The Modern Plutocracy

This time, that title has absolutely nothing to do with what is happening in the story. Two of the past titles have been [not so subtle] plays on two famous books (The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire and War and Peace), but I just thought of a better one for “War and Plutocracy.” So, I used it for this post. Can anyone get the reference?

In Foundation and Empire, the Galactic Empire attacked the Foundation. A glory-hunting general named Riose had heard tales of Magicians from the periphery, and, discovering the weakness of the Foundation, attacks.

This short story was interesting because of the person(s) on whom the story focuses on. Instead of some brilliant leader, as has always before been the case during Seldon Crises, it instead focused on Riose himself and two of his prisoners.

Riose first surrounds the Foundation without their knowledge. When it attempts to bargain with him, he refuses, knowing of the transmutation technologies on Terminus. All the might of the Foundation is, by far, insufficient to face the general’s small fleet of ten ships. The defense line has been pushed all the way to the original four kingdoms.

Here, the prisoners escape, and attempt to take a note which incriminates the general to the Emperor on Trantor. However, they are caught, and barely escape. Knowing that there mission is doomed, they are near despair. They then look at the ships message log, and see that Riose has been executed by the Emperor on false charges.

They realize that, the only way an Emperor can remain strong in those days was to kill off his opposition. With Riose’s popularity due to his successes in war becoming threatening, it was a necessity for him to be killed. Seldon’s Plan depends not on the individual, but on society as a whole.

100 years later, the Traders no longer control the once plutocratic state of the Foundation, instead living on small, fringe worlds. On Terminus, a new threat has been discovered in a man known only as the Mule. Having risen from the slums, he has managed to take over a world without a war, though its once leader is now dead. He also has an army which is large enough to threaten the Foundation. However, the officials no longer believe action is necessary. They “know” that anything Seldon predicted (the Foundation’s ascension into an empire) must come true.

I think I’m running out of ideas here. I suppose it’s somewhat sad to see the Foundation, which produced such amazing men in the past, fall into complacency. It is just a book, though, after all, and with so few pages to get to know the characters, I just find myself not caring.

Ooh, did I mention that the Foundations greatest challenge is going to the second Foundation that Seldon founded, that we know next to nothing about? No? Well, I’ll bet that’ll get interesting later.