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And Farad&039;n reht an added depth Mentatscome to this conclusion, Farad&039;n almost summoned his aides to have them send the Lady Jessica aith Idaho He poised hi, withdrew
Both of those people - the ghola-mentat and the Bene Gesserit witch - reame of power Idaho must be sent back because that would certainly stir up troubles on Arrakis Jessica e to benefit House Corrino
Farad&039;n kneas a subtle and deadly game he played But he had prepared himself for this possibility over the years, ever since he&039;d realized that he was ent, htening discovery for a child, and he knew the library had been his refuge as well as his teacher
Doubts ate at hiame He&039;d alienated his mother, lost her counsel, but her decisions had always been dangerous to hi had been an atrocity and their use had been stupidity How easy they were to trace! She should be thankful to suffer nothing more than banishment The Lady Jessica&039;s advice had fitted his needs with a lovely precision there She
His doubts began to fade away He thought of his Sardaukar onceand the denial of luxury which he coions remained small, but once more they were a man-to- as the lioverned the relative size of the forces Fremen could overwhelm him by their numbers - unless they were tied up and weakened by civil war
It was too soon for a battle of Sardaukar against Fre the discontented Houses Major and the newly powerful fro He needed the tiroeaker
Again Farad&039;n looked at the screen which revealed the patient ghola Why did Idaho want to see the Lady Jessica at this time? He would know they were spied upon, that every word, every gesture would be recorded and analyzed
Why?
Farad&039;n glanced away froe beside his control console In the pale electronic light he could make out the spools which contained the latest reports froive theive him hope and pleasure in those reports He closed his eyes, and the high points of those reports passed through his mind in the oddly editorial form to which he&039;d reduced the spools for his own uses:
As the planet is made fertile, Fremen are freed of land pressures and their new cohold character Froht by the rota: "Like the knowledge of your own being, the sietch forms a firm base from which you move out into the world and into the universe "
The traditional Fre that the master science is the Law But the new social structure is loosening those old legal restrictions; discipline grows lax The new Fremen leaders know only their Low Catechised in the s People of the new communities are more volatile, more open; they quarrel more often and are less responsive to authority The old sietch folk are roup actions and they tend to work harder; they are more careful of their resources The old folk still believe that the orderly society is the fulfillroay from this belief Those re and say: "The death wind has etched away their past"
Farad&039;n liked the pointedness of his own su violence He had the essential concepts firion of Muad&039;Dib is based firmly in the old Fremen sietch cultural tradition while the new culture moves farther and farther from those disciplines
Not for the first time, Farad&039;n asked hiion Tyekanik behaved oddly in his newas though against his will Tyekanik was like one who had stepped into the ind to test it and had been caught up by forces beyond his control Tyekanik&039;s conversion annoyed Farad&039;n by its characterless completeness It was a reversion to very old Sardaukar ways He warned that the young Frerained traditions would prevail
Once ht about those report spools They told of a disquieting thing: the persistence of a cultural remnant from the most ancient Fremen times - "The Water of Conception" The amniotic fluid of the newborn was saved at birth, distilled into the first water fed to that child The traditional for: "Here is the water of thy conception" Even the young Fremen still followed this tradition with their oborn
The water of thy conception
Farad&039;n found hi water distilled froht about the surviving twin, Ghanie water Had she reflected later upon that odd link with her past? Probably not She&039;d been raised Fremen, What was natural and acceptable to Fremen had been natural and acceptable to her
Moretted the death of Leto II It would have been interesting to discuss this point with him Perhaps an opportunity would come to discuss it with Ghanima
Why did Idaho cut his wrists?
