02x03 - King and Commoner

[bunniefuu]

No life forms...

and not a lot of water.

Weird place to build
a Second Foundation.

Well, you would say that.

Planetfall in four.

So you're saying we have four minutes

to talk about
what we haven't been talking about?

Buckle up. It's gonna be a bumpy EDL.

Salvor.

You told me, all right? You've said it.

Every bad dream you've ever had
has come true.

That doesn't mean that this one will.

I have to believe that
we can change this.

But you don't.

You don't believe that.

years from now,
I die on a b*ttlefield

trying to save humanity.

- It's better than a sickbed.
- You can't just brush this off.

And I guess it means
I won't die any sooner, right?

- I've never felt so alive.
- You could get in a cryo-pod.

Right now, go back to Terminus.

And still end up on the b*ttlefield
at our distant turning point.

After all, there may be infinite ways
to arrive at the inevitable.

Warning, planetary surface thin.

Landing site unstable.

Well, we got no choice, Beggar.

- You're steering?
- Yes. I have control. Brace yourselves.

I'll set us down.

This is Ignis?

Abandoned mines?

We're not on Ignis.

Well, then where the f*ck are we?

Oona's World, an imperial mining site,

until its minerals were exhausted
, years ago.

Currently uninhabited.

Hari, you agreed Ignis was crucial
for the Second Foundation.

It is. So is this.

Since when?

Since the Radiant required it.

I know how the math works.

It doesn't design travel itineraries.

It does now.

There's a place in those mountains,
about meters from here,

which it requires me to visit.

Hari, the model is adaptive,
not omniscient.

You wanna go out there,
you can f*cking do it alone!

I'm a projection, Gaal,

bound by whatever network is nearest.

I can transfer myself back
into the Radiant,

but I need one of
you to carry it for me.

I will not trust you
on something I can't verify.

And I'm not relinquishing control
of the Beggar until this is done.

Just go with him, Gaal.

No. You want me to carry you around
like a rat in a handbag.

- I won't do it, Hari. This...
- Hey!

Do it, Gaal.

Take him with you,
so we can get the f*ck out of here.

They were called
the Monuments to Industry.

We're gonna get a rare, close-up look.

- Stay alert while we're gone.
- Uh, why? The planet's uninhabited.

Uninhabited doesn't mean we're alone.

It's unthinkable to
incinerate the warden.

- It's barbaric.
- Maybe an error of some kind.

The Vault is a device after all.

No.

The Vault is a man, and it's literally
made out of Hari Seldon.

I told you he wouldn't approve of
what you've done here.

You think this is divine judgment,
Claric?

No, but it was a judgment.

Whatever the case...

...we don't have time to cry
and clasp our icons.

How could Seldon's math foresee
someone specific,

like Hober Mallow,

who could even be born,
much less request his presence?

We don't actually know
the Vault was making a request.

- It could be a warning.
- Right.

The last thing we should do
is allow that blood-poor son of a bitch

- anywhere near the Vault.
- Don't be ridiculous.

Of course we're finding Hober Mallow.

And we're walking him into that Vault.

Psychohistory isn't determinism, Poly.

It's not a single path, but it is
a landscape that sometimes narrows

into a dangerous mountain pass
that can't be avoided.

That's why we call it a crisis.

Seldon knew that in his first crisis

that success would require action.

And the action we took
at that time had a name.

Salvor Hardin.

And if Hari Seldon had
engraved the name Salvor Hardin

somewhere at that time,
you'd have a point.

Poly?

No.

So, you think
Hober Mallow is our new action?

Look, I don't know why.

But his name is on the only embodiment
we have right now

of Seldon's Plans.

You aren't even a believer.

I believe in psychohistory.

I believe
that the Empire is going to fall.

And if we're smart,
we're the ones to bring it down.

Humans will wallow like beasts
for a very long time,

unless we use what Seldon gave us

and walk through
that blasted mountain pass

with that f*cking assh*le, Hober Mallow.

