Atmospheric content, moisture, vegetation… It may be one of the worlds settled in the Scattering, long ago. So many groups were lost, disappearing into the wilderness.'
Garimi's eyes gleamed. 'We have to investigate. This could be the place to found our new Bene Gesserit core.'
Duncan was more practical. 'If nothing else, it would be good for us to refresh the ship's supplies of air and water. Our stores and recycling systems can't last forever, and our population is gradually growing.'
Garimi blurted, 'I will call an all-ship meeting. There is more at stake here than simply replenishing our supplies. What if the inhabitants down there welcome us? What if it is a suitable place for us to settle?' She looked around. 'At least for some of us.'
'Then we will have an important decision to make.'
EVEN WITH every adult onboard in attendance, the Ithaca's huge convocation chamber looked mostly empty. Miles Teg sat back against a low-tier seat, continually repositioning his long legs. Though he would observe the discussion with interest, he expected to make few comments. He had always followed the mandate of the Bene Gesserit, but at the moment he wasn't sure what the mandate was.
A young man took a seat adjacent to Teg, the ghola of Thufir Hawat. The heavy-browed twelve-year-old did not usually go out of his way to be with the Bashar, but Teg knew that Thufir watched him intently, almost to the point of hero worship. In the archives, Thufir often studied details of Miles Teg's military career.
Teg nodded to the young man. This was the loyal weapons master and warrior Mentat who had served the Old Duke Atreides, then Duke Leto, and finally Paul, before being captured by the Harkonnens. Teg felt he had much in common with the battle-seasoned genius; someday, after the Thufir Hawat ghola had his memories again, they would have many things to discuss, commander to commander.
Thufir leaned over, gathered his courage, and whispered, 'I have wanted to speak with you, Bashar Teg, about the Cerbol Revolt and the Battle of Ponciard. Your tactics were most unusual. I cannot imagine they would have worked, and yet they did.'
Teg smiled with the memory. 'They wouldn't have worked for anyone else. As the Bene Gesserit use their Missionaria Protectiva to plant the seeds of religious fervor, so my soldiers created a myth about my abilities. I became larger than life, and my opponents managed to intimidate themselves more than my soldiers or weapons could have done. I really did very little in each battle.'
'I disagree, sir. In order for your reputation to become such a potent tool, you first had to earn it.'
Teg smiled and kept his voice low, almost wistful as he admitted the truth in his own mythology. 'Ah, and earn it I did.' He explained to the fascinated young man how he had also averted a massacre on Andioyu, a confrontation against the desperate dregs of a losing army that would surely have resulted in their deaths as well as the slaughter of tens of thousands of civilians.
Much had hung in the balance on that day…
'And then you died on Rakis fighting the Honored Matres.'
'As a point of fact, I died on Rakis to provoke the Honored Matres, as part of the overall Bene Gesserit plan. I played my role so that Duncan Idaho and Sheeana could escape. But after I was killed, the Sisterhood brought me back because they considered my Mentat skills and experiences to be invaluable—like your own. That is why they brought us all back.'
Thufir was completely engrossed. 'I've read the history of my own life, and I'm convinced that I can learn much from you, Bashar.'
With a smile, Teg squeezed the boy's shoulder. Thufir was abashed. 'Have I said something amusing, sir?'
'When I look at you, how can I not remember that I myself learned a great deal from studying the famous warrior-Mentat of House Atreides? You and I could be very useful to each other.' The boy blushed.
When the debate began, Teg and Thufir turned their attention to the center of the convocation chamber. Sheeana remained seated in the imposing Advocate's Chair, a carryover from when this vessel had been designed for other groups.
Garimi, as usual, was anxious to provoke a change in the status quo. She strutted forward to the podium and spoke without preamble, loud enough for everyone to hear. 'We did not depart on a race or a journey. Our goal was to get away from Chapterhouse before the Honored Matres destroyed everything. Our intent was to preserve the core of the Sisterhood, and we have done so. But where are we going? That question has plagued us for nineteen years.'
Duncan stood. 'We escaped from the true Enemy who was closing in. They still want us—that hasn't changed.'
'Do they want us?' Garimi challenged. 'Or do they want you?'
He shrugged. 'Who can say? I am not willing to be captured or destroyed just to have your questions answered. Many of us have special talents on this ship—especially the ghola children—and we need all of our resources.'
The Rabbi spoke up. Though he was still fit and healthy, his beard and hair were grayer and longer now; behind spectacles, his bird-bright eyes were surrounded by a mesh of wrinkles. 'My people and I did not choose any of this.
We asked for rescue from Gammu, and we've been trapped in your folly ever since. When will it end? After forty years in the wilderness? When will you let us go?'
'And where would you like to go, Rabbi?' Sheeana's voice was calm, but Teg thought it sounded somewhat patronizing.
'I would like us to consider—seriously consider—the planet we have just found.
I am reluctant to call it Zion, but perhaps it is enough to call it home.' The old man looked back at his handful of followers, all of whom wore dark clothes and adhered to their old ways. Though aboard the Ithaca they no longer needed to hide their religion, the Jews mostly kept to themselves, unwilling to be assimilated by the other passengers. They had their own children, ten so far, and raised them as they saw fit.
Finally, Teg spoke. 'According to our scans, this planet appears to be an excellent place to settle. The population is minimal. Our group of refugees would cause almost no disturbance at all to the local inhabitants. We could even choose an isolated spot and settle far from the natives.'
'How advanced is their civilization? Do they have technology?' Sheeana asked.
'At least at pre-Scattering levels,' Teg said. 'Indications show minor local industries, a few electromagnetic transmissions. No apparent spaceflight capability, no visible spaceports. If they settled here after the Scattering, they haven't done any more traveling to other star systems.' In running scans of the new planet, he had enlisted the aid of eager young Liet-Kynes and his friend Stilgar, both of whom had stud' ied more about ecology and planetary dynamics than most of the adult Sisters. All of the readings checked out.
'It could be a new Chapterhouse,' Garimi said, as if the discussion were already over.
Duncan's face darkened. 'We would be vulnerable if we settled there. The hunters have found us several times already. If we remain too long in one place, we will be ensnared in their net.'
'Why would your mysterious hunters have any interest in my people?' the Rabbi said. 'We are free to settle on this world.'
'It's clear that we must investigate further,' Sheeana said. 'We will take a lighter down to the surface on a fact-finding mission. Let's meet these people and learn from them. Then we can all make an informed decision.'
Teg turned to the young ghola in the seat beside him and said impulsively, 'I intend to go on this expedition, Thufir, and I would like you to accompany me.'
6
In our arrogant assumption of superiority, we believe that our developed senses and abilities are the direct result of evolution. We are convinced that our race has bettered itself through technological advancement.
