CLEON / BROTHER DAY.

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          NOTE: To avoid confusion between the different generations of Cleon, I will refer to the original as 'Cleon', and all of the clones after him will be referred to by their number in the line. E.g. the twelfth clone will be referred to as 'Twelve', Cleon XIII will be referred to as 'Thirteen' etc. But in reality they would be called 'Brother Dawn' (age: 0-29), 'Brother Day' (age: 30-59) and 'Brother Dusk' (age: 60-89) depending on their age.          

The Genetic Dynasty / The Clones, Explained.

The system for the clones following after the original Cleon is as follows: There shall always be three clones alive at any given time, of three generations. The youngest generation shall be referred to as 'Brother Dawn', the middle generation as 'Brother Day', and the oldest as 'Brother Dusk'. When brother Dusk becomes too old, he becomes 'Brother Darkness' and is euthanized. 'Brother Day', who by then will be an elderly man, becomes the new 'Brother Dusk', and 'Brother Dawn' becomes the new 'Brother Day', and they welcome a new 'Brother Dawn' clone who is awakened. If one of the clones get damaged or killed, there is always a spare clone at the same age as them awaiting to be awakened in a vat, who has all of that clone's memories directly uploaded into their mind, so that they can replace the damaged / killed clone at any given time.

While all Brothers have some authority, it is ultimately always Brother Day who has the final say on matters. As the primary Cleon, protocol states that 'Brother Day' should never leave Trantor to ensure his safety.

Biography.

Cleon the First was the son of empress Winoset II and Stanel VI. As a child, Cleon liked counting faces and wandering around the imperial palace. During his explorations, he stumbled upon a face on the mural of souls which he touched. As he did so, it opened a passageway, revealing a robot named Demerzel, who had been held prisoner for thousands of years. He kept revisiting her over the years, hearing her stories of the Robot Wars.

One day, Demerzel asked Cleon to set her free but he said no - she would be freer than him as his mother had just died and he would become Emperor soon and would be chained to the throne. He stormed out of the room after she told a story of her past and why she should be set free. Cleon said he would never return, but he came back regardless. Eventually, he freed her from her trapped state, but still kept her imprisoned in the room. He wanted to hear more stories from her and she tells more and more explicit ones to encourage him to desire.

As Cleon grew older, he had not produced an heir to the throne and called off a wedding at the last minute, ending hopes of that heir. He did this as he wanted Demerzel by his side instead. He had spent years working out how to safely free Demerzel, until he finally figured it out. Cleon brought her a gift from earth and set her free. She did not harm him, and he placed a chip in the back of her neck, forcing her to serve Empire as part of her programming and circumventing the three laws. She became furious and he said it was a fair compromise to give her some freedom. He outlined his plan to her, how to continue the genetic dynasty, by planning for himself to be cloned, with an infant version of himself ruling as a successor, rather than choosing to have a spouse or a biological child. After some hesitation, she says she will love him. During his rule, Cleon and Demerzel engaged in a sexual relationship.

Demerzel supported Cleon's decision to begin the genetic dynasty, though told him that he could still produce a natural heir if he wished. She told him that his legacy would live on, and he agreed, though he regretted not being able to live to see the completion of the Star Bridge, a space elevator that allowed transit to and from the surface of Trantor, a planet in the core of the universe. Soon after, Cleon died, leaving Demerzel to watch over and serve the next emperor.

Cleon I's body was preserved within the Imperial Palace's principium tower, and kept as the source of all genetic material for subsequent clones. He set up a system that his exponents could trigger to activate a digitized version of himself so that they could ask for advice in moments of crisis. After his death, Cleon I would be remembered by the epithet "The Dreamer," and his likeness was represented on a pedestal in the hall of Cleons. A hologram of Cleon I in his prime greeted arrivals when they docked at Trantor Station.

