psychohistory

The chapter sets the stage nearly five centuries after the First Foundation's establishment, highlighting a period of peace and prosperity on Trantor following the defeat of the Mule. A mysterious appearance by psychohistorian Hari Seldon prompts a young Councilman to question the existence and influence of the secretive Second Foundation, leading to his exile and a quest to uncover the truth about humanity's destiny.

The prologue outlines the historical context of the fall of the First Galactic Empire and Hari Seldon's creation of psychohistory to shorten the ensuing dark age by establishing two Foundations. The first Foundation, focused on physical sciences, has grown powerful but faces challenges from the Mule and the secretive Second Foundation of mentalics. In Chapter One, Councilman Golan Trevize expresses skepticism about the accepted narrative of the Seldon Plan and the Foundation's current role, questioning the complacency and isolation of Terminus despite its galactic influence.