“In Seldon’s Shadow”
On Terminus, home of the Foundation, over 100 years have passed since Hari Seldon stepped out of the Vault in season one, and almost 200 since the Foundation was first exiled from Trantor. “Just like Synnax, the dark waters were now rising everywhere,” Gaal’s narration tells us, but she means that metaphorically. “The Foundation had flourished, but a flourishing Foundation posed a threat. How long would it be before Empire thrashed like a drowning man? Not long at all, as it turned out.” We can see the former rustic settlement looks like a full-on city now, and an eerie alarm is waking everyone up in the dead of night. The Vault is stirring again, and the Foundation’s current Director and Warden nervously lead the crowd that approaches it. “I think the Prophet’s giving us time to get ready,” the Warden says, letting us know that Hari is now known as “the Prophet” among his followers. The Director agrees, grimly—he knows Hari’s return means the Foundation’s Second Crisis is near: the long-predicted war with Empire.
