Category: Psychohistory

Stars End S4E04

“Even He Said That Kind of Podcast Can Drive Someone Mad” in which we discuss Foundation, S2E03 “King and Commoner”

It’s an episode for old friends!

Remember Bel Riose from Foundation and Empire? We finally get to meet him in the AppleTV+ universe and he’s refreshingly like his counterpart from the source material, steadfast and impressive.

We also meet Hober Mallow who maybe has a sprinkling of his namesake from the book but appears to be a mashup of several other characters including a big dollop of ⁠the Outrageous Okona⁠ from Star Trek: The Next Generation. The good news is that he’s hilarious!

Also, Gaal is mystified by what’s going on with Hari’s “old friend” Kalle.

As our special guest, we welcome back Rick Tetrault of ⁠That Star Trek Podcast⁠ and the ⁠Infinite Potato Network! Rick has been a friend of Stars End since before our very first episode!

And speaking of old friends, what the hell just happened to Hari?

You don’t want to miss this one! Let’s go!

Watching Foundation: “Mysteries and Martyrs”

Spoiler Alert: go watch Foundation S1E07 if you haven’t already. We have about two more days here to be ready for season 2!

Joseph’s random thoughts about Episode 7, simultaneously published at ComicsTheUniverseAndEverything.net. Let’s go!

Watching Foundation S1E07 Mysteries and Martyrs

The Anacreonians and their hostages approach the Invictus. Phara is harsh and unforgiving. And sick? Or just beat up?

Great. “The most powerful weapons platform the Empire had ever built.” “A world-killer.” So the Invictus is the Doomsday Machine. Where’s Commodore Decker when you need him?

We get an explanation for why they needed Lord Dorwin. Good thing he didn’t die in that spectacular explosion!

Suiting up. And Lord Dorwin has a plan to send a message.

Floaty through space action. Hugo does a Frank Poole imitation. Unlike Frank, I think he’ll be back. But we get some cheap, momentary angst.

They’re going to jump to the Invictus because the outer defense systems can’t recognize anything as small as a human. That’s a plot-driven weakness. “If you miss the outer ring you’ll be lost.”

Above the Maiden. C13 sees Demerzel’s kneeling as betrayal even as she’s trying to cop a lame excuse. “Motherless atrocity that I am.”

C13 points out the obvious contradiction; Demerzel’s faith in Luminism contradicts her very nature.

He also thinks that Demerzel’s actions contradict her programming, which is supposed to be Loyalty to the Cleonic Dynasty.

Demerzel claims that she can’t act contrary to her programming. It’s odd that’s even a point of discussion but it’s also very Asimovian.

Halima is now the front-runner. C13 wants to know “what she actually wants from me.”

On the Surface, C13 and Demerzel approach a tent.

The Luminists are idiots. Sacrificing themselves on a ritual: “Walking the Spiral.” Demerzel claims she did this many years ago.

Negotiations begin. C13 thinks he can still barter his way out of the problem. That already didn’t work once. He’s not even negotiating in the right universe.

Halima wants the end of the Genetic Dynasty. Halima is playing a true believer here. I don’t think that’s sincere. “I don’t claim to see the future.” She turns nasty. “You are the reverberations of a dead man’s ego.“ and “The soulless creature cannot recognize itself.“

She’s haughty when she references Seldon’s “similar observation.” Then calculating and dismissive. Truth to power sure but also obnoxious and self-satisfied. She thinks she has the upper hand. For the moment, she’s right!

Back at the Invictus. Hugo ostentatiously floats away. There’s an obvious way he can get back, but I think the show wants us to believe he’s gone so he can save the day.

Salvor notices (senses?) something. a gun starts shooting. It looks like the gun is firing globs of molten metal. I don’t think that’s what the show intended, but either way, I’m thinking about the special effects and not the story. That’s a bad sign.

And Dorwin throws away his leverage by opening the door. Phara then executes him on the spot. Disconcertingly ruthless and brutal. “He served his purpose.”

