Foundation

You're up even earlier than usual.

Weird dreams.

Lots of arguments with strangers.

I think it's this place.

Other people's dreams are leaking in.

Makes me glad I'm not a Mentalic.

I'm gonna walk.

You always up before sunrise?

Just wanted to check out the beach.

Your mother's memories are full of water.

How did you do that?

We call it unvoicing.

Don't speak your thoughts, unvoice them.

That's not it. You're just talking loud on the inside.

- I don't get the difference. - It's totally different.

Tellem taught us to use music to help focus us.

This is my pitch.

If I think how that sounds, it unvoices.

You have one too.

Everyone here does.

I have a whistle.

I don't know your pitch, but it's not that.

Yep, well, that figures.

How do you know all this? Did Tellem teach you?

Some of it.

I could always tell what people were thinking.

That's how this happened.

I can show you.

No!

Dad!

People didn't like that I knew what they were thinking.

They blamed my family too.

Tellem saved you.

She saved all of us.

It's so quiet.

There's lots of talking, just unvoiced.

Doing it aloud is kind of rude.

I'm telling them you want to know about them.

I could see and feel everything they experienced.

All that pain and suffering.

And relief.

Now you know why we're forced to hide.

We know things.

Know when the kings are full of shit or the husbands are cheating.

So there's a couple of ways we can go.

We're treated as gods among men or wolves among sheep.

The god thing gets old, trust you me,

and the wolves thing gets you killed.

Mobs form quick.

Call you "Devil," call you "Space Fiend."

And then they bleed you, like Josiah.

I like my plan, wherein we keep to ourselves.

We need your help.

Because of your psychohistory.

It's in her head very clearly.

First Crisis, the Second Crisis. A Foundation to supplant a fallen empire.

Did your plan tell you to seek us out? Did it call us the Second Foundation?

It's a reasonable leap.

And me without my leaping shoes.

This isn't our fight.

I don't care about Empire. I don't care about your Foundations.

We will not be your army.

Then you'll be casualties.

Many years from now, a Mentalic like you rises to power.

He'll be called the Mule.

He will destroy everything that you've built here.

- Gaal has seen it. - Seen it?

The future?

I mean, our kind are capable of many things, but true precognition?

- No. - That's where you're wrong.

The future Gaal's seen is real.

And she can show you.

I'll know a lie if I'm presented with one.

Go on.

I'm all right with it.

I'm not sure I am.

Am I lying?

You felt it. You know it's real.

Does Salvor know?

Yes.

She looks as old as you, but she's your daughter?

Yeah, it's all a bit sticky.

I don't need to know the whole story. Just how you feel.

You want to save her, I know. Because you love her.

We just met.

And you feel like you should love her, and it feels strange that you're not sure.

Fruit of your loins and all.

That is sticky.

I can't accept an inescapable future, and neither should you.

Our actions have to mean something.

I really want to believe that,

but if you don't think what I showed you was the future, then what was it?

Your Hari may say a likely future, but I don't know and neither do you

because it's been filtered through perceptions shaped by him.

Until you're ready to explore what you can do,

you'll never know what that vision really was.

And I won't be able to help you.

I have my children to think about.

It's Salvor's birthday today, by the way.

Welcome to Trantor. We'll be docking with the ring station momentarily.

Can I offer you a hand as you step from the crèche?

Yes, thank you.

I'm Brother Constant. What's your name?

She-Shines-Brightly.

That's beautiful.

I've never met a Spacer before.

We are human.

Yes, I know. I just...

I didn't realize genetic engineering could be done so elegantly.

It is an art we continue to perfect,

though it was begun by Empire full 600 years ago

when our servitude was forged.

Amazing view, isn't it?

Is Trantor really the center of the galaxy?

Not literally.

That distinction belongs to a supermassive black hole.

And honestly, I'm not sure it's even true figuratively.

It's hard to imagine a place like this ever falling.

Circulation ceases first at the outer edges.

It will take a while yet for the decay to reach the heart.

Welcome to Trantor Station, Pride of the Galaxy.

Do you think Empire will be receptive to our mission?

Best to assume we'll be met with resistance.

Welcome to Trantor, Eye of the Empire.

Not in my wildest dreams did I think I'd lay eyes on this sight again.

Sorry. Sounded strange. I...

I imagined this when I was a child.

- Step up to the line. - Next.

Welcome to Trantor. Step forward, please.

Purpose of your trip?

I'm an Envoy from Terminus representing the Outer Reach.

Here to open diplomatic channels.

The Outer Reach? How exotic.

Unfortunately, I believe the Imperium no longer recognizes

a number of those planets.

Yes, the so-called "barbarian worlds."

Precisely the issue we barbarians are here to address, Timandra.

I'm issuing you a provisional visa. You're in the system now.

Report to the Officium Externa tomorrow.

Walk through the scanner.

I didn't realize there were two of you.

We're not married.

Report with him. You're on his visa now.

Thank you, Timandra.

She was terrifying in a really friendly way.

Keep moving, please.

According to this, our hotel is Sunside Station 1.12.

- Respect and enjoy peace. - We're not going to the hotel yet.

Missionary work doesn't provide many perks.

But tonight, we're in the Eye of the Empire

on the Prophet's expense account.

You're awfully relaxed for a man

on a planet full of possibly hostile psychics.

Gaal will handle Tellem. I was just hurting our chances.

My toes are in fine, cool water for the first time in almost two centuries.

Right.

The brand-new toes you don't quite remember getting.

That's why you've joined me.

A little light inquisition?

Well, you were immortal, more or less.

Putting you in a body just made you more vulnerable.

So why did she do it? Whoever she was.

I suspect you're about to tell me.

Well, I'm not sure. No direct benefit that I can see.

I assumed it was in service of my gospel.

A messianic story requires death and resurrection.

You had a resurrection. That's what the Vault is.

All right. Well, your wager is to the right answer.

The opposite.

Maybe someone was worried

you'd reduce everyone to numbers if you weren't careful.

Maybe someone wanted you to have some skin in the game.

You don't like me, do you?

- I didn't say that. - You think I'm a bad influence on Gaal.

I just don't want her to forget

that there are people on all those planets she's saving.

Gaal did something cruel to me.

She didn't know you'd be awake.

She'd seen it happen before.

While I uploaded onto the Raven.

So if she didn't know, it's only because she didn't think it through.

Gaal blames me for what happened to Raych, to them.

But I didn't know about their relationship until that night.

So if you're not to blame, then who is?

There's no simple answer to that one, Salvor.

Sometimes being angry is easier than facing the truth.

The truth being that Raych knew everything, didn't he?

He knew they were doomed.

He kept it to himself. He still chose to be with her.

The heart wants what the heart wants.

We've all been guilty of magical thinking at one time or other.

You're worried Gaal will turn into me, lose herself in the Plan.

She won't.

Not as long as she has you by her side.

She cares too much what you think of her.

The Beggar's Lament.

Very fine.

This came off. Can't be a barnacle, can it?

Yes, probably.

Do you wanna come in?