#but also if youve read this book and don't understand why im so confused pls understand that im almost always confused

[throes-of-warm-tornadoes]

foundation and empire by isaac asimov: a ramble

i renewed my library card! in other words, here is a semi-serious review/summary/commentary on the first book i read. i even used capitalization for some seriousness factor

This ramble will start with the first book I read: foundation and empire by Isaac Asimov. He’s actually quite an interesting man. He was born in 1920, but his mom lied and said that he was born a year before so that she could enroll him in the first grade. He taught himself to read when he was five and encouraged his sister to do the same, which explained the girl power vibes present in this novel.

If you are familiar with my other ramblings, I doubt it comes as a surpise that my favorite character is Bayta. I found her confidence and sass so refreshing. I could barely even tell she was written by a man. I’ll explain the lore so we can appreciate her character further.

Well—okay. Full transparency: I didn’t fully understand what was going on in the book 100% of the time, so I’ll just be giving a rundown of the bare necessities. In true sci-fi novel fashion, we follow a variety of characters as they traverse the Galaxy in their spaceships. Among these characters is General Bel Riose. 

General Bel Riose is fucking annoying. The prolouge sets up this big giant larger-than-life prophecy about the Galaxy falling. Like, there was this whole thing about a guy named Hari Seldon predicting the fall of the Empire as everyone knows it. But don’t worry! It eventually makes a comeback and is back better than ever—after thousands and thousands of years. But don’t worry (again!) Hari Seldon and his gang of fellow professors/scientists figure out a way to reduce the gap between barbarism and civilization to a mere thousand years. (Or something.)

Then we get to the first chapter, and Bel Riose immediately ruins the vibe. Are you familiar with William Penn? Legend has it that he was sent to America for being a royal pain in the ass, eventually getting the entire state of Pennsylvania named after him. Bel Riose reminds me of him. In fact, maybe they are distant relatives. Right from the get-go, Bel Riose tells us about how he doesn’t even have a purpose. He’s just interrogating a guy from a rebel planet because he literally has nothing else to do. He’s good at fighting, but there’s nothing left to fight. So his leader sent him away, and now an elderly man named Ducem Barr has to face to consequences.

Long story short, Bel Riose and Ducem Barr collaborate to find the Second Foundation. You see, there are two Foundations, and they’re very powerful. To take over both means to be an unstoppable force of nature. They find some other guy named Lathan Devers, who is a Trader (aka a traitor… the homophones work very well), and Bel Riose captures him for information. 

This is where things start heating up. This is my first time ever reading a Big Girl Sci-Fi Book, so I was resigned to slugging through a ton of details about the innerworkings of the military industrial complex, but I’m happy to report that Lathan Devers took it upon himself to save the plot. Simply put, he knocks Bel Riose the fuck out. Then he escapes with Ducem Barr. We follow them on their adventure as they try to avoid capture, and this is where we learn about something interesting:

The Mule.

So, for context, a mule is a horse-donkey hybrid. A freak of fucking nature. The Mule in this story is no different.

And, finally, this is where we finally meet Bayta and Toran (aka her man). Before I explain their purpose in the story, I just want to geek out over Bayta. She’s sassy right from the get-go, which I appreciate. And I appreciate that she’s not scorned for being sassy and confident and intelligent even more. And I love love love that Toran isn’t ridiculed as a weak man/husband for “letting” her tease him and participate in political affairs. They’re equals. She teases him and they call each other names and they engage in silly wrestling matches. They’re cute. 

What I love most about this book—and other forms of sci-fi content—is that you still get a glimpse of the current social/economic/political climate that the author is writing in. Like, we’re millennia and millennia into the future and yet there's still a character that questions why Bayta is hanging out with her rag-tag gang of (male) space buddies, because people in the 1950s were probably reading this book and wondering the same thing. Why does Toran let his wife talk to him like that? Why does he cook her dinner? Why isn’t he more assertive?

Because this is the fucking future, idiots. Women can be blunt. Women can attend political debates. Women can save the literal goddamn Galaxy.

And she does! It was so cool seeing how Bayta was so consistently crafty and intelligent while still being incredibly sweet and empathetic to those around her. 

Enough geeking out about Bayta. We have a plot to get through.

