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"And you have heard a contrary rumor"

"What happened?"

"He died because he was too close to me I did not reoa"

"I would have preferred him to live out his days there in peace, but you well know, Duncan, that you are not a seeker after peace"

Idaho sed, encountering an odd lump in his throat "I would still like the particulars of his death He has a faet the particulars and do not fear for his family They are my wards I will keep them safely at a distance You kno violence seeks me out That is one of my functions It is unfortunate that those I admire and love must suffer because of this"

Idaho pursed his lips, not satisfied hat he heard

"Set your mind at ease, Duncan," Leto said "Your predecessor died because he was too close to lanced at theht up the tunnel

"Yes, it is ti March close ahead of me, Duncan, and I will answer your questions about Siaynoq"

Obedient because he could think of no suitable alternative, Idaho turned on his heel and led off the procession He heard the cart creak into

The cart fell silent with an abruptness which jerked Idaho&039;s attention around The reason was immediately apparent

"You&039;re on the suspensors," he said, returning his attention to the front

"I have retracted the wheels because the women will press close around me," Leto said "We can&039;t crush their feet"

"What is Siaynoq? What is it really?" Idaho asked

"I have told you It is the Great Sharing"

"Do I smell spice?"

"Your nostrils are sensitive There is a se in the wafers"

Idaho shook his head

Trying to understand this event, Idaho had asked Leto directly at the first opportunity after their arrival in Onn, "What is the Feast of Siaynoq&039;?"

"We share a wafer, no e Catholic ritual?"

"Oh, no! It is notThey are reminded that they are only female, as you are only male, but I am all They-share with the all,"

Idaho had not liked the tone of this "Only male`?"

"Do you knoho they lampoon at the Feast, Duncan&039;?"

"Who?"

"Men who have offended the the: Don&039;t offend the Fish Speakers You incur their wrath at your mortal peril!

Now, as he marched ahead of Leto in the tunnel, Idaho felt that he had heard the words correctly but learned nothing from them He spoke over his shoulder

" I don&039;t understand the Sharing"

"We are together in the ritual You will see it You will feel it My Fish Speakers are the repository of a special knowledge, an unbroken line which only they share;Vow, you will partake of it and they will love you for it Listen to them carefully They are open to ideas of affinity Their terms of endearment for each other have no reservations"

More words Idaho thought Morein the tunnel: the ceiling sloped higher There were e He could see the high arch of an opening about three hundred listening faces which swayed gently left and right Their bodies below the faces presented a dark wall of clothing The perspiration of excite wo up to a low ledge on his right A great arched ceiling curved away above the woh into the red

"Go up the raht," Leto said "Stop just beyond the center of the ledge and turn to face the wo into the open space now and the dimensions of this enclosed place awed hi the diuessed the hall to be at least eleven hundred meters on a side-a square with rounded corners It was packed omen, and Idaho reminded himself that these were only the chosen representatives of the far scattered Fish Speaker regiments-three women from each planet They stood now, their bodies pressed so closely together that Idaho doubted one of them could fall They had left only a space about fifty e where Idaho now stopped and surveyed the scene The faces looked up at him-faces, faces

Leto stopped his cart just behind Idaho and lifted one of his silver-skinned ar cry of "Siaynoq! Siaynoq!" filled the great hall

Idaho was deafened by it Surely that sound ht Unless we are too far underground

"My brides," Leto said " I welcolanced up at Leto, saw the dark eyes glistening, the radiant expression Leto had said: "This cursed holiness!" But he basked in it

Has Moneo ever seen this gathering? Idaho wondered It was an odd thought, but Idaho knew its origin There had to be some other mortal human hom this could be discussed The escort had said Moneo was dispatched on "affairs of state" whose details they did not know Hearing this, Idaho had felt hiovernment The lines of power extended directly from Leto out into the populace, but the lines did not often cross That requiredtrusted servants ould accept responsibility for carrying out orders without question

"Few see the God Es," Siona had said "is that like the Atreides you knew?"

