Editing Hari Seldon (section)

== Appearances ==
Hari Seldon is first mentioned in the short story "[[Foundation (short story)|Foundation]]", published in ''[[Astounding Science Fiction]]'' in May 1942, as the creator of psychohistory, and appears as a prerecorded hologram near the end. The story was renamed "The Encyclopedists" and collected with four others as ''[[Foundation (Asimov novel)|Foundation]]'' in 1951. "The Psychohistorians" depicts Seldon put on trial by the Commission of Public Safety for his dire predictions about the eventual fall of the Galactic Empire, after which he is exiled to the distant planet [[Terminus (fictional planet)|Terminus]].<ref name="gunn ppbk">{{cite book |last=Gunn |first=James |author-link=James E. Gunn |date=1982 |title=Isaac Asimov: The Foundations of Science Fiction |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=0-8108-5420-1 |edition=2005 Revised |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XQE2f6CWyvEC |access-date=March 25, 2024 |archive-date=March 8, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240308200652/https://www.google.com/books/edition/Isaac_Asimov/XQE2f6CWyvEC?hl=en&gbpv=1 |url-status=live }}</ref>{{rp|23–24}}<ref name="armstrong">{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20210920-foundation-the-unfilmable-sci-fi-epic-now-on-our-screens|title=''Foundation'': The 'Unfilmable' Sci-fi Epic Now on Our Screens|website=[[BBC]]|first=Neil|last=Armstrong|date=September 20, 2021|access-date=February 25, 2024|archive-date=February 25, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240225085048/https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20210920-foundation-the-unfilmable-sci-fi-epic-now-on-our-screens|url-status=live}}</ref> Seldon's prerecorded messages continue to appear in ''[[Foundation and Empire]]'' (1952) and ''[[Second Foundation]]'' (1953), as well as the later sequels, ''[[Foundation's Edge]]'' (1982) and ''[[Foundation and Earth]]'' (1986). He is featured as the main character in Asimov's two prequels, ''[[Prelude to Foundation]]'' (1988) and ''[[Forward the Foundation]]'' (1993).<ref name="gunn ppbk"/>{{rp|23–28}}

Describing "The Psychohistorians" as "28 pages of nonstop world-building", Josh Wimmer and Alasdair Wilkins of ''[[Gizmodo]]'' wrote that in the story, "Hari Seldon isn't so much a character as he is the living embodiment of psychohistory, an ethereal presence who's about as relatable as [[Gandalf]]. It wouldn't be until ''Prelude to Foundation'' ... that Seldon would become an actual character."<ref name="gizmodo 1">{{Cite web|url=https://gizmodo.com/isaac-asimovs-foundation-the-little-idea-that-became-s-5799655|title=Isaac Asimov's ''Foundation'': The Little Idea That Became Science Fiction's Biggest Series|first1=Josh|last1=Wimmer|first2=Alasdair|last2=Wilkins|date=May 9, 2011|website=[[Gizmodo]]|access-date=February 26, 2024|archive-date=February 26, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240226010148/https://gizmodo.com/isaac-asimovs-foundation-the-little-idea-that-became-s-5799655|url-status=live}}</ref>