Chapter 22 Chapter Twenty Two

Why did Alia want me to go to the hajj with her?Jessica wondered, they hadn't voted me back into the Council of State yet. Jessica stood in the vestibule leading to the palace hall.In any place other than Arrakis, this vestibule would be a great hall in itself.Under the leadership of the Atreides family, with the increasing concentration of power and wealth, Araken's buildings became larger and larger, and the house concentrated all her worries.She didn't like this vestibule, where even the paintings on the floor tiles depicted his son's victory over Shadm IV. She saw her own face on the unusually smooth plastic-steel door leading to the hall.Returning to the dunes forced her to make comparisons, and she found herself older: fine lines had appeared on her oval face, her indigo eyes in the mirror looked emotionless.She still remembers that there used to be white borders around her blue pupils.The shiny blond hair hasn't changed, her nose is still small, her mouth hasn't deformed, and her figure has held up well, but even Bee Geist's trained muscles tend to loosen with time.Someone failing to notice this will say "you haven't changed at all".But sorority training is a double-edged sword: The eyes of those who have been trained in the same way will not miss these small changes.

Likewise, the fact that Alia hadn't changed a bit didn't escape Jessica's attention. Javed, Alia's first secretary, stood by the gate, looking very formal.He was like an elf in a robe, with a mocking smile on his round face.Javed reminded Jessica of a paradox: a fat Freman.Spotting her watching him, Javid cracked a smile and shrugged.His time with Jessica was short that day, as he had expected.He hated the Atreides, but if the rumors were to be believed, he was also the most popular of Arya's men. Jessica saw him shrugging and thought: This is the age of shrugging.He knows I've heard all the stories, but he doesn't care.Our civilization could well have died from this internal indifference rather than succumbing to external invasion.

Gurney personally assigned her guards before heading off into the depths of the desert to contact smugglers.They didn't want her to come here alone, but she felt safe on her own.Make her a martyr for this place?There will be no good fruit for Alia, she knows it well. Seeing that Jessica didn't respond to his shrugs and smiles, Javid coughed a few times and made a hiccup-like sound in his throat, which can only be done through repeated training.It sounded like some secret language that was not known to outsiders, as if to say: "We all know the hypocrisy behind this pomp. Wouldn't it be wonderful to manipulate human beliefs this way?"

It is indeed wonderful!Jessica thought, but it didn't show on her face. The vestibule was full of people, and all the petitioners who had been allowed to attend the court received their passes from Javid's men.The door to the outside was closed.The invitees and entourage kept a polite distance from Jessica, all noticing that she was wearing the formal black robes of Our Lady of Freemen.This attire raises many questions, as there is no sign of Muad'di's religion in her clothing.People whispered to each other as they watched her and the little door through which Alia would step out and lead them into the hall.Jessica clearly felt that there was some kind of shake in Alia's authority to maintain the Regency.

I did it just by showing up here, she thought, but I'm here because Alia invited me. Observing the commotion at the scene, Jessica realized that Alia was deliberately prolonging the moment, so that the undercurrent against the Regency regime could be revealed as much as possible.Alia must have been hiding at a surveillance port somewhere to watch.Her tricks seldom escape Jessica.As the minutes passed, she felt more and more how right it was to accept the mission assigned to her by the Sisterhood. "Things can't go on like this," said the leader of the Bee Geist delegation that invited her. "Of course, the signs of our decline have not escaped your eyes—all of you. We know why you should Leave us, but we also know how you were trained. We hold nothing back in your education. If a powerful religion degenerates, it will do us great damage. You are a master, of course you understand this a little."

Jessica pursed her lips, looked at the soft spring outside the window of Caladan Castle, and fell into deep thought.She doesn't like to let her thinking follow the logic of the other party.One of the first lessons of a sorority is to learn to doubt everything, especially that which hides behind a mask of logic.But members of the delegation are also well aware of this. How humid the air was that morning, Jessica thought, looking around Alia's front room: so fresh, so moist.There was also a hint of sweet moisture in the air here, but it made her feel very uneasy.She thought: I'm back to the Fremen mentality.The air in this "burrow" above the ground is too humid.How can the people responsible for preventing water loss be so incompetent?Paul would never allow such a slack.

She noticed the alert Javid, who seemed to have not noticed the abnormal moisture in the air in the vestibule.For someone born on Arrakis, this is not a sign of being well educated. Members of Bee Geist's delegation wondered if she needed some form of evidence to support their allegations.Using a line from their own code, she raged back: "All evidence must lead to no evidence! Because our likes and dislikes determine the way we see things." "But the evidence was provided by Mentat." The delegation leader argued. Jessica stared at the woman in surprise. "I'm amazed that you've gotten to where you're at and haven't yet understood the limitations of Mentat," Jessica said.

After hearing this, the delegation relaxed.Obviously it was just a test, and she passed it.They worried that she had lost what was fundamental to Bee Geist, the ability to maintain inner balance. Now, watching Javed move away from the door and come towards her, Jessica raised her alarm a little.He bowed. "Ma'am, I guess you haven't heard of the missionary's latest audacity." "I get reports every day of what's going on in this place," Jessica said.Let him snitch on Alia! Javed smiled. "Then you should know that he is blaming your family. Just last night, he was preaching in the southern suburbs, and no one dared to touch him. You should know the reason."