Fine.

Hober Mallow?

Never heard that name before.
I wasn't even sure it's a person.

Ask me, Mallow could be
a region of space or a species of nut.

Arguably, he is a species of nut.

He trained for the priesthood,

but he was too much
for the Revered Fathers.

Instead, he trailed my fellow
missionaries like a venereal disease,

selling religious paraphernalia
and fake relics.

He sold of Seldon's finger bones

before Foundation
revoked his trades license.

Why would the Prophet ask
for a man like that?

Seldon always appreciated a good joke.

He was human too, you know?

The Prophet's title was something
that we bestowed on him after.

- So, where are we headed?
- According to my contacts, Korell.

Out on the Whassalian Rift?

Traders aren't even allowed there.

You're talking about a man who views
any prohibition

as a personal challenge.

If it's forbidden, Hober traffics in it.

What are they?

Autonomous mining machines.

They sucked the Palladium
from the pores of the planet.

And then,
when there was nothing left of value,

they were turned loose
upon the population.

The Emperors are hollow men
who hollow out their worlds.

How do you know all this?

W-Why do you know all this?

It's called psychohistory, Gaal.

Hari, I can help you.
You just have to let me in.

I'm the only other person in the galaxy
who can read the Radiant.

Yes, but you're disruptive.

Around and around we go.

We're here at the Radiant's behest.

It's not some detour keeping you
from what you want.

What I want is to slap you.

You tried that already.

I'm talking about Salvor.

You're dangling the prospects of hope.

It's a mistake.

The future you've seen
may very well be immutable.

You were happy to get the word
"Ignis" from my vision

and act on it.
Now, if I do it, it's wrong?

Here's the difference,
which you should already grasp.

My Plan makes small
changes in the present

to adjust large events in the future.

You want to observe
one very small event in the future,

the death of a specific human being,

and apply massive forces in the present
to avert it.

- Salvor solved your first crisis.
- She had help.

Every historical condition
was on her side.

If it hadn't been her,
it would have been someone else.

Conditions?

You didn't put any psychohistorians
on Terminus.

- And if it wasn't for her ability...
- I intended one psychohistorian

to be on Terminus!

Right?

In another life,

you might have taught your daughter
all about my Vault.

You seem to think
you're very indispensable.

Well, Gaal, it is my Plan.

But no, at enough scale,
I am insignificant.

We weren't always alone in this.

- What?
- You said earlier

that you were the only other person
who could read the Radiant.

That wasn't always the case.

I had a life partner, Yanna.

She helped me birth psychohistory.

You could say it was the only child
we had together.

The only one that survived anyway.

I wouldn't finish that just yet.

We still have a long way to go.

You said meters.

Horizontally.

I swear, Hari,
this had better be worth it.

It will be.

We're going to meet an old friend.

An old friend?

, on your feet!

Move it!

No.

, hands off Prisoner .

Just give him a minute.
He'll make the day.

He wasn't being willful.

He had more work left in him.

Bel Riose.

Lady Demerzel.

I'm here with an offer.

Empire needs the Hero of the th Fleet.

There are battles to be fought.

- Where?
- The Periphery.

You'll start on Siwenna,
in the Normannic Sector.

A new enemy has risen.

Siwenna's a backwater dump.

That's coming from
someone who lives here.

Complete the mission and go free.

Why so generous?

- Day had a notion you might refuse.
- Yeah. He's not wrong.

His leadership is capricious and unwise.

That puts you in a position
of strength then, doesn't it?

Their freedom too.

And just to be clear,
that's not my price to go with ya.

It's my price to enter
into a conversation about it.

You were sent to Lepsis

because you insisted on a
safer path for your sailors.

Do you wish to remain here
for a similar mistake?

Freedom for them.

Not freedom.

Longer breaks. Better equipment.
Medical care.

Fine.

And now,
we negotiate if I return or not.

I'd need free rein.

No countermanding from Empire.

