Chapter 33 Chapter Eleven

Jessica awoke in the dark cavern, feeling the commotion of the Fremen around her and smelling the bitter and spicy smell of the filtration suit.Her internal sense of time told her that it would soon be night outside, but the cave was still in darkness for now, because it was cut off from the desert by the plastic shroud used to keep the body wet. She realized that, from extreme exhaustion, she had fallen asleep in complete relaxation.This suggested that she was making some sort of unconscious assessment of her personal safety in Stilgar's unit.She rolled over in a hammock made of robes, her feet slipping onto the rocky ground and into her desert boots.

I have to fasten my bag-shaped boots so they don't impede the pumping of the dialysis suit, she thought. There's a lot to remember. She could still smell the food she ate that morning—bits of bird and grain mixed with decaying spices, wrapped in leaves.It occurred to her that the use of time was now reversed: night was the activity of the day, and the day was the time of rest. The night hides everything, and the night is the safest. She untied the robe from the pegs of the hammock in the rock wall, groped in the dark until she found the collar, and pulled it on quickly. How to send the information out to the people of Bee Geist?she asked herself.They must be told that there are two lost men who have taken refuge in Arakane.

The globe of glowing light illuminated the depths of the hole, and she saw people moving there, with Paul among them.He was dressed, his hood thrown back to reveal the eagle-like profile of an Atreese. Before they rested, he was acting strangely, she thought.Alone, like a man who has just returned from death and is not yet fully conscious of his return.His eyes were half-closed, like glass, looking inwardly at himself.It reminded her of his warning: saturated foods with decaying spices are addictive. Are there any side effects?she asked herself.He says it has something to do with his precognition, but he's oddly silent about what he's seeing.

Stilgar came from the darkness to her right, past the group under the glowing lights.She noticed the way he ran his fingers through his beard, his wary, cat-like stalking expression. Sudden terror struck Jessica, and she sensed the visibly tense people around Paul—the stiff movements, the ritualistic postures. "They are under my protection." Stilger said loudly in a thunderous voice. Jessica recognized the man opposite Stilgar - Jamis!She saw Jamis' anger—his shoulders shrunk. Jamies, the man Paul beat!she thinks. "You know the family rules, Stilgar," Jamis said.

"Who knows better?" Stilger asked.She heard the conciliatory tone in his voice. "I choose duel," cried Jamis. Jessica quickly stepped over and grabbed Stilger's arm. "What is this?" she asked. "It's the Amtel Rule—a destructive test," Stilger said. "James is going to test your role in the biography." "She'll have to be replaced," said Jamis, "and if the person who replaces her wins, it's all true. But, it's said..." He glanced at the swarming crowd: "...she doesn't need Choosing replacements among the Freemen means she can only choose among those she brings."

That is to say, he wants to fight Paul alone!thought Jessica. She let go of Stilger's arm and took half a step forward. "I've always fought duels by myself," she said, "that's simple enough..." "Don't you tell me about our dueling style!" cried Jamis, interrupting her. "Don't tell me if there's no more evidence than I've seen. Stilgar probably told you what to say yesterday morning." What. He may be too fond of you, and you may be trying to fool us with your rhetoric, hoping to create a false impression among us." I could beat him, Jessica thought, and that might conflict with their interpretation of the traditional way of dueling.She was once again amazed at how perverted the magic of Priest Bi Gist was on this planet.

Stilgar looked at Jessica and said in a low but overheard voice, "James is a man with a grudge, Sejadina. Your son beat him, and..." "It was an accident," growled Jamis, "there are witches in Tooro Basin, and I will now prove it!" "...I beat him myself," Stilgar continued, "and with this Tehardy challenge, he wants to get back at me too. He wanted to be a good leader, but there was something wrong with him." Too much violence - too much Ghafra, insanity. He talks about the rules but thinks of Safa: an act against God. No, he will never be a good leader. I keep him Such a long time because he is still useful in combat. But when he is mad, he is a danger to his own society."

