Chapter 17 Chapter Seventeen

Jessica heard the commotion in the hall and turned on the bedside light. The clock hadn't been set to local time, and she had to subtract twenty-one minutes before she knew it was two o'clock in the morning. The chaotic voice was intermittent and getting louder. She thought: Is it the Harkonnen calling? She slipped out of bed and turned on the monitor to see where her family was.The screen shows: Paul is sleeping in the temporarily prepared basement.It was obvious that the noise hadn't reached the place where he slept.There was no one in the Duke's room, and the bed was neatly made.Is he still in the CP area?

The screen can't yet show what's going on in front of the house. Jessica stood in the middle of the room, listening breathlessly. Someone was calling, the voice was indistinct.She heard someone calling Dr. Yue.Jessica put on a robe and slippers, and tied the Screaming Blade to her leg. Someone is calling Dr. Yue again. Jessica put on her coat, walked into the hall, and suddenly thought: what if Leido is injured? Jessica ran, and the hall seemed to stretch endlessly.She went through a vaulted room at the end, rushed out of the dining room, and ran down a hall to the great drawing room, where she found it brightly lit, with the wall sconces turned on to their maximum brightness.

On her right, near the front exit, she saw two house soldiers holding Duncan Idaho with his head hanging on his chest.The hall suddenly fell silent, only breathing could be heard. A house soldier said reproachfully to Idaho, "Look what you did. Woke up Ms. Jessica." The huge door curtain whirred behind the men, indicating that the front door was still open.There is no shadow of Duke and Yue.Mapes stood aside, staring at Idaho coldly.She was wearing a brown gown with snakes on the hem and laceless sand boots. "I woke up Ms. Jessica," Idaho muttered.He looked up at the ceiling and cried, "My sword is first stained with Grumman's blood!"

God!he's drunk!thought Jessica. Idaho's round, dark face was twisted into a ball, his hair was bristling like fur and stained with dirt, and his party shirt was wrinkled and disheveled. Jessica walked up to him. A guard nodded at her, still holding Idaho's hand, and said, "Ma'am, we don't know what to do with him. He's yelling at the front door and refusing to come in. We're worried that the locals will come to watch the action, which is Absolutely not allowed, it will tarnish our reputation." "Where did he go?" Jessica asked. "He sent a young lady home after dinner, sir, at Hawat's order."

"Which young lady?" "It's the hostesses. You know that, sir, don't you?" He glanced at Mapes and whispered, "They always come to ask Idaho to be a special guardian." Jessica thought: They'll do it, but why is Idaho so drunk? Frowning, she turned to Mapes and said, "Mappers, get something to sober up, preferably caffeine, maybe with some spiced coffee left." Mapes shrugged and headed for the kitchen, her laced sand boots clattering on the stone floor. Idaho raised his head vigorously, squinted at Jessica, and said, "Killed three... enemies for the Duke, you...want to know...why am I... here? Suffering here... No, I can't stand it on the... ground. What the... hell is this place, huh?"

A sound from the side hall door caught Jessica's attention.She turned around and saw Yue approaching, holding a medical kit in her left hand.He was well dressed, pale and tired, and the diamond pattern on his forehead was very conspicuous. "Oh, good doctor!" cried Idaho. "Where have you been? Distributing pills?" He turned and looked at Jessica in a daze: "I'm so fucking ugly, huh?" Jessica frowned and said nothing, thinking to herself: Why is Idaho so drunk?Drugged? "Too much spice beer," Idaho said, trying to straighten up. Mapes came with a cup of steaming hot stuff and stood behind Jessica hesitantly. She looked at Jessica, Jessica shook her hand, and she walked behind her.

Yue put the medicine box on the ground, nodded to Jessica, and said, "Spice beer, isn't it?" "A cursed thing," said Idaho, trying to focus. "My sword was the first to be stained with Grumman's blood! Killed a ha... ha... Knin, Kill them for the duke." Yue turned his head, looked at the cup in Mapes' hand, and asked, "What is it?" "Caffeine," Jessica replied. Yue picked up the cup, held it up to Idaho and said, "Drink, young man." "I don't want to drink anymore." "I tell you, drink it." Idaho shook his head, took a staggered step toward Yue, and pulled the guard who was supporting him a step forward. "Doctor, I'm sick of wooing the Royal Universe Judge. This time we'll do it my way."

