"Book" (pp. 203-222) Summary

Wild-eyed and breathing heavily, Raindrop leads Seldon up a ramp to a vacant room; she sits on the single chair and indicates he should take the cot. She will be cast out if anyone learns about this, but she must know what this talk about religion means. Raindrop has dropped all passivity and shyness. Seldon explains that he is a scholar seeking to understand human beings and understand history, and on many worlds ancient historical records have "decayed into myths and legends", often religious. Raindrop reiterates they have real history dating back 20,000 years. At this point, Seldon admits he is not a trained historian and wants to involve Venabili. Recalling stories of flying reptiles on ancient Helicon and other "self-serving heroisms and minidramas", Seldon asks how Mycogenian history begins. With a faraway look, Raindrop recalls one world...