Chapter 3 third chapter

It was at Caladan Castle, the day Paul was put to the test.By this time the sun was starting to set, and the two women were in Jessica's room, and Paul was in the soundproof meditation room next door. Jessica was facing the south window, and the gradually falling night began to cover the river and grassland. She half saw and half heard all this, and half heard the question raised by Our Lady. Many years ago, there was a test.A thin girl with bronze hair and a body going through growing pains.She went into the study of Our Lady Keith Helen Mohiam.Our Lady was then Senior Superintendent of Bee Geist School.Jessica looked down at her hands and stretched out her fingers, still vividly remembering the pain, fear and anger.

"Poor Paul," she said softly. "I asked you a question, Jessica!" snapped the Virgin. "What? Oh..." Jessica woke up from her past memories and faced the Virgin, "What do you want me to say?" "What do I want you to say? What do I want you to say?" The old woman imitated Jessica's tone, her voice showing cruelty and dissatisfaction. "I just had a son!" Jessica said unhappily, and she knew she was being angry on purpose. "You have been instructed to bear daughters only to Atrez." "Having a son is too important to him," Jessica pleaded.

"And you're so self-righteous that you can make Kwizaki Hadenatch!" Jessica raised her chin and said, "I'm aware of the possibility." "All you consider is that your duke wants a son," said the old woman sternly, "but his wish has nothing to do with our plans. An Atrez's daughter could have married a Harkonnen If you are the heir, the plan can be completed seamlessly. But you have complicated things beyond redemption. We may lose the blood relationship between the two families." "You're not always right," said Jessica, boldly meeting the Virgin's stern gaze.

The old woman suddenly changed her tone and said, "It has happened." "I swore I would never go back on my decision," Jessica said. "How noble," said the Holy Mother sarcastically, "Never turn your back on it. I'll see if you're still so stubborn when you're a fugitive with a bounty on your back and everyone turns to take your life and your son's life instead. " Jessica turned pale and asked, "Is there no other choice?" "Choose? Would a bee gist make such a request?" "I didn't ask, I just want to know what will happen in the future with your supernatural ability."

"I've seen in the past what I've seen going to happen. Jessica, you know the way we do things. The race knows its own lifespan, it doesn't let heredity stagnate, it coagulates in the blood, it doesn't need any The plan is to hurry up and make a genetic connection. The empire, the Chaum Corporation, all the big families, etc. are just small fragments in the torrent." "Jom's company," Jessica said softly, "I guess how to divide up the spoils of Arrakis has been arranged." "Choom is just a weather vane on our schedule," said the old woman. "The emperor and his friends now hold 59.65% of the voting rights in the board of directors of Chaom Corporation. They smell the huge profits, and others smell it too. The emperor has strengthened his power on the board. Such is the law of history, madam."

"That's exactly what I need to know now," Jessica said, "to look back in history." "Don't be kidding, miss. You know the situation we are facing as well as I do. We have a three-tier relationship here. The royal family and the Landsrad Federation family are evenly matched and confront each other. Between them is Gilder, who monopolizes interstellar transportation. Politically, the tripartite is the most unstable, and the familial trading culture further complicates matters." Jessica said sharply, "Shard in the torrent, here's another fragment... Duke Ledo and his son, and..."

"Oh, shut up, miss! You are fully aware of the delicacy of the situation, and you are involved in it yourself." "I'm a Bee Geist, made to serve," Jessica said. "Correct," said the old woman, "all we can hope for now is to prevent the outbreak of all-out war and do our best to save the vital blood system." Jessica closed her eyes, feeling the tears rolling in her eyes.She forced the trembling in her heart, the trembling of her body, the uneven breathing, the impulse of anger and the wetness of her palms, and said tenaciously: "I will pay for my mistakes."

"Your son will pay the price with you." "I will do my best to protect him." "Sanctuary!" the Mother snapped. "You know the flaws in doing this! Too much protection for him, you know, will prevent him from growing up to fulfill his mission." Jessica turned and looked out of the window. Night was falling. . "Is this Arrakis planet really that scary?" "Pretty scary, but not entirely hopeless. Our Guardian Mission has been there and softened it up a bit," the Virgin took a breath, stood up, and smoothed a crease in her robe with her hand. Ping, "Call the little boy in, I have to leave as soon as possible."

"Leave now?" The old woman's voice softened. "Jessica, I wish I could stand in your shoes and bear your pain. But we must go our separate ways." "I see." "I love you more than my own daughter, but that must not interfere with duty." "I know...it's necessary." "Jessica, what did you do, why did you do it... You and I both know. My kindness forces me to tell you: the possibility of your son becoming the Supreme Bee Geist is very small. Don't let yourself expect too much." Jessica wiped away tears from the corners of her eyes, which was a sign of anger. "You make me feel like a little girl again... reciting my homework." She said slowly, "Humans will never yield to beasts." Jessica began to sob, and whispered, "I feel so good." Lonely."

