HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Galactic Empire is an interstellar empire featured in
Isaac Asimov yi, יצחק אזימאװ , birth_date = , birth_place = Petrovichi, Russian SFSR , spouse = , relatives = , children = 2 , death_date = , death_place = Manhattan, New York City, U.S. , nationality = Russian (1920–1922)Soviet (192 ...
's ''
Robot A robot is a machine—especially one programmable by a computer—capable of carrying out a complex series of actions automatically. A robot can be guided by an external control device, or the control may be embedded within. Robots may be ...
'', ''
Galactic Empire Galactic empires are a common trope used in science fantasy and science fiction, particularly in works known as 'space operas'. Many authors have either used a galaxy-spanning empire as background or written about the growth and/or decline of ...
'', and '' Foundation'' series. The Empire is spread across the
Milky Way The Milky Way is the galaxy that includes our Solar System, with the name describing the galaxy's appearance from Earth: a hazy band of light seen in the night sky formed from stars that cannot be individually distinguished by the naked eye. ...
galaxy and consists of almost 25 million planets settled exclusively by
human Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, cultu ...
s. For over 12 millennia the seat of imperial authority was located on the ecumenopolis of Trantor, whose population exceeded 40 billion, until it was sacked in the year 12,328. The official symbol of the empire is the Spaceship-and-Sun. Cleon II was the last Emperor to hold significant authority. The fall of the empire, modelled on the
fall of the Roman Empire The fall of the Western Roman Empire (also called the fall of the Roman Empire or the fall of Rome) was the loss of central political control in the Western Roman Empire, a process in which the Empire failed to enforce its rule, and its v ...
, is the subject of many of Asimov's novels.


Background

Asimov created the fictional Galactic Empire in the early 1940s based upon the
Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Roman Republic, Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings aro ...
, as a proposal to
John W. Campbell John Wood Campbell Jr. (June 8, 1910 – July 11, 1971) was an American science fiction writer and editor. He was editor of ''Astounding Science Fiction'' (later called ''Analog Science Fiction and Fact'') from late 1937 until his death ...
, after reading
Edward Gibbon Edward Gibbon (; 8 May 173716 January 1794) was an English historian, writer, and member of parliament. His most important work, '' The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'', published in six volumes between 1776 and 1788, i ...
's ''
The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire ''The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'' is a six-volume work by the English historian Edward Gibbon. It traces Western civilization (as well as the Islamic and Mongolian conquests) from the height of the Roman Empire to th ...
'' when he was working at the
Philadelphia Navy Yard The Philadelphia Naval Shipyard was an important naval shipyard of the United States for almost two centuries. Philadelphia's original navy yard, begun in 1776 on Front Street and Federal Street in what is now the Pennsport section of the ci ...
with
Robert Heinlein Robert Anson Heinlein (; July 7, 1907 – May 8, 1988) was an American science fiction author, aeronautical engineer, and naval officer. Sometimes called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was among the first to emphasize scientific accu ...
. The concept evolved through short stories and novellas in ''
Astounding Science Fiction ''Analog Science Fiction and Fact'' is an American science fiction magazine published under various titles since 1930. Originally titled ''Astounding Stories of Super-Science'', the first issue was dated January 1930, published by William C ...
'' magazine during the 1940s, culminating in the publication of the ''Foundation'' stories as a trilogy of books in the early 1950s. As of 827 G.E. (Galactic Era, the number of years after its founding), the Galactic Empire comprises millions of inhabited worlds with 500 quadrillion residents. According to the ''Foundation'' series chronology established in the late 1990s, it comes into existence approximately 10,000 CE, year one of the Galactic Era. (The establishment of the Empire was originally 34,500 CE, according to Asimov's unofficial unpublished early 1950s chronology.) The Galactic Empire was made possible by the ability of humans to travel through
hyperspace In science fiction, hyperspace (also known as nulspace, subspace, overspace, jumpspace and similar terms) is a concept relating to higher dimensions as well as parallel universes and a faster-than-light (FTL) method of interstellar travel. ...
. The space navy of the Galactic Empire is called the "Imperial Navy". The empire's capital, named Trantor, is the closest habitable planet to the center of the galaxy, and the novels in the ''Foundation'' trilogy describe its fall, over a period of centuries, and a period of anarchy and decay, a parallel to the
fall of the Western Roman Empire The fall of the Western Roman Empire (also called the fall of the Roman Empire or the fall of Rome) was the loss of central political control in the Western Roman Empire, a process in which the Empire failed to enforce its rule, and its va ...
and the Dark Ages. Asimov posits that two foundations are instituted to restore the empire to its former glory. Through the use of psychohistory, a future science hypothesized by Asimov, a scientist on Trantor named
Hari Seldon Hari Seldon is a fictional character in Isaac Asimov's ''Foundation'' series. In his capacity as mathematics professor at Streeling University on the planet Trantor, Seldon develops psychohistory, an algorithmic science that allows him to predi ...
in about 12,000 Galactic Era predicts the fall of the empire, and institutes the two foundations.


