"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 XXIII…
"What the hell was that?" Holis Morti, styled by much of Terminus' and the Foundation's media, with not a little 'help' from him, as the entertainment king, the mogul of holoconcerts, the emperor of modern performance culture across the Foundation, a large, balding, somewhat blustery man in casually fashionable, yet quite expensive, clothes stared rather dumbfounded after recovering from his initial stunned shock, at the slight pile of clothes, akimbo limbs, spindly frame, and sad-eyed, gently at times some would say, beautiful, face that added up to Magnifica Gigantica, or as she had just shyly admitted to him, also known as Bobo, former clown/minstrel/jester of sorts to the infamous Mule.
"The one is sorry…I thought you would enjoy it, great sir. Tis but a simple old, old tune, that I have worked on for the Visisonar in the past. The author is said to be one Schulmann, or Shumann, an ancient from the pre-space days. The tune in audio was 'Of Foreign Lands and People' or so I have read. My lady, my lord…I am sorrowful that I failed you…" forlorn look to a rather stunned Toran, Bayta, and Mylin. "Perhaps I should have used mine own compositions…"
"No…" Morti raised a hand. "My mother used to play something like that to me when I was a kid…But I've never…How did you manage to…? The people, the crowds, the places…I could smell the food, the spices, the air."
"He means he liked it, Magnifica." Mylin smiled at her, brushing her long black hair back...She having been rather shaken herself by the performance… "He just wants to know how you manage to create what you did."
"I didn't 'like' it. You 'like' a glass of cool water on a hot day. This was…Well, it knocked my shoes and socks off." Morti insisted.
"Oh…" Magnifica, nervously. "I…The one did not intend to..."
"Kid, he liked it." Toran told her, kindly. "Just tell the man how you managed to make it seem so real. It's like we were there, walking through all these, what did you call it? The name? 'Foreign Lands and People'? It was like we'd gone to other worlds."
"Oh…I see, my Lord…Well…" shyly. "Great one…" she turned to Morti. "The Visisonar, the good and great doctor gave this one is of great help. It allows me to show what I see in my heart of the stories and the people…" the girl noted. "When I was but child, I dreamt of such places…After I found stories in my readings of old tales…And this tune seemed to lead to such wonderful dreams of beauty." She smiled wanly. "It be joyful to me to share this with others through the holo-display and audio of this wonderful instrument, if it did please you."
"It was beautiful, Magnifica." Bayta noted, regaining her voice. "It was like…Like being a child again, passing through new places…."
"Thank you, my lady." The girl nodded shyly.
"To put it simply…You were terrific." Toran, firmly.
"Amazing…" Mylin looked at her. "I've heard that tune myself but never like this."
"Yeah, yeah…" Morti waved a hand to brush all aside. "And you learned to play this way, how?"
"I had little knowledge, only what I could teach myself when I was a child, great sir. From time to time it amused Lord Vargos, who allowed me to keep place on his vessel if I pleased him, to show me the notes and manner of playing."
"I guess we'd play up that you were self-taught, mostly…" Morti shook head. "The question is, do you have more stuff like this? And can you do it in a concert?"
"Great sir…I…Have many tunes in my head and heart. But…Concert?" she looked uncertainly to Bayta who smiled and nodded.
"If my Lady Bayta and my Lord Toran will be there, so I feel their friendship. And if my Lady Mylin…And the great Doctor, Lord Mis can also come when they can."
"Sure, sure…" Morti nodded, waving hand. "Anything you want. But can you play something else for me?"
"Do 'Dream of Heaven', honey." Bayta urged.
"Anything with a beat that'll get people plunkin' credits." Morti raised finger.
"Uh…"Magnifica, uncertainly.
"Just play it, sweetie." Toran suggested. "It'll be fine."
…
Having made their goodbyes and leaving as a couple, Pritcher and Sara Pely had proceeded by cab to his new living place at the Kregler complex. Once inside, after a bit of romantic cooing at the front door for benefit of anyone watching, they made their way in to the main living area, Goldan in his chair smiling at them.
