Vault

Vault
General information
Type	Mysterious object Hari Seldon's office Evacuation vessel
Location	Terminus
Inhabitants	Hari Seldon

The Vault is a mysterious artifact on the planet Terminus. It was discovered by colonists shortly after their arrival on the planet.

Description

The Vault hovers above the ground and generates a null field that discourages anything from approaching it, including humans and animals. It was an elongated diamond shape that was shorter and the base and taller at the apex, divided into two equal halves.

History

Establishing the Vault

Shortly before Hari Seldon was killed aboard the slow ship Deliverance, he swallowed a pill containing millions of self-replicating molecular machines. In accordance with his mortality directive, his body was released into space. The machines began breaking down the material of the casket and Hari's body into its constituent elements, as well as collecting material from space such as ice and micrometeroids. The elements were recycled, creating the internal scaffolding of the Vault. The Vault came to rest on Terminus.

Shortly after arriving on Terminus on theDeliverance, the colonists of the Foundation discovered the Vault. The null field incapacitated the initial scouting party, resulting in the colonists giving the structure a wide berth as they built their settlement. Rumors about its origin sprang up, ranging from it being an alien artifact, to a surveillance device sent ahead by the Galactic Empire. Eventually, the existence of the Vault became a mundane reality to the Foundation.

The local children of the colony played a game to see how close they can get to the Vault before the field forced them back, planting little flags in the ground to mark their progress. Salvor Hardin, the Warden of Terminus, is the only person able to withstand the effects of the null field. When Poly Verisof attempted to get close to the Vault in an effort to see the "ghost", he was rendered unconscious by the null field and had to be dragged to safety by Salvor.

First Crisis

Shortly before the Anacreons landed on Terminus, Salvor Hardin discovered that the null field was expanding. She felt that the Vault was beginning to wake up, and believed that it was not a coincidence that the field began expanding just as the Anacreons threatened the colony. When Phara Keaen took Salvor hostage and used her to breach the perimeter fence around Terminus City, Salvor turned the tables on her by driving their hover car towards the Vault. Entering the null field rendered Phara unconcious.

Second Crisis

In 12,240 Era Imperial, sirens sounded in Terminus City, signalling that the Vault was preparing to open. The null field began to recede, and the Foundation prepared for the return of the prophet. When the Vault opened, Seldon did not emerge. When Warden Jaegger Fount made to enter, he was killed by the Vault and the words "Hober Mallow" were inscribed on the outside of the structure.

Once Poly Verisof and Brother Constant return with Mallow in tow, the Vault forcibly sucked the latter inside once in proximity. The clerics follow him in as well as Director Sermak, the leader of Terminus. It is revealed that there is a time dilation effect where times moves faster inside the Vault with two days inside equaling to two minutes on the outside. The interior of the Vault is dark with small lights scattered and illuminating various obtuse shapes and stairways going on endlessly. The party shortly encounters Hari Seldon for the first time since the conclusion of the first crisis almost 200 years ago.

Third Crisis

The Vault relocated the Foundation to New Terminus, entering a dormant state hovering above a field of tall grass. The Vault's null field continued to keep people at bay, resulting in a circular depression directly beneath the Vault where no plants grew. A path leading up to the edge of the null field was marked with flags, similar to those found by the Vault on Terminus. In 12,392 Era Imperial, Doctor Ebling Mis met with Doctor Seldon three days before the Vault was due to open after nullifying the null field.

In exchange for being given a Human body like his counterpart, Seldon agrees to use the Vault to take a team from the Second Foundation to Foundation Station to kill the Mule. The Vault releases the team on the station and Seldon projects himself as a distraction for the Mule's guards. When Gaal Dornick escapes aboard the Beggar's Lament, Seldon briefly appears on the ship, appealing to her to keep their deal and describing the Vault as his tomb. However, Gaal admits that the other Seldon has been dead for years and she lied. As Gaal jumps away, a despondent Seldon returns to Foundation Station and the Vault.

Appearances

• Season One
  • "The Emperor's Peace" (First appearance)
  • "The Mathematician's Ghost"
  • "Barbarians at the Gate"
  • "Death and the Maiden"
  • "The Missing Piece"
  • "The First Crisis"
  • "The Leap"
• Season Two
  • "In Seldon's Shadow"
  • "A Glimpse of Darkness"
  • "King and Commoner"
  • "Where the Stars Are Scattered Thinly"
  • "Why the Gods Made Wine" (Mentioned only)
  • "The Last Empress"
  • "Long Ago, Not Far Away"
• Season Three
  • "A Song for the End of Everything"
  • "Shadows in the Math"
  • "The Stress of Her Regard" (Mentioned only)
  • "The Shape of Time"
  • "Foundation's End"
  • "Skin in the Game"
  • "The Paths That Choose Us"
  • "The Darkness"

Sources

• "Foundation: The Art and Making of Seasons 1 & 2"