Psychohistory and Encyclopedia

The Foundation Trilogy by Isaac Asimov (BBC Radio)

The opening episode begins on Trantor, capital of the Galactic Empire, with the meeting of Hari Seldon and Gaal Dornick, their trial, and their exile to Terminus. The action then jumps forward fifty years, to the first Seldon Crisis, where the repercussions of the recent independence of the Four Kingdoms of the Periphery are being felt on Terminus, and are handled by the first Mayor, Salvor Hardin.