Brother Dusk’s tyrannical outburst reminded me of Nietzsche’s quote, “We are the architects of our own destruction.” In the Foundation Season 3 finale, Dusk becomes an emperor who fears none, and therefore should be feared by everyone. I know he has the galaxy’s most lethal weapon by his side, but he’s still not immune to old age, and mental degeneration. At best, Brother Dusk is just ignorant. His pride and arrogance have made him blind. But you have to understand that his madness is not an overnight flip. The clones were corrupted a long time ago, and Cleon 23 is the match in the powder keg. I think I should say, “quite literally.”
Spoiler Alert
Why Did Dusk Blow Up The Clones?
The fall of the great Genetic Dynasty began at the end of season 1, when Shadowmaster informed Cleon 13 that an underground insurgent group had poisoned the very roots that bore the clones. They had altered the genome of Cleon the first. The clones were no longer perfect copies of the Great Emperor. They were flawed, and their defects grew more prominent as the time went by. Demerzel, the only custodian of the Genetic Dynasty, tried her best to hide those aberrations from the galaxy, but as you all can see, she failed tremendously.
These clones had eventually become a box of chocolates. No one really knew what they were going to get. Some Cleons were temperamental, while some were born rebellious. In season 3, Brother Dusk, aka, Cleon 23, turned out to be a psychopath. He spent his reign creating a weapon, the Novacula, which he believed would give the Cleons an upper hand in the battle to come. And here you may see a pattern. Cleon 23 had always been fascinated by things that can end life in a snap. He did the same thing with Brother Day’s ferret, Capillus.
Throughout season 3, Dusk had been trying to postpone his ascension. He was looking at the recorded holograms of previous Dusks to find a way he could escape his death, but unfortunately he didn’t find any. When Dawn and Day deserted the Imperial Palace, Dusk believed Demerzel would let him live longer, but she bluntly told him that there were other Cleons in the clone tank, insinuating that he was easily replaceable. Demerzel didn’t mean to demean his existence, but Dusk’s ego was hurt. He felt insulted. You can say that, by blowing up the clone tank, Dusk just wiped out the competition. I believe Dusk would have easily accepted his death if Dawn hadn’t betrayed him and Day hadn’t left the palace to find his girlfriend. Their actions made Dusk realize that the clones have degraded beyond repair and are no longer a viable option. They would only reduce the Empire to ruins, or maybe just hand it over to the Mule. He no longer trusted the clones.
Why Did Dusk Kill Demerzel?
In episode 3 of season 1, there’s an interesting conversation between Demerzel and Cleon the First. She tells the emperor that she’s loyal to the Empire, in response to which Cleon 1 asks, “But will the Empire be loyal to you?” I think during the last moments of his life, Cleon I knew that, one day, one of his “dark shadows” would betray Demerzel and take her life. Not out of spite, but to secure their own freedom. In this conversation, Cleon I already foreshadowed Demerzel’s death. And as I see it, it was a nice coincidence that one of the aged clones, who was almost as old as Cleon I was when he spoke of Demerzel’s death, melted her body in the Ascension Chamber.
Cleon 23 knew that Demerzel was the only one who could stop him from achieving his grand ambitions, and therefore, in the season 3 finale, he set up the perfect trap to get rid of Demerzel. He put the last surviving baby clone in the middle of the Ascension Circle and activated the mechanism to vaporize the clone. Demerzel’s programming forced her to protect the baby; while doing so, she herself met her tragic demise. Well, I have a theory that she isn’t dead, which I have discussed in another article.
Is It The End Of The Genetic Dynasty?
Cleon 23’s transformation from Dusk to Darkness is what Hari Seldon, through his psychohistory, had predicted a long time ago. He told the clones that the fall of the Galactic Empire was imminent, and the best they could do was soften the fall; to shorten the period of barbarism. Seldon wanted the Empire to end the Imperial Cloning, as it had always been the greatest threat to the galaxy, but the Cleons didn’t listen. It is an irony that, in the end, all it took was a rotten grape to condemn the entire vine.
