Gaia (Foundation universe)
Encyclopedia
Gaia is a fictional planet described in the book Foundation's Edge
(1982) and referred to in Foundation and Earth
(1986), by Isaac Asimov
. The name is derived from the Gaia hypothesis
, which is itself eponymous to Gaia
, the Earth Goddess.
Gaia is located in the Sayshell Sector, about ten parsecs (32 light years) from Sayshell. It orbits a G-4 class star, and has one natural satellite (50 km or 31 miles in diameter). Its axial inclination is 12°, and a Gaian day lasts 0.92 Galactic Standard Days.
Gaians have long names; the longer the name, the higher their status. They are generally addressed by only one syllable of their name.
during the Empire's reign. Even then, the galaxy left it alone and it evaded taxes. By 498 F.E., Gaia had a population of one billion, a high population for a planet at that time. The inhabitants hoped eventually to create a complex ecology
; all human-settled planets in the Galaxy — except Earth — had simple ecologies. The inhabitants of Gaia were all tied together into a telepathic group consciousness when it was founded; this consciousness was eventually extended to the non-human life, and later to the inorganic material of the planet. This would explain The Mule
's incredible psychic powers, as Gaia was said to be his home planet.
; the successor of Gaia. R. Daneel Olivaw founded Gaia with the purpose of Galaxia in mind, in order to be able to alter humanity for the better. Since he could not tell whether something was bad for humanity, itself of almost unpredictable nature, and therefore could not tell whether the Zeroth Law permitted it, he could not by himself make the decision to implement Galaxia. Hari Seldon
's Psychohistory
Project was a 'backup' initiated by R. Daneel Olivaw
in the event that Galaxia was not determined to be the ideal course of action.
In 498 F.E., councilman Golan Trevize and historian Janov Pelorat
, the protagonists of Foundation's Edge
, are maneuvered to Gaia so Trevize can decide whether the future of the Galaxy is to be guided by the First Foundation, Second Foundation, or Gaia. Trevize had the unique ability to deduce the correct solution to a problem, even with little or no information on the nature of problem itself. The book portrays it as a higher form of intuition, though Trevize has no actual psychic abilities. Trevize chooses Gaia, therefore Galaxia. This was done because R. Daneel Olivaw could not proceed with Galaxia for risk of harming humanity in the process.
In the novel Foundation and Earth
, Golan Trevize, Janov Pelorat, and Blissenobiarella
set out on a journey to find humanity's ancestral planet — Earth
. The purpose of the journey is to settle Trevize's doubt with his decision at the end of Foundation's Edge to embrace the all-encompassing supermind of Galaxia
.
From Foundation's Edge
it can be surmised that Galaxia culminates in about FE 4000, allowing for further Foundation stories to be interesting until that date, if the Estate of Isaac Asimov were to authorize further stories (Vis-a-vis Donald Kingsbury
's novel, Psychohistorical Crisis
). However, it is noted by R. Daneel Olivaw
in Foundation and Earth
that it would take several more centuries to bring Galaxia about.
as a whole.
Gaia is able to channel the kinetic energy of its matter, a phenomenon Asimov calls transduction
. Transduction allowed Gaia to provide limited electrical power, move objects as large as starships, or take over the computer control system of a space vessel. It may also be capable of obliterating large sections of matter, though this ability is never discussed by Gaia; the Solaria
ns (much more powerful transducers) were capable of destroying objects at least as large as space vessels.
Gaia's ability to store data does away with information technology
. Gaia has no written records; every amount of information is stored in the collective consciousness. Naturally, a good deal of this is stored in humans and other large-brained animals, but some is stored in inanimate objects such as water, geological features, or trees. Historical records are based on the memories of individuals stored forever in the collective consciousness. Any part of Gaia can access these memories directly, as if they were just another part of their own mind. Because Galaxia
will also include stars, Black Holes, uninhabited planets, and cosmic debris, the powers of data storage will be enhanced significantly. One drawback however, is that all historical information prior to the completion of Gaia's collective consciousness has been lost, as they cannot recall a memory that predates them, and early written records were not saved. It is also mentioned that drawing information from inanimate objects, such as a rock, requires more time than from a living organism.