Idaho looked out over the h his mind The adulation in their eyes! The awe! How had Leto done this&039;? Why&039;?

"My beloveds," Leto said His voice boomed out over the upturned faces carried to the farthest corners by subtle Ixian aes of the women&039;s faces filled Idaho withIncur their wrath at Yourin this place One word from Leto and these women would tear an offender to pieces

They would not question They would act Idaho began to feel a new appreciation of these women as an army Personal peril would not stop thehtly as Leto arched his front seg his head

"You are the keepers of the faith!" Leto said

They replied as one voice: "Lord, we obey!"

"In me you live without end!" Leto said

"We are the Infinite!" they shouted

"I love you as I love no others!" Leto said

"Love!" they screaive you my beloved Duncan!" Leto said

"Love!" they screa He felt that he ht of this adulation He wanted to run away and he wanted to stay and accept this There was power in this rooe the Guard"

The wo Froowns appeared They e and Idaho noted that some of them carried babies and small children, none more than a year or two old

Fronized these wo the immediate service of the Fish Speakers Some would become priestesses and some would spend full time as mothers but none would truly leave Leto&039;s service

As he looked down on the children, Idaho thought how the buried memory of this experience must be impressed on any of the hout their lives, aresponses from this moment onward

The last of the newcomers came to a stop below Leto and looked up at him The other women in the hall now lifted their faces and focused on Leto

Idaho glanced left and right The white-clad woe for at least five hundred meters in both directions Some of them lifted their children toward Leto The awe and sub absolute If Leto or- ,red it, Idaho sensed, these woe They would do anything!

Leto lowered his front seg nly and his voice caive you the rehich your faith and service have earned Ask and it shall be given"

The entire hall reverberated to the response: "It shall be given!"

"What is mine is thine," Leto said

"What is mine is thine," the women shouted

"Share with me now," Leto said, "the silent prayer for s-that humankind may never end"

As one, every head in the hall bowed The white-clad wo down at theht to enter him and take hi against so which he sensed as a physical invasion Histo which he could cling, so to shield him

These women were an army whose force and union Idaho had not suspected He knew he did not understand this force He could only observe it, recognize that it existed

This hat Leto had created

Leto&039;s words fro at the Citadel came back to Idaho: "Loyalty in a male army fastens onto the army itself rather than onto the civilization which fosters the army Loyalty in a female army fastens onto the leader"

Idaho stared out across the visible evidence of Leto&039;s creation, seeing the penetrating accuracy of those words, fearing that accuracy

He offers ht

His own response to Leto&039;s words struck Idaho now as puerile

"I don&039;t see the reason," Idaho had said

"Most people are not creatures of reason"

"No aruarantees peace! Your Empire isn&039;t peaceful! You only

"My Fish Speakers have provided you with our histories?"

"Yes, but I&039;ve also walked about in your city and I&039;ve watched your people Your people are aggressive!"

"You see, Duncan? Peace encourages aggression"

"And you say that your Golden Path"

"Is not precisely peace It is tranquility, a fertile ground for the growth of rigid classes and ression"

"You talk riddles!"

" I talk accumulated observations which tell me that the peaceful posture is the posture of the defeated It is the posture of the victiression"

"Your daood does it do?"

"If there is no enemy, one must be invented The et always turns against its own people"

"What&039;s your game?"

"I modify the human desire for war"

"People don&039;t ar!"

"They want chaos War is the most readily available form of chaos"

" don&039;t believe any of this! You&039;re playing soerous I address ancient wellsprings of huer is that I could suppress the forces of human survival But I assure you that onisies in one place and point them toward another place What you cannot control, you harness"

"What&039;s to keep your fe over?"

"I am their leader"

As he looked out over the reat hall, Idaho could not deny the focus of leadership He saw also that part of this adulation was directed at his own person The te he wanted froreat hall was explosive This realization forced hi of Leto&039;s earlier words