Editing Nemesis (Asimov novel) (section)

==Story notes==

The demands of the plot required Asimov to hypothesize a [[planetary system]] about a [[star]] named Nemesis. At the time of the writing, the name Nemesis was given to a [[Nemesis (hypothetical star)|hypothetical companion]] to [[Earth|Earth's]] [[Sun]] that could provide a mechanism for periodic disturbances of comets in the [[Oort cloud]], which would then fall inwards causing [[mass extinction]]s. The [[red dwarf]] star in the book turns out not to be this companion; it is simply passing through the Solar System.

The planetary system in the book included a [[Gas giant|gas giant planet]] named Megas in a very short-period orbit about its primary star. (Erythro is a moon of Megas.) This was a radical idea in 1989, but was vindicated with the discovery of the first [[extrasolar planet]] orbiting a sun-like star ([[51 Pegasi]]) in 1995, dubbed "[[Bellerophon (planet)|Bellerophon]]".  Furthermore, the first speculated "habitable" planet discovered, [[Gliese 581c]], orbits a red dwarf star ([[Gliese 581]]) located only 20.3 [[light years]] from Earth—a notable similarity to the novel wherein Erythro is the first inhabited extra–solar body.

In the foreword of the novel, Asimov stated that ''Nemesis'' is not a part of the ''Foundation'' universe that consists of the ''Foundation'', ''Robot'', and ''Empire'' series. In his autobiography he said that it was in fact his editor Jennifer Brehl who had suggested a novel which was "not part of either the ''Foundation'' series or the ''Robot'' series, but ... an entirely independent background."<ref>{{cite book|last1=Asimov|first1=Isaac|title=I, Asimov: A Memoir|date=2009|publisher=Random House Publishing Group}}</ref> In the foreword he also stated that he may change his mind on the matter.
 
Some have suspected that the radiation from the star Nemesis may have been intended to be another possible reason for the radiation on Earth forcing emigration. However, Nemesis is referred to in ''[[Forward the Foundation]]'', where [[Hari Seldon]] refers to a twenty-thousand-year-old story of "a young woman that could communicate with an entire planet that circled a sun named Nemesis." A few commentators noted that ''Nemesis'' contains barely disguised references to the Spacers and their calendar system, the Galactic Empire and even to Hari Seldon which seem to have been deliberately placed for the purpose of later integration into the ''Foundation'' universe.<ref name="From Robots to Foundations" >{{cite book|last1=Codex|first1=Regius|title=From Robots to Foundations|date=2014|location=Wiesbaden/Ljubljana|isbn=978-1499569827}}</ref>

According to Alasdair Wilkins, in a discussion posted on Gizmodo, "Asimov absolutely loves weird, elliptical structures. All three of his non-robot/Foundation science fiction novels — ''[[The End of Eternity]]'', ''[[The Gods Themselves]]'', and ''Nemesis'' — leaned heavily on non-chronological narratives, and he does it with gusto in ''The Gods Themselves''."