Chapter 64 Chapter 64

Leto sits on the Lion Throne, receiving allegiances from the tribes.Ghanima stood one step below him. The ceremony in the hall had been going on for hours.One by one the Fremen delegations and Neb passed before his eyes.Each delegation brought a gift, a gift fit for Almighty God.The god of terrible power promised them peace. In the last week, he had overwhelmed all the tribes. He gathered the caliphs of all the tribes and made a show before them. These qualified judges watched him go into the fire and come out unscathed. When they looked closely, there was no scar on Leto's skin. He ordered them to attack him with drawn swords, covering his face with impenetrable skin, and all their attacks failed.

Throwing concentrated acid on him only made a mist on his skin. He also swallowed the poison in front of them, laughing out loud at them at the same time. At last he summoned a sandworm and stood in its mouth before them. Then he left there and came to Araken's landing field.There, with the landing gear in hand, he turned one of the Guild's warships upside down. The awed Caliphs reported all this to their respective tribes.Now the tribes sent a delegation, promising him their obedience. The sound absorption system is installed on the vault of the hall, which can absorb all kinds of sudden sounds.But the continuous sound of footsteps escaped the sound-absorbing device, mixed with the dust and the smell from outside the door, forming a lively scene.

Jessica declined to participate in the ceremony, observing the hall through a surveillance port high behind the throne.She looked at Farrakn, realizing that she and Farrakn had lost the fight.Leto and Ganima had expected the Sorority's move!The twins can confer with the countless bee gist inside them, and the bee gist inside them is more powerful than any other sorority living in the world. She was especially saddened that it was because of the myth created by the sisterhood that Alia had fallen into the trap of fear.Fear creates fear!Shattered by her generations-old fear of the aberrant spirit, Alia sees no hope.She finally gave in.Her fate makes Jessica even more unable to face the success of Leto and Ghanima.It wasn't just one person who jumped out of the trap, but two.Ghanima's triumph over the life inside her, and her insistence that Alia deserved sympathy, were the two things she could least face.Forced forgetting and keeping in touch with a virtuous ancestor saved Ghanima.The same approach might save Alia.But she was desperate and didn't try anything, but it was too late.Alia's water was dumped in the desert.

Jessica sighed, turning her attention to Leto atop the throne.A large urn containing Muad'di's water is placed in honor on his right hand.He had told Jessica that the father inside him scoffed at the arrangement but at the same time admired him for it. The bottle and Leto's words only strengthened her refusal to participate in the ceremony.She knew that as long as she was alive, she couldn't accept Paul's voice coming out of Leto's mouth.She was happy that House Atreides had survived, but it hurt her heart just to think that things could have been better. Falakon sat cross-legged next to Muad'di's water bottle.That was the position of Royal Clerk, a position that had just been granted and accepted.

Farrakon felt that he had adjusted well to these new realities, but Tecanek remained dissatisfied, occasionally voicing dire consequences ahead.Leto seems amused by the fact that Tekanek and Stilgar have formed a distrustful alliance. As the homage ceremony progressed, Falakon's psychology changed from awe to boredom, and from boredom to awe again.The flow of people has no end in sight.These invincible warriors, their renewed loyalty to House Atreides is unquestionable.They stood before him in complete obedience and awe, completely overwhelmed by the reports of the caliphs. The ceremony was finally drawing to a close.The last Neb standing before Leto, Stilgar, was given the honor of being "the finale."

The other Naib brought the most expensive gifts, which were piled up in front of the throne. Stilgar, on the other hand, brought only a braided headband of spice fibers.The outline of the Atreides eagle was embroidered on the strap in gold and green. Ghanima recognized it and glanced over at Leto. Stilgar placed the straps on the second step below the throne, and stooped deeply. "I offer you the headband that your sister wore when I took her into the desert and gave her protection," he said. Leto forced a smile. "I know you are in a difficult situation, Stilgar," Leto said. "Do you want something in return?" He pointed to the pile of expensive gifts.

"No, master." "I accept your gift," Leto said.He leaned forward, grabbed the skirt of Ghanima's robe, and tore off a piece of cloth from the top, "As a gift, I give you a part of Ghanima's robe, which was kidnapped in the desert in front of you." , forcing me to rescue her, she was wearing this robe at that time." Stilgar took the gift with trembling hands. "Are you mocking me, master?" "Mocking you? In my name, Stilgar, I will never mock you. I give you a priceless treasure. I command you to keep it as a reminder that all people make mistakes, and All leaders are human."

