Manella Dubanqua is a character in Isaac Asimov's Foundation series.
About Manella[]
Manella Dubanqua is a Dahlite woman who becomes romantically involved with Raych Seldon. A pragmatic and charismatic woman from the Dahl sector, Manella first meets Raych following the Joranumite crisis. Their relationship develops, and she eventually becomes his wife. Prior to this, she plays a crucial, albeit unintentional, role in the events surrounding the Joranumite conspiracy. She was at one time romantically involved with Gleb Andorin, a Wyan aristocrat and high-ranking member of the underground Joranumite movement led by Gambol Deen Namarti.
It is Manella who first identifies Raych, using the alias "Planchet", to Andorin as a potential asset, noting his apparent idealism and honest demeanor, which she correctly intuits would make him a perfect, unsuspecting pawn. Her assessment directly leads to Andorin recruiting the drugged Raych for the plot to assassinate Hari Seldon. Unaware of the conspiracy's true scope or the fact that "Planchet" was Raych, her actions were based on her personal connection to Andorin rather than political allegiance.
Her most critical intervention occurs during the assassination attempt at the Imperial Palace. As the drugged Raych moves to fire a neuronic whip at his father, Manella, who had secured a position at the event, acts on instinct. Recognizing the imminent danger, she shoots and kills Andorin, disrupting the plot and saving both Raych and Hari Seldon. This act of defiance directly causes the chain of panic that leads to Chief Gardener Mandell Gruber accidentally killing Emperor Cleon I.
In the aftermath, she and Raych reconcile and marry. They have two children together, Wanda and Bellis. Years later, the family relocates to the outer world of Santanni, except for Wanda, after Raych accepts a teaching position. When a violent anti-Imperial rebellion breaks out on Santanni, Raych secures passage for Manella and their younger daughter, Bellis, on the hyper-ship Arcadia VII bound for Anacreon. The ship flees Santanni but vanishes en route and never reaches its destination. While Raych's death in the subsequent bombardment is confirmed, the fate of Manella and Bellis remains officially a "disappearance" within the narrative; they are presumed lost with the ship, a devastating tragedy for Hari and Wanda.
Appearances[]