If your parents never met, you wouldn't exist.
In fact, if any of your great-great- great-great-grandparents hadn't met,
you wouldn't exist.
Everyone in the universe is the result of a unique set of pairings,
and psychohistory doesn't care about them at all.
Good morning.
Why the long face?
Could witness prophecy today.
Prophecy. Seldon help us.
Go tend to our guest. I'll pilot us in.
You don't look very comfortable. Sorry we didn't have a third seat.
Don't worry about me.
I'm perfectly happy rooming
with dehydrated potatoes and…
"ralfbarns." What the hell are ralfbarns?
Food bars. Thespin and delicious.
Did I puke on myself?
You did.
That's the Claric's.
Not really my color, but fuck him.
I heard you once wore a scarlet robe.
Briefly. Till the Clarics took a good look at my soul.
Well, not everyone is called.
It's possible to do good works outside the formal system.
Yeah. It's also possible to cheat the greedy,
bed the willing, and spend the cash.
So your good works are subconscious.
What is that, anyway?
This…
is Locris wine.
It's two centuries old,
laid down ten years before the Zeonian Rebellion.
Locris had a permanently sunny side,
so the grapes grown there were extra sweet.
Empire ashed it with his nuclears a while back,
which means this vintage is rare as hell
and the only luxury item I know of actually worth its price.
You'd swoon from the taste, Brother.
I don't drink. But I love the idea of sunny wine.
Why you saving it?
I'm waiting for something good to celebrate.
I've had this 15 years, I still haven't cracked it open.
You must be a man of tremendous hope.
I'm sorry, who are you--
For 15 years when something wonderful happened, you thought,
-"No, something better's coming." -Maybe nothing wonderful has happened.
You also said the planet had a permanent sunny side.
Pessimist would've said it had a permanent dark side.
And speaking of dark sides, I'd keep that hidden from…
He doesn't always use his best judgment around alcohol.
-It's because of the alcohol. -It's a noted side effect.
My Pater runs a pub down there. The Four Moons.
-I have served a lot of drunks. -You still do.
What's your real name, Brother?
My Pater is Sayta-Thespin.
We're a cultural minority, keep our names private.
All right, if I guess it correctly, you would break a rule
and share this with me right now?
Jormette. Auran. Cavalcade?
-Is Cavalcade even a name? -No, no.
I panicked. Borma? Ketrin? Agatish.
Director, here's Hober Mallow.
Sef remembers me. We're old friends.
-Mallow. -Father.
Constant.
I had no idea you were father and daughter.
Providing a child for the cause. Who'd have guessed?
-What's happening with the Vault? -Nothing.
No sign of Seldon. We're maintaining a perimeter.
This is Brigadier Manlio, and this is my trusted adviser, Councilor Sutt.
Now, all of you, come with me.
And off we march again to the Prophet.
So exciting.
The Royal Seal is on everything.
This morning, I thought I saw it on my own face.
And you know what?
It was, because it's embroidered on the damn pillow.
Plain-faced as a common woman. Where are your pigments?
It's psychological.
He'll feel like I'm revealing myself,
which will make him want to open up in turn.
I intend to find out the truth about my family, one way or another.
I know how to employ courtesan tricks.
You taught me most of them.
Empire makes everyone into a courtesan.
Eventually.
Dusk and Enjoiner Rue?
What? Last night?
Decades ago.
Rue was a concubine in the Gossamer Court.
Your grandfather selected Rue for a tryst and changed everything.
She returned home rich and celebrated.
I'd have thought he'd have mentioned it.
And he's not my grandfather.
Sorry, right.
It's easy to forget how things are with you.
It seems so strange from the outside.
Sometimes it's strange from the inside too.
Should we go this way?
There's a lovely little grove. It's very secluded.
We'll have your Handman there as chaperone.
He is a vigilant one.
Seems we've found your seclusion. Very pretty.
Do you wish to ask your question now?
You want to know if I was behind the assassination attempt?
Well, you must acknowledge that the timing is suspicious.
It is indeed.
And do you take me for the sort of fool who'd make myself look so suspicious?
-I don't wish to believe it was you. -It wasn't.
There, I've answered it.
It's up to you to decide if I'm lying.
Now, since I've been so open and obliging…
Do you think Day had my family killed?
No.
Is there evidence?
Good reaction.
I'll judge you weren't involved.
I most certainly wasn't.
If it happened, which I very much doubt.
The evidence is circumstantial.
