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"He speaks of seeking asyluht follow if those rumors"
"Precisely," his mother said
"Or it could be a ruse of some sort," Tyekanik said
"We can make several assumptions and explore them," Farad&039;n said "What if Idaho has fallen into disfavor with his Lady Alia?"
"That ht explain matters," Wensicia said, "but he -"
"No word yet frolers?" Farad&039;n interrupted "Why can&039;t we -"
"Transmission is always slow in this season," Tyekanik said, "and the needs of security"
"Yes, of course, but still" Farad&039;n shook his head "I don&039;t like our assumption"
"Don&039;t be too quick to abandon it," Wensicia said "All of those stories about Alia and that Priest, whatever his name is"
"Javid," Farad&039;n said "But the man&039;s obviously -"
"He&039;s been a valuable source of information for us," Wensicia said
"I was about to say that he&039;s obviously a double agent," Farad&039;n said "How could he indict himself in this? He&039;s not to be trusted There are too ns"
"I fail to see thery with her denseness "Take ns are there; I&039;ll explain later"
"I&039;ree," Tyekanik said
Wensicia lapsed into hurt silence How dared they push her out of Council like this? As though she were soet that Idaho was once a ghola," Farad&039;n said "The Tleilaxu" He glanced sidelong at Tyekanik
"That avenue will be explored," Tyekanik said He found hi the way Farad&039;n&039;s , sharp Yes, the Tleilaxu, in restoring life to Idaho, ht have planted a powerful barb in him for their own use
"But I fail to apprehend a Tleilaxu motive," Farad&039;n said
"An investment in our fortunes," Tyekanik said "A se investerous," Wensicia said
Farad&039;n had to agree with her The Lady Jessica&039;s capabilities were notorious in the Empire After all, she&039;d been the one who&039;d trained Muad&039;Dib
"If it became known that we hold her," Farad&039;n said
"Yes, that&039;d be a two-edged sword," Tyekanik said "But it need not be known"
"Let us assume," Farad&039;n said, "that we accept this offer What&039;s her value? Can we exchange her for soreater importance?"
"Not openly," Wensicia said
"Of course not!" He peered expectantly at Tyekanik
"That remains to be seen," Tyekanik said
Farad&039;n nodded "Yes I think if we accept, we should consider the Lady Jessica as money banked for indeterminate use After all, wealth doesn&039;t necessarily have to be spent on any particular thing It&039;s just potentially useful"
"She&039;d be a very dangerous captive," Tyekanik said
"There is that to consider, indeed," Farad&039;n said "I&039;m told that her Bene Gesserit Ways permit her to manipulate a person just by the subtle employment of her voice"
"Or her body," Wensicia said "Irulan once divulged tooff at the time, and I saw no demonstrations Still the evidence is pretty conclusive that Bene Gesserits have their ways of achieving their ends"
"Were you suggesting," Farad&039;n asked, "that she ed
"I&039;d say she&039;s a little old for that, wouldn&039;t you?" Farad&039;n asked
"With a Bene Gesserit, nothing&039;s certain," Tyekanik said
Farad&039;n experienced a shiver of exciteah seat of power both attracted and repelled hiame into his preferred pursuits - historical research and learning thehere on Salusa Secundus The restoration of his Sardaukar forces was a task in itself and for that job, Tyek was still a good tool One planet was, after all, an enorreater responsibility, far more attractive as an instrument of power And the more he read about Muad&039;Dib/Paul Atreides, the more fascinated Farad&039;n became with the uses of power As titular head of House Corrino, heir of Shaddareat achievement it would be to restore his line to the Lion Throne He wanted that! He wanted it Farad&039;n had found that, by repeating this enticing litany to himself several times, he could overco: " and of course, the Bene Gesserit teach that peace encourages aggressions, thus igniting war The paradox of -"
"How did we get on this subject?" Farad&039;n asked, bringing his attention back from the arena of speculation
"Why," Wensicia said sweetly, having noted the woolgathering expression on her son&039;s face, "Iphilosophy behind the Sisterhood"
"Philosophy should be approached with irreverence," Farad&039;n said, turning to face Tyekanik "In regard to Idaho&039;s offer, I think we should inquire further When we think we know so, that&039;s precisely the "
"It will be done," Tyekanik said He liked this cautious streak in Farad&039;n, but hoped it did not extend to those military decisions which required speed and precision
With see irrelevancy, Farad&039;n asked: "Do you knohat I findabout the history of Arrakis? It was the custoht anyone not clad in a stillsuit with its easily visible and characteristic hood"
"What is your fascination with the stillsuit?" Tyekanik asked
"So you&039;ve noticed, eh?"
"How could we not notice?" Wensicia asked
Farad&039;n sent an irritated glance at his mother Why did she interrupt like that? He returned his attention to Tyekanik
"The stillsuit is the key to that planet&039;s character, Tyek It&039;s the hallmark of Dune People tend to focus on the physical characteristics: the stillsuit conserves body moisture, recycles it, and makes it possible to exist on such a planet You know, the Fremen custom was to have one stillsuit for each atherers They had spares But please note, both of you -" He arments which appear to be stillsuits, but really aren&039;t, have becohout the Empire It&039;s such a dominant characteristic for humans to copy the conqueror!"