"After drinking it," Yue insisted, "it's just caffeine." "What a goddamn place this is! It's all gray and the sun's out. Nothing's right, it's not right..." "Oh, it's night now," said the more sensible, "be a good boy and drink this, and you'll feel better." "Go fuck it and feel better." "We can't argue with him all night," Jessica said, thinking: This needs shock therapy. "Your Excellency, you don't need to stay here," Yue said, "you can let me handle this matter."

Jessica shook her head, stepped forward, and slapped Idaho hard. He staggered back a few steps, glaring at her angrily. "This kind of thing is not allowed to happen in the Duke's house," she said, grabbing the cup from Yue's hand, and slammed it in front of Idaho, "Drink it, this is an order!" Idaho pushed himself up, stared at her with a frown, and said slowly, clearly, word for word: "I disobey the orders of the damn Harkonnen spy." Shocked, he turned to face Jessica. Her face was pale, but she nodded.She understood everything...everything that happened around her these days: few words, strange expressions.It's all clear now.She found herself furious, almost uncontrollable.It took the utmost self-control of Bee Geist to steady her pulse and breathing, and even then she could feel herself pissed off.

They always let Idaho act as a flower protector to monitor women! She glanced at Yue, and the doctor lowered his head. "You know about this?" she asked. "I... heard some rumors, sir. But I don't want to burden you." "Hawat!" she snapped, "I want Safie Hawat to come to me immediately!" "Yes, Your Excellency..." "Do it now!" She thought: This must be Hawat.Only Hawat, other people think so has long been cleared away. Idaho shook his head and muttered, "This is really bad." Jessica looked down at the cup in her hand, and suddenly raised her hand, splashing the contents of the cup onto Idaho's face. "Shut him up in the guest room in the east wing," she ordered, "and let him wake up there."

