the position of Rancher is one of considerable importance and influence on the planet Widemos; the Rancher seems to be roughly the equivalent of the President of the United States, although on a rather worldwide basis, and his title and rank appear to be hereditary rather than elective. In addition, Biron's father carried significant weight in the sector of the galaxy in which the action of the story takes place; he was feared by the Tyranni and by the Autarch of Lingane as threatening their power, and he held a high position in Hinrik oth Hinriad's esteem. His father's position might well explain the initial characteristics Biron exhibits, for it seems likely that he had not been exposed to many of the aspects of life that a boy from a less privileged background might have had to face; in addition, it seems likely that he has been rather protected and that he has lived in the presence of a wide variety of advisors. It is clear, too, that he has not been engaged in practical action in any way, although he may be knowledgeable about the theoretical aspects of governing. Biron's background helps to motivate the fact that he is being educated on Earth, and it explains the attention that is given him in the course of the novel. Finally, this background is a fitting one for a hero even though Biron does nothing that directly determines the course of human events, nor does he gain particularly profound insights into the nature of man or the universe.

Cliffs Notes on Asimov's Foundation Trilogy & Other Works © 1977

24

www.cliffs.com

However, even though he does not gain the stature of such epic heroes as Aeneas or Odysseus or of such heroes of medieval romance as Gawain or Galahad, Biron's development does follow a pattern similar to that of these more heroic figures. The events of the first two chapters, then, serve to expel Biron Farrill from a stable and rather predictable way of life into many unstable and unpredictable currents of political intrigue. In these early chapters, Sander Jonti appears as a benevolent older man whose role will be to guide and help the younger man. However, in view of what happens to Biron when he takes Jonti's advice, and in view of Jonti's later direct attempt to kill Biron, it is clear that his role is not that of a helper; instead, he acts as the primary villain of the novel, far more threatening and much more likely to thwart the hero to achieve his goals than any other figure in the novel. Simok Aratap, it should be said, also plays the role of a villain, but it is the cause he serves that casts him in this role; as a person, he is portrayed quite sympathetically. In comparing the relative villainy of Aratap and Jonti (the Autarch of Lingane), Aratap's service of his country and its ideals, and his concern for people (one example is his appreciation of the growth in Biron's character), even though he must oppose them for political reasons, contrast with the Autarch's serving only his own needs, his own ends, and his own private gains (he would use the rebellion world to gain more power for himself instead of ending the tyranny of the Tyranni). Note, particularly, his use of people: He would put the lives of Biron, Artemisia, Gillbret, Hinrik, and Rizzett in jeopardy to save himself. Although it is not revealed until two-thirds of the way through the novel, Jonti's first act of treachery and villainy is to expose Biron's father to the Tyranni as a conspirator. His second is maneuvering Biron into leaving Earth before he had planned to, toward a destination he would not have chosen, and on a ship whose crew is ready to turn him over to the Tyranni. Together, these actions serve to cast Biron out of the easy, secure position that he had maintained. Biron can no longer depend on his father's position. He must begin to take charge of his own life, to plan for himself, and act on those plans. His only other choices are subordination to stronger forces or death at their hands. Biron's first steps toward independence and maturity are reactive responses to situations resulting from Jonti's maneuvering. The first involves the process of figuring out why he is moved from one stateroom to another on the spaceship. By the time he does figure this out, of course, it is too late to do anything about it. Nevertheless, he does go through the experience and learn from it. He does not take the move at face value; he does some investigating on his own. The second of these initial situations in which Biron reacts rather than acts is a direct result of the first: He is brought before Simok Aratap, the Tyrannian Commissioner. In this case, he decides to repeat his original statements, suggested by Jonti, and thus hopes to bluff his way through if he can. Although he doubts the success of this bluff, it is a plan that covers the facts--more or less. When it succeeds, he gains a measure of confidence that was lacking before; even though Aratap's reasons for letting him go are his own and not those Biron might desire, the end result is the one Biron wanted to achieve. The third of these initial situations is a good deal more complex and takes longer to unfold. It begins when he arrives on Rhodia and attempts to contact the Director. His story of an assassination plot against the Director, at least, puts him in an outer office in the palace. When the Director's daughter, Artemisia, comes out to speak with him, after a few moments of verbal sparring, he makes a sudden decision to tell her the truth; this decision seems clearly influenced by Biron's awareness that the Tyranni were not as thorough in their investigation of him as they might have been and that they are continuing to manipulate him for their own ends. This decision almost leads to failure for him; only the intervention of Gillbret, who has been eavesdropping and who sees Biron's resemblance to his father, saves him from immediate arrest. This intervention also involves him with Gillbret, whether he wants to be or not. When the Director, Hinrik, suddenly decides, with a swiftness not expected of him, that Biron must be arrested on a charge of high treason, this association is to his advantage: Gillbret helps him to escape to Artemisia's room. She, in turn, hides him from the search until Gillbret can join them. The key to this assistance is the

Cliffs Notes on Asimov's Foundation Trilogy & Other Works © 1977

25

www.cliffs.com fact that Biron can, theoretically, pilot a spaceship, having learned this on Earth as part of his education; few who live under Tyrannian rule are allowed this knowledge. In the midst of all this, while he is hiding in Artemisia's room, Biron comes in close contact with the young woman. They are attracted to each other, but they are strong-willed individuals and are quite self-centered; they begin arguing with one another almost immediately, making little effort to understand the other's position or feelings. The relationship between Biron and Artemisia is one of the ways that Asimov indicates the stages of Biron's development. This episode concludes with Biron making a wrong decision, taking the private cruiser of the just-arrived Simok Aratap. Though it is faster and sleeker than any Rhodian vessel, it is also equipped with a tracer which allows the Tyranni to find them anywhere they might go. Ignorance is the only excuse, for this tracer is one of the best-kept secrets of the Tyrannian forces. The end of this episode, then, marks the end of the second stage of Biron's development. In the first stage, he is manipulated by others, making no real decisions of his own. In the second, he begins to evaluate what is happening to him and to make some decisions; those decisions, however, are reactions to the immediate situation without any advance planning. In the third stage, which begins with the capture of the Tyrannian spaceship and ends when Simok Aratap recaptures them, Biron gradually learns to make plans that are not simply responses to a situation, as well as learning a great deal about his capabilities and his position in relation to others, and about emotional control. By the end of this stage, Biron can be seen as ready to move into his final role. During this third stage, Biron does not know that his trip can be traced; consequently, he acts as though it cannot be and his achievements are not diminished by the fact that Aratap follows and recaptures them. After getting the spaceship airborne, his first act is to eliminate the Tyrannian who was standing guard over the ship. A lesser individual would have killed the guard outright and dumped him in space. Biron, however, shows his essential humanity and a good deal of insight when he decides simply to return the guard to Rhodia; the guard will find it much better to lose himself than to report back to his superiors, and Biron knows this. Biron also shows some foresight, when they land for supplies, by buying easily stored and nourishing but bad-tasting Tyrannian mush as the largest part of their food supply; however, he expects praise for his cleverness and becomes angry when he does not receive it. Once they leave the planet and Biron hears Gillbret's story of the rebellion world and accepts the Autarch of Lingane as a possible ally, Biron must determine how to get the ship from Rhodia to Lingane, a difficult task under any circumstances. He must plan, using a number of coordinates and taking into account a host of possible factors, all of them unfamiliar to him. Then, he must program the computer and hope that his plan succeeds. Although he does this with some fear and hesitation, he is successful in getting them to Lingane, gaining more confidence in the process. Once there, however, he seems to regress somewhat. He follows Gillbret's plan for attracting the attention of the Autarch himself, though he does evaluate it on its merits rather than simply accepting the plan blindly. When Biron discovers that the Autarch of Lingane and Sander Jonti are the same person, he reacts much like a child having a temper tantrum. He recovers, however, rather quickly, bargaining for position and advantage; he does not gain all that he wants, but he achieves most of it and he holds the Autarch's domination to a minimum. While he does agree to the Autarch's plan for an expedition, it is because they have, at least temporarily, common goals and because he retains some independence of action. In the early moments of his final stage of growth, in which he controls his fate and much of the action, Biron's maturity can once again be questioned. That is, he absolutely has as little as possible to do with Artemisia, practically thrusting her into the Autarch's willing arms, apparently in a fit of vengefulness, resulting from the Autarch's claim that her father was responsible for the death of Biron's father. However, it is in this confrontation with the Autarch, as they set up a transmitter on the E-type planet which they discover, that Biron's growth becomes more apparent. It is clear that Biron has been arranging events and waiting for just such a moment as this. He has worked out the implications of what has

Cliffs Notes on Asimov's Foundation Trilogy & Other Works © 1977

26

www.cliffs.com happened to him, and he has deduced that the Autarch not only planned definitely to kill him but also that Jonti had been responsible for his father's death. He anticipated that Jonti would attempt to kill him, working with Rizzett to short-circuit this attempt and to make sure that the Autarch's confession would be heard by everyone on the expedition. He confesses to Artemisia that even his coldness toward her, his attempts to foist her on the Autarch, was part of his plan to expose the Autarch, on the premise that if the Autarch thought that he could gain her consent to marry, he would be ready to try and dispose of Biron. He is, in this action, guilty of the same kind of manipulation that the Autarch regularly practiced and that Biron resented so intensely; however, he is ashamed of having done this. In addition, his inexperience seems responsible for his taking this course of action, for he says that he could think of no other way to gain the end he desired; he has not, after all, had much practice in dealing with the world of political intrigue. Biron's growth into competent manhood is even more clearly established aboard the Tyrannian ship after they have been trapped. He is able not only to spar with Simok Aratap and to return bluff for bluff, but he is also able to analyze Aratap's motives quite accurately. He realizes that a trap has been laid to eliminate the Autarch from the political scene even though he is not able to prevent Rizzett from killing his former leader. Furthermore, he continues to be able to guide his actions toward a future goal and overcomes his personal goals in place of goals involving a much wider segment of humanity. Thus, he prevents Gillbret's sabotage of the Tyrannian ship not because he loves the Tyranni but because he has figured out, quite logically, that Hinrik oth Hinriad, behind the mask of imbecility that he has worn for many years, is the leader of the rebellion against the Tyranni and that his death would set the cause back immensely. He also accepts the fact that from this point on, he, too, must play a role that will discourage the rebellion rather than encourage it and that he may be sacrificed to the cause at any time that it becomes necessary. Through the course of the novel, then, Biron has changed from a frightened young man who seems incapable of looking clearly at what is happening to him and deciphering its significance--in short, he seems to be a man who allows others to manipulate him for their purposes. He does, however, recognize this manipulation, and his resentment of it leads him into greater control of his personal destiny. By the end of the novel, Biron seems to be very much in control of himself and of his actions, and, as far as any human can be, of the situations in which he finds himself. Even on their first meeting, Simok Aratap felt that Biron had a great deal of potential, but by the end of the novel he feels that Biron has matured far more than usual in the month between their meetings; indeed, under other circumstances Aratap might have been willing to consider Biron as a friend, and even though their political roles cast them on opposing sides, Aratap has a great deal of admiration for Biron. Although it is the most consistently present theme, Biron's growth and development is not the only theme in The Stars, like Dust. Of almost equal stature is the examination of political relationships. The simplest aspect of this theme is the element of rebellion against tyranny--or against the Tyranni. While this provides a good deal of the specific motivation for much of the action in the novel, the underlying philosophical justification is barely investigated; it seems to be taken as self-evident that rebellion against tyranny is a natural and desirable thing to do. Even so, four basic motivations for rebellion are touched on. Biron's hatred for the Tyranni for what they did to his father and the Autarch of Lingane's desire to supplant the tyranny of the Tyranni with his own are in some ways equated; as Gillbret points out to Biron, replacing one tyrannical rule with another that is equally tyrannical gains nothing. Of course, the Autarch's scheming is done coldly and for personal gain only and, consequently, is seen as abhorrent, an improper motivation for rebellion; at least Biron's reasons are humane, although also personal. Gillbret's argument that freedom should be sought so that the captive worlds can share in the economic development of the entire system of human-colonized worlds is certainly a step or two beyond seeking rebellion for personal gain. However, measured against the motivations of Biron's father and of Hinrik oth Hinriad, this motivation is also lacking, for it lacks breadth and allows economic tyranny rather than political tyranny. The proper reasons for rebellion, as presented in the novel, are those to be found in the

