The Science Fiction Elements in Asimov's FoundationThe Science Fiction Elements in Asimov's Foundation[This essay explores the characteristics of the novel Foundation, which are unique to the genre of science fiction.] The most fundamental and obvious element of science fiction is its reliance on imagined technological advances. The SF writer exploits the gap between scientific theory and practice to create a world, or at least circumstances, very different from our own reality and yet very believable because of the scientific "logic" behind it all. The SF writer must provide some sort of scientific explanation for how the fantastical things he talks about were made possible. Asimov, in his novel Foundation, introduces hyperspace travel based on the concept of hyperspace, to make possible the existence of the Galactic Empire. Nuclear power provides the necessary energy and the use of coal and oil, as Salvor Hardin says in the novel, is considered "barbaric". Trantor, the capital of this futuristic empire, went even further by “using the temperature difference between ground level and a few kilometers below” to provide all the necessary energy. The “glorious” picture is completed from the first pages with Gaal Dornick following a beam of light for a guide and taking a taxi that rises straight into the air. Due to this creation of a new and invented world, it becomes essential that the reader will be informed of many things that the inhabitants of this world take for granted. This characteristic of "information dumping" is quite particular to science fiction, in that writers in other genres do not need to explain things such as how people travel and what fuels they use. A good SF writer doesn't get carried away with the brilliance of his innovative ideas, thereby disrupting the flow of the story and overloading the reader with too many facts. Instead, information is provided in small capsules wherever possible with as little intrusion as possible. Asimov uses various devices for information dumping to avoid monotony. The first we encounter is the use of metatext, the Encyclopedia Galactica, which not only informs the reader but also serves as the ultimate point of reference. Excerpts from this invented encyclopedia introduce certain characters from the novel and provide an overview of the world, with its social and political milieu, in which they live. Furthermore, the use of an encyclopedia appears to the reader as a scientific approach, consistent with the strategy of "logic", while fulfilling an important narrative function..