Solaria
Encyclopedia
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 homes. It was ruled by a Regent after it became independent around roughly 4500 AD. The Solarians specialized in the construction of robot
s, which they exported to the other Spacer Worlds. Solarian robots were noted for their variety and excellence. They also exported their grain, which was used to make a delicacy known as the pachinka.
Ultimately, Solaria became totally dependent on robot labor; roughly 10,000 robots existed for every human. The world was extremely sparsely inhabited, with only 20,000 humans (and 200 million robots) inhabiting 30 million miles² (77,666,430 km²) of fertile land, divided into over 10,000 huge estates (the exact number is unknown, since some of the estates were inhabited by couples). The population was kept stable through strict birth and immigration controls. 20,000 years later, the population was 1200—one human per estate.
Many of the characteristics of Solaria bear a strong resemblance to those described in E.M.Forster's 1909 short story, The Machine Stops
.
By the time Elijah Baley
visited Solaria around 5022 AD, its inhabitants had evolved an isolationist culture in which its citizens never had to meet, save for sexual contact for reproductive purposes. All other contact was accomplished by sophisticated holographic viewing systems, with most Solarians exhibiting a strong phobia towards actual contact, or even being in the same room as another human. All work was done by robots.
Over the following centuries and millennia, Solaria became even more rigidly and obsessively isolationist. Around 5222 AD, Solaria cut off all contact with the rest of the Galaxy (although continuing to monitor hyperspatial communications). The human inhabitants vanished, giving the impression that they had died out, although they had in fact withdrawn underground; their estates continued to be worked by millions of robots. It was eventually forgotten entirely as the other Spacers died out, with any stray visitors to the planet being attacked and killed by robots programmed to view non-Solarians as non-human. During this time, the Solarians had extensively modified themselves through genetic engineering
to become hermaphrodite
s, thereby removing the need for sexual contact. In a more important development, Solarians evolved (or engineered) small transducer lobes, a section of the brain about the size of a hen's egg, protruding behind the ears. These were able to collect any free energy from spontaneous heat flow in their surroundings, on the principle of a heat engine
, and direct this extracted energy into focussed useful work, at a distance, by thought. Using these lobes, Solarians manipulated their environment with powers akin to telekinesis, and provided for the energy needs of their entire estates, including power for all of the estate's robots, drawing energy from the various spontaneous thermal energy transfers of the planet in apparently complete compliance with the known laws of thermodynamics
. Solarian estates commonly featured conductive rods, spaced at convenient distances, penetrating deeply into the planet that, at a touch, made the channeling of geothermal energy between the planet's interior and the heatsink of space even easier.
In 499 F.E. (approximately 25,066 AD), as told in the novel Foundation and Earth
, Solaria was visited by Golan Trevize, Janov Pelorat
and Blissenobiarella
. They landed on the estate of Sarton Bander, the "Ruler" of a Solarian estate. They learned of the sociological developments of Solaria through Bander, who apparently took a secret pleasure in having intellectual companionship, or at least an intellectual audience. To prevent them from providing information to the Galaxy about Solaria and in keeping with Solarian customs and beliefs, not to mention preventing other Solarians' discovery of his/her shameful personal contact with offworlders, Bander attempted to kill the visitors, but was killed instead by Bliss, resulting in the shutdown of all of the robots and other machinery of Bander's estate. The visitors were able to escape, but not before discovering on the estate a child, Fallom, assuming it to be a successor to Bander (who had not mentioned the existence of an heir, but had mentioned that there would be one for him at the appropriate time), who they would ultimately bring with them to Earth. The child would stay on the Moon to mentally merge with Daneel Olivaw
. At the end of the book, it was suggested that the Solarians had modified themselves so much that they no longer counted as human
, and that their behavior could no longer be predicted by psychohistory
. Another possible reading of that passage was that the Solarians had become, in essence, aliens
. Yet another alternative is that Fallom appeared to be Solarian but had been planted at the estate, in a manner similar to the impostor, Sura Novi, that Gaia had inserted into the Second Foundation in the preceding novel.
Planet
A planet is a celestial body orbiting a star or stellar remnant that is massive enough to be rounded by its own gravity, is not massive enough to cause thermonuclear fusion, and has cleared its neighbouring region of planetesimals.The term planet is ancient, with ties to history, science,...
in 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...
's Foundation
The Foundation Series
The Foundation Series is a science fiction series by Isaac Asimov. There are seven volumes in the Foundation Series proper, which in its in-universe chronological order are: Prelude to Foundation, Forward the Foundation, Foundation, Foundation and Empire, Second Foundation, Foundation's Edge, and...
and Robot
Isaac Asimov's Robot Series
Isaac Asimov's Robot Series is a series of short stories and novels by Isaac Asimov featuring positronic robots.- Short stories :Most of Asimov's robot short stories are set in the first age of positronic robotics and space exploration...
series.
It was the last of fifty Spacer
Spacer (Asimov)
In Isaac Asimov's Foundation/Empire/Robot series, the Spacers were the first humans to emigrate to space. About a millennium thereafter, they severed political ties with Earth, and embraced low population growth and extreme longevity as a means for a high standard of living, in combination with...
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 homes. It was ruled by a Regent after it became independent around roughly 4500 AD. The Solarians specialized in the construction of robot
Robot
A robot is a mechanical or virtual intelligent agent that can perform tasks automatically or with guidance, typically by remote control. In practice a robot is usually an electro-mechanical machine that is guided by computer and electronic programming. Robots can be autonomous, semi-autonomous or...
s, which they exported to the other Spacer Worlds. Solarian robots were noted for their variety and excellence. They also exported their grain, which was used to make a delicacy known as the pachinka.