Cliffs Notes on Asimov's Foundation Trilogy & Other Works © 1977

27

www.cliffs.com Declaration of Independence and in the Constitution of the United States--that is, freedom to control their own lives in as many ways as possible, to determine their own goals, is the desirable state of all humanity and the best reason for rebellion against any form of tyranny. The essential nobility of both the Rancher of Widemos and the Director of Rhodia is established by the fact that both have great power and high positions but are, nevertheless, willing to sacrifice both for the ideal of liberty for all; in the case of Hinrik, this goal is important enough to put aside all personal dignity and all esteem by others, although it also serves as a useful tool in dealing with the enemy (for example, would Aratap have told Biron about the device to track ships everywhere in space?). None of these points is dealt with in great depth, but the American audience for whom the novel was written could certainly be expected to fill in any missing elements. Another rather propagandistic aspect of this theme deals with the development of political systems. It is suggested that periods of expansion and development tend to be periods in which autocratic or dictatorial political systems dominate. In such periods, it seems, a great deal of people's energies are devoted to survival and monetary gains; in addition, such periods seem to be times when strength and ambition are necessary and are given greater recognition by the society involved. Thus, those who have the drive to achieve power and who have the strength and ambition to lead people effectively tend to move into positions of power in one way or another, also tending not to share that power with others. Once a political system is established, and as long as the abuses of power remain bearable, change is unlikely until both the conditions for life and the beliefs supporting the political system are modified. Both of these elements would seem to be, in the terms of the novel, signs of social maturity, for they would allow power to be shifted from a dominant individual to the mass of people, with government not serving the few, but serving the many. Thus, the claim is made in The Stars, like Dust that democratic government is the most mature political system, the goal to be strived for. In this context, the struggle for freedom is not simply a reaction against the Tyranni but against any non-democratic form of government. It seems probable that, even if the Tyranni had not conquered them, Hinrik and Biron's father may well have worked to establish a more democratic form of government in their spheres of influence; the Tyranni, of course, provided a particular impetus and a highly visible target even though they were not the most restrictive political force portrayed in the novel (the Autarch of Lingane rules far more dictatorially than the Tyranni). This question of the development of political systems, especially since it is pointed out that political maturity had once been reached on Earth before the expansion into space began, is part of a recurring element in Asimov's thinking and writing: the cyclical nature of history. Thus, the forms of government that developed on Earth are recreated when humanity moves into space, in a similar, but not identical, sequence. This idea underlies a large part of the societies that Asimov creates for the future, especially in the Foundation series. The idea has been criticized even though it makes no claim that things have happened in precisely the same way; Asimov feels, however, that the general outlines of history do, indeed, seem to repeat themselves, and he has developed an outline with blanks which can be filled in with the names, places, and events in three different societies in three different centuries to support this notion. One further aspect of government is also touched on, quite indirectly, in The Stars, like Dust--that is, the interaction between the rulers and the governmental system they work within. On the one hand, the political system often forces people to act in ways that they might not otherwise follow. Thus, Simok Aratap is sympathetic toward Hinrik, but he must, first of all, be loyal to the government he serves; he does, however, temper his actions with compassion, as is seen in the contrast between the way he carries out his duties and the way that Major Andros acts (of course, greater subtlety and intelligence is also involved in Aratap's choices of courses of action). The matter is somewhat different with Hinrik, but here, too, the political situation forces him to act in certain ways. The difference is that he must work within the system in order to achieve a goal that is independent of that system; his role allows him a maximum

Cliffs Notes on Asimov's Foundation Trilogy & Other Works © 1977

28

www.cliffs.com freedom to pursue that goal, but it also requires temporary cooperation in ways that seem abhorrent. On the other hand, people make a difference in the ways that the political system operates. The clearest example of this lies in the contrast between the Autarch of Lingane and the Rancher of Widemos. The Autarch is portrayed as interested primarily in himself and in expanding the power that he has; people enter into his thinking only as pawns to be manipulated so that his goals can be reached. The Rancher had less power, but he seems to have had little interest in expanding the power that he did have; instead, he was interested in people no matter what their station in life was, and he was working toward divesting himself of the power he did have in order to give more power to the people. This difference in attitudes clearly makes a difference in the nature of the relationship between the government and the people governed, as well as the way in which people react to their leaders; without intending to, the Rancher was a threat to the Autarch because of the differences in their attitudes, their approaches to people, and their approaches to governing. It would seem, then, that the form of government which gives the greatest power to the governed, combined with a leader who believes in the people and is interested in them as individuals, would be the political situation most to be desired, given the terms of this novel. The system would encourage attention to the governed, while the leader would work to modify any of the flaws that seem to be inherent in any political system. Biron's development to maturity and the clash between political systems provide the major thematic interest and the basic impetus to the action in The Stars, like Dust. However, a great deal of the general interest in the novel is provided by other, less prominent elements which also serve to make the novel more believable. None of these receives much emphasis, but each could be expanded considerably. For example, a great deal about Earth's history following the twentieth century is implied by just a few details, such as the intensive radiation and its status as a university planet: An atomic war took place, providing an impetus toward movement into space, leaving fewer people on Earth, and establishing it as more of a historical shrine to humanity's past and origins. Scientific development is also simply assumed through the mention of a few devices, such as the monorail that takes Biron to the Director of Rhodia, the watchband that measures radioactivity, the neuronic whip, the spaceships, and a whole host of other devices; while these things may be unfamiliar to us, the people who use them would be so familiar with them that more than mere mention would be out of place, a technique often used to add to the realism of a piece of science fiction. Since it plays a part in showing Biron's development, the steps necessary to get a spaceship from one place to another receive more attention than other elements, but only enough to show Biron's predicament and only as much as he would need to know in order to do what he must. Although they contribute little to the basic action of the novel and to its themes, such details as these are essential to the interest and the development of the novel. Thus, The Stars, like Dust combines dramatic action and thematic interest with attention to details that hold the larger elements together and that create a background that can be accepted as believable. There may be flaws in the writing and in the thematic developments, attributable to Asimov's own stage of development as a writer. Nevertheless, The Stars, like Dust is a sound novel that provides several hours of interesting reading while also provoking consideration of some facets of human development and the human situation.

THE CURRENTS OF SPACE 1952 The Currents of Space is one of Asimov's best novels from his early period of writing. His shorter pieces--the robot stories and the short stories and novelettes that comprise the Foundation series--gained Asimov his deserved reputation and contain his most noted contributions to the canon of ideas explored in science fiction. The Currents of Space, however, does not have the kind of originality found in those stories. Instead, what it does do is demonstrate Asimov's growing ability to handle a longer form of

Cliffs Notes on Asimov's Foundation Trilogy & Other Works © 1977

29

www.cliffs.com fiction, the novel, to deal with human problems and sustain interest. In the process, he builds a broad view of two different ways of life, explores the relationships between them, and makes it believable in human terms. Because action for its own sake is not of major importance in The Currents of Space, the movement of the book is not paced as fast as it is in much (too much) science fiction; the interest, in this case, is maintained by the revelation of the two societies and by the fate of the characters. The novel begins with a prologue which tells of an incident that occurred a year before the main action of the novel: A Spatio-analyst from Earth is drugged and psycho-probed by an unknown person who does not, apparently, want the threat of impending destruction of the planet Florina to be broadcast. The story proper begins with Rik--his only name throughout the novel--remembering that, once, he had a job--another kind of job. After his shift at the kyrt mill, he explores his memory further with Lona-Valona March--and also remembers that his job had involved analyzing Nothing. This reminds Lona of the time she took Rik to the City to see a doctor, where she learned that he had been psycho-probed. Now, Rik's memories trouble her so much that she goes to the local Townman, who had given Rik to Lona so that she could care for him because, when Rik had first been found, he was as helpless as a baby. The Townman, Myrlyn Terens, takes Rik into the City to the library in the Upper City. There, an article in the encyclopedia on Spatio-analysis revives more memories of Rik's past. However, when they try to consult two standard texts of Spatio-analysis, they are told to consult the librarian. They panic and try to leave but are halted by a patroller. Then, suddenly, Valona, who secretly followed them, kills the patroller, making them definite fugitives. They escape to the Lower City, where Khorov, a baker, sends them to a hiding place and hinders the patrollers in their search. Terens, however, does not trust Khorov and decides to leave, telling Lona to take care of Rik and to wait until he returns. At this point, the scene shifts to Sark and focuses on Dr. Selim Junz of the Interstellar Spatio-analytic Bureau (ISB), who has spent most of the previous year trying to find a missing Spatio-analyst without success. His efforts with the Sarkite Civil Service, operated by Florinians, have produced only frustration. He has gone to the Trantorian Ambassador on Sark, Ludigan Abel, and gained some assistance, but that has not produced anything until this point. However, by luck, they had requested notification of anyone attempting to use certain basic texts of Spatio-analysis. Consequently, Junz is notified that someone has attempted to use them and that the three involved reached Khorov's bakery shop. This disclosure comes to Junz ten hours after Terens left the bakery. The focus of the story now returns to Terens as he tries to find a way to escape undetected. As he does, his train of thought gives the reader a sketch of his background of training on Sark. Meanwhile, on Sark, ten hours after he was notified of the events on Florina, Junz meets with Ludigan Abel, who adds that Khorov has been killed by a patroller and that the two people whom he had hidden are gone. Asimov now returns to Rik and Lona, who have been told by Khorov to assume new identities--a brother and sister from Wotex who have been visiting Florina. After Khorov is shot, before he can guide them to the spaceport, the two panic momentarily but head for the port anyway, Rik taking the lead for the first time. They decide, however, to stow away on another ship, thinking that the one that they were scheduled to board might be closely watched. Being on a spaceship assists Rik in regaining more of his memory, and his actions become surer. Too late to change matters, Rik realizes that the patroller who killed Khorov was Terens in disguise and that they should not have tried to escape. The ship they are on is one carrying Samia of Fife back to Sark. Samia is the daughter of the greatest of the five Great Squires of Sark, and she is very much used to getting her own way. When she discovers that there are possible stowaways from Florina on the spaceship, she momentarily becomes less irritable. She is very interested in Florina. In the meantime, Terens arrives at the space-port, where some checking

Cliffs Notes on Asimov's Foundation Trilogy & Other Works © 1977

30

www.cliffs.com indicates to him that Rik and Lona are on Samia's spaceship, which has already left for Sark. At this point, the Squire of Fife, the most important individual on Sark, is introduced into the story as he awaits a conference with the other four Great Squires. A flashback shows a similar meeting a year earlier, when a blackmail message had been received; this threat is linked to the Spatio-analyst who had just disappeared, and Trantor is suspected of setting up both the disappearance and the threat. At the beginning of the second meeting, Fife bluntly announces that high treason is involved even though there has been no follow-up to the threat, and one of the Great Squires is responsible. Back on Florina, Terens gains some time for himself by using his stolen patroller's uniform to advantage and by having a family write down a list of neighbors. When he leaves, he goes into the Upper City to the Park. There he kills a Sarkite Squire. On discovering that the murdered man owned a space yacht, Terens finds his way to it and hides there, unable to use it in any other way. Again shifting its focus, the novel moves to Samia of Fife, who is insisting that she speak with the two stowaways. After hearing Rik's memories of Earth, she becomes convinced that a mystery is involved and that she will be the one to solve it. However, when she attempts to talk with Rik and Lona a second time, her request is denied. In the meantime, her father is summarizing the events for the Great Squires and interpreting these events to his own satisfaction. On the basis of this interpretation, he proclaims himself head of a unified Sark, overriding the protests of the others. On Florina, Terens is approached by another yachtsman who seems interested in perhaps buying the yacht. Terens has little choice but to allow the other man to look at the yacht and to try it out. He is also badly in need of sleep. When he awakens, he finds himself captured. To his surprise, however, his captor is a Trantorian agent who plans to give Terens to Ludigan Abel. While these events have been happening, Abel has been busy gathering information and preparing for a resolution of the matter of the missing Spatio-analyst. The Great Squire of Steen then arrives at the Trantorian Embassy, seeking sanctuary. Samia's frustration has risen to new peaks, for she has been forbidden to attempt to see the Townman when he arrives. However, she willfully visits the port, and when Terens leaves the ship, she calls him into her car and leaves the field with him. They are pursued by Trantorian agents and captured. Before they are captured, however, Terens takes the opportunity to kiss her, which is taken as the greatest of his crimes against Sark. One of the Trantorian agents photographs this act, and Abel uses this film to blackmail the Squire of Fife into a meeting to get things settled. This final meeting is rather like the ending of a detective novel, where all the possibilities are brought out and then discarded before the true solution is laid bare. Terens finally confesses that he psycho-probed Rik, explains why he did it, and gives Dr. Junz some of the basic facts of Rik's theory, including the fact that Florina's sun is in a pre-nova stage. After Junz checks out the possibilities from these facts, he returns to maneuver Abel and Fife into evacuating Florina. To Abel, he points out the effects that action or inaction will have on Trantor's hopes for a Galactic Empire. To Fife, he points out that this information about carbon currents in space and about the pre-nova stage of Florina's sun is sufficient to make it extremely likely that the kyrt monopoly will be broken within a year. The epilogue reveals that Rik and Lona have married, with Rik much more in command of his memories. He has learned why he became a Spatio-analyst and that the psychic probe had wiped out the insecurity that led to it. Therefore, he and Lona will live on Earth and try to help it grow again. Terens has received unofficial permission to remain on Florina even after the rest of the population are evacuated.

