But the Second Foundation was a more difficult job than the First. Its complexity is hugely greater; and consequently so is its possibility of error.… - Isaac Asimov

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But the Second Foundation was a more difficult job than the First. Its complexity is hugely greater; and consequently so is its possibility of error. And if the Second Foundation should not beat the Mule, it is bad — ultimately bad. It is the end, maybe, of the human race as we know it." "No." "Yes. If the Mule's descendants inherit his mental powers — You see? Homo sapiens could not compete. There would be a new dominant race — a new aristocracy — with homo sapiens demoted to slave labor as an inferior race. Isn't that so?" "Yes, that is so." "And even if by some chance the Mule did not establish a dynasty, he would still establish a distorted new Empire upheld by his personal power only. It would die with his death; the Galaxy would be left where it was before he came, except that there would no longer be Foundations around which a real and healthy Second Empire could coalesce. It would mean thousands of years of barbarism. It would mean no end in sight.