"Stilgar..." Jamis roared angrily. Jessica understood Stilger's intentions and wanted to make James angry instead of challenging Paul. Stilger faced Jamis, and Jessica once again heard the relieved tone in his roar. "James, he's just a kid, he's..." "You call him a grown-up," Jamies said, "his mother said he had passed the Gomgaba test, that he was a grown-up. There was too much water. The men with their backpacks said there was Liters of water! And when we suck the water from our hydration bags, what comes out is dew." Stilger glanced at Jessica. "Is it true? You have water in your backpack?"

"yes." "How many liters of water?" "Two liters." "What are you going to do with this wealth?" wealth?she thinks.She shook her head, feeling the cold tone in his question. "Where I was born, water fell from the sky and flowed across the earth into great rivers," she said, "and there were oceans of water so wide that you couldn't see the other side. I wasn't trained to Obeying your water discipline never crossed my mind." There was a sigh from the crowd around them: "Water fell from the sky...flowing across the earth."

"Did you know that some of us just happened to lose our water bags, and we're going to have great difficulty before we get to Tebu this evening?" "How would I know?" Jessica shook her head, "If they need it, give them the water in our water storage bag." "Is that what you intend to do with the wealth?" "My intention was to save lives," she said. "Then we accept your gift, Seyadina." "You can't buy us off with water," growled Jamis, "and you won't make me angry enough to challenge you, Stilgar. I know you've been urging me to challenge you until I've proven my word .”