But consider this.
I was a million steps from the throne.
And not a single person in the line of succession ahead of me
would've made this alliance.
And then one mysterious crash later, and suddenly there I am.
The weakest member of my family ruling a weakened Dominion,
just as Day is looking for someone desperate enough
to climb on top of an Empire with dangerously adjusted frontiers.
But there are others who've benefited.
Your own Enjoiner Rue, for example,
has risen from concubine to the right-hand of a future empress.
And I'm sure there are other suspects.
I would still like to know if my intended is capable of it.
By which, I mean…
I suppose…
Do you feel like you would be?
Since, as we've established, you are the same man.
I don't think I would be.
But age brings changes.
And I'm well-prepared to think I could become capable of it.
Of course, that would have to be before I knew you…
and liked you.
I like you too.
And I like your truthfulness.
Let's stay honest with each other always.
If Day thinks it's to his advantage to deal with the weakest member of my family,
he's wrong.
You're going to be an interesting addition to our strange little family.
You know, since you are the same man,
have you ever wondered why they don't have us marrying?
I think we'd have suited.
I have been admiring your work.
The older sections too. I saw your hand there.
Well, just touching up where things have faded.
They didn't use real Dominion pigment in those days, so thank you for that.
I'm sure it was your idea.
I merely advise.
And you did more than refresh the colors.
The last five generations have taken up a bolder style,
and your embellishments have brought that into harmony with the earlier work.
Or at least covered over what was timid.
Well, I started early.
Painted this section when I was still Day.
"Why wait for it to be a chore," I thought,
"when it can be a pleasure instead?"
Gossamer Court hasn't changed as much as the Mural.
Or at all.
It could be 30 years ago.
And you are still just as beautiful.
So it was you I bedded?
I thought maybe I lost count of my Cleons.
No, it was me. Number XVI.
Well, thank you.
The distinction of being selected put me on the political ladder, as you can see.
Rue.
I've never spoken to someone after Erasure.
Things are changing.
You might be the last Dusk and the first Grandfather Cleon.
If the union happens.
Right. Yes.
No one seems to be especially in favor of this match, apart from Day and myself.
Of course, we have the votes that matter most.
Not the Queen's?
My opinion weighs heavy with her, but you're right.
She's her own woman. She doesn't suffer idiots.
Empire tends to get wisdom late.
For example, I'm much smarter now than when last we talked.
I wouldn't remember.
And that is a shame.
We had a lively conversation and a joyous copulation.
Well, that's good to know.
We keep recordings. We could watch if you like.
In my quarters. It's private.
Would I keep any new memories?
Oh, yes.
We pair to procreate, or so we're taught.
Love itself is inconsequential
when measured against the scale of the galaxy.
At ease.
Status, Officer Kress?
Yes, General.
Geosynch is at zero inclination, and our current altitude is 40,000 kilometers.
Type Zero civilization, largely agrarian.
No satellite array. No painting on any electronic frequency.
It's doubtful the locals even know we're here.
Good. The Imperium hasn't maintained an official presence in the Outer Reach
for over a century.
I'm not keen on ringing any alarm bells just yet.
Shall I arrange a shuttle crew, sir?
No shuttle. Officer Curr and myself will be winging it.
We'll use the storm as cover.
Engineering will drop an extraction packet,
then we'll make contact with our informant.
If these Magicians really are a threat, he'll know.
Very good, sir.
Releasing extraction packet.
Good for insertion.
Launching in three, two, one.
Glay?
Bel!
Sorry. Missed the landing.
We need to secure the extraction packet. Make our way to the informant.
Packet is a klick east of us.
Seems to be moving.
Don't underestimate them, they are armed and reckless.
Well-met.
We mean no harm.
It appears you've recovered our property.
Isn't your property anymore. This here is salvage.
All right. Siwenna rules. How much do you want for it?
How much do we want? Let's see!
How about half a dozen of them pretty little teeth of yours?
No one's got teeth like that here in Siwenna. Where you from?
Jennisek.
Don't believe it.
Not when you're carrying imperial property.
We don't want any trouble.
Like he said, we'd be happy to pay.
"We'd be delighted to pay."
Not happening, off-worlder.
Imperial maggots pay in blood.
Bel!
Enough!
Release our property! We release her.
Shut your face!
Fuck!
Shit. He's gonna be back with reinforcements.
We need to get to the informant fast.
Fuck. That felt good.
