Literature / Search by the Foundation

DARELL, ARKADY novelist, born 11, 5, 362 F.E., died 1, 7, 443 F.E. Although primarily a writer of fiction, Arkady Darell is best known for her biography of her grandmother, Bayta Darell. Based on first-hand information, it has for centuries served as a primary source of information concerning the Mule and his times... Like "Unkeyed Memories", her novel "Time and Time and Over" is a stirring reflection of the brilliant Kalganian society of the early Interregnum, based, it is said, on a visit to Kalgan in her youth...

— ENCYCLOPEDIA GALACTICA, 116th edition, published in 1020 F.E.

First published in three parts as "...And Now You Don't" in Astounding Science Fiction (November 1949, December 1949, and January 1950 issues), by Isaac Asimov. This Science Fiction Novella is the eighth work published in The Foundation Trilogy, taking place sixty years after the events of "Search by the Mule". In 2001, it earned third place in the 1951 Retro Hugo Award Novella category. Arkady is his second female Foundation protagonist, and at fourteen, she's also his youngest.

The story starts with the precocious Arcadia Darell, who prefers the nickname, Arkady. She notices someone (Pelleas Anthor) sneaking around her house and quickly deduces that her father (Dr. Toran Darell) is inviting people over for a secret discussion of the Second Foundation. Dr Darell helps Anthor form a secret cabal of scientists working to find and eliminate the Second Foundation, because the Second Foundation uses mind control to manipulate the First Foundation behind the scenes. To allow the existence of the Second Foundation is to sacrifice their free will.

Arkady, much more interested in the potential for adventure than she is in staying home, stows away with Homir Munn, who is on his way to Kalgan to begin the search for the Second Foundation. Meanwhile, Dr Darell designs anti-telepathy devices and the First Citizen of Kalgan, the new would-be Galactic Conqueror, plots for war. Dr Darell is only partway through his design for a weapon against Psychic Powers when Kalgan declares war against the Foundation and Arkady only barely manages to escape for Trantor with Preem Palver and his wife, a pair of farmers. Torn between his work and wanting to find his daughter, Dr Darell chooses to stay on Terminus, and worries that despite everything, he's playing into the predictions/manipulations made by the Second Foundation.

While Kalgan's invasion is ongoing, Arkady worries about what she can do to help her father know she has found where the Second Foundation is hiding. She convinces Preem Palver to travel to Terminus as part of a fleet to carry foodstuffs the planet needs, and asks the man to carry a message to her father. Palver reaches the frontline just as the Foundation's fleet prepares for battle. With a perfectly timed tactical ambush, the Foundation handily defeats Kalgan, shattering the latter's morale and forcing them to request peace terms.

Dr Darell's group meets once more, and the question of the Second Foundation comes up. Munn is revealed to have been put under control of the Second Foundation while he was at Kalgan. Darell reveals Arkady's message: "A circle has no end". Darell uses this to interpret Hari Seldon's statement that the Second Foundation would be at the "other end of the Galaxy" in a particular way, leading his belief that the Second Foundation is in Terminus. Anthor professes skepticism, only for Darell to produce his now finished anti-telepathy device and activate it - causing terrible pain to Anthor.

Anthor reveals that Darell was right: the Second Foundation was centered in Terminus, with agents spread across the Galaxy to push forward their plans. Since Anthor knows their identities, they can arrest them and keep them from ever becoming a threat. When Arkady returns, her father tests her and reveals she has not been controlled by the Second Foundation, marking the Foundation's freedom...

...or not: everything had been planned out by the Second Foundation's First Speaker, Preem Palver. Arkady had been manipulated at birth so she would make that logical leap at the exact moment without risking detection. Kalgan's war with the Foundation had been engineered to restore the latter's confidence, and Pellas Anthor's role was to incite suspicions at the right point to make the Foundation believe they had uprooted the Second Foundation, thus ensuring they would continue with Seldon's Plan without expecting others to carry them towards the goal.

In 1952, "Search by the Foundation" was revised and included as the second half of Second Foundation.