Isn’t that dumb? Why wouldn’t the controls have similar safeguards to the door?

“The atmosphere is frozen.” Then what’s suspending the particles all making the light beams visible? They “restore atmosphere” and people take their helmets right off. If the atmosphere is frozen it must be near absolute zero.

The Invictus is randomly jumping. Salvor sounds smart when she puts the story together, but it doesn’t make a lot of sense.

The “much longer deaths” line is pretty good.

Above the Maiden again. Demerzel thinks Halima is reckless and threatening. C13 reminds us of Seldon’s prediction and refuses to play defense.

I don’t think “I will appeal to your gods” is an argument that will get you there. But Joanne points out Trump.

“I will walk the great spiral and let the Maiden, the Mother, and the Crone decide what’s true.”

We get more with C14 and Azura. Sexy time.

She gives him corrective contacts as a gift. Says he can’t wear them because they will attract attention. Like schtuping the gardener isn’t going to attract attention.

He shows her another copy of himself who will take his place if there’s ever an accident. If they know he’s different the other Cs will kill and replace him.

But the interesting thing here is the subtext that Azura is connected to some sort of underground.

You can lose yourself in the scar. “Come with me.”

But it’s a real relationship. C14 and Azura are open enough with each other that it’s dangerous. (Spoiler, I’m wrong here.)

“We are Trantor. Nothing outside the palace walls is relevant.”

On the Raven. That isn’t a hologram, it’s a “Quantum consciousness protocol.” So Hologram Hari is AI Hari.

But if Hari was recorded and placed in the knife, what’s the deal with the Walt Disney coffin?

Hari says “FIRST” Foundation. Gaal was supposed to lead the First Foundation.

The Invictus. Salvor wants to fight. Akiva doesn’t. “I’m the only expert…” is an odd way of praising that thought.

There’s a fight. Akiva is pretty competent at fighting for someone who’s “not a fighter.”

Salvor gets to live because they might need her. Like nanobots guy didn’t have the same potential.

39:57. Strong intense speech from Phara.

Not a bad plan, but it begs the question. Is there a succession plan? All the Cs live in the same place. All the spare Cs are in the same place. The genetic source of the Cs is at the same place. Demerzel who is the only person who might be able to hold things together is in the same place. We never see anyone with any kind of agency except for one ambassador. Chop off the head!

With Hari gone, the Raven is shutting down. But Hari comes back just in time to save Gaal. There’s a lot of convenient timing on this show.

“The Foundation needs more than a man to inspire it. It needs a myth that can endure for centuries.”

“It worked” because the mortality projections were somewhat inaccurate. What was sigma? It’s a ridiculous claim. And reminds me of reactions to Nate Silver and the 2016 election. He wasn’t “wrong.”

Teevee Hari is egregiously arrogant. And he had Lethe Syndrome, which is essentially Space Alzheimer’s. The cognitive decline would have prevented him from becoming the mythic figure the Foundation needed.

Hari was “engineering the narrative.” When he had Raych kill him, he couldn’t foresee Gaal coming to his cabin. That’s a rational limitation of psychohistory.

Hari wants to move toward the debris field. Gaal thinks that’s insane. And it is.

Gaal: “I think I can feel the future.”

That is one tough piece of plexiglass.

From Wikipedia:

In Greek mythology, Lethe (/ˈliːθiː/; Ancient Greek: Λήθη Lḗthē; Ancient Greek: [lɛ́:tʰɛː], Modern Greek: [ˈliθi]), also referred to as Lemosyne, was one of the five rivers of the underworld of Hades. Also known as the Ameles potamos (river of unmindfulness), the Lethe flowed around the cave of Hypnos and through the Underworld where all those who drank from it experienced complete forgetfulness. Lethe was also the name of the Greek spirit of forgetfulness and oblivion, with whom the river was often identified.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

All Images from Foundation on Apple TV+.

