Chapter 20 Chapter Nineteen

After seven days of frenzied turmoil, the palace finally calmed down.In the morning the people began to move about, gathering together to whisper and walk lightly and slowly.There were also people running around, looking very strange: standing on tiptoes, but hurriedly as if fleeing for their lives.A troop of guards came in from the front yard, eliciting a bewildered look.The loud footsteps of these newcomers, the movement of arming around, and the sound of fiddling with weapons all caused everyone to frown.But it didn't take long for the newcomers to pick up the furtiveness and start tiptoeing around.

Lava bombs are still a topic of much debate. "He said the flames were blue-green and smelled like hell." "Alpa is a fool! He said he would rather kill himself than have the eyes of a Trealax." "I don't want to talk about the eyes." "Muad'di called my name as he walked past me!" "How did he see without eyes?" "Everyone is going to leave here, have you heard? Everyone is frightened. The Nebs say they are going to Meqb's Cave and hold a meeting." "What did they do to the eulogist?" "I saw him brought into the room where the Nebs were meeting. Just imagine, Koba is a prisoner!"

Jani got up early, startled by the silence of the palace.She found Paul sitting next to her, his eyeless eye sockets staring somewhere on the bedroom wall.The lava bomb did so much damage to the special tissues of the eye that the destroyed muscles had to be dug out.Injections and topical ointments had saved the vital muscles around the eye sockets, but she felt the radiation had penetrated far beyond the eyes. She sat up, suddenly feeling very hungry.She wolfed down the food that lay beside her bed: spiced bread, a hunk of cheese. Paul pointed to the food, "In this regard, dear, there is really nothing you can do, trust me."

Even now, when those empty eye sockets looked at Chani, she couldn't help being a little scared.She no longer expected to understand his explanation.His words are too strange: "I have accepted the baptism of the desert, and the price is that I have lost my faith. Now who is still in the business of faith? Who will buy and who will sell?" What exactly do these words mean? He generously bought the eyes of the Trealax for all his fellow soldiers, but he himself did not use them, and refused to even consider them. Jani was full, slipped out of bed, and glanced at Paul behind her.He looked tired, with tightly pursed lips, dark hair sticking out in a disheveled mess, obviously not having slept well, and his expression was sullen and impassive.For him, sleep did not seem to have a restorative effect.She turned her face and whispered: "My dear... my dear..." He stretched out his hand, pulled her back onto the bed, and kissed her on the cheek. "Soon, we're going back to our desert." He whispered, "Just finish a few things here."

She shuddered at the determination in his words. He held her tightly in his arms and whispered, "Don't be afraid of me, my Sehaya. Forget all the mysteries and accept my love. Love is not mysterious, it comes from life. Don't you feel it?" "I feel it now." She rested one palm on his chest and counted his heartbeat.His love awakened the Freeman soul in her, making it run wild, surging, wild.Its immense power engulfed her. "I promise you one thing, my dear," he said. "Our children will rule over an empire so glorious and so great that mine will be nothing compared to it."

"But we can only have the present!" she retorted, trying to suppress a tearless sob, "and... I think our time...is running out." "We're together forever, we've got eternity, darling." "You may have eternity, but I only have the present." "Now is forever." He patted her forehead. She leaned against him, kissing his neck with her lips.The stress stirs the fetus in the womb.She felt it kicking her. Paul felt it too.He put his hand on her belly and said, "Aha, little ruler of the universe, wait patiently, your time is coming. But this time is mine."

Why does he always use the singular when referring to the child in her womb?Didn't the doctor tell him?She searched her memory and was surprised to find that the subject had never been discussed between them.But he must have known she was carrying twins.She hesitated to bring up the question.He must know, he knows everything, he knows everything about her.His hands, his mouth...he knew her all over. After a while, she said, "Yes, my dear, now is forever... now is reality." She closed her eyes tightly so that she would not see his black sockets, which would drag her soul from heaven to heaven. hell.No matter how he interprets their lives with magical magic, his skin is real, and so is his caress.

