Set in a far future where humanity is spread across the galaxy under the rule of the Galactic Empire, The Foundation Trilogy introduces the theory of “psychohistory”—a method of predicting the future of large populations using a combination of statistics, history, and sociology.

In Foundation, the first in the trilogy, Hari Seldon uses psychohistory to predict the imminent collapse of the Galactic Empire and the onset of a 30,000-year dark age. In an effort to shorten this period to a mere 1,000 years, he oversees the establishment of the Foundation at the edge of the galaxy on the planet Terminus. Over the course of five interrelated stories, the Foundation’s rise to power is followed through a series of strategic manipulations and crises, all the while facing a number of political, economic, and military challenges from neighbouring regions.