Because of the nature of Gaia, natural disasters can be regulated. The collective consciousness can be alerted to an impending volcanic eruption because of the consciousness of the inanimate matter involved, and take the necessary precautions. Likewise, weather can also be carefully controlled.
Despite the enormous powers of Gaia, they are a relatively local phenomenon at the time of Foundation's Edge
. This is because mentalic effects occur at the speed of light. To have them happen more quickly, Gaia must act through hyperspace
, which takes a good deal more energy. However, once Galaxia
is accomplished, these problems will be somewhat reduced, because all matter in the Galaxy will be part of Galaxia.
Foundation's Edge
Foundation's Edge is a science fiction novel by Isaac Asimov, the fourth book in the Foundation Series. It was written more than thirty years after the stories of the original Foundation trilogy, due to years of pressure by fans and editors on Asimov to write another, and, according to Asimov...
(1982) and referred to in Foundation and Earth
Foundation and Earth
Foundation and Earth is a Locus Award nominated science fiction novel by Isaac Asimov, the fifth novel of the Foundation series and chronologically the last in the series...
(1986), by Isaac Asimov
Isaac Asimov
Isaac Asimov was an American author and professor of biochemistry at Boston University, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books. Asimov was one of the most prolific writers of all time, having written or edited more than 500 books and an estimated 90,000...
. The name is derived from the Gaia hypothesis
Gaia hypothesis
The Gaia hypothesis, also known as Gaia theory or Gaia principle, proposes that all organisms and their inorganic surroundings on Earth are closely integrated to form a single and self-regulating complex system, maintaining the conditions for life on the planet.The scientific investigation of the...
, which is itself eponymous to Gaia
Gaia (mythology)
Gaia was the primordial Earth-goddess in ancient Greek religion. Gaia was the great mother of all: the heavenly gods and Titans were descended from her union with Uranus , the sea-gods from her union with Pontus , the Giants from her mating with Tartarus and mortal creatures were sprung or born...
, the Earth Goddess.
Gaia is located in the Sayshell Sector, about ten parsecs (32 light years) from Sayshell. It orbits a G-4 class star, and has one natural satellite (50 km or 31 miles in diameter). Its axial inclination is 12°, and a Gaian day lasts 0.92 Galactic Standard Days.
Gaians have long names; the longer the name, the higher their status. They are generally addressed by only one syllable of their name.
History
It was founded by R. Daneel OlivawR. Daneel Olivaw
R. Daneel Olivaw is a fictional robot created by Isaac Asimov. The "R" initial in his name stands for "robot," a naming convention in Asimov's future society...
during the Empire's reign. Even then, the galaxy left it alone and it evaded taxes. By 498 F.E., Gaia had a population of one billion, a high population for a planet at that time. The inhabitants hoped eventually to create a complex ecology
Ecology
Ecology is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment. Variables of interest to ecologists include the composition, distribution, amount , number, and changing states of organisms within and among ecosystems...
; all human-settled planets in the Galaxy — except Earth — had simple ecologies. The inhabitants of Gaia were all tied together into a telepathic group consciousness when it was founded; this consciousness was eventually extended to the non-human life, and later to the inorganic material of the planet. This would explain The Mule
Mule (Foundation)
The Mule is a fictional character from Isaac Asimov's Foundation series. One of the greatest conquerors the galaxy has ever seen, he is a mentalic who has the ability to reach into the minds of others and "adjust" their emotions, individually or en masse, using this capability to forcibly enlist...
's incredible psychic powers, as Gaia was said to be his home planet.
Galaxia
Galaxia was a living organism which contains all the lifeforms and other non-living material in the galaxy. It was a utopiaUtopia
Utopia is an ideal community or society possessing a perfect socio-politico-legal system. The word was imported from Greek by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book Utopia, describing a fictional island in the Atlantic Ocean. The term has been used to describe both intentional communities that attempt...