The Periphery

The Periphery is a fictional location in
Isaac Asimov yi, יצחק אזימאװ , birth_date = , birth_place = Petrovichi, Russian SFSR , spouse = , relatives = , children = 2 , death_date = , death_place = Manhattan, New York City, U.S. , nationality = Russian (1920–1922)Soviet (192 ...
's ''Foundation'' series and refers to the outer rims of the Galactic Empire, including planets such as
Anacreon Anacreon (; grc-gre, Ἀνακρέων ὁ Τήϊος; BC) was a Greek lyric poet, notable for his drinking songs and erotic poems. Later Greeks included him in the canonical list of Nine Lyric Poets. Anacreon wrote all of his poetry in t ...
and Santanni. Imperial control is weakest in the periphery, as planet governors there frequently possess their own fleets. Santanni revolts during ''
Forward the Foundation ''Forward the Foundation'' is a novel by American writer Isaac Asimov, published posthumously in 1993. It is the second of two prequels to the ''Foundation'' Series. It is written in a format similar to that of the original book, ''Foundation'', ...
''. About 50 years after the First Foundation is established on Terminus, the emperor will grant the periphery
autonomy In developmental psychology and moral, political, and bioethical philosophy, autonomy, from , ''autonomos'', from αὐτο- ''auto-'' "self" and νόμος ''nomos'', "law", hence when combined understood to mean "one who gives oneself one' ...
. This effectively removes them completely from Imperial control, making the dissolution of the Empire far more apparent than it had been before. In the years preceding the fall of Trantor, the periphery became any area outside the Empire. As this area became larger the Empire became less and less great. As the Empire decreased in size and power, the stagnation that would ultimately cause the collapse of the Empire increased.


Emperors

A complete list of Galactic emperors and their dynasties does not exist; however, a number of names and their rule are known:


Consensus cosmogony

Asimov's Galactic Empire was the first example after Olaf Stapledon's 1937 science fiction novel ''
Star Maker ''Star Maker'' is a science fiction novel by British writer Olaf Stapledon, published in 1937. The book describes a history of life in the universe, dwarfing in scale Stapledon's previous book, '' Last and First Men'' (1930), a history of the ...
'' of one of the eight stages of a "consensus cosmogony". This is also called the ''Science Fiction Cosmology'', identified by Donald A. Wollheim in the 1950s. Science fiction writers needed only hint at this cosmogony in their stories for experienced SF readers to slot into their perception of future history and envisage the background to the tale, without the writers needing to expend time and space explicitly explaining it. These stages are: #''The initial exploration, colonization, and exploitation of the solar system'', including plots modeled on the
American War of Independence The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
where the human colonies on
Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Roman god of war. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin at ...
,
Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never f ...
, or other planets declare independence from
Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's sur ...
#''The first flights to the stars'', with plots similar to those of the preceding stage #''The rise of a galactic empire'', and possible contact, either friendly or hostile, with empires of alien species (in Asimov's Galactic Empire, only one intelligent nonhuman race is found; it leaves the galaxy in " Blind Alley") #''The Galactic Empire at its height'', with exploration occurring at its Rim #''The Decline and Fall of the Galactic Empire'', as explored by Asimov and later other authors #''The Galactic Dark Ages'', an interregnum with worlds reverting to barbarism, as also partially explored by Asimov #''The Galactic Renaissance'', where a new democratic Galactic Civilization arises, including the restoration of civilization to and communication with worlds that were isolated during the Fall—this stage was called by Stapledon the ''Galactic Community of Worlds'', was called by Asimov the ''Foundation Federation'', and is most commonly called by most authors the ''Galactic Federation'' #''The Challenge to God'', an effort to solve the last secrets of the universe by transcending matter and morphing into beings of pure energy, the end of time, and the investigation of the beginnings of new universes—Stapledon covers this in the last part of ''Star Maker'' and Asimov covers it in his short story ” The Last Question”.


