Chapter 45 chapter eight

Cheney stepped out of the Habaya Depression in the pre-dawn darkness, hearing the whir of the orthopter that had brought her here from the south, and flew away to a hideout in the desert.The guards around her kept a certain distance from her, fanning out among the rocks on the ridge, searching and moving forward, alert to possible dangers.At the same time, they did so to give the woman of Moadhi, the mother of his first child, the moment of peace she had requested. Why did he call me?She asked herself that he had told me to stay in the South with little Redo and Alia. Lifting up her robe, she leaped briskly over a rock barrier and up the path up the mountain.These trails are recognizable in the dark only by those with desert training.The pebbles slid under her feet, and she walked briskly on them, without thinking at all about the need for quickness.

The uphill was exhilarating, alleviating the fears that had been troubling her as the escort spread far and wide around her.In fact, she had been picked up here by an orthopter.Her heart was beating wildly as the moment of her reunion with Paul Moadhi, her friend, approached.His name may have been the cry of battle across the planet: "Moaddi! Moaddi! Moaddi!" But she knew a different man with a different name, the father of her son, her tender lover. . A tall figure loomed dimly in the rock above her, beckoning her to speed up.She immediately quickened her pace and ran forward quickly.Dawn birds twittered into the sky, and the dim light of dawn appeared on the eastern horizon.

Wasn't that man up there, Osem, her own bodyguard?She asked herself, looking at the familiar figure and movement.She walked up to him and made out in the hazy light the broad, imposing figure of the Lieutenant of the Expendables.His hood was open and the mouth filter was loosely attached, the way one feels when one sometimes wants to venture into the desert. "Quickly," he said softly, leading her along the secret crack into the hidden cave, "it will be daylight soon," he whispered as he opened the sealed door for her, "the Harkonnen have been here Patrol the area, we don't dare to risk being discovered by them yet."

They entered the lair through the entrance of the narrow passage, and the spherical lamp lit up.Osem pushed past her and said, "Come with me now, quick." They walked quickly down the passage, through another passage, through the hanging curtains, and into the alcove that had once been Siadina's resting place during the day.Now, the floor of the room was thickly carpeted, and the rock walls were hung with woolen tapestry embroidered with red patterns of eagles; a low table on one side was piled with papers and smelled of decaying spices. The Virgin sits alone facing the door, with her head raised in thought, the layman would tremble at the sight of it.

Osem clasped his hands together and said, "Holy Mother, I have brought Chiny." He bowed and retreated. Jessica thought, "How am I going to tell Cheney?" "How is my grandson?" Jessica asked. Ah, the proper greeting, Cheney thought.She was frightened again.Where is Moaddi?Why doesn't he welcome me here? "He's healthy and happy, my mother," Cheney said, "and I leave him and Alia in Hara's care." My mother, Jessica thought, yes, she has the right to call me that in a formal greeting.She bore me a grandson. "I heard that the Keluya camp sent a piece of wool as a gift." Jessica said.

"A beautiful piece of wool," Cheney said. "Did Alia have a letter for you to bring?" "No. But, as people have come to accept her miraculous condition, everything is running smoothly at the camp." Why had she taken so long to ask these things?Cheney asked himself, there must be something urgent, otherwise, they would not have sent a plane to pick me up.Now, it's time for our greeting ceremony to end. "I'm going to have some clothes cut for little Redo out of new material," said Jessica. "You can do what you want, Mother," Cheney said.She looked down and asked, "Any news of the battle?" She tried to keep her face as neutral as possible so that Jessica wouldn't see anything—it was a question about Paul.

"New victory," said Jessica, "Rabin has carefully offered a truce. His messengers have gone back and lost his water. Rabin also relieved some of the people in the depression, but he did It was too late. People knew he did it out of fear of us." "Things developed as Paul said," Cheney said.She stared at Jessica, trying to stop being afraid of herself.I've mentioned his name, but she still doesn't answer me.It was hard to see any emotion on her face as smooth as stone... She was too stiff, why was she so silent?What happened to my friend Suo? "I wish we were in the South now," said Jessica, "how beautiful those oases were when we left! Don't you hope someday the whole homeland will be just as blooming?"

"The home is indeed beautiful," Cheney said, "but there is also sadness." "Grief is the price of victory." Was she telling me to prepare myself for grief?Cheney thought."There are so many women who have lost their men," she said. "People envy me when they know I've been called here." "I called you," Jessica said. Cheney felt his heart pounding.She wanted to cover her ears with her hands, afraid of what she heard, but she remained calm and said, "The name on the letter is Moyadi." "I signed it in the presence of his officers, as a necessary means."

