Editing Foundation (book series) (section)

==Development and themes==
The early stories were inspired by [[Edward Gibbon]]'s ''[[The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire]]''. The plot of the series focuses on the growth and reach of the Foundation, against a backdrop of the "decline and fall of the Galactic Empire." The themes of Asimov's stories were also influenced by the political tendency in [[science fiction fandom]], associated with the [[Futurians]], known as [[John Michel (science fiction)|Michelism]].

The focus of the books is the trends through which a civilization might progress, specifically seeking to analyze their progress, using history as a precedent. Although many science fiction novels such as ''[[Nineteen Eighty-Four]]'' or ''[[Fahrenheit 451]]'' do this, their focus is on how current trends in society might come to fruition and they act as a moral allegory of the modern world. The ''Foundation'' series, on the other hand, looks at the trends in a wider scope, dealing with societal evolution and adaptation rather than the human and cultural qualities at one point in time. In this Asimov followed the model of [[Thucydides]]' work ''The [[History of the Peloponnesian War]]'', as he [[The Foundation of S.F. Success|once acknowledged]].

Asimov tried to end the series with ''[[Second Foundation]]''. However, because of the predicted thousand years until the rise of the next Empire (of which only a few hundred had elapsed), the series lacked a sense of closure. For decades, fans pressured him to write a sequel. In 1982, after a 30-year hiatus, Asimov gave in and wrote what was at the time a fourth volume: ''[[Foundation's Edge]]''. This was followed shortly thereafter by ''[[Foundation and Earth]]''. This novel, which takes place some 500 years after Seldon, ties up all the loose ends and ties all his Robot, Empire, and Foundation novels into a single story. He also opens a brand new line of thought in the last dozen pages regarding [[Gaia (Foundation universe)|Galaxia]], a galaxy inhabited by a single [[Geist|collective mind]]. This concept was never explored further. According to his widow [[Janet Asimov]] (in her biography of Isaac, ''[[It's Been a Good Life]]''), he had no idea how to continue after ''Foundation and Earth'', so he started writing the prequels.