"Mule…"
Summary: My AU version of the Asimov tale from his collection of Foundation and Second Foundation tales.
Even as civil war threatens the mighty but flawed Foundation, the Galaxy's greatest power since the Fall of the great Galactic Empire, its road to eventual triumph as the reuniting force in the Galaxy yet (supposedly) guaranteed by the quasi-mystical Seldon Plan, a mysterious warlord of a new and rapidly rising power is maneuvering to seize domination of the Galaxy in defiance of Seldon.
Part XIII…
"Well, we're still alive…" Goldan noted to Pritcher who gave a wry look. Their small but deceptively powerful ship now deep in space. Though quite Kalganian…Or Union, space…From the local broadcasts, a string of triumphant pronouncements, though lacking some of the usual bombast, Pritcher noted. Simply a happy list of Union victories, though a note of caution towards the end, the announcer noting that the Foundation and its allies remained very powerful.
"We don't have much time. They'll be right after us soon as the Kalgan authorities realize we punched out and it wasn't a natural, local disaster." Goldan noted. "This one will have to be a long jump to get out of Union space…Any ideas?"
Pritcher considered… "Could we make it to Paramecia? It should be out of Union space and the place is a pirate haven."
"So, I've heard…Meaning we're likely to be hit over the head as soon as we show." Goldan eyed him. "Though this baby may have a few surprises for them." He fondly noted, looking over the controls of the (secretly named, the old being "Resolute") Herve. "Is there anything…Paramecia? Pirates?"
"The Mule started as a pirate leader, or so I'm told. We might learn something there about him."
"Good enough…" Goldan nodded.
"Sorry about Herve." Pritcher noted. "I wish we could have taken him."
"We'd've been taken and likely singing the Mule's praises or waiting in a cell to, now." Goldan shook head. "You've seen the people and most of them have had only had a few light dips in the Mule's mind pool. Even Dad…" slightest of pauses… "Felt he couldn't have stood up to another one. And that's just the general effect. All right, the nav computer's got a fix. Let's give it a whirl."
"Mind-control? It seems impossible, didn't the Empire study it for centuries with no result?" Pritcher noted.
"And they say, Seldon continued it with his Second Foundation." Goldan shrugged. "Well, seems the Mule whatever or whoever he is, has perfected it…Either naturally or through a device. Of course…Hang on, the countdown's hitting zero…Here we go!" A bright flash, extended a bit…Time suspended, then…
Alarms ringing…Shielding up instantaneously.
"Looks like this is Paramecia…" Goldan noted as the ship automatically dodged several large asteroids. "I'll set us down on one of the little ones, but there's no guarantee it's not a shielded nest."
"You were saying…?" Pritcher asked the young soldier. Whose disability seemed to have not the slightest effect on his piloting skills.
"Just that it could be the Mule is the Second Foundation…Or its tool." Goldan suggested.
…
"Well…?" Bayta, now in robe, she and Toran having joined the others at table.
"Oh…My…" Magnifica, looking at the heaping platter of breakfast food before her.
"You don't need to waste time each meal on thanks, Magnifica." Bayta grinned. "Isn't there a Central Galaxy proverb about gratitude?"
"Truly there is, my lady. For a wise man, I have been told, once said, 'Gratitude is best and most effective when it does not evaporate itself in empty phrases.' But alas, my lady, I am but a mass of empty phrases, it would seem." The girl nodded sheepishly.
"I don't know…" Mylin smiled. "Rather nice to get such thanks at each meal." Glance at Mis who frowned back.
"When my empty phrases pleased the Mule, it brought me a court dress, and a grand name…" Magnifica noted. "For, you see, for Lord Vargos, it was originally simply Bobo, one that pleased the Mule not…And then when my empty phrases pleased him not, it would bring upon my poor bones beatings and whippings."
"Bobo?" Mylin blinked, smile to Bayta, and Mis, who stared.
"Yes, great miss. Forgive the one, milady…" she turned to Bayta. "If I did not resume it at once…I had come to be used to the Mule's title for me, even if it were but amusement for him."
"Magnifica suits you, keep it." Bayta smiled.
"But what…" Toran frowned over at the girl. "What else can you tell us of the Mule, Magnifica?" He shrugged at Bayta's and Mylin's reproving glances. "I've held off on questions so far, but we do have to know. And we've kept her with us because she might know something." He noted.
"A Psychic probe…" Bayta began…
"Didn't tell us much but Toran's right." Mis noted from his seat. "Magnifica? No one means to force you, but can you tell us a little more about the Mule?"
The girl gulped…Looking round…
"I don't mean to press, kiddo. Maybe I'm being too harsh on you, I thought our dealings with the Mule would be a simple trade…An alliance. That he was just another warlord, a little more successful. But now…" Toran, gently. "But even a little detail could help. We need to know anything you can tell us."
"Indeed…" Mis frowned. "You being the only one we know of who's seen him…You have, haven't you?"