Anyway, with Bel Riose (finally) dead, we’re introduced to Bayta and Toran and a scientist named Mis. Mis is a psychologist that specializes in Hari Seldon’s work. (Reminder: Hari Seldon predicted the fall of the Galaxy.) Enough time has elasped (like, 100 years) that The Mule has effortlessly taken over entire planets. The leaders from those planets are his most trusted advisors. His enemies are his biggest supporters. How did this happen?

That’s what Bayta and Toran are trying to figure out. Along the way, they meet a clown on some strange planet as they try to gather intel about The Mule. He was being harrassed by some police officer, so Bayta and Toran step in and save him and basically take him under their wing. Toran didn’t like him—he was like the son he really wasn’t that enthusastic about having—but Bayta has a major sweet spot for him. His name is Magnifico, and he was The Mule’s court jester. Magnifico lives in a constant state of panic and anxiety because apparently The Mule liked to torture him for fun.

So there we have it: our sci-fi gang of certified ass kickers. Their objective is to find the Second Foundation, because the First Foundation has already been infiltrated by The Mule. (Reminder: to have both Foundations is to have all the power.) With nothing but a spaceship and their own wits, they manage to escape imminnent danger and hostage crisises by the skin of their teeth.

This is where we get into spoiler territory (as in I am going to spoil the series. If anyone is still reading this—which I doubt—and wants to read the series, stop right here. I’m about to reveal the shock of the century.)

So, Mis is trying to figure out where the fuck the Second Foundation is when we get some more lore about The Mule. He’s more than a hybrid—he’s a Mutant. His powers? Well, he’s basically like the most extreme version of an empath. He can manipulate people’s emotions, which explains how he managed to take over entire planets so easily and why he has so many people that are on his side. And—wait a minute. Magnifico is so fucking afraid of everything, to the point where everyone has such visceral reactions to his mere presence, and everyone believes just about anything that comes out of his terrified little mouth—

Strange, right?

Well, if you’re like me and have no media literacy,  not really. To be honest, I felt super bad for Magnifico and was very upset whenever people were just slightly mean to him. And so did Bayta. She’s the reason why he’s even alive enough to tag along with them on their adventure (or so it seems…), so they end up on a planet where Mis has the resources to study Hari Seldon’s findings in more depth. Magnifico is the main person that hangs out with him, and Bayta notices something:

Mis’ life force is draining. Rapidly. Sure, he’s studying his brains out, but he’s literally deteriorating. He finally figures out where the Second Foundation is, but right before he can reveal that information, Bayta promptly shoots him with her gun.

Basically, I’m kinda over explaining this book. It was fun in the beginning, but I’m getting very self conscious over how long this is, so I’ll just cut to the chase. Basically, Magnifico is a very pitiable character. Everyone in the book agrees with this. But so many people pity him to the point of trusting him. Like, who cares if he’s in the room while we discuss top-secret information? He’s just a little freak. Who cares if he’s good at playing an instrument perfectly fit for mass destruction? Not like he’s capable of using it for anything homicidal.

Well, they’re right about one thing: he is a freak. But he’s not harmless.

Basically (again), Bayta comes to the conclusion that Magnifico is The Mule because they’re both very good at emotionally manipulating people. Understandably, I couldn’t get into every single event in the book—mostly because I barely understood it when I read it—so you’re just gonna have to trust me on that one. 

Anyway, I personally really loved the ending. I couldn’t tell if Bayta genuinely liked him or was just pretending to be kind, so to have it confirmed by The Mule himself that she was the first person that was actually sweet to him was honestly so heartwarming. It’s a pity he’s a war criminal. 

Oh! Also, back to the mule (hybrid of a horse and donkey) conversation. At the end, The Mule basically implies he’s infertile (just like a mule) (hybrid of a horse and a donkey) because Bayta got grossed out that he was gonna force her to be his bride and he was like “nah. First of all, I don’t like you like that. Second of all, I am not capable of performing husbandly duties. Why else do you think I'm called the fucking Mule?” and for the first time since starting this book I felt smart as fuck. And it only took me 282 pages to get there. (The book has 282 pages.)

Anyway, to end this longpost off, here are my two favorite quotes from the book:

1). “It’s a dead hand against a living will.” I just know Isaac Asimov had to take a walk after writing that line that was COLD

2) (Bayta is talking) “All right, silly. Now let your lower lip droop and give me that dying-duck look—the one just before you’re supposed to bury your head on my shoulder, while I stroke your hair full of static electricity. You were fishing for some drivel, weren’t you?’” In other words so glad that the “dudes making the dead fish face to signal that they want affection” is apparently a timeless gesture