Trantor

Trantor is a fictional planet depicted as the
capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used fo ...
of the first Galactic Empire. Trantor was first mentioned in Asimov's short story " Black Friar of the Flame", later collected in ''The Early Asimov, Volume 1''. It was described as a human-settled planet in the part of the galaxy not ruled by an intelligent reptilian race (later defeated). Later, Trantor gained prominence when the 1940s ''Foundation'' series first appeared in print (in the form of
short stories A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest t ...
). Asimov described Trantor as being in the center of the
galaxy A galaxy is a system of stars, stellar remnants, interstellar gas, dust, dark matter, bound together by gravity. The word is derived from the Greek ' (), literally 'milky', a reference to the Milky Way galaxy that contains the Solar System ...
. In later stories he acknowledged the growth in
astronomical Astronomy () is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, nebulae, galaxi ...
knowledge by retconning its position to be as close to the
Galactic Center The Galactic Center or Galactic Centre is the rotational center, the barycenter, of the Milky Way galaxy. Its central massive object is a supermassive black hole of about 4 million solar masses, which is called Sagittarius A*, a compact ra ...
as was compatible with human habitability. (In reality at the galactic center is a very massive
black hole A black hole is a region of spacetime where gravity is so strong that nothing, including light or other electromagnetic waves, has enough energy to escape it. The theory of general relativity predicts that a sufficiently compact mass can def ...
and radio source known as Sagittarius A and humans could not possibly live there.) The first time Trantor was acknowledged in novel form was in ''
Pebble in the Sky ''Pebble in the Sky'' is a science fiction novel by American writer Isaac Asimov, published in 1950. This work is his first novel — parts of the ''Foundation'' series had appeared from 1942 onwards in magazines, but ''Foundation'' was not pub ...
''. Trantor represents several different aspects of civilization: it is both the center of power in the galaxy and its administrative headquarters. It is also an illustration of what could eventually happen to any urbanized planet. Asimov used the
Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Roman Republic, Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings aro ...
as the creative basis for the ''Foundation'' series, so Trantor is in some sense based on
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
at the height of the Roman Empire.


Geography and history

The earlier history of Trantor is recapitulated in '' The Currents of Space'', mentioning the five worlds of the Trantorian Republic growing into the Trantorian Confederation and then Trantorian Empire (evidently modeled on the
Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( la, Res publica Romana ) was a form of government of Rome and the era of the classical Roman civilization when it was run through public representation of the Roman people. Beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Ki ...
, originally ruling only part of central Italy, developing into the vast
Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Roman Republic, Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings aro ...
). At the time when ''Currents'' takes place, Trantor controls about half of the worlds in the Galaxy, while the other half is divided into innumerable independent worlds and miniature empires – which naturally makes a Trantorian Ambassador a person of great consequence on any of the still-independent worlds. Later on, conquest of the entire galaxy made the Galactic Empire, with Trantor as its capital planet, a reality; the planet no longer sending out ambassadors, but only royal governors to subject worlds. This situation had already existed for thousands of years at the time of ''
Pebble in the Sky ''Pebble in the Sky'' is a science fiction novel by American writer Isaac Asimov, published in 1950. This work is his first novel — parts of the ''Foundation'' series had appeared from 1942 onwards in magazines, but ''Foundation'' was not pub ...
'', the next chronological book on this timeline. Its surface of 194,000,000 km (75,000,000 sq mi, approx. 40% of Earth's surface area), implying a radius of around 4000 km (somewhere in between the Earth and Mars), was, with the exception of the Imperial Palace, entirely enclosed in artificial domes. It consisted of an enormous
metropolis A metropolis () is a large city or conurbation which is a significant economic, political, and cultural center for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections, commerce, and communications. A big c ...
(an ecumenopolis) that stretched deep underground, and was home to a population of 45,000,000,000 (45
billion Billion is a word for a large number, and it has two distinct definitions: *1,000,000,000, i.e. one thousand million, or (ten to the ninth power), as defined on the short scale. This is its only current meaning in English. * 1,000,000,000,000, i. ...
