Chapter 55 Chapter Fifty-Five

"Bring the coffee," said Stilgar.He raised a hand, beckoning to the servant standing by the door of the simple stone chamber.He just spent a sleepless night here.This is where he usually has his spartan breakfast.It was breakfast time now, but he wasn't hungry after a night like this.He stood up and stretched. Duncan Idaho sat on the low sofa by the door, restraining himself from yawning.Only then did he realize that he and Stilgar had been talking all night. "Forgive me, Steve," he said, "I kept you up all night." "Staying up all night means that your life will be extended by another day." Stilgar said as he took the coffee tray from outside the door.He pushed the low coffee table in front of Idaho, put the tray on it, and sat down facing the guests.

Both were wearing yellow mourning uniforms.Idaho had borrowed it, and the people of Tib's cave hated the green Atreides uniform he wore.Stilgar poured out dark coffee from the round copper bottle, took a few sips, and then raised his glass to signal to Idaho.It's the old Freeman tradition: there's no poison in the coffee, and I've had a few sips. The coffee is Sasa’s handiwork, and it is brewed according to Stilga’s favorite taste: first, the coffee beans are roasted to a rose color, and then ground into a fine powder in a stone mortar before cooling down, then boiled immediately, and finally a small amount of coffee is added. pinch of spices.

Idaho took a breath of the spice-rich breath and carefully sipped it.He still didn't know if he had convinced Stilgar.He calculated using the Mentat function. Alia knows Leto's movements!She already knows everything. Javed was the arrangement she made after knowing the inside story. "You must set me free," Idaho said, provoking the topic again. Stilgar stood up. "I'm going to be neutral, so I have to make a hard decision. Ghani is safe here. So are you and Irulan. But you can't send messages. Yes, you can receive messages from the outside world, but you can't send them. I've made a promise."

"This is not the usual way to treat guests, let alone a friend who has been with you through life and death." Idaho said.He knew he had already used this excuse.Stilgar held the cup in his hand and placed it carefully on the tray.He kept his eyes on it as he spoke. "We Freemen don't feel guilty about things that other people would feel guilty about." After speaking, he raised his head and looked at Idaho. He must be persuaded to let me take Gunny out of this place, Idaho thought.He said, "I didn't want to make you feel guilty." "I know," said Stilgar, "that I brought this up myself. I want you to understand the attitude of the Fremen, because that's the problem we have: the Fremen. Even Ali Yadu thinks in a Freeman way."

"Where are the priests?" "They're another problem," Stilgar said. "They want to put original sin on the people and make them feel guilty for life. They want to use this method to make the people pious." His tone was calm, but Idaho heard Out of bitterness.For some reason, this bitterness failed to shake Stilgar. "It's a very old dictatorial trick," Idaho said. "Alia knows it. Meek citizens must feel guilty. Guilt starts with a sense of failure. A shrewd dictator provides a lot of direction for the masses. chance of failure." "I have noticed," Stilgar said flatly, "but please forgive me, I have to remind you again, the dictator you speak of is your wife. She is also Muadhi's sister."

"She has entered the magic way, I told you!" "A lot of people have said that. One day she will be tested. But in the meantime, we have to think about other, more important things." Idaho shook his head sadly. "Everything I tell you can be verified. Correspondence with Jakrutu always goes through the temple of Alia. The conspiracy against the twins was born there. So does the sale of sandworms to the outer planets. It's going there. All the threads lead to Alia's office, to the church." Stilgar shook his head and took a deep breath. "This is the neutral zone. I swore it."

"It can't go on like this!" Idaho protested. "I agree." Stilgar nodded. "There are many ways to judge what Alia is doing. Every moment, the suspicion of her grows. It is an old tradition, it can find out who is a sterile male at a glance." He looked at Idaho questioningly, "You said he put a cuckold on you - 'using her sexual organs as a weapon', if That's what you said, if I remember correctly. That way, you have the best possible means of resolving the matter through legal means. Javed came to Teb camp and he brought Alia's Oral order. All you have to do is—”

"In your neutral zone?" "No, in the desert outside the cave..." "What if I take the opportunity to escape?" "You won't have that chance." "Stee, I swear to you, Alia is in a demonic way. What do I have to do to make you believe me?" "That's hard to prove," Stilgar said.He had used this excuse many times last night. Idaho remembered Jessica's words, he said: "But you have a way, you can absolutely prove this." "A way, yes," Stilgar said, but he shook his head again, "but a painful way. That's why I remind you of our guilt. We Fremen can almost make ourselves Freed from any destructive crimes, yet we cannot get rid of the guilt brought about by the diabolical trial. For this reason, the judges, that is, the entire people, must bear all the responsibilities.”

"You've done it before, haven't you?" "I believe the Holy Mother has told you all," said Stilgar. "You know very well that we have done it before." Idaho felt the displeasure in Stilgar's tone. "I'm not trying to take advantage of what you're saying. I'm just—" "It's been a long night with so many unanswered questions," Stilgar said, "and it's morning." "I have to send a message to Mrs. Jessica," Idaho said. "That means you have to send a message to Salusa." Stilgar said, "I won't promise easily, but once I promise, I will keep my promise. Tab is a neutral zone. I want you to keep silent .I swear on the life of my whole family."

"Alia must accept your trial!" "Maybe. But first we have to look for extenuating circumstances. Poor policy maybe? It could even be bad luck. It could be some kind of evil that anyone has, rather than a demonic path. " "You want to prove that I'm not a mad husband who wants to use someone else's hand to take revenge." Idaho said. "This is someone else's idea, I haven't thought about it that way." Stilgar said.He smiled, to soften the weight of the sentence, "We Fremen have a tradition of silence. Our religious texts say that the only fear that cannot be dispelled is the fear of one's own mistakes."

