Foundation Episode 6: The First Seldon Crisis Explained

The first Seldon Crisis is taking place in Foundation episode 6 — and here’s how it is playing out. The Galactic Empire was rocked when mathematician Hari Seldon mastered the science of psychohistory, which allowed him to model the future of galactic civilization. Though the Empire was supposed to last forever, Seldon predicted its imminent collapse and warned of impending Dark Ages that could last up to 30,000 years. Seldon’s pronouncements coincided with a terrorist attack on the Imperial capital of Trantor, and for the first time, the Emperor knew doubt. He banished Seldon and his followers to the harsh and inhospitable planet Terminus, unaware that he was largely acting as Seldon had predicted.

Hari Seldon expected the Empire to collapse as a result of several “Seldon Crises,” key moments that would decide the future of the galaxy. Although his Foundation believed they would simply be observers, saving the accumulated knowledge of the Empire in order to lessen the Dark Ages when they happened, it’s becoming clear the colonists are an integral part of the first Seldon Crisis. Now the Vault, a mysterious artifact they found on Terminus, is stirring, and the Anacreons have come in force — disrupting communications across the rim, and even shooting down an Imperial ship that came to investigate.

The shape of the first Seldon Crisis finally becomes clear in Foundation episode 6, with Salvor Hardin, in particular, standing at the center of it. But it is possible the Empire is even more vulnerable than Hari Seldon realized; while psychohistory can be used to plot the great moves of human society, it is useless when it comes to predicting the actions of individuals. Here’s how the first Seldon Crisis is playing out.

Salvor Hardin’s Visions of Hari Seldon Explained

When the colonists first arrived on Terminus, they were surprised to find a mysterious artifact there — one they came to call the Vault, an object that could not be detected by scanners and that generated a dangerous null field that prevents any living creature from getting too close to it. Salvor Hardin is the one person who can resist the null field, which has recently begun to expand, and she is experiencing strange visions that she is coming to realize are connected to Hari Seldon himself. The latest vision was a particularly surprising one because Salvor saw the moment of Hari Seldon’s murder.

In Isaac Asimov’s Foundation books and short stories, the Vault is a repository of knowledge left behind by Hari Seldon to guide the Foundation through the crises. The same seems to be true in David Goyer’s Foundation series as well, but it’s been changed a lot. Rather than contain holographic messages from Seldon, it appears to contain recordings of his mind, and his memories are being transmitted to Salvor Hardin — presumably to give her guidance. Salvor is the only person on Terminus to have joined the dots, realizing Seldon didn’t send the colonists to this planet simply in order to be watchers, but rather to be participants — active somehow in the first Seldon Crisis.

The First Seldon Crisis Is Happening

The first Seldon Crisis is taking place, with the galaxy in an unstable place. The Emperor, the current Brother Day, has correctly recognized that Hari Seldon’s prophecies basically gave his predecessor a checklist to prevent the Empire’s collapse — and he failed to follow Seldon’s guidance. Trantor remains unstable after the destruction of the space bridge decades ago, and there have actually been riots and uprisings for the first time in the history of the Empire. Brother Day spots the next warning sign, of the potential rise of a new religious leader named Zephyr Halima, and he commits himself to preventing her ascension. Zephyr Halima holds to a doctrine of the soul that casts the Cleon genetic dynasty in a harsh light, considering them opposed to change and evolution. She is smart and wily, just as manipulative as Brother Day himself, and in Foundation episode 6 she succeeds in her ambition to become the most important religious leader in the galaxy. To the Emperor’s surprise, one of those most affected by Zephyr Halima’s discourse is his own aide, the robot Eto Demerzel.

The Anacreons’ Plan Explained

Meanwhile, out on the galactic rim, the Anacreons are preparing to launch attacks on the Empire in an act of revenge for the damage done to their homeworld decades ago. They have discovered an ancient Imperial warship that had been lost centuries ago, and they plan to get it working once again so they can become devastating marauders — striking on worlds without warning, then jumping to hyperspace before defenders have gotten in-system. They need specific knowledge and skills to get the ship operative, and they have recognized the Foundation as a potential source of skilled workers and engineers. It hardly seems coincidental Hari Seldon ensured the Foundation contained just the kind of knowledge needed to ensure the Anacreons could get their revenge; it is likely he planned for the Foundation’s people to repair the warship and unleash the Anacreons across the galaxy. It remains to be seen whether Salvor Hardin will acquiesce to this, however.

Emperor Cleon’s Cloning Isn’t As Perfect As He Believed

But the first Seldon Crisis may be worse than anything Hari Seldon predicted because the Cleon genetic dynasty faces another challenge. The Emperor’s reign continues through the use of cloning, with each successive Emperor believing he is the continuation of the one Emperor’s reign. As Lee Pace reflected in one interview, this requires a balance between the themes of continuity and individuality within each Cleon:

“On one side of their mind, they believe they’re the same person. They actually believe this, and they believe that person is the Emperor of the galaxy… And on the other side of that mind, are a series of individuals who, whether they like it or not, are individuals. They do have sentience, they are distinguished from one another, and they’re looking at their brothers, and saying, ‘I’m better than you,’ or, ‘I will be better than you, I will be a more honest Emperor than you, I will be a stronger Emperor than you, I will rule in a way that’s better than you.‘”

But the balance is skewing towards individuality over continuity now, with the current Brother Day looking upon his predecessor with contempt for his failure to heed Hari Seldon’s warnings.

Worse still, the cloning itself seems to have gone wrong. The current Brother Dawn, next in line for the throne, is the first Cleon to be born color-blind. This is his greatest secret, one kept from his brothers, one that has shaken the balance of continuity and individuality in his own heart. Brother Dawn attempted to commit suicide in Foundation episode 4, but the experience led to his encountering a gardener named Azura who he is now falling in love with. Brother Dawn’s individuality strikes at the heart of the Empire’s belief in its own permanence, and that may make Foundation‘s first Seldon Crisis even more catastrophic.

About The Author

Thomas Bacon
(4899 Articles Published)

Tom Bacon is one of Screen Rant’s staff writers, as well as a Peer Mentor for new writers and a member of the Care Team, offering support and a listening ear to members of the Comics group. A lifelong fan of major franchises including Star Wars, Doctor Who, and Marvel, Tom is delighted his childhood is back – and this time it’s cool. You can find him on Twitter @TomABacon.

A graduate of Edge Hill University, Tom remains strongly connected with his alma mater as a volunteer chaplain. He’s heavily involved with his local church, and anyone who checks him out on Twitter will swiftly learn he’s into British politics too.

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