Watching Foundation: “Death and the Maiden”

Finishing up the Season 1 rewatch. Look for episode 7 in about 12 hours.

Watching Foundation – S1E06

Spoiler Alert! Joseph’s random thoughts about Season 1 Episode 6, Simultaneously published at ComicsTheUniverseAndEverything.net.

Spacers. Weird. They look like Gollum.

“I barely consider them human,” says 13.

“The human mind can’t tolerate the discontinuity” of space folding.

Maiden, mother, and crone. There’s an interesting parallel between the Cleons and the Goddesses of Lumenism. The central themes of Luminism: are cycles, Ouroboros, and nature seeking completion.

The Luminists believe that the goddesses were once a single entity. That’s very Catholic. As is the fact that they are a trinity.

Demerzel is a Luminist, which seems odd. She bypasses the “How is it that you believe” by answering why. How is the more interesting question.

“The search for meaning is not always about the answer.”

“At every point in our lives, we have the power to choose our own path.” A Three-Laws robot does not always have the power to choose.

The goddesses guide us towards service and truth “as though towards the center of a great spiral.”

So spiritual geometry. Luminists are circles and Cleons are lines.

Zephyr Halima gained fame by spearheading the recovery after an earthquake. She has been a Zephyr for less than a year.

13 is expecting clamoring masses. Halima meets him alone. And highlights what 13’s trip means about the importance of Luminism to the empire. She’s a skilled politician.

By offering 13 a drink, she gets him to symbolically reject the faith and the opportunity to surpass his impure intentions even if Demerzel is the one to voice it.

“I’m afraid whatever impurities I may harbor will have to remain hidden.” The rejection said out loud.

“Something tells me that’s how you prefer it.” And Halima spikes the ball.

“Triple blessings to you all.” The Catholicism references are pretty loud too. Of course, they are.

“I don’t think anyone with pure intentions would wheedle their way onto my welcoming committee.” So he gets it but he should have seen it coming.

Back to Terminus.

“Empire ships are as good at preserving their peoples’ lives as they are at taking others’.”

Lord Dorwin is still alive. Where’s everybody else? Dead.

The Anacreonians straight-up murdering people is gut-wrenching. They’re suddenly a lot less nuanced.

Talk of the Invictus and redemption from Phara. That eye is disconcerting.

Phara’s trying to crew a ship. The librarian is also skilled in Astronautics.

The jump ship was shot down to capture Dorwin.

More straight-up super villainy from Phara as she shoots Jacenta’s husband in the leg.

14 is wooing the gardener again. “A foolish attempt to control the uncontrollable.”

12 and 14 hunt for “Ghillie raptors” with powerful camouflage.

“I’d rather mold it myself.”

Invictus is a legendary powerful warship. Phara’s found it.

“Thank Seldon.”

Salvor has a plan. “This is the first Seldon crisis.” She’s convinced herself that she’s part of the plan. “Hari put me here to stop the Anacreons, and he’s helping me figure out how.”

Back to the Maiden. 13 is bitchy about being greeted by “a heretic.” He throws his weight behind Zephyr Gilat which is probably counterproductive.

Desalination plants might have worked in a popular election but the enclave is a tight group of politicians. They might see through it and water for the people Might not bolster their self-interests.

He smiles at Halima like “I got you.”

Terminus. Abbas talks about Trantor. “Miracles everywhere.” Built on a mountain of lies. Why did he join the Foundation? He believed in a girl called Mari Hardin. “I got you out of it didn’t I?” Dodging the question.

Trantor: 14 doesn’t want 12 to know how many raptors he killed. 12 takes 14 to a brothel where the girls’ memories are wiped.

Didn’t get the obvious? They have to force the resemblance between this girl and the gardener. Of course, 12 gets a report from her after her time with 14.

Salvor gets another vision. This time she’s in the body of Gaal.