Yeah, I can see that on your face.
Come here. Under all the blood.
All right. It was cathartic, I won't lie.
Yeah, but was it necessary?
There might have been a bloodless path.
There wasn't.
Well, we can't know because you dove in without meeting my eye first,
or giving me a signal.
That is not how we work! Breaking a nose out of the blue.
Guess I picked up a few new tricks.
-Fuck! -Empire takes a toll indeed.
Bel, you cannot let them change you into some hair-triggered nerve-case
-they can just point at anyone! -Fuck, Glay. I told you, let me be!
Come on.
I'm just saying. By the time you recognize an atrocity,
you may have already been complicit in one.
Just shut up and walk.
The fuck is that?
The Vault asked for you.
No.
No. Poly, what the fuck? It doesn't work like this.
Trust me, it makes no sense to me either.
Apparently, you're worthy of an engraved invitation.
We don't know it's an invitation.
Not considering what happened to the Warden.
Huh?
That was a person?
-Hell no. -We should've told him.
What? About the incineration part? Yeah, you should have!
-You would've refused to come. -I did. I did refuse.
Where is that heart full of hope, Hober?
The Vault won't hurt you, it asked for you.
What if it asked for me because it wants to kill me? Huh?
No. No, your trumped-up religion, yeah,
can get itself another human sacrifice, 'cause I'm not doing it.
No. No. No, no, no, no!
-So much for doing it your way. -You're telling me this is my fault?
Of course we're gonna fetch Hober Mallow. Our future's already been dictated!
Gentlemen?
Come on, both of you. We gotta help Hober!
Guess it's just me then.
Well, are you coming?
Governance depends on me continuing to govern.
Hober?
Weird.
It sounds big in here.
It is big in here.
So, where's Hober?
Hober?
-Hober? -Constant!
-What the shine happened to you? -You got water?
Please, please. Give me some.
Two days! Why'd you wait?
Two days? It's been two minutes.
I promise you, it's not.
I've been wandering this place forever. This place never ends!
Time must be different in here too.
We should step outside and gather provisions.
Oh, my God. You have a ralfbarn.
Seldon?
Dad?
Director. What about all the governance?
I put Sutt in charge.
And we're very glad you joined us.
Unbelievable.
I turn off the death ray and it's all aboard.
Have some respect, you arse.
We're inside the mathematics of Hari Seldon.
Yeah. Well, I wouldn't go that way. I took a dump over there.
Right. Well, let's go this way.
Wow. I would not wanna get lost in here.
You are lost in here.
You hear music?
It's coming from this way.
Have something to eat. You must be hungry.
The Prophet.
How is there food here?
How is there a library?
The Vault manipulates molecules.
Everything is molecules. Food is molecules.
If the Vault makes it, then it all comes from your body.
-Dr. Seldon. -Director Sermak.
You look like a man who has built himself a mountain to stand atop.
And such a fine suit as well.
I don't-- I--
We thank you, Prophet.
I'm the director's daughter, Brother Constant, pledged to your cause.
I see by your robes that the Foundation has entered the religious phase.
It is a pleasure to meet you, my loyal child.
Poly Verisof.
Poly Verisof…
The boy?
You were so young just yesterday.
I take it you're also in service to the--
Well, what do you call it? A church? A--
We do. I am.
Good man. I mean that.
I could almost believe you transported us to Trantor.
We're inside a tesseract, right? A polychoron.
A four-dimensional object in three-dimensional space. Yes, Poly.
And that means that you must be Hober Mallow.
I heard you, you know, during your wanderings.
Entreaties to dead grandparents, parents, and a bewildering number of bedmates.
Yeah, and you didn't think to throw some food molecules in my path?
You taste delicious, by the way.
Apologies.
I've grown detached from physical needs.
And time, well…
it slips in here.
Besides, I wanted more than just you.
I'm going to need you all.
To do what?
Prevent a war.
Prevent a war?
Stand still, both of you, or die.
Patrician Barr, I take it.
State your business.
I'm General Bel Riose. This is my Fleet Supremus, Officer Curr.
We've come seeking information about the Magicians.
I know of no Magicians.
I'm a humble vintner, as you can clearly see.
Patrician,
the Magicians I'm concerned with hail from beyond the frontier guards,
where the stars are scattered thinly.
And the cold of space seeps in.
Then call me Ducem, please.
"Patrician" sounds like a rich man sliding apology money across a mattress.