The question persisted every tiain doubts assailed Farad&039;n He longed for the ability to sink into the mysterious spice trance as Paul Muad&039;Dib had done, there to seek out the future and know the answers to his questions No h, his ordinary awareness persisted in its singular flow of now, reflecting a universe of uncertainties
The spy screen showed a servant opening the Lady Jessica&039;s door The woh the door The servant would file a complete report later, but Farad&039;n, his curiosity once more fully aroused, touched another switch on his console, watched as Idaho entered the sitting room of the Lady Jessica&039;s quarters
How calm and contained the hola eyes
Above all else, the eneralist, not a specialist It is wise to have decisions of great eneralists Experts and specialists lead you quickly into chaos They are a source of useless nit picking, the ferocious quibble over a co to decision- a healthy common sense He must not cut hi in his universe He : "There&039;s no real mystery about this at thelater, but we&039;ll correct that e co which we can identify as our universe is er phenomena But the expert looks backward; he looks into the narrow standards of his own specialty The generalist looks outward; he looks for living principles, knowing full well that such principles change, that they develop It is to the characteristics of change itself that the ue of such change, no handbook or manual Youyourself: "Nohat is this thing doing?" -The Mentat Handbook
It was the day of the Kwisatz Haderach, the first Holy Day of those who followed Muad&039;Dib It recognized the deified Paul Atreides as that person as everywhere siled both male and female ancestry in an inseparable power to become the One-with-All The faithful called this day Ayil, the Sacrifice, to commemorate the death which made his presence "real in all places"
The Preacher chose the earlyof this day to appear oncethe order for his arrest which everyone knew had been issued The delicate truce prevailed between Alia&039;s Priesthood and those desert tribes which had rebelled, but the presence of this truce could be felt as a tangible thing which moved everyone in Arrakeen with uneasiness The Preacher did not dispel thatfor Muad&039;Dib&039;s son, six days following the memorial rite at Old Pass which had been delayed by the rebellion Even the fighting had not stopped the Hajj, though The Preacher knew the plaza would be heavily thronged on this day Most pilgrims tried to time their stay on Arrakis to cross Ayil, "to feel then the Holy Presence of the Kwisatz Haderach on His day"
The Preacher entered the plaza at first light, finding the place already thronging with the faithful He kept a hand lightly on the shoulder of his young guide, sensing the cynical pride in the lad&039;s walk Nohen the Preacher approached, people noticed every nuance of his behavior Such attention was not entirely distasteful to the young guide The Preacherhis stance on the third of the Temple&039;s steps The Preacher waited for the hush to co and the hurrying footsteps of others come to listen could be heard at the plaza&039;s li-cold around hihts had not yet corey hush of the great square as he began to speak
"I have coe and to preach in theout in that strong voice so reminiscent of a wormsman from the desert "I do it in compassion for all who suffer I say to you what the dead Leto has learned, that tomorrow has not yet happened and may never happen This moment here is the only observable time and place for us in our universe I tell you to savor this moment and understand what it teaches I tell you to learn that a governrowth and death of its citizens"
A disturbed h the plaza Did he mock the death of Leto II? They wondered if Priest Guards would rush out now and arrest The Preacher
Alia knew there would be no such interruption of The Preacher It was her order that he be left unood stillsuit with a moisture mask to conceal her nose and mouth, and a common hooded robe to hide her hair She stood in the second row beneath The Preacher, watching hied him thus And he had always been superb with Voice, a fact which made it difficult to identify him by his speech Still, this Preacher made his voice do what he wanted Paul could not have done it better She felt that she had to know his identity before she could act against him How his words dazzled her!
She sensed no irony in The Preacher&039;s state the seductive attraction of definite sentences uttered with a driving sincerity Peoplethat he hadthem in this fashion Indeed, he picked up the crowd&039;s response, saying: "Irony often masks the inability to think beyond one&039;s assu ironic Ghanima has said to you that the blood of her brother cannot be washed off I concur
"It will be said that Leto has gone where his father went, has done what his father did Muad&039;Dib&039;s Church says he chose in behalf of his own huht appear absurd and foolhardy, but which history will validate That history is being rewritten even now
"I say to you that there is another lesson to be learned fros"
Alia, alert to every nuance, asked herself why The Preacher said endings instead of deaths Was he saying that one or both were not truly dead? How could that be? A Truthsayer had confir, then? Was hea statement of myth or reality?
"Note this other lesson well!" The Preacher thundered, lifting his aro of the universe!"
He lowered his arms, pointed his e intimately to her, an action so obvious that several around her turned to peer inquiringly in her direction Alia shivered at the power in him This could be Paul It could!
"But I realize that humans cannot bear very ht from selfhood Most prefer the truths of the stable You stick your heads into the stanchions and munch contentedly until you die Others use you for their purposes Not once do you live outside the stable to lift your head and be your own creature Muad&039;Dib cae, you cannot revere hiuise, could stand no more His hoarse male voice was lifted in a shout: "You don&039;t live the life of Muad&039;Dib! How dare you to tell others how they must revere him!"
"Because he&039;s dead!" The Preacher bellowed
Alia turned to see who had challenged The Preacher The man remained hidden fro heads in another shout: "If you believe him truly dead, then you are alone froht But she failed to recognize the voice
"I come only to ask a simple question," The Preacher said "Is Muad&039;Dib&039;s death to be followed by the moral suicide of all men? Is that the inevitable aftermath of a Messiah?"