) human inhabitants at its height (although Second Foundation mentions a figure ten times that of administrators alone), a population density of 232 per square kilometre (600 per square mile), similar to the current population density of Germany or Connecticut. Its population was devoted almost entirely to either administration of the Empire or to maintenance of the planet itself, including energy provided by "heatsinks" ( geothermal core taps) and production of food via underground farming and yeasts, as described in ''
Prelude to Foundation ''Prelude to Foundation'' is a novel by American writer Isaac Asimov, published in 1988. It is one of two prequels to the ''Foundation'' series. For the first time, Asimov chronicles the fictional life of Hari Seldon, the man who invented psy ...
''. The ''
Encyclopedia Galactica The ''Encyclopedia Galactica'' is the name of a number of fictional or hypothetical encyclopedias containing all the knowledge accumulated by a galaxy-spanning (Type III in Kardashev scale) civilization. The name evokes the exhaustive aspects o ...
'' states further on Trantor: "As the centre of the Imperial Government for unbroken hundreds of generations and located, as it was, toward the central regions of the Galaxy among the most densely populated and industrially advanced worlds of the system, it could scarcely help being the densest and richest clot of humanity the Race had ever seen." A Trantorian
day A day is the time period of a full rotation of the Earth with respect to the Sun. On average, this is 24 hours, 1440 minutes, or 86,400 seconds. In everyday life, the word "day" often refers to a solar day, which is the length between two ...
lasted 1.08 Galactic Standard Days. One of the prominent features of Trantor was the Library of Trantor (variously referred to as the Imperial Library, the University of Trantor Library, and the Galactic Library), in which
librarian A librarian is a person who works professionally in a library providing access to information, and sometimes social or technical programming, or instruction on information literacy to users. The role of the librarian has changed much over time ...
s index the entirety of human knowledge by walking up to a different computer terminal every day and resuming where the previous librarian left off. Near Trantor were twenty agricultural worlds which supplied food which the world-city could not grow for itself, and the "Summer Planets", where the Emperor went for vacation. Around 260 FE, a rebel leader named Gilmer attempted a coup, in the process sacking Trantor and forcing the Imperial family to flee to the nearby world of Delicass, renamed Neotrantor. After the sack, the population dwindled rapidly from 40 billion to less than 100 million. Most of the buildings on Trantor were destroyed during the sack, and over the course of the next two centuries the
metal A metal (from ancient Greek, Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electrical resistivity and conductivity, e ...
on Trantor was gradually sold off, as farmers uncovered more and more
soil Soil, also commonly referred to as earth or dirt, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, liquids, and organisms that together support life. Some scientific definitions distinguish ''dirt'' from ''soil'' by restricting the former ...
to use in their farms. Eventually the farmers grew to become the sole recognised inhabitants of the planet, and the era of Trantor as the central world of the galaxy came to a close. It began to develop a dialect very different from Galactic Standard Speech, and the people unofficially renamed their planet "Hame", or "home". As revealed to the reader at the end of '' Second Foundation'', not all these farmers were what they seemed, with the now-rustic Trantor serving as the centre of the Second Foundation. From Trantor, the Second Foundationers secretly guided the development of the Galaxy (roughly parallel to the city of Rome becoming, after the fall of its empire, the headquarters of the
Papacy The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...
, with its enormous influence on the development of Medieval Europe). Indeed, their self-perception as leaders of the future Second Empire is captured in the Second Foundationers' use of the word "Hamish" to describe the farmers despite reserving for themselves use of the word "Trantorian". It is noted that it was the Second Foundation which ensured that the famed library would survive the sacking of Trantor and the destruction of its urban culture – especially significant, considering that the library was vital to the Second Foundation itself. In the Asimov canon, where events of this time are depicted mainly from a Foundation perspective, the Fall of Trantor is mentioned only as a piece of faraway news and in various later short references. However,
Harry Turtledove Harry Norman Turtledove (born June 14, 1949) is an American author who is best known for his work in the genres of alternate history, historical fiction, fantasy, science fiction, and mystery fiction. He is a student of history and completed hi ...
attempted to fill in the details in his "Trantor Falls", focusing on the efforts by the Second Foundation to survive during the sacking of Trantor (published in the 1989 ''
Foundation's Friends ''Foundation's Friends, Stories in Honor of Isaac Asimov'' is a 1989 book written in honor of science fiction author Isaac Asimov, in the form of an anthology of short stories set in Asimov's universes, particularly the ''Foundation'' universe. ...
'', where various writers took up the ''Foundation'' universe).


