Dune_ House Atreides - Brian Herbert [196]
Presently Kynes detected what he had experienced only once before, the unforgettable hissing, rushing roar of a sandworm’s approach as it was drawn inexorably to the throb of the thumper.
On top of the dune Ommun crouched, grasping his hooks and goads. Long curls of rope hung at his waist. He remained perfectly motionless. His Fremen brethren waited on the crest of a nearby dune.
“There! Do you see it?” Stilgar said, hardly able to suppress his excitement. He pointed off to the south where the sand rippled as if a subterranean warship were heading straight for the thumper.
Kynes didn’t know what was going on. Did Ommun intend to battle the great beast? Some sort of a ceremony or sacrifice before their long journey across the desert?
“Be ready,” Stilgar said and grasped Kynes’s arm. “We will help you in every way we can.”
Before the Planetologist could ask another question, a roaring vortex of sand formed around the thumper. Alert and battle-ready, Ommun skittered back, crouching down, ready to spring.
Then the enormous mouth of the sandworm emerged from the depths and engulfed the thumper. The monster’s broad-ringed back rose out of the desert.
Ommun sprinted, running with all his might to keep pace with the moving worm, but he wallowed in the loose sand. Then he sprang onto the arched, segmented back using the hooks and claws to haul himself atop one of the worm segments.
Kynes stared in awe, unable to organize his thoughts or comprehend what the daring young man was doing. This can’t be happening, he thought. It’s not possible.
Ommun dug one of his scooplike hooks into the crevice between worm segments and then yanked hard, separating the well-protected rings and exposing pinkish flesh underneath.
The worm rolled to keep its sensitive exposed segment away from the abrasive sands. Ommun scrambled up and planted another hook, spreading wide a second segment so that the worm was forced to rise higher out of its secret world beneath the desert. At the highest point on the worm’s back, behind its huge head, the young Fremen planted a stake and dropped his long ropes so that they hung from the sides. Now he stood tall and proud on the worm, signaling for the others to come.
Cheering, the Fremen ran forward, bringing Kynes with them. He stumbled to keep up. Three other young men scaled the ropes, adding more of what they called “maker hooks” to keep the worm above the dunes. The big creature began to move forward, but in a confused fashion, as if unable to understand why these bothersome creatures were goading it.
As the Fremen kept pace, they tossed up supplies; packs were lashed to the worm’s back with more ropes. The first riders assembled a small structure as fast as they could. Prodded by Stilgar, an astonished Kynes ran up beside the towering worm. The Planetologist could feel friction heat rising from beneath, and he tried to imagine what awesome chemical fires formed a furnace deep within the worm itself.
“Up you go, Umma Kynes!” Stilgar shouted, helping him place his feet into loops in the ropes. Clumsily, Kynes scrambled up, his desert boots finding purchase on the worm’s rough hide. He climbed and climbed. The simmering energy of Shai-Hulud caused him to lose his breath, but Stilgar helped him to the top where the other Fremen riders had gathered.
They had assembled a crude platform and seat for him, a palanquin. The other Fremen stood, holding their ropes against the enormous worm as if it were a bucking steed. Gratefully, Kynes took the proffered seat and held on to the arms. He had a disconcerting feeling up here, as if he didn’t belong and could easily be toppled off and crushed to death. The rolling movement of the worm made his stomach lurch.
“Normally such seats are reserved for our Sayyadinas,” Stilgar said. “But we know you do not have the training to ride Shai-Hulud, and so this shall be a place of honor for our prophet. There is no shame in it.”
Kynes nodded distractedly and looked ahead. The other Fremen congratulated Ommun, who had successfully completed this