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"Search by the Foundation" provides examples of:

• Already the Case: A student in the Second Foundation tells the First Speaker that there is a high chance the First Foundation might begin shifting their focus on the physical sciences to anti-telepath research in order to fight them. The First Speaker states that the change has already happened. The student concludes that the Seldon Plan has failed, but the First Speaker disagrees, and this story is about the narrow thread that they must weave to prevent the complete failure.
• Alter Kocker: Preem Palver and his wife are rustic farmers - and speak with an Immigrant Yiddish accent (which Dr Asimov had grown up with). Subverted Trope, because Palver isn't an unintelligent hick, he is First Speaker of the Second Foundation.
• Compound Title: This story was originally published with the title "...And Now You Don't", and is the Sequel to "Now You See It".
• Covert Group with Mundane Front: The Second Foundation is disguised as a bunch of rustic farmers. Preem Palver is Prime Speaker, their leader.
• Curb-Stomp Battle: The space battles between Kalgan and the Foundation are only truly fought as one-sided skirmishes because the Foundation ships are confident in the Seldon Plan guiding them to victory, while the Kalgan ships fear their eventual failure. The climactic battle is almost evenly matched until the Hyperspeed Ambush allows the Foundation to smash the opposing fleet. The Kalgan's fleet begins with three hundred warships and ends with just sixty, most of them heavily damaged. The Foundation loses eight ships of a total of one hundred twenty five.
• Deep Cover Agent: The Second Foundation uses layers of deception, as well as agents across the galaxy:
  • Arcadia Darell, the first agent we meet, was converted to being an agent of the Second Foundation at a young age so young that the changes made by the Second Foundation are disguised by her natural personality growth. When Dr Darell uses the EEG machine on them, it shows no evidence of Second Foundation tampering, and they have no memory of ever working with the organization.
  • Pelleas Anthor, the second agent we meet, has been a member for many years, and whose job it was to infiltrate the First Foundation's attempt at rebellion to prevent harm to the Seldon Plan, he actually agreed to a Thanatos Gambit where he and fifty others would die to convince the First Foundation that they had eliminated the Second Foundation. When Dr Darell uses the EEG machine on them, it shows no evidence of Second Foundation tampering, because they were knowingly working for them, which made him vulnerable to the Mind Static device.
  • Lady Callia, the third agent we meet, has been a member for many years, and whose job it was to arrange the Proxy War between Kalgan and the First Foundation. Dr Darell never uses the EEG machine on them.
  • Preem Palver, the fourth agent we meet, has been a member for many years, and is actually the First Speaker of the Second Foundation. His role is to teach a student who wishes to join the Speakers and to take care of Arkady while she's on Trantor. Dr Darell never uses the EEG machine on them.
• Description in the Mirror: In the first chapter, Arkady Darell turns to her bedroom mirror so that she can examine her appearance. She's disappointed that she isn't a bombshell beauty at two days past fourteen, having too much baby fat in her cheeks.
• Didn't See That Coming: Pelleas Anthor, the agent of the Second Foundation who had been charged with the goal of infiltrating the First Foundation's attempt at rebellion against the Seldon Plan, hadn't expected Dr Darell to hand him a set of fake controls to the Mind Static device. Dr Darell is able to use the device to torture the whereabouts of the other Second Foundation agents from him so that they can all be killed. Subverted Trope, because the Second Foundation had modified Seldon's plan in order to fool the First Foundation into believing that the Second Foundation was destroyed.
• Disability Immunity: The Second Foundationers have near unstoppable Psychic Powers, but Dr Darell discovers that he can disable them by broadcasting a loud psychic static with a special electrical apparatus he calls the "mental static" device, while leaving normal people unaffected. He compares this to flashing a bright light in somebody's eyes; somebody without sight (i.e. normal people, without the psychic powers) are not even aware of the light, whereas people who can see will be hurt and incapacitated.
• Distant Sequel: This story takes place sixty years after the events of "Search by the Mule"; Arcadia (Arkady) Darell is a descendant of the famous Bayta Darell, and fourteen years old. This places events at 365 F.E. to begin with.
• The Dog Was the Mastermind: The First Speaker of the Second Foundation is the humble farmer Preem Palver. Moreover, the Second Foundation itself is masked as a farming commune in the ruins of the old Imperial capital, which had been visited several times in previous stories.
• Encyclopedia Exposita: When published in Second Foundation, four Encyclopedia Galactica entries were added.
  • Chapter 1, "Arcadia", is prefaced by an entry for Arkady Darell, with details about her career as a novelist in both Fiction and Non-Fiction formats.
