History Literature / TheMule

* GrammarNazi: Mayor Indbur III corrects the grammar before he signs anything. It's evidence of his [[SuperOCD bookkeeper]] personality that he must correct the improper usage of commas before he will place a document in his Out Tray.

* PenPushingPresident: [[KingBobTheNth Mayor Indbur III]] inherited the post of absolute dictator for the Foundation from his grandfather (who was brutal but able) and father (who was brutal and nothing else) and is essentially a born pencil-pusher who happened to inherit absolute power. He always [[GrammarNazi corrects the grammar and spelling]] of the reports he reads before giving them his stamp of approval. It's evidence of his [[SuperOCD bookkeeper]] personality that he must correct the improper usage of commas before he will place a document in his Out Tray.

* SuperOCD: [[KingBobTheNth Mayor Indbur III]] is described as a natural-born bookkeeper. He is exceptionally fastidious, and disrupting his routine can send him into paroxysms. In stressful situations, he calms himself down by drawing geometric shapes in geometric patterns, like rows of triangles or six squares in a hexagonal shape. Before [[PenPushingPresident he signs anything]] requiring his attention, he [[GrammarNazi checks the page for grammatical mistakes and corrects them]].

-->Bayta was more and more a creature of herself. The vivacity died, the self-assured competence wavered. She, too, sought her own worried, absorbed company, and once Toran bad come upon her, fingering her blaster. She had put it away quickly, forced a smile.

Meanwhile, Indbur the Third, current Mayor of the Foundation, has ordered highly competent yet undisciplined Mayor Han Pritcher to investigate Haven, but Pritcher disobeys, as his instincts tell him that Kalgan is far more important. Meeting Toran, Bayta and Magnifico, Pritcher reveals he is a member of the Democratic Resistance, and that he wants to take Magnifico to the Foundation: he knows that the Mule could represent a great danger to the Foundation, and Magnifico might know the Mule's weaknesses.

Toran, a common merchant at the edge of Foundation space, has recently married Bayta Darell, who is a [[SpinOffspring descendant of]] the [[LegendaryInTheSequel famous Hober Mallow]]. He's taking her home to [[NumberedHomeworld Haven II]] to meet his family. They talk about politics, and Bayta explains why she thinks that the [[ThePlan Seldon Plan]] expects another Crisis moment within a few years. The edge of the [[ProudMerchantRace Foundation traders]] have expanded a great distance, but they pay too much in taxes. On Terminus, at the central government, the office of the Head of State has calcified into a hereditary position due to the Indbur family taking power and ending democratic elections. Bayta says that [[PosthumousCharacter Hari Seldon]] didn't plan for just any new Empire, he planned to ''improve'' upon the galactic bureaucracy that had stalled humanity's growth.

Excited by Bayta's speechmaking, her in-laws tell her about the Independent Traders they've been organizing, and their plan to trick a would-be GalacticConqueror into attacking the Foundation as prelude to a civil war against the authoritarian government. Bayta and Toren agree to visit Kalgan to find the Mule; a warlord who has already taken the PleasurePlanet from another galactic warlord. Their pretense is a honeymoon, and while they're on the beach, a strange and misshapen little man is wandering around. Bayta feels compassion for him, and he tells them that he is Magnifico Giganticus, the Mule's jester, fleeing from the court of a monster.

* ArcVillain: Unlike the usual MonsterOfTheWeek format of crisis/challenges the Foundation faces, this time we have the Mule, an apparently unstoppable GalacticConqueror [[spoiler: who successfully defeats Seldon and shatters the plan nearly beyond saving. The Mule is miles above ''anything'' the Foundation has ever faced, causing Terminus to fall for the first and only time ever in its history. Yes, the ''[[TheBadGuyWins Foundation loses to him]]''. He does this with relative ease, outsmarts Foundation's insurgents and in Part Two, starts his plan of tracking down the legendary Second Foundation, which is surrounded in myth and rumored to be able to defeat him.]]

* TheBadGuyWins: [[spoiler: Part One ends when the Mule's forces have conquered the home planet of the Foundation, in [[CurbStompBattle one easy attack]]. Part Two isn't much better; Bayta sacrifices her chance to warn the Second Foundation about the Mule to ensure the Mule doesn't get there first. His MotiveRant at the end explains that even though he's been denied the chance to attack the Second Foundation before they can strike back, hes by all means fully won and has the supreme upper hand.]]