Two of the guards looked at her unhappily, and one ventured: "Perhaps we should get him somewhere else, sir. We could..." "He has to stay here!" Jessica said sternly. "He's on a mission here." There was resentment in her voice: "He's too good at spying ladies." The guard swallowed. "Do you know where the Duke is?" she asked. "He's at the command post, sir." "Is Hawat with him?" "Hawat is in town, sir." "Go get Hawat to see me right away," Jessica said. "Tell him I'll be waiting for him in the living room." "Yes, Your Excellency..." "I will inform the Duke if necessary," she said. "I hope I don't have to. I don't want it to bother him." "Yes, sir." Jessica stuffed the empty cup to Mapes, seeing the blue eyes questioning. "You can go back to sleep, Mapes." "Sure you don't need me?" Jessica smiled darkly: "Of course not." "Maybe we can deal with this tomorrow," Yue said, "I can give you some tranquilizers and..." "Go back to your room and let me handle this by myself." Jessica patted his arm, telling him not to mind her tone too much, "This is the only way." Jessica jerked her head back, turned and strode across the hall to her room.A cold wall...a passage...a familiar door.She opened the door, walked in, and slammed the door shut.Jessica stood there, staring out the window angrily: Hawat!Could he be a spy bought by the Harkonnen?We will wait and see. Jessica went to the old-fashioned sofa chair with carved wood and intarsia and adjusted it to the position facing the door.She suddenly became aware of the existence of the Xiaoren knife.She took off the scabbard, put it in her hand, and weighed it.She went over the house again, mentalizing every detail in case of an emergency.There was a two-wheeler in the corner, a row of wooden chairs against the wall, two low tables, and a zither by the door leading to the bedroom. The chandelier glowed white and blindingly. She dimmed the light, sat down in the armchair, and patted the armrest, admiring the solemnity of the chair, which was just right for the occasion. She thought: let him come now.We will get to the bottom of it.She prepares herself in Bee Geist fashion, gathers strength, develops patience, and waits for visitors. The knock on the door came earlier than she expected.Hawat got permission and went inside. She sat motionless in the chair, looked at Hawat, and noticed that there was drug energy in his movements. He was very energetic on the surface, but he couldn't hide his tiredness in his bones.His old dim eyes were shining, his old skin was yellow in the light, and there was a large stain on the sleeve of his right hand. Jessica smelled blood. She pointed to an upright chair and said to Hawat, "Bring that chair over here and sit across from me." Hawat bowed and obeyed.He thought: The drunken fool Idaho!He watched Jessica's face, thinking about how to salvage the situation. "The misunderstanding between us should have been cleared up long ago." Jessica said. "What is the misunderstanding, Your Excellency?" Hawat sat down with his hands on his knees. "Don't play around with me!" she snapped. "If Leo didn't tell you why I summoned you, one of your spies in my house must have told you. Can't we all be honest on this point?" "As you please, Your Excellency." "Answer me a question first," she said, "are you a Harkonnen spy now?" Hawat almost jumped up from the chair, his face sank, and he asked angrily, "How dare you humiliate me like this?" "Sit down," she said, "you're insulting me like that." He sat down slowly in the chair. But Jessica watched his every expression and movement motionlessly, and finally breathed a sigh of relief: it was not Hawat. "Now I know you are still loyal to my lord," she said, "so I am ready to forgive you for your disrespect." "Is there anything to forgive?" Jessica frowned, thinking: Should I play my trump card?Need to tell him I'm pregnant with the Duke's daughter?No... Raydo doesn't know it himself, and it just complicates his life and distracts him from the problems of our existence that he needs to focus on.Now is not the time to play this card. "A truthsayer could solve this problem," she said, "but we don't have qualified truthsayers right now." "As you said, we have no truthsayers." "Is there a mole in our midst?" she asked. "I've scoured our men very carefully. Who is that man? Not Gurney, and certainly not Duncan. They don't have enough officers to pose a strategic threat. It’s not you Safi, it can’t be Paul. I know it’s not me. Then it’s Dr. Yue? I can ask him to come here and investigate him, is it necessary?” "You know it's not going to work," Hawat said. "He was controlled by a high school. I'm sure of that." "It goes without saying that his wife was Bee Geist, who was killed by the Harkonnen, as you know it," Jessica said. "It was his misfortune," Hawat said. "When he mentioned Harkoning's name, he gritted his teeth with hatred, didn't you hear it?" "You know I'm hard of hearing for that." "What caused me to be so basely suspected?" she asked. Hawat frowned and said, "Your Excellency makes it difficult for me to be humble. I must first be loyal to the Duke." "Because of this loyalty, I am prepared to be magnanimous," she said. "I'm still going to keep asking: Is there anything to forgive?" "A stalemate?" she asked. He shrugged. "Well then. Let's talk about something else," she said. "Duncan Idaho, a respectable fighter, with superb defensive and reconnaissance skills. Tonight, he drank something called spice beer, drunk .There have been reports of us and many others indulging in this concoction. Is this true?" "You have your information, sir." "Of course I have. Don't you see that this drunkenness is a sign, a symptom, Safi?" "Your Excellency is too mysterious." "Use your Mentat skills to analyze," she said sternly. "What's wrong with Duncan and the others? I can tell you in five words: They have no home." He stamped the floor and said, "Arrakis is their home." "Arakis is an unknown world! Kaladan was their home, but we cut their roots. They have no home. They are afraid of