Food production

According to the original Foundation Trilogy (1951), Asimov states (by way of the ''
Encyclopedia Galactica The ''Encyclopedia Galactica'' is the name of a number of fictional or hypothetical encyclopedias containing all the knowledge accumulated by a galaxy-spanning (Type III in Kardashev scale) civilization. The name evokes the exhaustive aspects o ...
''), "the impossibility of proper administration ... under the uninspired leadership of the later Emperors was a considerable factor in the Fall." To support the needs and whims of the population, food from twenty
agricultural Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled peopl ...
worlds brought by
ships A ship is a large watercraft that travels the world's oceans and other sufficiently deep waterways, carrying cargo or passengers, or in support of specialized missions, such as defense, research, and fishing. Ships are generally distinguished ...
in the tens of thousands, fleets greater than any navy ever constructed by the Empire. "Its dependence upon the outer worlds for food and, indeed, for all necessities of life, made Trantor increasingly vulnerable to conquest by siege. In the last millennium of the Empire, the monotonously numerous revolts made Emperor after Emperor conscious of this, and Imperial policy became little more than the protection of Trantor's delicate jugular vein" (''Encyclopedia Galactica''). In ''
Prelude to Foundation ''Prelude to Foundation'' is a novel by American writer Isaac Asimov, published in 1988. It is one of two prequels to the ''Foundation'' series. For the first time, Asimov chronicles the fictional life of Hari Seldon, the man who invented psy ...
'' (1989), Asimov indicates that this was not always so: originally, most of Trantor's basic food needs were fulfilled by Trantor's "vast microorganism farms".Prelude to Foundation
by Isaac Asimov, page 62
Yeast Yeasts are eukaryotic, single-celled microorganisms classified as members of the fungus kingdom. The first yeast originated hundreds of millions of years ago, and at least 1,500 species are currently recognized. They are estimated to constit ...
vats and
algae Algae (; singular alga ) is an informal term for a large and diverse group of photosynthetic eukaryotic organisms. It is a polyphyletic grouping that includes species from multiple distinct clades. Included organisms range from unicellular micr ...
farms produced basic nutrients, which were then processed with artificial flavors into palatable food. The subterranean farms, however, depended entirely on care provided by tik-toks (lesser robots), and their destruction following an abortive uprising (chronicled in ''
Foundation's Fear ''Foundation's Fear'' (1997) is a science fiction novel by American writer Gregory Benford, set in Isaac Asimov's Foundation universe. It is the first book of the Second Foundation trilogy, which was written after Asimov's death by three autho ...
'') left the Imperial capital largely dependent upon food brought from other worlds. ''
Foundation's Edge ''Foundation's Edge'' (1982) is a science fiction novel by American writer Isaac Asimov, the fourth book in the ''Foundation'' Series. It was written more than thirty years after the stories of the original ''Foundation'' trilogy, due to years o ...
''mentions algae growing on Trantor, which is called a totally inadequate source of food, so it is possible some of the later Emperors attempted to rectify the situation with limited success. Trantor is, of course, again able to produce its own food after the sack by Gilmer, with the increasing amount of usable land as the metal on the surface was removed and sold.