That was already the plan.

Follow me.

Tell Empire he can go f*ck himself
in his big, blue f*cking dress.

I have an order to carry out
if you say no.

I ain't afraid to die.

That's why we want you.

And I have a way to make it worthwhile
to say yes.

Glawen Curr.

Empire ex*cuted my
husband six years ago.

You were told he was ex*cuted.

It was part of the punishment.

I don't believe you.

Empire will brief you.

If all goes well,
you will see your husband.

I know hope is painful.

You don't have to hope.

Just come with me.

Our destination must be
on the other side of this door.

Traditionally, doors have hinges
and maybe a knob.

This is a wall.

Open a wall, it becomes a door.

Oh!

I do hope the trek on the sand

wasn't harder than you were prepared
to endure.

I know your face.

I-I've seen depictions and...
and I know that meter.

You're Kalle, but...

You d*ed centuries ago.
How are you alive?

You can ask what that means
when we meet up again.

If the future allows
us to meet up again.

You should go back.

I don't understand.

You said you couldn't venture
far from the Radiant.

I have the means to sustain
a pure digital form.

- He'll persist.
- Persist? What?

I don't know what's
going to happen next.

So perhaps we should say goodbye.

If you don't hear from me
within six hours, leave.

I've already transferred control
of the Beggar back to Salvor.

Wait, don't leave!

f*ck!

Offered for consideration.

Master Trader Ponyets is ready
when you are, sir.

Open communications.

Commdor Argo, honor be on you.

And-And thank you.

Thank you for seeing me.

Ponyets, we've been warned of your kind.

My people will take no commerce

that
carries with it a compulsory religion.

No, I-I'm a Master Trader.
Money is my religion and...

Commdor?

One moment.

That's not Trader Ponyets.

That's Hober Mallow,
a notorious confidence man.

Forcer, I am aware he is trying
to sell me a useless device.

Undoubtedly for half our treasury.

I'm going to lure him in
and expose him as a cheat.

I know what I'm doing.

Did your Forcer say I was a cheat?

Yeah, she's right.
All traders are cheats.

But, Your Esteem, even a cheat
can stumble across a miracle.

You're as bold as brass, Ponyets.

Very well.

Demonstrate your miracle.

It is called a castling device.

And I am confident it'll earn its place

next to the Eye of Korell in your heart.

Looks fairly ordinary.

We've never heard of "castling."

Except in chess, of course.

Very astute.

Yes,
it is named after the chess maneuver

in which a king and a rook trade places.

A scientist
working in quantum entanglement

stumbled across a mechanism

that can move a living being
over a great distance,

as long as there's a-a body
of approximately equal mass

to make the reciprocal journey.

And you, um, came to possess this, how?

The scientist refused
to hand the plans over to Empire.

She feared what would be done with it.

You know, moving deadly
troops into civilian areas.

Sewing bombs into prisoners
and then transporting them

- into the middle of a demonstration.
- Mmm.

- It's very bad.
- Exactly.

I trust a principled ruler,

such as yourself,
would use it more justly.

But is it safe?

You see, on Korell,
we've heard gruesome stories

of men porting across planets
collapsing in agony.

No, no. No, no, no, no, no, no.
No worries, Commdor, okay?

Everything contained
in the body's bioelectrical field,

uh, travels along.

So it's just stuff outside the body
that's-that's left behind.

Clothes and-and such.

You mean arriving naked?

No, not naked.

The-The Castler jumps
into the clothes of the other person.

Oh. I see.

Naturally, I have the control bracelet

and an assistant
on the airwalk outside my ship

has a bracelet just like yours.

That could be faked.

Yeah. Yeah.

Anything can be faked,
un-unless it happens to you.

Well, you bothered to send a bracelet,
so, um, use it.

Sorry, what? I...

You reassured us of its safety...

- so castle me.
- No... But, no. I can't.

There's rules against, uh, royalty
and commoners intermingling.