Jessica thought: Paul's woman is a brave person, able to keep her composure when the fear is almost overwhelming her.Yes, she might just be the kind of person we need right now. Cheney said, resigned in his voice: "You can tell me the truth now." "We need you to come here and help me bring Paul back to life," Jessica said.She thought: Well, I have made it very clear, come alive!If I say that, she will know that Paul is still alive, but in danger.How perfectly expressed in one word! Cheney was stunned for a moment, then quickly calmed himself down and said, "What should I do?" She suddenly wanted to pounce on Jessica, grab her, and screamed: "Take me to him."But, restraining herself, she waited quietly for an answer.

Jessica said: "I suspect spies sent by the Harkonnen are among our people, and they want to poison Paul. This seems to be the only reasonable explanation. It is a very strange poison, and I have been very careful. Tried to check his blood, but found nothing." Cheney rushed forward a few steps and knelt down. "Poison? Is he in pain? Can I..." "He was unconscious," said Jessica. "His life progressed so slowly that only the most advanced instruments could detect it. I shudder to think what would have happened if I hadn't found him alive. To a trained man, he's a dead man."

"You had good reason for calling me, and I understand you, Holy Mother. What do you think I can do that you can't?" She was brave and sweet and very clever, Jessica thought, and she would have made a good Bee Geist. "Cheny," Jessica said, "you may find this hard to believe, but I don't know exactly what it would do to call you. Come." Cheney saw Jessica sad for the first time. "I've done everything I can, everything I've tried ... far exceeded everything people said, and it didn't work." "Is that guy, Halleck," Cheney asked, "a traitor?" "It won't be Gurney." These simple words express the meaning of the whole sentence.Cheney saw the searches, the trials... the memory of past failures visibly negated one by one. Cheney leaned back on his feet, then stood up, shook off the dust on his robe, and said, "Take me to see him." Jessica stood up, turned and walked through a hanging curtain on the left. Cheney followed, entering a room that had been used as a storage room.Thick tapestries hung on the rock walls, and Paul lay on a mattress spread on the floor against the wall at the far end of the room.A spherical lamp hangs above him, and the light shines on his face.A black robe covered his chest up to his body, with his arms exposed and resting on his sides.He appeared to be naked, his exposed skin looked like wax, and he lay stiff and motionless. Cheney refrained from rushing up to Paul.Instead, she thought of her son, Raydo. That's when she realizes that Jessica has faced this moment too -- her man's death threats force her to consider what she can do to save her young son's life.This awareness was suddenly associated with the old woman.Cheney reached out and squeezed Jessica's hand tightly.In this tight grip, there is an incomparable pain and understanding. "He's alive, I'll vouch for him. But the pulse of his life is so weak it's hard to detect. Some among the leaders are whispering that it's the Mother, not the Virgin, who says he's alive; My son is really dead and I don't want to contribute his water to the tribe." "How long has he been like this?" Cheney asked.She withdrew her hand from Jessica and walked into the room. "Three weeks. I've spent almost a week trying to bring him to his senses. The leaders have been meeting, arguing... and investigating, and then I sent for you. The Death Squad still obeys me Order, otherwise, I can't delay for such a long time..." Jessica wet her lips with her tongue, watching Cheney walk towards Paul.Cheney leaned over him, looking down at the bearded young man.Look at his thick eyebrows, straight nose bridge, and deep-set eyes that are tightly closed—in the solemn tranquility, his face is peaceful. "How does he ingest food?" "He needs very little, no food," Jessica said. "How many people know about this?" "Just his closest advisors, a few tribal leaders, Freeman death squads, and of course the poisoners." "Is there no clue of who poisoned it?" "Further investigation is needed," Jessica said. "Freeman Expendables, what do they say?" "They were convinced that Paul was in a coma, gathering his divine powers before the final battle. This is the edifying thought I spread." Cheney knelt on the edge of the mattress, bent close to Paul's face, and immediately noticed a strange smell in the air around his face...it could only be the smell of decaying spices, the smell of decaying spices everywhere.In Fremen life, the smell permeates everything, yet... "You're not like us, we're born with decayed spices," Cheney said. "Have you detected, perhaps, his body's resistance to too much decayed spices in his diet?" "The allergic reactions were all negative," Jessica said. She closed her eyes, as if feeling tired, trying to forget the scene.How long have I not slept?Too long, she asked herself. "When you're changing the eaux-de-vie," Cheney said, "you do it within the body through your inner consciousness. Did you use that inner consciousness to test his blood?" Cheney knelt on his heels.As she studied Paul's face, she tried to clear the fear from her mind.This is what she learned while observing the Virgin.Time can be used in the service of thought, and one should devote one's full attention to thinking. After a while, Cheney asked, "Is