what will happen to the Duke." He straightened his body: "If others say such things, they will..." "Oh, come on! Can a hat of defeatism or conspiracy make a doctor correctly diagnose a disease? My only wish is to cure this disease." "The duke put me in charge of these matters." "But you know I have a certain instinctive concern for this development," she said, "and perhaps you agree that I have some special talents for it." She thought: Should I give him a jolt?He needed a slap in the face... a slam that would make him think outside the box. "Your concern may have various motives," Hawat said with a shrug. "Then you have found me guilty?" "Certainly not, sir. But I dare not take any chances. The situation is too tight to have to." "You didn't detect a threat to my son's life right here in this house," she said. "Who's taking that risk?" His face darkened: "I have submitted my resignation to the Duke." "Did you hand over your resignation to me... or to Paul?" Now, his face was furious, his breathing became heavy, and his eyes were flaming at her.She saw the veins on his temples exposed. "I'm the Duke's man." He said through gritted teeth. "There's no mole," she said. "The threat comes from somewhere else, maybe something to do with laser cannons. They might take a chance on stashing some laser weapons, put a timer on them, and target housing shields. They might as well..." "Who's going to know if it's like an atomic bomb after it explodes?" he asked. "No, sir. They're not going to risk doing anything illegal. The radiation spreads over a long period of time, and the evidence is hard to remove. No, most of the time they don't." Breaking the rules, there must be a traitor." "You belong to the Duke," she sneered, "would you destroy him to save him?" He took a deep breath and said, "If you're innocent, I'm going to apologize to you." "Look at yourself, Safie," she said, "people can live perfectly only when they do their part, they have to know who they are, their place, their role in a situation. To destroy this order is to Means to destroy humanity. Safi, you and I and those who love the Duke are in an ideal position, and it is not difficult to destroy another human being. Can't I just blow my pillow and speak ill of you, Safi, when is the easiest time for the Duke to suspect others, do you need me to explain to you more clearly?" "Are you threatening me?" he said angrily. "Of course not. I'm just pointing out to you that there is an attempt to use the very fabric and order of our lives to attack us. It's clever and very vicious. I suggest that we unite and fight against each other so that this attempt does not succeed. " "Are you accusing me of spreading baseless suspicion?" "Yes, without any basis." "You'd fight an eye for an eye, wouldn't you?" "Your life is entwined with rumours, mine is not, Safi." "So you doubt my ability?" She sighed and said, "Safie, I want you to reflect on the emotional element in this matter. Natural people are creatures without logic. It is unnatural for you to project logic into everything because other Use it constantly and indiscriminately. You are logic incarnate... a Mentat. However, your resolution of contradictions is undoubtedly just concepts that you project outside of yourself, to be iterated from many angles Constant research and investigation." "Are you teaching me how to do my job?" he asked with unabashed contempt. "You can see and apply your logic to everything outside of you," she said, "but when it comes to our own problems, the ones we have the hardest time using logic to analyze are those that are closest to us. The problem, this is the natural tendency of human beings. We often get entangled, struggle hard, don't understand everything, blame everything, but it is difficult to reflect on ourselves and face the really deep inner conflicts." "You are deliberately undermining my ability as a Mentat," he said dissatisfied. "If I find out that others are trying to subvert in this way, I will not hesitate to fight back and eliminate him." "A good Mentat is open to errors in computational analysis," she said. "I have nothing against that." "Then reflect for yourself on these symptoms we are all aware of: people's drinking, quarreling...they talk and spread rumors about Arrakis, they ignore the simplest..." "It's boring, that's all," he said. "Don't try to distract me by complicating simple problems." She stares at him and thinks: The duke's men tell each other their pain in the trenches until you can smell the gunpowder, like insulating glue burnt, and by then they've become like pre-Gildian fables, like People who lost planetary rescue.Amporillos...hate their weapons...endlessly searched, prepared, and never ready. "Why did you never reach your full potential while serving the Duke?" she asked. "Are you worried about someone threatening your status?" He glared at Jessica, his eyes burning. "You know some of the special training that you Bee Gist..." He paused, frowning. "Go on," she said, "Witch Bee Gist." "I do know some of the special skills they teach you," he said. "I see it in Paul. Your school's motto is: You exist to serve people. That doesn't blind me." Jessica thought: Give him a big shock, he's almost ready. "You have heard and admired my presentation to the committee," she said, "but you pay little attention to my suggestions. Why?" "I don't trust your motives, Bee Geist," he said. "You may think you can see into a person's heart, or you may think that you can make people obey you..." "You poor fool, Safie!" she roared. He frowned and leaned back in his chair. "Whatever rumors you've heard about our school," she continued, "are far from the truth. If I want to ruin the duke...or you or anyone close to me, there's nothing you can do to stop me .” She thought to herself: Why am I driven by arrogance to say these words.This is not allowed by my training.I shouldn't have hit him like this. Hawat slid his hand under his coat, where there was a tiny poison dart launcher.He thought: She's not wearing a shield.Is this just