The eleventh episode of the second season of Cosmos —hosted by the charismatic and now science superstar, Neil deGrasse Tyson— may have left you with a certain feel of wonder and imaginative curiosity regarding the future of mankind.
Has science fiction ever envisaged a somewhat realistic future scenario were us, humans, escape our humble origins, up until now, bound to a single planet, to venture in a voyage that will spread our civilisation across the galaxy? Well, that is precisely the paradigm in which the events of The Foundation Series take place.
Written by whom, one could argue, was the most prolific science fiction author of the twentieth century, professor Issac Asimov, this chef-d’œuvre of cosmic proportions consists of seven volumes narrating the way in which humans are set upon the most epic mission of their entire existence to save all knowledge from being lost forever in the eternity of the universe.
In order to achieve such an ambitious enterprise they are set to create the largest encyclopedia ever, The Encyclopedia Galactica —kind of like Wikipedia on steroids— which is estimated to take several generations to achieve.
Originally a trilogy, The Foundation Series won the Hugo Award as “Best All-Time Series” in 1966. In fact, the Encyclopedia Galactica gives the name to one of the episodes of the original Cosmos series hosted by the astrophysicist Carl Sagan in the 1980’s. Talking ’bout going back to the source, huh?
The Foundation Series, this Lord of the Rings masterpiece of science fiction, is a must-read for any fan of the genre.
UX Doodle 