Imperial Kevorkian

 Empires mutilate their citizens. The more imperial they are, the more mutilated the subjects. 

 The problem is that citizens demand mutilation, and call it civilization. As far as they're concerned, the point of Empire is to misappropriate wealth so that they can afford to be ever yet more mutilated, without finally bleeding out. I would say the citizens enthusiastically consent to their crippling.

 When encountering someone unmaimed, they call it barbaric and savage. They camouflage this by also using these terms for the brutal, thuggish, and vicious. 

 It's hard to tell how much of the decay Empires are doomed to is due to anti-anti-parasite dysgenic pressure and how much of it is the Empire crudely hacking bits off its own livestock. For example, late Imperial governments are so weak the mutilation is geriatric, barely a scratch, severely disappointing their opiated clients/hosts. "First, do lots of harm." "Hey. Hey! That wasn't nearly enough harm!" 

 The tranny surgery normally sterilizes the victim. Empires don't want to stop there: they want to cut your legs off, for efficiency. Don't need legroom in cars or trains. Shorter beds. Lower ceilings. Cheaper food bill. Real reason: if nobody has legs, nobody can run faster than anyone else. "Go on Citizen. Cut your legs off, bro." Keeping your legs is just, like, immoral. Trannify everyone, so 100% of their citizens are immigrants (who are also sterilized). They only reason they don't is because they think they can get away with it. "Who is they lol." Both the Imperator and the imperial citizens, kek.