Contains spoilers for “Foundation” Season 3, Episode 2, “Shadows in the Math”

Isaac Asimov enthusiasts, get ready to celebrate! The imperial sci-fi series “Foundation” by Apple TV+ has returned. Season 3 has kicked off, offering more than just a quiet whisper of a crumbling Empire; it launches with the audacity one would expect from the rising Foundation. The premiere delved into the intertwining philosophies of Asimov’s Robot and Empire universes (anyone familiar with the Zeroth Law?), with Episode 2 diving further into the “Foundation” lore as it examines the nascent Second Foundation and its leader, the First Speaker.

So far, the show has slightly downplayed the prominence of the leader of this mentalic enclave, given the towering presence of Hari Seldon (Jared Harris) and Gaal Dornick (Lou Llobell). In the books, however, those characters have already exited the scene at this stage in the story. In their absence, a series of peer-elected First Speakers take on a pivotal role, steering the narrative forward by directing the Second Foundation, defending the First Foundation, and safeguarding the Seldon Plan.

With the introduction of not one but two First Speakers in Episode 2, it’s a perfect opportunity to delve into the archives and examine the esteemed role this position holds in the Asimov universe, what being a First Speaker entails, and how this could potentially shape the show’s trajectory.

What is the First Speaker’s role, credentials, and responsibilities? In Isaac Asimov’s books, when Hari Seldon establishes the First Foundation on Terminus at the edge of the galaxy, he simultaneously sets up a secret Second Foundation. Unlike the show, where this group is located on the jungle-like planet of Ignis, the book version is hidden right in the Imperial capital itself, Trantor, where it stays even as the Empire collapses around it. By the era the show has now reached, the hidden Second Foundation is the only civilized area of the planet not in ruins.

Whether it’s on Ignis in the show or Trantor in the books, the Second Foundation is led in both cases by a First Speaker. On the surface, their job is straightforward. They must lead the scholarly community of mentalics (who were introduced at the end of Season 2) as they play guide and guardian to the Seldon Plan. The inheritors of psychohistory (Asimov’s fictional science of math, psychology, and history) are secretly tasked with keeping the plan on track, and their leader is the point person for that job.

To become a First Speaker, an initiate of the Second Foundation must not only be good at psychohistory, but so proficient that they actually contribute to Hari Seldon’s life’s work. After adding their own original contribution to the plan, a Second Foundationer can become a candidate for First Speaker. The initial First Speaker we meet in the show is Thalis (Sandra Guldberg Kampp), but she is quickly replaced through the unmerciful passage of cryo-accelerated time with Preem Palver (Troy Kotsur) — the original First Speaker we meet in the books.

While we’ve finally met the First Speaker — and Preem Palver, in particular — things are just getting started with the Second Foundation. With Hari Seldon already out of the way and only Gaal remaining of the original Foundation crew, we can expect to see the First Speakers begin to step into the vacuum moving forward. In the books, Preem Palver plays a critical role not just against the Mule but in keeping the First Foundation off the trail of the Second Foundation, which they see as a threat due to its secret, unexplained existence.

The First Speakers who are elected after Palver continue to work against the Mule as they labor to keep their enclave secret and the Seldon Plan on track. Their importance also goes beyond the current crisis. There is a critical moment (as far as the First Speaker is concerned) in Episode 2 that is easy to miss: When Hari shares his updated Prime Radiant (which houses all of his psychohistorical planning and findings) with Gaal, they look at yet another Seldon Crisis coming down the pike. This one is bigger and crazier than all the rest — and it doesn’t result from the Mule winning. It happens if he loses.

That mysterious future challenge — that unexplained branch in the timeline — is the biggest reveal in the entire “Foundation” story, one that makes the threat of the Mule look like small potatoes. And the First Speakers? They’ll be neck deep in the action if that future mathematical possibility ever becomes reality.