As she got up and dressed for the day, she said, "If only the people knew this love in your heart..." But his mood had changed. "Politics can't be based on love," he said. "People don't care about love; it's too elusive, too disorderly, and they prefer autocracy. Too much freedom breeds chaos. We can't have chaos, can we?" ? And despotism is impossible to dress up lovingly." "But you are not a despot!" she protested, putting on her turban. "Your laws are just." "Ah, the law," he said.He walked to the window, opened the curtain slowly, as if he could see outside, "What is law? Control? Law filters chaos, but what does it filter out? Peace? Law is both our highest ideal and our Fundamental nature. The law does not stand up to scrutiny. If you really think about it, you will find that it is just a set of rational interpretations, legal sophistry, and some convenient precedents for people to use. Yes, and peace, but that is nothing more than It's just a synonym for death."

Chani's mouth was drawn into a line.She did not deny his intelligence and intelligence, but his tone frightened her.He was attacking himself, and she could feel the conflicted pain in his heart.He seemed to be applying a Freeman maxim to himself: Never forgive—never forget. She walked up to him and looked out over him.Heat is building up during the day, drawing northerly winds from higher latitudes.The wind smeared patches of ochre-colored feathery clouds on the sky, separating strips of transparent sky, making it look more and more grotesque, constantly changing gold and red.The cold wind in the high air rolled up the dust and sand, beating against the shielding wall and mountain.

Paul felt the warmth of Chani's body beside him.He temporarily draws a curtain of oblivion over his vision.He wanted to just stand there and close his eyes.However, time will not stop because of him.There was darkness in the mind—no stars, no tears.His pain melted away all emotions except one: surprise.The universe compressed into a sound, and the sounds startled him.His senses disappeared, and he could only rely on his hearing. Only when he touched something did the perceivable universe return to him: the curtain, and Chani's hand... He found himself Listening carefully to Chani's breathing.