Stilgar showed a smile: "You can be an excellent Neb." "I'm Nabs' Nabs! Never forget that!" "Yes, Master." Stilgar swallowed, remembering his caliph's report to him.he thinks.I thought about killing him once, but it's too late now.His eyes fell on the bottle, with an elegant gold body and a green cap, "This is the water of our tribe." "Mine too," Leto said. "I order you to read the words engraved on the bottle. Read it aloud for everyone to hear." Stilgar gave Ghanima a questioning look, but her jaw was raised in response.This icy gesture sent a chill through his body.Are the Atreides trying to make him pay for his impulses and mistakes?

"Read it," Leto said, pointing to the bottle. Stilgar walked up the steps slowly, bent over the bottle, and read aloud: "Water here is the essential essence, the source of creativity. It is still, but it contains all movement." "What does this mean, master?" Stilgar asked in a low voice.He was in awe of the words, they touched him deeply. "Muad'd'di's body was a dry shell, like an insect's discarded husk," Leto said. "While he mastered his inner world, he despised the outer world, and this doomed him to a tragic end; While he is in control of the outer world, he vehemently rejects his inner world, and this is handing over his offspring to the devil. His religion will disappear from the sand dunes, however Muad'di's seed will continue, and his water will still move the universe."

Stilgar lowered his head.Mysteries always confuse him. "The beginning and the end are the same thing," Leto said. "You live in the air, but you don't see it. A phase is over. In the process of ending, the opposite of the phase begins. Thus, We will go through Claritzk. Everything will come back, just differently. When you think, your head will feel your thoughts; and your descendants will feel their thoughts with their belly. Back to Thailand Go to Burrow, Stilgar. Gurney Halleck will join you there, and he will join your Council of Elders as my advisor." "Don't you trust me, master?" Stilgar's voice was very low.