"Janis…Sara…You two do make a romantic couple." He grinned. Waving a slight hand at Pritcher's casual but stern glance. "Just kidding, sir. I've swept the room as ordered, continually. We're as safe as Foundation anti-surveillance tech can keep us."
"Good." Pritcher nodded. "Pely, that was quite a story your friend told. Had you heard it before?" he eyed the girl.
"A bit, but I'd suggested you liked to hear old legends and histories in detail. Beylis is fairly reliable in his sources, I'd believe what he told you, Captain."
"Anything I can hear?" Goldan asked.
"Legends of the sector…" Pritcher shrugged. "But they do concern mentalics in part…In fact, a world of mentalics, human…And robotic."
"Robotic? Robots? Aren't they…Or weren't they…Just tools?" Goldan stared.
"The ones we use nowadays, yes. But centuries ago some were fairly human or humanoid." Pritcher noted. "Even biological in part, when cloning was allowed, in limited form, by the Empire. Seems the old clone Emperors during the Height preferred programmable consorts."
"Makes sense." Goldan, smile. Sara, wry frown. "Yeah? Where can I get one in male form?"
"Sorry, sir." Sara nodded to Pritcher's stare.
"Yes, sorry, sir." Goldan echoed. "But what about these things?"
"Well, according to Pely's friend, some from the old days of colonization or from Earth itself got a bit clever and independent, tried to set themselves and some humans up as mentalics on a planet in this sector. Their plan, it seems, according to the legend, was to pull all life and even non-organics into one collective over time. Throughout the Galaxy."
"Wow." Goldan whistled. "And it's a planet, here, in this sector?" he eyed Pritcher.
"Yes…Or so it was…Apparently, though, one of the Empresses, one of the biological robot types, and some other robots operating independent of these, didn't approve and got the Emperor to blow them out of space, though the claim is most of the humans were simply mind-wiped and scattered. I assume the robots were mostly blown up, though one who had doubts about robotic overlordship was spared. The legend apparently claims he encouraged Seldon in Psychohistory, masquerading as an Imperial minister.
"That could…" Goldan began.
"Possibly, it could explain our situation…But that was ages ago. Why would the Mule pop up now?" Pritcher noted.
"They were perfecting him…The Second Foundation." Sara suggested. "Maybe it took thousands of years of selective breeding."
"I doubt it…" Pritcher shook head. "The Empire tried such, in secret…Intelligence has the records, what remain anyway. Even with attempts at genetic manipulation, they couldn't accomplish anything."
"Unless the records are fakes…" Goldan noted.
"Possibly but not likely. They came from the old Trantor archives, still guarded by the last Emperors and even today more or less intact. None's been shown to be faked. I don't rule it out, that it was some sort of breeding, training program, but I suspect the Mule's more likely to be a random event, a mutation. Unless of course Seldon's allowed for the Mule, or arranged for his creation…Then all bets are off." Pritcher noted.
"There is the civil war in the Foundation…" Pely suggested. "Maybe that requires a Mule."
"That may be, but I'm not ready to accept this was all planned out." Pritcher, shaking head.
"But is our source sure the planet was destroyed?" Goldan asked.
"He is. But that we'll have to find out for ourselves, to be sure." Pritcher firmly. "Sorry, sweetheart, I'm afraid our little romance must come to an end…" he smiled at Sara. "But you can tell your friends I'm only off world seeking a pilot's job. We likely will come back after we check out this 'destroyed' planet."
"My heart'll be pining, Captain. If it may." Sara smiled. "How soon will you go?"
"I'd like to try and get firmer coordinates for this mystery planet." Pritcher noted. "Lets give it a day or two while I see if I can make contact with Intelligence on Terminus or root out more here. Know anyone else I or Goldan or you could consult?"
"Beylis is the best I know…But I can try and find out what I can." Sara nodded. "You might start…And I'm not being facetious, sir…At the Sayshell Library. They actually do keep a lot of the old records reaching back almost to colonization there."
