Book Name : Foundation
2 - Foundation and Empire
Author
: Asimov, Isaac
No. of Pages
: 288
Summary : (Taken from Wikipedia)
The current Emperor of the Galaxy perceives the Foundation as a growing threat and orders an attack on it, utilising the Empire's still mighty fleet of war vessels. However, eventually convinced, as foretold by psychohistory, that his power would be most vulnerable to that of his own successful general (a possible analogy with that of the Roman empire at various times), the Emperor finally orders withdrawal of his fleet. In spite of its undoubted inferiority in purely military terms the Foundation emerges as the victor and the Empire itself is defeated.
Meanwhile an unknown outsider known as The Mule has begun taking over planets belonging to the Foundation at a rapid pace. It becomes known that the Mule is, in fact, a mutant who retains the ability to psychically alter the emotions of people. Using this power to great advantage, the Mule conquers planets simply by visiting them in force, with his own army, instilling the inhabitants with great fear, then again with great loyalty to himself. When the Foundation comes to realize that The Mule was not foreseen in Seldon's plan, and there is no predicted way of defeating him, Toran and Bayta Darell, accompanied by Ebling Mis—the galaxy's current greatest psychologist—and a street clown named Magnifico (whom they agree to protect, as his life is under threat from the Mule himself) set out to find the Second Foundation, hoping they bring an end to the Mule's reign.
Eventually, working in the still functional Great Library of Trantor, Mis comes to learn of the Second Foundation's whereabouts. However, having worked out that the Mule is also attempting to find the secret of the Second Foundation, Bayta Darell kills Mis before he can reveal where the Second Foundation is. Bayta explains that she regrets her actions, but the secret had to be kept from the Mule at all costs. Magnifico reveals that Bayta's suspicions are correct and that he is the Mule and has been laboring to find the Second Foundation and conquer it along with the original Foundation. He leaves Trantor to rule over his conquered planets while continuing his own search.
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