Han Pritcher

Han Pritcher is a fictional character from Isaac Asimov's Foundation Series. He is an important character in the second part of "Foundation and Empire" and the first part of "Second Foundation".

Fictional history

Pritcher was born in 267 F.E.. He studied at the Academy of Sciences, majoring in hyper-engineering. He became a Captain in the Foundation Navy, focusing on intelligence and espionage, and he was twice decorated for bravery; being given the "Order of Merit for bravery beyond the call of duty". He had a problem with authority, which limited his career somewhat, and was marked as insubordinate, and as not maintaining a correct attitude to superior officers. He was a member of the Democratic Underground on Terminus, planning to overthrow Mayor Indbur III.

In the months prior to the Mule's assault on the Foundation, Pritcher was ordered by Mayor Indbur III to investigate the Independent Traders of Haven, which Pritcher described as "a rat hole in space that, it seems, does not pay its taxes." [cite book | last=Asimov| first=Isaac | authorlink=Isaac Asimov | coauthors=| title=Foundation and Empire | location=New York, New York | publisher=Bantam Dell| pages=124 | date=2004] Instead, he chose to investigate what was happening on Kalgan, contrary to orders.

He helped Toran and Bayta Darrell abduct Magnifico Giganticus", the clown of the Mule, from Kalgan; ignorant of Magnifico's true identity as the Mule himself. Pritcher initially opposed the Mule and his attempts to conquer the Foundation, attempting to assassinate the Mule in a suicide attack, but the Mule was able to utilize his mental control to convert Pritcher into one of his most loyal followers, following which Pritcher was promoted to Colonel and eventually rose to the rank of Lieutenant General.

Subsequent to his conversion, he led six unsuccessful searches for the Second Foundation; on the final one, he was accompanied by Bail Channis, who the Mule suspected of being an agent of the Second Foundation.

His later history is alluded to briefly in the second part of "Second Foundation". He succeeded the Mule as First Citizen of the Union of Worlds, and he besieged Terminus, the resurgent capital of the Foundation, for a time. However, his attempt to hold the Union of Worlds together did not succeed, and eventually it separated into several distinct national bodies. Although it is clear that he failed to hold the Union together, his personal fate is unknown.

References