The first clone of Cleon feared an alliance would be created between the people of Thespin and the people of Anacreon, that would become a threat to Empire. As a result, Cleon framed the Thespin king of murdering his new Anacreon bride, which set the two planets on a course of mutual animosity that lasted for hundreds of years. He would later be given the epithet "The Scholar".

For centuries after, The Genetic Dynasty of Cleon has been ruling the Galaxy, from their home on planet Trantor. Though all things eventually come to an end. While Twelve ruled as Brother Day, a mathematician named Hari Seldon claimed to be able to predict the future through math, including the fall of the Galactic Empire within the next 500 years, which would be followed by 30,000 years of barbarism and chaos. Hari further claimed that these future events could not be prevented, but that it was possible to soften the fall. As such, Twelve decided to provide Hari and his followers with resources to work toward this goal, and they were allowed to establish what would come to be called The Foundation, which would work toward softening the fall. However, to avoid any unforeseen consequences of The Foundation gaining too much traction, they were exiled to the barren world at the edge of the Galaxy, called Terminus. As such, if Hari's predictions were wrong, the Foundation would be left to wither, whereas if the predictions were right, The Genetic Dynasty would be seen as supportive and could use this to uphold their regime.

While The Foundation continued their work on Terminus, the Cleons began working towards the goal of saving their Genetic Dynasty as well as the Galactic Empire from external threats predicted by Hari. The first such threat came during Thirteen's rule as Brother Day, in the form of the religion, Luminism. After the death of Proxima Opal, the head of Luminism, the threat arose with one of the potential successors, Zephyr Halima, who sought to return Luminism to the belief that clones were incapable of individual sentience, and that clones were without a soul, which in turn would undermine the Genetic Dynasty. Thirteen thus decided to visit The Maiden and address the conclave himself, becoming the first Brother Day to leave Trantor. While at The Maiden, Thirteen finds that the best way to deal with Zephyr Halima is to use their own faith against her. He does so by partaking in the sacred ritual of walking The Spiral, a harsh and transformative journey where the body suffers greatly, and not all who attempt this walk, survive, but those who do, are granted a vision by The Triple Goddess. Thirteen barely managed to get through the Spiral himself, though after succeeding, he received no vision. Nevertheless, he lied to the zephyrs representing the Triple Goddess, that he had seen a vision, supporting the idea that the Clones are not unholy, but do, in fact, have souls. As a result, Thirteen was able to prevent the religious threat to Empire.

Meanwhile, back at Trantor, Fourteen, as Brother Dawn, is struggling with the fact that he is secretly unlike the other Clones. He is colorblind, he is left-handed, as well as other minor quirks that does not align with any previous Clone. He attempts to take his own life by jumping off his balcony, but his personal aura saves him from the fall. He is spotted by a woman named Azura, and, as the two get more acquainted, she proposes he leave the palace. Fourteen eventually agrees to the plan, and he and Azura devise a way to accomplish it.

Fourteen is told to go to the mural of souls by Twelve, and is shown an image that Twelve painted in his honor. When Twelve encourages Fourteen to inspect the painting more and leaves, Fourteen puts on the color-correction 'hesives and discovers that there were more to the image than he first realized, painted in red, which he had not been able to see. Knowing that Twelve is aware of his differences and fearing the consequences, he begins his escape early. Escaping through the irrigation system, Fourteen is able to make his way through the scar on Trantor and tracks down Azura. He is a day earlier than expected and is comforted by Azura and told to go and take a shower. He exits the bathroom soon after, only to see her pointing a weapon at him which she fires. He is able to escape to the streets, but he is apprehended by associates of Azura and sedated. He wakes up in Azura's house and finds an exact copy of himself opposite him. This copy reveals to Fourteen that the group Azura belongs to were able to smuggle out some Cleon DNA and that they tampered with Fourteen's DNA, hence his difference to the previous clones. 

As Fourteen is about to be killed, Twelve arrives with imperial troops. Fourteen watches as his copy is killed and Azura is taken away. He talks with Twelve about the ramifications of these events, and despite Fourteen saying he is the victim, he is told by Twelve that he is the embodiment of the vulnerabilities of the genetic dynasty. Fourteen points out that his fate is to be decided by Thirteen, not Twelve, to which Twelve reluctantly agrees.