Cliffs Notes on Asimov's Foundation Trilogy & Other Works © 1977

31

www.cliffs.com The concepts of a radioactive Earth that is forgotten as the home of humanity and of a Galactic Empire are recurring elements in Asimov's early novels; both are present in The Currents of Space. The radioactive Earth is, in this novel, not a prominent feature. It enters primarily as the home planet of Rik, the psycho-probed Spatio-analyst. The insecurity of living on a planet where a minor misstep might put a person in danger of losing his life is used as one explanation why men become Spatio-analysts: The dangers of space are not nearly as great as those on the surface of Earth. It might also be noted that the Earth of this novel is not identical with the portrait presented in Pebble in the Sky, where the conditions on Earth are a central focus. In The Currents of Space, Earthmen seem to enjoy the freedom of the galaxy, with no massive prejudice against them; a third of all Spatio-analysts are recruited (that is, actively sought) from Earth. By way of contrast, massive prejudice exists throughout the galaxy and Earthmen apparently do not leave the planet in Pebble in the Sky. It cannot be argued that Currents depicts a situation that developed after the events of Pebble, for the evidence in Pebble suggests that the Galactic Empire with its center on Trantor is a completed fact, whereas that Empire is still only an uncompleted dream in Currents. The Empire based on Trantor seems to have been a central concern for Asimov during the period when most of these early novels were written, for the early fifties saw the publication of the Foundation trilogy. It can be suggested that, more than any of the others, this novel is at least partially designed to provide a glimpse of the early stages of empire building. Even though some inconsistencies exist, it can also be suggested that these novels of the early fifties, including the Foundation trilogy, lean toward the development of a future history, much like Heinlein's more celebrated web of stories and novels. Since there are no known Asimovian statements that this is so, however, this remains only speculation. In addition, it is not necessary that either speculation be so; all these novels work nicely as independent units and have no need of being tied into a larger framework. Nevertheless, a brief overview of the history of the Trantorian Empire is a part of The Currents of Space, and the delicate diplomacy needed for further expansion, as well as motives for opposition, are important elements in the resolution of the action. The history is mere outline, presented through a discussion of a historical map that Ludigan Abel has in his study. Five hundred years earlier, the Trantorian Republic had consisted of five worlds only. By the time of this story, the Trantorian Republic has passed through the Trantorian Confederation to become the Trantorian Empire, including over half the galaxy within its power. Although the growth involved a great deal of violence, peace reigns throughout the worlds ruled from Trantor; and, even though expansion at the time of the story is taking place primarily through diplomatic means, the strength of the Trantorian military forces keeps the peace and serves as a reminder to anyone who might be belligerent. By the time of the beginning of the Foundation trilogy, of course, the transition to Galactic Empire is so far in the past that decay has set in and the Empire has begun falling apart. The problem that Ludigan Abel faces is that he must work to bring Sark into the Empire slowly, but also to make sure that he and, through him, the Empire do nothing that would alienate other worlds or set back the course of expansion. Thus, he must maneuver carefully when he is asked to assist in recovering the missing Spatio-analyst. To make unsubstantiated claims, as Junz is prone to do, is, naturally, out of the question. Even when he is in possession of most of the available information, Abel feels the need to move cautiously; however, when he is pushed into action by undisciplined statements made by Junz, he takes control and forces the situation to an intermediate conclusion. Even so, once the Spatio-analyst is regained, the situation is again at a stalemate, and Abel would have been content to leave it at that. Once again, though, it is Junz who forces the issue to a final conclusion when he points out the results of the knowledge Rik has provided. Both Trantor and Sark gain by this solution--Trantor buying Florina from Sark: Sark gains the purchase price of something that would soon be worthless, while Trantor gains good will from its help of a stricken people. It might be noted that each of the three negotiators has a different purpose and concern: Fife is concerned with position and power, Abel is concerned with the expansion of

Cliffs Notes on Asimov's Foundation Trilogy & Other Works © 1977

32

www.cliffs.com the Trantorian Empire, and Junz is concerned, sometimes for shaky reasons, for the people of Florina. The solution satisfies all three men, although Fife necessarily comes out with less satisfaction than the other two. A much more specific and pervasive thematic concern of The Currents of Space is the relationship between the ruler and those ruled. The basic model that is followed is the institution of slavery in the American South, although there are some variations. The variation that seems most important is that the Florinians are not the property of Sarkites; nevertheless, the control is just as great, achieved by economic means and a highly visible enforcement system. Control is also achieved by genetic means: the brightest and most ambitious of Florinian youths are brought into the Sarkite Civil Service; those who fall into the trap of false conspiracies are eliminated, while those who make good are forbidden sexual relationships with women. (It is clear that The Currents of Space was written before the current interest in the status of women, for Asimov's system totally ignores the contribution of women to the intelligence of children, which is at least equal to a man's contribution. This method of selection is not extended to women in a systematic way: Junz notes that there are few, if any, women in the Sarkite Civil Service, although some have been brought to Sark as domestic servants and treated similarly.) Thus, those who would be most likely and most able to lead a Florinian rebellion against Sark are removed from the mainstream of life on Florina, tested, indoctrinated, and watched more carefully than other Florinians. The economic demands, which insure that a great deal of energy is put into the production of kyrt and little into leisure activities, and the removal of those with leadership potential are the two major means of keeping the Florinian population subservient; if these should fail, then the high visibility, the brutality, and the quick action of the Florinian Patrol, mercenaries hired for such purposes, are effective means of enforcement. The psychology of the masters, the Sarkites, receives much more attention than that of the servants. In the most general terms, Sarkites seem a mixture of insecurity and arrogance. The arrogance is seen most clearly in the Squire of Fife, especially in his reconstruction of the events leading up to the second conference of Great Squires. He simply assumes that only a Great Squire could have done the things necessary to abduct and psycho-probe the missing Spatio-analyst. He suggests that no other Sarkite had access to the necessary channels and does not, at all, consider the possibility that a Florinian might have anything to do with it even though Florinians operate the practical business of Sarkite government. The general consensus on Sark seems to be that Florinians are less than animals, with no rights or abilities. The patroller in the library assumes that he will have no problems. It takes a long time before the search for Terens reaches the Upper City, apparently on the assumption that no Florinian would dare invade it. The Sarkite who sees Terens kiss Samia is absolutely appalled and ready to kill Terens for such an act. Although this arrogance, plus the accompanying high-handed treatment of Florinians, is the more obvious feature of the Sarkite attitude, it seems much like a veneer over a more basic insecurity. For example, Khorov, the baker, points out that there are 10,000 Sarkites on Florina, protected by twice that many patrollers. In addition, of course, the patrollers have advanced weaponry, while the natives are defenseless. Granted that there are five-hundred-million Florinians, this kind of protection seems more than necessary, especially in view of the control which Townmen have on the side of Sark, as well as the controls of genetic selection and economic demands. This is certainly more protection than has been needed in the past; there seem to have been no major uprisings, and one of the reasons that Terens remains free as long as he does and is able to do the things that he does (especially killing the patroller and taking his uniform and weapons) is that the patrollers have been lulled into complacence and inaction. This insecurity also appears in the inordinate apprehension and suspicion that arises over Terens's actions. Some apprehension and suspicion is natural when several murders have been committed. However, the Sarkites act as though the sheep-like natives, who were incapable of doing anything, have suddenly become monsters able to perform superhuman feats. Genro had to argue with his superiors, apparently rather strenuously, before he was allowed to try and capture Terens by himself. Captain Racety seems to

Cliffs Notes on Asimov's Foundation Trilogy & Other Works © 1977

33

www.cliffs.com feel that Rik and Lona are capable of amazing feats, for he has them locked away and guarded by several armed men; the authorities at the Department of Security agree with him, for they order even tighter security. The Squire of Fife is suspicious of everyone, seeing the entire matter as the surface of a political and economic conspiracy against him. Even such elements as requiring a Florinian to avoid looking at a Sarkite woman, calling all the native males "boy," the absolute horror at the thought of a Florinian male kissing a Sarkite female, and the segregation practiced can all be seen as forms of this insecurity in their position. Although the Sarkites, especially those on the upper levels of Sarkite society, enjoy the results of Florinian labor and live lives of leisure, they are not secure in their positions of power. This does not seem to be a moral or ethical uneasiness; that is, there is no evidence in the novel that this insecurity is based on any feeling that they are wrong in exploiting the Florinians. Rather, it seems based on ignorance (most Sarkites know nothing about Florina or Florinians) and also based on the fear that what they have will be taken away. In fact, so concerned are they with keeping control, or the appearance of control, that they are extremely short-sighted in many of their policies. There are several sources of commentary that serve to guide the reader's opinion of Sark, Sarkites, and Sarkite policy. One of these is the action itself, the interactions between Sarkite and Florinian. Sark and individual Sarkites are portrayed as bullies who are not very likeable. The contrast between the Upper City and the Lower City on Florina reminds the reader that, although the Upper City is beautiful, it is built on the squalor of the Lower City and that it is the labor of the Florinians that allows the leisure of the Sarkites. Both of these elements tend to be things which most Americans today find objectionable. A third source of commentary is the implied difference between Sarkite and Trantorian control: Although Trantor is ready to use force if absolutely necessary, it prefers to work cooperatively with other worlds, allowing them autonomy in their internal affairs and creating conditions of mutual benefit. Obviously, very nearly the opposite is true of Sarkite control, to Sark's disadvantage in the minds of readers. However, the most explicit source condemning Sark and its policies is Dr. Selim Junz, with some assistance from Ludigan Abel. In a rather cheap maneuver, Asimov draws attention to the similarities between the situation in the novel and that in the American South before the Civil War: Junz is dark skinned while Florinians are one of the lightest-skinned peoples in the galaxy. To make the point even clearer, Junz remarks that only on Earth, out of all the inhabited planets in the galaxy, is there a separate and distinct word for a person with dark skin; he wonders why this should be so, any more than there should be a separate word for someone with blue eyes, big ears, and so forth. While discrimination on the basis of skin color is non-existent in this galactic society of the future, slavery still exists, for many of the same reasons, using many of the same techniques that marked slavery in the United States. Beyond this, Junz points out that, if Sark continues to withdraw the best genetic material from Florina by making the most promising Florinians part of the Sarkite Civil Service and forbidding them breeding privileges, they may end up with the desired goal of a Florinian population capable only of manual labor, but they will also end up without clerks and Townmen. When Junz makes this statement, it does not have a great deal of impact. However, in view of the fact that nearly all of the positions which carry out the actual workings of Sarkite government are held by Florinians, the lack of clerks would, in effect, cause a collapse of the government. It must be remembered that those Sarkites who hold government office do so in name only, their duty consisting primarily in signing documents, usually without reading them. In addition, no Sarkite has the direct and actual control of governmental activities and processes that their Florinian clerks have; as Terens points out, even a Great Squire would have to ask a Florinian, or several Florinians, to do for him what Terens was able to do entirely on his own. Because they have chosen this approach to running their government, which seems to work well enough in the short run, the Sarkites have built the ultimate collapse into the system. If the Florinians were not so carefully tested and indoctrinated, they might bring the system to ruin more quickly; as it is, they seem to take pride in