"Oh, yes…Great one." Magnifica, quiet now, utterly subdued and clearly fearful.
"Eb…" Mylin, carefully.
"Well, then…" Mis, insistent.
"Only if you can…" Bayta, gently.
"Well…Tis frightening to recall him, respected one. He is a man of mighty frame. Against him, even you, Lord Toran, would be but a spindling. His hair is of a burning crimson, and with all my strength and weight I could not pull down his arm, once extended, when he would insist I do, not a hair's thickness." Magnifica's thinness seemed to collapse upon itself in a huddle of arms and legs. "Often, to amuse his generals or to amuse only himself, he would suspend me by one finger in my belt from a fearful height, while I chattered poetry. It was only after the twentieth verse that I was withdrawn, and each improvised and each a perfect rhyme, or else start over."
The others regarding her…
"He be a man of overpowering might, and cruel in the use of his power, and his eyes, his eyes…" Magnifica turned to Bayta… "None, no one sees them."
"What? What's that last?" Mis cut in.
"He wears spectacles, respected one, of a curious nature. It is said that they are opaque and that he sees by a powerful magic that far transcends human powers. Ihave heard," and her voice was small and mysterious, "that to see his eyes is to see death. He kills with his eyes, my lord."
Magnifica's eyes wheeled quickly from one watching face to another. She quavered, "It is true. As I live, it is true."
Mis shook head. "Well…Well…"
Toran, a bit uncertain, looked at Bayta who was regarding Magnifica.
"He is more than man…I swear." She noted to Bayta.
"I believe you, honey. We all do." Nod.
…
"Well, I've no doubt the Mule's more than man…As the girl says." Mis noted to Toran, Mylin, and Bayta…Magnifica sent to read a bit after eating while the great ones talked, seeming to be quite relieved to do so, her talking of the Mule clearly having unnerved her a bit.
"But of course some of it is probably just a fantasy." Mis went on. "I'd guess our friend is largely normal and that's why in part he seems to keep himself isolated, to maintain the mystique."
"But surely he'd want to come out in public if only under controlled conditions, have the people show his popularity, that sort of thing." Toran noted.
"From what we've heard and seen…" Mis noted. "He's quite managed to do so with very limited or no public appearances and relied on his minions to reflect the people's adulation…Though it does seem they adore him, if the broadcasts from Kalgan and his Union are real. But it makes sense if most of his 'powers' are show or smoke and mirrors."
"But he's compelled fleets and garrisons to surrender or run…" Bayta pointed out.
"He has power, certainly…Possibly mentalic even, certainly an amazing charisma and skill…But I think we can dismiss some of what the girl says. She was definitely manipulated by him, the probes told us that much if not enough."
"You think she was…Different? Before he got hold of her?" Bayta asked, anxious.
"Well, not her genetic condition, certainly. She was born that way." Mis shrugged. "But very likely the Mule's used her as a mental plaything, shaped her mind to suit himself." He pondered. "She has musical talent, you heard her on that little flute. I wonder…"
"You think our buddy the Mule likes music?" Mylin asked.
"Perhaps…Perhaps more than that. Music is a means of emotional control." Mis noted. "Possibly he needs it to keep his own powers from damaging him. Or she may be a sounding board for him…A way of focusing or channeling."
"He's done quite well without her." Toran noted.
"True enough." Mis agreed. "She's not essential to him but one way or another I think she's a key to him or knows something about him he would rather not let out. It was hard for her to talk about him. That may be intentional."
"He used her as an excuse to declare war…" Bayta noted. "But hasn't tried to get her back, at least not yet."
"That we should be careful of…" Eb nodded. "He may try yet, if she's that important. And while I know you don't want us to press too hard, I think we need to go deeper."
"Another probe…? Torie? No…." Bayta turned to him.
"Mis? Is that really…" Toran began.
"No, I don't mean that." Ebling shook head. "I just mean we need to keep trying to get her to talk."
"She may have told us everything…" Mylin noted.
"I think there are things she may not be aware of, but we need to learn." Mis shook head.
"What about the idea…" Toran began… 'You know, that the Mule is from the Second Foundation? That he's a part of the Plan."
"That may be." Mis nodded. "But I have my doubts. He's a unique individual, Magnifica confirms that at least. And frankly, brilliant as Seldon was, he didn't, couldn't, allow for unique individuals."
"We have the data coming in…" Mylin noted. "And the Seldon crisis seems to be holding pin-pointed to two months, twenty-eight days from today. The Vault should open then. And we'll know."
"And all may be well, then." Mis nodded. "But we have to consider the possibility that the Mule is operating outside the Plan, on his own agenda, and beyond the scope of Seldon's calculations."
Toran, sheepishly… "It was all so easy when we went to Kalgan. It's naïve I know, but I actually thought we'd somehow meet the Mule, get him to agree to an attack, run home with the good news. I never thought…"
"No one did, Torie." Bayta patted him. "Let me go see how our girl is doing." She rose.