  • Chapter 2, "Seldon's Plan", is prefaced by an entry for Mathematics, quoting Seldon's opinion on n-dimensional geometry.
  • Chapter 9, "Through The Grid", is prefaced by an entry for Trantor, as it existed in the middle of the Interregnum.
  • Chapter 13, "End of War", is prefaced by an entry for the Battle of Quoriston, where the Foundation defeats Kalgan's navy.
• Every Man Has His Price: When the police are searching the airport for Arkady, the Palvers secretly offer five hundred credits to let them through without problems. Arkady, however, is convinced that the police wouldn't have done that unless releasing her was intentional. She's right; the police lieutenant was a spy for the Foundation working on Kalgan, and merely wanted to establish that she had successfully escaped the planet. Her father is quickly informed so that he wouldn't worry when war between the Foundation and Kalgan begins.
• Exploited Immunity: The Second Foundationers have near unstoppable Psychic Powers, but Dr Darell discovers that he can disable them by broadcasting a loud psychic static with a special electrical apparatus he calls the "mental static" device, while leaving normal people unaffected. He compares this to flashing a bright light in somebody's eyes; somebody without sight (i.e. normal people, without the psychic powers) are not even aware of the light, whereas people who can see will be hurt and incapacitated.
• Faking the Dead: The final chapter, "The Answer That Was True", finally reveals that the Second Foundation deliberately sacrificed the lives of fifty citizens to fool the First Foundation into believing that the Second Foundation was destroyed. Mathematically, the First Speaker admits that seventy-five should have died, to totally minimize suspicion, but fifty was the lower limit of what might convince the citizens of Terminus that the Second Foundation could no longer manipulate their lives and futures.
• Fictional Document: Within the Encyclopedia Galactica entry for Arkady, several books of hers are mentioned; her novel Time and Time and Over (set in Kalgan) and a biography of her grandmother, Bayta Darell. An unnamed author had written Unkeyed Memories, also about Kalgan.
• Genre Savvy: Arkady Darell is delighted to engage in the sort of adventures described in book-films and thrillers on video, although when they portray a Little Stowaway, they neglect to mention the need to use the bathroom. Other characters also mention In-Universe fiction, but she's the only one who acts based on narrative tropes. Anthor describes her as "a ferocious little romantic, the only child of an ivory-tower academician, growing up in an unreal world of video and book-film adventure. She lives in a weird self-constructed fantasy of espionage and intrigue."
  With Olynthus' sound-receiver propped beside her pillow, she felt like a character out of a book-film, and hugged every moment of it close to her chest in an ecstasy of "Spy-stuff."
• Guile Hero: Arkady demonstrates, from the very first chapter, an astute ability to deduce from behaviour and to manipulate adults through dramatics and lies. She obtains the voice-to-text printer by wheedling her father, she bluffs Anthor twice in a row, and convinces both of them not to be skulking around obviously trying to hide a secret. Her only flaw in manipulating is the way she wants to use storytelling rules and expectations.
• Have a Gay Old Time: While Arkady is on Kalgan, she takes delight in the Pleasure Planet, visiting the theatre, fashion shops, and beauticians. As a planet of entertainment, Kalgan is known as "the gayest world in the galaxy." Even better, the first time this is mentioned involves its fashion district, the Flower Path.
  She had shopped...along the Flowered Path, fashion center of the gayest world in Space.
• Hidden in Plain Sight:
  • Arkady's quick deductions in the first chapter are part of why Dr Darell and Anthor agree with her recommendation on how to hide their nascent rebellion from the Second Foundation. Each of the members are publicly known to each other, and have met several times on social occasions. Their interactions remain so above-board and legitimate that their rare meetings about the Second Foundation go without note, which wouldn't be true if they made deliberate and obvious efforts at clandestine arrangements.
  • The Second Foundation has survived for nearly four centuries, hidden where the First Foundation would never suspect them. It's Arkady that figures out that they're on Terminus itself, right under the First Foundation's nose! Except that was a lie all along, and their true home is Trantor, and the Imperial Library, the same place where they were discovered by Ebling Mis.
• Honorary Uncle: Arkady Darell's father has no siblings, but that doesn't impede her from considering Homir Munn (one of her father's best friends) her "uncle". She even goes with him to Kalgan on vacation during the summer she's fourteen.
• Hyperspeed Ambush: The Foundation space fleet is facing a numerically superior Kalganian fleet. They send a squadron into hyperspace, with orders to return in a specific place at a specific time. They then maneuver the Kalganian fleet so the returning squadron will appear and attack them from behind with complete surprise, winning the battle.
• Infodump:
