Hari Seldon (Raven)

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Raven

Hari Seldon
Relatives	Kariel Seldon (mother) Nolan Seldon (father) Raych Foss (foster son)
Affiliation	Second Foundation
Biographical information
Marital status	Yanna Seldon (life mate)
Place of birth	Helicon
Physical description
Species	Digital Consciousness Human
Gender	Male
Appearances
Portrayed by	Jared Harris
Debut	"Upon Awakening"

"You came here hoping to save your world. I’m asking you to dream bigger. Why stop at one world? Why not save the galaxy?"

—Hari Seldon to Gaal Dornick^[src]

Hari Seldon is one of the main characters of the Apple TV+ series Foundation. An eccentric mathematical genius, Hari Seldon develops Psychohistory, an entirely new science that allows him to calculate the future with stunning accuracy. His predictions foresee the fall of the Galactic Empire within five hundred years, followed by a period of barbarism that would plunge the galaxy into darkness for thirty thousand years. Hari sets out to create a Foundation to soften the fall and preserve science and civilization for future generations. He is portrayed by Jared Harris, first appearing in the episode "The Emperor's Peace".

Biography

Early Life

See Hari Seldon#Biography

The Raven

A digitized version of Hari is present on the Raven, as part of the Quantum Consciousness Protocol. His form is not complete and is writhing as he was after being stabbed by Raych Foss. The computer aboard the Raven states that this is due to an incomplete neural uplink, with the source being the Raych Foss Arrival Protocol. Hari begs Gaal to help him and is asked to concentrate to Gaal's voice to break himself from the loop of past events. After exiting the loop, he explains to Gaal he had a data unit implanted in his brain after leaving Trantor which was synchronised with the knife Raych used to kill him. It contained all Hari's memories, thoughts, and other things up to the moment he died. He says something must have gone wrong with the uplink.

He converses with Gaal about what is happening as understands they are going to Helicon. When he asks how long they have been travelling, Gaal says 34 years. He realises at this point that Gaal is not supposed to be there and wonders where Raych is. He tells Gaal she should have gone to Terminus, and thinks Lewis Pirenne - now in charge of the Foundation - will not be able to get the Foundation beyond the settlement phase. He is shocked to hear Raych dies, and his digital self begins to glitch. This leaves life support systems turning off, with Gaal suffocating. Hari authorizes life support systems to reactivate and begins communicating with Gaal again.

Hari explains to Gaal how his death was essential to the plan succeeding. The Foundation needed more than just him leading it, it needed a long standing myth to inspire the citizens. He states that this worked with the mortality rate projected at 34.2% for Foundation members predicted initially being nearly half that. When questioned about his motives for killing himself, he says to Gaal he had Lethe Syndrome, inherited from his father. The plan was for Hari to kill himself and for Raych to explain why, but Hari tells Gaal that it was Raych's love for her that changed that. In order to get Raych to leave Gaal, he had to kill Hari and then leave afterwards. After Gaal gets angry with him, Hari tells Gaal how she made a choice to be involved in this.

Hari wants to establish with Gaal why she went to Hari's apartment on the day of his death. Together they deduce Gaal can tell the future, and knew about Hari dying. Hari explains to Gaal about the second Foundation, with the first one drawing fire and the second one being kept a secret. He does not tell Gaal any more, but does cite on Helicon they can study Gaal's abilities. This causes her to want to leave the ship and Hari watches on. He hears one last plea from Gaal as she threatens to destroy the heat transfer system that is keeping the interior of the ship from getting too hot. He says to her that if he tells her everything, the second Foundation will be put at risk. After she destroys it, thus risking her life, he tells Gaal he could program the cryopod to go where he wants it to go. After hearing Gaal state her reasons for leaving, he opens the door and lets her leave the ship. As Gaal leaves the Raven, she takes the knife containing Hari's digital concsiousness with her.

Trapped

When Gaal enters cryosleep for her trip to Synnax, Hari's consciousness remains awake for the one-hundred and thirty-eight year trip. When Gaal arrives on Synnax and meets Salvor Hardin, she transfers Hari's consciousness to the Prime Radiant, trapping him inside. It takes an appearance by Yanna Seldon to help free his mind and he deduces that it is not Yanna, rather it is a representation of Kalle. She helps Hari realise he can escape the Prime Radiant and asks him to meet her on Oona's World once he is free. He escapes the Radiant and appears on the Beggar, telling Gaal they need a reckoning.

Hari tells Gaal that she ruined the plan for the Second Foundation by coming to interrupt Raych killing him. Salvor interrupts Hari's tirade and demands he help them fix the ship. He and Salvor are able to fix the ship and they take off. As the ship is in space, Hari explains they can't interfere with the pending war between the first Foundation and Empire. The Second Foundation is designed to be used by those who understand Psychohistory and the Plan and to quietly change Empire's course if needed and act as a counter to the First Foundation. Hari sits down with Gaal and Salvor to discuss how they may influence the coming future chaos as a result of the Plan being off-course.

The best way for Gaal to get a clearer vision of the future is for her life to be in danger. Hari understands this, and helps to create conditions where Gaal can't breathe so she can have that vision of the future. In the future, Gaal encounters the Mule but also discovers that the Second Foundation was built. Hari helps Gaal interpret her vision, and the trio deduce they need to travel to Ignis to find the Mentalics mentioned in Gaal's vision.

The trio arrive at their destination, though Hari tells Gaal and Salvor that where they are not at Ignis and is in fact on Oona's World, where Kalle told him to go. In response to Gaal and Salvor's anger at this, Hari responds that he will not allow the Beggar to leave until he completes his mission. With Gaal still refusing, Salvor wants to get off this planet so forces Gaal to take Hari to the mountains ahead.

Hari and Gaal make their way to the mountain, and he tells her of his relationship with Yanna and how the Radiant came to be. At the entrance to the mountain, Gaal is able to open the door and Hari greets Kalle. He tells Gaal to leave and if he’s not back in six hours, she and Salvor should leave the planet. As they do so over six hours later, they find Hari lying on one of the statues - in a human body.

Appearances

• Season One
  • "Upon Awakening" (First appearance)
  • "Mysteries and Martyrs"
  • "The Missing Piece"
• Season Two
  • "In Seldon's Shadow"
  • "A Glimpse of Darkness"
  • "King and Commoner"

References