Cliffs Notes on Asimov's Foundation Trilogy & Other Works © 1977

34

www.cliffs.com slowing government processes as much as possible. In a conversation with Junz, Ludigan Abel points out another flaw in the society of Sark, one which he feels will eventually bring Sark into his beloved Trantorian Empire. Junz is surprised that Abel has spies who have infiltrated all levels of Sarkite government. Abel points out that, although all Sarkites are aristocrats in comparison with Florinians, the standard of living of four-fifths of the population is not much greater than the standard of living on Florina and about average for the galaxy as a whole. This inequity of the distribution of wealth produces discontent, which in turn produces people who are willing to work against the established government and ruling class. Others believe that Trantor will prevail and want to establish themselves on the winning side early. Still others work for Trantor because they believe a unified government spanning the galaxy is the best hope for humanity. Whatever the motives these infiltrators have, Abel has been able to establish a large number of people in key places. They are not particularly prone to discovery, unless by overt action on their part, for Florinians have been so thoroughly objects of suspicion of the Sarkite government that the possibility of Sarkites rebelling against their government has virtually been ignored. This blindness is another weakness of the Sarkite system that increases the chances of its downfall. It is a weakness that Abel exploits to fullest advantage, for it increases the probabilities that Sark will enter the Empire. A final problem with Sarkite society is suggested very indirectly at the end of the novel, when Junz points out that, with the secret of what makes kyrt different from other cellulose products solved, Sark will have lost its monopoly on the kyrt trade. Although it is not stated in so many words, it seems clear that Sark is essentially a one-product world; energies are heavily concentrated on the growing and processing of kyrt. The similarity with the one product South before the Civil War is obvious, all the more so because it is clearly indicated that on any other planet kyrt seeds produce cotton. The end of slavery as an institution and the lack of diversified production left the American South in poor condition following the Civil War, opening the way for Northern investors and exploiters; the old way of life was totally lost, and recovery took over thirty years, with some effects of the collapse still present today. By implication, then, the loss of Florina will leave Sark in a similar condition, open to outside exploitation; payment from Trantor may ease some of the difficulties, but their cause and their way of life will be irrevocably changed. It seems likely that Trantor will be able to move in much sooner than Ludigan Abel had anticipated. One point should be mentioned about the telling of the story in The Currents of Space. The reader has gained in the prologue a great deal of the basic information which Junz, Abel, and the Squire of Fife are trying to develop through the course of the novel. By careful comparison of data provided in the prologue with information revealed about and by the characters, a hypothesis about who did the psycho-probing and why should be pretty firmly established by the reader by the end of Chapter 5; the major question for the reader after that point is how will things turn out, how will they be resolved. With the introduction of Dr. Junz, a new kind of interest is added, an interest in watching a person putting pieces of a puzzle together as information is added. This process is a variation on the scientific method for it involves a gathering of preliminary data and forming a hypothesis that seems to explain the data. The hypothesis is then tested against results in an experimental situation and modified with the inclusion of new information. With three different people forming hypotheses from essentially the same information, it is interesting to see the differences made by their backgrounds, attitudes, and positions in relation to the situation. Although not very direct, this is a commentary which suggests that the scientific method is not particularly objective, at least at the starting point; a great deal of importance must be placed on the intuitions of the person forming the hypothesis. The reader, of course, knows that the hypotheses formed by Junz, Abel, and Fife are wrong in some way, and part of this novel's appeal lies in seeing just where and why they are wrong, as well as in seeing who will get the closest to the truth first. In addition, this technique permits a retelling of the story from several perspectives, allowing an opportunity to enrich the reader's perceptions of the characters and the events. This choice of narrative method adds to the story and the novel, as is not the case in many works of science fiction.

Cliffs Notes on Asimov's Foundation Trilogy & Other Works © 1977

35

www.cliffs.com

The Currents of Space, of course, has other features not touched on here. The character of Myrlyn Terens provides further indications of hatred for Sark and of Sarkite treatment of Florinians. The description of his home and his position in the town, the brief scenes in which various aspects of life in his town, and the descriptions of the Lower City provide a view of Florinian life and conditions. The portrait of Samia of Fife is sexist, but it adds complications to the story and to the view of Sarkite society. The meeting of the five Great Squires of Sark provides a view of the highest reaches of Sarkite society and government; in addition, the Squire of Steen adds a touch of humor. The shift in the relationship between Rik and Lona provides evidence of Rik's growth even though he is not a particularly potent force in the novel. The matter of the psychic-probe provides further evidence of the Sarkite approach and opens other possibilities for exploration. The Currents of Space, then, is quite packed with details that have some interest in themselves but which also lock together to explore two societies, with a hint of a third, and their relationships. At times, the action seems a bit melodramatic, but it builds suspense and keeps the reader moving through the novel. The Currents of Space is, indeed, one of Asimov's best early novels.

THE END OF ETERNITY 1955 The End of Eternity cannot be said to be one of Asimov's better works of fiction. The story does not flow as easily as it does in many of his other works. The characters seem much more wooden, much more like pawns to be manipulated, than characters in his other works. Because of these factors, the omniscient narrator seems much more dominant in telling the story and pointing out the significance of things, rather than letting the action and the interplay between characters carry the movement and the theme. There are no particular depths of theme, particularly in the usual sense of the word. It is, of course, not always fair to measure science fiction against the standards of other kinds of fiction, since its emphases and purposes are not the same as those other kinds; however, even measured against Asimov's other works, The End of Eternity falls short in these areas. Nevertheless, The End of Eternity has its virtues and has considerable interest for readers of science fiction, as well as for Asimov fans. It approaches the topic of time travel differently than most sciencefiction explorations of time travel and covers the subject rather thoroughly. In addition, although it has a number of thematic links with the other works covered in this volume, The End of Eternity represents a breaking away from what can loosely be called the "Space Opera" of the earlier works. That is, rather than being a tale of adventure that has implications of effects reaching far into space, if not actual action between the stars, this novel focuses more closely on human beings and their motivations. Of course, it does range through time, and the development of the central character has many similarities with the development of other Asimov heroes, so the difference is not absolute. Still, The End of Eternity does represent a new interest and a somewhat new direction of approach for Asimov; in fact, it may be these elements which are responsible for the apparent weaknesses of the novel. On the whole, however, the strengths balance the weaknesses, and the exploration of time travel and of the manipulation of time carries the reader's interest. Asimov's major postulate in The End of Eternity, the development beyond current knowledge and technology which makes everything else in the novel possible, is the invention of a Temporal Field in the 27th Century. The emphasis of the novel is on the uses to which people put this Temporal Field rather than on its nature or on the theory behind it; in fact, Asimov provides little explanation of how such a thing might be possible other than referring to the necessity of developing highly advanced mathematical equations before the field could be developed. The major consequence of the development of the Temporal Field is the creation of Eternity, a state of

Cliffs Notes on Asimov's Foundation Trilogy & Other Works © 1977

36

www.cliffs.com being outside of normal time but touching time at all points. That is, the enormous Temporal Field that is Eternity extends from the time it was created in the 27th Century for over a hundred and fifty thousand centuries, into a time when the sun has become a nova and life has ceased to exist on Earth; indeed, aside from the initial power to establish the field, all power to maintain the existence of Eternity and all the activities within it are drawn from the sun in its nova stage. One way to think of Eternity is to picture it as an enormous hotel, a hotel over one-hundred-fiftythousand stories high, one floor for each century. Movement between centuries, as between floors within an elevator in a hotel, is by "kettle"; these kettles move between shafts, with controls which allow the operator to choose the century in which he wishes to stop. One main difference is that Eternity begins in the twenty-seventh century, on the twenty-seventh floor; any time earlier than that might be thought of as the sub-structure of the building, holding it up and providing a foundation, but inaccessible under normal circumstances. The comparison, however, becomes inexact because an Eternal (a person who spends his life living and working in Eternity) can enter Time at any point, down to the second or fraction of a second; this would require far too many rooms on each floor to sustain the analogy in the imagination. Nevertheless, in general, the comparison with a hotel seems to be compatible with the way that Eternity is presented in the novel. The chronology of action in The End of Eternity is interrupted as it is presented to the reader. Chapter 1 presents a series of actions that do not occur until about midway through the chronological sequence of the events of the novel. In this chapter, Technician Andrew Harlan travels from the 575th Century to the 2456th Century to do his job, making a change in the situation of that century that will change the course of human life in that century and beyond. His job is that of a Technician: to make the smallest possible change in a situation (Minimum Necessary Change-M.N.C.) that will have the greatest possible result (Maximum Desired Response--M.D.R.); in this case, Harlan moves a container from one shelf to another, an action which eliminates space flight and many related elements from the life of the 2456th Century and has consequences for several centuries afterward. Harlan, who is the central character in The End of Eternity, also uses the fact that the Sociologist responsible for recommending the change did not think of the proper Minimum Necessary Change to blackmail Sociologist Voy into having the life of a person living in the 482nd Century plotted to see what effects a Change would have on her; this is an illegal act in Eternity, and Harlan is risking a great deal to get this information. Indeed, getting this information is the primary reason that Harlan chose to come to the 2456th Century, having scanned many reports in order to find one which would give him the lever he needs to pry loose the information he wants--even at the expense of violating his oath as an Eternal. Chapter 2 shifts back, as Harlan remembers how he had come to this violation of his oath, to the time that he first entered Eternity as a boy of fifteen (all residents of Eternity must live their early life in Time). After he had been chosen to become a member of Eternity, he had easily gone through the three stages that every Eternal had to go through (Cub, Observer, and Specialist). The ten years as a Cub had grounded him thoroughly in the ideals of Eternity, provided an outline of the history of Eternity, sketched in valuable information about the various centuries, and laid the groundwork for his later choice of Specialist. Following the years as a Cub, every person in Eternity spent time Observing, according to carefully made plans and rules, the various societies and centuries; this period provided further basis for later Specialization, winnowing out those who observed precisely from those who could not, and gathering essential information for the work of Eternity, necessary since the many Changes affect nearly all facets of life in several centuries. After five years of supervised Observation, Harlan was given a Senior's rating and, on his first independent Observation, came in contact with Assistant Computer Hobbe Finge. His work in the 482nd Century under Finge is excellent and draws the attention of Senior Computer Laban Twissell, the most eminent Eternal alive, the most important person in Eternity. Twissell takes charge of Harlan and his career, suggesting that he become a Technician and making him his personal Technician. This leaves Harlan largely free to choose his assignments, though not entirely so,

Cliffs Notes on Asimov's Foundation Trilogy & Other Works © 1977

37

www.cliffs.com and it gives him access to many reports and a great deal of information that he would otherwise not have access to. Although it is unusual to move so rapidly and to have one's Specialization chosen in this fashion, Harlan justifies these choices, making no errors in Observation or in choosing the Minimum Necessary Change. Shortly after he has become Twissell's personal Technician, Twissell introduces Harlan to Cub Brinsley Sheridan Cooper, of the 78th Century (that is, he was born in the 78th Century); Harlan is to tutor Cooper in Primitive history, which is Harlan's hobby. Cooper is an unusual case in Eternity: Not only was he twenty-three years old when he was taken from Time into Eternity, but he had been married before he entered Eternity. In addition, the education that he is given and the manner of educating him do not follow the usual pattern of education; his studies are almost entirely in mathematics and Primitive history. This teaching relationship between Harlan and Cooper is sporadic. After two years of working directly under Twissell and learning his job thoroughly, Technician Andrew Harlan is sent on temporary assignment to the 482nd Century and to Computer Hobbe Finge. While he is there, the clash of personalities between himself and Finge is renewed. Although this clash is important to the action of the novel, more important still is the meeting between Andrew Harlan and Noÿs Lambent, a female resident of the 482nd, who is temporarily working in Eternity in Finge's office. Harlan has dreams about her, which he regards as shameful, but it is Noÿs who forces him into their first conversation and who, later, while Harlan is using her home as a base for observation of the 482nd Century, maneuvers him into having an affair with her. In the drowsy moments following his first sexual experience, Harlan realizes the significance of Cub Brinsley Sheridan Cooper, although exactly what that significance is is not passed on to the reader. Chapter 6 returns to the action and scene of Chapter 1. It is revealed that Harlan's course of action is determined because he has fallen in love with Noÿs. He also lifts the small container from its position on one shelf and puts it below; this is the container that eliminates space travel from the 2456th Century, after which he tries to find out the results of the life-plotting that he had requested, hearing instead a tirade against trade conditions in Eternity. Finally, he discovers that Noÿs will not exist in the 482nd Century if the projected Change takes place; in fact, the Life-Plotter comments, he doesn't "understand quite how she fit into the old Reality." When Harlan returns to Eternity from observing in the 482nd Century, he and Finge become involved in an altercation when Harlan states that he intends to request a liaison with Noÿs Lambent as soon as possible and Finge taunts him that, after the Reality Change proposed, she will no longer have the superstition that relations with an Eternal confers immortality and, therefore, will not be interested in Harlan. Finge's taunts bother Harlan a great deal, and he mulls over what Finge has said, finally resolving that what Finge said is not entirely true and that he will take whatever action is necessary to keep Noÿs and her love. He decides to return into Time, bring Noÿs back into Eternity with him, and transport her into the far future, where there are supplies and living quarters for Eternals but no staff. Then Noÿs rebels; she stops them at the 111, 394th Century, and Harlan decides that this will be her home for a time until he can make arrangements for a permanent liaison with her. They enjoy some time together before he returns to the 482nd Century to conclude his business there. Finge commends Harlan for the excellence of his observations of the century and says that he has no intention of reporting their altercation although it is clear that he intends to use it, if need be, as a threat for future leverage. Harlan returns to his base in the 575th Century, reestablishes himself, and returns to his contacts with Cooper. He also undertakes a massive research project designed to check out his insight into the unique importance of Brinsley Sheridan Cooper. He also makes frequent visits to the far upwhen to visit Noÿs, his status as a Technician giving him easy and unquestioned access to the kettles. He also decides to return to Noÿs' house in the 482nd Century several times to bring her items she might want or