Races on Trantor

Although by 22,500 years in the future, there had been much
racial intermarriage Interracial marriage is a marriage involving spouses who belong to different races or racialized ethnicities. In the past, such marriages were outlawed in the United States, Nazi Germany and apartheid-era South Africa as miscegenation. In 19 ...
and most people were
multiracial Mixed race people are people of more than one race or ethnicity. A variety of terms have been used both historically and presently for mixed race people in a variety of contexts, including ''multiethnic'', ''polyethnic'', occasionally ''bi-eth ...
, according to Asimov, in the Galactic Empire as a whole as well as on Trantor itself, there were still some recognizable populations primarily descended from the original races on Earth. What we call Caucasians were called ''Westerners'', what we call East Asians were called ''Easterners'', and what we call
Black people Black is a racialized classification of people, usually a political and skin color-based category for specific populations with a mid to dark brown complexion. Not all people considered "black" have dark skin; in certain countries, often in ...
were called ''Southerners''. No one could remember why these names were used because no one remembered human origins on Earth. Seldon himself openly wondered why there were no "''Northerners''".


Administrative sectors

Trantor was divided in over 800 administrative sectors, averaging 50,000,000 people each, in , about the size of
Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa. The country is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The ...
or the U.S. state of
Kansas Kansas () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its Capital city, capital is Topeka, Kansas, Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita, Kansas, Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebras ...
. The known sectors are: *Dahl—One of the poorer sections of Trantor. The main job of the lower class is heatsinking, where workers supervise the conversion of heat from the planet's core directly into
electric power Electric power is the rate at which electrical energy is transferred by an electric circuit. The SI unit of power is the watt, one joule per second. Standard prefixes apply to watts as with other SI units: thousands, millions and billions ...
by sinking extremely long rods into the inner core of the planet (the three other major sources of electric power were
hydroelectric dam Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined a ...
s on the underground rivers, fusion energy, and
solar energy Solar energy is radiant light and heat from the Sun that is harnessed using a range of technologies such as solar power to generate electricity, solar thermal energy (including solar water heating), and solar architecture. It is an essen ...
from Trantor's sun, both from rooftop solar arrays and from solar energy satellites orbiting Trantor that beamed microwave energy to the surface); 'heatsinkers' were generally looked down upon by other Dahlites, though they were better paid than anyone in Dahl due to their difficult working conditions. Naturally, most Dahlites hated the Empire and its soldiers (colloquially labelled 'sunbadgers'). Dahlites were black-haired, and fairly short; males wore large, thick mustaches, considered a sign of virility, and all carried knives (considered to be primitive weapons). Rather than using 'Mr.', 'Mrs.', or 'Dr.', as forms of address, Dahlites always used 'Master' and 'Mistress' (never 'Doctor'). Known Dahlites: Yugo Amaryl, Mother Rittah,
Raych Seldon This is a list of characters in Isaac Asimov's ''Foundation'' series. Through the centuries-spanning nature of the ''Foundation'' series, the lives of its various characters are limited to one or two of its nine episodes. In spite of the great su ...
, Jirad and Casilia Tisalver. **Billibotton—A slum in Dahl, on the lower level. This was where Mother Rittah lived, and where
Hari Seldon Hari Seldon is a fictional character in Isaac Asimov's ''Foundation'' series. In his capacity as mathematics professor at Streeling University on the planet Trantor, Seldon develops psychohistory, an algorithmic science that allows him to predi ...
and
Dors Venabili This is a list of characters in Isaac Asimov's ''Foundation'' series. Through the centuries-spanning nature of the ''Foundation'' series, the lives of its various characters are limited to one or two of its nine episodes. In spite of the great s ...
met their future adoptive son,
Raych Seldon This is a list of characters in Isaac Asimov's ''Foundation'' series. Through the centuries-spanning nature of the ''Foundation'' series, the lives of its various characters are limited to one or two of its nine episodes. In spite of the great su ...
. Billibotton was (in)famous for its complete lawlessness. Without the help of Dors, Seldon never would have left it alive. *Ery—The sector in which Wanda Seldon and Stettin Palver met Bor Alurin. *Imperial—The sector in which the Imperial Palace and the Galactic Library lie. When Seldon first visited Trantor to deliver his speech at the Decennial Convention, fashion in the sector called for bold, bright
color Color (American English) or colour (British English) is the visual perceptual property deriving from the spectrum of light interacting with the photoreceptor cells of the eyes. Color categories and physical specifications of color are associ ...
s and wearing
hat A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...
s without chinstraps. *Mandanov *Millimaru—The sector Raych claimed to be (and maybe was) born in when he infiltrated the Joranumite movement. *Mycogen— As Asimov explains in ''Prelude to Foundation'', their name is formed from the Greek stems ''myco-'' (meaning 'yeast' or other types of fungi) and ''-gen'' (meaning 'maker' or 'producer'), which matches the description of Mycogen as specialized in breeding and exporting yeast, or "microfood", to other portions of Trantor. It kept the best for itself; the food eaten by Seldon in Mycogen was the best he had ever had on Trantor. Mycogenians were descendants of the ancient Spacer world
Aurora An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of bri ...
and lamented the loss of their ancient homeworld and culture, including robots. They lived by a strict
religion Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatur ...
they considered to be 'history'. The scripture of the Mycogenians mentions Aurora, robots, and other topics, and during the events of ''Prelude to Foundation'' Hari Seldon found a long-inactive robot, which was revered by the Mycogenians. The 'high priest' was the leader of the council of elders, the government of Mycogen. During an adolescent rite of passage, all Mycogenians were completely depilated, so they could differentiate between themselves and non-Mycogenians. Because hair is considered so repulsive, most Mycogenians are repelled by its appearance and rare foreign visitors must wear skincaps at all times. The sight and feel of hair was considered similar to
pornography Pornography (often shortened to porn or porno) is the portrayal of sexual subject matter for the exclusive purpose of sexual arousal. Primarily intended for adults,
by Mycogenians. By tradition they usually wear a cloak called a 'kirtle'; men always wear a white kirtle, women a gray one. Mycogenian names are organised by 'cohort', and individuals are numbered as part of a series. Known Mycogenians: Mycelium 72, Raindrop 43, Raindrop 45, Sunmaster 14, Skystrip 2. *Nevrask— One of the last sectors to hold out against Gilmer during the Great Sack *North Damiano— A sector with a prominent University, involved in co-operative Nephelometry with Streeling University. North Damiano University operates Jet-downs equipped with sensory electronics. *Streeling—At the time Hari Seldon first arrived on Trantor, fashions in Streeling were not quite so boldly colorful as in the Imperial Sector. It was the site of Streeling University, a prestigious university noted for being almost completely out of the hands of the Empire. It later gained fame for housing Hari Seldon and his "Seldon Psychohistory Project". *Wye—The hereditary Mayoralty of the sector of Wye are the descendants of the ancient Dacian Dynasty of Emperors. Located by the South Pole, Wye exercised a good deal of political power, because it was the site where excess heat across the planet was released. If it shut down those systems, the heat would build up and destroy Trantor. During the time of Seldon's flight, Wye was preparing an army for a coup. This action was stopped by
Eto Demerzel R. Daneel Olivaw is a fictional robot created by Isaac Asimov. The "R" initial in his name stands for "Robot," a naming convention in Asimov's future society during Earth's early period of space colonization. Daneel is introduced in '' The Cave ...
, and the military of Wye disbanded. Known Wyans: Mayor Mannix IV, Mayor Rashelle I. *Ziggoreth— A sector with a prominent University. Ziggoreth University is involved in co-operative Nephelometric research with Streeling University, and operates Jet-downs equipped with sensory electronics.


