Specifically, the story discusses the interplay between Gilmer, the warlord who commands the sack, and Yokim Sarns, the Dean of the Galactic University, the only commander (of a militia made up of students and faculty) to hold off Gilmer's forces, and, unbeknownst to Gilmer or any outsider, First Speaker of the Second Foundation. Most of the story's 20 pages show negotiations between the two leaders for a ceasefire that will leave the University (and the Second Foundation) free of interference by Gilmer's rule of the city-planet in exchange for political neutrality on the university's part. The negotiations take place as Sarns and another Speaker, Maryan Drabel, give Gilmer a tour of their campus and of the Imperial Library. The story alternates between Gilmer's and Sarns's POVs, with the