Tamwile Elar is a character in Isaac Asimov's Foundation series.
About Elar[]
Tamwile Elar is a brilliant and ambitious mathematician who made significant contributions to the Psychohistory Project under Hari Seldon. A tall, long-haired, and confident man from the West Mandanov Sector, Tamwile Elar joined the Psychohistory Project as a senior mathematician, quickly establishing himself as one of its most innovative minds. His most crucial contribution was the development of the "achaotic equations," a groundbreaking mathematical formulation that finally allowed the Project's models to circumvent the problem of chaos and edge closer to viable predictions of the future. He also conceived the theory behind the "electroclarifier," a device designed by Cinda Monay that vastly increased the data storage capacity and clarity of the Prime Radiant. Despite his brilliance, his loud laugh and aggressive self-assurance initially grated on the more reserved Yugo Amaryl. Elar's ambition was evident; he was the one who suggested the massive public celebration for Hari Seldon's 60th birthday, an event that inadvertently drew the dangerous attention of the ruling military junta due to its scale and display of Seldon's popularity.
Elar's relationship with the junta was complex. He privately advised Seldon on how to handle General Tennar, warning that Seldon's frank honesty would be a liability when dealing with the stupid and violent general and even offering to take Seldon's place at the meeting—a suggestion Seldon refused. Unbeknownst to Seldon, Elar was also in secret communication with Colonel Hender Linn, Tennar's aide. Elar's true, treacherous plan was to use an intensified version of his electroclarifier, which emitted a field harmless to humans but lethal to robots, to destroy Dors Venabili, whom he had correctly deduced was an android. He believed that with Dors removed and the aging Seldon and Amaryl discredited or eliminated, he would naturally ascend to lead the Project. He activated the device during a confrontation with Dors, critically damaging her systems. However, with her last vestige of strength, Dors killed Elar before succumbing to her own fatal injuries, thwarting his scheme.
Appearances[]