Cliffs Notes on Asimov's Foundation Trilogy & Other Works © 1977

38

www.cliffs.com feel more comfortable with; he times these visits so closely together that he barely avoids "meeting himself." He also makes the Reality Change that had been planned for the 482nd Century, a Change which occurs as planned. It is at this point in the chronology that Harlan travels to the 2456th Century and gains the information that Noÿs would have no analogue, no person who would have been her counterpart, in the new Reality of the 482nd Century; this news seems to mean that his removing her had no effect and that his plans can go forward much more smoothly. However, when he tries to visit her again, his kettle will go no farther upwhen than the 100, 000th Century, coming up against some kind of barrier, something he had not thought existed. Returning downwhen, Harlan's first reaction is to blame Computer Hobbe Finge for this, feeling that Finge is involved in some kind of complicated attempt at humiliating him; he is not thinking clearly at all. Finge takes the opportunity to taunt Harlan once again, letting him know that his activities have all been observed. In fact, Finge acknowledges goading Harlan into at least the first stages of his involvement with Noÿs. Finally, Finge announces that he has made a report to the Allwhen Council; although Harlan is convinced that his importance because of what he knows about Cooper's knowledge of mathematics will force the Council to come to terms with him, Finge's revelations do guide his actions in a direction that they might not otherwise have taken and which complicate matters rather than resolving them. Practically the moment he steps out of the kettle after his return to his base in the 575th Century, Harlan attempts to see Twissell but is superciliously turned away by a Junior Computer and told that the Senior Computer is outwhen. Thus, Harlan is forced to wait until morning, when he has an appointment with Twissell, an appointment he is late for and reminded of by an Administrator. When he arrives, he has no chance to speak with Twissell alone but is instead ushered into a meeting of a subcommittee of the Allwhen Council. Here, he thinks that their conversation indicates knowledge of his activities; when it is revealed later they do not, we find out that Finge's reports were routed to Twissell and not to the entire Council. When he and Twissell are alone, Harlan rather wildly blurts out his deductions that Cub Cooper is being trained to be sent back to the 24th Century to teach Vikkor Mallansohn the necessary mathematics to develop the Temporal Field that, three centuries later, became the basis for Eternity. Twissell is amazed that Harlan deduced this plan, and he confirms it, with one change: Cooper tried to teach Mallansohn, but Mallansohn died in an accident so Cooper took over his identity and became the Mallansohn who developed the Temporal Field. Although it is not spoken, it seems to become clear between Harlan and Twissell that Harlan has the authority to insure Noÿs' safety: He can break the circle that created Eternity. Nevertheless, Twissell takes him to see the enormous kettle which will carry Cooper back three centuries before the earliest terminus of Eternity. However, Harlan's position is not quite what he had thought it was, for Cooper is ready to leave. In addition, Twissell locks Harlan in the control room, thinking to insure that he will do nothing to jeopardize the situation when it is so close to completion. In his anger and despair, though, Harlan uses his neuronic whip on the controls so that Cooper is sent back to some undetermined time in the past, farther back than they had planned to send him. When he reveals this to Twissell, the Computer is taken aback, but he takes time to explain to Harlan the in-fighting among Eternals and speaks of the insecurities that drive many of them. He also tells Harlan about certain events in the past which give him reason to help Harlan regain Noÿs even if it means breaking the laws of Eternity. Twissell manages to convince Harlan that he will help, and together they discover Cooper's location in Time although Harlan keeps the last clue to himself; apparently the circle has not yet been broken, for Eternity has not disappeared as Harlan thought it would. Harlan even volunteers to go back to retrieve Cooper, but only if Noÿs is found and goes along with him. Consequently, he and Twissell go upwhen to the 111, 394th Century; this time the barrier is not there.

Cliffs Notes on Asimov's Foundation Trilogy & Other Works © 1977

39

www.cliffs.com Noÿs is waiting for Harlan, and they return to the 575th Century, and Harlan reveals the location of Cooper. He and Noÿs then travel to 1932. Although he had been ready to destroy Eternity on his own, his conversations with Twissell have changed his thinking, and he has decided to kill Noÿs to protect Eternity. She admits that she was born in the 111, 394th Century, as he suspected, and she explains to him why the people of her time are working to destroy not only Eternity, but the very possibility that Eternity would be created ever in history. She also tells him that she was able to make choices among Realities, and that she chose the one involving him, the one in which they stayed in the Primitive and had a happy life together. Finally, Andrew Harlan decides to send the kettle back empty, ending Eternity but beginning Infinity. It has often been said that most works of science fiction develop from a question of the "What would happen if . . ." type. Whether or not that is true for most science fiction, it certainly seems to work for The End of Eternity. In this novel, the core question would be something such as: What would happen if people could see the consequences of developments in human life and of their actions and had the capability to change things so that the undesirable effects could be eliminated? In working out an answer to this question, the most important element that would be required is some kind of system for supporting life that is outside of Time so that the effects of any development could be observed over a period of centuries, and so that those making the changes would not be affected by them. In addition, there would need to be a system of travel and of access between centuries (or days and minutes) that does not affect Time unless a change is deliberately made. Obviously, Eternity is constructed in such a way that these conditions are met, and the society within Eternity is organized, emphasizing the decision-making and change-creating functions. However, it is the thematic questions arising out of this question and from the resulting creation of Eternity that provide the impetus for most of the action in The End of Eternity. Once it is assumed that Reality can be changed, that with a Temporal Field such as Eternity described as being an access to any point in Time and constantly available, then the most general and the most basic question raised by the novel is: "Should people have the capability to change the course of human events at any point in time?" It should be clear, even from the title of the novel, as well as from the way the action is resolved, that the answer to this question is a resounding NO! However, except for the last few pages of the novel, when Noÿs explains to Andrew why her people want Eternity ended and why they want to prevent the possibility of Eternity ever being created, this answer, or the basis for it, is seen through the action of the novel, through the descriptions of the situation, and through the relationships between the characters. Indeed, without the presentation of these things in the novel, Noÿs' explanation would not be very convincing. One of the most important reasons that Noÿs gives Harlan for opposing Eternity is that changes are made almost always in the interest of greater safety and security, against any development that might leave an element of chance or insecurity in human life. She also makes the point that it is just that sense of danger and insecurity that has matured humanity as sufficiently as it has. While eliminating these elements might provide greater comfort and stability, it also leads to stagnation. The clearest example of this kind of thinking on the part of the Eternals is seen in Chapter 1, where the high rate of drug addiction leads to the elimination of space flight since that will reduce the rate of addiction; while the end to be achieved seems to be perfectly acceptable, and even desirable, the final result is toward safety and comfort, against adventure, danger, and insecurity. It is also made clear that this increased drug addiction is the result of other changes that have been made. Finally, it might be noted that human history seems to bear out the contention that insecurity and human development go hand in hand: many of humanity's most significant advances, in science and technology, especially, but also in other areas, seem to have come in periods of great stress, such as war or famine.

Cliffs Notes on Asimov's Foundation Trilogy & Other Works © 1977

40

www.cliffs.com Another facet of this problem, implied in the elimination of space flight from the 2456th Century, is that-in the novel--the Changes which are instituted have short-range goals and do not, perhaps cannot, consider the long-term effects of the Change. For example, it seems obvious that when the Change which led to the extremely high rate of drug addiction in the 2456th Century was planned and approved, the possibility of this side-effect was not considered; it was certainly not foreseen. In addition, the fact that space flight will be eliminated is viewed only as an undesirable side-effect of the reduction of drug addiction; there seems to have been no consideration of either the effects that elimination of space flight might have or of the possible benefits of retaining space flight, even at the expense of a high rate of drug addiction. This point is also emphasized by Noÿs when she talks to Harlan in 1932: the people of the Hidden Centuries have determined that one of the reasons that humanity died out when it did is that when space flight was finally developed without interference, space was already filled by others who had reached the stars first, leaving no room for man and, in effect, making Earth a prison planet. They have also determined that, if left alone, humanity would develop space flight much, much earlier in history and reach the stars first, giving us a great deal of room to grow, as well as providing the sense of adventure and danger that would stimulate development. The major cost of this, as it is explained to Harlan, is the development of nuclear energy and a nuclear explosion in the middle of the 20th Century rather than much later. It is clear that such a cost is to be taken as minor when the long-range benefits are considered. However, it is precisely those long-range benefits that are not considered by the Eternals, who prefer security and short-term gains. The social structure within Eternity is interesting in itself, but it also adds another element in the imaginative chain which supports the conclusion that people should not have the opportunity to change human actions or to tamper retroactively with human affairs after the consequences of those actions are known. Here again, it is Noÿs who makes the basic charge against the society of the Eternals, and those charges are borne out by Harlan's reflections of his experiences and by observing the way people act. Noÿs calls Eternity a society of psychopaths, and although Harlan reacts violently against the charge (a psychopathic reaction?), he finds he must agree with her after he has considered it. He thinks about a man who was a Cub with him, who had tried to commit suicide after learning about the manipulation of Reality but who had survived to make decisions about alternate Realities. He thinks about the rigidly determined caste system in Eternity that artificially separates people because of the jobs performed; more important to Harlan, this caste system turns guilt feelings into ostracism and abhorrence of Technicians, who became scapegoats because they did the actual work in Changing Reality. He thinks about the infighting among the Computers as they jockey for power and about the insecurities shown by Sennor, Twissell, and Finge. All of these points have, of course, been shown throughout the novel, and it is this charge that finally brings Harlan to his decision to end Eternity and to accept Noÿs' urging that people be given a chance to make mistakes and learn from them. Although these are the elements of the society that are clearly associated with the psychopathic condition, there are others that are prominent. One of these is the constant Wish to Time, the desire of many Eternals, constantly denied, to establish roots in some particular era of Time rather than continuing the rootlessness and alienation that is their lot as Eternals; even identifying too closely with a particular era is frowned upon, and people are constantly moved from one base of operations to another to prevent this. Clearly, such identification could cause biased decisions regarding any particular Reality, but the facts that the feeling exists and that it might be fought against suggest that the foundations of Eternity are based on an abnormal condition for humanity; it seems clear that decisions based on feelings distorted by suppression of such a strong urge can hardly be less biased than those based on too close an identification with a particular time. In fact, it might be argued that decisions based on close identification would be both more human and more humane. Perhaps the most important evidence of the abnormality of the society, however, is the personality of Andrew Harlan, for it is constantly before the reader throughout the novel. Until the time that he meets