Hari to Raych. “It has to become impossible for you to remain onboard.” Hari can’t fix things. He’s a lot less certain than the Hari in the book.

“This whole thing collapses because you stay with her.” Sacrifices waisted. “An entire galaxy pivoting around the actions of an individual.” The cryopod was programmed for Raych.

Abbas martyrs himself to destroy the “Corvettes.” Salvor melts down. “Daddy!”

So many ways that 14 is different. He’s reaching out to people outside the family. He’s showing concern for other people and a willingness to put himself at risk. 14 is colorblind. But “Cleons are exact copies.”

Shadowmaster Olbracht finds the raptors that 14 hid. Probably realizes the color blindness.

Meanwhile, Salvor is growing toward seeing violence as a problem.

And we’re doubling down on the part of the episode recognizing that psychohistory doesn’t work. Maybe. But Salvor’s also starting to see herself as a piece of the plan which is problematic.

The Desalination system should not be front and center at a funeral. Just saying.

And Halima walks in to interrupt Gilat and steal the show. It’s classic politics. Gilat and 13 are appealing to reason. Halima wins hearts and minds by connecting on an emotional level.

Souls used to be like candle wax burned down and snuffed out. “The mother took the straight line of life and sewed it into a circle.” Reincarnation is not about ascending to the highest planes of enlightenment. There is no end because our capacity for growth is infinite. “Even a soul that appeared holy 400 years ago would not be holy today.” “We must embrace the value of transformation, of evolution, of difference!” “We rejoice that her soul is not bound to a single immutable body.“

It’s extra odd that Demerzel would be an adherent to this religion. Is it aspirational?

Also bowing and leaving 13 to stand is a powerful statement.

Salvor and Hugo are captured. Phara & Company take Hugo’s ship and leave with the hostages who can crew a jump ship.

The episode ends with one defiant coin flip.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

All Images from Foundation on Apple TV+.

Stars End S4E01

Season 4 Episode 01 “If There Is A War We Will Podcast”

Well, The First Interregnum has ended. Season 2 of Apple TV+s Foundation is just three days away. The goal for our season 3 was to make the gap between the TeeVee seasons seem to fly by quickly! We hope it seemed like less than 30,000 years! Thanks to everyone who’s stuck with us!

That’s the raison d’être for season 4 of Stars End, we’ll be recording weekly for the duration, bringing you the best analysis of each episode of the Apple TV+ program as it airs as quickly as humanly possible.

So, join us for this, our season premiere, as we play at being psychohistorians and ponder what we might see in the coming weeks, and chat about what we expect in Season 2. We’ll even be aspirational as we voice what we hope to see. We’ve been on a slow ship since season one ended, now it’s time to hop onto a jump ship and soar through these new episodes together! Let’s go!

Featured Image from Apple TV+

Stars End S3E37

“Asimovs Foundation Podcast and Philosophy”

I podcast, therefore I am. Or is it, “I podcast, therefore I philosophize?”

If you’ve listened to some of our recent episodes, you might think it’s the latter as recently we’re delved into topics like free will and pondered whether there’s an objective morality beyond things that we might be programmed with, like societal norms or the Three Laws of Robotics.

Well, if you like that stuff, you’ll love this episode! There’s a new book out called ⁠Asimov’s Foundation and Philosophy⁠ (AF&P), a collection of essays about… well, you’ve figured that out, right?

Remember books, by the way? They’re weird. You can read them, but they don’t have batteries and they’re made of wood, of all things!

We discuss this book with three of its authors, who are simultaneously two-and-a-half special guests!

Josef Simpson is one of the editors of AF&P and helped bring the book to life. He also wrote “A Foundation-al Lesson on Free Will and Determinism” for the project.

Our second guest is a long-time friend of the show, ⁠Cora Buhlert⁠! Cora was our first guest way back in Season 1 Episode 7. She is now our first returning guest and the first Hugo Winner to appear on our show as she was chosen the Best Fan Writer for 2022! Congratulations, Cora! Cora contributed “Between Cynicism and Faith” to AF&P.