There are things in the world that can bring people a sense of insecurity, but when this kind of thing is only a possibility, how can this kind of insecurity come from?he asked himself.There are too many fragmented memories accumulated in his brain, and there are countless projections in every moment of reality, and there are a lot of possibilities that are destined to be impossible to realize.The invisible self inside the body remembers these false pasts, and their burdens threaten to overwhelm the present. Chani leaned on his arm. Her touch made him feel his own body: a shell floating in the vortex of time, and countless glimpses of eternal memories.To glimpse eternity is to be exposed to its vagaries, squeezed by countless dimensions.Precognition seems to make you superhuman, but it also has a price: for you, the past and the future happen at the same time. Again the vision emerged from the dark abyss and seized him.It's his eyes, guiding the movements of his body, guiding him into the next moment, the next hour, the next day...until it makes him feel like he's already lived through the future! "It's time for us to get out," Chani said. "The State Council..." "Alia will take my place." "Does she know what to do?" "she knows." Alia's day begins when a detachment of guards storms the parade ground below her residence.She glanced down, and it was a scene of madness and confusion: people shouting and shouting threatening words.At last she understood what they were doing, for she recognized the prisoner: Koba, the lyricist. She began to wash, and went to the window every now and then to see what was going on below.Her eyes kept falling on Koba, trying her best to connect this person with the bearded and tough commander in the third Arakon War.But this is impossible.Koba was now a handsome figure, elegantly attired in a finely cut platonic silk robe.The gown was left open to the waist, revealing a beautifully laundered ruff and a shirt trimmed with piping and embellished with green gemstones.A purple belt cinches at the waist.The dark green sleeves of the gown below the shoulders are carefully cut into pleats. A few Nebs came to see if their fellow Freemen were being treated fairly.Their arrival caused an uproar.Koba became agitated and began to shout about his innocence.Alia scanned the faces of the Fremen, trying to recall what these people looked like in the past.But now overshadows the past.These people have all become hedonists, enjoying all kinds of pleasures that most people can't imagine. From time to time, she noticed, these people swept anxiously towards a door where they were about to hold a meeting.They were haunted by the story of Muad'di: blind, yet able to see.This incident once again showed his divine power.According to their law, a blind man should be abandoned in the desert and give the water in his body to Xia Hulu.However, Muad'di, who has no eyes, can see.Also, they don't like these buildings, in which they feel vulnerable and could be attacked at any time.If there had been a suitable cave, they might have been able to relax—but not here, with the eyeless but seeing Muad'di waiting inside, they would not feel safe anyway. She turned and walked down to the meeting when she saw a letter she had left on the table by the door: a recent letter from her mother.Although Caladan is revered as Paul's birthplace, Lady Jessica refuses to make it a place of pilgrimage. “There is no doubt that my son was a landmark,” she wrote, “but I don’t want that to be an excuse for the mob to invade.” Alia touched the letter and had a strange feeling, as if interacting with her mother.This piece of paper was once placed in the hands of the mother.Letters are really an ancient form of communication, but they have a personal meaning that no recording can replace.The letter was written in House Atreides' wartime cipher, whose secrecy is virtually guaranteed. As always, Alia's mind was filled with confusion when she thought of her mother.The exchange of spices confused the souls of mother and daughter, causing her to think at times of Paul as her borne son, and of her father as her lover.Countless possible people and things danced wildly in her mind like phantom apparitions.Alia was thinking about the contents of the letter as she walked down the ramp.Her fierce female guards were waiting for her in the reception room. "You have created a fatal paradox," Jessica wrote. "Government cannot be religious and at the same time arbitrary. Religious experience has a spontaneity that is suppressed by law. Without law, government cannot Domination. Your laws are ultimately destined to replace morality, conscience, and even religion that you think can be used for coordination. Religious rituals must come from praise and desire for gods, and temper moral sense from them. On the other hand, Government is a secular organization, and doubts, questions, and disputes are an inevitable part of it. I believe that there will come a time when ritual will replace faith, and symbols will replace morality." The reception room smells of spiced coffee.Seeing her come in, four guards in green duty robes turned around and stood at attention to salute.They followed her a step behind her, youthful strength in their firm, vigorous steps, their watchful eyes searching for signs of trouble.The expressions on their faces were not awe, but fanaticism, revealing the violent nature of the Fremen: even if they killed people at will, they didn't feel a bit of guilt. I'm an anomaly in that, Alia thought.House Atreides had a bad enough reputation, even without the penchant for murder. The news of her going downstairs had already been passed on.As she entered