After Thirteen's return to Trantor, Fourteen is brought by Demerzel to appear before Thirteen and Twelve for judgement. Twelve argues that Fourteen is corrupt and that he would have already killed Fourteen if he had his way, but Thirteen explains — to Twelve's great displeasure — that his experiences off-planet have shown him that the empire must be flexible. Just as Thirteen is about to state that Fourteen may live, an outraged Twelve begins screaming at Thirteen and strikes him in the face. Thirteen and Twelve begin to fight each other, and Fourteen rushes to embrace Demerzel, pleading with her "don't let them kill me!" Demerzel embraces Fourteen, telling him "I won't". She then snaps Fourteen's neck, killing him instantly to the shock of both Thirteen and Twelve. After the event, Twelve orders Demerzel to activate Fourteen's replacement clone by breakfast the next morning. After further investigation into the matter of the altered DNA, it turns out that the DNA that was altered was that of the original Cleon clone, though they don't know precisely when this was done, leaving them with the question of whether Thirteen and Twelve may also be imperfect clones.

Following a war between Thespis and Anacreon on the planet Terminus (Revealed by Hari to have been started by the very first clone of Cleon (Cleon the Second), The Foundation is presumed by the Empire to have been eliminated as a casualty of war.

173 years since the Foundation was exiled to Terminus, Sixteen is now the new Brother Dusk, Seventeen is Brother Day, and Eighteen is Brother Dawn. As the corruption of the genetic dynasty becomes more apparent, Seventeen intends to try and change the empire by marrying and having natural children. While in his room with Demerzel, Seventeen's bedchamber is infiltrated by assassins who attempt to kill him. He defeats them with the help of Demerzel, though is wounded in the process and infected by a nanotoxin. Demerzel takes him to the medical unit to receive treatment as she goes away to repair herself.

As Seventeen recovers, he demands to know who is responsible for the attacks, and his Shadowmaster, Greeve, tells him it is the Blind Angels. He has his Shadowmaster executed when he fails to answer how the assassins made it into the imperial palace, and then demands those around him to be interrogated. He also wants Sixteen and Eighteen to have a neural audit to see if they were involved in the assassination attempt. Seventeen's prospective bride-to-be, Queen Sareth I, is presented to him by her handmaiden, Rue Corintha, and he offers her a gift in the form of a brass depiction of Trantor. Later, the three Brothers and Demerzel join, as they discover the Foundation may not have been destroyed a century ago as previously thought. Sixteen wants to destroy the Foundation quickly, but Seventeen takes Demerzel’s advice and wants to investigate the issue more closely first. 

Once alone, Demerzel reports to Seventeen that the memory audits for Sixteen and Eighteen show no involvement in his assassination attempt. With regards to the Foundation, Seventeen is furious when he hears Demerzel wants to bring in Bel Riose to tackle the issue, citing how Bel disobeyed orders in the past. He is, however, won round by Demerzel and agrees to this, on the grounds that Bel Riose be killed if he declines the offer. Later, at dinner with his brothers, he discusses Bel Riose with them while also expressing his disdain at the movement coach towards the brothers’ lack of synchronization during the meal. He gets up and leaves, saying when he is married, he will not have to do this again.

Later, Seventeen joins his brothers, as well as Sareth and Rue for a meal where they discuss Sareth's family being killed, as well as the end of the genetic dynasty. As Sareth wants to find out more about Empire, Seventeen gives her a private tour of the palace, and they go to the place where the clones are created. Sareth raises the rumors of the clone genetics being tampered with, and indicates this is likely why he wants to have offspring.

