History Literature / TheMayors

* BeastFable: Mayor Hardin tells Prince Regent Wienis of a story about a man, a horse, and a wolf. The horse was frightened of the wolf, and sought an ally against it. It approached a man who readily agreed, but to cooperate, the man asks if he can place a bridle and saddle on the horse. The horse agrees, and the two hunt down and slay the wolf. Now the horse asks the man to remove the bridle and saddle, but the man refuses. In this analogy, the Kingdom of Anacreon is represented by the horse and the Foundation is represented by the man. The ScamReligion concocted by Mayor Hardin is the [[TitleDrop bridle and saddle]] of the Four Kingdoms.

* PropheciesAreAlwaysRight: During the [[FoundingDay 75th anniversary of the Foundation colonizing Terminus]], a {{hologram}} of [[PosthumousCharacter the dead]] Hari Seldon appears, and [[AllAccordingToPlan describes the way the Foundation has used religion to subvert control from their more powerful neighbors]]. He also points out the "BalanceOfPower" that was used this time and last time will not be enough for the next crisis, occurring in "Literature/TheMerchantPrinces".

* TitleDrop: This story was originally published under the name "Bridle and Saddle". Mayor Hardin tells Prince Regent Wienis a BeastFable about a man, a horse, and a wolf. The wolf is an enemy of both the horse and the man, but to cooperate, the man asks if he can place a bridle and saddle on the horse, and after defeating the wolf the horse finds himself unable to get rid of them. The bridle and saddle represent the ScamReligion that Mayor Hardin created, which has given Terminus control over the Four Kingdoms.

* TheGrandHunt: The former King of the planet Anacreon was accidentally killed during a hunt to kill a giant flying animal called a Nyak. In the story Prince Regent Wienis hints to the current King Lepold I that he had the previous king murdered and could do the same to Lepold during a royal hunt if he doesn't go along with Wienis' plans.

Verisof has information that Sermak did not -- Anacreon has discovered a derelict Imperial battle cruiser. Restored to full strength, the single ship would be more than a match for the entire navy of any of the Four Kingdoms. Anacreon wants the Foundation to restore it for them, whereas Foundation scientists want the ship for research. The balance of power, therefore, is about to tilt: if the FOundation keeps the ship, Anacreon (and likely the other three kingdoms) will see it as a hostile act and attack, and their only alternative is handing Anacreon a weapon so potent that it will no longer need to fear the other three kingdoms and will then turn around and use that weapon on the Foundation. The two discuss what Seldon must have been planning, and Hardin admits that he's figured out that one of the key parts to psychohistory was that [[UnspokenPlanGuarantee the people whose actions are being predicted can't know what the prediction is]]. Mayor Hardin tells Verisof that they'll restore the cruiser and return it to Anacreon, and reveals his plan to be on Anacreon when they decide to attack.

Mayor Hardin's next appointment is with High Priest (and ambassador) Poly Verisof who snuck onto Terminus through the expedient of taking off his robes and [[BeneathNotice travelling like an average citizen]]. He provides Mayor Hardin (and the audience) with the BackStory. Hardin has given the Four Kingdoms their technology, disguised as a religion, of which he is the chief priest and Terminus is the holy city. Priests run nuclear reactors all over the Four Kingdoms, and everything is explained to them as holy manifestations of the "Galactic Spirit". The kings of the Four Kingdoms willingly accepted this religion, since with it came legitimacy through the DivineRightOfKings, and it has been zealously adopted by the general public. The strongest of these kingdoms is Anacreon, ruled by the teenage King Lepold, who will come of age in February. For now, his uncle, the Prince Regent Wienis is in charge. The [[TheGrandHunt royal family enjoys hunting for sport]], although the previous king died in a HuntingAccident. A [[MakeItLookLikeAnAccident suspicious]] accident. The two discuss what Seldon must have been planning, and Hardin admits that he's figured out that one of the key parts to psychohistory was that [[UnspokenPlanGuarantee the people whose actions are being predicted can't know what the prediction is]]. Mayor Hardin reveals his plan to be on Anacreon when they decide to attack.

The shutdown happens as expected, and Wienis attempts to force Hardin to order the restoration of power, pointing out that the fleet is still traveling, but Hardin has also planned for the possibility: aboard the Anacreon Fleet's flagship (an old Imperial battlecruiser that was repaired by the Foundation's engineers), its priests do the same thing as in Anacreon, turning the ship and the fleet against Wienis, ordering that the Prince Regent be arrested and put under trial. When these news are received at Anacreon, Wienis unsuccessfully attempts to murder Hardin, before choosing to kill himself.