So I absolve you of them. Do it,
or I shall have your head on a pike.

If you insist.

Citizens of Korell, it's an honor.

How much do you want for it?

Yeah, it's too late.
I've changed my mind.

Forcer.

He has the Eye of Korell!

Oh, sh*t.

Hober Mallow, you're under arrest.

You contain diamonds, Mallow.

Yeah. To be in my bioelectrical field.

Hey, hey. Careful with that.

That is a rare vintage.

Get the device off him.

Allow me.

I want that wine back after the trial.

Oh, there's no trial.

Commdor Argo's already ordered
your execution.

I'll escort you to Empire

when you feel that you are presentable.

No.

I wanna face Day like this.

This is the man he made me.

Thank you, Empire.

I'm grateful to no longer be on Lepsis.

Yes, I can smell the gratitude.

You're here by Lady Demerzel's grace,
not mine.

The transport that brought you here
can just as easily bring you back.

Lady Demerzel said
that Glawen is still alive.

- Glawen...
- Oh, don't play games.

He waits behind that door.

You'll see him after we talk.

If our talk goes well,
you'll find him alive.

- What's the mission?
- Reconnaissance.

- We have an informant on Siwenna.
- That's a spy's work.

Siwenna's not a m*llitary thr*at.

Not unless they're weaponizing cacti.

So, who's your actual concern?

Over a hundred years ago,
Hari Seldon stood where you are now.

He claimed he could
establish a Foundation

to read the future and shorten
a coming age of darkness.

Now I believe it was simply a ruse
to buy his people time and distance.

Currently,
his followers worship his memory

and recruit members
from the fringes of Empire.

I want you to find out
if the Foundation is a thr*at to me.

Can they read the future?

That would fall under the heading of,

"Things you're supposed to find out."

Forced labor has diminished him.

Take him away.

k*ll the husband.

Can I speak frankly, Empire?

And privately.

Just the two of us?

Granted.

Brothers.

- Speak.
- You're an arrogant bully.

If you brought me here just to k*ll me,
then you're an idiot as well.

When you defied my orders in battle,
you embarrassed me.

A man can withstand that,
but not an empire.

An empire breathes respect.
It requires it for its life.

It also requires planetary systems.

And if this Foundation
is picking 'em off,

then you need the fleet
with the highest efficiency rating.

The th Fleet isn't yours anymore.

f*ck if it isn't.

And this isn't about respect
for bloody Empire.

I made you look foolish, didn't I?

You.

The singular man in that suit of skin

that's never come within
a light-year of a battle.

- Do you think to strike me?
- Strike ya?

I'd like to rip your f*cking head off.

- Go ahead!
- I took an oath, you're my Emperor.

- Strike me.
- No.

- Strike me or I k*ll your husband.
- Another game?

What answer am I looking for?
Do I want you to strike me

so I know I can control you
by threatening your husband,

or do I want you to refrain, to show
that you will protect Empire

at all cost?

One of these choices
buys you everything.

One sends you back
to the mines a widower.

I took an oath.

I'll not strike my Emperor.

Not even for Glawen's life?

I've had a dead husband
for the last six years.

Glawen?

Yes?

It's... It's me.

Bel?

Uh, they brought me here...

I thought it meant you d*ed.

They told me...

They told me you had d*ed.

Six years ago.

Bel,
I tried to get a message out to you.

They said they'd
k*ll you if I... I tried.

It-It... It-it's all right.

It... It's all right, Glay.

Those f*cking cruel bastards.

Watch your words.

We're back in their service now.

Not to mention their palace.

In service?

That hair is not regulation.

No. No, I...

I-I'm still .

I'm filthy.

My... My teeth, uh...

I've got lice.

- It's okay.
- Mm-hmm.

Hey.

I'm so sorry.

Mmm.

There you are.

Yeah.

That's me.

So that was the right answer?

I don't know.

I looked into his eyes,
and he seemed like a strong person.

There we go.

You wanted
someone who wouldn't vacillate.