Demerzel goes to convince Bel Riose to work for Empire again. At first, Bel is defiant, but after Demerzel reveals that his husband, whom he was led to believe had been killed, is actually alive, he agrees to come back to Trantor. Alongside his brothers, Seventeen then meets Bel. Seventeen explains to Bel that there is a growing rebellion in the outer reach and wants him to start in Siwenna. He poses two options; if Bel agrees, he will find his husband alive in the other room, if not, he will find him dead. At Bel's request, Seventeen grants Bel a private conversation with him, where he reiterates that he won't allow any defiance from Bel, to which Bel taunts that he managed to make Seventeen embarrassed when he defied orders six years ago, and that it's obvious Seventeen has never seen battle. Seventeen in turn inquires if Bel wishes to strike him, upon which Bel says he wants to rip Seventeen's head off. Seventeen then demands Bel strike him, but Bel refuses — despite Seventeen threatening his husband's life should he refuse to — on the grounds that he took an oath to Empire. Seventeen lets Bel's husband live as a result of his refusal to strike him, and Bel agrees to work for Empire once more.

Sixteen later meet with Rue privately, where they reminisce on their encounter, although Rue could not remember the actual event, just that it powered her to riches and political influence. They discuss the upcoming marriage between Seventeen and Sareth, and Sixteen invites Rue to watch a recording of their copulation in his private chambers. Sixteen and Rue spend some intimate time in his quarters, watching recordings of their first meeting and night together from thirty years ago. Sixteen asks if Rue is aware that her memories of that night are gone, and she replies no. Sixteen thought that it would feel like something was missing. Rue asks if he has ever thought about editing their own memories; to which he replies that even if something were removed, it would be stored in the Memorium along with his normal memory audits. Rue says it must be reassuring to know he can trust his own memories.

The conversation with Rue gets to Sixteen, and he goes to talk with Demerzel. He learns that in the wake of the assassination attempt, Seventeen has taken sole authority to edit memories for the Genetic Dynasty, including Sixteen's and Eighteen's. Sixteen is angry, stating it should be a shared authority. Asking how either he or Eighteen would know if their memories were altered, Demerzel assures him that the memories are backed up in the Memorium, as well as her own perfect memory. However, Sixteen realizes that he would not even know to ask if his memories were altered. Demerzel assures him that she would tell him if that happened because she serves Empire, not just Seventeen. She then tells him that she will always be there, as she always has been.

Sixteen meets with Eighteen at the Principium. They plan to awaken the memory of Cleon the First for advice. A digitized form of Cleon the First emerges from the Principium, and Sixteen tells him about Seventeen's hoarding of authority. The First's responses are frustrating; saying they must be united, and to be envious of Seventeen is to be envious of themselves, as they are one man. The First says that Seventeen's actions are not their concern, and that his temperament has been accounted for.

Still not satisfied, Sixteen and Eighteen head down to the Memorium and request metadata on their memory files, as well as for all the clones before them. As they wait for Keeper Yartell to retrieve the information, Sixteen wonders about his own legacy, and the way he did not handle many of the conflicts that arose during his rule, and instead allowed Demerzel to pacify the galaxy for him. He notes that Seventeen was embarrassed by his actions as a young boy. He tells Eighteen that maybe Seventeen is doing him a favor by taking away his chair, and releasing him to actually live a life. Yartell arrives with the memory data, and everything appears normal. Sixteen has the same average memory data as other clones of his age, although one thing stands out; Cleon the First's memory size is significantly larger. Eighteen says that it makes sense for Cleon the First to have more memories, since he presumably had more life experience. Sixteen agrees it could, or it could mean the subsequent clones had something removed.

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Seventeen assembles the Galactic Council and addresses a crowd of citizens in an arena on Trantor, including Sixteen and Eighteen. He dedicates a new statue to Winoset, mother of Cleon the First and the last galactic Empress. During his speech, Seventeen announces his intention to wed Sareth I and end the Genetic Dynasty. To the applause of the crowd, Sareth addresses them as well and promises that they will rule as servants to the people, and that their concerns would be their agenda. The crowds cheer as Seventeen looks on, annoyed at what his bride-to-be has promised the people.