"Mrs. Jessica must be notified," said Idaho, "Gurney said—" "That message probably didn't come from Gurney Halleck." "Who else? We Atreides have a way to verify the news. Steve, can't you..." "Jarkrutu is dead," Stilgar said. "It was destroyed generations ago." He touched Idaho's sleeve. "I can't use combatants anyway. Now It's a time of turmoil, the aqueduct is under threat... Do you understand?" He sat down, "Now, when Alia—" "Alia doesn't exist anymore," Idaho said. "That's what you said." Stilgar took another sip of his coffee, and then put the cup back. "That's it, Idaho, my friend. To get the thorn out of your hand, there is no need Rip off the whole arm." "Then let's talk about Ghanima." "No need. She has my back, my loyalty. No one can hurt her here." He couldn't be so naive, Idaho thought. Stilgar stood up, signaling that the conversation was over. Idaho also stood up.He found that his knees had become stiff and his calves were numb. As Idaho rose, an assistant entered the room and stood aside.Javid followed him into the house.Idaho turned around.Stilgar was standing four paces away. Without the slightest hesitation, Idaho pulled out the knife and quickly stabbed it into Javed's chest. The poor man straightened up and took a few steps back, allowing the point of the knife to withdraw from his body.Then, he turned around, fell face down on the ground, kicked his legs a few times before dying of breath. "What happens to the adulterer," Idaho said. The assistant standing there drew the knife, but didn't know how to react next.Idaho had already put away his knife, and the corner of his yellow robe was stained with blood. "You've broken my promise!" cried Stilgar. "This is neutrality..." "Shut up!" Idaho stared at the shocked Neb, "You're wearing a collar, Stilgar!" This is one of the three insults that most irritate a Fremen.Stilgar's face turned pale. "You are a slave," Idaho said. "You sold the Fremen for their water." This is the second insult that most irritates the Freemen, and it is for this reason that the past Jakrutu was destroyed. Stilgar gritted his teeth and rested his hand on the handle of the knife.The assistant left the body in the corridor and stepped aside. Idaho turned his back on Neb, walked around Javed's body, and walked out the door.He didn't turn around, but directly sent out the third insult: "Your life will not last, Stilgar. Your blood will not be shed among your descendants!" "Where are you going, Mentat?" Stilgar asked the back of the departing Idaho.The sound was as cold as the polar wind. "Go look for Jakrutu." Idaho said without turning his head. Stilgar drew his knife. "Maybe I can help you." Idaho had already reached the exit of the passage.Without pausing, he said, "If you're going to help me with your knife, water thief, stab me in the back. That's the most natural thing to do for a man wearing a devil's collar." Stilgar ran two steps, ran across the house, stepped on Javed's body, and caught up with Idaho at the exit of the passage.A bony hand grabbed Idaho.Stilgar bared his teeth, facing Idaho, knife in hand.He was so enraged that he didn't even notice the strange smile on Idaho's face. "Pull your knives, Mentat scum!" growled Stilgar. Idaho smiled.He slapped Stilgar twice—with his left hand, then with his right, hot on Stilgar's face. With a loud roar, Stilgar stabbed the knife into Idaho's abdomen, the blade went up all the way, pierced the diaphragm, and stabbed the heart. Idaho hung limply on the blade, barely raised his head, and smiled at Stilgar.Stilgar's rage turned to shock in an instant. "Two fell for the Atreides," Idaho gasped, "and the second fell for no better reason than the first." He staggered a few steps, then fell face down on the rock on the ground.Blood gushed from his wound. Stilgar looked down, his gaze fixed on Idaho's corpse beyond the sharp knife that was still dripping blood.Shaking, he took a deep breath. Javid died behind him, and Alia, the consort of Heavenly Mother, died by his own hand.He could argue that a Nab must defend his dignity in order to defuse threats to his promised neutrality.But it was Duncan Idaho who died.No matter what excuses he can find, no matter how "excusable" the situation on the scene is, it can't offset the consequences of his actions.Even though Alia might wish for Idaho's death in private, in public, she had to make a gesture of revenge.She was a Freemen, after all.To rule the Fremen, she had to, and there was no room for weakness. It wasn't until this moment that Stilgar realized that the current situation was exactly the ending that Idaho wanted to exchange for the "second death". Stilgar looked up to see a terrified Sasa, his second wife.She hid in the gradually gathering crowd and looked at him secretly.No matter which direction he looked, Stilgar saw the same expression: shock, and worry about the future. Stilgar straightened slowly, wiped his knife on his sleeve, and put it away.Facing the faces in front of him, he said in a relaxed tone: "Anyone who wants to follow me, please pack your bags immediately. Send a few people to summon the sandworm first." "Where are you going, Stilgar?" Sasha asked. "Go to the desert." "I'll go with you," she said. "Of course you'll come with me. All my wives will go with me. And Ghanima. Go get her, Sasa, right away." "Okay, Stilgar...right now," she hesitated, "where's Irulan?" "If she wants." "Okay, sir." She was still hesitating, "Are you going to take Gunny as a hostage?" "Hostage?" He was really taken aback by the thought, "You woman..." He gently touched Idaho's body with his big toe, "If this Mentat is right, I am Gan Gane's only hope." He remembered Leto's warning: "Be careful with Alia. You must escape with Gane."