The only thing that could stop Asimov’s writing

I am rereading Foundation at the moment, probably the book I have read the most.

My copy has brittle, yellowed pages with the slightly uneven typesetting seen in older books.

It’s so old, Salvor Hardin’s line is vastly superior, “the Galaxy is going to the boat!” – something they changed after a few edits.

I wonder how much it shaped my worldview.

How wisdom conquers savagery, how decay wants to destroy its own salvation, how a tiny and sterile particle of a world can divert the course of history …

It made me think.

Asimov was famous for his prolific. The guy could write like it was nobody’s business. Through a sheer tide of high-quality quantity, it redefined the sci-fi genre.

There is also another story from his life.

Ol ‘Isaac saw a lot of himself in Hari Seldon, the Foundation genius launching a project that saves the galaxy from 29,000 years of anarchy and misery.

Seldon dies early in the story, off-screen, so to speak. It is not his story, but the story of what he left behind.

Later, Asimov wrote more about Seldon’s life, developing it and linking the Foundation environment with his series of robots.

He was able to write more about this character who was such an important part of him.

He wrote about his funeral.

And he didn’t live long after that.

You could say that the timing was a coincidence. Or that he knew, consciously or unconsciously, that his days were short, so he finished his work in the time he had left.

I admit, both explanations are likely.

But there is another:

He mourned the death of his character, the death of himself in fictional form.

As a writer, I can’t help but think about this. I mean, Miyamoto Musashi died shortly after (or towards the end?) Of writing his masterpiece as well.

I’m sure you can think of other examples, written or not, where the last thing a creator did was create something great or meaningful.

I know what the joking response to that is.

“You never believe anything great, it’s dangerous!”

At least I hope it’s a joke. It’s 2020 and a lot of people have strange ideas about danger.

But what if you are like me?

That sounds beautiful.

We all die sometime. I plan to create my whole life; I cannot withdraw from it because it is part of me.

The idea of ​​pouring the last of my essence into something sounds sublime. I suppose it is the writer’s equivalent of dying gloriously in battle.