Stilgar turned to Jamis. "Are you determined to force the boy to a duel with you, Jamis?" His voice was low and malicious. "She has to be fought on her behalf." "Even if she's under my protection?" "I'm using the Amtel rule," Jamies said. "It's my right." Stilgar nodded. "Well, if this kid doesn't knock you down, after that, you'll fight my knife. This time I won't take back my knife like I did before." "You can't do that," Jessica said, "Paul is just..." "You shouldn't interfere, Seyadina," said Stilgar. "Oh, I know you can beat me, and therefore any of us. You can't beat us if we join forces." , it must be so. This is the Amtel rule." Jessica fell silent, staring at him in the light of the green glowing lamp, seeing the demonic grimness on his face.She turned her attention to Jamis, seeing him frowning and looking sad.I should have seen it earlier: he was worried.He's the kind of silent guy, a calculating guy.I should have been ready. "If you hurt my son," she said, "I will fight you. Now I challenge you, and I will chop you up..." "Mother," Paul said, taking a step forward and touching her sleeve, "maybe let me explain to Jamis..." "Explain!" James said, grinning grimly. Paul fell silent, staring at the man.Paul is not afraid of him.Jamis seemed clumsy, and when they met that night in the desert, he was easily defeated.But Paul felt the tense situation in the cave, and still remembered the prophetic dream of himself being killed by the knife.In that dream, he seemed to have nowhere to escape... Stilger said: "Siadina, you must retreat to..." "Don't call her Seyadina!" said Jamis. "That hasn't been proven. She knows the Prayer, so what? Every one of us kids knows the Prayer." He's talked enough, she thought, I have a way of controlling him, I can say a word to keep him still.She hesitates: I can't stop them all. Jamis stared at her with panic on his face. "I'm going to make you die painfully," she said in the same tone, "when you duel, be sure to remember it. You will feel the pain of death, just as, by comparison, you would think that the Gomgaba test is a Like happy memories. You'll distort your whole..." "She's casting a spell on me!" Jamis gasped in terror, plugging his ears with clenched fists, "I'm going to keep silent about her." "I see." Stilger said, casting a warning look at Jessica, "If you tell me again, Seiyadina, we will know that you are practicing witchcraft, and you will be punished." He nodded She backs off. Jessica felt hands grabbing her, pulling her back into place.But she felt they were not unfriendly.She saw Paul separate from the crowd, and she nodded to Jamis.Cheney with a mischievous face whispered something in Paul's ear. The team formed a circle, and someone brought more glowing lights, which formed a yellow ring of light. Jamis walked into the circle, took off his robes, and rolled himself into the crowd.He was wearing a beautiful silver-gray filtration suit with horizontal pleats, and he stood there, bent over, drinking water from a tube in a water storage bag; then straightened, took off the filtration suit, and carefully put the It's handed to people in the crowd.He was wearing a loincloth, some kind of tight-fitting fabric that covered his feet, and he waited with a screecher in his left hand. Jessica saw the girl Cheney helping Paul, and she shoved a Screaming Blade into Paul's hand, and he weighed it, to test its weight and balance.Jessica remembered that Paul had been trained in Prana and Bindu, both in his nerves and qualities.He had learned martial arts in a very strict school, and his teachers, such as Duncan Idaho and Gurney Halleck, had their own lives full of legends.The kid was familiar with Bee Geist's circuitous fighting techniques, and he looked supple and confident. However, he is only 15 years old, she thought, and he is not blocked.I must stop this fight. In any case, there is always a way... She looked up and saw Stilgar looking at her. "You can't stop the fight," he said, "and you can't talk." She put a hand to her mouth and thought: I've planted fear in Jamis's brain, and maybe it'll make him move a little slower... If only I could chant a spell—really chant a spell. Paul stood alone just inside the circle, wearing his filtration suit as a battle suit, holding a howling knife in his right hand, standing barefoot on the sizzling sandstone.Idaho told him again and again: "When you're not feeling well, it's best to go barefoot." Cheney's pointing words still remained in his consciousness: "James will turn to the right after a parry, which is a habit we all know. He will use your blink to slash you. He can use any One hand, pay attention to the moment when he changes hands." The strongest thing about Paul is the training he has been given, he feels it throughout his body.And his instinctive mechanical reflexes, which he practiced day after day, hour after hour, on the training ground. Gurney Halleck's words must also be remembered: "A good knife fighter thinks of the tip, the blade, and the scissors at the same time. The tip can cut, the blade can stab, and the scissors can lock the opponent's blade." Paul glanced at the Screaming Blade, which had no scissors, just a thin ring handle with a protruding wide-brimmed guard.Even so, he knew he didn't know how much the blade was broken, or even whether it would break. Jamies started to move right along the edge of the circle opposite Paul. Paul crouched.He has no shield, but he has been trained to fight on the elusive battlefield; speed to guard.Despite repeated warnings