there a maker here?" "Several," said Jessica wearily, "we've never left them these days. Every victory requires its blessing, every ritual before an attack..." "However, Moaddi is the only one who has not participated in these ceremonies," Cheney said. "How do you know?" Jessica asked. "People say it." "There are too many legends," Jessica said seriously. "Bring me the maker's raw water," Cheney said. There was an ordering tone in Cheney's words, which made Jessica stunned.She saw the young woman deep in thought, and said, "At once." She went out through the curtain, and sent for the sailor. Cheney knelt there, staring at Paul.If he manages to do that, she thought, it's something he's been dying to try... Jessica knelt next to Cheney, holding a flat army canteen, the smell of poison irritating Cheney's nostrils.She dipped her finger in the liquid, then brought her finger closer to Paul's nose. The skin on the bridge of his nose contracted slightly, and the nostrils slowly moved. Jessica gasped. Cheney touched Paul's upper lip with a venom-soaked finger. With a long, choked sound, he took a deep breath. "What's this?" Jessica asked. "Be quiet, please," Cheney said. "You've got to make some holy water right away. Quickly." She didn't ask any more questions, because she clearly heard the meaning of Cheney's words.Jessica took out the water bottle and took a sip of water. Paul opened his eyes and looked at Cheney. "There's no need for her to change the water," he said, weakly but steadily and firmly. With the liquid in her mouth, Jessica felt her strength recovering, almost automatically changing the poison in the water.She felt a spark of life from Paul - a spark that existed in her consciousness. In that moment, she understood everything. "You drank holy water!" she said suddenly. "I only drank one drop," Paul said, "a very small . . . just a drop." "How could you do such a stupid thing?" she asked. "He's your son," Cheney said. Jessica stared at her. Paul smiled sweetly, gentle and understanding. "Listen to the one I love," he said. "Listen to her, Mother. She knows what I want to do." "He had to do what other people could do," Cheney said. "When I drink a drop of water, when I feel it, when I smell it, when I know what it does to me, I know I can do what you did," He said, "Your Proctor Bee Geist talked about Kwizaki Hadenatch, but they couldn't guess a lot of the places I've been and the things I've been through. In those few minutes, I... ..." He paused, frowned in bewilderment, and looked at Cheney: "Cheny, how did you get here? You should be...why are you here?" He tried to push himself up on his elbows, but Cheney gently pushed him back onto the mattress. "Lie down, my friend Suo," she said. "I feel very weak," he said, scanning the room. "How long have I been lying here?" "You have been in a coma for three weeks, and the spark of life seems to have disappeared." Jessica said. "But... I drank that drop of water only a moment ago, and..." "For you it was a moment, but for me it was three weeks of fear," said Jessica. "It was just a drop of water, and I changed it," Paul said, "I changed the water of life." Before Cheney and Jessica could stop him, he put his hands on the ground beside him. in the kettle.He put his dripping hand in his mouth, swallowing the liquid in his palm. "Paul!" Jessica screamed. He grabbed her hand and faced her with a grin of death.His consciousness came out and spread to her violently. The connection between him and her is not as gentle as her connection with Alia in the cave, nor her connection with the old Madonna, sharing and containing each other... But it is a connection: sharing all life in consciousness .This connection of his to her shook her, weakened her, made her feel timid, she was afraid of him. He said loudly, "You said that there is a place that you cannot enter. Where is this place that the Holy Mother cannot enter? Show me." She shook her head, terrified at the thought of the place. "Show me!" he ordered. "No!" But she couldn't escape him.Threatened by his terrible power, she had to close her eyes and look inward--looking in the direction of the darkness. Paul's consciousness moved through and around her, rushing into the dark place.She saw the place vaguely before the fear in her mind faded away.For some reason, she shuddered at what she saw—a place where wind-blown sparks flickered, where a halo of light was expanding and shrinking, with a swollen white streak running up and down, left and right.Suddenly a gust of wind blows, and everything is dispelled by the darkness. Presently she opened her eyes to see Paul staring up at her.He still held her hand, but the frightening connection was gone.She settled herself down and stopped shaking.Paul let go of her hand, as though some support had been removed, and she staggered to her feet, falling backwards.If Cheney hadn't jumped over to catch her, she would have fallen to the ground. "Mother!" said Cheney, "is there something wrong?" "Tired," Jessica whispered, "too tired." "Come here," Cheney said, "sit here." She helped Jessica to a sofa against the wall and sat her down. The young, strong arms made Jessica feel comfortable, and she hugged Cheney tightly. "Did he really see the water of life?" Cheney asked.She broke away from Jessica's embrace. "He saw it," Jessica whispered.Her mind was still spinning, pouring out of that contact, like stepping onto solid land after weeks at sea.She felt the old Mother inside her...and all the others waking