Through hyper-space, that unimaginable region that was neither space nor time, matter nor energy, something nor nothing, one could traverse the length of the Galaxy in the interval between two neighbo...
There is a longing for a supposedly simple and virtuous past that is almost universal among the people of a complex and vicious society.
The work of each individual contributes to a totality, and so becomes an undying part of the totality. That totality of human lives—past and present and to come—forms a tapestry that has been in exist...
The Three Theorems of Psychohistorical Quantitivity:The population under scrutiny is oblivious to the existence of the science of Psychohistory.The time periods dealt with are in the region of 3 gener...
The Master created humans first as the lowest type, most easily formed. Gradually, he replaced them by robots, the next higher step, and finally he created me, to take the place of the last humans.
The Earth, he said, is a large and very complex lifeboat. We still do not know what can or can't be done with a proper distribution of resources and it is notorious that to this very day we have not r...
Rules, established with reason and justice, can easily outlive their usefulness as circumstances change, yet can remain in force through inertia. It is then not only right, but useful, to break those...
Psychohistory was the quintessence of sociology; it was the science of human behavior reduced to mathematical equations. The individual human being is unpredictable, but the reactions of human mobs, S...
Past glories are poor feeding.
Often, this has only meant a change in tyranny. In other words, one ruling class is replaced by another—sometimes by one that is more efficient and therefore still more capable of maintaining itself—w...
Let them all come,' said the Commdor, expansively. 'A symbolic friendly union of our nations. It will give us a chance for further friendly discussion. But one thing.' his face lengthened and grew ste...
It was obvious that bigotry was never a one-way operation, that hatred bred hatred!
In the presence of total Darkness, the mind finds it absolutely necessary to create light.
In memory yet green, in joy still felt,The scenes of life rise sharply into view.
Gratitude is best and most effective when it does not evaporate itself in empty phrases.
Could he tell her any of this? Of course not. Could he tell her that women almost never qualified for Eternity because, for some reason he did not understand (Computers might, but he himself certainly...
But he no longer feared the fear! It was not something to run from, that fear, but something to fight.
Because, if you stop to think of it, the three Rules of Robotics are the essential guiding principles of a good many of the world’s ethical systems. Of course, every human being is supposed to have th...
Author's Note: This story starts with section 6. This is not a mistake. I have my own subtle reasoning. So, just read, and enjoy.
All knowledge is one. When a light brightens and illuminates a corner of a room, it adds to the general illumination of the entire room. Over and over again, scientific discoveries have provided answe...