Foundation Outline 7, The Mule, Part One

The Mule, Part One (I have divided this short novel into two novellas
for the purposes of the outline.)

Written: 1945
Published: 1945
24 000 words
Date: 290-293 F.E.

1
BRIDE AND GROOM
Toran and Bayta newlyweds on Haven, a city-planet of the independent
traders; The Foundation, now degenerated to a brutal despotism; Fall of
Kalgan to the Mule (4100)

2
CAPTAIN AND MAYOR
Indbur III Mayor of the Foundation, grants an audience to the
intelligence officer Han Pritcher, who is ordered to Haven to collect
taxes, but who considers that his duty lies on Kalgan and goes there
instead (2800)

3
LIEUTENANT AND CLOWN
Toran and Bayta on Kalgan; They encounter Magnifico the Clown at the
beach, who is fleeing the Mule; They take him in and defend him against
the Mule's men (2900)

4
THE MUTANT
Han Pritcher visits Toran, Bayta and the Clown on board their ship
moored in the 'Hangar' on Kalgan, and they discuss their best course of
action (3400)

5
THE PSYCHOLOGIST
Ebling Mis visits Mayor Indbur and announces that a Seldon Crisis is
imminent;The Mule attacks the Foundation (2400)

6
CONFERENCE
The 27 independent trading worlds hold a conference on Radole; They
discuss the Mule's war with the Foundation; The Mule attacks Mnemon,
one of the trader worlds (3000)

7
THE VISI-SONOR
The Clown plays the Visi-sonor; Ebling Mis and Indbur discuss the war
against the Mule (3200)

8
FALL OF THE FOUNDATION
Seldon's apparition at the Time-Vault: HIs words make it plain his Plan
had not anticipated the Mule; Defeat of the Foundation (2300)

Comments: This novel marks a sharp break in the plot, in my opinion not
for the better. Asimov had this break forced on him by Campbell, who
had a juvenile fascination with mutants. The Mule is quite incredible
as a real character; such mutants, if they exist, which I doubt, are so
rare that they make very difficult fictional materal. Part of the charm
of the Foundation series to this point is its reassuring familiarity.
There is a classical culture, there are still two sexes, people still
die after only 60 or 70 years, there are no robots or aliens, etc.
Further the introduction of the Mule virtually forced Asimov to revise
his conception of what the Second Foundation was. Instead of being
merely mathematicians like Seldon, they now become mental supermen,
very much like the Mule, but still less believable. After all, who can
believe in characters that change other people's minds at will? I do
not say that this will always remain impossible, merely that it is not
very good material for fiction. It has a heavy flavor of the pulps and
juvenile sci-fi at its worst.

Asimov's style is still good on occasion, but it begins to weaken under
the pressure of the poor plot. Mis' comic scene with Indbur is amusing,
but also a little immature, and Bayta's cozy little relationship with
Toran - probably modelled on Asimov's relationship with his first wife
- is mawkish rather than affecting, at least initially. Later their
relationship becomes more distant and more believable.