Cliffs Notes on Asimov's Foundation Trilogy & Other Works © 1977

41

www.cliffs.com Noÿs, Harlan is described in terms that suggest a "frozen" personality. He never smiles, he seems to avoid contact with other people as much as possible, he does his job well and efficiently, but with no apparent pleasure, and he spends a good share of his time delving into the past, specifically into the time before Eternity was created. It is, of course, no wonder that he is this way, having been taken from his own time without preparation and without warning at a stage in his life when socialization is most important. He entered a society with no women, or very few, a society that discouraged most social intercourse. Furthermore, his education undermined nearly all of what he had been taught and had believed to be true before he was brought into Eternity. His actions and activities after he first sees Noÿs are equally revealing of his abnormal personality, fostered by an abnormal lifestyle. His first response is to try to avoid her, as though she were something sinful. When he is forced to talk with her, he stutters and stammers, having no idea of how to talk with a woman (for that matter, he seems to have little idea of how to carry on a conversation with another man). That she pays attention to him is enough to convince him that he is in love, although there is an inner struggle between this feeling and a feeling of repulsion; this mixture of feelings is very apparent in the scene where she seduces him. Once he has committed himself to being in love, doubts assail him and minor remarks set him to wonder about how she feels toward him. At one point, he nearly believes that she cannot possibly love him; he has no trust in his feelings whatsoever. His reaction to the threat of losing Noÿs is childish; although the actions are ones that only an adult could perform, the emotions behind them are a child's emotions. Whereas a child might say, "If I don't get what I want, I'll kill you," Harlan, in effect, says, "If I don't get what I want, I'll destroy all of you and everything you've built." Of course, the child's threat is empty, while Harlan has both the intention and the ability to carry his threat out. Although the end (the destruction of Eternity) is considered a good one in the context of the novel, Harlan's reasons for doing so are childish, based only on his personal desire to get what he wants; if this is the basis for his decisions, then the basis for any decisions made by any Eternal can also be suspect. All of these elements combine to support Noÿs', and Asimov's, contention that Eternity, and anything like Eternity, should not only be destroyed but also prevented from ever coming into existence. One response to this, of course, is: "Well, nothing like Eternity exists now and probably never will, so why worry about it?" Even though Eternity does not exist, however, many of the points that are made in connection with it have wider application. The military is one situation which is analogous to Eternity in many ways; the doubts cast on the bases for decision of actions to be carried out can be as easily applied to the military as to Eternity. Another analogous situation lies within the higher reaches of political power; the in-fighting, the isolation from reality, the pathological emphasis on spying and on gathering information for their own sakes, and the belief that "they knew best what was good for the country" were clearly seen during the Nixon administration. The novel also casts a suspicious look at the ways in which most decisions that affect a large segment of the population are made, for the suggestion is that most human decisions are made on similar bases. There is this difference, however: We cannot tamper with our decisions and their results except by working with those consequences and by developing means to deal with them. Although some decisions may have disastrous results, initially, the attempts to live with those results and to modify them after the fact can produce long-range benefits. A superb example is the atomic bomb: the immediate result was disaster and guilt, a wave of destruction; however, the fact that the bomb was dropped and those results occurred seems to have led to strenuous efforts to avoid the use of nuclear weapons ever again, a desirable end in itself. The existence of the bomb and its development has also led to exploration of peaceful uses of nuclear energy; while there is still much controversy surrounding both nuclear power plants and space exploration, both have provided many benefits for humanity, direct and indirect, and will continue to do so in the future. Thus, although the surface subject matter of The End of Eternity is time travel, the meat of the novel focuses on the effects a social system has on the personalities of the people within it and on decision making processes. While these central topics are being explored, the novel also touches on the nature of

Cliffs Notes on Asimov's Foundation Trilogy & Other Works © 1977

42

www.cliffs.com humanity and on the goals most proper and beneficial to a creature of this nature. In one way, it might be said that Asimov seems to advocate that humanity bumble its way into the future. Even if "bumble" is not quite the right word, making decisions whose consequences cannot be eliminated is considered preferable to being able to change the effects of any given decision; being confronted by the consequences and dealing with them involves stimulation and a learning process, while the power to change an event to avoid the consequences always leads toward safety and stagnation, according to the novel. This does not mean that human decisions are likely to be wise ones--perhaps just the opposite is true; decisions which cannot be changed, however, may lead to unpleasant effects or to disaster, but they also allow new possibilities and lead to growth. Even though Asimov has some negative things to say about human society, about many members of that society, and about the decision making process, The End of Eternity is essentially an optimistic novel. Thus, although Eternity meddles in human affairs for a long period of time, people eventually do realize that this meddling has had a negative effect on human affairs and acts to end Eternity's dominance. In addition, although many people remain satisfied with the existing structure of things, a single person has the ability to act and to change the course of human events. Finally, even though humans may make bad decisions that have terrible consequences, they will learn to control them. They will not only survive; they will prevail. The end of Eternity is indeed the beginning of Infinity as humanity spreads outward from Earth to limitless possibilities, making mistakes, but learning and growing.

THE GODS THEMSELVES 1972 The publication of The Gods Themselves was Asimov's triumphal return to science fiction after writing a good deal of nonfiction. The novel won both the Hugo and Nebula awards for 1972. Although some fans felt that The Gods Themselves was a disappointment and that the awards were given primarily to honor Asimov's past contributions to science fiction, it is probably Asimov's best novel, science fiction or standard fiction. The Gods Themselves can be judged against standard literary criteria without special pleading. It is not perfect, but it is a rich and carefully crafted novel that sustains a reader's interest, even after repeated readings. The Gods Themselves is divided into three sections of increasing length and complexity. The first section--"Against stupidity . . ."--focuses on the efforts of Peter Lamont to discredit Dr. Frederick Hallam as the Father of the Electron Pump and to convince someone to heed his warnings that continued use of the Electron Pump might lead to the destruction of our universe. The second section--". . . the gods themselves . . ."--focuses on the beings in a parallel universe who initiated the development of the Electron Pump to gain the energy needed to maintain life in their universe. The final section-". . . contend in vain?"--returns to our universe and to the moon, where Dr. Ben Denison and Selene Lindstrom L work together to reach into another parallel universe to gain energy and to balance the effects of the Electron Pump. Together, the three section titles form a modified quotation: "Against stupidity, the gods themselves contend in vain?" The original quotation, attributed to the German dramatist Schiller in his play concerning Joan of Arc, reads, "Against stupidity, the gods themselves contend in vain." The only difference is in the end punctuation, but the change makes a significant difference in the meaning. Whereas the period indicates a flat statement which suggests a hopeless state of affairs, Asimov's question mark introduces an element of hope that stupidity need not be the dominating force. The novel bears this out: Throughout the novel, a great deal of stupidity, selfishness, and one-sided thinking is portrayed; however, although some succumb in the struggle against stupidity, two people do, finally, join forces to develop a means of short-circuiting the effects of stupidity.

Cliffs Notes on Asimov's Foundation Trilogy & Other Works © 1977

43

www.cliffs.com "Against stupidity . . ." begins with Chapter 6, which Asimov assures the reader is intentional. It briefly focuses on the goals of Peter Lamont, who wants to discredit Frederick Hallam and to demonstrate that the non-humans who gave directions for building the Electron Pump are superior in intelligence, and of Myron Bronowski, who has merely to interpret and translate the thinking of the non-humans. Several other portions of Chapter 6 are interspersed throughout the early stages of the story before its main body is presented in order. Frederick Hallam, newly a Ph.D., discovers that someone has tampered with a bottle of tungsten metal on his desk. Because he feels himself the victim of a practical joke, he has the new contents of the bottle tested, discovering that these contents are "impossible" according to the physical laws of our universe. He further discovers that this new metal becomes increasingly unstable and radioactive. Twenty-three years after Hallam's discovery, Peter Lamont, newly a Ph.D. in physics, with an interest in the history of the Electron Pump, joined Pump Station One. Dissatisfied by the official record and feeling that Hallam has used his influence to edit the record so that all the credit for the discovery is his, Lamont finds that no one will give him the kind of information he wants, although many will talk to him. He interviews Hallam to try to get some information. At first, Hallam is pleasant, leading Lamont to talk about his own work in para-theory (deducing the laws of a parallel universe). But when Lamont suggests that para-men were primarily responsible for the development of the Pump and, hence, are more intelligent than humans, Hallam becomes very angry. As a result of this interview, Lamont finds his sources of information fewer, and his career as a para-theorist begins to decline. Lamont meets Bronowski, who patiently spent twelve years deciphering Etruscan inscriptions that had baffled all others, and persuades him to tackle the problem of translating the evidences they have of the para-language. While Bronowski works patiently at the task, Lamont's career continues to decline. Prodded by a chance remark of a junior colleague who had been promoted over him, he begins looking for the "catch" that might mean that the Electron Pump is a dangerous rather than an unblemished blessing. He finds faulty assumptions and alternative assumptions which provide answers to those questions that indicate the destruction of our universe in the near future if Pumping is continued. To have an excuse for going to Hallam's superiors, Lamont presents his argument to Hallam in a way that angers him. Chapter 6, now in sequence, follows this meeting. Lamont explains his sense of urgency to Bronowski, and Bronowski reveals the first possibilities of communication with the para-men. Unfortunately, the evidence is too ambiguous for Lamont to use. Lamont goes first to Senator Burt, head of the Committee on Technology and the Environment, and later to Joshua Chen, whose speeches often influence public opinion. Both men listen to Lamont, but both men refuse to do anything that would help him. Communication with the para-men establishes that the Electron Pump is dangerous but that the para-men will do nothing to stop it. Bronowski then decides he will no longer battle the stupidity of the power structure, and Lamont is left alone. The chapter entitled " . . . the gods themselves . . ." takes place in the parallel universe and focuses on Dua, Odeen, and Tritt, members of an important triad. Dua is the group's Emotional, but she is different from all the other Emotionals on this world; her main difference lies in the fact that she had a great deal of the Rational in her. Odeen is a Rational, the one most concerned with learning and with contacting others. Tritt is a Parental, the aspect of the group concerned with family, children, and sex. He usually acts directly, on the basis of instinct. Tritt was brought to Odeen first, but he knows that Dua is precisely the

Cliffs Notes on Asimov's Foundation Trilogy & Other Works © 1977

44

www.cliffs.com right Emotional for them; he is disturbed that her difference means that she does not want to "melt" a baby-Emotional to complete their family. Dua, Odeen, and Tritt are the Soft Ones. Their teachers, the beings who are in charge of things, are the Hard Ones. Whereas the Soft Ones are tri-sexual, the Hard Ones seem to be either non-sexual or singlesexed. The Soft Ones are made up of loosely connected matter; they can melt into one another, although the Rational and the Parental need the special properties of the Emotional before they can do so properly. The Hard Ones are more densely packed, seeming much like humans. The food of the Soft Ones is energy, absorbed from the sun; the Emotional provides the energy for "melting" and for starting a child, although it takes her much longer to absorb energy. The birth rate on this planet has been dropping steadily because their sun is dying. Tritt's instinct and Odeen's knowledge leave them both disturbed by Dua's reluctance to initiate the third child. Odeen tackles the problem rationally, trying to get information and a plan of action from his teacher, Losten. Tritt tackles the problem instinctively, going into the caverns of the Hard Ones and finding something he feels sure can help him. In the meantime, Dua contemplates, and when she returns home, she has many questions to ask Odeen. Tritt hurries them into Dua's chamber. While Odeen explains the Positron Pump and the difference between the two universes, Dua feeds herself, actually enjoying eating. She suddenly wishes to "melt," and Tritt is there, as though expecting this. Afterward, Odeen and Dua argue about the effects of the Positron Pump and of the explosion that will occur in the other (our) universe. She is concerned about people; he is interested only in the supply of energy. When three Hard Ones come and discover that Tritt had taken a food-ball to connect to Dua's feeding place, and that the recent "melt" initiated a baby-Emotional, Dua feels totally betrayed and leaves abruptly. She stays away a long time, and when Odeen does find her, she rejects his arguments and pleas. While she is gone, she also works to stop the Positron Pump and to communicate with the other universe. Alerted by Losten, Odeen and Tritt find her just before she sinks into the floor without enough energy to emerge again. As they slowly feed her, Odeen explains that Soft Ones are immature forms of Hard Ones and that when they "melt," they temporarily become Hard Ones. Odeen, Tritt, and Dua "melt" and emerge as Estwald. The action in ". . . contend in vain?" takes place on our moon and focuses on Ben Denison and Selene Lindstrom L. While the actions of the first two parts of the novel deal with roughly parallel events in parallel universes, the action in this final section occurs some time later. Ben Denison and Selene Lindstrom L meet while she is guiding tourists around Luna City. His understanding of some of the facts of life on the moon, unlike most tourists, and his interest in the proton synchroton intrigue her. When she tells Barron Neville, her lover and a leader in the Moon's scientific community, he instructs her to find out more about Denison. Both because of her instructions and her own interest, Selene shows Ben sights few tourists see. Konrad Gottstein, the new Commissioner on the Moon, intercepts Ben and offers him a fair hearing on any discoveries he makes about the Electron Pump if he will provide information about what is happening scientifically on the Moon. While Gottstein is acting on suspicions and worries passed on to him by his predecessor, Neville questions Selene about the possibility that Ben is involved in some kind of conspiracy. Later, Neville meets with Denison and offers him the chance to use laboratory facilities, primarily so he can observe Ben. Selene and Ben continue to see each other, and they talk about his work. Her quick perceptions lead him to the fact that she is probably an Intuitionist, which infuriates Neville. As a result of her suggestions and