* FreudianExcuse: The Mule is driven to [[GalacticConqueror conquer the galaxy]] because of a [[AllOfTheOtherReindeer childhood of ostracism and abuse]] due to his physically deformed stature; he claims that it is now "his turn". Appropriately, he is stopped by a master psychologist administering instant therapy with a bit of mind control thrown in for good measure. The Mule spends the rest of his life happy.

* ExplosiveOverclocking: Part of the EmotionControl powers that the Mule has allows him to cause intuition and creativity to skyrocket, at the expense of their lives]]. He describes human brains as normally operating at 20% efficiency (essentially [[NinetyPercentOfYourBrain failing to use 80%]]), and he can use his power to force all of it to work ''non-stop'' without any chance of rest for weeks on end. He puts Ebling Mis in this state, allowing him to replicate most of a genius mathematician's life's work in only a few weeks, at the cost of killing him within the same timeframe.

* TheWoobie: Deliberately [Invoked] by Magnifico, [[spoiler:who is a [[TwoAliasesOneCharacter persona created by the Mule]], for the purpose of infiltrating the Foundation]]. Bayta Darell is immediately sympathetic to his plight and appearance. He tells her about the physical and emotional abuse he's suffered at the hands of the Mule, and begs their help in escaping Kalgan. [[spoiler:She only stops feeling sympathetic, "motherly" in Toran's words, once she realizes that Magnifico is the Mule that they've been running from.]]

Taking him to their ship, the trio meets Captain Han Pritcher, a military spy for the Foundation and member of the Democratic Resistance, who explains how much trouble the Foundation is in: the Mule is a {{Mutant|s}} who possesses great power, putting him [[OutsideContextProblem outside of Psychohistory's predictive ability]] and making him a threat to [[ThePlan Seldon's Plan]]. Pritcher advises them to escape while they can, but this plays into the Mule's hands, as he declares war on the Foundation for the loss of his jester.

In Terminus, scientist Ebling Mis, one of the biggest experts in the matter of the Foundation's roots, has managed to figure out that the next Seldon Crisis will happen within a few months. Bayta and Magnifico meet him, and Mis gifts Magnifico a Visi-Sonor, a musical instrument that can also affect the sight and the emotions if well played: Magnifico proves to be a great player, and becomes famous in Terminus even as the Mule's fleet advances, [[CurbStompBattle consistently winning most battles]]. The Mule attacks one of the Independent Trader Planets, bringing them in on an alliance with the Foundation's central government and slowing the advance. However, on the day of the 300th anniversary of the Foundation's creation, another of Hari Seldon's message is released - and it turns out he had expected a civil war between the central government and the independent traders: the Mule is truly outside of Seldon's Plan. As people panic, the Mule's fleet attacks: Toran, Bayta, Mis and Magnifico escape just in time to go to Haven, while Pritcher tries to rejoin the resistance.

While Haven becomes besieged, Pritcher finds his fellow Resistance members, and they come up with a plan: believing that the Mule is currently living in the Foundation's Mayor's Palace, someone could try to bring a nuclear bomb inside and kill him. Pritcher volunteers to carry out the suicide mission, but within he meets the Mule's viceroy, who tells him that the Resistance movement had already been infiltrated, that the bomb is a dud - and that the Mule has the means to make others change allegiances, as proven by the viceroy himself, who was the Kalgan warlord the Mule deposed.

In Haven, one of the few remaining free planets, the mood decays due to the war. Toran's uncle tells him that Haven's government is close to surrender, and advises him to get out before it's too late, tasking him to find the fabled Second Foundation, which may be the only way to stop the Mule before it is too late. Toran, Bayta, Mis and Magnifico leave the planet just a few days ahead of Haven's surrender. On the way to Trantor, they meet a ship from a purported local autocracy that threatens to destroy them unless they stop. Toran realizes the ship is actually a Foundation's ship and tries to destroy it, but Magnifico mentions having seen Pritcher on board and suggests that maybe Pritcher is doing the same as them.