We have to tell you, we had a run-in with your countryfolk on our way here.
So we should keep this meeting quick, for your protection.
Seems Siwenna has fallen into barbarism since Empire's retreat.
History has been crowded since.
Both Empire's yoke and the release of it have left a mark.
And yet you're still a loyal subject.
I do my job. I've been tight-beaming dispatches
ever since the Empire ceded control of the Outer Reach.
Forty years, no one's ever responded.
Well, we're here now.
Ta-da.
Do you drink needle tea?
I'm told it's socially irresponsible not to on Siwenna.
Just so. Yes.
Bel.
I see you've found my books. I collect them.
Since you're men of valor, you may find that particular one of interest.
Two massive armies gathering to destroy one another
and a prince and his charioteer debating the rationale of war.
I've never actually seen a book.
Most haven't. Books are for old men.
Past glories are poor feeding,
and half the stories told about the old days are mythical anyway.
Drink, drink.
Here's to those who fight.
Here's to those who fight and ask why.
He's right. That's the toast.
An important addition from someone who clearly asks why.
Now, we've had two visitations by these so-called Magicians.
The first gentleman was killed by the local constabulary.
The second, though…
Behold the Spirit's shield!
Wait. Is that a personal aura?
Extrapolated from Imperial design, apparently.
All the representatives of this Galactic Spirit wear one.
Do any of these representatives mention the Foundation?
The Vault opened. The Prophet emerged.
He spoke. And those who heard his words were forever changed.
What do you know of this "Vault"?
The rumor has it it contains the spirit of the late Dr. Seldon.
Evolutionary AI was banned centuries ago.
Yes. So was jump technology, absent Imperial use.
What are you saying? These Magicians are folding space?
Well, judge for yourself.
They call them whisper-ships.
Purportedly, they navigate without Spacers.
How?
Organic computing, perhaps.
But if you believe the rumors, these ships literally have a mind of their own.
A ship like this could jump right on to Trantor's doorstep.
Yeah, if they're real.
Until we witness one ourselves, these whisper-ships are just that.
Whispers.
Barr! Get your ass out here!
You and your two pretty boys from Trantor!
The local constabulary.
Fuck.
That will take you to the roof.
Here. Take this.
-No, I can't. -Yes, you can.
And now, I need you to shoot me, please.
-What? -I've lived a long life.
I have no desire to suffer torture at the hands of my old f-f-friends out there.
If it's any consolation,
I already poisoned myself with the lichen I smoked.
But a particle beam to the head will surely be more dignified.
Please?
Thank you.
I do hope you'll take some wine.
A Cassiopeaen d'Abruzzo. An excellent vintage.
-And your tea, Brother Constant. -Thank you.
-Poly? -Since the Prophet is offering.
Is that what I think it is?
The Prime Radiant?
-Yes. -But how?
Salvor Hardin left with it over a century ago.
Surely something so complex is more than molecules.
Always curious, Poly.
The Prime Radiant is a quantum computer that exists in a state of superposition.
Meaning it exists in two places at once?
You could think of it that way, yes.
Prophet.
Dr. Seldon, please.
Doctor.
Tell us how we can serve. Prevent what war with whom?
Empire. It's the Second Crisis, long anticipated.
Dr. Seldon, I have been making preparations.
-You'll find we're quite ready-- -Fuck, Sef.
Enough mongering. If war can be prevented, let's hear how.
Thank you, Poly.
I need them to go to Trantor and open diplomatic relations.
I take it you know how to sell Foundation.
Seven planets so far.
This is graduation day.
Give them the sermon of your lifetime.
Make them fall in love with us and delay this war as long as you can.
An agent of peace. Yes. That's something worth being.
You have by now developed small jumpships beyond the Empire's ken?
Yes. We have.
Don't use one to journey there. They don't need to know everything yet.
We'll buy passage on one of their jumpships.
We're honored to be envoys in your name, Dr. Seldon.
The honor is mine, my loyal child.
Director Sermak, again, fine suit.
Now, time is crucial, so speed you on your way.
I need a word apart with you.
With me?
You'll be fine. We'll be just outside.
Come on, Father.
Something on your mind, Poly?
It's just Jaegger.
Jaegger?
The warden you incinerated. Why did you kill him?
Well, I had to.
For a god to be effective you have to be intermittently wrathful.
Besides, I heard the warden on my doorstep.
How long before he declared himself the only holy vessel worthy of my spirit.
So it was…
divine judgment.
