Terminus Settlement

Lore & Background

Terminus is a mineral-poor agricultural planet, chosen by Hari Seldon as the site for the Encyclopedia Foundation. The planet's single large settlement is Terminus City, whose affairs are managed by its first Mayor, Salvor Hardin, under the authority of the Board. The Board are hidebound scholars whose main concern is publishing the *Encyclopedia Galactica*. Hardin believes Terminus is in danger of conquest by the four neighboring prefectures of the Empire, the strongest of which is Anacreon. When the Board resists Hardin's efforts against the threat, he and his chief advisor, Yohan Lee, seize power. Hardin then visits the three weaker kingdoms and convinces them that they must unite to prevent the Foundation's nuclear technology from falling into the hands of Anacreon alone. The three issue a joint ultimatum that all be allowed to receive nuclear power from Terminus, making it indispensable to all and protected by a delicate balance of power. A vault containing Seldon's recorded messages opens, revealing that he had planned this whole course of events by means of psychohistory, and that the Foundation is destined to grow into a new galactic empire.

In Their Own Story

Decades after the first crisis, the Foundation has established a techno-religious hegemony over the four surrounding planetary kingdoms, based on its superior nuclear technology operated under a cloak of mysticism. During a visit of the Foundation's Mayor Hardin to the kingdom of Anacreon, the power-hungry Prince Regent Wienis and his teenage nephew, King Lepold I, launch a surprise attack against Terminus using a salvaged Imperial battlecruiser. But Hardin had directed the Foundation's repair engineers to install a secret kill switch into the cruiser, causing the crew to mutiny. The ship's commander, Wienis's son, is captured and forced to broadcast a message of surrender to Anacreon, while all the planet's nuclear power goes dark. With his people in revolt, the enraged Wienis tries to shoot down Hardin with an energy blaster, but Hardin is shielded by a personal force field, and Wienis turns the weapon on himself. The Foundation's mission continues, as foreseen by Seldon.

Reader's Guide

The story of Terminus begins with Hari Seldon and his followers, who are exiled to this remote world by the Commission of Public Safety. Their official task is to compile the *Encyclopedia Galactica*, but Seldon's true plan, revealed through psychohistory, is to establish a Foundation that will grow into a new galactic empire. The planet's early history is marked by the Seldon Crises, the first of which is resolved by Salvor Hardin's political maneuvering, creating a balance of power among the neighboring kingdoms. Later, the Foundation expands its influence through trade and techno-religion, as seen in the stories of Master Traders like Eskel Gorov, Limmar Ponyets, and Hober Mallow. The planet's status evolves from a scientific outpost to a galactic power, with Mayor Hober Mallow eventually realizing that the Religious Power has outlived its usefulness and that further expansion will be on the basis of trade alone.

Did You Know?

• Terminus is a mineral-poor agricultural planet, chosen by Hari Seldon precisely because it lacked value to the Empire.
• The planet's single large settlement is Terminus City, managed by its first Mayor, Salvor Hardin.
• The first Seldon Crisis on Terminus was resolved by Hardin creating a balance of power among the four neighboring prefectures, preventing conquest by Anacreon.
• During the second crisis, Prince Regent Wienis launched a surprise attack on Terminus using a salvaged Imperial battlecruiser, but was foiled by a secret kill switch installed by Hardin's engineers.
• The Foundation's techno-religion was eventually replaced by trade-based expansion under Mayor Hober Mallow.