In Demerzel’s quarters, Sixteen finds Rue examining Demerzel's living space. Sixteen wants to know how she discovered the servants’ byways. She reveals, to his shock, that the Cloud Dominion have the ability to restore memories, which is how she remembered the byways. Sixteen feels trust between the two has been affected, and also notes that her knowledge of the byways makes her a suspect in Seventeen’s assassination. Rue retorts that the marriage benefits Cloud Dominion, not endangering it. Sixteen refutes the idea that Demerzel is a threat to Sareth, but Rue wants to dig deeper into Demerzel’s history. Any attempts Rue make to find out more from Sixteen, he responds with “she will always be here, as she always has been.” He tells Rue of the history of robots and man in front of a mural of a robot. He considers Rue’s offer to restore his memories so he can remember how she first came to Empire. As he does so, he notes the Chroma on the robot image isn’t moving which it is supposed to when people are in the proximity of it. The pair are interrupted by a message that Sixteen is required at an execution.

Reviewing Brother Constant and Poly Verisof’s arrival on Trantor, Seventeen and Demerzel note how they arrive on Trantor while Bel Riose is in the outer reach. As they discuss Seventeen's marriage, he notes that Demerzel will have a place in the new Empire. Later, as Foundation prisoner Hober Mallow escapes from imperial custody, Seventeen wonders if the Foundation could have orchestrated his assassination attempt. Meeting Sareth in the gardens, they discuss her family, and Seventeen notes that it is a tragedy what happened to them, and that Empire will honor them. Sareth leaves, with both having a mutual understanding of each other. Later, Seventeen hears from Bel Riose that the Foundation have tried to make a deal with the Spacers, and may be getting ready for war.

Seventeen leads the Cleon Delegation in overseeing the execution of Brother Constant and Poly Verisof. He gives a speech to onlookers and the cameras about the Foundation’s history with Empire, and how they made Terminus their home. He will use the Collar of Typhon to perform the execution and he gives Sareth the choice of who to execute. When she doesn’t, he decides on Sareth’s behalf to end Constant’s suffering first. As Seventeen begins the execution, Demerzel warns him of impending danger. He looks up and Hober Mallow arrives on a whisper ship, crashing into the platform, knocking everyone off their feet. Demerzel rests on top of Seventeen, protecting him as much as she can. She wants to stay there longer as the ship’s gravitational field damaged his protective aura, but Seventeen wants to move. Moving her aside, Seventeen wants Hober killed but Beki chases him, injuring him in the process. Imperial forces save him by shooting Beki, but Hober is able to escape. Meanwhile, Sixteen is wounded as he helps Rue to her feet. 

Back at the Imperial Palace, Seventeen assesses his next move. Sixteen wants him to act swiftly and harshly as the world is watching. Seventeen retorts that Sixteen always thought Seldon was just a story and not much of a threat. Seventeen wants to talk to the Foundation and claim what is theirs - everything and everyone on Terminus. Sixteen thinks Seventeen is a fool for this and is snubbed by Seventeen, with Trantor being given to Eighteen to lead while Seventeen is away on Terminus. He promises Terminus be given to Sareth as a wedding gift.

As Rue is in her room, Sixteen interrupts her and wants to resume their search for answers regarding Demerzel, while Seventeen is off planet. Sixteen is able to manipulate the stationary Chroma on the robot painting and it opens a doorway which he and Rue enter. They go down a stairwell which Sixteen has not encountered before — he feels like a stranger in his own home. Reaching a hidden chamber, Sixteen finds a digitized version of Cleon the First waiting for them, who tells them the story of how he found Demerzel in this room and how she came to serve him.

The pair try to escape, but are interrupted by Demerzel who lowers the barrier. They discuss memories, including Demerzel’s perception of Cleon the First and how she still longs for him despite what happened. She is unsure though if her programming is causing her to have these feelings. Sixteen and Rue are shocked when Demerzel reveals she hired the assassins that attacked Seventeen. The idea was that Seventeen would be frightened and blame the attack on Sareth, stopping the marriage. Sixteen has a realization that they were never meant to find this place and that he and Rue were dead as soon as they entered. He approaches Demerzel and forgives her, saying none of them were ever free.