"Do you really find such information valuable?" Tyekanik asked, his tone puzzled
"Tyek, Tyek - without such inforovern I said the stillsuit was the key to their character and it is! It&039;s a conservative thing The mistakes they lanced at Wensicia, as staring at her son with a worried frown This characteristic of Farad&039;n&039;s both attracted and worried the Bashar It was so unlike old Shaddam Now, there had been an essential Sardaukar: a military killer with few inhibitions But Shaddam had fallen to the Atreides under that damnable Paul Indeed, what he read of Paul Atreides revealed just such characteristics as Farad&039;n now displayed It was possible that Farad&039;n ht hesitate less than the Atreides over brutal necessities, but that was his Sardaukar training
"Many have governed without using this kind of information," Tyekanik said
Farad&039;n merely stared at him for a moment Then: "Governed and failed"
Tyekanik&039;s mouth drew into a stiff line at this obvious allusion to Shaddam&039;s failure That had been a Sardaukar failure, too, and no Sardaukar could recall it easily
Having made his point, Farad&039;n said: "You see, Tyek, the influence of a planet upon the mass unconscious of its inhabitants has never been fully appreciated To defeat the Atreides, we must understand not only Caladan but Arrakis: one planet soft and the other a training ground for hard decisions That was a unique event, that e of Atreides and Fremen We must knoorked or on&039;t be able to match it, let alone defeat it"
"What does this have to do with Idaho&039;s offer?" Wensicia dely down at his in their defeat by the kinds of stress we introduce into their society That&039;s a very powerful tool: stress And the lack of it is is grow soft and easy here?"
Tyekanik allowed hiood point The Sardaukar could not be perrow too soft This offer froh He said: "Perhaps it&039;d be best to reject the offer"
"Not yet," Wensicia said "We&039;ve a spectrum of choices open to us Our task is to identify as ht: we needher intent as well as the surfaceof her words "But e knoe&039;ve passed the point of no alternate choice?" he asked
A sour chuckle ca past the point of no return"
Farad&039;n tipped his head back to laugh aloud "But we still have alternate choices, Tyek! When we come to the end of our rope, that&039;s an ie when the means of human transport include devices which can span the deeps of space in transtime, and other devices which can carry men swiftly over virtually impassable planetary surfaces, it see journeys afoot Yet this remains a primary means of travel on Arrakis, a fact attributed partly to preference and partly to the brutal treat mechanical In the strictures of Arrakis, human flesh remains the most durable and reliable resource for the Hajj Perhaps it is the implicit awareness of this fact which makes Arrakis the ultimate mirror of the soul -Handbook of the Hajj
Slowly, cautiously, Ghani herself to the deepest shadows of the dunes, crouching in stillness as the search party passed to the south of her Terrible awareness gripped her: the hich had taken the tigers and Leto&039;s body, the dangers ahead He was gone; her tas gone She put aside all tears and nurtured her rage In this, she was pure Fre in it
She understood as said about Fre lost it in a burning for revenge against those who had driven the That was foolishness, of course Only the rawest prihly evolved conscience which centered on their oelfare as a people It was only to outsiders that they seemed brutish - just as outsiders appeared brutish to Fremen Every Fre and feel no guilt Fres that aroused such feelings in others Their rituals provided a freedoht otherwise have destroyed theression could be ascribed, at least in part, to well recognized extenuating circumstances: "the failure of authority," or "a natural bad tendency" shared by all humans, or to "bad luck," which any sentient creature should be able to identify as a collision between mortal flesh and the outer chaos of the universe
In this context Ghanima felt herself to be the pure Fremen, a carefully prepared extension of tribal brutality She needed only a target - and that, obviously, was House Corrino She longed to see Farad&039;n&039;s blood spilled on the ground at her feet
No eneone elsewhere She crossed the water on an earth bridge, crept through tall grass toward the covert exit of the sietch Abruptly light flared ahead of her and Ghanih stalks of giant alfalfa A woe from the outside, and soe in the way any sietch entrance should be prepared In troubled tiht, teuards ti was never ht visible here meant the outer seals had been left aside
Ghani of bitterness at this betrayal of sietch security: this flowing light The ways of the lace-shirt Freht continued to throw its fan over the ground at the cliff base A young girl ran out of the orchard&039;s darkness into the light, so fearful about her lobe within the passage, a halo of insects around it The light illuirl They were holding hands as they stared into each other&039;s eyes
Ghani about thea ht was suspended above and beyond the arch, throwing their shadows into the outer night where anyone could be a watcher of their ain theinto the light, a sharp and furtive movement which, once coht creatures filled the darkness around Ghanima, but she screened out such distractions
What was it about those two?
The man&039;s motions were so static, so careful
He turned Reflection fro a raw red face with a large blotchy nose Ghaninition Palirandson of a Naib whose sons had fallen in Atreides service The face - and another thing revealed by the open swinging of his robe as he turned - drew for Ghanima a complete picture He wore a belt beneath the robe, and attached to the belt was a box which glistened with keys and dials It was an instrument of the Tleilaxu or the Ixians for certain And it had to be the transers Palione over to House Corrino