Chapter 21 Chapter 21

Baron Vladimir Harkonnen stood in his makeshift command post, beyond the flames of Alacairn.His focus was on the far screened wall, where his secret weapon was at work. Explosive artillery. The Duke's combatants retreated into the defensive caves for a final stand.This kind of artillery destroys the entrance and exit of the cave, and slowly sprays out a moderate amount of orange flames, blowing away the stones and soil at the entrance of the cave... The Duke's people were sealed in the cave, like animals trapped in a nest, and finally Starved to death, thirsty to death. The Baron could feel the sound of a drum-like explosion in the distance, boom...boom, boom...boom!

The baron was secretly proud: Who would have thought of re-activating artillery in today's era of shielding?But the duke's men would make use of those caves, which had long been expected.Your Majesty will appreciate my cleverness and preserve our common strength. He adjusted one of the small braces that held his corpulent frame against gravity.A smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, pulling the fat on his jaw. He thought: What a pity that all these brave fighters of the Duke are wasted.He laughed more happily, laughing out loud himself.Regret should be cruel!He nodded. Failure should be defined as costly.The universe remains the same and welcomes everyone who can make the right decision.Rabbits that hesitate will be exposed to broad daylight and forced to flee to burrows.How else can you control feeding them?He sees his combatants as bees, chasing and chasing away rabbits.He thought: the days are really sweet when you have many bees buzzing to work for you.

A door opened behind him, and the Baron watched the reflection before turning around. Peter Volley came in, followed by Uman Qutu, the baron's captain of the guard, and several people were walking outside the door.His guards were careful to put on lamb-like expressions in front of him. The Baron turned around. Peter touched his forehead with his fingers as a salute. "Good news, my lord, the Sadoka soldiers have brought the Duke." "Of course they did," muttered the baron. He looked at the clear, sinister expression on Peter's womanly face, and the eyes: dark blue eyes in dark sockets.

The baron thought: I should get rid of him as soon as possible.He's pretty much useless, and on the verge of becoming a serious threat to my personal standing.First, he must make the people of Arrakis hate him. Then they will welcome my dear Phaede Rose as their savior. The baron turned his attention to his captain of the guard...Uman Qutu, with two scissors lines and a chin like a boot...a man to trust, for his vices were well known. "In the first place, where is the spy who betrayed the duke to us?" asked the baron. "I must reward him." Pointing to his toes, Peter turned around and gestured to the guard outside the door.

A dark figure flickered by the door, and Yue walked in.His steps were stiff and difficult.Whiskers hung down the purple lips.Only the old eyes were alive.After walking three steps, Peter made a gesture to him, and he stopped and stood there, looking at the baron on the other side. "Ah...ha...ha, Dr. Yue." "Mr. Harkonnen." "You have given us the duke, I hear." "I have kept my word, sir." The Baron looked at Peter. Peter nodded. The baron looked at it and said, "It's the deal we talked about in the letter, huh?" "You remember very well, Your Excellency the Baron."

The more I let myself meditate now, the clock in my consciousness struck a deep silence.The subtle change in the Baron's attitude made him feel cheated.Vanna was dead indeed... there was nothing he could do.Otherwise, the weak doctor should feel a glimmer of hope in his heart.But the baron's attitude showed that there was no hope left, and that everything was lost. "Really?" asked the Baron. "You promised to relieve Vana of her misery." The Baron nodded, and said, "Oh, yes. Now that I think about it. I did promise, that was my promise, and our way of getting past the Royal Preset control system. See your bee gist witch in You can't stand the pleas for mercy in Peter's pain amplifier. Well, Baron Vladimir Harkonnen always keeps his word. I tell you I'll take her out of her pain and allow you to be reunited with her, then , That's it." He waved to Peter.

Peter's blue eyes lit up, and he was as agile and smooth as a cat. He suddenly moved to Yue's back, and the knife in his hand stabbed into his back like an eagle's claw. The old man froze, watching the baron all the time. "Reunite with her!" said the baron contemptuously. The more standing, shaking.His lips moved carefully and accurately, and the cadence of his voice was very well controlled: "You... thought... you beat... you defeated... me, you... thought... I... I don't know... I did it for... ...I can exchange... my... Wanna for... what." He fell down with a bang without bending over.It fell straight to the ground like a sawn tree.

