Chapter 44 Chapter Forty-Four

The bare brown rock of Shield Wall Mountain loomed in the distance, and Ghanima saw it as a ghost that threatened her future.She stood on the edge of the hanging garden of the palace, the afterglow of the setting sun shone on her back.The sunlight refracted from the dust clouds in the sky turned orange, as gorgeous as the color of the sandworm's mouth.She sighed, thinking: Alia...Alia...is your destiny my destiny? Lately, the life inside her has become increasingly noisy.Maybe there is really a huge difference between genders. Anyway, women are more likely to be conquered by the waves in their bodies.Her grandmother had warned her of this in conversations with her before, and Jessica, based on her accumulated Bee Geist experience, had observed a threat to the life inside Ghanima.

"The Sisterhood refers to people who have memories before they are born as deformed spirits," said Mrs. Jessica. The benign and the vicious. The benign will remain tame and beneficial to people. But the vicious will converge into a powerful mind that wants to take over the body and consciousness of the living. The process of taking control will last for a long time, but its question The marks are pretty obvious." "Why did you give up Alia?" Ghanima asked. "I ran away from what I had created because of fear," Jessica whispered. "I gave up. The burden in me is that... Maybe I gave up too soon."

"What's the meaning?" "I can't explain it yet, but...perhaps...no! I won't give you false hope. The seduction of evil spirits has long been described in human mythology. It has been called many things, but the most common name is Demonic way. You lose yourself in evil thoughts, and evil will lure you into the land of evil." "Leto... is afraid of spices," said Ghanima.What a threat they faced. "Sensible," said Jessica.She can only say so much. But Ghanima had experienced the eruption of internal memory, had glimpsed the inner world, and kept reciting in vain Bee Geist's prayer against fear.What happened to Alia was explained, but it didn't allay her fears.But Bee Geist's accumulated experience points to a possible way out.As she explores her inner being, Ghanima looks to Mahalla, her virtuous companion, to protect her.

Standing in the hanging garden of the palace under the afterglow of the setting sun, she recalled that experience.She immediately felt the memory image of her mother.Ghani stood there like a fool, between Ghanima and the distant cliff. "Once you come in, you will taste the fruit of Zaqumu, the food from hell." Ghani said, "Close this door, my daughter, only in this way can you be safe." An inner tumult rose around the image of Jani, and Ghanima fled, invoking the sorority's creed.The reason for doing so is not so much a belief in these creeds as an act of desperation.She silently recited these creeds, whispering:

"Religion is the child's imitation of adults. Religion is born of mythology, and mythology is man's guess about the universe. Another basis of religion is what people say in the process of pursuing power. Religion is such a hodgepodge, plus a few real Thoughts of enlightenment. All religions contain an unspoken but fundamental commandment: You should not doubt! But we doubt. Of course we break this commandment, because the task we set ourselves is to free the imagination, Harnessing the imagination to trigger the deepest human creativity." Gradually, Ganima's consciousness regained order.She felt her body tremble, and she knew how fragile her momentary peace was.

Then she recalled the image of Farrakn in her memory, the sullen young face, with his bushy eyebrows and the tight corners of his mouth. Hate makes me strong, she thought, and with hate I can resist Aria's fate. But she was still trembling.In this state, she could only ponder one question: how much Falakon resembled his predecessor, the late Shadham IV. "So you are here!" Irulan walked along the railing from Ghanima's right, walking like a man.Ghanima turned her head and thought: She is Shadham's daughter. "Why do you have to sneak out alone?" Irulan stopped in front of Ganima and asked, staring down at Ganima with an angry face.

Ghanima controlled herself and did not retort that she was not alone here, and the guards watched her go up to the rooftop. Yirulan was angry because the two of them were exposed here and could be killed by long-range weapons. "You're not wearing a still suit," Ghanima said. "You know, in the old days if someone was caught outdoors without a still suit, he would have been killed immediately. Waste of water threatened the survival of the entire tribe." "Water! Water!" Irulan yelled. "I want to know why you put yourself in danger. Go back inside. You're giving us all trouble."

"What's the danger here?" asked Ghanima. "Stilgar has seen the traitors. There are Alia's guards everywhere now." Irulan looked up at the darkening sky.Against the blue-gray background, the stars can be seen twinkling.She turned her attention back to Ghanima. "I won't argue with you, I was sent here to inform you that Farrakon has accepted, but for some reason, he asked to postpone the engagement ceremony." "how long?" "We don't know yet. It's still in negotiations. But Duncan was sent back." "Where's my grandmother?"

