Foundation

When I was a child, I told my mother

I wanted to learn every planet in the Galactic Empire…

Beginning in the center and moving out to Star's End.

Each night, she told me stories.

I traveled light-years…

My mind expanding to hold more and more worlds.

But I never reached Terminus.

Straddling the farthest reaches of civilization, unsettled by man…

It was the end.

And its story remained dark to me until many years later.

Until it became my story.

Until it became…

The only story.

- Boo! -

- Don't do that. - Sorry.

- Where are the others? - Uh, we're meeting them at the fence.

We're a bit late.

Come on, guys.

- Gia! - It's so rocky.

- Shit. - Shh.

A bishop's claw.

- Up-valley. - We need to be real quiet.

The null field starts all the way up there. Near that rock.

They called it "the Vault."

All the colonists knew for certain

was that it projected a field designed to keep people away.

No one could breach it.

Right, you gonna go first?

I thought you were first?

You go first and put your marker past the rock,

- I'll let you touch my tit. - Gia.

For one minute.

- Ten seconds. -

Or you can look at 'em both for 30.

Swear on your moon.

Four-sworn.

- You get nothing if you win. - Get to watch him piss his pants.

He isn't gonna make it.

Come on, Keir.

Keir.

- - Are you okay?

- Your brother is an assclaw. - Gia, stop laughing at him.

- - He's pathetic.

I was almost there. I was close.

Poly, where you going?

- Shit. Poly! - Poly, come back!

- We don't have a deal. - I know.

I wanna see the ghost.

Okay.

Shit.

- Poly? - He's not moving.

Poly?

- We gotta get help. - What you standing there for then?

They're all gone. Eat.

I saw the ghost.

You saw me.

Eat.

You should've turned back, like your boy Keir.

People who've tried to get closer have been hurt. Really.

You weren't.

You got the record and you're okay.

Am I?

Your mark is so far, no one's ever seen it.

That's because it doesn't exist. And neither does the ghost.

When do you think it's going to tell us what it is, Warden?

Call me Salvor.

And you assume it cares anything about us?

It doesn't.

It's not just people it keeps away. It's everything. It's birds, insects.

No one's ever gotten through the null field, and no one ever will.

It's warning us to stay away. So stop tempting fate.

Go. Be careful.

- There's a bishop's claw... - Up-valley. I know.

Salvor Hardin. Hober Mallow. The Mule.

I would learn these names one day.

The heroes and villains fighting for the salvation of mankind.

But to understand our future,

we have to remember the past and the ones who caused it all.

A mathematician.

A martyr.

A murderer.

And the most important player of all, Hari Seldon.

She'll be on her way soon.

It will all work out, Raych.

Everything is dying.

That doesn't mean it won't all work out.

Do you ever wish there was another way?

Every day, son.

But this is the optimal time.

86,960,947.

86,960,957.

86,960,971.

- 86,960,987... - It's time.

- - Gaal? Are you ready?

Yes.

All my life, I looked out and dreamed of being somewhere else.

Now I realize how much I'll miss this view.

I have to remember it perfectly.

No, you don't.

We can petition the Seer priests.

It's not too late for you to stop this. It's not too late for you to stay.

No.

There's no place for me here anymore, Mom.

I'll die if I stay here.

But on Trantor, I'll be safe.

Accepted.

Hold your head high.

That's her.

They all hate me. You don't hate me, do you?

Never, Gaal. I'll always love you.

My greatest joy.

Come with me.

We'd be lost out there.

Go.

I love you.

Go, child.

Beginning transfer sequence.

Please move to jumppods and secure for travel.

Did you say... say something?

No. But I was going to ask if this was your first time on an imperial jumps hip.

Uh, yes. It is. Uh, I'm a bit nervous.

- Just place your hand on the screen. -

- And it will scan your metrics. - Thank you.

- Jerril. - Gaal.

Synnax?

Picked up just a hint of it in your accent.

You don't hear it much at the Core,

but I travel near the rim worlds sometimes.

Whoever took the prayer stones out did a great job.

You wouldn't see the scars if you didn't know to look.

Sorry if I overstepped.

It doesn't screw me up,

but some people come out of the jump feeling a little hungover.

I don't drink.

My parents dove an algae farm, and we woke up pretty early.

You're gonna sleep through this. They make sure of it.

They can't have the grav on during the jump. I don't know why.

Well, the grav generators output a waveform

that corrupts the jumpdrive's ability

to plot fourth-dimensional points at transdimensional speeds.

Why are you going to Trantor?

I'm going to work with Hari Seldon.

I won a math contest.

Wow. Hari Seldon. And you from Synnax.

- It was a pretty big contest. -

Commencing jump in three, two, one.

How are you awake?

It's a pity we have to sleep through the jump.

It's supposed to be quite the light show.

But if you're not a Spacer,

you can find your body and mind taking different trips.

I slept through the whole thing.

…and prepare to disembark.

Oh, wow.

If the Empire is good for anything, they can damn well build.

This is incredible.

Welcome to Trantor, the eye of the Empire.

Please respect and enjoy the peace.

Are those soldiers?

Probably didn't make the news on your world,

some sort of kerfuffle at the galaxy's edge,

Anacreon and Thespis.

Imperial appraisers got caught in the cross fire, so now it's a big deal.

Sponsor and contact?

Dr. Hari Seldon. Streeling University.

Expected return to home planet?

Uh, I'm not going back. This is my home now.

Any car on the stalk. Please respect and enjoy the peace.

Thank you.

Now that I know you a little better,

I won't waste my breath explaining everything.

This part is great though.

Please make your way to any available car.

This car will commence its descent down the stalk momentarily.

I'm gonna stay awake the whole ride.

Me too.

- -

It takes 14 hours to drop from Trantor Station to the planet's surface.

Although, technically, it's not the surface.

Billions of citizens spend their lives beneath Trantor's outer shell,

toiling away on a hundred subterranean levels

without ever seeing the sun or the stars.

Whatever remained of the natural world belonged to the Emperors.

Dawn.

Day.

Dusk.

The Genetic Dynasty.

Clones of Cleon I, decanted at different ages.

Master Orlio.

Empire.

How long have you worked for us?

Sixty-eight privileged years, Empire.

Started cleaning the Mural when I was 12.