Cliffs Notes on Asimov's Foundation Trilogy & Other Works © 1977

45

www.cliffs.com his work in the laboratory, Ben devises an experiment which they carry out on the surface. Gottstein, in a surprise move, joins them. As Ben talks to Gottstein, Selene manipulates the equipment and reaches a third universe. After publication of a paper on the breakthrough and its consequences, and after Neville's subsequent refusal to cooperate with Earth, a meeting between Gottstein, Denison, and Neville is arranged. Neville still refuses to cooperate, revealing his plan to become totally independent of Earth by moving the Moon out of orbit and out of the solar system. Neville dismisses the problems and alternatives which Ben raises and says that it will be done as he says. Selene enters and tells him that she has talked with others; if he forces the issue, he will be defeated. The novel ends with Ben and Selene deciding to see if the problems raised by Earth-conditioned muscular reactions in Lunar gravity can be overcome so that sex between them is possible. Science, as a method of exploration and as a body of knowledge, is neutral, neither good nor bad. The uses which people make of science are rarely neutral, and the misuses of science and of position in the scientific community form a major thread, tying the parts of The Gods Themselves together. The standard portrait, the picture most people have, of the scientist is one of an objective searcher after truth and the secrets of the universe, apart from the irrigations and emotional upheavals that trouble ordinary mortals. Another part of the standard portrait is the idea that scientific discovery is a purely logical pattern of putting information together and emerging with scientific law. The Gods Themselves suggests that the reality is considerably different from this idealized picture. Frederick Hallam is, of course, the primary exemplar of the difference between the idealized portrait and the reality. First, he is not particularly brilliant. This is no disgrace; it merely indicates that there are other ways to succeed and to build a reputation. In Hallam's case, the major reason for his rise in the scientific community, and his even greater rise in the eyes of the public, is his persistence in continuing and completing a problem once he has started. On this point, Hallam can be compared with Bronowski, who is viewed in a much more favorable light; Bronowski, who is brilliant, has spent twelve years in pursuit of understanding certain Etruscan inscriptions. Luck, of course, played its role for both men. Indeed, most scientific discoveries begin with an intuitional insight, which then provides the basis for observation and testing, rather than arising out of fitting known facts together. A final point about Hallam's rise to power is his willingness to take a chance; even if the idea of a parallel universe was not his idea originally, he is the one who dared to make the idea public. Luck, chance-taking, tenacity, and average or just slightly above average intelligence--these are qualities of more scientists than are traits normally ascribed to them. These aspects of Hallam's character are simply correctives for the idealized portrait. Hallam's motivations and uses of power make him objectionable as a scientist and as a human being. For example, curiosity and a desire for knowledge have nothing to do with Hallam's motives for pursuing the question of what he finds in the bottle. Instead, he pursues the matter because he feels that he has been jeered at and made fun of; his manner is like that of a child who is "going to show them," although it is more purposeful. There is also a hint of hope for revenge in his motivation, for he already seems to have had a grudge against Ben Denison for slights, real and imagined. Once he has gained his power, Hallam's primary motivation seems to be in keeping it. As Lamont discovers in his search for information about the development of the Electron Pump, large gaps appear in the available information. He suspects Hallam, and the decline in Lamont's career after he makes Hallam angry supports the suspicion. Hallam's concern for his dignity and reputation is perilous, for Lamont's assumption of the superiority of the para-men does not criticize Hallam in any way although it gives more credit to the para-men than to humans--and, therefore, less credit to Hallam. To defend the human race is one thing; to ruin a man's career because he suggests that humankind is less intelligent than alien beings is quite another.

Cliffs Notes on Asimov's Foundation Trilogy & Other Works © 1977

46

www.cliffs.com

Unfortunately, others like Hallam do exist and do influence ways in which men's careers develop; scientists do have human feelings and failings, some of them more than others. Although he has less power than Hallam, Barron Neville shows similar traits and motivations. He has a severe case of agoraphobia, a fear of open spaces. He also feels very strongly that Earth has too much influence about matters concerning the Moon; he especially feels resentful about restrictions on research on para-theory and access to the proton synchroton, which he attributes to Hallam. Neither of these is particularly blameworthy. If one is conditioned, since childhood, to an enclosed environment, and if walking on the surface of a planet causes fear, then preferring to remain inside is a natural reaction; few, if any, Lunarites enjoy going out on the surface. A desire for self-direction is also a natural feeling; indeed, many other people on the Moon seem to share this feeling, and history provides many similar examples. However, Neville becomes obsessed with these feelings. He is a leader in a group of scientists who are working on ways to circumvent Hallam's prohibitions. They are all, at Neville's insistence, keeping their work secret. The motivation for this has little to do with Hallam's influence; it does, however, have a great deal to do with Neville's fear that the forces of Earth will, somehow, conquer and exile the Lunarites. Because he is involved in a conspiracy, he believes everyone else is also involved in a conspiracy; more specifically, he feels that all Earthmen are actively working against him. He is even suspicious of other Lunarites, for he appropriated Selene to himself shortly after her talents became apparent, and he uses those talents only for projects he personally approves of. Behind this, however, is his fear of open spaces. He is against using solar energy needed for the Moon's power because it makes Lunarites dependent on the Moon's surface. He resents Hallam's influence because it prevents Lunarites from working to develop their own Electron Pump as an alternate energy source that would not tie them to the surface. He resents Earth because, among other things, it reminds him of the immensity of space surrounding the Moon. His ultimate goal is to remove the Moon from all influence of the Earth, politically, intellectually, emotionally--and physically. His fears are so strong that he is willing to impose his will on all others. That he is said to be very persuasive--the reader never sees this facet of his personality--is a great help in this enterprise. Fortunately, he does not quite have the power to influence his opposition. Although our sympathies are much more with Peter Lamont than with Hallam, his faults are also very apparent. Lamont has intelligence and curiosity; the first quality obtains him his position at Pump Station One, and the other quality gets him into trouble. His curiosity, first, leads him to research the development of the Electron Pump and then, when gaps appear, to push forward to fill the gaps. However, it is only because of his incredible naiveté that his real troubles begin. He knows so little of human nature that he seems to think that Hallam will fill in all the blanks if he is merely asked, and he assumes that the only possible attitude toward the para-men is respect for their superior intelligence. He seems not to have asked anything about what kind of a man Hallam is before going to see him, a foolish error under any circumstances. Lamont cannot be blamed for reacting bitterly to his treatment by Hallam, which far exceeds any offers Lamont may have given. It is, however, unfortunate that his research into alternate assumptions about the Electron Pump and its effects are tinged by bitterness and by his desire to gain revenge. Although he may be trying to save humankind, his work is suspect, and justly so, because he has an axe to grind. Peter Lamont may be the victim of another man's vindictiveness, but it is his own pride, his own unwillingness to reconsider his position and to apologize, and his own naiveté that insure his victimization. In some ways, Lamont is closer to the idealized portrait of the scientist, but if we accept this, we remove him from human affairs and knowledge of human beings, which is hardly desirable, and we leave him unable to deal realistically with others. The para-men provide another perspective on the portrait of the scientist, in their stress on the rational approach and in their consideration of a problem from only a narrow point of view. Like Lamont, they

Cliffs Notes on Asimov's Foundation Trilogy & Other Works © 1977

47

www.cliffs.com often do not take human factors into consideration, nor are they often concerned by many of the consequences. The stress on the rational approach to the problem at hand, through Odeen and Estwald, does provide an effective counterpoint to the activities of Hallam, Neville, and Lamont. Dua is far more like the humans than Odeen or Estwald are; although she acts impulsively and on the basis of faulty conclusions, as the humans do, her motives are not self-serving. Both groups arrive at the same points: The Electron (Positron) Pump must continue, overriding the objections of Lamont and Dua. The rational approach succeeds only because Odeen and Estwald are battling for the survival of their race. Even that decision, however, is muted because Dua shows that a selfless concern for others is possible; the reader is left frustrated when her feelings are negated in Estwald. The portrait of the scientist is seen from yet another angle through Myron Bronowski and the young scientist who passes Lamont by. Bronowski stays with what he knows and, although lazy, produces brilliantly. There is certainly a measure of prudence in his refusal to encounter Hallam and the weight of public opinion, but it is certainly a cowardly position, one that is self-serving when considered with the fact of possible danger to humankind. In the same way, the position taken by the younger scientist is much healthier for the individual but does not offer much hope for humanity; it might if the danger were long range and if a person had time to build both a reputation that Hallam could not influence and sufficiently solidify evidence of the danger. Nevertheless, these two men, and others like them, cannot be condemned too harshly, for the probability is that all they would accomplish is ruining themselves without even harming Hallam's reputation or public opinion about the Electron Pump. Politicians and public figures also share features of the revised portrait of scientists and add to the stupidity that must be contended against. Senator Burt does not want to confront Frederick Hallam, having done so once in a cause in which he was right and very nearly defeated; he cannot be blamed for wishing to avoid further humiliation, especially with so little evidence behind the position Lamont asks him to support. He also seems correct in his assessment of his ability to achieve success in this venture in the face of the usefulness of the Electron Pump to the general public; his chances of success are very small, and his chances of being turned out of office would be great. In addition, any good that he is doing in his current office, and there is a suggestion that he is generally a positive force for the environment, would be lost if he were defeated. His stand is indeed self-serving, but it is also based on an accurate assessment of what he can and cannot do. Joshua Chen is in much the same position; he could possibly change public opinion, as Lamont asks him to do. However, the evidence is limited, and even a public relations genius must have information behind his efforts; he should also be convinced about what he is doing, and, given Chen's particular interests, this would be difficult for him. Neither of these men, nor any of those characters discussed, are trying deliberately to destroy our universe, though the para-men are aware of the result and favor it. Human failings and the failings of human institutions, however, seem to combine to suggest that the chances of averting destruction are slim. In modifying the pessimism of the first two parts of the novel, Asimov focuses on four characters. Commissioner Konrad Gottstein seems a sort of borderline figure whose actions help solve the problems, although his motives are similar to those who contribute to the problem. That he has risen from a mere staff person for Senator Burt to Commissioner to the Moon suggests that he is a talented administrator; his own assessment is that he has a genuine talent along these lines. His primary duty is toward the Earth and the smooth governance of the Moon as a colony of Earth. This duty is responsible for his interest in Denison and his willingness to lie to Denison about his attitude toward him; he is, however, frank about what he wants Ben to do and why. He is sufficiently suspicious that he has Ben's activities watched. Nevertheless, he helps provide Ben with a chance to try his theories. He is also willing, and perhaps far enough from Hallam's influence, to listen to Denison's explanations. Furthermore, although he originally thought Ben a crackpot, Gottstein succeeds with his promise to have Ben's work published and publicized; that Denison has provided an alternative solution to the danger of the Electron Pump is, of course, a great help. Finally, it is Gottstein's curiosity and his observant eye which alert Denison to the

