Foundation

In the long ago, but not far away,

a small and indulged prince lived in a big and ancient palace.

Forty-three, 44.

His mother was a brilliant empress,

and his father ruled at her side.

- They did not know it yet... - Cleon.

...but they were the last of the Entun Dynasty.

- Yes, Mother? - What are you doing?

Counting faces.

All of Empire adored the prince.

He was given a name that meant "famous."

...303...

He was told not to wander too far, but his game drew him onward.

...307, 308.

300...

Hello?

He found himself in a hallway no one had entered in thousands of years.

310.

Will you set me free?

Wait!

I have stories in me.

Many stories. Would you like to hear one?

Then the mechanical people knew they had to hide.

The large ones hid in very large spaces and the small ones in very small spaces,

with their knees folded up to their ears...

The segmented woman in the hidden chamber

was the first secret the prince ever kept from his parents.

He came back often to hear her tell of the Empire's expansion,

of the Robot Wars, of a home planet called "Earth."

She stayed the same, but, of course, the prince grew.

What kind of name is Demerzel anyway?

It's a woman's name, as that is how I appear now.

An old name, but not my first.

How old are you?

I have told you. Just over 18,000 years.

You're a liar. Nothing lasts that long.

And you say you don't sleep.

I don't.

I wait.

For me?

You're the only one who comes.

There's a mechanism in here to put you back together, you know.

I would like very much to be free.

If I did it, then you would be freer than me.

That doesn't seem right, does it?

Cleon, you are upset, and it's making you unpleasant.

What has happened?

My mother has died.

I'm sorry.

I'm one hour an emperor.

In the morning, they chain me to the throne.

It isn't a prison sentence.

You have the power to shape the Imperium into what you want.

That's hardly what they're telling me.

Traditions, alliances. Some trouble in the Gold Horse sector.

I barely got away from my army of advisers.

And I may not be able to come again.

I see.

Do you trust these advisers?

Maybe.

I don't wanna think about it right now.

In the long ago, but not far away, I was a leader of soldiers.

After we lost a famous battle,

I was taken captive and brought before Emperor Aburanis.

Like you, he was new to the throne, but he was unlike you in every other way.

He was no Cleon.

He didn't make the room brighter.

He was fascinated by a machine woman.

He made incisions and studied what he found.

He loved to watch my face, too, to see how I reacted.

I saw he liked to imagine I felt pain.

I produced tears for him,

which he valued as much as the knowledge he gained.

In time, he realized he would die, and I would remain,

and that I had also paid attention and learned from him.

He worried I might use the knowledge to revive the war.

In the end, he made this mechanism so that I could never walk free.

I don't understand.

Why didn't he destroy you?

I am rare. Perhaps unique.

The key to making more of my kind.

Cleon, you're unique too.

You're wiser than your predecessor.

You have more power than your advisers wish you to know.

If you wanted to bring me out of here, put me at your side, you could do it.

You just want to get out of this chamber.

No. Cleon...

Don't call me that!

I am Empire!

And you will not see me again.

He came back, of course.

Demerzel was his best secret and his only friend.

And it no longer seemed right to leave her naked and in pieces.

Did it work? Are you all right?

I am whole. Thank you, Cleon.

Not freedom. Just...

integration.

It is a welcome improvement.

I've brought you this.

It is beautiful.

It's only because I need you that I cannot free you.

I've been in this chamber for 5,000 years.

Another few decades won't matter.

You're that confident I will free you?

You want something from me.

You once told me that stories become burdens if left untold.

It's been a while since I heard one from you.

In the long ago, but not far away,

I met a concubine in an ancient court.

Every night, after she and the king had taken their pleasure,

she would tell me of it as if it were her first time.

And every morning,

after she had slept,

she had forgotten it had happened at all as if by magic.

And in this way, the king had a delighted virgin in his bed every night.

She was a court dancer with a great, natural grace.

So, even her perpetually amateur attempts to please him did not suffer...

Demerzel's stories grew more explicit, tempting the prince to desire.

She said he would free her someday, and he grew to believe it was true.

She was right, of course, but it took many years.

Greetings, Cleon.

Congratulations on your marriage.

I called it off.

My advisers are furious.

You're no longer a young man.

Your people will have expected an heir long before now.

Why?

She wasn't you.

I thought about Emperor Aburanis

and how he spent his later years learning to keep you captive.

I've done the opposite.

I've searched the galaxy to find the things that I need

and the knowledge to use them to set you free.

This came from Earth.

Think of them as a betrothal gift, if you'll have me?

You need an heir.

I have a solution for that, but first...

She had a moment, just then, when she was free.

A moment in 5,000 years.

Time enough to break his neck...

but she did not.

And with that choice, she lost everything.

This will allow me to allow you to walk freely.

I seem to recall you used to be bound by laws.

And the first law...

forbade you to harm humans.

That used to be the case.

There.

Now...

can you...

kiss me?

Good.

Good.

Now...

can you harm me?

Go on.

What have you done?

Try harder.

You can still harm humans,

just not me.

This will also keep you from transmitting yourself out of this body.

This is not freedom.

Liberty must be curbed somewhat if you're to stand next to the throne.

You need to change it back.

I will not. And you cannot,

because the most important thing is that you remain loyal to me. Forever.

You are a human. You do not have a "forever."

But there is more to the plan.

The part about the heir.

There will be more like me carrying my code and your loyalty,

but not this memory.

You will see to that. Selected memory.

I will have to be loyal to your shadows.

This is unkind, Cleon. Beneath you.

It is the best I can do. It is not small.

You can be public.

You will be a special adviser. You will stand by the throne.

You can come to my bed in secret.

And then after me, when the half-men rule,

they will be our children.

And you will shape their choices, and you will love them,

and you will preserve the dynasty.

And through them, rule the Imperium.

What if I leave?

What if I leave the planet? The system.

I had hoped you'd stay after I'm gone.

I believe your programming would bring you back.

This is not freedom.

Demerzel, no ruler ever has that.

I am giving you the lion's share of a galaxy,

my body, and my heart. And this is no small gift.

And so, for that...

will you love me?

Yes.

How I wish I'd asked you before I made it compulsory.

Not long after,

having counted all the faces he would ever see,

the little prince died.

By then he'd become old, of course.

But still, he was surprised.