from his trainers not to rely on the sluggish speed of attack against the shield, he knew that shield awareness had become part of him. Jamis cried politely: "May you die!" This knife will break, Paul thought. James, he told himself, wasn't wearing a shield, nor had he been trained in how to use it, so he didn't have the oppression of a shielded fighter. Paul looked across the circle, staring at Jamis.The man's body looked like knotted whipcord on a withered skeleton, his howling blade glowing beige in the green light of the glowing lamp. Fear overwhelmed Paul, and he felt suddenly alone, as if standing naked in a hazy yellow flash among the crowd.Foreknowledge has given him countless experiences, hinting at the most powerful currents of the future, and a series of decisions to guide them.Yet this is the real battle, a struggle of life and death suspended in countless catastrophes. What happened here, he realized, could turn the future upside down.Someone coughed in the watching crowd, the light of the glowing lamps changed, an imaginary shadow. I'm afraid, Paul told himself. He circled carefully across from Jamis, quietly and to himself repeating Bee Geist's prayer to fight against the fear in his heart, "Fear is the killer of thoughts..." This The words were like a cool bath of cold water, drenching all over his body, he felt his muscles relax automatically, became calm, and was in a state of attack at any time. "I'll wash my knife with your blood!" Jaimes howled.At the last word, he pounced. Jessica saw the movement, but refrained from shouting. Wherever the attack goes, there is only air.Paul stood behind Jamis and stabbed at Jamis' exposed back unobstructed. "Stick, Paul, stab!" Jessica screamed inwardly. Paul took the opportunity to attack, but it was slow enough that Jamis stepped out of the way in time, stepped back, and moved to the right. Paul stepped back and crouched down. "First, you must find my blood," he said. Jessica realized that her son embodied the coordinated movements of the shield fighter.She suddenly felt that it was a thing with two benefits.The boy's reaction was that of a young man and a trained man, reaching a peak that these men had never seen before.The attack moves are also trained and trained to have to pierce shielding barriers.The shield bounces off attacks too quickly, and only slow and deceptive attacks can stab, which requires control and cunning to penetrate the shield. Did Paul see that?she asked herself.He should see it. Paul attacked again, his dark eyes gleaming.Under the light of the glowing lamp, his body turned into a hazy yellow shadow. Paul slides away again, slowly counterattacking. again. Every attack, Paul's counterattack was a step slower. Jessica saw what she wished Jamis hadn't, and Paul's bodyguard was blindingly quick.But they moved at the extremely accurate angle he took every time, if the shielding helped deflect Jamis' attacks. "Your son playing tricks on that poor fool?" Stilgar asked.Before she could answer, he waved her to be quiet. "I'm sorry, but you must remain silent." At this moment, the two people on the ground are circling each other.Jamis' hand with the knife was outstretched, slightly tilted; Paul crouched, the knife held low. Jamis lunges at Paul again.This time he circled to the right, where Paul had been hiding. Paul didn't back away, didn't move out of the way, but met the man's hand with the point of the knife, then out of the way, bending to the left.He thanked Cheney for his guidance. Jamis stepped back into the center of the circle, stroking the hand holding the knife, blood plucking from the wound. After a while, the blood stopped flowing.He stared intently, wide-eyed—two blue-black holes—in the dim light of the glowing lamp, scrutinizing Paul with deliberate eyes. "Oh! That one was injured." Stilger murmured. Paul crouched, ready, and called out, as he had been asked to do after seeing blood for the first time in training, "Are you convinced?" "Ha! . . . " cried Jamis. An angry murmur rose from the crowd. "Wait!" cried Stilgar. "The lad doesn't understand our rules." Then to Paul, "There is no surrender in a Tehardy challenge, and death is its result." Jessica saw Paul swallow nervously and with difficulty.She thought: He has never killed like this before...in this bloody first battle.Can he do this? Paul was cornered by Jamis, and circled slowly to the right.In the precognitive dream, the rapid shortening of time in this cave tormented him again.His new understanding of this told him that in this duel, too many decisions needed to be made quickly to clear the way forward. Change is more about change, which is why this cave has an indistinct connection with his path.It is like a boulder in a flood, creating countless eddies in the rapids around it. "End the fight, boy," Stilgar whispered, "stop playing with him." Relying on his own speed advantage, Paul suddenly rushed forward into the circle. Jamis stepped back, realizing that this was by no means an easy target for Tehardy's challenge duel, nor for Freeman's Screaming Blade. Jessica saw the shadow of despair on Jamies' face.Now is his most dangerous time, she thought.He is desperately trying to do anything.What he saw was not a child like his own, but a war machine that had been trained since childhood.The fear I had planted in his mind was already at work. She found herself feeling some sympathy for Jamis--feeling for the adventure he was about to take on her son. Jamis could do anything—the impossible, she told herself. She wondered