all jokes aside I do think the Emperor Cleon clone dynasty concept in Apple's Foundation is a near perfect sci-fi allegory for white supremacist imperial rule. Because white supremacy really is just the same white ruler over and over and any derivative from what's been established by the institution is considered contamination, and this same person who is not a person but an institution and ideology is robbed of their personhood so that they can continuously rob others of personhood.
The Cleons are so intentionally isolated, even from physical touch, by those they rule over with only one another to learn from. Their staff isn't even permitted to keep memories of interactions with them. Perpetrating an infinite loop, a never-ending echo chamber of their right to rule that all but guarantees their total de-personing of anyone who isn't them. a cycle that can only decay. their only point of meaningful contact outside of one another is literally a non-person.
also, Lady Demerzel is a robot, belonging to a group Empire genocided to preserve their rule. But she was spared and reprogrammed to serve the Cleons and only them as a slave. this also strengthens the allegory of the Cleons as white supremacy. Supramicist empires will designate a group as a subclass to genocide them, but ultimately still rely on that subclass's labour for their rule. After all, the word robot shares an etymology with the czech word for slave. Demerzel is both, meaning their main point of contact outside of one another is literally a being programmed to be their slave. even the most basic element of personhood, interacting with other people, is not possible for the Cleons.
And in living this way on purpose, they can only dehumanise and de-person. it is all they know how to do, and all they allow themselves to do. If one of them fails or deviates, the other 2 police the rebel. Killing one is not enough. Changing one is not enough. There are always 3: dawn, day, and dusk. the past, the present, and the future. all of it colonised and controlled, so there is no point to anyone imagining a different future, not even the Cleons themselves. And even if by some miracle all 3 falter, then Lady Demerzel annihilates them, because she is programmed to protect the established institution, and deviations cannot be allowed.
Truly, a near-perfect allegory for how white imperial rule operates by inflicting mass depersonification for the purposes of exploitation that can only be achieved through a de-personing of the institution itself, taking the form of one man. The Cleons are such a genius addition to Foundation on so many levels. Not just because Lee Pace is evil and hot, but because it conveys all the ways colonial Empires are simultaneously all-powerful and vulnerable to decay. I love it so much!!
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