  • Dr Asimov lampshaded the exposition about what happened to the Mule and Foundation in the generation since "Search by the Mule" as an actual essay written for homework by his protagonist, Arcadia Darrell (the way she futzes around while doing it doubles as an Establishing Character Moment).
  • When it appeared In Astounding Science Fiction, the editor lampshades the extensive exposition by including a footnote that advises readers on which older issues of Astounding the rest of the story can be found.
• Inner Monologue: While Arkady has a voice-to-text printer transcribing her essay on "The Future of the Seldon Plan", there are also parenthetical thoughts throughout, providing a more colourful Infodump by showing her opinions and feelings about the events.
• King Bob the Nth: In the fifth chapter, "Stowaway", Arkady briefly mentions the historical Stannel V, emperor of the previous Galactic Empire.
• Legendary in the Sequel: Mayor Salvor Hardin, from the events of "The Encyclopedists" and "The Mayor", is well-known enough, over 300 years later, that a new epigram has been attributed to him. Arkady indirectly quotes him as saying only a lie that isn't ashamed of itself can possibly succeed in deceiving anyone. She also indirectly quotes him saying that nothing must be true, but that everything had to sound true.
• Little Stowaway: Arkady Darell. in Second Foundation. At the end, we learn that she probably wasn't acting entirely of her own volition.
• Logical Weakness: Dr Darell, a scientist of the First Foundation, realizes that the Second Foundation must have deeply studied mental sciences, so they logically would have a way to sense brainwaves/thoughts. Which means he could make a device that would overload this sense, having absolutely no effect on those without the sense. He uses his device to capture a Second Foundation agent.
• Long Game: The Speakers of the Second Foundation consider Seldon's plan to be incomplete. They spend their lives trying to perfect what Hari Seldon left them and to extend it far beyond the initial thousand years.
• Meaningful Name: Preem Palver - leader of the Second Foundation, Prime Palaver means "First Talk(er)" and his title is, in fact, First Speaker.
• Monster of the Week: The primary conflict here is a silent showdown between the First and Second Foundations, with the First being notably more antagonistic, since they have become extremely paranoid of any psychic since the Mule and thus want to destroy the Second, which is an entire nation of psychics. Simultaneously, the First Foundation is also facing war with the remnants of the Mule's empire and its current leader, Lord Stettin. The Second Foundation manages to masterfully trick and outmaneuver the First into thinking they have been defeated, while Lord Stettin is a mere cover up who has been manipulated from the beginning by a Second Foundationer, the whole war being a farce to give the First Foundation the confidence to stand on its own.
• Nobody Poops: Soon after Arkady Darell sneaks aboard a ship, the narration lampshades this trope as she realizes that she can't hide for long. Unlike in films, a real-life person has to "wash their hands" (sometimes an idiom for using the bathroom).
• Obfuscating Stupidity: Lord Stettin's mistress acts as if she's almost too dumb to breathe, but she is, in fact, a highly intelligent Second Foundationer planted in that situation in order to help get the Seldon Plan back on track.
• The Omniscient Council of Vagueness: Characters from the Second Foundation are much more prominent in this story compared to the previous one. The net effect is that much of their vagueness is stripped away, and the audience is able to see more about their inner workings. Their short-term and long-term goals are made more clear, although there is some deception going on until the final chapter, in order to surprise the audience.
• Pleasure Planet: Now that we revisit Kalgan, its status as a world of entertainment is expanded upon. Arkady goes to the theatre, to the fashion shops, and to the beauticians. As a planet of entertainment, Kalgan is known as "the gayest world in the galaxy." It made itself a galactic centre of entertainment two centuries before Hari Seldon, kept itself rich and fabulous during the fall of the Galactic Empire because there are always elites of any government that wish for luxury, and Kalgan provided them to everyone, until the rise of the Mule. In these decades since, it has struggled with an identity crisis; world of entertainment or capital of a military empire?
• Previously on…: Part One hides its recap in a homework report by the primary protagonist, Arkady. Part Two and Part Three are prefaced by a recap of the previous issue. Naturally the recaps for Parts 2&3 were edited out for publication in Second Foundation.
• The Problem with Pen Island: Arcadia Darell bemoans the fact that everyone in her class must write their names as initial-of-given-name followed by surname, because she'd rather use Arkady as her name. The only exception to the rule is Olynthus Dam, "because the class laughed so when he did it the first time."
• Proxy War: When the First Foundation starts to become complacent with the idea that the Second Foundation won't let them fall, the Second Foundation convinces a minor dictator, one with just enough strength to threaten the First, to attack them.
