Asperta is a planet in Isaac Asimov's Foundation series.
About Asperta[]
Asperta, officially designated "Asperta Secundus" and often referred to in astrographic contexts as "Asperta 22", was an industrial world located in the Backbone Sparse region of the Milky Way. It served as the administrative capital of the Asperta Sector during the reign of Emperor Kandar VII and was the epicenter of the famous Aspertan Rebellion.
Asperta was a Terran-class planet, with a breathable atmosphere and a climate within standard human parameters. Its economy was based primarily on heavy manufacturing and the processing of mineral resources extracted from less developed worlds within its sector. As a sector capital, it housed significant imperial bureaucracy and support facilities for the Imperial Navy.
Socially, the population of Asperta was known for its independent and resilient character, a vestige of its history as an autonomous entity before its integration into the Empire. This attitude frequently clashed with the rigidity and oppression of the central government on Trantor.
Asperta enjoyed centuries of autonomous status, governed by its own Planetary Assembly, although it recognized the theoretical sovereignty of the Galactic Emperor. This situation changed drastically with the ascension of Kandar VII and his policy of absolute centralization of power.
As part of Kandar VII's reforms, an Imperial Prefect was imposed to govern the Asperta Sector directly from Trantor. The assigned officer was Otho Norva, who initially exercised his duty with loyalty but over time became increasingly alienated by the increasingly brutal and greedy policies of the imperial regime.
In the year 11542 GE, Norva, with the unanimous support of the Planetary Assembly and the local garrison, declared Asperta's independence. This triggered a rapid military response from the Empire, leading to the Battle of Asperta. Although the rebellion was suppressed, the violent imperial repression turned Asperta into a symbol of Kandar VII's tyranny and was the direct catalyst for the formation of the Alliance of Free Planets and the outbreak of the Imperial Civil War.
Before the rebellion, the government consisted of a Planetary Assembly that handled local affairs, supervised by an Imperial Prefect appointed by Trantor who had final authority. After the failed secession, it is assumed that the planet returned to a much stricter and more direct imperial control.
Asperta's legacy is almost entirely historical. The planet is remembered not for its industrial or cultural achievements, but for being the place where the first spark of the great Imperial Civil War was ignited. Its name became a rallying cry for separatists and a reminder of the fragility of imperial power for the lords of Trantor.