up and asking, "What is that? What happened? Where is that place?" And so it all adds up to the fact that her son is Kwizaki Hadenatch, a being who can be in many places at once.The fact that he had become a figure in Bee Geist's dreams disturbed her. "What happened?" Cheney asked. Jessica shook her head. Paul said: "In each of us there is an ancient power of taking and giving. It is not difficult for a man to see that place within himself where the power of taking resides. Nor does it become something. But it's almost impossible for him to see empowerment. With a woman, it's just the opposite." Jessica looked up and saw Cheney's eyes fixed on her while listening to Paul's speech. "Do you understand what I'm saying, Mother?" Paul asked. She can only nod. "These things in us are very old," Paul said. "They're the building blocks that make up the cells of our body. These are the forces that make us grow. You can say to yourself, 'Yeah, I know how something like this works. .' But when you look within and face the raw force of your own unshielded life, you will know clearly the danger you are in, and know that danger will overcome you. The greatest of giving The danger is taking, and the greatest danger of taking is giving. You are as easily overcome by giving as by taking." "You, my son," Jessica asked, "are you a giver or a taker?" "I'm on the fulcrum of this lever," he said, "and I don't give without taking, and I don't take without giving. . . . " He stopped short, and looked towards the wall to his right. Cheney felt a gust of air blowing against his cheek, and turned to see that the curtain was closed. "It's Otham," said Paul, "he's been listening." Hearing these words, Cheney was struck by some premonitions that troubled Paul.She knew one thing, one thing that seemed to have happened.Osham will tell what he sees and hears, and others will tell it until it is heard all over the land.People will say that Paul Moaddi is different from others.There is no doubt that he is a human being, but he sees the water of life in the way of Our Lady, he is the real Lisang a Gab. "You see the future, Paul," Jessica said. "Tell me, what do you see?" "I don't see the future," he said, "but the present." He struggled to sit up. Cheney came over to help him, but he waved her back. "The skies of Arrakis are filled with Gilder's planes." Jessica trembled a little when she heard the affirmative tone in his words. "The Paddy Tsar himself has come to Arrakis," said Paul, looking at the rocky ceiling of the room, "with his favorite Truthsayer and the Sadokars of the Five Legions. Old Vladimir Baron Harkonnen was there, Safi Hawat by his side, seven planes full of his recruits. Every great house sent raiders over us...they were there waiting." Cheney shook his head, unable to take his eyes off Paul.His strange behavior, his monotonous voice, the way he saw through her filled her with fear. Paul looked at her and continued, "Waiting for the Gilds to allow them to land. The Gilds will make it impossible for any team to land on Arrakis without permission." "Are the Gilders protecting us?" Jessica asked. "Protect us? The Gilders themselves spread the cause we do here, and by reducing the cost of transporting troops, so that the poorest families also come here and wait to attack us, thus causing this war." Jessica was surprised by the lack of sternness in his words.She didn't doubt what he said—they had that same fierce character.She had seen it in him the night he had brought them among the Fremen and revealed their future. Paul took a deep breath and said, "Mother, you have to change a lot of poisonous water for us, we need it as a catalyst. Cheney, ask them to send a scouting force... to find the land where the decaying spice fungus grows .Do you know what will happen if we pour a lot of eaux-de-vie on the ground where the fungus grows?" Jessica weighed his words and suddenly understood what he meant.She gasped, "Paul!" "Water of death," he said, "it will be a chain reaction." He pointed to the ground: "Sow death among the little makers, and kill the fungus in the circle of life, including the makers of the spice of decay. Allah Ghis would be a true desert - no spice of decay, no maker." Cheney put one hand to his mouth, completely stunned by the profanity that came out of Paul's mouth. "Whoever can destroy a thing can really control it," Paul said. "We can destroy Spice of Decay." "So, what will the Gilders get?" Jessica asked in a low voice. "They're looking for me," said Paul, "think of it! The best Gilder navigators, those who were ahead of time to find the safest routes for the fastest high-altitude planes, all of them are looking for me... ...yet they can't find me. How frightened they are! They know I hold the secret of their being here." Paul held out his cupped hand. "Without the Spice of Decline, they would all be blind." Cheney found her own voice: "You said you saw the present?" Paul lay back on the mattress and searched the present unfolding before him, its limits extending into the future and expanding into the past.He maintained his consciousness with difficulty as the light of the fading spice began to fade. "Do as I command," he said. "The future, for the Gilders, as it is for me, is a mess. The lines of the phantom are narrowing, and where the spice of decay is, all is concentrated Where...there they dared not interfere, because to interfere would mean losing what they did not have. But now they are desperate, and all roads lead to darkness."