Dune_ House Atreides - Brian Herbert [120]
“Umma Kynes,” someone said. Prophet Kynes.
One man stood up and glared at the others gathered around. “We would be fools not to listen to him now.”
Runners departed and dashed through the sietch. Not understanding the Fremen religion, Kynes couldn’t grasp it all.
From that point on, however, he didn’t think he would have trouble getting anyone to listen to him.
No outsider has ever seen a Tleilaxu female and lived to tell about it. Considering the Tleilaxu penchant for genetic manipulation—see, e.g., related memos on clones and gholas—this simple observation raises a wealth of additional questions.
—Bene Gesserit Analysis
A breathless Ixian woman with full Courier credentials arrived on Kaitain, bearing an important communiqué for the Emperor. She marched into the Palace without pause, stopping to answer no questions. Even Cammar Pilru, the official Ambassador from Ix, had not yet heard the message or the dire news of the underground suboid revolt.
Since instantaneous foldspace communication did not exist between planets, certified and bonded Couriers booked passage on express Heighliners, bearing flash-memorized communications for personal delivery to the intended recipients. The net result was much faster than radio or other electronic signals that would take years to cross vast space.
Under the escort of two Guildsmen, Courier Yuta Brey arranged for an immediate appointment with the Emperor. The woman staunchly refused to reveal anything to her planet’s own Ambassador, who got wind of the excitement and rushed into the audience chamber. The magnificent Golden Lion Throne sat empty; Elrood was again feeling tired and ill.
“This is for the Emperor’s ears only, an urgent private request from Earl Dominic Vernius,” Brey said to Ambassador Pilru, turning hard eyes toward him. The Guild and CHOAM used various harsh techniques to indoctrinate official Couriers, ensuring accuracy and loyalty. “However, please remain at hand, Ambassador. I also bear vital news regarding the possible downfall of Ix. You must be apprised of the situation.”
Gasping, Ambassador Pilru beseeched the Courier for more information, but the woman remained silent. Leaving her Guild escorts and the Ixian diplomat behind in the audience chamber, Sardaukar elite guards examined her credentials and ushered her alone into an anteroom adjacent to Elrood’s bedchamber.
The Emperor, looking aged and drawn, wore a robe bearing the Imperial crest on its lapel. He sat slumped in a high-backed chair, with his feet on a heated ottoman. Beside him stood a tall, fussy-looking man with drooping mustaches, Chamberlain Aken Hesban.
It surprised Brey to see the old man seated in this rather ordinary fashion instead of on the massive throne. His blue-tinted eyes were filled with sickness, and he could hardly hold his head erect on its rail-thin, wattled neck. Elrood seemed ready to pass out at any moment.
With a curt bow she announced, “I am Courier Yuta Brey from Ix, Sire, with an important request from Lord Dominic Vernius.”
The Emperor scowled upon hearing his old rival’s name, but said nothing, waiting and ready to pounce. He coughed, hawking something onto a lacy handkerchief. “I am listening.”
“It is for the Emperor’s ears only,” she said, staring insolently at Hesban.
“Well?” Elrood said, with a terse smile. “I don’t hear so well anymore, and this distinguished gentleman is my ears. Or should I say, ‘are my ears’? Does one use the plural in a situation like this?”
The Chamberlain bent over to whisper something to him.
“I am informed that he is my ears,” Elrood said with a decisive nod.
“As you wish,” Brey said. She recited the memorized words, using even the intonations Dominic Vernius had used.
“We are under attack from the Bene Tleilax under a false guise of internal unrest. Through infiltration by Face Dancer mimics, the Tleilaxu have fomented an insurrection among our working class. By these treacherous means, the rebels