A stop in Neotrantor (the Empire's capital since the Fall of Trantor) puts them under the eye of the Emperor's son, who captures the group to sell them to the Mule while planning to keep Bayta for himself, but Magnifico uses the Visi-Sonor to kill him and render his main henchman inoffensive, allowing the group to leave unmolested. At Trantor, Ebling Mis feverishly studies all the documents remaining from the time of Seldon to find clues about the Second Foundation, so they can be warned.

As Toran and Bayta settle down for the first time in weeks, Han Pritcher arrives - and confesses he has been brainwashed into a man of the Mule. Pritcher reveals that the Mule's power is control over people's emotions, causing the despair that made the fall of the Foundation and Haven so easy and making his direct subordinates unable to rebel against him. In deference to their past friendship, Pritcher doesn't arrest them, but warns them that the Mule has pretty much won the war, so their best option is to surrender.

Two weeks later, Mis tells Bayta, Toran and Magnifico he has finally found where the Second Foundation is, but before he does, Bayta kills him. As Toran and Magnifico are left shocked, Bayta explains that she managed to realize after Pritcher's visit that Magnifico was actually the Mule, and killing Mis was the only way she could prevent him from telling the Mule where the Second Foundation is hiding.

* TheBadGuyWins: Part One ends when the Mule's forces have conquered the home planet of the Foundation, in [[CurbStompBattle one easy attack]]. Part Two isn't much better; Bayta sacrifices her chance to warn the Second Foundation about the Mule to ensure the Mule doesn't get there first. His MotiveRant at the end explains just how thoroughly he won.

** The Mule is an apparently unstoppable GalacticConqueror who successfully defeats Seldon and shatters the plan nearly beyond saving. The Mule is miles above ''anything'' the Foundation has ever faced, causing Terminus to fall for the first and only time ever in its history. Yes, the ''[[TheBadGuyWins Foundation loses to him]]''. He does this with relative ease, outsmarts Foundation's insurgents and in Part Two, starts his plan of tracking down the legendary Second Foundation, which is surrounded in myth and rumored to be able to defeat him.

* IThoughtEveryoneCouldDoThat: At the climax, the Mule mentions that it took him awhile to figure out that other people couldn't [[EmotionControl manipulate emotions]], perhaps because, according to ''Literature/FoundationsEdge,'' he was from a planet where everyone really ''could'' do that, though he was unique in his willingness to do so without considering the well-being of the people being manipulated.
* TheJester: In the third chapter, the court jester of Kalgan joins the protagonists. Bayta notices him first, walking around on his hands. He tells them about having to recite extemporaneous rhymes and dance for the Mule and his court.

* NoChallengeEqualsNoSatisfaction: The {{villain}} admits that [[IJustWantToHaveFriends he grew up lonely and unloved]], so he used his {{mutant|s}} powers to force people to be his friends. [[InvertedTrope Finding someone willing to be his friend without forcing it]] was so novel that he couldn't justify {{Brainwashing}} her. Because of this flaw, he lost his best chance at conquering the galaxy.

* PinballProtagonist: [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]]. Bayta eventually realizes that the way she, Toran, and Magnifico, three mostly ordinary people, keep going from one hotspot of Galactic conflict to the next, always there to witness the most dramatic moments of the war, but always escaping and finding themselves at the site of the ''next'' major Galactic event … that just doesn't happen in real life. Not unless one of them is actually the ''source'' of the conflicts ...

*** Mnemon, a Trader world, takes its name from a [[RedBaron nickname given to Artaxerxes II of Persia]] by the Greeks. English translations vary between 'pertaining to Truth' and 'pertaining to Memory'.

* FreudianExcuse: The Mule is driven to [[GalacticConqueror conquer the galaxy]] because of a [[AllOfTheOtherReindeer childhood of ostracism and abuse]] due to his physically deformed stature; he claims that it is now "his turn".

First published [[SerialNovel in two parts]] as "The Mule" in ''Magazine/AstoundingScienceFiction'' ([[DividedForPublication November and December]] 1945 issues), by Creator/IsaacAsimov. This ScienceFiction {{Novella}} takes place after the events of "Literature/TheGeneralFoundation" and in 1996, it earned first place in the 1946 Retro UsefulNotes/HugoAward for Novels. A {{Mutant|s}} with PsychicPowers takes control of Kalgan, and from there, the biggest storyline in ''Literature/TheFoundationTrilogy'' begins.

