The creche door burst open, and Duncan Idaho swept in, followed by two proctors and Sheeana. Duncan stood there, his face dark with anger, saw the blood, the shredded pillow, the baby in its crib. 'What in the seven hells are you doing here?'
Garimi backed away from the crib, keeping her distance, afraid that little Leto might turn into the vision worm again and attack. Looking at Duncan's fiery eyes, she almost concocted a lie that Stuka had come to kill the baby and that she, Garimi, had arrived in time to defend the child. But that lie would crumble quickly upon further examination.
Instead, she drew herself up straight. A Suk doctor arrived in response to the alarms Duncan had triggered. After checking the baby, she went to where Stuka had collapsed in fatigue. Sheeana peeled away the tattered robe to expose the deep gash that had bled extensively before Stuka—in a surge of energy—managed to staunch the flow. Duncan and the proctors stared at it in awe.
Garimi tore her gaze away, now more fearful of Leto II than ever. She gestured angrily at the cradle. 'I suspected this child was a monster before. Now I have no doubt whatsoever.'
4
Despite the words of egalitarians, all humans are not the same. Each of us contains a unique mix of hidden potential. In times of crisis, we must discover these abilities before it is too late.
During the uproar that followed the attempt on young Leto's life, Miles Teg watched the predictable power plays among the Bene Gesserit.
The initial escape from Chapterhouse had made them set aside their differences for a time, but over the years factions had formed, and festered like unhealed wounds. The schism grew as time passed and the ghola children provided a powerful wedge. In recent years, Teg had observed smoldering embers of uneasiness and resistance among Garimi's faction, centered around the new gholas. The crisis over Leto II had been like touching an igniter to kindling soaked with accelerant.
Teg's mother had raised him on Lernaeus, guiding him in Bene Gesserit ways.
Janet Roxbrough-Teg was loyal to the Sisterhood, though not mindlessly so. She taught her son useful skills, showed him how to protect himself from Bene Gesserit tricks, and made him aware of how the ambitious women schemed. A true Bene Gesserit would take any necessary action to achieve a desired goal.
But the attempted murder of a child? Teg was concerned that even Sheeana had miscalculated the risks.
Garimi and Stuka stood defiantly in the boxes of the accused, not bothering to hide their guilt. The heavy doors of the large audience chamber were sealed, as if someone feared the two women might try to flee the no- ship. The thick air in the confined room had the sour, pungent odor of melange exuded from perspiration. The other women were quite agitated, and even most of the conservative faction had turned against Garimi, for now.
'You have acted against the Sisterhood!' Sheeana gripped the edge of the podium. Her voice projected loud and clear as she raised her chin, her blue-within-blue eyes flashing. She had tied back her thick, copper-streaked hair, revealing the dusky skin of her face. Sheeana was not much older than Garimi, but as acting leader of the shipboard Bene Gesserits, she projected the authority of much greater age. 'You have broken a trust. Do we not have enough enemies already?'
'It seems you do not see all of them, Sheeana,' Garimi said. 'You create new ones in our own axlotl tanks.'
'We have welcomed disagreement and discussion, and we have made our decision—as Bene Gesserits! Are you a tyrant yourself, Garimi, whose wishes simply tread over the will of the majority?'
Even the staunch conservatives grumbled at that. Garimi's knuckles turned white as she stood there.
From the front row next to Duncan, Teg observed with his Mentat abilities. The plazmetal bench beneath him was unyielding, but he hardly felt it. Young Leto II had been brought into the gathering chamber. An eerily quiet child, his bright eyes watched all activities around him.
Sheeana continued, 'These historical gholas may be our chance for survival, and you tried to kill the one who could be the greatest help of all!'
Garimi scowled. 'My dissent is a matter of record, Sheeana.'
'Disagreement is one thing,' Teg said aloud, his voice carrying the weight of command. 'Attempted assassination is quite another.'
Garimi glared at the Bashar for interrupting. Stuka spoke. 'Is it assassination when one kills a monster instead of a human?'
'Have a care,' Duncan said. 'The Bashar and I are also gholas.'
'I do not call him a monster because he is a ghola,' Garimi said, gesturing toward the toddler. 'We saw him! He carries the Worm within him. That innocent baby transformed into a creature that attacked Stuka. You have all seen her wounds!'
'Yes, and we have heard your imaginative explanation.' Sheeana's voice dripped with skepticism.
Garimi and Stuka looked deeply offended and turned to the Sisters in the raised benches, lifting their hands for support. 'We are still Bene Gesserit!
We are well-trained in observation and in the manipulation of beliefs and superstitions. We are not frightened children. That… abomination transformed into a worm to defend himself from Stuka! Ask us to repeat our stories before a Truthsayer.'
'I have no doubt that you believe what you say you saw,' Sheeana said.
Speaking with utter calm, Duncan interjected, 'The ghola baby has been tested—as have all the new gholas. His cellular structure is perfectly normal, exactly as we expected. We checked and double-checked the original cells from Scytale's nullentropy capsule. This is Leto II, and nothing more.'
'Nothing more?' Garimi let out a sarcastic laugh. 'As if being the Tyrant is not enough? The Tleilaxu could have tampered with his genetics. We found Face Dancer cells among the other material. You know not to trust them!'
The Tleilaxu Master was not there to defend himself against the accusations.
Looking at Duncan, Sheeana admitted, 'Such tampering has been done before. A ghola can have unexpected abilities, or an unexpected time bomb inside.'
Teg watched their attention turn to him. He was an adult now, but they still remembered his origin from the first Bene Gesserit axlotl tanks. There could be no question about his genetics. Teg had been produced under the direct control of the Bene Gesserit; no Tleilaxu had ever had an opportunity to meddle.
None of the refugees here, not even Duncan Idaho, knew that Teg could move at impossible speeds, and that he sometimes had the ability to see no-fields that were invisible even to the most sophisticated scanners. Despite the Bashar's proven loyalty, though, the Sisterhood had too many suspicions. They saw nightmare hints of another Kwisatz Haderach everywhere.
The Bene Gesserit are not the only ones who can keep secrets.
He spoke up, 'Yes, we all have hidden potential within us. Only fools refuse to use their potential.'
Sheeana looked hard at the stern, dark-haired Garimi, who had once been her close friend and protegee. Garimi crossed her arms, trying to control her obvious indignation.
'Under other circumstances, I might have imposed banishment and exile.
However, we cannot afford to diminish our numbers. Where would we send you? To execution? I think not. We have already split from Chapterhouse, and we've had few enough children in the intervening thirteen years. Do I dare eliminate you, Garimi, and your supporters? Crumbling factions are what one would expect from a weak and power-mad cult. We are Bene Gesserit. We are better than that!'
'Then what do you suggest, Sheeana?' Garimi stepped out of the box of the accused and strode toward the podium where Sheeana stood. 'I cannot simply ignore my convictions, and you cannot ignore our supposed crime.'