"Go and join her," the Baron said again, like a faint echo. The more it gave him a feeling of some kind of omen.He shook his head, watching Peter, contented in his creamy face and blue eyes as he wiped the blood off the blade with a cloth. The baron thought: that's how he kills himself, it's good to understand. "Did he hand over the duke?" asked the baron. "Yes, sir," Peter replied. "Then, bring him in!" Peter looked at the captain of the guard, who turned to carry out his orders. The baron looked down at Yue, and from the way he fell, it seemed that his body was not growing in bones, but in oak trees.

"I never trust a spy," said the Baron, "even if I made it myself." He looked out of the window, and the dark silence belonged to his baron, he knew.The sound of bombs closing the holes in the shield wall has ceased, and all the rabbit holes are blocked.Suddenly, the baron's consciousness felt that the hollow darkness was wonderful.Of course, the white in black, the inlaid white, the porcelain-like white is no different. But he still couldn't shake the sliver of doubt. What does that stupid doctor mean?Of course, he is likely to know the final result of his own.But there was one sentence that made him panic: "You think you have defeated me."

What is he trying to say? Duke Ledo Atrez entered the door.His arms were tied by iron chains, his face was covered with mud, his uniform was torn, and someone cut off the emblem on his uniform; there was a strip of cloth hanging around his waist, and someone did not untie his uniform, but tore it off The shielding tape on him.There was vague anger in the Duke's eyes. "Ah..." said the baron hesitantly, taking a deep breath.He knew he was too loud.This moment, long dreamed of, was a little unexpected. That unlucky doctor almost made me mess up! "I think the Duke has been drugged," said Peter, "and the more he was caught in this way." Peter turned to the Duke and asked, "You have been drugged, aren't you, dear Duke?"

