This was always an issue in Rome. People were afraid their heirs would turn out to secretly be wannabe dictators, and you couldn’t do anything about it since you were dead. How would you go about making sure your heir was as close to your vision as possible, both outwardly and in their desires should they be emperor?

  • erusuoyera@sh.itjust.works
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    1 month ago

    In ancient Rome, the sitting emperor often would choose a successor from, well anybody really, often not even a relation. They then adopted that person. If one has to have hereditary rulers, this seems a fairly sensible way to go about it.

  • starchylemming@lemmy.world
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    1 month ago

    clone yourself, always keep a kid, adult and old geezer clone at the same time

    infuse your memory on them ofc

    the adult they/you decides. the young and old are helping with decisions or replacement if you have an accident

    that seems to be a solid foundation for a lasting empire. nobody can possibly predict this to go wrong in any way.

    • JackGreenEarth@lemm.ee
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      8 hours ago

      Isn’t that how they did it in that stupid Apple TV ‘Foundation’ knockoff which was Foundation in nothing but name?

      • starchylemming@lemmy.world
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        6 hours ago

        yes, the series is a disgrace to the great foundation novels.

        the emperor is the only redeeming part of it. well, maybe the trantor visuals are as well

  • Thorngraff_Ironbeard [he/him]@hexbear.net
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    1 month ago

    I would probably keep my nephew in my summer palace after murdering his dad for being too popular and then killing the rest of our family around him. Caligula turned out well, although to be fair I only read up to his first year as Emperor…

  • 200ok@lemmy.world
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    1 month ago

    Choose someone who doesn’t go by the name “JD” as an adult and expects to be taken seriously.

  • SkybreakerEngineer@lemmy.world
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    1 month ago

    Genetically engineer like 20 of them and hope one turns out good after being stolen by Tzeentch and half betray you because you were a bad dad