Meanwhile, Seventeen arrives aboard The Destiny and quickly wants to go down to Terminus to accept the Foundation’s surrender, contrary to Demerzel’s advice. He wants to become known as the Cleon who chose peace. Landing on the planet, he meets with the director and returns Poly as a gift, ready to discuss the terms of the surrender. Instead of going to the Foundation Tower as members there wanted, Seventeen decides he wants to go to the church, to their surprise. He wants the encyclopedia the Foundation promised decades ago, but there isn’t one. He wants Poly to convert him and put on a show, which he does, but Seventeen knows this is all a trick and in fact the Foundation have been working on technology and weapons. Having seen enough, Seventeen orders Bel Riose to send the Invictus down on to the planet, and he stabs the director. He wants the scientists kept alive, and orders the priests to be killed.

On his way out, Seventeen sees the Vault on the horizon and decides he wants to visit it. As he approaches the Vault, Seventeen asks Poly if an act of God will strike him down. Poly says that Hari has his defenses when he needs them and it’s possible he’s not afraid of Seventeen. Therefore, Seventeen removes his defenses and his aura and Hari appears behind him on the sand. Despite protests from Demerzel that he cannot win, Hari leads Seventeen into the vault. Inside, they talk about icons and deities and also the attempt on Seventeen’s life. Hari denies involvement and goes on to say he knows how and when the genetic dynasty will end. Seventeen says he is changing this, which should disrupt Hari’s math. Hari retorts that he has met outliers, and that Seventeen is not one of them. Hari then reveals the prime radiant to Seventeen and Demerzel, in the hope of teaching the latter how to use it. Seventeen refuses, saying humanity’s fate will be decided by humans and that he owns the Radiant anyway. Seventeen says to Hari he will show Terminus mercy if Hari admits that the math is flawed, but Hari tells Demerzel in return that whatever happens today is about survival for all of them. Hari says that psychohistory is real and to the rage of Seventeen, he orders the Invictus be brought down on the planet.

Back on the Destiny, Seventeen passes Hober and Constant’s cell and Hober chastises him, prompting Seventeen to get the pair transferred to the Bridge. There, Hober continues to needle Seventeen, prompting him to exclaim that he is retaliating after Hober’s stunt on Trantor. He orders Riose to send the Invictus crashing down on Terminus, which Bel eventually does. Seventeen then watches in awe as Terminus is completely destroyed.

Seventeen then orders Bel to prepare for the fleet to jump. Not to Trantor, but to seven planets the Foundation has a foothold on. He wants to start with Thespis, but to throw Siwenna on the list for good measure. He sees Bel disobey his order again, saying that it will be the moral ruin of Empire. The Spacer agrees to carry out the order, but notices an anomaly with the jump sequence. Ships start jumping into each other and Seventeen doesn’t know what’s happening. They cannot be stopped, and Seventeen hears how Hober being captured by the Spacers was a ruse — they made a deal with Hari. They baited Seventeen to Terminus with his entire fleet due to how predictable he is. Furious, Seventeen starts to beat Hober who also returns the favor. With Hober nearly beaten, Bel tackles Seventeen to the ground and starts beating him. The pair continue to fight as Seventeen insists he wants no help from his guards. As the fight continues, Seventeen thinks he has Riose beaten and in the airlock, but Bel uses the castling device to switch bodies. It is day who is launched into space and his reign as Empire is over.

Some time later, Demerzel commits an unprecedented act and decants new exponents of all three clone generations at the same time; dawn, day, dusk. She tests their knowledge on who they are, and who she is. Demerzel reveals that she is in possession of the Prime Radiant and while she cannot fully understand it yet, wonderful things lie ahead.

abilities.

connections.

universes.