The sound was far away.Rado could feel the chains, the sore arms, the chapped lips, the hot cheeks, the smoking throat.The sound that came from seemed to be wrapped in cotton, and everything in front of him was separated by a layer of cloth. "Peter, what about the woman and the little boy?" asked the baron. "Any news?" Peter glanced at the captain of the guard, then at the baron, and licked his lips with his tongue. "You have some news!" said the baron severely. "What is it?" "The two people sent to carry out the mission, Your Excellency...they...um...have...found it." "So, everything went well?" "They are dead, sir." The baron's face suddenly became active: "What about the woman and the little boy?" "No sign, Your Excellency. But there was a sand lizard nearby. While we were investigating the scene, it turned up. Maybe just as we expected...an accident, maybe..." "Let's not talk about possibilities, Peter. What about the lost scout plane? Does it mean anything to my Mentat?" "Your Excellency, it is obvious that the Duke's men fled in the plane. Kill our pilot and escape." "Who is the Duke's?" "Your Excellency, the hijacking was done cleanly. It could have been Hawat, or Halleck, or Idaho, or some other senior officer." "Possibly," said the Baron in a low voice.He glanced at the wobbly Duke. "Your Excellency, the situation is under control," Peter said. "No! Where's that stupid planetologist? Where's this man named Keynes?" "Your Excellency, we already know where to find him and have sent someone there." "I don't like how the emperor's people help us," said the baron in a low voice. The voice seemed to come through the quilt, but a few words touched the Duke: Women and boys... no trace.Paul and Jessica have escaped.Also Hawat, Hallek and Idaho are missing.There is still hope. "Where's the signet ring?" asked the Baron. "Not on his finger." "That Sadoka said he didn't see the ring when he got the duke, my lord," said the captain of the guard. "You killed the doctor too soon," said the Baron. "That was a mistake. You should have let me know, Peter. You were too quick for our cause." He frowned. "Probably." The thought hung in the Duke's mind like a sine wave: Paul and Jessica had escaped!He remembered something else: a deal.He was about to remember. teeth! He remembered part: a gas pill shaped like a tooth. He was told to remember that tooth.The tooth is in the mouth, and its shape can be felt with the tongue.All he had to do was bite it open. Not yet! He was told to wait until the Baron was near.Who told him?He can't remember. "How long will it take for him to wear off?" asked the baron. "Perhaps another hour, sir." "Perhaps," said the baron dissatisfied, and he turned to the window again, "I'm hungry." Leido thought: That's the Baron, that vague gray figure.The shadow jumped around before his eyes, as if the whole house was shaking.The room is constantly expanding and shrinking, darkening and brightening, slowly rolling into a black spot and disappearing. For the Duke, time becomes a series of layers in which he floats.I must wait. There was a table, Leido could see clearly, and at the other end of the table was a large fat man with leftovers in front of him.Leido felt himself sitting across from the fat man, aware of the passing of time, but he had no sense of power. "My lord, I think he is regaining consciousness." It was a silky voice, and that was Peter. "I found out too, Peter." It was a deep bass, a baron. Leido's definition of the surrounding environment became more and more clear, the chair he was sitting on became solid, and he was tied up. Now he could see the Baron clearly.Leido watched the movement of his hands: one holding the side of the plate, the other holding the handle of the spoon, his fingers touching the flesh of his chin. Leido looked at that hand, feeling very excited. "Lord Ledo, you can hear me," said the Baron. "I know you can. We wish you could tell us where to find your concubine and son." Ledo caught every detail, and he was refreshed and calmed by the baron's words: it's true, they missed Paul and Jessica. "We're not playing children's games," cried the Baron disapprovingly. "You must know that." He leaned over to Redo, studying his face carefully.It displeased the Baron that they could not meet in private, just the two of them.It does not bode well for others to see the royals being so confrontational. Leido felt his strength gradually recovering, and now the memory of the dentures appeared clearly in his mind, like the abrupt peaks on the plain.The tooth that is hard to distinguish between real and fake... Poison gas... He remembered who had put the deadly thing in his mouth. cross! A corpse appeared in his memory and was dragged out of the room, and he knew it must be Yue. "Did you hear the yelling, Lord Ledo?" asked the baron. Redo noticed a hoarse voice, someone moaning in excruciating pain. "One of your men was caught by us pretending to be a Fremen," said the baron. "We caught the disguise easily: eyes, you know. He insisted that he was sent as a spy. My dear." Cousin, I've lived on this planet. No one goes to spy among those poor desert sluts. Tell me, did you bribe them to do you a favour? Did you send your sons and women to them ?” Lei Duo's worry tightened his chest, and he thought: "If they are sent to the territory of the desert people...the Harkoning people will never stop until they find them." "Come on, go ahead," said the baron, "we don't have much time, and the pain will come soon. Don't force me to do this, my dear prince." The baron looked up at Peter who was standing next to the prince: "Peter's The tools didn't bring them all, but I believe he can create." "What is created and improved is the best, Baron." The silky and suggestive voice echoed in the Duke's ear. "You have a contingency plan," said the Baron. "Where did your woman and son go?" He looked at the Duke's hand. "Your ring is missing. Is it with your son?" The baron looked up, staring into Leido's eyes. "You don't answer," he said, "are you going