; the successor of Gaia. R. Daneel Olivaw founded Gaia with the purpose of Galaxia in mind, in order to be able to alter humanity for the better. Since he could not tell whether something was bad for humanity, itself of almost unpredictable nature, and therefore could not tell whether the Zeroth Law permitted it, he could not by himself make the decision to implement Galaxia. Hari Seldon
Hari Seldon
Hari Seldon, a fictional character, is the intellectual hero of Isaac Asimov's Foundation Series. In his capacity as mathematics professor at Streeling University on Trantor, he developed psychohistory, allowing him to predict the future in probabilistic terms...
's Psychohistory
Psychohistory (fictional)
Psychohistory is a fictional science in Isaac Asimov's Foundation universe which combines history, sociology, and mathematical statistics to make general predictions about the future behavior of very large groups of people, such as the Galactic Empire...
Project was a 'backup' initiated by R. Daneel Olivaw
R. Daneel Olivaw
R. Daneel Olivaw is a fictional robot created by Isaac Asimov. The "R" initial in his name stands for "robot," a naming convention in Asimov's future society...
in the event that Galaxia was not determined to be the ideal course of action.
In 498 F.E., councilman Golan Trevize and historian Janov Pelorat
Janov Pelorat
Janov Pelorat is a character in the Foundation Series of books by Isaac Asimov. The two books in which he appears are Foundation's Edge and Foundation and Earth....
, the protagonists of Foundation's Edge
Foundation's Edge
Foundation's Edge is a science fiction novel by Isaac Asimov, the fourth book in the Foundation Series. It was written more than thirty years after the stories of the original Foundation trilogy, due to years of pressure by fans and editors on Asimov to write another, and, according to Asimov...
, are maneuvered to Gaia so Trevize can decide whether the future of the Galaxy is to be guided by the First Foundation, Second Foundation, or Gaia. Trevize had the unique ability to deduce the correct solution to a problem, even with little or no information on the nature of problem itself. The book portrays it as a higher form of intuition, though Trevize has no actual psychic abilities. Trevize chooses Gaia, therefore Galaxia. This was done because R. Daneel Olivaw could not proceed with Galaxia for risk of harming humanity in the process.
In the novel Foundation and Earth
Foundation and Earth
Foundation and Earth is a Locus Award nominated science fiction novel by Isaac Asimov, the fifth novel of the Foundation series and chronologically the last in the series...
, Golan Trevize, Janov Pelorat, and Blissenobiarella
Blissenobiarella
Blissenobiarella, known informally as Bliss, is a character in Isaac Asimov's Foundation series. She is from planet Gaia, and she appears in the novels Foundation's Edge and Foundation and Earth.- Character :...
set out on a journey to find humanity's ancestral planet — Earth
Earth (Foundation universe)
This article is on the history of Earth, as presented in Isaac Asimov's Foundation Series, Robot Series, and Empire Series.- Ancient :* 1982: Susan Calvin born...
. The purpose of the journey is to settle Trevize's doubt with his decision at the end of Foundation's Edge to embrace the all-encompassing supermind of Galaxia
Galaxia
Galaxia may refer to:*The superior form of Gaia , a planet in Isaac Asimov's Foundation Series*Galaxia , a genus in the iris family*"Galaxia", a 1996 trance song by Ferry Corsten...
.
From Foundation's Edge
Foundation's Edge
Foundation's Edge is a science fiction novel by Isaac Asimov, the fourth book in the Foundation Series. It was written more than thirty years after the stories of the original Foundation trilogy, due to years of pressure by fans and editors on Asimov to write another, and, according to Asimov...
it can be surmised that Galaxia culminates in about FE 4000, allowing for further Foundation stories to be interesting until that date, if the Estate of Isaac Asimov were to authorize further stories (Vis-a-vis Donald Kingsbury
Donald Kingsbury
Donald MacDonald Kingsbury is an American–Canadian science fiction author. Kingsbury taught mathematics at McGill University, Montreal, from 1956 until his retirement in 1986.- Books :...
's novel, Psychohistorical Crisis
Psychohistorical Crisis
Psychohistorical Crisis is a science fiction novel by Donald Kingsbury, published by Tor Books in 2001. An expansion of his 1995 novella "Historical Crisis", it is a re-imagining of the world of Isaac Asimov's Foundation trilogy, set after the establishment of the Second Empire.Review by Peter...