Retroactive continuity

* In the original Foundation Trilogy, there is no indication of Trantor being divided among wildly diverse cultures; likewise, the surface is described as covered with towers rather than domes. Its depiction in ''
Prelude to Foundation ''Prelude to Foundation'' is a novel by American writer Isaac Asimov, published in 1988. It is one of two prequels to the ''Foundation'' series. For the first time, Asimov chronicles the fictional life of Hari Seldon, the man who invented psy ...
'' and ''
Forward the Foundation ''Forward the Foundation'' is a novel by American writer Isaac Asimov, published posthumously in 1993. It is the second of two prequels to the ''Foundation'' Series. It is written in a format similar to that of the original book, ''Foundation'', ...
'' may be considered another example of
retcon Retroactive continuity, or retcon for short, is a literary device in which established diegetic facts in the plot of a fictional work (those established through the narrative itself) are adjusted, ignored, supplemented, or contradicted by a subs ...
ning. * Although some have been confused by the apparent conflict between Trantorian self-sufficiency in terms of food supply in ''Prelude'' and the subsequent characterization in ''Encyclopedia Galactica'' of the planet as dependent upon twenty agricultural worlds for food, there is no conflict. ''Prelude'' depicts an earlier period of Imperial history, and as subsequently explained in ''Foundation's Fear'', the food situation on Trantor changed precisely because its subterranean farms were shut down in the wake of the abortive tik-tok rebellion. That book directly establishes that it was this decision that made Trantor dependent on the produce of twenty agricultural worlds—ironically, the same worlds over which Neotrantor would hold its last, feeble sway.


Other authors and Asimov's universe

Bondanella (listed in
Further reading Further or Furthur may refer to: * ''Furthur'' (bus), the Merry Pranksters' psychedelic bus * Further (band), a 1990s American indie rock band * Furthur (band), a band formed in 2009 by Bob Weir and Phil Lesh * ''Further'' (The Chemical Brothers a ...
) analyzes Asimov's Galactic Empire as an example of the influence of the myth and history of the Roman Empire upon modern fiction. Asimov himself wrote two non-fiction books on the subject of the Roman Empire, aimed at the mass market and young readerships, ''The Roman Republic'' in 1966 and ''The Roman Empire'' in 1967, reflecting the positive view of the Roman Empire that then prevailed, as it was considered the prototype of the rising American Empire. After the cinematic release of the first ''
Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has been expanded into various film ...
'' trilogy, another parallel to the Roman Empire that presents the negative view of the empire that became widely prevalent in late 20th and early 21st century popular culture as a result of the negative view of the American Empire resulting from the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
, Asimov revisited his Galactic Empire and wrote further novels in the ''Foundation'' series. Other writers to have been influenced by the Roman Empire include, of course, those who have written novels set in Asimov's universe of the Galactic Empire, such as David Brin's '' Foundation's Triumph'', and
Robert Silverberg Robert Silverberg (born January 15, 1935) is an American author and editor, best known for writing science fiction. He is a multiple winner of both Hugo and Nebula Awards, a member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame, and a Gran ...
, who wrote of an alternative universe in which the Roman Empire never fell, and who edited ''Far Horizons'' (listed in
Further reading Further or Furthur may refer to: * ''Furthur'' (bus), the Merry Pranksters' psychedelic bus * Further (band), a 1990s American indie rock band * Furthur (band), a band formed in 2009 by Bob Weir and Phil Lesh * ''Further'' (The Chemical Brothers a ...
) which contains several examples of Asimov's influence upon science fiction.
Brian Herbert Brian Patrick Herbert (born June 29, 1947) is an American author who lives in Washington state. He is the elder son of science fiction author Frank Herbert (who died in 1986). Brian Herbert's novels include ''Sidney's Comet'', ''Prisoners of Ar ...
's and
Kevin J. Anderson Kevin James Anderson (born March 27, 1962) is an American science fiction author. He has written spin-off novels for ''Star Wars'', ''StarCraft'', '' Titan A.E.'' and ''The X-Files'', and with Brian Herbert is the co-author of the ''Dune'' pre ...
's ''Dune: House Atreides'' (1999) is, similarly, a Greek parallel to ancient Rome. Other works to have been influenced by Asimov's Empire include Donald Kingsbury's '' Psychohistorical Crisis'', whose galactic empire, and the scholar-empire that succeeds it, are clearly based upon Asimov's Galactic Empire and the Foundations, albeit that Kingsbury was not granted permission to set his work directly in Asimov's universe. Seed calls this work "perhaps the most remarkable homage that any SF writer has received from another SF writer". Asimov's Galactic Empire, its decline, fall, and rebirth, in particular, is characterized by Perelman as a simple repetition of the history of Western Civilization from the fall of the Roman Empire to the 20th century, borrowing freely from Toynbee, and a validation of postwar American culture of the 1940s and 1950s, with the Second Galactic Empire being "definitely suburban". Other writers to explore the cycles of civilisations in their works include
James Blish James Benjamin Blish () was an American science fiction and fantasy writer. He is best known for his '' Cities in Flight'' novels and his series of ''Star Trek'' novelizations written with his wife, J. A. Lawrence. His novel '' A Case of Conscie ...
, who studied the works of
Oswald Spengler Oswald Arnold Gottfried Spengler (; 29 May 1880 – 8 May 1936) was a German historian and philosopher of history whose interests included mathematics, science, and art, as well as their relation to his organic theory of history. He is best k ...
and whose novel '' Cities in Flight'' (which includes 4 novels: ''They Shall Have Stars'', ''A Life for the Stars'', ''Earthman Come Home'', and ''The Triumph of Time'') portray the rise and fall of the galaxy as an inevitable cycle, of which (unlike in other dystopian SF stories of the 1940s and 1950s) the use of machine technology is merely a symptom not the actual cause, and culminate, as in Wollheim's eighth stage, with the end of the universe and the birth of a new one. Colin Manlove characterizes Asimov's description of the Galactic Empire, its people, its culture, its history, and its planets, laid out in the ''Foundation'' novels as an aesthetic monotony: "persons are usually seen as typical rather than special, even as clichés … the mutant
Mule The mule is a domestic equine hybrid between a donkey and a horse. It is the offspring of a male donkey (a jack) and a female horse (a mare). The horse and the donkey are different species, with different numbers of chromosomes; of the two po ...
��is not given a personality, he is merely a powerful anomaly … Nor do we hear much of landscapes, apart from Trantor and one sea-scape … we do not know how one planet differs from another, as, say,
Ursula K. Le Guin Ursula Kroeber Le Guin (; October 21, 1929 – January 22, 2018) was an American author best known for her works of speculative fiction, including science fiction works set in her Hainish universe, and the '' Earthsea'' fantasy series. She was ...
differentiates the desert Anarres from the lush twin Urras … Nor are we given details of battles, lingering accounts of love, different customs of civilisations. There are no animals, only man. … Thought-processes and conversations largely fill the trilogy, and nearly all these are confined to finding things out and with gaining power."