Someone who will make a choice
and assert it. That's a good policy.

I let go of good policy
or genetic sense memory of good policy.

Do you know how lucky
we are to have you?

You're fine.

You're doing well.

You are Empire.

Keep going.

I'm telling you, she felt alive.

- But Kalle, the real one...
- ...d*ed centuries ago.

I have no idea
what's in that cave with him.

Something is off.

This whole planet is wrong.

Six hours is almost up.

Then we'll leave him behind.

We have every reason to.

I know we do.

He's not Hari.
He's a digital simulacrum.

And he was trapped
for over a hundred years.

Even he said that kind of isolation
can drive someone mad.

It's not me that needs convincing.

Look,
whatever version of Hari this is...

he scares me.

And the two of you together...

Gaal, he almost suffocated you.

And you encouraged it.

So if you say, "Fly us out of here,"
I will take us right up.

But?

But I don't think you want that.

You and him, you got your own language.

I don't speak it.

Look, all I'm saying is...

you're more like him
than you want to admit.

Maybe you're right.

He was my idol.

Father figure I convinced
myself I needed.

Yeah, that's the thing with parents,
isn't it?

Never quite who you build them up to be.

My dad used to say...

"Never let your sense of morals
prevent you from doing what's right."

So just ask yourself, Gaal,

if the situation were reversed,
what would Hari do now?

He'd f*cking leave.

Wonder what's going on?
Some kind of celebration?

First prisoner death by Titan's prick.

Go! Go!

Yeah, yeah!

Bring the next one!

Second prisoner.

- Ah, Hober Mallow.
- Boo!

- Boo!
- f*ck, no!

Death by Titan's prick!

Hober Mallow!

- Hober!
- Hello.

Yeah!

I'm rather busy right now.

Shut up, you ass.
We've come to free you.

The Foundation needs you.

The Vault opened yesterday,
it requested your presence.

Poly Verisof,
I've never met a man with worse timing!

Forcer Wallick.

I hate to dampen your enthusiasm,
but apparently,

something's come up
and the Foundation needs me.

So, if you could just not execute me?

Not listening, Poly.

You with the Claric?
Hilarious, isn't he?

Stories I could tell you if my
capital wasn't about to be punished.

Forcer Wallick, is this your design?

Very efficient. Cozy.

Your Esteem,

I ask that you allow me
to meet with Hober in private,

before he faces the prospect
of going unprepared

into the bosom of
the great Galactic Spirit.

You are a tender of the soul?

One of the Foundation's
so-called Clarics?

- I have been so trained.
- Mmm.

Every man should prepare his soul before
journeying

to the ancestral spirits.

Alas,
you will have to prepare Hober's...

posthumously.

- Death by Titan's prick!
- No, no! No, no!

Stop this at once, damn it!

In the name of the Galactic Spirit,
we submit ourselves.

Your Esteem, death is so irrevocable
a phenomenon. Surely...

Come on, there must be an alternative?

Alas, no.

But thank you for the parting gifts,
Master Trader.

I shall enjoy the wine this evening.

Say your last words, fool.

Citizens of Korell,

I was born of modest means,
and I faced many obstacles in my life.

I suppose it's not the past I should
dwell on,

but the future I'll be denied.

The acts of charity
I'll never carry out.

The strangers...

I'll never meet.

Enemies I might have
charmed into friends.

But it's not to be.

- I played my game too boldly...
- ...and I see that now.

And here I am, I have no move
that will not put me in check.

- Enough!
- And I...

Drop the prick on him!

Well... ...actually,
I-I hadn't finished.

I hadn't finished! I've just wa...

Hey, hey! f*ck is going on?

f*cking get me out of here.
I am not Hober Mallow.

It's the Commdor! Stop the prick!

Hober Mallow, you f*ck!

Sleight of hand, Your Esteem.

It was this node, not the bracelet,
that did the switch.

- Poly, always a pleasure.
- Well, stop him!

