Poly Verisof was the only person on Terminus in Foundation season 2 who had seen Hari Seldon approximately 138 years ago when the vault had opened for the first time. Even before the prophet had appeared in front of him, as a child, Poly was very inquisitive as to what lay inside that huge object that had emerged out of nowhere. As a kid, Poly tried going near it, but he could not make it inside the vault. Though Poly was in the dark and didn’t know what the future had in store for him and the people of the first Foundation, his faith was still strong, as he believed in Hari Seldon. He knew that his prophet had some plan in mind, and he was watching over them. He knew that Hari Seldon wouldn’t ever abandon them and would keep paying visits when the people needed him.
Days become years, but Hari Seldon never graced the people of Terminus with his presence. Poly waited, and he became a part of the church of the galactic spirit because he didn’t want people to lose faith and start considering Hari Seldon as a character of a folktale that only existed in stories. Poly started preaching the word of Hari Seldon and telling people about his psychohistory calculation, and on his journey, he found people who probably had more faith in Hari Seldon as compared to what he did. Brother Constant became Poly Verisof’s deputy, and together, they went from one planet to another to spread the gospel and make people disciples of Hari Seldon. We saw that Poly was not as sure about his beliefs as he once used to be but just when the doubts started clouding his mind, a miracle happened, something which he had not expected, especially at that juncture.
What mission does Hari Seldon send Poly on?
Poly was doing his missionary work in Siwenna when they got to know that the vault had been opened once again. Poly and Brother Constant came back to Terminus, and the former was eager to go in front of the vault and greet Hari Seldon in case he was going to appear once again. But Director Sermak and other bureaucrats did not allow Poly to be on the front lines, which gravely hurt Poly. Poly’s defense was that he was the only one to have seen Hari Seldon before, and so he should be the one who greets him and has a conversation with him. Poly felt aggrieved, and he went on saying that Terminus was no different from Trantor and that it had forgotten the ideals that were an integral part of this new establishment. But it was not a hidden fact that Poly was an addict, and the bureaucrats didn’t want him to be in that inebriated state doing things that could potentially spoil their cause.
Hari Seldon didn’t come out of the vault, but the name of Hober Mallow was impressed on the outer walls, and that’s when the hunt for the trader began. Poly and Constant found him on Korell, and immediately, they got to know the kind of man he was. Poly didn’t understand how such a con man could help Hari Seldon or why he was being given so much importance. But Hari had everything planned out, and finally, Poly got the chance to meet the man for whom he had waited for more than a century. Poly and Brother Constant were given the task of going to Trantor to make a peace offering to Brother Day, whereas Hober Mallow was asked to make a deal with the spacers and convince them to fight for the cause of the Foundation. Hari Seldon knew that Brother Day would not enter into a peaceful alliance with the Foundation, and that’s why he had asked Hober Mallow to initiate a plan B and be prepared for the worst-case scenario.
Why does Poly think about Brother Constant?
When Poly and Brother Constant reached Trantor, the former had a sort of epiphany, and he decided that he would try his level best to quit his addiction. Poly didn’t use to be like this, and he didn’t like the man he saw in the mirror. He gave himself a lot of importance by telling people that he was the only one who had seen Hari Seldon, but deep down, he knew that his faith was not as strong as he would have wanted it to be. On the other hand, there was Brother Constant, who had only heard about Hari Seldon and still believed in him with all her heart. Poly was moved to see Brother Constant’s faith, belief, and dedication towards the cause. He praised her and told her how highly he thought of her. Poly would have happily handed over the mantle to Brother Constant, as according to him, she was more deserving than anybody else. Poly was in an inebriated state, but he knew that he was going to change his life the very next day and try to be worthy of the position he held. But before he could do any of that, Brother Day’s soldiers came and took him and Brother Constant into custody.
Is Poly dead or alive?
Obviously, as expected, Brother Day rejected Poly’s offer, stating that he did not have any trust in the people of Terminus, as all this time, they had been conspiring behind his back. He told Poly that Hober Mallow had been caught by the spacers, and he knew what he was trying to do. Poly didn’t know that Hari Seldon had given such a task to Hober Mallow, as he could not understand what the person was trying to do. On one end, he was sending Poly and Constant as peace emissaries, and on the other, he was making Hober Mallow do things that could potentially start a war. Brother Day decided that Poly and Constant would be hanged publicly so that he could set a precedent and tell the people what could happen if someone tried to go against the empire. But the execution couldn’t be carried out as Hober Mallow disrupted the party and escaped with Brother Constant. Brother Day didn’t kill Poly, as he knew that his presence could give him leverage when he went to negotiate with Terminus.
At the end of Foundation season 2, we saw that Brother Day ordered the spaceship named Invictus to be brought down on the Terminus so that the entire planet was destroyed, as he wanted to get done with the issue once and for all. But Hari Seldon was not going to let that happen. He saved almost everybody and brought all of them inside the vault. Poly was still alive, and he reunited with Brother Constant after she escaped from the spaceship with the help of Bel Rios and Hober Mallow. Hari Seldon told everyone that Terminus had to be destroyed so that a second Foundation could be established, and now, probably, we will see Poly, Brother Constant, Glawen, and others going to a different place to establish their base once again. Poly’s work is not done, as in Foundation season 3 (if there is one); he and others who had survived the first Foundation would have to carry out the responsibilities entrusted to them by Hari Seldon so that course correction of events could happen and it could ultimately lead to making the great plan become a reality.
