Hober Mallow

Hober Mallow is a fictional character in Isaac Asimov's The Foundation Series of stories and novels. He is the central protagonist of "The Merchant Princes," the final short story to comprise Asimov's Foundation.

Mallow is a master trader in the Foundation and pilot of the Far Star. Originally from Smyrno, one of the Four Kingdoms which borders Terminus, Mallow is a freelance trader and considererd among the best. He is sent to Korell on a mission to discover the fates of several Foundation cruisers lost in that sector, as well as to investigate the possibility that Korell has developed nuclear technology.

As soon as they land on the central planet of that system, a Foundation missionary seeks protection aboard the Far Star. A Korellian mob awaits the monk outside the vessel and demands that he be turned over to them for trial. Mallow, suspecting a ruse turns him over gladly and continues with his mission, opening trade with The Commodore of Korell. Mallow profits greatly from this deal and becomes one of the richest men on Terminus and in the course of trade discussions, discoveres that the Korellians have in fact gained nuclear technology.

When he returns to Terminus, he is accused of being a traitor for not spreading the Foundation's nuclear based pseudo-religion and for allowing a Foundation missionary to be killed. He defends himself successfully at trial, exposing the "missionary" as a member of the Korellian Secret Police. On the back of the resultant publicity, he then wins the mayoral election, becoming the leader of Terminus. While serving as Mayor, he encounters the next of the Seldon Crises. In this case, the crisis was in impending war with Korell and the remnants of the Empire which back them. In a swift move to avert any trouble, Mallow made the Korellian economy dependent on Foundation merchandise before they even attacked. The war ends three years later as one of "the least fought wars in Galactic History", as quoted in the Encyclopedia Galactica. In doing so, Mallow transfers the power and influence of the Foundation from being Religious to being Economic, turning it into a successful plutocracy.

In centuries after, Mallow is remembered as the first of the Merchant Princes, and as something of a culture hero of Terminus myth. A Foundation Battle cruiser is named for him, and Golan Trevize is given a ship named Far Star at the beginning of Foundation's Edge