* AccentTranslation: Magnifico speaks what is described to be the dialect of the galactic centre. Asimov translates it as FloweryElizabethanEnglish.

* {{Brainwashed}}: The Mule, an interstellar warlord in Isaac Asimov's Foundation trilogy had the telepathic ability to turn anyone, even his greatest enemies, into devoted followers willing to die for him. The Second Foundation, which possesses a similar ability, later turn it against him and transform him into a pacifist. Victims of both [[spoiler: The Mule and the Second Foundation.]]

The Mule sheds his Magnifico persona and confirms Bayta's suspicions, lamenting how close he had been to complete victory, yet was defeated because Bayta's honest friendship kept him away from her mind, preventing him from finding out what she was going to do. In spite of this, though, the Mule remains confident of his eventual victory, and decides to allow Toran and Bayta to be free while he returns to Kalgan and leads his new empire while seeking the Second Foundation.

Taking him to their ship, the trio meet Captain Han Pritcher, a military spy for the Foundation, who explains just how much trouble the Foundation is in; the Mule is a {{Mutant|s}}, and therefore [[OutsideContextProblem outside of the predictive ability of Psychohistory]]. While the Foundation has enjoyed three hundred years of PlotArmor, the appearance of a [[{{Transhuman}} superman]] disrupts [[ThePlan Seldon's Plan]] by being an unpredictable element disrupting the flow of history. Captain Pritcher advises them to escape while they can, accidentally playing into the Mule's hands. With the trio on Terminus and the Mule angry at losing his jester, he launches an all-out offensive, slowly grinding his way in towards the Foundation, [[CurbStompBattle consistently winning each battle]]. Is this the end of [[ThePlan Seldon's Plan]]?

* BigBad: The Mule manipulates people around him with PsychicPowers, turning entire planets to despondency and fear. While on Kalgan, Bayta and Toren manage to rescue his jester, Magnifico Gigantus, only to learn that the Mule [[BatmanGambit had wanted them to do so]]. Twice they barely escape as the Mule's fleet [[CurbStompBattle brutally conquers]] the planet they're on. His fleet of ships conquers the entire First Foundation. In "Part Two", the protagonists head to Trantor because figuring out where the Second Foundation is will be their only chance to stop him. Bayta realizes, just in time, that [[spoiler:Magnifico [[TwoAliasesOneCharacter is the Mule]], and that's how he's been one step ahead of them this whole time]]. Despite being defeated here, his efforts to conquer the Foundation [[VillainousLegacy leave a lasting impact on the series]].

* ConflictKiller: A splinter group of the Foundation, made of [[ProudMerchantRace merchants, traders, and colonists]], prepare to rebel against the group on their capital planet, Terminus. However, [[ThePlan the Seldon Plan]] is disrupted by the [[OutsideContextProblem previously unexpected appearance of the Mule]]. The Mule forces the two sides into [[EnemyMine teaming up against this common enemy]]. [[spoiler:They lose, and [[TheBadGuysWin the Mule takes over the entire First Foundation]].]]

* GagNose: Magnifico Gigantus is a [[GeekPhysiques short man with spidery limbs]], his long nose is part of what makes him appear to be a living caricature of humanity. Covers to ''Literature/FoundationAndEmpire'' have included Magnifico, with a nose as long as his jester's cap bells.
* GalacticConqueror: The Warlord of Kalgan has been terrorizing the local planets, until he meets the Mule, a {{mutant|s}} with PsychicPowers who defeats him and takes his territory. From there, the Mule leads an ever-growing fleet of mercenaries and soldiers against the Foundation, even capturing Terminus, the capital planet, during [[FoundingDay the 300th anniversary of colonization]]. By the end of the story, [[TheBadGuysWin he's conquered every First Foundation planet and not even the Second Foundation appears to be strong enough to stop him]].
* GeekPhysiques: Magnifico Gigantus, a geek in the more archaic sense of the word, is a clown. He's physically deformed in a way that makes people laugh at him, so he has been forced into the role of circus geek or jester. His short stature and long, spindly limbs has been the cause of years of ridicule and mockery. His [[GagNose enormous nose]] is assumed to be capable of holding onto things.

