Overview

• Demerzel delivers a long-awaited admission of her role in a pivotal event that influenced early Foundation-Empire relations.
• She reveals her underlying motives and begins confronting the consequences for her own sense of purpose.
• Pritcher displays behavior that suggests lingering external influence, raising questions about his allegiance to the Foundation.
• Brother Dawn defects to the Second Foundation, underscoring deepening fractures within the Cleonic dynasty.
• Brother Day employs ruthless measures to pursue his personal objectives, highlighting betrayals among the imperial heirs.