to force me to do something I don't want to do? Peter will do it in a straightforward way. I agree that's sometimes the best way to get you treated like this and not good." "Hot tallow on the back, or on the eyelids," Peter said, "maybe somewhere else on the body. It's especially effective when the subject doesn't know where the tallow is going to get on him. It's a good idea." , the naked body is scalded with blisters, white as pus. There is something beautiful about it, isn't it, Baron?" "Excellent!" said the baron, with disapproval in his voice. Those touching fingers!Leido looked at the fat hand, the gleaming jewels were set on the baby-like pink hand, trembling unconsciously. There were cries of pain from the door behind the duke gnawing at his heart.Who are they capturing?Will it be Idaho? "Believe me, my dear cousin," said the baron, "I don't want that to happen." "You're thinking your henchmen will call in reinforcements, which is never possible," said Peter. "You know, it's an art." "You are a fine artist," said the baron disapprovingly. "Now, please shut up." Leido suddenly remembered something that Gurney Halleck once said, he said while looking at the picture of the Baron. "'I stood in the sea of ​​sand, and saw a beast rise from the sea...with a blasphemous name carved on its head.'" "We're wasting time, Baron," said Peter. "Maybe." The Baron nodded and said, "You know, my dear Duke, you'll tell us at last where they went. You're going to suffer some pain." Leido thought: what he said is almost correct, but I really don't know where they are, and I still have a tooth, if it weren't for these... The Baron grabbed a piece of meat, stuffed it into his mouth, chewed it slowly, and swallowed it.I must try something else, he thought. "Look at this wonderful man who refuses to be bought," said the Baron. "Look at him carefully, Peter." And the Baron thought to himself: Yes!Looking at him like that, he thought it was impossible for him to be betrayed.Look at him now, his life used to be worth tens of millions per second!If you grab him now, shake him, you'll hear a hollow sound!empty!Not worth a penny!Now, what did it matter how he died? The hoarseness behind him stopped. The baron shook his head when he saw the captain of the guard, Uman Qutu, appearing outside the door.The captives yielded nothing of value.Failed again.You can't play around with this stupid duke anymore.This stupid and weak thing doesn't know that the disaster of the devil is approaching him step by step... Only a hair's length away. This thought calmed the Baron, who gave up his reluctance to subject members of the royal family to torture.He suddenly felt like a skilled surgeon, wielding all kinds of surgical instruments at will, cutting and dismantling these stupid things at will, showing them the horror of hell. Rabbits, all bunnies! When they faced predators, they became so panic-stricken and pathetic. Leido stared at the opposite table, wondering why he was still waiting.That tooth would end everything in no time.There is still something nice about this life.He found himself recalling a remote-controlled kite with an antenna, flying over the blue sky of Caladan, and Paul looked at the kite, smiling excitedly.He thought of this Arrakis sunrise again... the colorful shielding walls, the soft sandy mist. "Too bad," murmured the Baron, stepped back from the table, stood up, hesitated, and noticed a change in the Duke's face, he saw the Duke take a deep breath, the muscles of his cheeks tightened, his lips close up. The baron thought: How he fears me! Worried that the Baron would escape, Leido bit down hard and felt the dentures crack.He opened his mouth and blew out the poisonous gas so hard that he tasted it on the tip of his tongue.The Baron was shrinking like a shadow in a narrow tunnel.Leido heard a gasp next to his ear...it was Peter. He can't escape either! "Peter! What's the matter?" The sound seemed far away. Leido felt the memory rolling in his consciousness... the old witch who was full of teeth.The house, the table, the baron, those frightened blue eyes... everything became a symbol of destruction. The man with the sharpened jaw fell to the ground, his nose crooked.Leido heard the chaos around him... Shouts, cursing, chaotic, began to sound like thunder, and gradually became more and more distant... Silence, deathly silence. The Baron stood by the table, with his back against a secret room, which was an emergency hiding place for him.He got in and shut the door firmly.Many people died in the next room.His senses made him unnaturally alert, his mind buzzing.Did I smoke that thing?He asked himself, whatever that was, did I smoke it too? He heard the voice outside and gradually regained his senses.He heard an order...gas mask...close the door...start the blower. He thought: The others immediately fell to the ground.But I'm still standing, I'm still breathing.Good God!It's dangerous. He could analyze now: his shield was open, albeit low enough to slow the exchange of molecules between the field barriers.And he left the table... Peter was suddenly out of breath, and the captain of the guard rushed over and became his own scapegoat. Chance and the breath of the dying man saved him. The Baron wasn't grateful to Peter, the idiot who nearly killed himself, and the stupid captain of the guard!He said: He checked everyone who wanted to see the Baron!How could the duke... without warning!Even the poison detector above the table escaped, how is that possible? Whatever it is, the Baron thought, the first task of the next Captain of the Guards is to find out. He realized that it was busier outside.The Baron left the door and looked around at the servants.They stood in silence, dumbfounded, waiting for the baron's reaction. Will the Baron lose his temper? And the Baron found himself only a few seconds away from the room. Some guards pointed their weapons at the door, and some guards ran frantically towards the hall. A person walked around the corner and strode over. The gas mask on his