"Because they think he is the reincarnation of my son, and he came back for them." Jessica said, with a lazy tone. "We haven't reported this to Mentat Idaho," Javid said. "Maybe we should do that and fix it as soon as possible." Jessica thought: He really doesn't know the limitations of a mentat, even though he's bold enough to cuckold a mentat - if not true, at least he dreams of cuckolding that mentat . "Mentats, like the people who use them, make mistakes," she said. "The human mind, like that of other animals, is just a resonator. It responds to vibrations in the environment. Mentats only But learn to unroll the mind along innumerable causal circles, and in these circles to trace the cause and effect of events." Let him digest it slowly!

"The missionary didn't bother you, then?" Javid asked, his tone suddenly formal and visibly tentative. "I think his presence is a good sign," she said. "I don't want to bother him." Javed obviously didn't expect her answer to be so direct.He tried to smile, but couldn't.He said, "Of course, if you insist, the Faithful Order will comply with your wishes. Of course, they still need some necessary explanations—" "Perhaps you'd prefer me to explain how I intend to fit in with your plans?" she said. Javid looked at her intently. "Madam, I see no logical reason behind your refusal to oppose this missionary. He cannot be your son. I make a reasonable request to you: condemn him."

This must have been planned, Jessica thought, Alia had made him do it. She said, "No." "But he sullied your son's name! His preaching is abominable, and he speaks out against your daughter. He incites the common people against us. And he says you've been possessed by the devil, and you—" "Enough!" said Jessica. "Tell Alia I disagree. Ever since I got back, it's been all about the missionary. I'm sick of it." "Madam, in his last mission, he said that you would not oppose him. How do you feel after hearing that? You..." "Even if I became a devil, I wouldn't condemn him," she said. "This is no joke, ma'am!" Jessica waved at him angrily. "Go away!" The strength in her voice was heard by everyone in the lobby, forcing him to compromise. There was an angry gleam in his eyes, but he forced himself to bow stiffly, and walked back to his place by the door. This argument fits nicely with the clues that Jessica has already observed.When Javed mentioned Alia, there was a loving tone in his voice that couldn't be wrong.The rumors must be true.Alia had degraded her life to a horrific degree.After seeing this, Jessica even began to wonder whether Alia was really a self-willed and depraved evil spirit, and whether it was self-destruction caused by rebellious psychology?It was clear that Alia was destroying herself and the power base built on her brother's religion. The unease in the lobby became more and more apparent.The devout believers already felt that Alia was too late, and they all heard that Jessica just angrily expelled the most popular person around Alia. Jessica sighed.The actions of these flatterers are so transparent!They are as good at picking out important people as the wind always catches the lightest straw.These seemingly well-bred people rate the status of others on pragmatic principles.Her yelling at Javed clearly hurt him, and now he is hardly spoken to.But what about the other important people?Her trained eyes are able to read the readings of the "satellites" who surround power. They don't come to flatter me because I'm a dangerous man, she thought, because I exude an aura that Aria fears and they smell it. Jessica looked around the hall and saw countless pairs of eyes avoiding hers.They were so obscene that she felt like shouting at the petty reasons that kept them alive.The missionary should have seen this room right now! A nearby snippet of dialogue caught her attention.A tall, thin priest was speaking to the petitioners, who were evidently under his protection. "I'm often forced to keep talking instead of thinking," he said. "That's called diplomacy." The group laughed, but soon fell silent again.Someone noticed Jessica eavesdropping. My duke will surely send such a person to the farthest hell!Jessica thought, I'm coming back just in time. Only now did she know that the remote Kaladan she lived in was like a space capsule isolated from the world, and only the most extreme words and deeds about Alia could reach her ears.I made this dreamland myself, she thought.Carradine is like the most luxurious spaceship in the Guild, only the most brutal manipulation can be felt, and it feels like only a gentle rocking. How tempting it is to live in peace, she thought. The more she observes Alia's court, the more she resonates with the preacher's words.Yes, Paul could have said something similar if he had seen his empire become like this.Jessica can't help but wonder what Gurney has found among the smugglers. Jessica realized that her first reaction to Araken was right.When she first entered the city with Javed, she noticed the shielding field around the residence, the heavily guarded streets, the patient watchers in the corners, and the deep underground shelters concealed by high walls and solid foundations.Araken has become a narrow-minded and self-enclosed place, its rough outlines revealing its irrationality and self-righteousness. Suddenly, the small side door in the vestibule opened.A group of female guards rushed in to protect Alia: she held her head proudly, moving slowly under the halo of power.Alia's expression was very calm, and when her eyes collided with Jessica's, her expression did not show any waves.But both of them knew that the battle was on. Under Javid's order, the door leading to the hall opened silently, making one feel the power hidden behind the door. Alia walked up to her mother, and the guards surrounded them tightly. "Let's go in, Mother," said Alia. "It's about time," Jessica said.Seeing the smug look in Alia's eyes, she thought: She thinks she can destroy me without harming herself!She is crazy! Jessica wasn't sure if her plan had anything to do with Idaho.He sent her a message, but she has yet to reply. Unfathomable message: "Dangerous, must see you." Written in a variant of the Chicobusa language, the word danger has another meaning: conspiracy. I must see him as soon as I get back to Teb's cave, she thought.