> Stephen, I already know what you think of any of the Foundation novels after the first book,

Just so it's clear, I like them a lot. I've said before I don't want to read anything written after the first "trilogy" (sort of a misnomer, as the trilogy is really is really three collections of short stories), but I love the first three books.

> but I can't help being reminded of Asimov's take on this type of power in _Foundation_and_Empire_ and _The_Second_Foundation_. Seems to me that Asimov's take on it had some merit. The power to effect other's thoughts could be used for good or evil effect, and those who wanted to use it for good would have to be extremely cautious about how and where and why they used it. Those who used it recklessly for their own gain would sooner or later come to grief.
>
> But what you're suggesting is that the power itself is intrinsically evil, am I right?

Yeah, pretty much. "Foundation" is sort of an exception, because the Second Foundation members using the power are essentially superhmans, who have access to a great plan which is working to the benefit of all humanity. Asimov has a bit of a benevolent authoritarian streak in him (in one of the Robot stories he has computers secretly taking over the world -- and it's a good thing), but it's always for the most enlightened of people/machines.

For normal humans, I think using the power is intrinsically evil. I'm not sure if super-intelligent people would be right to remove our rights for our benefit, but I guess it'd depend on the specifics of the situation.

Stephen