The book Foundation is an interesting collection of short stories by Isaac Asimov. The novel is segregated into five separate parts, part I being "the Psychoistorians," part II "The Encyclopedists," part III "the Mayors," part IV "The Traders," and part V "The Merchant Princes". These stories tell of our galaxy at an indefinite (but definitely very distant) point in the future. The first story tells of a young mathematician named Gaal who moves to the capital of the Galactic Empire, Trantor. Here he begins work for a slightly eccentric psychohystorian named Hari Seldon. Psychohistory is the mathematical study of social interactions which can, in essence, be used to predict the future. Hari is an expert in this field, and had come upon an alarming discovery. He discovers that Trantor will become vulnerable and will be destroyed in about 500 years, and after this the Galaxy will become less sophisticated, and will relapse into a Dark Age. He then goes to the Imperial Commission and states his discovery. Naturally, they are not happy about this, but Hari convinces them that Trantor can be saved if an Encyclopedia Galactica is written. He is given the out-of-the-way planet Terminus to send his researchers for the Encyclopedia, and he days a year or so afterward. The next part picks up fifty years later as the first publication of the Encyclopedia is about to be issued. Unfortunately two of their neighboring star systems are gaining influence, which could be dangerous. The kingdom of Anacreon and the kingdom of Smyrno both are gaining power and cutting off Terminus from the inner Galaxy. The leaders of the Encyclopedia project disagree with a man named Hardin who believes the Encyclopedia is a waste of time. After a number of political maneuvers with the neighboring systems and on Terminus itself, the leaders of the Encyclopedia project and Hardin go to a vault which Hari Seldon set up be...