the hall below, a footman who had been waiting there sprinted out to summon the guards outside.The hall had no windows and was very dark, lit only by a few dimly lit spherical lamps.At the far end of the room the door to the parade ground flung open, letting in a blinding ray of sunlight.In the sunlight, a group of soldiers escorted Koba into view. "Where's Stilgar?" Alia asked. "It's already inside," said a female guard. Alia led the way into the imposing conference room.This is one of several reception halls in the palace that are used to show off.On one side of the hall is a tall balcony with rows of soft chairs.On the opposite side of the balcony is the floor-to-ceiling windows covered by orange-red curtains, only one is not covered, and bright sunlight pours in from here.Outside the window was a spacious open space with a garden and a fountain.Near the end of the room to her right stood a dais with a huge single seat on it. Arya moved to the chair, glanced back and forth, and saw that the balcony was crowded with Neb. The open space under the balcony was crowded with royal guards, and Stilgar walked up and down among them, saying something softly from time to time, issuing an order, without seeing Alia come in at all. Koba was ushered in and sat down at a low table.The table is under the podium, and there are cushions on the floor beside the table.For all his ornate attire, the lyricist is now just a sullen and languid old man, curled up in his robes to keep out the cold outside.Two escort guards stood behind him. Alia sat down, and Stilgar came to the podium. "Where is Muad'di?" he asked. "My brother commissioned me to preside over the meeting as Our Lady," Alia said. Hearing this, Neb in the balcony began to protest loudly. "Quiet!" Alia ordered.In the sudden silence, she said, "When the matter is serious, life or death is at stake, the Virgin may preside. Isn't that what the Freeman Law says?" Her voice echoed in the venue, and the Nebs were completely silent.But Alia's angry gaze remained on the rows of faces.She silently wrote down their names in her heart, and was going to talk about these people at the State Council: Hobas, Reggie Fernley, Tasmin, Sajd, Ubu, Leger...these names are all related to Dune Star. Relevant to some part of: Ub Cave, Tasmin Sink, Hobath Pass... She turned her eyes to Koba. Koba caught her looking at him, looked up and said, "I protest, I am innocent." "Stilgar, read the indictment," Alia said. Stilgar pulled out a scroll of brown spice paper and took a step forward.He began to read, his voice solemn and solemn, and the words of the prosecution were firm and full of justice: "... Conspiring with the rebels to destroy our Emperor His Majesty; secretly meeting with various rebel forces in the empire..." Koba kept shaking his head, with a painful and angry expression on his face. Alia listened intently, her chin resting on her left fist, her head on her left side and her other arm resting on the arm of the chair.She no longer cared about the next procedure, and the uneasiness in her heart had overwhelmed the procedures and rituals. "...an ancient tradition...that sustains the Legion and the Fremen everywhere...by the law, violence meets violence...the Sovereign Ruler of the subjects of the Empire... strips you of all rights..." Nonsense, she thought.nonsense!It's all -- gibberish... gibberish... gibberish... Stilgar was drawing to a close: "Therefore, the case is hereby submitted for judgment." A silence followed, and then Koba leaned forward, his hands gripping his knees, his veined neck stretched upwards. Standing, the whole body seems to be ready to jump.He began to speak, and the movement of his tongue could be seen between his teeth. "There is no testimony or facts to prove that I have betrayed my Freeman oath! I demand to confront my accuser!" Simple but powerful rebuttal, Alia thought. She could see that this sentence had a great impact on the Nebs.They knew Koba, he was one of them.In order to become Nab, he had already proven himself to be a Fremenian of courage and prudence.Koba, not the preeminent, but reliable; not competent perhaps to direct a war, but perfectly capable of serving as a logistics officer; not a rallying cry, but possessing the ancient Fremenian virtues of placing tribal interests at the mercy of others. on top of everything. From Paul's mouth, she knew the heart-wrenching words that Osem said when he was dying.At this moment, these words flashed through Alia's mind.She looked at the balcony.Each of these men could have put himself in Koba's place with a heart-to-heart comparison—and some of them were, indeed, very likely to be captives.Even Nabs who are perfectly innocent are just as dangerous as those who are not so innocent. Koba also felt the emotions of the Nabs. "Who is accusing me?" he demanded. "I'm a Freeman and I have a right to know who my accuser is." "Maybe you're accusing yourself," Alia said. Koba couldn't hide it for a moment, and a frightened expression appeared on his face.Fear of the mysterious unknown.Everyone read the look on his face and understood the reason: Alia actually accused herself, that is to say, she used her divine power to get evidence from Ruhe World, the mysterious world parallel to the real world . "Among our enemies, the Fremen joined us." Alia continued, "The water catcher was destroyed, the underdrain was blown up, the crops were poisoned to death, and incidents of robbery and water storage occurred... " "Now—they also stole a sandworm from the desert and brought it to another planet!" The people present were very familiar with this sudden voice—Muaddi.Paul walked in from the hall door, and the guards stepped