Ultimately, Solaria became totally dependent on robot labor; roughly 10,000 robots existed for every human. The world was extremely sparsely inhabited, with only 20,000 humans (and 200 million robots) inhabiting 30 million miles² (77,666,430 km²) of fertile land, divided into over 10,000 huge estates (the exact number is unknown, since some of the estates were inhabited by couples). The population was kept stable through strict birth and immigration controls. 20,000 years later, the population was 1200—one human per estate.
Many of the characteristics of Solaria bear a strong resemblance to those described in E.M.Forster's 1909 short story, The Machine Stops
The Machine Stops
"The Machine Stops" is a science fiction short story by E. M. Forster. After initial publication in The Oxford and Cambridge Review , the story was republished in Forster's The Eternal Moment and Other Stories in 1928...
.
By the time Elijah Baley
Elijah Baley
Elijah Baley is a fictional character in Isaac Asimov's Robot series. He is the main character of the novels The Caves of Steel, The Naked Sun and The Robots of Dawn, and of the short story "Mirror Image". He is seen in flashbacks several times and talked about frequently in Robots and Empire,...
visited Solaria around 5022 AD, its inhabitants had evolved an isolationist culture in which its citizens never had to meet, save for sexual contact for reproductive purposes. All other contact was accomplished by sophisticated holographic viewing systems, with most Solarians exhibiting a strong phobia towards actual contact, or even being in the same room as another human. All work was done by robots.
Over the following centuries and millennia, Solaria became even more rigidly and obsessively isolationist. Around 5222 AD, Solaria cut off all contact with the rest of the Galaxy (although continuing to monitor hyperspatial communications). The human inhabitants vanished, giving the impression that they had died out, although they had in fact withdrawn underground; their estates continued to be worked by millions of robots. It was eventually forgotten entirely as the other Spacers died out, with any stray visitors to the planet being attacked and killed by robots programmed to view non-Solarians as non-human. During this time, the Solarians had extensively modified themselves through genetic engineering
Genetic engineering
Genetic engineering, also called genetic modification, is the direct human manipulation of an organism's genome using modern DNA technology. It involves the introduction of foreign DNA or synthetic genes into the organism of interest...
to become hermaphrodite
Hermaphrodite
In biology, a hermaphrodite is an organism that has reproductive organs normally associated with both male and female sexes.Many taxonomic groups of animals do not have separate sexes. In these groups, hermaphroditism is a normal condition, enabling a form of sexual reproduction in which both...
s, thereby removing the need for sexual contact. In a more important development, Solarians evolved (or engineered) small transducer lobes, a section of the brain about the size of a hen's egg, protruding behind the ears. These were able to collect any free energy from spontaneous heat flow in their surroundings, on the principle of a heat engine
Heat engine
In thermodynamics, a heat engine is a system that performs the conversion of heat or thermal energy to mechanical work. It does this by bringing a working substance from a high temperature state to a lower temperature state. A heat "source" generates thermal energy that brings the working substance...
, and direct this extracted energy into focussed useful work, at a distance, by thought. Using these lobes, Solarians manipulated their environment with powers akin to telekinesis, and provided for the energy needs of their entire estates, including power for all of the estate's robots, drawing energy from the various spontaneous thermal energy transfers of the planet in apparently complete compliance with the known laws of thermodynamics
Laws of thermodynamics
The four laws of thermodynamics summarize its most important facts. They define fundamental physical quantities, such as temperature, energy, and entropy, in order to describe thermodynamic systems. They also describe the transfer of energy as heat and work in thermodynamic processes...
. Solarian estates commonly featured conductive rods, spaced at convenient distances, penetrating deeply into the planet that, at a touch, made the channeling of geothermal energy between the planet's interior and the heatsink of space even easier.
In 499 F.E. (approximately 25,066 AD), as told 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...
, Solaria was visited by Golan Trevize, 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....
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 :...
. They landed on the estate of Sarton Bander, the "Ruler" of a Solarian estate. They learned of the sociological developments of Solaria through Bander, who apparently took a secret pleasure in having intellectual companionship, or at least an intellectual audience. To prevent them from providing information to the Galaxy about Solaria and in keeping with Solarian customs and beliefs, not to mention preventing other Solarians' discovery of his/her shameful personal contact with offworlders, Bander attempted to kill the visitors, but was killed instead by Bliss, resulting in the shutdown of all of the robots and other machinery of Bander's estate. The visitors were able to escape, but not before discovering on the estate a child, Fallom, assuming it to be a successor to Bander (who had not mentioned the existence of an heir, but had mentioned that there would be one for him at the appropriate time), who they would ultimately bring with them to Earth. The child would stay on the Moon to mentally merge with 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...
. At the end of the book, it was suggested that the Solarians had modified themselves so much that they no longer counted as human
Human
Humans are the only living species in the Homo genus...
, and that their behavior could no longer be predicted by 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...
. Another possible reading of that passage was that the Solarians had become, in essence, aliens
Extraterrestrial life in popular culture
In popular cultures, "extraterrestrials" are life forms — especially intelligent life forms— that are of extraterrestrial origin .-Historical ideas:-Pre-modern:...
. Yet another alternative is that Fallom appeared to be Solarian but had been planted at the estate, in a manner similar to the impostor, Sura Novi, that Gaia had inserted into the Second Foundation in the preceding novel.
Statistics
- Star
- Planets: 3
- Planet
- Position: Solaria III
- Diameter: 15000 km (9,320.6 mi), 1.24 that of EarthEarth (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...
- Known locations: Helionia, on the northern continent.