Paul of Dune

perfect lips quirked into a smile. “Why create a Kwisatz Haderach and then assume he will fit into narrowly defined parameters?”

They passed a second security station, but as before, the pair proceeded without being noticed. At a doorway, Thallo touched an identity pad on the wall, and a heavy door slid upward to allow them access. He flexed his hand. “I know much, much more about Thalidei than they can ever guess.”

Marie’s wariness increased as they slipped into a high-ceilinged chamber — clearly a heavy-security zone. Her companion sealed the door behind them and reinforced it with a second, heavier plate. “There, now we are barricaded in. We’re safe.”

“Safe from what?” All of her senses anticipated danger — but from Thallo.

“Safe to do our work.” His usually guarded expression had a manic, edgy quality. “Through the prescience the Tleilaxu gave me, I know I am doomed to fail. The mode of my failure, however, is under my primary control. And if I am to be a failure, I may as well make it a spectacular one.” He touched his forearm where a wet line of red from a particularly deep cut had begun to seep through the filmsuit. “Painful lessons are the ones best remembered.”

Inside the chamber, Marie was startled to see nine electronic containment cells, each holding an apparently identical version of Thallo, all muscular, perfectly formed young men. “Meet my brothers,” he said. “Replacements prepared by the Masters.”

The identical Thallos stood caged in their containment chambers, looking out imploringly. They all appeared awake, hyperaware, and completely trapped, each awaiting his turn. “See, they hope for me to be discarded so that they can be next. Despite what Dr. Ereboam says, the Tleilaxu are a long way from achieving their superhuman.”

“Are you going to free them?” Seeing the nine remaining clones, Marie wondered how many previous versions of Thallo had been tried, and discarded. Had he been inside one of those confinement chambers, himself looking out, counting endless days, waiting? How many previous Kwisatz Haderach candidates had been labeled unacceptable and then killed?

Moving with a lithe grace, Thallo bounded up to a mezzanine walkway above the containment chambers. Marie followed him, not showing her uneasiness, looking down at the caged clones that stared out at them, following Thallo’s every movement. The Kwisatz Haderach candidate stood motionless in front of an intricate control panel, his gaze far away, as if the complexities had placed him in a trance.

Marie stood at his side, silent and intent. Thallo spoke to her in a low, wistful voice. “Throughout my life the Masters have slapped scanners on my brain, performed chemical tests, twisted my thoughts, recorded my movements and words. But I fixed it so they can do that no more. I fooled them.” He looked down at her, his face a mask of pain. “I fooled you, too, Marie.”

She said carefully, “I think you’re playing another trick on me.”

“The extreme knowledge and prescience is too much for me to endure. The impossible expectations placed upon me are more than overwhelming.” His face was locked in a grimace, but she’d seen Thallo’s swift mood swings before. His outstretched hands hovered over the controls, as if feeling the heat rising from the circuits themselves.

Marie tensed, ready to take necessary action.

“I am more than a clone, more than a ghola,” he said, “and much more than a person. Dr. Ereboam fused specific molecular memories into me, from the cells of historical figures that he thinks will aid me in becoming their superpowerful puppet. I sense that I am Gilbertus Albans, who founded the Order of Mentats. I am Jool-Noret, the greatest Swordmaster in the history of Ginaz. I am Crown Prince Raphael Corrino, too — as well as thousands of others.”

“I prefer Thallo for my playmate,” Marie said, sounding intentionally immature. “Let’s call Dr. Ereboam. He can make you feel better. Or let my mother try her Bene Gesserit techniques.”

“I don’t want to feel better. I want to make a statement. How else to make the Tleilaxu see what they have created, their hubris in believing that such a flawed race could create perfection, and then control it?”

She tried to distract him. “We can escape from here. We can get away from Thalidei, from this planet — see the whole galaxy, just the two of us.”

“No matter where I go, I am still a prisoner in here.” He tapped his forehead with a finger. “Escaping physically doesn’t help the part that’s inside me. Or what will be inside them.” He pointed down to the confinement chambers.

Marie tried to lure him away from the controls. “I don’t like this game.”

“Game? Call it that if you wish. Now see how I win.” When his fingers danced over the controls, the caged duplicate Thallos all screamed in eerie unison, a piercing noise that hurt Marie’s ears. “The Tleilaxu are very efficient at killing. They conduct many experiments. Have you seen their catalog of poisons?” The high tone modulated, and blood began to stream from the eyes and nostrils of the numerous copies. Thallo showed no outward pleasure or distress from causing them so much agony. “The nerve agent should be fast acting. I have seen this happen before.”

The duplicate Thallos twitched, clawed at the curved but impenetrable plaz walls of their chamber, and then slumped dead, folding their bodies into small volumes like poorly stored marionettes.

“Why did you have to kill them?” Marie was more curious than anguished.

Thallo’s porcelain face was flushed with excitement. “I freed them. Now, I shall free myself — and you, too, Marie. I know the impossible expectations your parents have placed on you, too. You and I are the same.”

“No!” She put a hand on his arm. “I don’t want that.”

But his fingers again became a blur over the controls, activating a deep subroutine, awakening a rumble and purr of machinery. The floor and walkway vibrated. “The Tleilaxu Kwisatz Haderach program can never be perfect.”

“I’m not perfect either,” Marie said, “but I can still do what I need to. My parents trained me. You are highly trained yourself. Think of what we could do together.” She lowered her voice as she repeated, “Think of what we can do….”

“I have already done it — I powered up the biogenerators for all of the labs in Thalidei and the underground ducts, the atmosphere-distribution system that runs under the streets and buildings. A most effective nerve toxin, instantly fatal, prepared for a man named Thorvald to be used in his rebellion against Muad’Dib. Thorvald will never receive his poison, though. The entire shipment will be dispersed in a rush throughout the city. The Tleilaxu have good reason to be proud of their poisons — this one is so toxic that the merest whiff will fell the largest man.” He smiled, touching the console in front of him and thrilling to the vibrations he felt. “The large containers are currently being pressurized for widespread release.” Thallo patted her stiff shoulder. “It will erase everything, clean everything. Air currents might even carry the gas as far away as Bandalong before it loses its potency.”

Marie looked at the controls herself. “Shut it down!” Struggling with what she knew, the girl altered her tone to place all the emphasis she could summon, attempting to use Voice. “Shut it down!”

Thallo paused for a second, then looked at her, unaffected. He sighed tenderly as he continued to explain, like a teacher. “We still have a little time left together, but no one can stop what I intend to do. I have been working on this for months. Even before I met you.”

Marie heard alarm sirens and horns sounding outside. She used her most sympathetic tone. “And what will happen to me? You don’t want to hurt me, do you, Thallo? I’m your friend!”

“That is why I brought you in here with me. We have a pact, you and I. We can thwart the Masters and erase their Kwisatz Haderach program.” He stroked her golden hair. “Never again will either of us be controlled by others.”

“Who says I let myself be controlled?” Marie’s voice was cold and calculating. “Don’t you see? I manipulated them.”

He didn’t want to hear any more. He sounded far away. “The nerve agent is filling the sealed pipes throughout Thalidei.”

Marie heard men pounding on the doors and shouting in strained voices over the intercom system. She also heard whirring, screeching sounds outside — drilling and cutting tools.

“They won’t get to us in time.” Thallo’s face became beatific. “Finally I’ve found my inner peace, and my