"This is one of the tests too," said the old woman. "Man is always alone. Call the boy now. The day is too long and dreadful for him. But he has had time to think and remember, and I must know him." of those dreams." Jessica nodded, walked to the meditation room, opened the door: "Paul, please follow me." Paul walked over slowly and stubbornly, staring at his mother as if she were a stranger.There was wariness in his eyes when he saw the Virgin, but this time he nodded towards the Virgin as if he were treating a person of his equal.He heard his mother close the door behind him.

"Young man," said the old woman, "let us take care of your dreams." "what do you want?" "Do you dream every night?" "Not all dreams are worth remembering. I can remember every dream, but some are worth remembering and some are not." "How do you know the difference?" "I knew it." The old woman glanced at Jessica, then returned to Paul: "What dream did you have last night? Is it worth remembering?" "Yes," Paul closed his eyes, "I dreamed of a cave...water...and a girl...she was very thin, with big eyes, blue in them, not a trace of white. I told Talk to her, tell her about you, tell her I saw the Virgin in Caladan." Paul opened his eyes. "You told that strange girl that you saw me, did these things happen today?" Paul thought for a while: "Yes. I told her you were here and gave me a strange impression." "Unfamiliar impression," the old woman took a breath, glanced at Jessica again, and then asked Paul, "Now tell me the truth, do things you see in your dreams often really happen?" "Yes. I've seen that girl in my dreams before, too." "Oh? You know her?" "I will know her." "Tell me about her." Paul closed his eyes again. "We're in a small shelter among the rocks. It's nightfall, but it's still hot. I can see patches of sand in the clearings of the rocks. We're... waiting... as if It was meeting some people. She was scared, but tried to hide it from me. I was very excited. She said, 'Tell me about the water in your hometown, Yuso.'" Paul opened his eyes, "Isn't that strange? I My hometown is Kaladan, and I've never heard of a planet called Yoso." "Is there anything else in this dream?" Jessica asked impatiently. "Yes. Maybe she called me Yuso," Paul said. "I just thought of it." He closed his eyes again. "She asked me to tell her a story about water. I shook her hand and said I would tell her a poem, and I recited the poem, but I had to explain some of the words in the poem...like beach, crashing waves , seaweed and seagulls.” "What poem?" asked the Virgin. Paul opened his eyes. "That's just a little poem that Gerney Halleck hummed when he was sad." Jessica, behind Paul, began to recite: "This is the poem," said Paul. The old woman stared at Paul motionlessly: "Young man, as Bee Geist's senior supervisor, I am looking for Kwizaki Hadnaci, a male who can truly become one of us. Your mother Sees the possibility in you, but she judges it with a mother's eyes. I see the possibility, too. Nothing else." She was silent, and Paul knew she wanted him to speak, but Paul let her speak first. She said suddenly, "Just assume that you will succeed. You have hidden magical powers, and I have no objection." "Can I go?" Paul asked. "Wouldn't you like to hear the Holy Mother tell you about Kwizaki Hadenatch?" Jessica asked. "She said those who tried died." "But I can help you get a hint as to why they failed," Our Lady said. She's talking about hints, Paul thought, and she doesn't really know much.Paul said, "Hint." "Then get the hell out of me!" She smiled forcedly, cross wrinkles appearing on her old face, "well, 'that kind of game that obeys the rules'". Paul was surprised: what she said was fundamental, the tension contained in the meaning.Did she think his mother had taught him nothing? "Is that a hint?" he asked. "We are not guessing crosswords, nor are we engaging in sophistry," said the old woman. "The willow branches obey the wind, so that they will flourish and finally form a willow embankment that can resist the wind. This is the purpose of willow branches." Paul stared at her.She was speaking of purpose, and Paul felt the word shake him, making him feel that terrible purpose again.He suddenly felt angry with the Virgin: a hideous old woman, full of platitudes. "You think I can be this Kwizaki Hadnaci," he said. "You're talking about me, but you don't say a word about how we can help my father. I hear you talking to my mother." conversation. You talk as if my father is dead. But he isn't." "If we could do anything for him, we would have done it," growled the old woman. "We might be able to save you. It is difficult, but it is possible. As for your father, there is nothing we can do. When you learn to face For this reality, you really understand a Bee Geist truth." Paul noticed how much these words shook her mother.He glared at the old woman angrily, how could she say that about his father?What makes her so confident?He was full of resentment and dissatisfaction. Our Lady looked at Jessica. "You've trained him on this...I see the signs. I'd do the same if you were." Jessica nodded. "Now, I remind you," said the old woman, "to ignore the routine of training. His own safety requires that calling. He has made a good start in that. But we all know he needs too much. Much, much needed." She approached Paul, looking down at him, "Goodbye, young man. I hope you succeed. But if you fail... well, we'll still succeed." Jessica saw the face of the Virgin the moment she turned around, and there were tears on the dry face.That tear was more depressing than anything said or done between them today. You already know that Moaddi has no playmates his own age in Kaladan, and that carries great danger.But Moadhi did have excellent companions and teachers, such as the poet and warrior Gurney Hallek, whose poems you will read in this book; King Padisha terrified; Duncan Idaho Wellington, master swordsman from Jines.