Chapter 19 Chapter Eighteen

When Paul came out of the cul-de-sac, the moon on the 1st was already high above his head.The shielding field was activated, glowing around him.A gust of wind blew from the hills, and swept sand and dust along the narrow streets. Bigas blinked his eyes and covered his eyes with his hands. "We must hurry," grumbled the dwarf. "Quick! Quick!" "Are you sensing danger?" Paul asked, wanting to know. "I know the danger!" The danger is imminent.Suddenly a figure flashed out of a doorway and came in front of them. Bigas squatted down and let out a choked sob.

But this man walking like a war machine was nothing but Stilgar.His head thrust forward a little, his powerful feet strumming across the street. Paul handed the dwarf to Stilgar and let him know his value with just a few words.In the illusion, when you get here, the pace of development is very fast. Stilgar quickly left with Bigas, and the guards gathered around Paul. The order was given to go down the street to the house next to Otham's. The team members hastily complied, and for a while the figures shook and shadows abounded. Another batch of death, thought Paul. "Catch them alive," a guard officer whispered.

This voice was like an echo of a phantom, ringing in Paul's ears.Illusion and reality overlap, exactly: illusion-reality, tick-tick-tick.In the moonlight, the orthopter floated down. This night, the Imperial Army is on the move. There was a slight hiss amidst all the movements, which became louder and turned into roars, but the friction sound could still be heard.A brown-orange fire flared across the sky, obscuring the stars and engulfing the moon. In his earliest nightmares, Paul had glimpsed this vision, such voices and flames.He had an odd feeling of finally fulfilling something.Everything is working as it should.

"Lava bomb!" Someone exclaimed. "Lava bomb!" shouted everywhere. "Lava bomb... lava bomb..." Paul hastily stretched out his arms to cover his face, and fell to the curb. Too late, of course. Where Otham's house stood was now a pillar of fire, a suffocating air roaring into the sky, a tawny light shining on the chaotic fleeing crowd, clear in relief, struggling and fleeing like ballet.The orthopter flying sideways and retreating is also fully exposed in this bright light. For the frantically fleeing crowd, it was too late. The ground beneath Paul became hot.He heard the running stop, and people fell to the ground around him.Now everyone realizes that running is futile.The damage has already been done, and it is irreparable. Now it can only wait for the lava bomb to completely exhaust its energy.No one is immune to the radiation from this thing, it has penetrated their skin, the effects of the radiation have been manifested.As for the extent of the damage caused by this weapon, it can only depend on the intentions of the user who violated the Legislative Council's ban on nuclear weapons.

"God... lava bomb." Someone wailed, "I...don't...want to...be...be...blind." "Who did this?" a soldier hissed in the distance. "The Trealax people can sell a lot of eyes again." Someone standing next to Paul shouted, "Okay, shut up and wait!" They all wait. Paul said nothing, thinking about the weapon.If the charge is sufficient, its power can even reach the core of the planet.The hot molten layer of Dune Star's crust is buried very deep, but the more so, the greater the danger.It is buried deep in the earth's core and is under tremendous pressure. Once it is exploded, the force of the explosion may completely tear the entire planet, scattering its lifeless fragments into space.

"The explosion seems to be a little smaller," someone said. "It's just blowing deeper into the ground," Paul warned. "Stay where you are, everyone. Stilgar will come for reinforcements." "Stilgar escaped this?" "right." "The ground is so hot." Someone complained. "How dare they use atomic weapons!" a team member near Paul said angrily. "The blast has died down," said a man across the street. Paul didn't seem to hear these words, and he was engrossed in the fingertips propping the street.He could feel something tumbling, trembling—going deep into the heart of the earth...going...

"My eyes!" cried someone, "I can't see!" He's closer to the center of the blast than I am, Paul thought.When he raised his head, he could still see the alley, but he still felt that there was a thick layer of fog in front of him, making it difficult to see clearly.The house in Ortham was in a sea of ​​red and yellow flames, and the houses adjoining it were also in flames.Against the backdrop of the flames, several adjacent buildings turned black, continuously collapsing into the fire pit. Paul got up.The energy of the lava bomb seems to have been exhausted, and the ground under his feet is calm.The body against the slippery lining of the still suit was dripping with sweat—so much sweat that the still suit hadn't even had time to be recycled.The air drawn into his lungs was hot from an explosion and smelled acridly of sulfur.

He watched the soldiers around him stand up one by one. At this moment, the thick fog covering Paul's eyes gradually turned into darkness.But his memory still retained the prophetic vision of this moment, and he called up the vision.The precognitive ability had already shown him this moment in the timeline, and he made himself tightly embedded in the illusion, making it impossible for the illusion to escape.Then he felt that he saw everything around him again, as if through both eyes and precognition.Reality and illusion are riveted together. The surrounding soldiers groaned and howled in pain as they found themselves blind.