Mayor Hardin's next appointment is with High Priest (and ambassador) Poly Verisof who snuck onto Terminus through the expedient of taking off his robes and [[BeneathNotice travelling like an average citizen]]. He provides Mayor Hardin (and the audience) with the BackStory to the Anacreon kingdom. Their ruler is King Lepold, who will become sixteen in February. For now, his uncle, the Prince Regent Wienis is in charge. The [[TheGrandHunt royal family enjoys hunting for sport]], although the previous king died in a HuntingAccident. A [[MakeItLookLikeAnAccident suspicious]] accident. The two discuss what Seldon must have been planning, and Hardin admits that he's figured out that one of the key parts to psychohistory was that [[UnspokenPlanGuarantee the people whose actions are being predicted can't know what the prediction is]]. Mayor Hardin reveals his plan to be on Anacreon when they decide to attack.

* BetterToDieThanBeKilled: At the climax, Prince Regent Wienis turns his blaster on himself and commits suicide rather than allow himself to be subjected to a religious trial for trying to attack the "holy planet" of Terminus, and also because he can't kill a force-shielded Salvor Hardin with the gun either.

* MrSmith: To hide the fact that Poly Verisof, high priest and ambassador representing Terminus, is visiting Mayor Hardin, he makes an appointment as Jan Smite (which sounds similar/identical to John Smith depending on your accent).

* ThePlan: Salvor Hardin, mayor of Terminus, plans to eliminate Prince Regent Wienis, corrupt uncle to the King of Anacreon, by handing them a [[LostTechnology derelict old battleship]] (fully repaired and operational) and using conveniently timed sabotage to "show" the legitimacy of the "Religion of Science".

* VillainousBreakdown: Prince Regent Wienis crumbles spectacularly when he realizes that Salvor Hardin has OutGambitted him, going berserk and ultimately committing suicide.

* BetterToDieThanBeKilled: At the climax, [[spoiler:Prince Regent Wienis turns his blaster on himself and commits suicide rather than allow himself to be subjected to a religious trial for trying to attack the "holy planet" of Terminus, and also because he can't kill a force-shielded Salvor Hardin with the gun either.]]

* MrSmith: To hide the fact that [[spoiler:Poly Verisof, high priest and ambassador representing Terminus,]] is visiting Mayor Hardin, he makes an appointment as Jan Smite (which sounds similar/identical to John Smith depending on your accent).

* ThePlan: Salvor Hardin, mayor of Terminus, plans to eliminate Prince Regent Wienis, corrupt uncle to the King of Anacreon, by handing them a [[LostTechnology derelict old battleship]] (fully repaired and operational) [[spoiler:and using conveniently timed sabotage to "show" the legitimacy of the "Religion of Science"]].

* VillainousBreakdown: [[spoiler:Prince Regent Wienis crumbles spectacularly when he realizes that Salvor Hardin has OutGambitted him, going berserk and ultimately committing suicide.]]

First published in ''Magazine/AstoundingScienceFiction'' (June 1942 issue), by Creator/IsaacAsimov, under the name "Bridle and Saddle", and published concurrently in the UK's version of ''Astounding''. This ScienceFiction {{Novelette}} is the second work published in his overall ''Literature/FoundationSeries''.

* EvilChancellor: Prince Regent Wienis often gives advice to his nephew, King Lepold. Some of the advice has been to attack Terminus, and sometimes he hints that the HuntingAccident which killed King Leopold's father might have been arranged and the same could happen to Lepold if he doesn't go along with Wienis's plans.
* EvilUncle: Prince Regent Wienis often gives advice to his nephew, King Lepold. Some of the advice has been to attack Terminus, and sometimes he hints that the HuntingAccident which killed King Leopold's father might have been arranged and the same could happen to Lepold if he doesn't go along with Wienis's plans.

* EvilUncle: King Lepold's uncle, Prince Regent Wienis, who may have killed his father.

* PuppetKing: King Lepold of Anacreon, whose government is really controlled by his EvilUncle, Prince Regent Wienis. By the end of the story, he's now one under the Foundation.

* EvilUncle: Prince Regent Wienis often gives advice to his nephew, King Lepold. Some of the advice has been to attack Terminus, and sometimes he hints that the HuntingAccident which killed King Leopold's father might have been arranged and the same could happen to Lepold if he doesn't go along with Wienis's plans.