Wow. He's... He's very confident.

He's appalling.

- How far can he get on an air yacht?
- Alert the spaceports!

He knows that we've got a jumpship.
He's gonna take it!

He's gonna take the Spirit!

Come on, up! Up!

Constant!

Welcome. Exciting, isn't it?

I'm gonna need your
personal access codes.

We're not jumping to whatever lawless
zone you set your coordinates to.

What? You'd rather they sh**t us down?

You're better off jumping...

Keep him away from me.

Ooh. Ooh, hello.

Drop me off on the nearest asteroid.

- We need you on Terminus.
- I'm not going to Terminus.

Would you keep her quiet?
I'm trying to pilot.

You're not taking the escape pod.

Look, if you think I won't hurt you
because you're a woman, I will...

Ow. What is that? You stabbing me,
is that supposed...

What was...

That's it.

Get it all out.

You got everything you wanted.

We could disappear.

Empire has been monstrous to you, Bel.

He's been monstrous to me.

That's why we can't just run.

A weak Emperor needs a strong general.

And he'll be fearful of that general.

He'll always be imagining a coup.

He didn't imprison you
because of some order you disobeyed,

he did it because you are loved.

It's immaterial.

I'm not a revolutionary, Glawen...

...any more than I am a deserter.

The Emperor's subjects, all these
trillions of people, they're just...

they're disposable to him.

So, as the one man who isn't,
it's my duty to protect them, Glay.

- All of them.
- Right now?

Bel, you need time to recover.

And we need time to...

...find each other again.

I'll be by your side, no matter what.

But I tell you,

being under Empire's heel leaves a mark.

And that doesn't go away
when the heel is lifted.

So, you're gonna be at my side
every minute, are you?

Looking for the tread marks on my face.

They're not on your face.

Approaching Destiny.

Prepare the cabin for docking.

The point remains.

With this Day in charge,

for the sake of all these people,

I don't have the luxury
of settling the score.

I was prepared for you to say that,
which is why I kept this for you.

General.

At ease.

Welcome home, General Riose.

It's good to be back, She-Bends-Light.

I hope,
during your years under gravity's boot,

you haven't forgotten how to space-fold.

We didn't pack any sick bags
for this journey.

- Missed your humor, She-Bends.
- And I your smile, General.

All those years opalesk mining,

and you still only brought me
remnants under your fingernails.

I'm teasing, General.

Empire couldn't control my kind if
they didn't keep a stranglehold on it.

Set a course for the Outer Reach.

It's not too late to belay that.

Jump locked in.

Too late now.

All hands to jump creches.

Fine. We'll build a Second Foundation
without Hari.

Takeoff might be a little rough.

Warning. Planetary surface thin.

- You all right?
- Yeah.

Landing site unstable.

Yeah, thanks.

It's all right. We'll just...

Oh, sh*t.

Uninhabited doesn't mean alone.

Get us out of here! Fly us out!

Yes, I'm trying, I'm trying!

Watch out, watch out,
watch out, watch out!

Come on. Come on. Come on.

Nearly there. Nearly there.

What the hell were those?

Did we lose 'em?

No. They just turned around.

It's like
they got a scent of something else.

Not possible. There's nothing
alive on this rock but us.

Wait.

Probes are picking up activity
in those monuments.

What?

A life-form.

Maybe that Kalle person was alive.

There's something breathing down there.

It's Hari.

What? No, it can't be Hari.

I'm telling you, it's him. It's Hari.

Turn.

There's nowhere to land.

Bring us down onto the hand.

Open the air lock.

You have to fly closer!

I've got a pulse, Salvor.

He's real. He's alive.

What are you?

Gaal, hurry. Those things are gonna
take down the entire mountain.

You have to wake up.

Salvor, pull us up! Pull us up!

Hang on! Hang on!

Hari. Hari, wake up. Come on.

Wake up.

Ah!

How do you have a body?
How is this possible?

I don't know.