“This is a song Charles Manson stole from The Beatles,…”

“…We’re stealing it back!”

Don’t you hate when this happens?

Here I was, all set to write a short little post on Asimov’s Foundation trilogy, the genre-expanding science-fiction series which chronicles the collapse of the Galactic Empire and the colony of intellectuals working to shorten the ensuing dark age. I was going to discuss how the series was the second aesthetic influence on this project (behind Atlas Shrugged of course), Asimov’s uneasy relationship with individualism, all sorts of interesting (to me) things, when I learned for the first time that the frigging apocalyptic murderer Shoka Asahara also considered Foundation to be inspirational. The fucking Aum Shinrikyo leader behind the sarin gas attack in the Tokyo subways back in ’95!!  Dammit!!!  This is significantly worse then starting to get into a cool band, only to learn that your dorky cousin has been into them for three years. (Also, in real life, I’m the dorky cousin.)

Well to hell with him.  Just like Bono reclaiming “Helter Skelter” for the good guys, I’m taking back Foundation.  And I’m going one further. Atlas has its “Galt’s Gulch”, where the saviors of civilization could hide from the world. This movement that I’m trying to start, however, is of necessity out in the open. With that in mind, I’m naming our virtual homeland “Terminus”, the planetary home of The Encyclopedists, the preservers of civilization in the world of Foundation.  The end, and also the beginning.

I also promise to never go all murderously delusional on anyone like that tool Asahara.