Brother Darkness didn’t just destroy the clones but also destroyed the robot responsible for Imperial Cloning. Without Demerzel, there’s no one to bear the children of Cleon 1. Additionally, his genome is already infected, which means there will no longer be perfect clones, and each next one is going to be worse than the last. We know that the Mule is already on her way to conquer Trantor. She’ll be at the Empire’s throat any second, and when that happens, what’s Darkness going to do? His first impulse will be to trigger the black hole bomb to destroy the Mule’s fleet, but what if the Mule converts the Darkness’ scientists before they can switch on the weapon? In short, I don’t see that Brother Darkness stands any chance against the mighty Mule, who can take over his empire in a matter of hours, making everyone on Trantor bend the knee. So in the end, either we will have a converted Empire or a dead one. And before you object, I don’t think Cleon 25 is smart enough to revive the Genetic Dynasty. What Brother Darkness has done is irreparable.
Will We See Brother Day Again?
If you remember, Cleon 25, aka Brother Dawn, is still alive, except in the Mule’s custody. But his legs are not in perfect condition right now. However, there’s something I want to bring up. In episode 8 of season 3, Bayta tells Dawn, “Your body will get fixed.” I think that’s a hint that she’s going to get Dawn the medical attention he needs. Not to win his trust or loyalty. But because she’s going to use him as a puppet against the sitting emperor. She’ll convert him and make Dawn his slave as long as he’s alive. And I won’t deny the possibility that this Dawn, in the near future, will ascend into Day, therefore bringing in the possibility of Lee Pace’s return to the show.
Will Gaal Be Able To Stop Brother Darkness?
Brother Darkness is not just a ruthless leader. He’s a narcissistic maniac. His true ambitions can be better understood from the fact that, after killing all the clones and his brother in cold blood, he didn’t waste a moment to ask his aide, Zagreus, to get the other two removed from the chamber, thereby ushering the galaxy into a new era of darkness, just like Seldon predicted. In season 3’s ending, we saw Cleon 23 sitting on this throne in complete darkness, holding the Prime Radiant in his hand. It seems like he has been posing for the new flyers, or maybe for a mural to leave a legacy behind as the most tyrannical Cleon that ever existed. Also, him holding the Prime Radiant is quite funny, because he has no real use for it. It no longer predicts the future, as events after four months’ time are uncertain. The branches are incomplete, as no one can really predict the outcome of the final battle between Gaal Dornick and the Mule.
We know that this clash is going to take place on Trantor. It’s likely that the Mule will eventually locate the Second Foundation hiding inside the Imperial Library and attack it to turn it into ruins. But what’s Brother Darkness’ role in this conflict going to be? All he has is his Novacula, which, as per Gaal’s vision, could play an important role in the near future. When Demerzel accessed Gaal’s memory and went further, she found herself stuck inside a black hole. Based on this information, it’s safe to assume that Brother Darkness’ deterrent weapon will push the galaxy towards darkness, marking his legacy for eternity. Brother Darkness is the crisis that Seldon warned the Cleons about, but only Cleon 24 was able to understand how grim his older brother had become. Alas, it all came too late. So, I don’t think that Gaal’s vision of the black hole has anything to do with the Mule. It’s likely a reference to Brother Darkness, and if she really wants to save the galaxy from such an aftermath, she and her agents need to dismantle the lethal weapon that he is most proud of. And how are they going to do that? Well, the Second Foundation is already there, on his doorstep.
Yes, I do believe that the members of the Second Foundation can undo Gaal’s vision and stop Brother Darkness. This was the only reason why Seldon created another Foundation: to handle the affairs that the first one couldn’t. But let’s see how these events transpire in the fourth season and how Gaal and her mentalics eventually stop the Mule and the Darkness.