The next scene change shows us events on Anacreon, and the dynamics between [[EvilUncle uncle]] and nephew. Prince Regent Wienis [[{{Realpolitik}} explains why Terminus is dangerous to Anacreon]], and why it is important that they conquer it. At this point, the stage is set for why Terminus is facing internal conflict and a military threat from Anacreon. Mayor Hardin faces the Prince Regent of Anacreon on their own turf, and wins through [[GuileHero preparing personal defenses and giving secret orders to his allies]]. Then arrives back on Terminus in time to see Seldon's opinion of the whole thing.

* TheGrandHunt: The former King of the planet Anacreon was accidentally killed during a hunt to kill a giant flying animal called a Nyak. In the story Prince Regent Weinis hints to the current King Lepold I that he had the previous king murdered and could do the same to Lepold during a royal hunt if he doesn't go along with Weinis' plans.

* MonsterOfTheWeek: Salvor Hardin, [[LandOfOneCity mayor of the planet Terminus]], is facing internal revolutionary elements on Terminus, led by Sef Sermak. At the same time, they're facing a threat from Anacreon, where Prince Regent Weinis, uncle to the King of Anacreon, is making a power play for his country to take control of Terminus.

* PuppetKing: King Lepold of Anacreon, whose government is really controlled by his EvilUncle, Prince Regent Wienis.

* TitleDrop: This story was originally published under the name "Bridle and Saddle". Mayor Hardin tells Prince Regent Wienis a BeastFable about a man, a horse, and a wolf. The wolf is an enemy of both the horse and the man, but to cooperate, the man asks if he can place a bridle and saddle on the horse. The bridle and saddle represent the ScamReligion that Mayor Hardin created, which has given Terminus control over the Four Kingdoms.
* ToWinWithoutFighting: Anacreon sends a fleet of ships to capture Terminus, including an [[MileLongShip enormous cruiser]] they've recently repaired, so that they have exclusive access to the Foundation's high-level technology. However, the Mayor of Terminus instructed the ever-present monks, a [[ScamReligion religious order taught to operate the atomic technology]], to stop the fleet and incite mass riots across Anacreon just before they arrive at Terminus. The monocracy quickly crumbles in the face of revolting citizens and they never actually fight the Foundation.

* FoundingDay: During the 75th anniversary of the Foundation colonizing Terminus, a {{hologram}} of [[PosthumousCharacter the dead]] Hari Seldon appears, and [[AllAccordingToPlan describes the way the Foundation has used religion to subvert control from their more powerful neighbors]].

First published in ''Magazine/AstoundingScienceFiction'' (June 1942 issue), by Creator/IsaacAsimov, under the name "Bridle and Saddle", and published concurrently in the UK's version of ''Astounding''. This ScienceFiction {{Novelette}} is the second work published in his overall ''Literature/{{Foundation}}'' series.

-->''"The king's father died under suspicious circumstances. A needle bullet through the chest during a hunt. It was called an accident."'' -- '''High Priest Poly Verisof'''
-->''"Be careful on these Nyak hunts, my boy. Since the unfortunate accident to your father, I have had the strangest presentiments concerning you, at times. In the confusion, with needle guns thickening the air with darts, one can never tell. You will be careful, I hope. And you'll do as I say about the Foundation, won't you?"'' -- '''Prince Regent Wienis''' to his fifteen-year-old nephew, '''King Lepold I'''

-->''"Probably an over-compensated inferiority complex. Younger sons of royalty get that way, you know."'' -- '''Salvor Hardin'''

-->''"[Y]ou were forced to surround these scientific gifts with the most outrageous mummery. You've made half religion, half balderdash out of it. You've erected a hierarchy of priests and complicated, meaningless ritual."'' -- '''Sef Sermak'''

First published in ''Magazine/AstoundingScienceFiction'' (June 1942 issue), by Creator/IsaacAsimov, under the name "Bridle and Saddle", and published concurrently in the UK's version of ''Astounding''. This ScienceFiction {{Novelette}} is the second work published in his overall ''Literature/{{Foundation|Series}}'' series.

* TerminallyDependentSociety: Prince Regent Wienies learns that they've become fatally dependent on the Foundation when he tries to conquer Terminus, but the military, along with the planetary population, rise up against him.

* YouFool: Prince Regent Wienis insults King Lepold ([[Puppet King his fifteen year-old nephew]]) in private for neglecting the threat that Terminus poses to Anacreon's independence.