"Then you admit him Messiah!" the voice from the crowd shouted
"Why not, since I&039;m the prophet of his times?" The Preacher asked
There was such caler fell silent The crowd responded with a disturbed murmur, a low animal sound
"Yes," The Preacher repeated, "I a on him, detected the subtle inflections of Voice He&039;d certainly controlled the crowd Was he Bene Gesserit trained? Was this another ploy of the Missionaria Protectiva? Not Paul at all, but just another part of the endless power game?
"I articulate the myth and the dream!" The Preacher shouted "I am the physician who delivers the child and announces that the child is born Yet I come to you at a time of death Does that not disturb you? It should shake your souls!"
Even as she felt anger at his words, Alia understood the pointed way of his speech With others, she found herself edging closer up the steps, crowding toward this tall ht her attention: how bright-eyed and saucy the lad appeared! Would Muad&039;Dib employ such a cynical youth?
"I mean to disturb you!" The Preacher shouted "It is my intention! I come here to combat the fraud and illusion of your conventional, institutionalized religion As with all such religions, your institution moves toward cowardice, it moves toward ry
Alia felt the tensions and gloatingly wondered if there ht not be a riot Could The Preacher handle these tensions? If not, he could die right here!
"That Priest who challengedinto the crowd
He knows! Alia thought A thrill ran through her, alerous game, but he played it consummately
"You, Priest in your mufti," The Preacher called, "you are a chaplain to the self-satisfied I coe you! Is your religion real when it costs you nothing and carries no risk? Is your religion real when you fatten upon it? Is your religion real when you coeneration froinal revelation? Answer er remained silent And Alia noted that the crowd oncewith avid sub the Priesthood, he had their syrims and Fremen on Arrakis believed this man was Muad&039;Dib
"The son of Muad&039;Dib risked!" The Preacher shouted, and Alia heard tears in his voice "Muad&039;Dib risked! They paid their price! And what did Muad&039;Dib achieve? A religion which is doing aith him!"
How different those words if they coht I must find out! She moved closer up the steps and othersuntil she could almost reach out and touch this mysterious prophet She smelled the desert on him, a uide were dusty, as though they&039;d recently come from the bled She could see where The Preacher&039;s hands were deeply veined along the skin protruding from the wrist seals of his stillsuit She could see that one finger of his left hand had worn a ring; the indentation reer: the Atreides Hahich now reposed in Sietch Tabr Leto would have worn it had he lived or had she perain The Preacher aimed his empty sockets at Alia, spoke inti
"Muad&039;Dib showed you two things: a certain future and an uncertain future With full awareness, he confronted the ultier universe He stepped off blindly from his position on this world He showed us thatthe uncertain instead of the certain" His voice, Alia noted, took on a pleading tone at the end of this statelanced around, slipped a hand onto the hilt of her crysknife If I killed hiain, she felt a thrill rush through her If I killed hi The Preacher as impostor and heretic!
But what if they proved it was Paul?
Someone pushed Alia even closer to him She felt herself enthralled by his presence even as she fought to still her anger Was this Paul? Gods below! What could she do?
"Why has another Leto been taken from us?" The Preacher demanded There was real pain in his voice "Answer e is clear: abandon certainty" He repeated it in a rolling stentorian shout: "Abandon certainty! That&039;s life&039;s deepest command That&039;s what life&039;s all about We&039;re a probe into the unknown, into the uncertain Why can&039;t you hear Muad&039;Dib? If certainty is knowing absolutely an absolute future, then that&039;s only death disguised! Such a future beco directness The Preacher reached out, grabbed Alia&039;s ar or hesitation She tried to pull away, but he held her in a painful grip, speaking directly into her face as those around theed back in confusion
"What did Paul Atreides tell you, woman?" he demanded
How does he know I&039;m a woman? she asked herself She wanted to sink into her inner lives, ask their protection, but the world within reure from their past
"He told you that completion equals death!" The Preacher shouted "Absolute prediction is coers away She wanted to grab her knife and slash him away from her, but dared not She had never felt this daunted in all of her life
The Preacher lifted his chin to speak over her to the crowd, shouted: "I give you Muad&039;Dib&039;s words! He said, &039;I&039;s you try to avoid I don&039;t find it strange that all you want to believe is only that which comforts you How else do humans invent the traps which betray us into mediocrity? How else do we define cowardice?&039; That&039;s what Muad&039;Dib told you!"