* TheJinx: The protagonists help the Mule's clown, Magnifico Gigantus, escape from Kalgan. However, it seems like he's a bad luck charm, because everywhere Toran and Bayta take him, the Mule's forces eventually arrive and [[CurbStompBattle conquer with ease]]. [[spoiler:Bayta eventually realizes that [[TwoAliasesOneCharacter Magnifico is actually the Mule]] and has been [[EmotionControl emotionally manipulating the local populations]] to surrender.]]

* KnownOnlyByTheirNickname: A complicated example here; Magnifico Gigantus is a name that he says was given to him by the Mule, and he was originally called Bobo. However, [[spoiler:[[TwoAliasesOneCharacter he is the Mule]], which means both names are fictitious, and the Mule is something he called himself]]. So we never learn Magnifico's real name.

* TheManInFrontOfTheMan: To all appearances, the Mule is the psychic leader of a powerful military which is derailing the Foundation's plans. However, he's actually [[TwoAliasesOneCharacter in disguise for most of the story]], as one of his own henchmen; [[spoiler:the clown, Magnifico Gigantus. His "rescue" by Bayta and Toran allows him to sabotage the Foundation's attempts to resist his fleet]].

** The Mule is an apparently unstoppable GalacticConqueror who successfully defeats Seldon and shatters the plan nearly beyond saving. The Mule is miles above ''anything'' the Foundation has ever faced, causing Terminus to fall for the first and only time ever in its history. Yes, the ''[[TheBadGuysWin Foundation loses to him]]''. He does this with relative ease, outsmarts Foundation's insurgents and in Part Two, starts his plan of tracking down the legendary Second Foundation, which is surrounded in myth and rumored to be able to defeat him.
* MotiveRant: When the [[TwoAliasesOneCharacter double identity]] of the Mule is uncovered, he calmly explains to the protagonists why he had become a GalacticConqueror and proudly points out that, while the conditions of this defeat have bummed him out and denied him the chance to eliminate a powerful potential enemy, [[TheBadGuysWin he hasn't lost anything and in fact still has the upper hand]]. Then he just leaves because he has a galaxy to rule and the protagonists are no longer useful.

* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds: The Mule, [[spoiler:[[TwoAliasesOneCharacter alias Magnifico Gigantico]]]], is initially introduced to the protagonists as a large man of immense strength and power. In truth, he's an ugly, miserable, scrawny little man, who has been emotionally abused by everyone around him for two decades. Once he realized that he had PsychicPowers that other people didn't, he decided to take revenge on the cruel uncaring galaxy by [[GalacticConqueror conquering it]].

First published [[SerialNovel in two parts]] as "The Mule" in ''Magazine/AstoundingScienceFiction'' ([[DividedForPublication November and December]] 1945 issues), by Creator/IsaacAsimov. This ScienceFiction {{Novella}} takes place after the events of "Literature/TheGeneralFoundation" and in 1996, it earned first place in the 1946 Retro UsefulNotes/HugoAward for Novels. A {{Mutant|s}} with PsychicPowers takes control of Kalgan, and from there, the biggest storyline in the ''Literature/{{Foundation}}'' trilogy begins.

First published [[SerialNovel in two parts]] as "The Mule" in ''Magazine/AstoundingScienceFiction'' ([[DividedForPublication November and December]] 1945 issues), by Creator/IsaacAsimov. This ScienceFiction {{Novella}} takes place after the events of "Literature/TheGeneralFoundation" and in 1996, it earned first place in the 1946 Retro UsefulNotes/HugoAward for Novels. A {{Mutant|s}} with PsychicPowers takes control of Kalgan, and from there, the biggest storyline in ''Literature/TheFoundationTrilogy'' begins.

* PeoplesRepublicOfTyranny: The Foundation has fallen into an inherited dictatorship, full of corruption and inefficiency. Associated colonies self-identifying as [[ProudMerchantRace Traders keep up the old mercantile traditions]], with civil war looming between the [[DecadantCourt corrupt central government]] and the democratically focused population until the Mule comes in [[ConflictKiller and smashes both]].

[[caption-width-right:350:From left to right; Bayta, Toran, and Magnifico]