The Sword and Laser discussion
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Foundation
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FOUND: Was anyone else disturbed by the paternalistic turn this story took?
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Rachel wrote: "This is my first Asimov read, so I had no preconceptions coming in. I thought, now I finally get to read this Asimov I've always heard of!And at first I was really interested and excited by the s..."
If you read all the books you would get an answer. But if you want to know the answer i can give it to you.
(view spoiler)
Let me, us know. Also I agree with you. Hari is just too full of himself.
Oh please do tell. I'm completely interested now. Is Hari Seldon's background revealed? Is the Vault ever hacked and taken control of?
Rachel wrote: "Oh please do tell. I'm completely interested now. Is Hari Seldon's background revealed? Is the Vault ever hacked and taken control of?"click view spoiler here:
(view spoiler)
anymore questions let me know.
Wow I really wished this was hinted at more in the first book. I would never ever have guessed that that was the coming trajectory of the book. It makes me wonder why Asimov left so much out of the first book. So many threads he could have laid for us to follow. So many mysteries he could have left unsolved for us to wonder over and pursue in the following books. I'm totally shocked.
Rachel wrote: "Wow I really wished this was hinted at more in the first book. I would never ever have guessed that that was the coming trajectory of the book. It makes me wonder why Asimov left so much out of the..."the 2nd and 3rd one are great. just try them.
Rachel wrote: "Wow I really wished this was hinted at more in the first book."Couldn't've been since Asimov never had a plan for the series. He gave up writing it after the third book, but people kept begging him to do more. When he finally did, he just made up a load of BS about space hippies becoming one with their planet and turning into a hive mind which is totally okay and not at all Borg-like, oh and there's a paternalistic robot who's secretly been manipulating humanity for tens of thousands of years even though the Robot stories are incompatible with the Foundation universe.
And at first I was really interested and excited by the story. Psychohistory was fascinating and the Encyclopedia a really interesting solution and way of life. And then the Vault opened and it got really, really creepy. Suddenly Seldon reveals he has duped everyone already and oh yeah, they must continue to blindly follow him! And he left them with no recourse to fight against this, ie no psychologists and a shitty planet.
I was floored. The whole book is about manipulation. Manipulation started by Seldon and then carried on with science, religion, politics and economics. Was anyone else disturbed by this? All I kept thinking is is this fair to these people, how arrogant of Seldon, and I really, really hope Seldon is right now that he has forced humanity to follow his plan. That kind of certainty about one's "rightness" smacks of the kind of thing that always leads us to ruin. Hubris the Greeks would call it. For the people of this book's sake, I really hope Seldon is as infallible as he thinks he is.