Decades after the Second Foundation halted the Mule’s desire for conquest of the Galaxy, the new First Speaker speaks with a Student entering the speakerhood apprentice program about the reality of Seldon’s Plan.
The Second Foundation and its speakers are required to continually update it to achieve the ultimate goal, to prepare the galaxy for rule by Mental Scientists. However, the Mule and the First Foundation’s knowledge of and reliance on the Second Foundation to fix any problems has thrown the Plan into disarray. They’ve taken drastic actions to try to course correct, but much to their dismay, the current plan has the chance to be destroyed by just a single individual.
On Terminus, the granddaughter of Bayta Darell, a fourteen year old named Arcadia Darell is using her new voice transcriber to write a report on the history and future of Seldon’s plan when she’s interrupted by a strange man at her window.
That man is named Pellas Anthor, who was a student of the late Professor Kleise, of whom Arcadia’s father was also a colleague, has come in secret to deliver the news that he has found several high-ranking officials with measured brain waves that fit a pattern of having been meddled with by the Second Foundation.
A small group of “conspirators” agree to send Homir Munn, a librarian and expert on the history of the Mule, to Kalgan under the guise of research, but in reality to find out more information about the Second Foundation.
Unbeknownst to them, Arcadia had planted a secret transcriber in the room and heard about their whole plan. She later secretly sneaks onto Homir’s ship and stows away to join him on his trip to Kalgan, much to Homir’s great surprise when he discovers her on the ship en route.
Kalgan is now ruled by a military leader named Lord Stettin who has assumed the Mule’s title of First Citizen of the Union and is joined by his mistress Lady Callia. Lord Stettin has desires to form the Second Empire with himself and the Kalganian navy leading the charge. Stettin, persuaded by Callia, who herself was persuaded by Arcadia, agrees to let Homir into the Mule’s palace, with the expectation that he would help guide him to conquer the galaxy.
Arkady, as she likes to be called, is initially pleased with the progress of her scheming, but things quickly unravel when Stettin makes his intention clear about holding Homir captive and wanting the famous name of Arkady’s grandmother to lend legitimacy to his claim to lead the Second Empire. Lady Callia overhears this and takes quick action to help Arkady escape the palace and tells her to return to Terminus to warn them of the impending war.
At the last moment, Arkday believes she sees something in the Lady’s eyes, and believes her to be from the Second Foundation. What’s more, she now believes that it is too dangerous for her to return to Terminus to warn them because she now is the only one aware of the location of the Second Foundation.