Preparing to Live

**Preparing to Live** is the second episode of *Foundation*'s first season on Apple TV+. It aired on September 24, 2021 alongside the first episode, "The Emperor's Peace." The episode was written by Josh Friedman and David S. Goyer based on the novels by Isaac Asimov. Andrew Bernstein directed the episode.

## Synopsis

*The Foundation makes the long journey to Terminus as Gaal and Raych grow closer. The Empire faces a difficult decision.*

## Plot

Imperial forces under the direction of Demerzel raid an illegal biohacking facility on the dwarf planet Aethra seeking information about the nano-lace explosives used by the terrorists who destroyed the Star Bridge. Despite Demerzel's best efforts, the true architects of the attack remain undiscovered.

A slow ship carries Hari Seldon and his Foundation through space, bound for Terminus. At their current speed, it will take four years and four months to reach the planet, allowing the Foundation time to prepare and plan for living and surviving on Terminus. The training sims result in failures, and projections for deaths of Foundation personnel after settling Terminus are high.

The representatives of Anacreon and Thespis continue to deny any involvement in the bombing of the Star Bridge, despite evidence that the bombers were from those worlds. Jerril finds it hard to believe that the two planets would cooperate on a venture like this, given that historically they hate each other more than they hate the Empire.

As the senior member of the Genetic Dynasty, Brother Dusk works on the Mural of Souls. He falters while climbing a ladder and sees his hand begin to shake. Angry, Dusk takes out his frustration on the paint and ladder before storming off. Demerzel accompanies Dusk to the Scar, where the Star Bridge tether crashed into Trantor. Dusk tours to the destruction and meets with a priest of the Seer Church, wondering if Gaal is a true Seer who forsees the fall of the Empire.

Aboard the slow ship, the members of the Foundation continue to prepare to live on Terminus. Gaal takes on more responsibility in the Foundation, dealing with personal issues and attending a Foundation budget allocation meeting in Hari's stead. Gaal and Raych have grown close over the time onboard, developing a romantic relationship. Hari admits that he did not expect to be exiled as part of his plan.

In a show of strength, Brother Day orders Anacreon and Thespis to be bombed. In a ceremony on Trantor, images of the attacks are broadcast while he executes members of the diplomatic delegations. Only the ambassadors are allowed to live, to take word back to the survivors of their worlds that they failed to save them.

Aboard the slow ship, Gaal senses something is amiss and begins searching for Raych only to discover that he has stabbed Hari. When the ship's systems detect Hari's life signs have ceased, Raych grabs Gaal and runs to the escape pods with her, ejecting her, and the weapon used to kill Hari, into space.

## Cast

### Starring

* Jared Harris as Hari Seldon
* Lee Pace as Brother Day (Cleon XII)
* Lou Llobell as Gaal Dornick
* Laura Birn as Demerzel
* Terrence Mann as Brother Dusk (Cleon XI)
* Chipo Chung as Reth Linn

### Guest Starring

* Alfred Enoch as Raych Foss
* Elliot Cowan as Lewis Pirenne
* Sasha Behar as Mari Hardin

### Co-Starring

* Clarke Peters as Abbas
* Carolina Main as Ambassador Shae Un Shae
* Antony Bunsee as Ambassador Xandem
* Brian Bovell as Trantorian Seer Priest
* Reece Shearsmith as Jerril
* Vanessa Ifediora as Imperial Herald
* Cooper Carter as Dawn (Cleon XIII)
* Florence Ordesh as Briwan
* Kim Adis as Lowre
* Ahd Tamimi as Magnus
* Johanna O'Brien as Shivaughn
* Georg Nikaloff as Senior Laundry Worker
* Seham Aar as Veena Ahluwalia
* Laila Pyne as Jiam Quarver
* Abdul Alshareef as Comms Tech

## Appearances

**By type**

Characters

* Anacreon Bomber
* Briwan (First appearance)
* Cleon I (First appearance)
* Cleon XI
* Cleon XII
* Cleon XIII
* Demerzel
* Gaal Dornick
* Raych Foss
* Abbas Hardin (First appearance)
* Mari Hardin (First appearance)
* Jerril
* Reth Linn (First appearance)
* Lowre (First appearance)
* Magnus (First appearance)
* Lewis Pirenne (First appearance)
* Jiam Quarver
* Hari Seldon
* Shae Un Shae
* Shivaughn (First appearance)
* Theron (First appearance)
* Thespin Bomber
* Trantorian Seer Priest
* Xandem

Creatures

* Bishop's claw (First appearance)

Events

* Execution of the Anacreon and Thespin delegates (First appearance)
* Orbital bombardment of Anacreon (First appearance)
* Orbital bombardment of Thespis (First appearance)
* Robot Wars (First mentioned)
* Trial of Hari Seldon and Gaal Dornick (Mentioned only)

Locations

* Outer Reach (Mentioned only)
	+ Anacreon (First appearance)
	+ Terminus (Mentioned only)
		- Geothermal tunnels (First mentioned)
	+ Thespis (First appearance)
* Trantor
	+ Imperial Palace
		- Imperial Gardens (First mentioned)
		- Mural of Souls
		- Principium Tower (First appearance)
		- Throne Room
	+ Scar
	+ Star Bridge (Mentioned only)
	+ Streeling University
	+ Trantorian Seer Church

Organizations and titles

	+ Blue Team (First mentioned)
	+ Green Team (First mentioned)
	+ Red Team (First mentioned)
* Galactic Empire
	+ Genetic Dynasty
		- Brother Dawn
		- Brother Day
		- Brother Dusk
* Seer Church
	+ Seer

Sentient species

	+ Clone
* Robot

Vehicles and vessels

* Shuttle (First appearance)
	+ Imperial shuttle (First appearance)
* Slow ship (First appearance)
	+ Imperative-class (First appearance)
		- *Deliverance* (First appearance)

Weapons and technology

* Blaster
* Cryopod (First appearance)
* Nano-lace explosive (Mentioned only)
* Prime Radiant
* Sensory shroud

Miscellanea

* Chroma
* Prayer stones
* Psychohistory
* Sleeper (Mentioned only)

## Behind the scenes

* The scenes on Trantor and the scenes onboard the *Deliverance* appear to happen in two different time periods, although relatively close to one another. On Trantor, it has been two weeks since the Bombing of the Star Bridge, and mentions of several weeks passing are made by both the Anacreon and Thespin ambassadors. However, on the *Deliverance*, Hari Seldon refers to the last few months being a gift, indicating that they have been underway for at least that long.
* In "The Emperor's Peace", Hari states it will take 878 days to get to Terminus without a jumpdrive, equalling roughly two and half years on a standard twelve month calendar. However, several months into the journey, a conversation between Raych Foss and Gaal Dornick in this episode indicates that they still have "four years and four months" and "fifty-four months" left of their trip.