DId Vanguard pattern methods after ‘The Mule’ in Asimov’s Foundation Trilogy?

Keith Raniere stated in his affidavit in “NXIVM v Ross Institute et al”:

“It was at the age of 12, I read ‘The Second Foundation’ by Isaac Asimov and was inspired by the concepts on optimal human communication to start to develop the theory and practice of Rational Inquiry.”

mule
Illustration of the Mule.

The premise of the Foundation Trilogy is that the new science of psychohistory predicts the impending fall of the Galactic Empire, to be followed by a 30,000 year dark age of war and barbarism.  But if a Foundation is established, it will grow into the nucleus of a Second Empire, cutting the dark age to 1,000 years.  The Foundation is dedicated to physical sciences, engineering, and commerce, and for a while overcomes all foes, usually without firing a shot.

Halfway through the second book, forces lead by a short, deformed man, who calls himself the ‘Mule’ begins to defeat the Foundation.  The Mule has the power to control the emotions of others.

“To me, men’s minds are dials, with pointers that indicate the prevailing emotion… Slowly, I learned that I could reach into those minds and turn the pointer to the spot I wished, that I could nail it there forever.”

The rest of the Trilogy is about the Mule’s search for the Second Foundation, which is the only force capable of defeating him.  The Second Foundation also developed emotional mind control and ultimately uses it to defeat the Mule, and put the First Foundation back on the trajectory to triumph.

Young Keith Raniere was inspired by The Foundation Trilogy as a boy of 12, he later said.

Raniere says the book that inspired him to create Rational Inquiry is about mind control, and its use by the Mule to nearly conquer the Galaxy.

Keith Raniere names Isaac Asimov as one of six heroes on his website.

His other heroes are novelist Ayn Rand; Indian pacifist/freedom fighter, Mahatma Gandhi; Austrian philosopher, Rudolph Steiner; hypnotist Dr. Milton Erickson; and judo teacher/acrobat Eugene Waddell. Raniere is not known to have ever claimed to have met any of them.

isaac-asimov
Isaac Asimov may have inspired young Keith Raniere to try to control the minds and emotions of people.

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Frank Parlato

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About the Author

Frank Parlato is an investigative journalist.

His work has been cited in hundreds of news outlets, like The New York Times, The Daily Mail, VICE News, CBS News, Fox News, New York Post, New York Daily News, Oxygen, Rolling Stone, People Magazine, The Sun, The Times of London, CBS Inside Edition, among many others in all five continents.

His work to expose and take down NXIVM is featured in books like “Captive” by Catherine Oxenberg, “Scarred” by Sarah Edmonson, “The Program” by Toni Natalie, and “NXIVM. La Secta Que Sedujo al Poder en México” by Juan Alberto Vasquez.

Parlato has been prominently featured on HBO’s docuseries “The Vow” and was the lead investigator and coordinating producer for Investigation Discovery’s “The Lost Women of NXIVM.” Parlato was also credited in the Starz docuseries "Seduced" for saving 'slave' women from being branded and escaping the sex-slave cult known as DOS.

Additionally, Parlato’s coverage of the group OneTaste, starting in 2018, helped spark an FBI investigation, which led to indictments of two of its leaders in 2023.

Parlato appeared on the Nancy Grace Show, Beyond the Headlines with Gretchen Carlson, Dr. Oz, American Greed, Dateline NBC, and NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt, where Parlato conducted the first-ever interview with Keith Raniere after his arrest. This was ironic, as many credit Parlato as one of the primary architects of his arrest and the cratering of the cult he founded.

Parlato is a consulting producer and appears in TNT's The Heiress and the Sex Cult, which premiered on May 22, 2022. Most recently, he consulted and appeared on Tubi's "Branded and Brainwashed: Inside NXIVM," which aired January, 2023.

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