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AskoneAskone is a planet in Isaac Asimov's Foundation. It is one of the planets in the Galactic Periphery, near Glyptal IV. After the successful rebellion of Askone against the Galactic Empire, a Theocracy was set up, headed by a 'Grand Maste' and Council of Elders. The Grand Master was almost always chosen from one of the 'Five Tribes', apparently a form of nobility. Generally, high-ranking officials not of the Five Tribes were much more criticised. Before being taken over by the Foundation, the religion on Askone was a form of ancestor worship. The rebellion against the Empire was considered a holy deliverance by the ancestors. One of the despised elements of the Empire was nuclear energy ('nucleics'). Under the new theocratic regime, the 'evil' of nucleics was outlawed; anyone caught using them was to be executed by gas. (Although construction and nucleics were banned, the Askonian Navy used nucleics in their ships. These were holdovers from the Imperium, mainly converted pleasure craft, described by Asimov as 'so many picturesque and impotent ellipsoids'.) Askone was eventually conquered by Limmar Ponyets, when he rescued Eskel Gorov. Ponyets agreed to pay Gorov's ransom in gold, by using an iron-to-gold transmuter. The transmuter was used to get the attention of Pherl, an ambitious elder who hoped to be Grand Master. Since Pherl could not expect to be Grand Master unless he had a good deal of gold, he gladly jumped on the chance to purchase the transmuter. When Pherl became Grand Master, he used his clout to support the Foundation and the introduction of nucleics. The nucleics were purchased from the Foundation, along with the accompanying compulsory religion. 20 years later, Askone was in such a situation that 'the Grand Master cannot even call his underwear his own.'
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