Дюна
Book Two: Muad‘dib
Hemustbeconvincedhe’snottoblamefortheDuke’sdemise.ItwasallthedoingofthatBeneGesseritwitch.Hehadaninferiormaster,onewhosereasonwascloudedbyemotion.Mentatsadmiretheabilitytocalculatewithoutemotion,Nefud.WewillwootheformidableThufirHawat.”
“Woohim.Yes,m’Lord.”
“Hawat,unfortunately,hadamasterwhoseresourceswerepoor,onewhocouldnotelevateaMentattothesublimepeaksofreasoningthatareaMentat’sright.Hawatwillseeacertainelementoftruthinthis.TheDukecouldn’taffordthemostefficientspiestoprovidehisMentatwiththerequiredinformation.”
TheBaronstaredatNefud.“Letusneverdeceiveourselves,Nefud.Thetruthisapowerfulweapon.WeknowhowweoverwhelmedtheAtreides.Hawatknows,too.Wediditwithwealth.”
“Withwealth.Yes,m’Lord.”
“WewillwooHawat,”theBaronsaid.“WewillhidehimfromtheSardaukar.Andwewillholdinreserve...thewithdrawaloftheantidoteforthepoison.There’snowayofremovingtheresidualpoison.And,Nefud,Hawatneedneversuspect.Theantidotewillnotbetrayitselftoapoisonsnooper.
Hawatcanscanhisfoodashepleasesanddetectnotraceofpoison.”
Nefud’seyesopenedwidewithunderstanding.
“Theabsenceofathing,”theBaronsaid,“thiscanbeasdeadlyasthepresence.Theabsenceofair,eh?Theabsenceofwater?Theabsenceofanythingelsewe’readdictedto.”TheBaronnodded.“Youunderstandme,Nefud?”
Nefudswallowed.“Yes,m’Lord.”
“Thengetbusy.FindtheSardaukarcommanderandsetthingsinmotion.