her talking big?I can kill her right now... But if I make a mistake, the consequences will be disastrous. Jessica saw him reach for his pocket and said, "Let's trust each other and not use force." "It's a worthwhile suggestion," Hawat agreed. "At the same time, our differences have increased," she said. "I must ask you again: Is it more sensible to think that the Harkonnen have created a discord between us, and turned us against each other?" "It seems like we're back at the point where we were deadlocked?" Hawat said. She sighed and thought: The time is coming. "The duke and I are the loving fathers and mothers recognized by the people," she said, "this position..." "The Duke hasn't married you yet." She forced herself to be calm, thinking: This is a powerful counterattack. "But he won't marry anyone else," she said, "at least not in my lifetime. As I said, we have been approved. Breaking this natural status quo, disturbing, destroying or disturbing the present status quo, caused Only the Harkonnens like the consequences of this, right?" He felt that her words meant something else, and lowered his head with a frown. "The Duke?" she said. "A tempting target indeed, but probably no one has better guards than Paul. And me? Of course they also know that Bee Geist is not so easy to deal with." A target. So there is one target that is easier to deal with, and his duty itself creates a blind spot, and his whole life is based on insinuating mysterious actions." She suddenly stretched out her right hand, pointed at him and said, "It's you! " Hawat was about to jump up from his chair. "I didn't let you move, Safi!" she glared at Hawat. The old Mentate sat down on the chair in an orderly manner, and his brain and muscles had no time to react. She smiled without malice. "Now you see what they teach," she said. Hawat's throat was dry and he tried to swallow.Her orders were supreme, tyrannical...and delivered in such a way that he was simply irresistible.Before he had time to think, his body obeyed.Nothing could stop his reaction...no logic, no real anger, nothing worked.And what she just did hit the weakest and most sensitive part of a person. It seems that she knows everything about you, and the orders she issued are irresistible. This kind of deep grasp and control of people is something Hawat never dreamed of. Thought-of. "I have said that we should understand each other," she said, "and I mean that you should understand me. I have fully understood you. Now I tell you that your loyalty to the Duke is your only security against me." He glared at Jessica and moistened his lips with his tongue. "If I wanted to be a puppet, the Duke would marry me," she said. "He would even think I did it of my own free will." Hawat looked down through his sparse eyelashes.It took all of his self-control to hold himself back and not call the guards.Control... and doubt, women may never allow it to exist.She had completely controlled him just now, and his skin was still shaking, and the sight was unforgettable.In that moment of hesitation, she could have drawn out her weapon and killed him. Hawat thought: Does everyone have a blind spot like this?Are we at the mercy of others before we can resist?The thought made him flabbergasted.With such power, who can stop her? "You saw one of Bee Geist's weapons," said Jessica, "and few survived. What I did was relatively easy for us. You don't know all of my methods and Weapons. Think!" "Why don't you go and destroy the duke's enemies?" he asked. "What do you want me to destroy?" she asked. "You want me to make the duke a weakling, to make him depend on me forever?" "But, with such power..." "Might is a double-edged sword, Saffy," she said. "You think: 'She has easily made a powerful tool for mankind, which can hit the enemy's vitals.' It is true, Sapphire. It can even hit Your weak point. However, what's the point of me doing this? If there are many bee gist doing this, wouldn't it make all bee gist a target? We don't want to have such a result , Safi. We don't want ourselves to destroy ourselves." She nodded, "We really exist only to serve others." "I can't answer you," he said, "you know I can't." "What happened here can't be mentioned to anyone," she said. "I know you, Safi." "Your Excellency..." The old man swallowed hard again. He thought, she has extraordinary power, yes.Wouldn't that make her an even more terrifying tool for the Harkonnen? She said: "The Duke's friends can destroy the Duke as quickly as his enemies. I am sure you will investigate this suspicion deeply, find out the root cause and eliminate it." "If it turns out to be unjustified," he said. "What if?" she said sarcastically. "What if," he said. "You're tenacious," she said. "Careful," he said, "watch out for the error element." "Well, I'm going to ask you another question: When you stand defenseless in front of a man with a knife pointed at your throat, but he doesn't kill you and restore you to normal, And give you the knife, what does all this mean?" She got up from her chair, turned her back to him, and said, "You can go now, Safi." The old Mentat rose hesitantly, and reached for the deadly weapon.He thought of the bullring and the duke's father (who, whatever his faults, had been very brave), and the bullfight of long ago: the fierce black bull with his head down, his horns in front, suddenly bewildered , standing there motionless and dazed.The Duke turned, turned his back on the bull's horns, his red cape billowed from his arms, and thunderous cheers erupted from the stands. Hawat thought: I am the black bull and she is the matador.He released his hand from the weapon and glanced at the sweaty palm. And he knew that, no matter what the final facts turned out to be, he would never forget this moment, nor lose the great respect he had for Lady Jessica. He turned quietly and left the house. Jessica lowered her eyes, which had been watching the reflection on the glass window, and turned around, looking at the closed door. "Now we're going to take the necessary steps," she murmured.