• Resistance as Planned: Because of the Mule's actions, the scientists of the First Foundation are aware that the Second Foundation is working behind the scenes to actively manipulate them. Dissatisfied with this, Pelleas Anthor meets with Dr Tolan Darell to discuss how to rebel against their unseen masters. They organize a secret cabal of scientists on Terminus and build a weapon to use against those with Psychic Powers, like the Second Foundationers. However, Pelleas Anthor is part of the Second Foundation, and had created this rebellion so that he could maintain control of it. Except he was actually part of a Thanatos Gambit, and his capture and subsequent death was designed to trick the First Foundation into believing that they had killed all of the Second Foundationers so that they could continue operating in secret. Dr Darell's daughter, Arkady, was also manipulated into being part of this plan back when she had been born on Trantor.
• Retcon: An In-Universe example is provided by the Second Foundation. Hari Seldon knew that his design was imperfect, so he charged the Second Foundation with the task of constantly revising and updating it to make sure The Plan stayed on track. To become a full-fledged member of the Second Foundation, an initiate is required to make an original contribution to the Seldon Plan.
• The Reveal: At the story's climax, several characters reveal their knowledge of the Second Foundation, and what Seldon meant by the 'opposite end of the galaxy'.
  • In chapter 20, "I Know...", Homir Munn reveals the location of the Second Foundation; it doesn't exist. Hari Seldon invented it as a Magic Feather to give confidence to the Foundation and to frighten their galactic enemies.
  • In chapter 20, "I Know...", Pelleas Anthor reveals the location of the Second Foundation; it is on Kalgan, where the Mule was first discovered. He was a weapon of the Second Foundation, used against the First. Hari Seldon lied about where it was to make it difficult to find.
  • In the penultimate chapter, "The Answer That Satisfied", Dr Toran Darell reveals the location of the Second Foundation; Terminus itself, because a circle has no end, so the "other end of the galaxy" means right back where you started, on Terminus.
  • In the last chapter, "The Answer That Was True", yet another character reveals the true location of the Second Foundation, along with his double life. His name is Preem Palver, First Speaker of the Second Foundation. His home is on Trantor, of course. The core is the opposite end of a spiral arm, the galactic government is the opposite end of a brand-new colony, and it used to be said that 'All roads lead to Trantor, and that is where all stars end'.
• Running the Blockade: Arkady convinces Preem Palver to slip through the Kalganian blockade around the Foundation, arranging for the delivery of desperately needed food at premium prices. He gets caught... by the Foundation fleet, because they're about to launch an attack that turns the tide of the war, breaking the Kalganian blockade. They are nice enough to pay the premium prices anyway once the battle is won, despite the changed strategic situation — especially since Palver carried a message from Arkady for some very influential men.
• Sensory Overload: Dr Darell invented his Mental Static device on the premise that people with telepathy would logically be incapacitated by intense mental patterns, while those without telepathy would be immune. He exploits this immunity against a Second Foundation agent; Pelleas Anthor, allowing the First Foundation to eliminate the Second Foundation. Or so they think.
• Serial Novel: Despite being Novella length instead of Novel, when "...And Now You Don't" was first published in Astounding Science Fiction, it showed up in three parts; the November 1949, December 1949, and January 1950 issues.
• The Smurfette Principle: When Dr Darell and Pelleas Anthor create their anti-Second Foundation rebellion, they invite fellow males Jole Turbor, Dr. Elvett Semic, and Homir Munn. Together, these five men discuss how to find evidence of the Second Foundation and what must be done when they have. However, Arkady has decided to make herself a member of the group without informing them. She's only fourteen, and decides that a secret mission away from home to discover the Second Foundation sounds much more interesting than merely sitting around at home and doing school work. While Arkady is the only female protagonist, there are several other women who appear in this story. None of them, however, are shown to have knowledge of the First Foundation's rebellion against the Second Foundation.
• Space Amish: Since the sacking of Trantor, the people of this planet have become farmers and exporters of processed metal. They sell the metal that made up the City Planet so that they have more land to grow crops from. The Palaver family also speaks with an Immigrant Yiddish accent.
• Spin-Offspring: Arcadia Darell is the granddaughter of Bayta Darell, one of the protagonists in "The Mule". The Encyclopedia Galactica entry about her mentions that she grows up to be an author, famous for the biography she wrote about her grandmother.
• Standard Starship Scuffle: The war between Kalgan and the Foundation takes place primarily off-screen, so the audience gets only second-hand accounts for the most part. Ships can be caught by surprise, smaller ships are more manoeuvrable, and Kalgan only attacks if they outnumber the Foundation ships. Chapter 19, "End of War", starts with the perspective of Jole Turbor working as a war correspondent, interviewing sailors about their opinions and promising to check on their family members living planetside (ashore).