The book also contains a chapter by our own Dan Fried, “The Dao of Psychohistory!” Thus, Dan is our one-half of a special guest as he splits his duties between interviewer and interviewee!

So if our excursions into philosophy have whetted your appetite for such things, pick up a copy of Asimov’s Foundation and Philosophy⁠. You’re sure to enjoy it! And if you want to read the book without harming a tree or through inaction allowing a tree to come to harm, here’s ⁠one option⁠.

Images used under the fair use doctrine.

Stars End S3E12

“Softly Beaming, A Steady Light of Hope… the Stars End Podcast.”

Are you troubled by premonitions of unsavory equations or non-standard beverages?

Do you experience feelings of dread from your grandfather’s office furniture?

Have you or anyone in your family experienced prestidigitation, clairvoyance, astral projection, or sphenopalatine ganglioneuralgia?

If the answer is yes, don’t wait another minute!  The Second Foundation is for YOU!

Our courteous and efficient staff is on call 24 hours a day to serve all your psychohistorical prediction needs!

In this episode, we come to the end of Forward the Foundation with the story of Wanda Seldon where we finally see the inception of the Second Foundation as Hari discovers Wanda’s abilities and Wanda first becomes an important part of the Seldon Project before striking off with Stettin Palver to form the nucleus of the Second Foundation. Meanwhile, we hit the bittersweet part of any biography. Hari’s life winds down as he says goodbye to everyone he’s ever loved and is left only with psychohistory before we finally say goodbye to Hari himself.

And, in case you don’t recognize the reference above…

Stars End S3E10

“We Must Keep the Podcast Stable If For No Other Reason Than That We’re Here”

Well, here we are again with another installment on Asimov’s swansong, Forward the Foundation.

You might recall that Forward was written as a series of Novellas the first three of which appeared in Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine.  The installment we’re discussing this time is “Cleon I” which originally appeared in the magazine’s 15th-anniversary issue in April 1992 as “Cleon the Emperor.”  Much like the previous story, it isn’t very much about the titular character but it’s a lot about Hari Seldon.  This one is set during his tenure as Cleon’s First Minister.

But the cover, by Gary Friedman, is pretty great; it’s Asimov himself alongside a woman who is almost certainly Dors Venabali. I can’t say it’s Dors for sure, but I can state with absolute certainty that character is neither from Mycogen nor Dahl.

Inside the issue, there’s an extensive editorial about the Foundation series and its history and it answers, in part, one of the questions we posed on the podcast.  We’d wondered why Asimov decided to write Forward as a series of novellas and evidently, the genesis of the idea came from Jennifer Brehl, who Asimov calls “my brilliant and lovely editor.” He continues.

Jennifer thought it might be a good idea if I wrote a Foundation book in which the characters were new from one section to another.

I thought the matter through and decided that I would write a Foundation book (called Forward the Foundation) in which Hari Seldon gradually grew older. I would tell it in five installments and in each installment, Hari was ten years older.

It turns bittersweet as we get some bits of the story we’ve heard before.

I began work on it but then toward the end of 1989 disaster struck. I came down with congestive heart failure produced by mitral valve insufficiency. I was very sick and I was hospitalized for months. Actually, I was convinced I was going to die — but I didn’t.

And a bit later…

But there’s a catch (there’s always a catch). I’m tired. I’m just plain tired. I sleep a great deal and I drag around even when I’m not asleep…

And the worst trouble is that I can’t write very much. This is especially true of the new Foundation book. I wrote the first installment (in fact, it was published last November in this magazine) and the second and third parts are finished as well. The fourth part is almost finished but it’s been weeks and weeks since I’ve been able to work on it. Nor do I know when I’ll be able to get to it. Every time I try, I find I am too tired to work at it.

Whether I will improve with time, I can’t say. Certainly, there seems no sign of it at the moment.