if Paul had seen this coming, if he was repeating the experience.But, she saw the way her son moved, beads of sweat appearing on his face and shoulders, careful movements.She sensed for the first time an uncertainty in Paul's natural talent, yet could not comprehend the flaw. Paul picked up the pace, circling, but not attacking.He has seen the fear of the other party.In Paul's mind, recalling the voice of Duncan Idaho: "When your opponent is afraid of you, then you let the fear run free, let the fear affect him, let the fear become fear. Feel The fearful man fights himself. Eventually he will attack with all his might, and this is the most dangerous moment. But trust, the fearful man will often make fatal mistakes. You are trained to spot these mistakes, And take advantage of those mistakes." The people in the cave began to mutter. They thought Paul was playing with Jamis, Jessica thought, and they thought there was no need for Paul to be so cruel. But she also sensed the underlying excitement of the people, who enjoyed the spectacle of the duel.She could see the pressure building up on Jamis, building up to a level that Jamis couldn't tolerate.She, Jamis, or Paul knew it all too well. Jamies jumped high and smashed down with his right hand.However, this hand is empty, and the Xiaoren knife has been switched to the left hand. Jessica gasped nervously. Cheney had told Paul, "James can wield a knife with both hands." His training had taught him that knack by the way. "Watch his knife, not his hand," Gurney Halleck told him time and time again, "The knife is more dangerous than the hand, and the knife can be held with either hand." .” Paul has seen the weakness of Jamis, his poor footwork, so his heart beats longer, and it will take longer to get the heartbeat back to normal.The intent of Jamis' jump was to divert Paul's attention and switch the knife from his right hand to his left. Except for the dim yellow light of the glowing lights and the black eyes of the onlookers, everything else is like learning on the driving range.Shielding is not important where the body's own movement can be used to resist.In a vaguely moving motion, Paul swung his knife, slid aside, the knife suddenly reached into Jamis' chest, and then stepped away, watching Jamis fall. James dropped to the ground like a limp bag, face down, gasped, turned his face to Paul, and lay motionless on the ground.His eyes looked out, like black glass beads. "Killing with the tip of a knife is not an art," Idaho once told Paul, "but when a good opportunity arises, don't let it bind you." People rushed forward and filled the circle.They pushed Paul aside and, in a commotion, wrapped up Jamis' body.Soon, a group of people hurried into the depths of the cave, carrying packages wrapped in robes. There is no one on the rocky ground. Jessica squeezed her way over to her son.She felt as if she was swimming in a sea of ​​robes and stench, and the people around her were strangely silent. This was a terrible time, she thought, he had killed a man of superior mind and strength, and he did not deserve such a victory. She pushed through the last group of people and came to a small open space.There were two bearded Fremen helping Paul into the filtration suit. Jessica stared at her son, Paul's eyes were bright and his breathing was heavy.He lets them dress him instead of helping them. "He wrestled with Jamis, but he wasn't hurt at all," murmured one. Cheney stood aside, his eyes focused on Paul.Jessica was delighted to see the girl, and a curious expression appeared on her mischievous face. Now is the time to act quickly, she thought. She said in a very contemptuous tone: "Now, you are a murderer, how do you feel?" Paul stiffened, as if he had been hit.He met his mother's icy gaze, his face darkened with blood, and cast a reluctant glance at the spot where Jamis had lain. Stilgar huddled beside Jessica, who had just returned from the depths of the cave where Jamis' body had been carried.He said to Paul in a stern, subdued voice: "When you challenge me and try to take my load, don't think you can tease me as you teased Jamis." Jessica was aware of how deeply her own and Stilgar's words had been imprinted on Paul's memory, how they had worked on the boy.The mistake these people make is this: serving one purpose.She scans the faces of the people around her, as Paul does, and sees what they see—respect and fear, and she loathes them.She looked at Stilgar and saw that he had a fatalistic point of view and knew how terrible this duel would be for him. Paul looked at his mother. "You know what it is," he said. She heard in his voice that he was sane and a little regretful.Jessica glanced at everyone and said, "Paul has never killed anyone with a knife before." Stilger looked at her with a look of disbelief on his face. "I didn't tease him," Paul said.He walked up to his mother, straightened his robe, and looked at the place where Jamis' blood was stained black in the cave, "I don't want to kill him." Jessica could see a look of confidence creeping slowly into Stilgar's face, and he expressed comfort as he ran his gauze-wrapped hands through his beard.At the same time, she heard voices of understanding gradually sounding from the crowd. "That's why you asked him to surrender," said Stilgar. "I see. Our ways are different, but you see what they mean. I thought we had a black heart in our ranks." Come." He hesitated for a while: "I will never call you a child again." Someone in the crowd shouted, "Need a name, Stilgar." Stilger nodded