Let no being presume upon my mercy.
Can I ask you something personal?
Am I leaving here alive?
Of course.
For that to be effective, you'd need witnesses.
No, you're here because you have influence.
I have influence?
A passing ghost dropped your name.
A ghost?
Tell me your story.
I was born on Smyrno.
Educated almost entirely at the college of my father's fists,
but I got myself out.
I attended that college too. I also got myself out.
I assume you did so via dishonest means.
Yeah. Might've sold a few questionable relics, finger bones, and whatnot.
And you're clearly guilt-stricken.
Oh, come on. The Church of Seldon.
Isn't that part of the same big confidence game?
You've got priests claiming they can perform miracles.
Now, I'm still not sure what that's feeding.
It's feeding growth, Hober.
The developmental stage that all successful civilizations go through.
Although, some never escape it.
The church will fall away with time and be replaced…
by another mechanism.
But your skepticism will serve you well on this mission.
Those I'm asking you to treat with,
they're rightfully wary and not likely to respond well to the spiritual approach.
So, you're not sending me
with the drunk and the monk to sell peace to Empire?
No.
Your mission is separate, and one might say, counterposed.
The person who extends an open hand in friendship
had better have a blade in a fist behind his back.
Yeah, I can be a blade.
All right. Where am I being thrust?
I didn't think you were coming.
He's reluctant.
We hear you may be able to help us with our inquiries.
You may bare your face.
Our Handman has a field disrupter. Speak freely.
That doesn't matter. They give us weekly memory audits.
I'm recording us right now just by being here.
Not to worry.
My own Enjoiner Rue returned to us from Trantor years ago
with an Empire-tampered memory.
My people developed technology to block or reverse a memory wipe.
Fool a memory audit.
You truly are safe.
-What's your name? -Markley.
I don't know if I can help you, Your Highness.
What do you want?
And what can you pay?
I command the treasury of Dominion. Your price will be met.
I want to know if Cleon XVII had a hand in the deaths of my family.
I don't know exactly how to find out, but I know where to begin.
Good enough for now.
And while you're digging,
I'd like to understand how Day survived an attack
from the galaxy's best assassins.
Find me the visual records of the attempt.
-It's dark out. How long was I in there? -We've been waiting for three years.
-Huh? -Three hours.
You can never just play along, can you?
I guess that's our cue to hightail it.
We'll set out to Trantor immediately.
We'll take the Spirit to the Upsilon Outpost and get a transporter from there--
I'm not going to Trantor. Yeah, the doc's got a different job for me.
I thought we'd be together.
Yeah. Sorry. He told me I should take your ship.
-The Spirit Rising? -He said you'd balk at the idea,
but he's already put my coordinates into the ship's guidance system, okay?
It's, you know, it's very hush-hush.
Of course, you can take the Spirit.
Just don't overfeed her.
-Who? -Beki.
I'll go and collect our belongings.
You'll be fine.
She senses I like you.
You all right, Brother?
Of course.
It's just our parting is unexpected.
I had other hopes.
We were getting to know each other.
You were gonna grow fond of me, and eventually,
add me to your list of bedpartners that the Prophet mentioned.
I was?
I'm not generally a robe chaser.
And then you'd be first on my list of bedpartners.
Brother…
I'm honored, but you're a woman of virtue.
Honestly, I'm not.
Not in that way.
I'm just a woman of small opportunities and particular likes.
It will happen when it happens.
Yeah. Well, for the record, I'd prefer to be, say,
tenth on the list.
I just don't like to be first in general.
You saw that. Dragged me kicking and screaming into that Vault.
I'd like to think that our consummation
would've been a pretty different experience.
Hey, look.
Maybe the doc will bring us all back here afterwards.
I can't help feeling that this is it.
And it's a shame. I don't--
I'm not attracted to many people.
Of course not. Why would you be? I mean, people are terrible.
Maybe you expect too much.
See how you're an optimist even though you don't think so?
Yeah, that's how I know I'm gonna figure out your name.
Calliope.
-No, it's Brucilla-- Drucilla. -No.
You're clear to go, Mallow. It's been mercifully brief.
Good luck at your coordinates.
Yeah. Good luck making peace with Empire.
Myrna?
Fifi?
Desdarrhea?
-Wenus? -Yes.
-Wenus. -No.
No.
You have a generous heart.
With few exceptions, attraction is entirely irrelevant to human history.
It only matters on the small scale of the human heart.