). However, it is noted by R. Daneel Olivaw
R. Daneel Olivaw
R. Daneel Olivaw is a fictional robot created by Isaac Asimov. The "R" initial in his name stands for "robot," a naming convention in Asimov's future society...
in Foundation and Earth
Foundation and Earth
Foundation and Earth is a Locus Award nominated science fiction novel by Isaac Asimov, the fifth novel of the Foundation series and chronologically the last in the series...
that it would take several more centuries to bring Galaxia about.
Gaia's Powers
Because of the size of the consciousness involved, Gaia's mental powers are significantly greater than those of any other mentalics encountered before in previous books. Where Second Foundationers generally required eye contact to alter emotions, Gaia could detect and alter minds without this constraint within a limited range. Gaia's influence is spread throughout the Galaxy, Bliss explains, through a web of agents who are capable of instantaneous communication via hyperspace with the group mindGroup mind
Group mind can mean:* Collective intelligence, a concept in sociology and philosophy* Egregore is a phenomenon in occultism which has been described as group mind.* Group mind , a type of collective consciousness...
as a whole.
Gaia is able to channel the kinetic energy of its matter, a phenomenon Asimov calls transduction
Transducer
A transducer is a device that converts one type of energy to another. Energy types include electrical, mechanical, electromagnetic , chemical, acoustic or thermal energy. While the term transducer commonly implies the use of a sensor/detector, any device which converts energy can be considered a...
. Transduction allowed Gaia to provide limited electrical power, move objects as large as starships, or take over the computer control system of a space vessel. It may also be capable of obliterating large sections of matter, though this ability is never discussed by Gaia; the Solaria
Solaria
Solaria was a fictional human-inhabited planet in Isaac Asimov's Foundation and Robot series.It was the last of fifty Spacer worlds colonized by humans in a first wave of interstellar settlement. Occupied from approximately 4270 AD by inhabitants of the neighboring world Nexon originally for summer...
ns (much more powerful transducers) were capable of destroying objects at least as large as space vessels.
Gaia's ability to store data does away with information technology
Information technology
Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
. Gaia has no written records; every amount of information is stored in the collective consciousness. Naturally, a good deal of this is stored in humans and other large-brained animals, but some is stored in inanimate objects such as water, geological features, or trees. Historical records are based on the memories of individuals stored forever in the collective consciousness. Any part of Gaia can access these memories directly, as if they were just another part of their own mind. Because Galaxia
Galaxia
Galaxia may refer to:*The superior form of Gaia , a planet in Isaac Asimov's Foundation Series*Galaxia , a genus in the iris family*"Galaxia", a 1996 trance song by Ferry Corsten...
will also include stars, Black Holes, uninhabited planets, and cosmic debris, the powers of data storage will be enhanced significantly. One drawback however, is that all historical information prior to the completion of Gaia's collective consciousness has been lost, as they cannot recall a memory that predates them, and early written records were not saved. It is also mentioned that drawing information from inanimate objects, such as a rock, requires more time than from a living organism.
Because of the nature of Gaia, natural disasters can be regulated. The collective consciousness can be alerted to an impending volcanic eruption because of the consciousness of the inanimate matter involved, and take the necessary precautions. Likewise, weather can also be carefully controlled.
Despite the enormous powers of Gaia, they are a relatively local phenomenon at the time of Foundation's Edge
Foundation's Edge
Foundation's Edge is a science fiction novel by Isaac Asimov, the fourth book in the Foundation Series. It was written more than thirty years after the stories of the original Foundation trilogy, due to years of pressure by fans and editors on Asimov to write another, and, according to Asimov...
. This is because mentalic effects occur at the speed of light. To have them happen more quickly, Gaia must act through hyperspace
Hyperspace (science fiction)
Hyperspace is a plot device sometimes used in science fiction. It is typically described as an alternative region of space co-existing with our own universe which may be entered using an energy field or other device...
, which takes a good deal more energy. However, once Galaxia
Galaxia
Galaxia may refer to:*The superior form of Gaia , a planet in Isaac Asimov's Foundation Series*Galaxia , a genus in the iris family*"Galaxia", a 1996 trance song by Ferry Corsten...
is accomplished, these problems will be somewhat reduced, because all matter in the Galaxy will be part of Galaxia.