Cliffs Notes on Asimov's Foundation Trilogy & Other Works © 1977

48

www.cliffs.com energy produced in reaching into the "cosmeg" universe, thus helping to complete the theory and solution and to produce a situation in which Neville's plans for moving the Moon can be stopped. Gottstein is human enough to enjoy Hallam's fall and Lamont's lionization, as well as to regret that Ben Denison was not on Earth to enjoy the deserved fruits of his labors. Surprisingly enough, Barron Neville's fears and actions have several positive effects. First, his drive to circumvent the restrictions imposed by Hallam and Earth--whether these restrictions are real or imagined--leads to making the Moon a first-rate scientific community, achieving far more than the scientific community on Earth. The Pionizer, developed because of limited access to the proton synchroton, is the most prominent example, but it is suggested, and made to seem likely, that there are others. A second positive effect is providing Ben Denison with research facilities and materials. Neville's purpose is to use Denison as a decoy and to further his conspiracy. The result, however, is that Denison produces enough evidence that the Electron Pump may be dangerous to prefer to work toward a solution. A third positive effect is assigning Selene to keep track of Ben's activities. One result is that her talents help him to develop his theory and to reach into a third universe. Another result is Selene's exposure to another personality and another way of looking at things; it takes a long time, but she finally recognizes the basis from which Barron works and is willing to work against him. Ben Denison, of course, is the prime mover in the war against stupidity. He is not a crusader, as Lamont became; too many years have passed and he recognizes that it was his foolishness that placed him in the predicament (that is, it is unproductive to goad or insult people for being what they are). He is no longer interested in making claims he cannot substantiate, as he did before Senator Burt's committee. He does not think in terms of either/or; for the others, it is either the Pumps continue or they stop completely. Instead, Denison, first, establishes to his satisfaction that the Electron Pumps may pose a danger to our part of the universe; he then chooses to act on the possibility that the danger is real because that is the choice which may endanger his grandchildren; finally, he looks for a third alternative (if there are two universes, why not three or more?) and develops this theory. These same characteristics make Ben Denison a decent human being. He has learned to work with others, recognizing their foibles and overlooking them whenever possible. He has learned that there are few situations where confrontations are fruitful, and he has learned to prepare himself thoroughly and to have solid grounds to work from when a confrontation is necessary or inevitable. He has learned his strengths and limitations, and he is willing to learn more. Most of all, however, Ben Denison cares about people. His motivation for working on this project is primarily his thoughts about his grandchildren; although he is aware of the effects his rightness will have on humanity at large, he is not trying "to save humanity." Before coming to the Moon, he took the time and effort to find out about life there, and he treats Lunarites as human beings rather than as freaks, as Selene suggests many tourists do. He accepts Selene as a human being, receiving what she is willing to give him gratefully but not asking her to give more than she is willing or able to give. All of his qualities coalesce to produce success where others have failed. His concern for people and his uses of scientific exploration make him the best example of the scientist and the human being in The Gods Themselves. Selene Lindstrom L is the pivotal figure in the solution of the problem. At the beginning, she is committed to Barron Neville and his plans. She is also, however, attracted to Ben's sincere interest and his gentleness. Gradually, his openness, his interest, his acceptance of her as a person, and his reasons for working win her loyalty. She shares with him willingly, although not completely. Until Barron makes explicit what his aims are, she still feels that she owes her allegiance to him. She shares his dislike of going on the surface, but she does go and even finds that she enjoys herself while she is there; she also shares Barron's resentment of the influence which Earth has over the Moon, but she can also chide him for his paranoia about conspiracies. Her involvement with Ben is a learning process for both of them; Ben learns about the Moon, and Selene learns about being human, in the best sense. When the process is

Cliffs Notes on Asimov's Foundation Trilogy & Other Works © 1977

49

www.cliffs.com complete for her, she acts to stop the selfish and narrow aims which Neville has imposed on her thinking and those of the Lunar scientific community. Without Ben, she could not have learned this lesson; without her, the struggle against stupidity would have been in vain. Selene also provides a link with the exploration of the role and treatment of the feminine element that is apparent in the last two sections of the novel. Although Selene is an Intuitionist and Dua is called an Emotional, their roles are similar. Selene is able to take data and come to a conclusion that "feels right" to her; experimentation has proved her feelings of rightness are valid. Like Dua, Selene does not always get the information she wants or needs, and she is fed data only when it suits Neville to give it to her. Unlike Dua, she finds a source of information who accepts her as an equal human being and freely shares of himself and of his information. Consequently, she is able to help find a solution to the danger posed by the Electron Pumps and to help stop that solution from being applied to selfish ends, as Dua could not. Dua's predicament is quite like the predicament of women in our own society. She is emotionality personified, as women in our society have been thought to be. The gathering of Emotionals on the surface is similar to the popular conception of women gathering together and conversing. Dua's characterization includes a reference, slightly veiled, that she has kept her "girlish figure." Most important, her rationality and curiosity, although arousing hostility from other Emotionals, is seen by Odeen and the Hard Ones, and consequently by the reader, as something to praise her for. On the other hand, her concern for the people in the other universe is something to be suppressed. She is not praised for tuning her function more finely, as Odeen is, but for developing another function; indeed, her entire character is biased in this way. When Dua, Odeen, and Tritt come together ("melt") into Estwald, it seems as though both Dua and Tritt, Emotional and Parental--the nurturing aspects--are submerged in Odeen, the Rational. It is true that there is very little evidence of this, for the scene is very brief. Nevertheless, for the composite to turn and say that there is much to be done suggests that plans will continue as before, with no modification from Dua's concern. Although she was portrayed most strongly when they were separate, it appears that Dua will have little effect on the whole being. The treatment of Selene modifies the chauvinism of Dua's treatment. It is true that Barron looks upon Selene as an object to be manipulated and ordered about as he chooses. For example, at least part of his reason for having her observe Ben is that her good looks might lull his suspicions. In addition, he views her as "property," especially his sexual property, and he becomes intensely jealous when she says, simply, that Ben interests her; his assumption is that it is sexual interest. Although her abilities as an Intuitionist have been very helpful to him, Barron tries to minimize this and to keep her from realizing that she has any real importance. It seems quite clear, however, that this chauvinism is Barron's and not that of the entire society. Sexuality in Lunar City is somewhat freer than it is on Earth; the conditions permit less clothing, and, although the tourists may stare and have lewd thoughts, both men and women take advantage of this and think nothing of it. In addition, women seem to have as much choice in sexual partners as men do; they have absolute choice as to when they will have children and who the father of those children will be. There is some indication of equality in other areas as well, one being the melee, where men and women compete on equal terms. Ben Denison accepts Selene Lindstrom L as a person, in contrast to Barron Neville. It is quite clear that he notices her breasts and later the rest of her body, and it is obvious that he is sexually interested. However, he also finds her interesting in other ways and enjoys talking and exchanging ideas with her; he even, eventually, does not notice her nude body when they are together, which is particularly significant in a man whose conditioning has been on an Earth much like our own. He considers her ideas and he incorporates her suggestions into his plans and thinking; he welcomes her company, her conversation, and

Cliffs Notes on Asimov's Foundation Trilogy & Other Works © 1977

50

www.cliffs.com her help. He even allows her to make her own choices about their relationship. It is she who suggests the idea of bearing Ben's child, and, finally, it is she who decides to see if Ben can adjust his Earthconditioned muscular responses so that sex is possible between them. Ben is not perfect, but he is certainly far less the male chauvinist than any of the other characters in the novel, and he helps Selene to find herself as a person--separate from Barron Neville. The third major thematic interest in The Gods Themselves is the creation of the para-men and the parallel universe. There are several interesting features to Asimov's method of handling this. First, Asimov gives almost no attention to the setting. We know that the planet's sun is small, that only seven stars can be seen with the naked eye, and that the planet is quite a distance from its sun; we do not know how large the planet is, what its period of rotation is, whether or not it has seasons, or whether or not it has an atmosphere. We know that life is lived, for the most part, underground, that it has been so for a very long time, and that the Emotionals go onto the surface to feed, with the others only rarely appearing on the surface. We do not know why life is lived underground, what the surface is like beyond having rocks, or why the others do not often go out. We know there are corridors and living areas with private chambers, but that is virtually all we know about them. This lack of concern for setting is almost astounding in science fiction, which usually deals with unusual settings in detail. What is equally astounding is that Asimov convinces us of its authenticity, for this absence is not immediately noticeable to most people, and it is not really missed. Second, Asimov presents the information that we have about the para-men and their society almost totally through the depiction of character and through character interactions. This is not to say that there is any particular depth or profundity in the characters or in their relationships. It is to say, however, that this method of presentation works well here, and that Asimov shows more interest in character than is often the case in science fiction. Given the title of the middle section--". . . the gods themselves . . ."--and the fact that the beings in the alternate universe form triads, it is hard to avoid an association with the Christian concept of one God in three persons. However, such an association seems not to have been anything more than an impetus, if even that, for the creation of a race. The Hard Ones among the para-men seem very like humans, even though--or perhaps because--they are never described. Consequently, the three parts which create a Hard One can also be seen as parts of a human being: rational, emotional, and parental. There is no question that these are aspects of human beings, and important aspects. They are not, however, the only way a human being can be divided, nor are they the only aspects that might have been chosen. The particular division is not so important. More important questions are raised by the characterization of these aspects and by the way in which they coalesce. Asimov does, it should be noted, border on male chauvinism in characterizing the Rational as male and the Emotional as female, as well as implying that rationality in an Emotional (female) is both extremely unusual and a better quality than being the best Emotional (or the most emotional Emotional) possible. This is mitigated by making Odeen's superiority to other Rationals rest, at least in part, on the fact that he has more of both the Emotional and the Parental in his character than other Rationals. It is also mitigated somewhat by having the Parental male rather than female; this removes a role stereotype from both male and female. This points to a problem that science-fiction writers often face: Language is not always tractable. Thus, it is not practical to always refer to a person by the name of a function (that is, Odeen or Rational) or even by position (left or left-ling). For humans, we use pronouns. And there is the problem, for the tendency continues, and we have no pronouns for three sexes; the pronouns we do have really shouldn't be used with these beings, but using those we have is somewhat better than inventing new ones. Other conventions of language reinforce this. For example, it is conventional to associate emotion with women

Cliffs Notes on Asimov's Foundation Trilogy & Other Works © 1977

51

www.cliffs.com and reason with men; whether this is right or not, our language helps to support this indirectly. It takes conscious effort to work against it. There are other questions to be raised about these triads and the single beings each group produces. Embarrassment, fear of offending the powerful, and putting off action are associated with Odeen, the Rational. Thinking too much before acting is conventionally associated with reason in some cases; embarrassment and fear of offending are not. If these characteristics are meant to show Odeen's emotionality, why are such negative emotions used for the purpose? Other, more positive, emotions could have been used; the tale would not have suffered, and Odeen would have been a stronger and more sympathetic character. As it is, the Rational is not very favorably characterized. Nor is the Parental. Tritt is absolutely single-minded, concentrating on children and sex, even failing to consider the needs or feelings of others, especially one in his own triad. There is some slight indication of nurturing in Tritt's relationship with Odeen, but otherwise his Parenting seems to be fussing. He is, of course, more ingenious in carrying out this role than are others of his kind. Dua seems to be the strongest, most vital, and most fully characterized of the characters in this part of the novel; her portions concentrate on her, while Odeen's and Tritt's focus on their relationship with her. All three are different from the other Soft Ones. However, while the differences Odeen and Tritt show are more differences in degree (Odeen, for example, is more intelligent, and any emotionality he has does not seem to have any effect on his relations with his fellows), Dua's difference is a difference in kind; that is, of any of the other Emotionals have a leaning toward one of the other functions, it is toward the Parental, while Dua has almost none of the Parental in her makeup and a very definite Rational aspect. This separates her from the other Emotionals, and there is no one else she can turn to for support and help. Odeen has Losten, and Tritt has the children. Odeen talks with Dua sometimes, but he does not take her needs very seriously, and he certainly does not understand them. She is, understandably, confused about her role, and ". . . the gods themselves . . ." traces this confusion. Because her desire for knowledge is nearly as great as Odeen's, she is driven to learn and to figure things out. Since she does not have the sources of information, she is driven to find out as best she can, but this leaves gaps in her knowledge; since she has little guidance in learning and in thinking things through, she comes to some faulty conclusions. Nevertheless, she carries through strongly enough to cause panic among the entire population of Hard Ones because she accomplishes so much. Her strength and determination should make her a dominant, or at least a coequal, force in Estwald, but it strangely does not. Asimov's aliens are interesting; they "come alive" for the reader. Their nature and actions fit well into the major themes of The Gods Themselves. It is only when they are examined separately, as beings interacting, that questions can be raised about their depiction; such questions, however, must be placed within a context and the needs of the novel as a whole. In that context, they do a fine job of accomplishing those needs. The major themes that continue throughout The Gods Themselves are the nature of the scientist and the role of the scientific establishment in human affairs; closely tied to these is the way in which this role and politics are intertwined. Although the action is not continuous from one part or section to the next, parallel actions and parallel characters provide thematic links. The prime problem, of course, is survival. Vested interests and tunnel vision among the characters and the slowness of the institutions they control seem, especially in the first two parts of the novel, to make destruction certain. This is dependent on an individual who has sufficiently come to terms with himself and the world around him to examine the problem in wider terms and to find solutions. There are not many such people, but there are enough. Thematically, the first two parts of the novel are gloomy. The third, however, provides the comparisons and the contrasts that make The Gods Themselves an optimistic and rich novel.

Cliffs Notes on Asimov's Foundation Trilogy & Other Works © 1977

52