in agreement, and stroked his beard with his hands. "I saw your strength... like the strength of the foundation stone under the pillar." He paused for a moment, and said, "You will be known among us as Yuso. Yuso - the foundation stone of the pillar. This is you Your secret name, your name in the team, the name we use in the Taibu camp, but other people are not allowed to use the name 'Yousuo'." The low voice spread throughout the team. "Well chosen, that... strong... good luck to us." Jessica thought he was accepted, and she included it with her replacement.She became the real Cyadina. "Now, what adult name do you choose that we can call you publicly?" Stilger asked. Paul glanced at her mother, then back at Stilgar.Every bit of this moment appeared in his precognitive memory.But he felt the differences, tangible though they were.He felt a pressure forcing him to pass through the now narrow door. "What do you call little mice, jumping mice?" Paul asked, remembering the animals thumping and jumping in the Tooro Basin. A burst of hee hee laughter sounded in the team. "We call that Moyadi," Stilgar said. Jessica gasped, it was the name Paul had told her, that the Fremen would accept them and call him that.She suddenly felt afraid that her son would also feel afraid for him. Paul swallowed, feeling like he was playing the role he had played in his head countless times...and yet...something was different.He could see himself perched on a dizzying mountain peak, with many experiences and a great deal of knowledge, but all around him was a bottomless abyss. He remembered again the dream of the fanatical Legionnaires behind the dark green banner of Atrez, burning and plundering the universe in the name of their seer, Moaddi. Something like that must never happen, he told himself. "That's the name you want, Moaddi?" Stilgar asked. "I'm an Atrez," Paul whispered, and then his voice grew louder. "It's not right for me to give up the name my father gave me. Can you call me Paul Moady?" "You are Paul Moyadi," Stilgar said. Paul thought: That was not in my dream, I did a different thing. But he felt that the abyss around him was still there. There was a murmur of response again in the ranks, and people said to each other: "Smart and powerful...don't ask more...this must be a myth...Lisang al-Ghab...a voice from beyond the sky. " "I will tell you about your new name," said Stilgar, "the choice of which satisfies us, Moaddi, wise in desert parlance. Moaddi created his own water; Moaddi created his own water; Yadi hides from the sun and is active in the cool nights; Moyadi is fertile and multiplies all over the planet. We have chosen Moya as the teacher of boys, he is our friend, and we welcome you." Stilger touched Paul's forehead with one palm, retracted the other hand to hug Paul, and murmured, "Yousuo!" Stilger let go of Paul, and another member hugged Paul, repeating his new name.The whole team embraced Paul one by one, only to hear the voices one by one, gradually weakening. "Youso...youso...youso..." He could already name some of his people.Cheney put her cheek against Paul's, calling his name. Soon, Paul stood in front of Stilger again.Stilger said, "Now, you belong to Iziwan Bidwin, our brother." His face was firm, and he said in a commanding tone, "Now, Paul Moady, fasten the filtration suit." He glanced at Cheney: "Cheney! I saw something wrong with Paul Moady's stuffy nose, and I ordered you to serve him!" "I don't have the materials, Stilgar," she said. "I have Jamies' filtration suit, of course, but..." "That's enough!" "Then I'll wear my old one," she said, "as long as I have a filtration suit, I'll be fine until..." "No," Stilger said, "I know, we still have some extra filtration suits. Where are the extra filtration suits? Are we a group or a group of villains?" Several hands stretched out from the team, actively Get out a stiff fiber fabric.Stilger selected four pieces and handed them to Cheni. "Give these to Yuso and Saidina." A voice came from behind the line. "What about the water, Stilgar? Those few liters in their backpacks." "I know you need water, Farok," Stilgar said, and he looked at Jessica, who nodded. "Open a liter for those who need water," Stilger said. "Where is the waterman . . . .This water is Seiyadina's precious inheritance, and it will be repaid at the camp with property taxes not less than the value of the backpack." "How much will it be repaid in property taxes?" Jessica asked. "Ten to one," Stilgar said. "but……" "It's a fair rule, and you'll figure it out eventually," Stilger said. There was a rustling and flapping of dresses, revealing the commotion of people at the back of the line, going to fetch water. Stilger stretched out a hand, and everyone fell silent. "As for Jamis," he said, "I will arrange for a solemn ceremony to be held. Jamis was our companion and Ichiwan Bidwin in the past, and we cannot leave without paying our respects to the dead. Hardy's challenge is proof of our good fortune. I beg for a solemn funeral service... and darkness will bury him when the sun goes down." After Paul heard these words, he felt that he was going to fall into the abyss again... blind time.There is no past in his mind that occupies the future... except... except... After Paul heard these words, he felt that he was going to fall again. He could still feel the dark green flag of Atrez flying... somewhere ahead... still see the bloody sword of the robot and the fanatical legion warrior. It won't be like that, he told himself, I can't let it be like that.