head was swinging from side to side, and his eyes were fixed on the row of gas detectors on his head.He has yellow hair, green eyes on a flat face, and clean lines on his thick lips.He looked like some kind of aquatic animal that had been misplaced on land. The baron stared at the approaching figure and remembered his name: Luft, ya Luft, captain of the guard.He's a Samuta junkie.Samuta is a musical drug mixture that acts on the deep senses of the person.This is useful intelligence. The man stopped in front of the baron and saluted: "Your Excellency, the corridor has been cleaned up. I checked outside, it must be poisonous gas. The ventilation equipment in your room is filling air in." He glanced at the baron's head. Gas detector: "No one inside was spared. We're cleaning the house right now. What's your order?" The baron recognized this man's voice... the same voice that gave the order just now, and the corporal was very efficient. "Is everyone in it dead?" asked the baron. "Yes, sir." We must readjust, thought the Baron. "First," he said, "let me congratulate you, Luft. You are my new captain of the guard. I hope you remember this lesson and don't follow in the footsteps of your predecessors." The baron saw his new captain of the guard showing a heavy responsibility and an expression of living up to high expectations.Luft knew he would never be without Samuta again. Lufter nodded: "Your Excellency, rest assured, I will do my best to ensure your safety." "Well, let's get down to business. I suspect the Duke put something in his mouth. You're going to find out what it was, how it was used, and who put it in for him. You must proceed with caution and take all necessary measures... ..." He paused, his thoughts interrupted by commotion in the corridor behind him...a tall colonel was being held back by guards there. The baron couldn't see the colonel's face clearly, he only felt that he was mighty, majestic, fierce and brave. "Get your hands off me, you turnip soldiers!" growled the colonel, pushing the guards aside. Ah, a sadoka, thought the baron. The colonel strode up to the baron with a fierce look in his eyes.These Sadokar officers always made the Baron uncomfortable.They all looked like relatives of the Duke... the late Duke.And their disrespect for the Baron. The colonel stopped half a step away from the baron, with his hands on his hips.A guard followed him, bewildered. The baron noticed that the colonel did not salute, and his uneasiness was heightened by this Sadokar's disrespect.They have only one regiment here...ten battalions...to reinforce Harkonnen's regiment, but the baron knew very well that this one regiment was completely enough to defeat Harkonnen's military force. "Baron, tell your people not to try to prevent me from coming to see you," complained this Sadoka, "my people handed over the Duke to you without reporting to me. Let us discuss now what to do with the Duke." thought the baron; I cannot lose face before my people. "Really?" he said coldly, in a tone so well controlled that the Baron was proud. "The emperor ordered me to ensure that his royal cousin died quickly and could not suffer." Colonel Sadoka said. "This is my imperial order too," the baron lied. "You think I will disobey the order?" Colonel Sadoka said: "I will supervise myself so that I can return to the emperor." "The duke is dead," said the baron displeased, and waved him away. Colonel Sadoka stood motionless before him, ignoring the baron's gestures to let him go. "How did you die?" He asked dissatisfied. "He killed himself," said the baron. "He took poison." "I'm going to see the body now," said Colonel Sadoka. The baron raised his eyes exaggeratedly, but he was thinking in his heart: Bastard!That house hasn't had time to tidy yet, and this shrewd Sadoka will see what happens! "Now!" said this Sadoka, "I want to see it with my own eyes." The Baron realized that there was nothing to stop him.This sadoka will see it all.He would know that the Duke had killed the Harkonnen...and the Baron himself had almost escaped his fate.There was unfinished food on the table.The Duke lay there, surrounded by a mess. There is simply no way to stop him. "I can't wait!" Colonel Sadoka growled a little impatiently. "I won't keep you waiting," said the baron, staring into Sadoka's dark eyes, "I won't hide anything from the emperor." He nodded to Lufter, and said, "Let the colonel see what happened immediately." Everything. Lead him in by the door beside you, Luft." The sadoka walked defiantly around the duke slowly, squeezing his way through the guards. It was intolerable, thought the Baron.Now the emperor will know how negligent I am. He will take this as a sign of weakness. It was painful that both the emperor and his sadoka soldiers had the same contempt for weakness.The baron bit his lower lip and thought comfortingly: at least the emperor didn't know that Atrez had plundered Ji Plemen and destroyed the spices Harkonen had stored there. Damn that crafty duke! The Baron looked at the receding figure... the haughty Sadoka and the sturdy, efficient Luft. The Baron thought: We must adjust.I'll just have to let Rabin rule the damned planet again.I must use my Harkonnen blood to prepare the right conditions in Arrakis so that Phaedroth can rule smoothly in the future.That damned Peter!He killed himself before he could do what I asked him to do. The Baron sighed. I have to find another Mentat right away, they must have one for me. A guard beside him coughed. The baron turned to the guard and said, "I'm hungry." "Yes, sir." "I want to rest. You tidy up the house and investigate the cause seriously." The baron said in a low voice. The guard lowered his eyes and asked, "How do you want to rest?" "I'm in the bedroom," said the Baron. "Send that young man we bought at Caymond, with the fine eyes. Give him enough medicine. I don't want to fall." "Yes, sir." The baron turned and walked to the bedroom, thinking: Yes, that's the guy with the beautiful eyes, who looks very much like a young Paul Atrez.