aside one after another.He walked over to Alia.Chani accompanied him, but did not participate in the argument. "Your Majesty," said Stilgar, unable to bear to look at Paul's face. Paul turned his empty eye sockets towards the balcony, then turned to Koba, "What's the matter, Koba? No more eulogies?" There was a chatter in the balcony, which became louder and louder, and a few words could be heard intermittently: "...the law for the blind...the Freman tradition...abandoned in the desert...who destroyed..." "Who says I'm blind?" Paul asked.He turned his face to the balcony, "You, Reggie Finley? I saw you were wearing a golden robe today, with a blue shirt inside and dust from the street. You don't always like to be clean." Lei Jiefenlei stretched out three fingers and made a gesture to resist the demon. "Take those fingers on yourself!" cried Paul. "We know where the evil is!" He turned to Koba again. "You have a criminal look on your face, Koba." "It's not my fault! I may have something to do with the crime, but I didn't..." The voice stopped suddenly, and he looked in the direction of the balcony in fear. Under Paul's hint, Alia stood up, walked down from the podium, walked to Koba's table, less than one meter away from him, and stared at him silently. Koba flinched under the weight of his eyes.He began to fidget and cast anxious glances at the balcony. "Who are you looking for there?" Paul asked. "You can't see!" Koba blurted out. Paul suppressed a momentary surge of pity for Koba.His illusions gripped this person as tightly as moments of reality.He's connected to the crime, but that's about it. "I can see you without eyes," Paul said.He began to describe Koba, every movement, every convulsion, every frightened, beseeching look he gave to the balcony. Koba despaired. Alia watched him, knowing that at any moment he might break down.Someone in the balcony must also know how close he was to the breaking point, she thought.Who is it?She studied the faces of the Nebs one by one, looking for any slight change of expression in these masked faces: anger... fear... half-belief... guilt. Paul stopped talking. Koba tried his best to appear arrogant, but to no avail. "Who accuses me?" "Osem accuses you," Alia said. "But Osem is dead!" Koba protested. "How did you know that?" Paul asked, "through your spy system? Oh yes! We know your spies and intelligence agents, and we know the man who brought the lava bomb here from the planet Tulla Hell who is it." "That's to protect the Qizala Order!" Koba blurted out. "So how did it end up in the hands of the rebels?" Paul asked. "It was stolen, and we..." Koba fell silent, swallowing his words.His eyes flickered from left to right, "Everyone knows that I have always been Muad'di's voice, delivering love to him." He stared at the gallery, "How can a dead man accuse a Fremen?" "Osem's voice is not dead," Alia said.Paul touched her arm lightly, and she stopped talking immediately. "Osham gave us his voice," said Paul. "It pointed out the names of the conspirators, the acts of treachery, and the places and times of the plots. Koba, you find that there is a lack of Familiar faces, right? Where's Maykle and Phish? Footstep Kirk isn't here today. And Tekin, where is he?" Koba shook his head again and again. "They've escaped from Arrakis with the stolen sandworms," ​​Paul said, "and even if I let you go, Shahulu will punish you for your part and take the water from you. How about I just let you go Koba? Think about the soldiers who lost their eyes. They don't see the world without eyes like me. They have family and friends Koba. Can you hide from them ?” "It was an accident," argued Koba. "Besides, they could get the Trealax..." He was discouraged again. "Who knows what bondage those metal eyes will bring?" Paul asked. The Nebs on the balcony began to exchange glances and whisper with their hands over their mouths.The eyes they stared at Koba had grown as cold as ice. "To protect the Chizara Order," Paul murmured, turning the subject and returning to Koba's justification, "a weapon that either destroys a planet, or creates J-rays to blind those who approach it Koba, how could you use this kind of power as a defensive weapon? Does the Qizala Order have to blind everyone around them to feel safe?" "It's out of curiosity, Your Majesty." Koba argued, "We know that the ancient law stipulates that only major families can have atomic weapons, but the Qizala Order obeyed...obeyed..." "I obey you," Paul said. "Curiosity? Hmph!" "Even the plaintiff's voice, you must let me hear it!" Koba said. "This is the Freeman's right." "He speaks the truth, Your Majesty," said Stilgar. Alia gave Stilgar a hard look. "The law is the law," Stilgar said.Aware of Alia's dissatisfaction, he began quoting Freeman's laws, occasionally adding his own. Alia had the strange feeling that she had heard Stilgar's words before she could say them.How could he be so gullible?Never before had Stilgar been so bureaucratic and conservative, nor had he been so bound to the ancient Fremen codes.I saw his chin protruding, with a combative look, and his mouth was moving violently.The usual Stilgar no longer exists, only rhetoric.How could he do this? "Koba is a Freeman and, therefore, must be judged according to Freemen law," Stilgar concluded. Alia turned and looked out the window, where the clouds over the garden cast shadows on the walls of the room.Depression overwhelmed her.They've spent all morning on this matter, but let's see the result.Koba had already relaxed.The eulogy writer puts on an attitude of being unfairly accused, an innocent gesture that everything he does is out of love for Muad'di.She glanced at Koba and was