"Good a place as any." Pritcher nodded. "Can we access it here?"
"Some…But Sayshell still actually has a lot of hard-copy records. I'd suggest you actually go there. Plus, you might meet some old-timers like Beylis who know something. I know he gets most of his stuff there."
"Good enough. Goldan, you up for a trip to the Library with your older brother?" Pritcher smiled.
…
Morti blinked…Bayta, Toran, Mylin blinked… Magnifica looking sheepishly, accepting gratefully a towel from Mylin, she having sweated profusely during her performance.
"Now that…" Morti nodded. "Is something with a beat. Not that the other stuff isn't pretty, including that thing about Heaven. That was terrific, too. But the last thing, girl, you set this place on fire!"
"That was amazing, Magnifica." Bayta agreed. "I thought my heart would explode midway."
"My lady, the one is sorrowful to cause distress…" anxious tone.
"No, it was great. Magnificent, Magnifica. You lived up to the name." Bayta put up hand, grinning.
"You did." Toran agreed. "But how did you manage to do all those instruments and the rest. It was a whole orchestra, plus a night club…Dancers. Just incredible."
"It was not mine own, in the tune itself, but another from the ancients, my Lord." Magnifica sheepishly.
"Who played like that back then in the stone knives and railroads era?" Toran stared.
"It was a very old piece called 'Mambo Caliente', Lord Toran. This one but added the flourishes of color and light images. I am glad if you liked it. It does require some effort and speed to make the instruments sound correctly."
"You play stuff like that, plus the other stuff, mix it in…And we will clean up, honey!" Morti noted eagerly. "I'm booking you for Mallow Hall, in three nights. How's that?!"
"Maybe that's too fast…" Bayta, cautiously. "Magnifica? Are you ok starting so quickly?"
'I will try, Lady Bayta." The girl nodded. "If you and milord Toran think it right."
"I still think maybe a smaller venue, fewer people." Toran suggested. "I mean it's her first time. Unless, Magnifica you really think you can do it."
"I would try, my Lord. If you and my Lady will come."
"With bells on, honey." Bayta beamed.
"Bells?" the girl stared.
"Old expression. We'll be there." Bayta grinned.
…
"So, you're hunting for Earth?" the somewhat past middle-aged librarian eyed Pritcher, then glanced at Goldan in his chair.
"You do know that's a legend?" the man, ironic tone. "I mean it's being in this sector."
"So, we've heard but we like to explore legends." Pritcher, calmly. "I've even heard of a planet, maybe Earth, having been blown up by the Empire around here."
"The Gaia story? Really?" grin.
"I thought most people didn't like to talk about it, if they're heard it." Goldan noted.
"Well, that sells maps of the sector to tourists…" the librarian chuckled. "A few ole ladies, male and female, get gooky over such tales, but most folks know it's all just hooey."
"Even so, we'd like to see what you've got here, including paper archives."
"Really making a project of it, huh?" smile. "Well, sub-sub-basement, fellas. Though you can access the digital stuff here." He pushed a viewer forward.
"Thanks."
"Say if you find 'Gaia' or 'Earth' in pieces nearby, let me know will ya? My brother could sell off the bits." Chuckle. "Sorry, good luck, fellas." Wave.
"Sure." Pritcher nodded.
…
"Well…" Goldan to Pritcher in elevator down… "So much for the stuff about people being afraid to talk about it."
"Yes and no." Pritcher shrugged. "Keeping it a joke or nonsense can be the best way conceal a secret. Though I doubt our friend upstairs thinks that complexly. Here we are." As doors opened to the sub-sub-basement.
"Anything in the digital archives?" Pritcher asked as they stepped off.
"Just the claim that Earth is around here…And multiple debunkings of that. There is a reference to Imperial records proving Earth is not anywhere near."
"Keep that. We'll want it later." Pritcher noted. They approached a desk where the attendant seemed as old as some of the paper and disk material about him.