"At present she chooses to stay on Salusha." "Can anyone blame her?" Ghanima asked. "It's all because of that stupid quarrel with Alia!" "Don't lie to me, Irulan! That wasn't a stupid quarrel. I've heard the whole story." "Sorority concerns—" "—It's true," said Ghanima. "Well, you've got the news. Are you going to take this opportunity to dissuade me again?" "I've given up." "You really shouldn't have lied to me," Ghanima said. "Okay! I will keep persuading. This kind of thing can really drive people crazy." Irulan didn't know why she was so irritable in front of Ganima.A Bee Geist should remain calm at all times.She said, "I'm concerned about the extreme danger you're in. You know that. Gunny, Gunny . . . you're Paul's daughter. How can you—"

"Because I am his daughter," said Ghanima, "our Atredian ancestry goes all the way back to Agamemnon, and we know what blood runs in our veins. Never forget this One, my father's wife in name. We Atreides have a bloody history, and the blood will continue to be shed." Irulan asked absently, "Who is Agamemnon?" "Sufficient proof of how shallow your vaunted Bi-Gist education is," said Ghanima. "I always forget how poor your historical knowledge is. But I, my recollections go back to..." She Stop; better not to disturb the waking sleep of the inner life.

"No matter what you remember," Yirulan said, "you must know how dangerous the path you have chosen is..." "I'm going to kill him!" said Ghanima. "He owes me his life." "I'll stop you as much as possible." "We've expected that. You won't stand a chance. Alia will send you to a new town in the south until this whole thing is over." Irulan shook her head dejectedly. "Gani, I swear that I will protect you from all dangers. If necessary, I will give my life. If you think I am spending time in some remote city, watching you..." "Don't forget," Ghanima said softly, "we still have the Alembic of the Dead. You can't interfere with us from the Alembic of the Dead." Yirulan's face turned pale, and she covered her mouth with one hand, forgetting all her training for a moment.Only then can one know how much she cares for Ghanima.In such moments of almost animal fear, all pretense is thrown away, and the most honest feelings emerge.The torrent of emotion made her speechless: "Gani, I am not worried about myself. For you, I can throw myself into the mouth of the sandworm. Yes, I am what you just called, your father's name Wife, but you are my child. I beg you..." Tears welled up in the corners of her eyes. Ghanima also felt her throat tighten. She suppressed her impulse and said, "There is one more difference between us. You have never been a Freeman, but I am a pure Freeman. This is what separates you." My canyon. Alia knows it. No matter how much she's wrong, she knows it." "What Alia knows, others cannot guess." Irulan said bitterly, "If I didn't know that she was Atreides, I would swear that everything she did was to destroy this family .” How do you know she's still Atreides?Ghanima wondered why Irulan was so blind in this regard.She's a Bee Geist, and who knows more about the history of the Entity than the Sisterhood?But she didn't even think about it, let alone make such a judgment.Alia must have wrought some kind of witchcraft on the poor woman. Ganima said: "I owe you a water debt. From this, I will protect you for the rest of your life. But your nephew's business is already settled, so please don't say any more." Irulan's lips were still trembling, and her eyes were wide open. "I really love your father," she whispered, "and I didn't even know it until he died." "Maybe he's not dead yet," said Ghanima, "that missionary..." "Gunny! Sometimes I really don't understand you. Does Paul attack his own family?" Ghanima shrugged and looked up at the darkening sky. "He might find it interesting to attack..." "How can you say this—" "I won't laugh at you. God knows I won't," Ghanima said, "but I'm not just my father's daughter, I'm anyone who gives blood to the Atreides. You don't think I'm an aberration , but I don't know how else to describe me. I'm a person who remembers before I was born. I know what's inside me." "Stupid superstition..." "Don't say that!" Ghanima put out a hand and sealed Irulan's mouth, "I am the eugenic result that every bee gist, including my grandmother, dreams of. But I am still many other things ’” She drew a bloodstain on the palm of her left hand with the nail of her right hand, “This is a young body, but its experience... oh God, Irulan! My experience!” She held out her hand again, and Irulan Rulan approached her, "I know all the futures that my father has surveyed. I have the wisdom of countless beings, as well as their ignorance...and all their moral weaknesses. If you want to help me, Yirulan, you first You have to learn to understand me." Instinctively, Irulan bent down and hugged Ghanima tightly, cheek to cheek. Don't make me have to kill this woman, Ghanima thought, don't let this happen.As the thought crossed her mind, the entire desert fell into night.