Dune_ House Atreides - Brian Herbert [189]
Had this all been part of the Emperor’s plan? To destroy House Vernius and quash progress? Where and how the Bene Tleilax came into play in the scheme of influences, C’tair wasn’t certain. Of all races, these were the most hated people in the known galaxy. Surely, Elrood could have found any number of Great Houses to take over the operations on Ix without disrupting the economics of the Imperium. What else could the Padishah Emperor have in mind for these religious fanatics? Why would he dirty his hands with them?
In disgust, C’tair watched other changes in the grotto, facilities being modified, as he continued the work of dismantling the Heighliner. The new Tleilaxu overlords were busy little creatures, always hurrying about in a mysterious manner, setting up clandestine operations in the largest structures on Ix, locking formerly open facilities, shuttering windows, erecting stun-fences and minefields. Keeping their filthy little secrets.
C’tair took it as his mission to learn all those secrets, by whatever means necessary, however long it might take him. The Tleilaxu must fall. . . .
The ultimate question: Why does life exist? The answer: For life’s sake.
—ANONYMOUS,
thought to be of Zensunni origin
Two Reverend Mothers stood talking on a treeless knoll: one old, one young. Behind clouds, the waning sun, Laoujin, threw the long shadows of their hooded black robes down the slope. Over the centuries an untold number of other Reverend Mothers had stood on the same spot, under the same sun, discussing grave matters relevant to their times.
If the two women wished, they could revisit those past crises through Other Memory. The Reverend Mother Anirul Sadow Tonkin made such thought-journeys more than most; each circumstance was just another minor step along the long, long road. Over the past year she had let her bronze-brown hair grow long, until its locks hung down to her narrow chin.
At the base of the knoll a whitecrete building was under construction. Like worker bees, female laborers, each one with an entire blueprint in her mind, operated heavy equipment, preparing to lift roof modules into place. To the rare outside observer, Wallach IX with its Bene Gesserit libraries and schools seemed always the same, but the Sisterhood was ever adapting for survival, ever changing, ever growing.
“They’re working too slowly. I wanted them finished already,” Anirul said, rubbing her forehead; she had been experiencing chronic headaches of late. As Mohiam came closer to term, Anirul’s responsibilities as Kwisatz Mother were tremendous. “Do you realize how few days remain until the baby is due?”
“Blame no one but yourself, Anirul. You demanded that this be no ordinary birthing facility,” Mother Superior Harishka said sternly. The Kwisatz Mother flushed and looked away. “Every Sister knows how important it is. Many of them suspect this is not just another child to be lost in the web of our breeding programs. A few have even been talking about the Kwisatz Haderach.”
Anirul tucked a loose strand of bronze hair behind her ear. “Unavoidable. All the Sisters know of our dream, but few suspect how close it is to reality.” She shifted her skirts around her and sat down on the soft grass of the knoll. She gestured toward the construction, where the sounds of carpentry rang clear in the air. “Mohiam is due to deliver in a week, Mother Superior. We don’t even have the roof on yet.”
“They will finish, Anirul. Calm yourself. Everyone is doing her best to follow your orders.”
Anirul reacted as if slapped, then covered her reaction. Does Reverend Mother see me as an untempered and impetuous girl? Perhaps she had been too insistent with her instructions for the facility, and sometimes Mother Superior looked at her with a certain amount of resentment. Is she jealous that Other Memory chose me to lead such an ambitious