Who's Who in Asimov R

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z

Racety: Captain of the Sarkite ship Endeavor. (5-8)
Radiant, Prime: See Prime Radiant.
Radiation Theory: Idea that all humans in the galaxy were descendants of people who had originally inhabited a single planet. (7-13)
Radole: Most central of the twenty-seven independent trading worlds, chosen to host the all-trader convention called to devise a strategy to deal with the Mule. (11-II-16)
Raindrop Forty-Five: Younger of two Mycogenian sisters met by Hari Seldon and Dors Venabili. (8-8-39)
Raindrop Forty-Three: Elder of two Mycogenian sisters met by Hari Seldon and Dors Venabili, and from whom Seldon obtained a copy of the Mycogenians' revered book containing a version of the history of Aurora. (8-8-39,9,10-44,45)
Randa, Kiangtow: Eminent mathematician, and Lisung Randa's uncle. (8-V-21)
Randa, Lisung: Young and apparently anti-Imperialist instructor in psychology who Hari Seldon met while at Streeling University. (8-V-21)
Randel: Councillor of Askone. (10-IV-4)
Randu: Franssart Darell's half-brother, and one of the leading figures in the independent traders' plan to overthrow the plutocratic government of the Foundation fronted by Indbur. Randu's original plan was to enlist the help of the powerful warlord of Kalgan, but when it became obvious that the Mule, after defeating Kalgan, was moving against the Foundation, Randu pressed for the independent traders to side with Foundation forces. After the fall of the Foundation, he sent Bayta and Toran Darell, Ebling Mis, and, unknowingly, the Mule himself to search for the Second Foundation to ask for help. (11-II-11)
Rashelle: Daughter of Mannix IV, to whom he had transferred much of his executive power as Mayor of Wye. She wanted the support of Hari Seldon's psychohistory, whether genuine or fictitious, to help her fulfil her ambition to sieze the Imperium. Although her stated desire to become Empress not of the galaxy but only of Trantor and its associated worlds seemed genuine enough, Seldon realised that the galaxy would not long remain peaceful as independent kingdoms, but would collapse into anarchy. Her planned coup was thwarted by Daneel Olivaw's careful stirring up of distrust among key military officers, and the securing of her father's support when Imperial forces descended on Wye to forestall the coup. (8-17,18)
Rasie: Young boy of Florina. (5-2)
Remorseless: Tyranni ship, commandeered on Rhodia by Biron Farrill. (6-10)
Reventlov, Giskard: Robot designed and built on Aurora by Han Fastolfe, and a lifelong companion of Fastolfe. As an unintended result of experiments in programming carried out on him by Fastolfe's student daughter Vasilia, Giskard was given the ability to read and influence minds. Although he used this ability according to the Laws of Robotics, this nevertheless included using it to prevent its discovery, and only Elijah Baley, during the investigation of Jander Panell's death, and Vasilia Aliena, at the height of the crisis between Aurora and Earth, deduced the extent of his powers.; It was Giskard's agreement with the views of Fastolfe on the future of the Spacers and of Earthpeople which led him to induce Panell into stasis when he discovered that Kelden Amadiro had been trying to extract information on humaniform robots from Panell for his own purposes, and to encourage the assignment of Baley to the subsequent investigation. His encounter with, and observations of, Baley convinced him that Fastolfe was right, and he continued to use his powers, when necessary, to encourage the mass emigration from Earth which Fastolfe wanted to see.; After Fastolfe's death, ownership of Giskard and his long-time friend Daneel Olivaw transferred to Gladia Delmarre, and with her they accompanied D.G.Baley via Solaria and Baleyworld to Earth, where Giskard could observe human beings en masse, and was able to reprogram some of Earth's robots to influence the Earth's officials towards a more positive attitude to colonization. While on Earth he prevented Amadiro from initiating his plan to destroy Earth but allowed Levular Mandamus to, determining that a long, slow death for the planet would be in the best interests of humanity by forcing them to expand into the galaxy.; Although Giskard, after long and detailed discussions with Daneel, had recognised the need for a Zeroth Law of Robotics as proposed by Daneel as an answer to what both had come to see as the incompleteness of the existing Laws of Robotics, he was less well able to cope with the abstract concepts which the Zeroth Law introduced, and went into stasis as a result of the lingering uncertainty of his decision to allow Earth to die, coming as it had at the end of a protracted series of difficult crises. Before freezing, he programmed Daneel with his telepathic powers. (3; 4)
Rhampora: World evidently well-known for its oysters. (14-I-2-8)
Rhodia: One of the Nebular Kingdoms, the centre of the revolutionary movement dedicated to the overthrow of the Tyranni. (6-5)
Ricker: Fatally unsuccessful pretender to the Imperial throne. (11-I-4)
Rik: Native of Earth, and agent of the Interstellar Spatio-analytic Bureau. After discovering the Florina's sun was in a pre-nova stage, he was abducted and psychic-probed by Myrlyn Terens, who dumped him near a kyrtmill town on Florina where Terens could await his recovery as part of a plan to topple Florina's Sarkite ruling class. There he worked as a millworker while being tended by Valona March, but as he recovered his memory both Sark and the agents of Trantor began to seek him for their own ends. Although the details of his discovery were recovered, he did not return to spatio-analysis but returned instead to Earth with March with the intention of attempting to restore Earth's increasingly radioactive surface. Rik (meaning "moron" in the local dialect) was the name given him on Florina; his name prior to this is not revealed. (5)
Riose, Bel: Military Governor of Siwenna, and the last of the Empire's truly capable military leaders, Riose perceived the threat posed to the Empire by the growing influence of the Foundation in the Periphery. His sound military tactics and inspirational leadership, with the support of Ammal Brodrig, brought the Foundation to the brink of defeat, but his expedition was abandoned, and Riose and Brodrig recalled and executed, when a beleaguered and paranoid Imperium realised that it could not afford to have such a charismatic and successful leader in troubled times. (11-I)
Rittah, Mother: Old woman of the Billibotton area of Dahl. Dismissed as a fortune-teller by educated Dahlites, she was able to supply Hari Seldon with information on Earth, Aurora and robots which was not available from historical sources, and which contradicted the version of early history which he had discovered in Mycogen. (8-14,69)
Rizzett, Tedor: Colonel of the regular Linganian forces. A close confidante of Sander Jonti, he killed Jonti after realising that he had been responsible for the death of the Rancher of Widemos, and was further plotting to kill the Ranchers' heir Biron Farrill. (6-4 etc.)
Roblock: Robot-block. See Mental freeze-out. (3-1-1)
Robotics, Laws of: See Laws of Robotics.
Rossem: Cold and marginal world, part of the Oligarchy of Tazenda. Rossem was chosen by the Second Foundation as the the second and last of the decoy locations to present to the Mule as their own, and was where they finally trapped and mentally reconditioned him. The "village elders" of Rossem were in fact Second Foundation agents. (12-I-3,4,5,6)
Roth, Wilson: Commissioner of Police after the departure of Julius Enderby. (3-1-3)
Rufirant, Karoll: Hamish Farmer who accosted Stor Gendibal on Trantor. This led Gendibal first to suspect that his fellow speaker Delora Delarmi had tried to prevent him from attending a crucial meeting of the Table; it later transpired that the so-called Anti-Mules were responsible for Rufirant's highly uncharacteristic behaviour. (13-7-23,25)
Rune: Island, the smallest of the five continents of Sark. (5-9,12)
Russ, Lanel: Officer of the Dahl Security Forces sent to arrest Hari Seldon and Dors Venabili. (8-16-77,78)