Hari, Gaal, and company shouldn't expect to walk all over the Empire now, however. As well as the tyrannical leaders' continuing grip on the galaxy, the future emergence of The Mule – a powerful Mentalic who begins conquering worlds in Asmiov's book series – could give rise to the Third Seldon Crisis.

The Darells are left on Trantor. The Mule leaves to reign over the Foundation and the rest of his new empire. The existence of the Second Foundation, as an organization centered on the science of psychology and mentalics, in contrast to the Foundation's focus on physical sciences, is now known to the Darells and the Mule. Now that the Mule has conquered the Foundation, he is the most powerful force in the galaxy, and the Second Foundation is the only threat to his eventual reign over the entire galaxy. The Mule promises that he will find the Second Foundation, while Bayta asserts that it has already prepared for him and thus that he will not have enough time before the Second Foundation reacts.Asimov, Isaac (2020-11-17). Foundation and Earth. Random House Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-593-15999-6.

In The Currents of Space every region and every planet in the galaxy has been explored and most habitable planets have been settled for centuries or millennia. The planet Trantor, near the center of the galaxy, that probably was not even discovered in the era of The Stars Like Dust, has been settled for so long and advanced in population and industry so much that it has conquered half the galaxy. Nobody knows which planet Humans originated on - Earth is merely one candidate. This was a great sequel – I hope the final entry of the trilogy lives up to the promises given in this book. In The Stars Like Dust everybody knows that the radioactive Earth was the original home world of humans. Only a part of the galaxy has been explored and colonized yet. While his vassals prosecute the war, the Mule travels under the guise of a refugee clown named Magnifico Giganticus with Foundation citizens Toran Darell and Bayta Darell to different worlds of the Foundation. He uses his abilities to undermine the Foundation's war effort by spreading despair and destroying morale. In the end, the Foundation falls without much of a fight. Cassian Bilton's Brother Dawn will return, but Ella Rae Smith's Queen Sareth might not. (Image credit: Apple TV Plus)

I love a good puzzle, and Isaac Asimov delivers more than one. Who is the Mule and what does he want? What is the Second Foundation, where is it, and why is there one there? If a third season is released and received as well as its predecessors, however, Apple would be foolish not to renew Foundation for a fourth outing. By the time a possible third season ends, the show would've only covered the first two main novels – 'Foundation' and 'Foundation & Empire' – plus the first half of the third installment, 'Second Foundation', in Asimov's book series. There are two prequel novels and two sequel books that expand on Foundation's unique universe, too, so there's plenty more ground for the TV series to cover.

Devers and Barr head to Trantor in an attempt at turning Cleon II against Riose by implicating the latter in a conspiracy to overthrow the former with the help of Brodrig. However, in their attempt to bribe their way up the chain of bureaucracy, they are caught in the act by a member of the Secret Police, but manage to flee the planet before they are arrested. During their escape, they intercept news of Bel Riose and Brodrig's recall and subsequent arrest for treason (both are later said to have been executed), which leads to Siwenna's rebellion and the end of the threat to the Foundation.

Success!

Meanwhile, Stor Gendibal, a prominent member of the Second Foundation, discovers a simple local on Trantor who has had a very subtle alteration made to her mind, far more delicate than anything the Second Foundation can do. He concludes that a greater force of Mentalics must be active in the Galaxy. Following the events on Terminus, Gendibal endeavors to follow Trevize, reasoning that by doing so, he may find out who has altered the mind of the Trantor native. All this would normally combine for two-star status, but I grant it a third in deference to Asimov's genius and the sheer scope of the enterprise he created with this series. He was clearly an idea man, worrying much less or not at all about the literary aspect of his works. I can respect that, even if it doesn't make for a very satisfying novel. The leaders of the Foundation operate under a foregone conclusion that their society will be a success, that theirs is a destiny proven with mathematical certainty by the great Seldon himself. Periodically in the Foundation history, a simulacrum of Seldon will appear to explain away a crisis in his plan. Up to the point of the story, Seldon had been prophetically correct in his predictions, reassuring his followers of the inevitability of his plan, and of Foundation. I'm not sure if the Galactic Empire in "Blind Alley" is the same one as in the Foundation series. But I guess it wouldn't hurt to read it. And it might have been referenced in one of the Foundation novels written after Asimov's death like Foundation's Fear (1997) by Gregory Benford, Foundation and Chaos (1998) by Greg Bear, or Foundation's Triumph (1999) by David Brin. General Bel Riose of the Galactic Empire governs the planet Siwenna. He comes across myths regarding the Foundation and attempts to confirm them by coercing the aid of Ducem Barr, a Siwennian whose father Onum met the Foundation trader Hober Mallow decades ago. After further research through visiting Foundation territory, Riose determines that they are a threat to the Empire and declares war upon them, both to fulfill his duty to the Empire and satisfy his personal pursuit of glory. Barr is familiar with Hari Seldon's psychohistory and through it is confident of the Foundation's inevitable victory, an assertion Riose repeatedly disputes.