own wordsâof the difference between a bladeâs edge and its tip.â
âGurney says thereâs no artistry in killing with the tip, that it should be done with the edge.â
âGurneyâs a romantic,â the Duke growled. This talk of killing suddenly disturbed him, coming from his son. âIâd sooner you never had to kill . . . but if the need arises, you do it however you canâtip or edge.â He looked up at the skylight, on which the rain was drumming.
Seeing the direction of his fatherâs stare, Paul thought of the wet skies out thereâa thing never to be seen on Arrakis from all accountsâand this thought of skies put him in mind of the space beyond. âAre the Guild ships really big?â he asked.
The Duke looked at him. âThis will be your first time off planet,â he said. âYes, theyâre big. Weâll be riding a Heighliner because itâs a long trip. A Heighliner is truly big. Its hold will tuck all our frigates and transports into a little cornerâweâll be just a small part of the shipâs manifest.â
âAnd we wonât be able to leave our frigates?â
âThatâs part of the price you pay for Guild Security. There could be Harkonnen ships right alongside us and weâd have nothing to fear from them. The Harkonnens know better than to endanger their shipping privileges.â
âIâm going to watch our screens and try to see a Guildsman.â
âYou wonât. Not even their agents ever see a Guildsman. The Guildâs as jealous of its privacy as it is of its monopoly. Donât do anything to endanger our shipping privileges, Paul.â
âDo you think they hide because theyâve mutated and donât look ... human anymore?â
âWho knows?â The Duke shrugged. âItâs a mystery weâre not likely to solve. Weâve more immediate problemsâamong them: you.â
âMe?â
âYour mother wanted me to be the one to tell you, Son. You see, you may have Mentat capabilities.â
Paul stared at his father, unable to speak for a moment, then: âA Mentat? Me? But I. . . .â
âHawat agrees, Son. Itâs true.â
âBut I thought Mentat training had to start during infancy and the subject couldnât be told because it might inhibit the early. . . .â He broke off, all his past circumstances coming to focus in one flashing computation. âI see,â he said.
âA day comes,â the Duke said, âwhen the potential Mentat must learn whatâs being done. It may no longer be done to him. The Mentat has to share in the choice of whether to continue or abandon the training. Some can continue; some are incapable of it. Only the potential Mentat can tell this for sure about himself.â
Paul rubbed his chin. All the special training from Hawat and his motherâthe mnemonics, the focusing of awareness, the muscle control and sharpening of sensitivities, the study of languages and nuances of voicesâall of it clicked into a new kind of understanding in his mind.
âYouâll be the Duke someday, Son,â his father said. âA Mentat Duke would be formidable indeed. Can you decide now . . . or do you need more time?â
There was no hesitation in his answer. âIâll go on with the training.â
âFormidable indeed,â the Duke murmured, and Paul saw the proud smile on his fatherâs face. The smile shocked Paul: it had a skull look on the Dukeâs narrow features. Paul closed his eyes, feeling the terrible purpose reawaken within him. Perhaps being a Mentat is terrible purpose, he thought.
But even as he focused on this thought, his new awareness denied it.
With the Lady Jessica and Arrakis, the Bene Gesserit system of sowing implant- legends through the Missionaria Protectiva came to its full fruition. The wisdom of seeding the known universe with a