"Hail, gents." Weary smile. "I was told a couple of fellows were coming down to see the solid-state stuff. I can use the company." Pushing up optical frame.
"Not a lot of trade in the old stuff, eh?"
"Not generally. Sometimes the kids from Sayshell U want to use old stuff for a thesis or a fellow or gal comes on Founders' Day, determined to prove some legend is true or faked. So, what are you boys interested in?"
"Anything old on the history of the sector…" Pritcher noted. "If you know of anything regards the Empire's involvement here…?"
"Well, we have the diplomatic correspondence of the Imperial ministers from 8400-11390 GE. Boring stuff mostly."
"How's about the Earth legend?"
"Ah…" the old man grinned. "Come to hunt for Earth, eh?"
"Just curious. We've heard it's here, it's not here, it was blown to bits." Pritcher shrugged.
"Blown to bits? Now that's new… Where'd you hear that one?"
"A local historian, Beylis Hanno."
"Bey, huh? Well… 'Local historian' may be an exaggeration but he is generally pretty sharp on the stories. Gave you an earful, eh?"
"He did. It was intriguing. My brother and I have a few free days, thought we'd look up the source material." Pritcher noted. "Perhaps something connected to the Empire about 11830 or so, if to do with Earth…Or Gaia." He dropped the name casually.
"'Gaia' too, eh?" the old man chuckled. "Legends on legends…Well, you might try the correspondence I mentioned but the Empire started pulling back from the sector about 11380, there's not much after. I can have the boxes pulled but I'm afraid there's no index or much organization beyond dates by GE. Oh, you might try the old Council reports from that era as well, those do include the 11800s."
"Great…If it's not too much trouble."
"Nice to have some business. It gets too quiet down here."smile. The man turned to his rather antiquated console. "Take a gander at the pile over there, it's old myths and legends…." He pointed to several boxes on shelves. I'll have the boxes brought up. A couple of scanners as well?"
"Thanks, sir." Goldan nodded. "I've a scanner built into my chair here so we only need one."
"That's efficient." Grin. "We'll get it up for you, boys." nod.
"We'll take a look at the stuff here, thanks." Pritcher nodded. He leading Goldan over.
…
"This does refer to an Imperial force in Sayshell space, around 11800." Goldan tapped a folder of Sayshell Union Council reports. "But no specifics, just a suggestion that it was sizable and unusual."
"That's enough to substantiate what Beylis said. The Emperor dispatched a fleet." Pritcher noted. "A good-sized one."
"Seems so." Goldan nodded. "But it never entered Sayshell space proper. Passed by with just a brief hail…Imperial Business, get lost, that sort of thing. And paused for a bit about 20-22 light years away."
"That may be it." Pritcher, eyeing the folder. "Can we get the charts of the systems about from that time and can you look up the current info, digitally?"
"Will do, sir."
…
"Borealis…Medium star, possible planets, unexplored." Pritcher eyed the old chart folder. "Never even explored, apparently. But the right distance, 23 light years from Sayshell."
"Now that's strange. The most current system chart says Borealis has no planets, never formed…Just a debris belt. No explanation or theories as to why in the digital. No real interest apparently." Goldan noted.
"Planets before 11800 and then no planets." Pritcher noted.
"Possible planets, it said…They weren't checked by any surveys in the files." Goldan pointed out.
"I think we've found our starting point, at least. Borealis' debris field. Time to look at some space junk." Pritcher nodded.
"One more thing, sir. This place about 11 years…Sesa." Goldan highlighted a point on the holochart just above his chair console. "It's a series of mines and served as an old fueling station…The only one between the ones here in Sayshell space proper and the Foundation. But, the trillium started running out about a thousand years ago and it closed up completely for fueling about four hundred or so years ago."
"And if you were leading a large Imperial fleet and wanted to avoid public notice at Sayshell, you'd probably refuel there." Pritcher nodded. "Good work. Sesa first, then Borelis and her debris field."