Inspired by Trantor

There have been some serious attempts to illustrate a planet like Trantor in the ''
Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has been expanded into various film ...
'' films by
George Lucas George Walton Lucas Jr. (born May 14, 1944) is an American filmmaker. Lucas is best known for creating the '' Star Wars'' and '' Indiana Jones'' franchises and founding Lucasfilm, LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic and THX. He served as c ...
, the first being Coruscant. Coruscant is a planet-covering open-air city, while Trantor's buildings are all subterranean or under domes due to worsening weather conditions. Asimov's Trantor thus differs from Coruscant in that Trantor is more practically adapted to inclement weather, although
weather control Weather modification is the act of intentionally manipulating or altering the weather. The most common form of weather modification is cloud seeding, which increases rain or snow, usually for the purpose of increasing the local water supply. W ...
devices are used on both planets. The planet Helior in Harry Harrison's '' Bill, the Galactic Hero'' satirises Trantor, highlighting the problems of atmosphere, waste disposal and navigating about a world-sized city. In the ''Runaway'' series of adventure games, Trantor is home planet of this universe's alien species. However, no connection besides the name are made to the original. "TrantorCon 23309" was proposed by
Larry Niven Laurence van Cott Niven (; born April 30, 1938) is an American science fiction writer. His best-known works are '' Ringworld'' (1970), which received Hugo, Locus, Ditmar, and Nebula awards, and, with Jerry Pournelle, '' The Mote in God's E ...
at
Worldcon Worldcon, or more formally the World Science Fiction Convention, the annual convention of the World Science Fiction Society (WSFS), is a science fiction convention. It has been held each year since 1939 (except for the years 1942 to 1945, durin ...
in 1976. The ''
Warhammer 40,000 ''Warhammer 40,000'' is a miniature wargame produced by Games Workshop. It is the most popular miniature wargame in the world, and is particularly popular in the United Kingdom. The first edition of the rulebook was published in September 1987, ...
'' sources mention dead cities upon the quarantine planet of ''Proxima Trantor''. Weber's World, the administration planet of the
United Planets The Legion of Super-Heroes is a fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Otto Binder and artist Al Plastino, the Legion is a group of superpowered beings living in the 30th and 31st cent ...
in the
Legion of Super-Heroes The Legion of Super-Heroes is a fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Otto Binder and artist Al Plastino, the Legion is a group of superpowered beings living in the 30th and 31st cent ...
's time, is an ecumenopolis and said to be in the Trantor system.The Legion of Super-Heroes no. 302, August, 1983, DC Comics In the Bobiverse series, one of the human colony planets is named Trantor by Howard, in an explicitly stated homage to the Foundation series (though the planet is initially misspelled by an official who did not recognise the reference).


Primary sources

*


References


Further reading

* * * * * {{Foundation series Foundation universe Galactic empires Ecumenopolises