Sandworms of Dune - Brian Herbert [19]
“And the evidence offends me.”
“Despite our disagreements, we are all Sisters,” Garimi insisted.
At first the fleeing Bene Gesserits had had a common cause, a shared goal. But in a matter of months after their escape from Chapterhouse the divisions had begun, power struggles, command questions, a bifurcation of visions. Duncan and Sheeana focused on escaping from the outside Enemy, while Garimi wanted to found a new Keep and train a fresh Bene Gesserit population according to established ways.
How have we changed so dramatically? How did the divisions get so deep?
Sheeana gazed from face to face, looking for indications of guilt, particularly in the eyes. Short, curly-haired Stuka had a line of moisture on her upper lip, one of the indicators of nervousness. But she detected no hatred there, no loathing sufficient to have sparked an act of such brutality. With dismay, she had no choice but to conclude that the perpetrator was not here.
“Then I need your help. The person standing next to any of us could be a saboteur. We must interview everyone. Gather our qualified Truthsayers, and use the last stores of the truthtrance drug.” Sheeana rubbed her temples, already dreading the huge task. “Please leave me alone, so I can meditate.”
After the nine dissenters departed, Sheeana stood alone, her eyes half closed. The population aboard the Ithaca had grown, spread out in the no-ship over the years. Even she wasn’t sure how many children were aboard, but she could easily find out. Or so she presumed.
She murmured to Other Memory, “So, Serena Butler—was your murderer in the room? If not them, then who could it be?”
Serena’s voice interjected, full of sadness. A liar can hide behind barricades, but all barricades eventually fall. You will have other opportunities to discover the murderer. There is sure to be more sabotage.
THE TRUTHSAYERS TESTED each other first.
Twenty-eight qualified Reverend Mothers were gathered from Garimi’s followers and from the general population of Sisters. The women did not protest their innocence or complain about the suspicions cast upon them. Instead, they accepted mutual questioning.
Sheeana observed coolly as the women formed triads, two individuals acting as interrogators, the third as the subject. As soon as each subject passed the rigorous questioning, the roles switched, so that everyone was questioned. One by one, the Truthsayers created an evergrowing pool of reliable investigators. Everyone passed the test.
Once the Truthsayers had confirmed each other, Sheeana allowed them to question her. Garimi and her dissident Sisters also faced the challenges and proved their innocence, as did Sheeana’s staunch followers. All of them.
Next, with a Truthsayer named Calissa beside her, Sheeana stood before a stiff-backed Duncan Idaho. The very thought of Duncan being a murderer and a saboteur struck her as absurd. Sheeana wouldn’t have believed it of anyone on board, and yet three axlotl tanks and three ghola children had been butchered.
But Duncan . . . Standing so close to him, smelling his perspiration, feeling him somehow fill the room with his presence, summoned dangerous memories in her. She had used her own sexual bonding skills to break him free of Murbella. Despite their backgrounds, both knew there had been more to that passionate encounter than just a necessary task. Duncan had been uneasy around her ever since, afraid of what he might succumb to.
But in this situation there was neither romance nor sexual tension, only accusations. “Duncan Idaho, do you know how to bypass the security