Second Foundation

Imagine a super-smart plan by Mr. Seldon to guide the galaxy out of a big dark age using math that predicts the future for huge groups of people. There are two secret Foundations: one builds spaceships and gadgets, the other hides super mind-readers on an old planet to fix problems. A bad guy called the Mule with mind-control powers hunts them, but the mind experts trick him smartly. Years later, a brave girl named Arkady runs away and accidentally helps keep the mind group's secret safe, so the galaxy's big plan can keep working toward a better future!

In Isaac Asimov's 'Second Foundation,' the third volume of the Foundation trilogy, the narrative unfolds in two interconnected novellas set in a decaying Galactic Empire. The first, 'Search by the Mule,' depicts the mutant conqueror known as the Mule dispatching his trusted Captain Han Pritcher and the mentalic-resistant Bail Channis to locate the hidden Second Foundation, guardians of Hari Seldon's psychohistorical plan. Through masterful deception and subtle mental influence, the Second Foundation—led by the enigmatic First Speaker—thwarts the Mule, restoring the delicate balance of predicted galactic history while concealing their existence on ancient Trantor. Fifty years later, in 'Search by the Foundation,' suspicion festers on Terminus as physicist Dr. Toran Darell and scholar Homir Munn develop devices to detect mentalics, convinced the Second Foundation manipulates the First Foundation. Dr. Darell's precocious daughter, Arkady Darell, flees Terminus amid intrigue, her unwitting journey to Kalgan and beyond inadvertently misdirects her father's efforts. Preem Palver, a disguised Second Foundation agent, ensures the plan's continuity, affirming that intellect and psychohistory prevail over brute force and paranoia, securing a hopeful path to the Second Empire.