"I have complete trust in you, or I would not have sent Gurney to you. He will be in charge of the recruits, and we will need them soon. I accept your allegiance. Go down, Stilgar." Stilgar bowed deeply, stepped back down the steps, turned and left the hall. "Last in, first out," according to Freeman custom, with the other Naibs following behind him. The questions they posed to Stilgar as they left could still be heard near the throne. "What do you say on it, Shidi? What do those writings on Muad'di's water bottle mean?" Leto said to Falcon: "Have you written it all down, clerk?" "Yes Master." "My grandmother told me you're good at Bee Geist's mnemonics. That's fine. I don't want to see you around me always busy writing things to paper." "At your command, master." "Come and stand before me," Leto said. Farrakon obeyed, thanking Jessica for his training from the bottom of his heart.When you realize the fact that Leto is no longer human and can't think like a human, you become even more frightened of his golden passage. Leto looked up at Falakon.The guards stood out of earshot, and only the Master of Ceremonies remained in the hall, and they all stood humbly away from the first step.Ghanima leaned over and put one hand on the back of the throne. "You have not agreed to hand over your sadhu card," Leto said, "but sooner or later you will." "I owe you a lot, but this doesn't count," Farakon said. "You think they won't blend in well with my Fremen?" "Just like the new couple - Stilgar and Tekanek -." "Are you refusing?" "I'm waiting for your offer." "Then I'm making an offer now, knowing you won't give me a second chance. May my grandmother do her part well and prepare you well enough to understand what I'm saying." "What do you want me to understand?" "Every civilization has its dominant, unknown laws," Leto said. "It refuses to change, resists change. Therefore, when the universe changes, people are always at a loss and unable to cope. Acting as obstacles With respect to obstacles to change, all laws behave alike—whether the laws of religion, the laws of heroic leaders, the laws of the prophet-messiah, the laws of science and technology, the laws of nature itself—without exception. We Living in an empire shaped by similar laws is now collapsing because most people can't tell the difference between the laws and the universe itself they live in. You see, law is like magic, it's always Want to control your consciousness and let it appear in all your vision." "I hear your grandmother's wisdom in your words," Falakon said. "Very well, cousin. She asked me if I was an alien, and I answered no. That was my first frustration. Do you understand that Ghanima escaped this catastrophe, and I did not. I was compelled to balance the life within me through a great deal of spice. I had to seek the active co-operation of those awakened beings within me. In doing so, I avoided the most evil beings and chose a chief helper, Empowering me through my consciousness, the main helper is my father. But in fact, I am not my father, but I am not Leto II." "I don't like this kind of thing very much," Farakon said. "You don't trust me, cousin." "Your grandmother was like me." "And for good reason," Leto said, "but she was forced to agree with me. Bee Geist is a pragmatist after all. You know, I agree with their view of the universe. You have the stamp of that universe on you." Marking. You retain the ruler's habit of categorizing everything around you to see who is valuable and who is a potential threat." "I agree to be your clerk." "The appointment made you chuckle, but it befits your talents. You have the gifts of a good historian. You can look at the present in terms of the past, and you have anticipated my intentions on several occasions. .” "I don't like the fact that there is always something hidden in your words," Farakon said. "Okay. You have descended from your original lofty ambition to this low-level position. Didn't my grandmother warn you to be careful of that infinite ambition? It attracts us like a lamp at night, blinds us, and makes us Limited goals can be discarded." "Bee Geist's motto," Farrakken said. "But it's very precise," Leto said. "Bee Geist thinks they can predict the course of evolution. But in doing so, they ignore their own changes. At the same time, I can maintain a pause. I am not as blind as they are. Look at me, Farrakon, I am not human anymore." "Your sister told me." Falcon hesitated, "Alien?" "By the definition of a sorority, maybe. Mark my words: I have the ruthlessness of a farmer, and this human universe is my farmland. The Fremen once kept tamed hawks as pets, but I'm going to tame The Farrakn stays with me." Farakon's face darkened. "Watch out for my claws, cousin. I know my Saduka is no match for your Fremen. But we can hit you hard, and don't forget there are wolves waiting to profit." "I'll make good use of you, I promise you," Leto said.He leaned forward, "Didn't I say that I'm not human anymore? Believe me, cousin. I won't have children because I don't have the ability to reproduce. This is my second frustration." Falakon waited silently, he finally saw the direction Leto was talking. "I will oppose all Freemen rules," Leto said, "and they will accept it, because they have no choice. I have kept you here under the pretext of marriage, but this is not between you and Ghanima. marriage between men. My sister is going to marry me!" "but you--" "I'm only talking about marriage. Ghanima stays with the Atreides. There's Bee Geist's selection program to consider. Now, it's my selection program." "I refuse," Falcon said. "You refuse to be the father of the Atreides dynasty?" "What dynasty? You will occupy the throne for thousands of years." "And it will mold your offspring to look like me. It will be the most thorough and complete training program in history. We can form a miniature ecosystem. Do you understand that no matter which system an animal chooses to live in, that system It must be based on interdependent, homogeneous groups. Such a system will produce the wisest rulers." "You have described in flowery terms a most outrageous—" "Who will survive Claritzk?" Leto asked. "I promise you, Claritzk will come." "You are a madman! You will destroy this empire." "Of course I'm going to do it... Besides, I'm not human. But I'm going to create a new consciousness for all people. I'll tell you, there's a secret place beneath the desert of dunes where the largest ever buried I am not lying. When the last sandworm dies and the last pot of spices in the desert is collected, the buried treasure will burst out, and the wealth will spread throughout the universe. With the disappearance of the spice monopoly, the buried treasure Manifestations of new powers will emerge within our realm. Humanity will once again learn to live on its own instincts." Ghanima raised his arms from the throne-back, reached out to Farakon, and took his hand. "Just as my mother is not a legal wife, you will not be a legal husband," Leto said, "but there may be love between you. That will be enough." Farakon felt the warmth from Ghanima's small hand.He heard the thread of Leto's speech.During the whole process, he did not use the Magic Sound Dafa.Leto's words appeal to his intuition, not his brain. "Is that what you paid for my sadhu card?" he asked. "Much more than that, cousin. I pass on to your descendants a whole empire. I give you peace." "What will be the end of your peace?" "The opposite of peace," Leto said sarcastically. Farrak shook his head. "The price you paid is too high. Do I have to stay as your clerk and become the secret father of the royal blood?" "you must." "You're going to force me to accept your so-called peace?" "I will." "I will be against you every day of my life." "This is what I expect from you, cousin. This is why I chose you. I'm going to make my decision official. I'm going to give you a new name. From now on, you'll be called Broken Hak el Ada in our language. Come, cousin, do not hesitate. My mother has trained you well. Give me the Saduka." "Give it to him," Ghanima responded, "he will have it anyway." Falcon could hear the concern for him in her voice.Is it love?Leto is asking for an action not of reason but of instinct. "Take it," Falcon said. "Very well," Leto said.He rose from his throne with a strange movement, as if carefully controlling his terrible power. Leto went down to the steps where Ganima was, and turned her gently so that her face was away from him, and then he turned himself around and put his back against Ganima's. back. "Mark these words, Cousin Huck El Ida. This is the way we will be forever. We will stand like this when we are married. Back to back, each looking at each other's back, leaning on each other, Protect yourself in this way. That's what we've always done." He turned, looked at Farrakhan with a slight sarcasm, and whispered, "Remember, cousin, when you're face to face with Ghanima, when you You speak of love softly, and your back is exposed when you are seduced by peace." He turned and walked down the steps to join the masters of ceremonies.They surrounded him like the stars around the moon and left the hall. Ghanima grabbed Falakon's hand again.Leto had left, but her gaze remained on the far end of the hall. "One of us had to suffer," she said, "and he was always stronger than me." -End of the book-