PART II
    CLEON I


    CLEON I- .     Though often receiving panegyrics¹ for being the last Emperor under whom the First Galactic Empire was reasonably united and reasonably prosperous, the quarter-century reign² of Cleon I was one of continuous decline. This cannot be viewed as his direct responsibility, for the Decline of the Empire was based on political and economic factors too strong for anyone to deal with at the time. He was fortunate in his selection of First Ministers-Eto Demerzel and then Hari Seldon, in whose development of psychohistory the Emperor never lost faith. Cleon and Seldon, as the objects of the final Joranumite Conspiracy³, with its bizarre climax-
    ENCYCLOPEDIA⁴ GALACTICA

Chapter 1

Mandell Gruber was a happy man. He seemed so to Hari Seldon, certainly. Seldon stopped his morning constitutional to watch him.
    Gruber, perhaps in his late forties, a few years younger than Seldon, was a bit gnarled from his continuing work in the Imperial Palace grounds, but he had a cheerful, smoothly⁵ shaven face, topped by a pink skull⁶, not much of which was hidden by his thin sandy hair. He whistled softly to himself as he inspected the leaves of the bushes for any signs of insect infestation⁷.
    He was not the Chief Gardener, of course. The Chief Gardener of the Imperial Palace grounds was a high functionary⁸ who had a palatial⁹ office in one of the buildings of the enormous Imperial complex, with an army of men and women under him. The chances are he did not inspect the Palace grounds more often than once or twice a year.

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