Foundation's Friends

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Foundation's Friends, Stories in Honor of Isaac Asimov is a 1989 festschrift honoring science fiction author Isaac Asimov, in the form of an anthology of short stories set in Asimov's universes, particularly the Robot/Empire/Foundation universe. The anthology was edited by Martin H. Greenberg, and contributing authors include Ray Bradbury, Robert Silverberg, Frederik Pohl, Poul Anderson, and Orson Scott Card.

Hardback: ISBN 0-312-93174-3
Paperback: ISBN 0-8125-0980-3

[edit] Table of contents

Title	Author	Notes
Preface	Ray Bradbury	A brief overview and praise of Asimov's work
The Nonmetallic Isaac or It’s a Wonderful Life	Ben Bova	A look at what the world would be like if Asimov never wrote science fact
Strip-Runner	Pamela Sargent	Set between The Naked Sun and The Robots of Dawn; Elijah Baley makes a brief appearance and Ben Baley is mentioned
The Asenion Solution	Robert Silverberg	A collection of in-jokes; uses Asimov's fictional thiotimoline substance and ties into The Gods Themselves
Murder in the Urth Degree	Edward Wellen	A Wendell Urth story
Trantor Falls	Harry Turtledove	Set between the two halves of Foundation and Empire; details the Great Sack of Trantor
Dilemma	Connie Willis	Story about an old Asimov in the 21st century meeting robots modeled after his characters; also appeared in Robot Dreams
Maureen Birnbaum After Dark	George Alec Effinger	A retelling of Nightfall from the view of his Maureen Birnbaum character; also collected in Maureen Birnbaum, Barbarian Swordsperson
Balance	Mike Resnick	A brief story about Susan Calvin
The Present Eternal	Barry N. Malzberg	A sequel to The Dead Past
PAPPI	Sheila Finch	An anti-robotics industrialist attempts to assassinate Mayor Stephen Byerly; Susan Calvin also appears
The Reunion at the Mile-High	Frederik Pohl	An alternate history where Asimov was drafted into a biological weapons program during World War II and never became an author
Plato's Cave	Poul Anderson	Set between Runaround and Stephen Byerly's election to World Coordinator; Susan Calvin, Alfred Lanning, Greg Powell and Mike Donovan appear; Byerly and Speedy are mentioned
Foundation’s Conscience	George Zebrowski	Set in 1056 FE after the creation of the Second Empire (may conflict with Foundation's Edge/Foundation and Earth, as Gaia is not apparent)
Carhunters of the Concrete Prairie	Robert Sheckley	Concerns intelligent robots and the Three Laws of Robotics, but appears to be independent of the Robot/Empire/Foundation universe
The Overheard Conversation	Edward D. Hoch	A Black Widowers story
Blot	Hal Clement	Plot includes positronic robots, the Three Laws of Robotics, and U.S. Robots and Mechanical Men, but also includes the discovery of alien life, which contradicts Asimov's stories
The Fourth Law of Robotics	Harry Harrison	A story about an older Mike Donovan and Susan Calvin's grandniece solving a crime with the help of the Stainless Steel Rat
The Originist	Orson Scott Card	Set just after the first part of Foundation, deals with Hari Seldon's establishment of the Second Foundation
A Word or Two from Janet	Janet Asimov	Janet Asimov describes what it's like to be Isaac's wife
Fifty Years	Isaac Asimov	Isaac Asimov compares his life and career to the greats of science and literature