"And I'd best head for the University but first I want to see Indbur and learn if he's at all aware of the danger we're in." Mis noted. "And I want to see about something else. Mylin? You want to run herd over the crew at my lab? Those kids need a firm hand and it's not me."
"It's what I live for, Eb." She grinned, rising.
"She'll keep 'em in order." Mis noted, fondly.
"If the guards'll let me come with you two, I may as well go see my uncle before he leaves for Haven…" Toran noted. "At some point, I've got to get back to the family business and at least start considering some new trading routes."
…
"Forgive my buddy here…" Toran noted to his uncle Randu as they sat in a small café in the plaza of the Terminus Mayors' office complex…A structure made quite grandiose by the Indburs despite its initial construction for efficiency by Hardin and her descendants.
"I'll take it as a complement that Indbur fears us Traders." Randu, in standard Trader garb of tunic and cloth sash, grinned over at the guard standing by their table, a large woman who simply glanced at him and remained noncommittal.
"How's my father?" Toran asked. "Not too ballistic over us joining with the Foundation against the Mule, I hope?"
"Fran was, briefly…But the Mule cutting through almost to the Trading Worlds and then firing on our ship quenched that. He's, like the rest of us, accepted we have a common menace." Randu noted.
"Hard to believe I'm in part cause of it." Toran noted, a bit sadly.
"Nonsense, boy. You had a mission and you did it, brilliantly, I might add. No one of us knew the Mule might be the real danger." Randu insisted. "You made us see that."
"Well, lets hope we've reacted in time." Toran, carefully.
"Indbur and his pets seem convinced this was the Crisis. That we were meant to unite against a common enemy." Randu eyed him. "A treaty, of sorts, is in the works and should be fact within a day or two. The alliance proclaimed. Things should sort out quickly now, though we may have some trouble bringing Indbur down as quickly as we like."
"It maybe…" Toran nodded. "But I'd like to see us on the way to Kalgan first before I declare victory."
"Seldon's never been wrong before, nor the Foundation ever truly defeated." Randu said, regarding his nephew.
"Uncle…A friend of mine…Who knows what he's talking about…Thinks the Mule may not be considered in the Plan. That it can't account for someone like him."
Randu leaned back, staring… "That's nonsense, for sure. The Mule is skillful, powerful, but he's just another warlord."
"My friend…And I…Don't think so." Toran noted. "I hope we're proven wrong or that his alternate theory is right, and the Mule is or is a tool of, the Second Foundation."
Randu rubbed his chin, signaling to the waitress for more coffee… "The Second? The legendary one?"
"My friend…Well, let me be frank, Ebling Mis, the scientist…Thinks it's real." Toran noted.
"Sel…Don…" Randu considered. "Well, if he is Second Foundation or being used by them, surely it's a good thing. Just part of the Plan…"
"Hopefully it is…" Toran, cautiously. "But if it is, the Second is dipping pretty close into our lives. And if not…"
"Wait…" Randu, folding hands, leaning in. "Are you saying Mis opposes the Second? In spite of Seldon?"
"If this is the Second Foundation…And if it's not a unique factor…Either the Mule or a rogue Second Foundationer, they sure seem to feel entitled to shape events."
"As does the Foundation…" Randu noted.
"But the Foundation doesn't bend minds to do it, possibly without their knowledge."
"That's perilously close to heresy, boy." Randu eyed Toran. "You might want to get some distance from this 'Mis' however bright he is."
"You'd want the Second controlling your thoughts?" Toran asked him.
"I'd put my trust in Seldon…" Randu said. "Besides, if it is the Second, they've united us to fight the Mule…Which may lead to the resolution of the coming Crisis. I don't see that as a bad thing. And perhaps it doesn't involve 'mind-control' at all."
"Dr. Mis is sure it does. And it would explain a lot."
"Well, then…Why doesn't the Mule use his 'power' and destroy us? And if it's the Second, I say again…" Randu firmly. "We ought to put a little faith in Seldon."
"I don't know any of the answers there, Uncle." Toran noted. "I'm just telling you…I'm worried…As is Mis. You're a voice back home, I just want you to be aware of the dangers."
"Fair enough…" Randu nodded, then smiled. "How's that wife of yours? Bringing you a son already…I like her style." Grin.
"Son and it seems a daughter…The Mule's clown, a young girl we pulled from Kalgan…Well not that young, in her twenties. But she's become quite the daughter to Bay."
"Really?" Randu nodded, coy look.
"Uncle." Toran frowned. "I'm married and the kid is, well…Not quite normal, though she's grown on us all. Bay's got no reason to worry, I promise you."
"Fine." Randu shrugged. "The Mule's clown, you say. Wait, is that the one…?"
"The cause, so the Kalgan broadcasts claim, of the war…" Toran nodded.
…