"Hold on!" Paul yelled. "Reinforcements are coming!" But the wailing continued.He said, "I am Muad'di! I order you to hold on! Reinforcements are coming!" They fell silent. Then, just as the vision showed, a guard nearby said: "Is it really the Emperor? Can any of you see it? Tell me!" "We both lost our eyes," Paul said, "and they took my eyes as well, but not my vision. I can see you standing there, and within arm's reach to the left is a dirty wall of Wall. Be brave and wait. Stilgar will come, and bring our friends with him."

The popping of orthopters sounded nearby, getting louder and louder.And the sound of hurried footsteps.Paul saw his friends approaching, and consciously matched their voices with the images he had seen of them in the precognitive vision. "Stilgar!" Paul cried.Waving an arm, "Here!" "Thanks Xia Hulu," Stilgar called, rushing towards Paul. "You didn't..." He fell silent suddenly.Paul's vision showed him Stilgar staring in agony into the ruined eyes of his emperor and friend, "Oh, Your Majesty," Stilgar moaned, "Youso... ...youso...youso..."

"How's the lava bomb going?" bellowed a newcomer. "It's exhausted," Paul said aloud, pointing. "Go there and rescue those near the center of the explosion. Put up barricades. Move!" He turned to Stilgar. "You see me, Your Majesty?" asked Stilgar, puzzled. "How could you see me?" In reply, Paul held up a finger and touched Stilgar's cheek on top of the respirator of the distiller's suit.He felt the tears on it. "You don't have to leave me this water, old friend," said Paul. "I'm not dead yet." "But your eyes!" "They can blind my eyes, but not my visions," said Paul. "Ah, Stilgar. I live in a dream that promises the end of the world. Every step I take is in harmony with this dream." It fits so precisely that I'm only afraid I'll get bored, because life is a complete reenactment of a dream." "You Suo, I don't, I don't..." "Don't try to understand it. Just accept it. I live in another world than this one. To me, the two worlds are exactly the same. I don't need the support of others. I can see every movement around me, I can see every expression on your face. I don't have eyes, but I can see." Stilgar shook his head vigorously, "Your Majesty, we must conceal your misfortune..." "We don't have to hide it from anyone," Paul said. "But the law..." "We are following the laws of House Atreides, Stilgar. The law of the Fremen says that the blind are abandoned in the desert, but that law applies only to the blind. I am not blind. My life is a Repeat, repeat the scene of the decisive battle between good and evil. We are living at the turning point of the times, and every move we make will affect countless generations after us. We each have our own roles to play, let us play our roles well." Stilgar was silent.In the sudden silence, Paul could only hear a wounded man being helped past him. "It's terrible." The wounded moaned, "The flames are so fierce, they cover the sky and cover the sky." "Don't leave these people in the desert," Paul said. "Did you hear that, Stilgar?" "Yes, Your Majesty." "Give them all new eyes, and I'll pay for them." "Yes, Your Majesty." Paul heard the awe in Stilgar's voice before continuing, "I'm going to the command deck of the orthopter. You're in charge here." "Yes, Your Majesty." Paul walked around Stilgar and strode down the street.His vision informed every movement of the people around him, every bumpy ground under his feet, every face he encountered.He issued orders as he walked, pointing to his entourage, calling out their names, summoning important government officials.He could feel people's fear and their murmurs of fear. "His eyes!" "But he's staring at you and calling out your name!" On the command ship, he closed his shielding field, walked into the cockpit, took the microphone from a stunned comms officer, issued a rapid stream of orders, and then slammed the microphone back to the comms officer.Paul called in a weapons expert, one of an enthusiastic and talented new generation who only vaguely remembered life in the Burrows. "They detonated a lava bomb," Paul said. After a brief silence, the man said, "I already know, Your Majesty." "Of course you know what that means." "The energy of a lava bomb can only be atomic." Paul nodded. This man's mind must be spinning rapidly at the moment.atomic weapon.The Legislative Council expressly prohibits the use of such weapons, and those who violate the prohibition will be killed jointly by the big families.Everyone will abandon the old family feud and jointly deal with the terror and threat posed by atomic weapons. "It's impossible to make something like this without leaving any clues," Paul said. "You have to organize your people, bring the right equipment, and find out where the lava bomb was made." "I'll go right away, Your Majesty." The man gave Paul a terrified look, and left quickly. "Your Majesty," said the communications officer timidly after him, "your eyes..." Paul turned and walked into the orthopter, and tuned the communication device to his own frequency band. "Get Chani," he ordered, "tell her... tell her I'm alive, and I'll see her soon." Now all the powers are in motion, thought Paul.He smelled fear in the thick smell of sweat around him.