Believe me, I am sorry about this; more so than you can possibly be. 

Coincidently, although the issue would have been printed weeks before, April 1992 is the very month that Asimov journeyed beyond this mortal coil.

You can read the entire editorial here.

And, if you want to learn more about those costume design awards that we mentioned, there’s some more information here.

But in the meantime, join us for our latest episode as we continue through the life story of Hari Seldon!

Stars End S3E09

“I Suspect You Will Find That No Podcast Is Ever Truly Crucial”

Have you been with us for a while? If you have you might remember some jokes back in the long, long ago about the longevity of our podcast. We were pretty stoked (is that what the kids say nowadays?) back in Season 1 Episode 8 when we surpassed the Manimal Threshold for example.

Well, on 26 April 2021 our first episode was squirted out into the aether so we have another milestone to celebrate; we’ve officially been a podcast for over a year.

Thirty-two episodes in and we’re starting to talk about our fifth book, Forward the Foundation by the Great and Glorious Az.

It’s a departure in that it started life as a series of novellas like the original trilogy; three of those appeared in Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine starting in November 1991. The book and the stories within are somewhat bittersweet; we touch on that a bit in the podcast and we’ll get back to that here as soon as we’re able.

And we have a special guest in this episode, who you may know as @stratotron from that bluebird site! They are a perfect person to join us in a discussion of a chapter entitled “Eto Demerzel.” Join us and welcome the delightful Daneel Adrian Cayce to the conversation, Asimov Enthusiast, Trekkie, Twitterer, chiptune creator, and namesake of the quintessential character in the entire Asimov canon! It’s going to be good!

And thanks to everyone who’s stuck with us for an entire trip around the sun! Never fear, there’s no getting rid of us now!

Stars End S3E08

“The Podcast Makes No Allowance For Unwitting Harm”

How time flies!  It’s our final Episode on Prelude to Foundation and you’re not going to want to miss this one!

Our heroes finally, despite their best efforts, find themselves in the sector of Wye.  That’s pronounced “why” and The Great and Glorious Az has a bit of fun with that.  Also, “Who” is the Prime Minister, “What” is the neighboring sector, and “I Don’t Know” is on third.  And while Raych gets to go to the Zoo, Rachelle eventually finds herself in the penalty box.  I’m kidding, mostly.  But whadya asking me for?  You should take a look at this to see how it’s supposed to be done!

https://youtu.be/2ve20PVNZ18

Also War! And the final climactic ending which, in classic Asimovian style, is people in rooms having conversations!  But with tons of intrigue, lots of reveals, and a bit of what some might even call romance.

There’s more!  A special report from our man on the scene at Star Trek: Mission Chicago!  A special interview with a classic Captain of the USS Enterprise and a special surprise from one of our favorite Foundation actors!

Don’t wait!  You don’t want to wait! Let’s go!

Stars End S3E07

“No Sane Podcast Wants to Uphold an Imperial System That Maintains Itself By Fostering Mutual Hatred and Suspicions”

It is a little-known fact that each April 1st on Terminus, Hologram Hari Seldon would appear in the Vault and, in the absence of a bona fide Seldon Crisis, would launch into the strangest and most mystifying stand-up routines anyone had ever seen from a hologram in a wheelchair.  Mostly no one was in attendance but there are legends of routines entertaining maintenance workers and assorted rodents alike.  Inexplicably, the jokes were mainly concerned with skin caps, luxurious black mustaches, and someone known only as “Prince Albert in a Can.”  Seldon never seemed to warm to the audience centuries in his future.

Encyclopedia Galactica, 116th Edition, 1020 FE.

It’s our penultimate episode on Prelude to Foundation!  We wrap up Dors and Hari’s visit to Dahl with more intrigue and more fisticuffs!  Did someone call the police?  Also, an announcement from Jon that you WILL NOT WANT TO MISS!  Let’s go!