“In Seldon’s Shadow”
New character alert! Flying into Trantor are Queen Sareth of Cloud Dominion, the prospective bride-to-be; her top advisor, Rue; and a whole fancy royal landing party. As their ship touches down, Dusk—who, like Dawn, is opposed to ending the reign of endless Cleons—suggests to Day that Sareth is behind the assassination attempt; after all, she’s only queen because an accident wiped out the rest of the family, making her next in line for the throne. But it wouldn’t make sense for her to commit such a murder before they were married, Day insists—hell, they aren’t even engaged yet. Foundation has a bonafide mystery plot this season, folks!
In the throne room, Day and Sareth have a formal first meeting, though she’s a bit cheeky, calling herself “the usurper” in the eyes of Dawn and Dusk. As a gift, Cloud Dominion has brought samples of its famous pigments, which pleases Dusk—keeper of the elaborate murals recording Empire’s history that decorate the palace. Sareth gets a brass model of Trantor, representing “what is being offered to you,” Day says. She—again, cheeky!—holds it up and asks, “But Empire is larger than Trantor, surely? Or is this a vision of a diminished future?”