startled: there was a mixture of cunning and arrogance in the expression on his face. Stilgar's speech was a message to him, she thought.Already he heard his friend shout: "Hold on! Reinforcements are coming!" Once upon a time, it seemed that the matter was firmly under their control.Information from dwarves, clues to plots, names of whistleblowers, it was all in their hands.But they failed to grasp the most critical moment.Stilgar?Definitely not Stilgar.She turned and stared at the old Fremen. Stilgar met her gaze without fear. "Thanks for reminding us of the letter of the law, Stilgar," Paul said. Stilgar bowed his head in salute.He moved closer, and said in a dumb language that only Paul and Alia could understand: Leave it to me, I'll squeeze him dry first, and then I'll talk. Paul nodded and gestured to the guard behind Koba. "Take Koba to a cell with maximum security," said Paul. "No one will be allowed to visit except the defense lawyer. I will assign Stilgar to be your defense lawyer." "I will choose my own counsel!" Koba cried. Paul turned sharply. "You deny Stilgar's impartiality and judgment?" "Oh! No, Your Majesty, but..." "Take him away!" Paul shouted. The guards pulled Koba up from the cushion and escorted him out. The Nebs whispered again, and then started to leave the balcony.The guards also walked to the window from under the gallery and pulled down the orange curtains.Suddenly the room was filled with dark orange-red shadows. "Paul," Alia said. "Until it's time for violence to work properly," said Paul, "we shouldn't use it lightly. Thank you, Stilgar; your play is well done. I have clearly identified Those Nebs who were with Koba. It is impossible for them not to reveal some clues." "This set, did you two discuss it in advance?" Alia asked. "Even if I announce Koba's immediate execution, the Nabs will understand." Paul said, "However, this formal interrogation procedure does not strictly follow Freeman's law...they will feel that their rights are threatened. What Nabs back him, Alia?" "There must be Reggie Finlay," she said, in a low voice, "and Sajed, but . . . " "Give Steve a complete list," Paul said. Alia felt her throat dry and swallowed involuntarily.At this time, like everyone else, she had a deep fear of Paul.Paul has no eyes but can move freely, of course she understands the reason behind it, but she still can't help feeling a little apprehensive to such a level of brilliance.I saw their appearance and shape in my phantom!She felt her own image flickering in his prophesied phantom, and the phantom and reality were perfectly matched, but this fit depended entirely on his words and deeds, and if there was a slight deviation in his words and deeds, the established future would change.Through the illusion, he has a firm grasp on all people and things! "Your morning audience has already arrived, Your Majesty," said Stilgar. "Many people... are curious...frightened..." "Are you afraid, Stilgar?" The voice was so low that it was almost inaudible: "Yes." "You are my friend, there is no need to be afraid of me," Paul said. Stilgar swallowed, "Yes, Your Majesty." "Alia, let the morning men come in," said Paul. "Stilgar, signal them." Stilgar did as he was told. There was a commotion at the gate.The guards desperately blocked the audience who were crowded in the dark corner, and cut a passage for the officials; the royal guards pushed and fucked the petitioners who tried their best to squeeze in, and the petitioners in gorgeous robes shouted and cursed. He said, shaking the invitation slips that the pools had received; the deacon strode ahead of the officials on the passage cleared by the guards.He holds in his hand a list of priority persons who are allowed access to the Emperor.The deacon was a lanky Fremen named Tykrub, with a cynical expression on his face and a beard, and he shook his neatly trimmed head with vigor. . Alia stepped up to block him, giving Paul time to take Chani away quickly through the private passage behind the ledge.Tekoub peeked at Paul's back, and this expression made Aria suddenly feel a sense of distrust. "I represent my brother today," she said. "Only one petitioner at a time." "Yes, ma'am." He turned to arrange the crowd behind him. "I remember that in the past, you would never misunderstand your brother," Stilgar said. "I was distraught," she said, "but haven't you changed too, Stilgar? And dramatically." Stilgar was taken aback and straightened up.There is always some change in a person, that is natural.Can dramatic change?This point, he never thought about it.The word dramatized is only applied to entertainers who come from aliens and have dubious morals and fidelity.Drama is a trick used by the enemies of empire to stir up impetuous commoners.And Koba, who abandoned the Freeman virtues and applied the drama to the Chizara order.He would die for this. "That's a bit harsh," said Stilgar. "Don't you trust me?" The hurt in his voice softened her expression, but her tone remained the same, "You know, it's not that I don't trust you. My brother has always believed that no matter what, as long as it is in Stilgar's hands, it can be completely solved." Don't worry. I've always been in complete agreement with my brother on this." "Then why do you say that I... have changed?" "You're going to disobey my brother's orders," she said. "I can see that. I just hope it doesn't ruin you both." The first batch of interviewees and petitioners came.Before Stilgar could answer, she had already turned around.She saw his expression and knew how he felt.From her mother's letter, she read the same feeling - replacing morality and conscience with law. "You have created a deadly paradox."