Having passed through terrible destruction, the former hub of the Galaxy in Isaac Asimov's classic opus is now a pastoral world. The young heroine Arkady stands on the edge of a high metallic ruin and the last remnants of the long lost Empire rise to form the shape of an archway leading through the lessons of the past to a new bright future. Natural forces have regained dominance. The beautiful blue sky has a few clouds signifying the renewed freedom of weather no longer controlled by the city planet and native life forms are attacking the metal. With Michael Whelan cover art, what looks like a simple portrait has many layers of meaning.