• Standard Time Units: Lampshaded by the narration in chapter 16, "Beginning of War", where many different worlds use a different calendar system, but they all agree on which hour and how many are in a day. They agree on which month it is, and how many there are in a year. They agree on when the (Second Foundation arranged) war between Kalgan and the Foundation began.
• Stealth Pun: Arcadia Darell bemoans the fact that everyone in her class must write their names as initial-of-given-name followed by surname, because she'd rather use Arkady as her name. The only exception to the rule is Olynthus Dam, "because the class laughed so when he did it the first time."
• Thanatos Gambit: The final chapter, "The Answer That Was True", finally reveals that the Second Foundation deliberately sacrificed the lives of fifty citizens to fool the First Foundation into believing that the Second Foundation was destroyed. Mathematically, the First Speaker admits that seventy-five should have died, to totally minimize suspicion, but fifty was the lower limit of what might convince the citizens of Terminus that the Second Foundation could no longer manipulate their lives and futures.
• Tyke-Bomb: Living on Terminus with the First Foundation, Arkady Darell is a deep, deep cover agent for the Second Foundation, being unaware that their mind was manipulated by the enemy shortly after being born, before any personality traits had formed. This makes the modifications made to their mind undetectable by the EEG machines used by Dr Darell to determine if someone has been Brainwashed by the Second Foundation. The First Speaker justifies modifying her for their plans by claiming that the "precocious and intelligent personality" she was given is a benefit.
• Two Aliases, One Character: In this story, two secret conspiracies try to find each other without revealing their search to the other conspiracy. Naturally, at least one character uses a false name. Preem Palver is the First Speaker of the Second Foundation. There's even a clue to their identity in the name; Preem/Prime or "First" and Palver/Palaver or "Speaking".
• Unfortunate Names: Arcadia Darell bemoans the fact that everyone in her class must write their names as initial-of-given-name followed by surname ("A. Darrell" in her case), because she'd rather use Arkady as her name. The only exception to the rule is Olynthus Dam, "because the class laughed so when he did it the first time."
• Vanity Is Feminine: Aside from a brief Description in the Mirror scene in chapter 1, Arkady's interest in her appearance is more implied than anything else, the way she shops while Uncle Homir waits for the First Citizen to allow him into the Mule's palace. On the other hand, Lady Callia is obviously a ditzy trophy consort to the First Citizen, concerned more about marriage and children with "poochie" than anything else. But it's actually a deception; she's an agent of the Second Foundation who arranges the Proxy War between the Foundation and Kalgan to bolster the First Foundation's self-confidence.
• Villainous Legacy: Despite his death fifty-five years ago (dying five years after the events of "Search by the Mule"), the Foundation still struggles with its identity. The Mule was the only galactic warlord that ever beat the Foundation, and people suspect that he was only beaten by the intervention of the Second Foundation, but with no evidence. The majority on Terminus begin to rely on the mystical Second Foundation, while a small minority begin to plot against them, fearing that the Second Foundation means they have no free will.
• We Will Spend Credits in the Future: Arkady's "Uncle Homir" lets her have ten Foundation credits to exchange for the local Kalganian "Kalganids", which is a lot of buying power. When she tries to buy an interstellar flight, she (and the Palvers) use credits again.
• Wham Line: The very last line completely changes the way the entire serial reads, putting the events of Part Two and Three in a brand-new perspective because it reveals one character had been introduced twice. Effective partly because when this line comes, you're just recovering from a previous revelation; the true location of the Second Foundation.
  Ten months earlier, the First Speaker had viewed those same crowding stars - nowhere as crowded as at the center of that huge cluster of matter Man calls the Galaxy - with misgivings; but now there was a somber satisfaction on the round and ruddy face of Preem Palver - First Speaker.
• Xanatos Speed Chess: Seldon knew that working out the best starting position for the nucleus of the Second Galactic Empire wasn't going to be enough. He didn't have enough time to develop Psychohistory completely, and he knew that his plan couldn't anticipate changes in technology or truly exceptional individuals. So he established the Second Foundation, whose purpose is to readjust the Seldon Plan based on new developments.
• Zeerust: Arkady gushes over her new voice-to-text printer, which is an improvement over the typewriters of The '40s, but not over the computers of the Turn of the Millennium.

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