Academy. Azimov A.

“Academy” is the first in a series of novels whose action unfolds in such a distant future that the Earth is almost forgotten by people who have settled throughout the galaxy. But not everything is perfect in the Galactic Empire, whose colossal dimensions are only in harm. The planets, where the entire imperial bureaucratic machine is concentrated, are vulnerable to attack, both from the outside and from the inside. The monstrous distance between the center and the periphery of the empire makes the management of ineffective. The only person is ready to withstand the impending disaster is Gary Seldon, a psychostoric and a mathematician. With the help of psychoistory, he makes disappointing predictions, namely, new “dark centuries” that will discard humanity 500 years ago, plunging it in the era of barbarism. Seldon is working on a way to preserve knowledge about his race in the Galactic Encyclopedia. But many generations will be needed to implement this project, and who will accept the baton after Seldon? The first trilogy of the Academy (Academy, Academy and Empire, the Second Academy) received the Hugo Award in 1965 as the Best Book series of all time.