Дюна
Book One: Dune
”
Halleckstirred,said:“Ithinkwhatrankles,Sire,isthatwe’vehadnovolunteersfromtheotherGreatHouses.Theyaddressyouas‘LetotheJust’andpromiseeternalfriendship,butonlyaslongasitdoesn’tcostthemanything.”
“Theydon’tknowyetwho’sgoingtowinthisexchange,”theDukesaid.
“MostoftheHouseshavegrownfatbytakingfewrisks.Onecannottrulyblamethemforthis;onecanonlydespisethem.”HelookedatHawat.“Wewerediscussingequipment.Wouldyoucaretoprojectafewexamplestofamiliarizethemenwiththismachinery?”
Hawatnodded,gesturedtoanaideattheprojector.
Asolidotri-DprojectionappearedonthetablesurfaceaboutathirdofthewaydownfromtheDuke.Someofthemenfartheralongthetablestooduptogetabetterlookatit.
Paulleanedforward,staringatthemachine.
Scaledagainstthetinyprojectedhumanfiguresaroundit,thethingwasaboutonehundredandtwentymeterslongandaboutfortymeterswide.Itwasbasicallyalong,buglikebodymovingonindependentsetsofwidetracks.
“Thisisaharvesterfactory,”Hawatsaid.“Wechoseoneingoodrepairforthisprojection.There’sonedraglineoutfitthatcameinwiththefirstteamofImperialecologists,though,andit’sstillrunning...althoughIdon’tknowhow
...orwhy.”
“Ifthat’stheonetheycall‘OldMaria,’itbelongsinamuseum,”anaidesaid.“IthinktheHarkonnenskeptitasapunishmentjob,athreathangingovertheirworkers’heads.Begoodoryou’llbeassignedtoOldMaria.”
Chucklessoundedaroundthetable.
