Korell
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Korell is a planet in the novel Foundation by Isaac Asimov.
Located after the Whassalian Rift (relative to Terminus), the planet is the capital of the Republic of Korell, a union of worlds. Although a republic in the sense that its head of state is not a monarch, Korell is far from democratic. The dictator, called the Commdor ("first citizen of the state"), is elected every year. Through manipulation of the electoral process, a member of the Argo family is always chosen. According to Hober Mallow, opponents of this system "[have] 'things' happen to them". According to Asimov, the de facto "monarchy" associated with the status of the Commdor is not moderated by the typical influences of "honour" and "court etiquette" as is often the case in a de jure monarchy.
The Foundation's dealings with Korell form the basis of the third Seldon Crisis: the republic is the first state encountered by the Foundation with a firm grasp of nucleics, and the Foundation's previous method of subverting enemies through a pseudo-religion based on Foundation science is by now no longer effective. Hober Mallow, in the course of his mission, visits Asper Argo, the Commdor of Korell, and negotiates the initiation of trade. Mallow learns that Korell's heavy industry is not nuclear, but also notices nuclear blasters provided by the Galactic Empire. In many other respects, Korell has become decadent. The only remnants of the Empire are "silent memorials" and "broken buildings"; the navy consists of "tiny, limping relics" and "battered, clumsy hulks".
Mallow later learns that the Imperial viceroy of the Normannic Sector is providing Korell with nuclear blasters and with ships (five by the time Korell declares war on the Foundation; a sixth is promised). Mallow quickly realizes that the real enemy is the Empire, not Korell; usurping the office of mayor of Terminus, Mallow is able to destroy the threat of Korell by doing nothing. Since his visit three years before, trade between the Foundation and Korell had made the republic dependent on Foundation-made goods; Korellian citizens complain loudly about the minor inconveniences resulting from the cessation of this trade. With no threat of foreign conquest to unite them, the people of the republic become rebellious. Faced with internal dissent, the Commdor is forced to surrender to the Foundation unconditionally.
The planets of the Korellian Republic eventually join the Foundation. They are conquered briefly by Kalgan during the early stages of the Foundation's war with that world.
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