Because of the feud with Roderick Corrino, her Navigators were suffering. Josef had withdrawn so many of his commercial ships that only a handful of Navigators were still active, and being cut off from foldspace travel caused them great distress. They reacted as if the universe had been stolen from them. Norma did her best to stabilize the damage, to coax and comfort her Navigators; to balance the situation as much as possible she redistributed some of the limited spice gas, strengthening those who needed it most.
Conversely, without VenHold commerce, the Imperium itself was straining. Unrest brewed among populations that did not receive their regular shipments of vital commodities; countless addicts were longing for melange, just as her Navigators were. Prices had skyrocketed.
Though Norma usually remained aloof from human concerns, she could see the crisis building, and feared that inaction would result in violent repercussions. People did foolish things, and she worried that Josef’s enemies would soon take rash actions as a result.
And those actions could adversely affect her Navigators.
Manford Torondo hated what they represented, and his followers had slain one of her precious children on Baridge. Now, Emperor Roderick held Dobrec hostage as a research specimen on Salusa Secundus. Both of these leaders were desperate, superstitious … and dangerous.
In the fractured map of prescience, she had foreseen the possibility of a Navigator being kidnapped, but the greater disaster of the wrecked spice bank on Arrakis had blinded her at the time. She had not rushed back to Kolhar soon enough to prevent the loss of Dobrec.
Now, her thoughts tangled in knots. She gazed beyond the field of Navigators, extending her mind’s eye far out in space toward Salusa Secundus, which was the heart of a psychic storm she was feeling. She could sense the tension in Dobrec’s mind there, the crisis he faced as the Imperial interrogator pressed him more and more strenuously. Prescience provided her with few clear details, but she learned enough to realize that the captive Navigator would not survive.
Even from Kolhar she could visualize the secret underground laboratory, the prodding, sampling, and tormenting that was being inflicted on Dobrec — all in a clumsy attempt to understand what no mere human could ever comprehend. Yet the Scalpel interrogator understood techniques that no Navigator knew, techniques that no Navigator could resist.
Norma felt hollow inside.
Emperor Roderick Corrino might be a moral man in the human sense, but Norma’s morals were not the same as his, nor Manford Torondo’s … nor Josef’s, for that matter. Yet all of those men, in their righteous cocoons, professed to be taking actions for the proper reasons.
Because of who she was — and what she was — Norma’s obligations were greater than herself, greater than those men and their goals. The captive Navigator created an immense problem for her.
In the far-distant tank, Dobrec drifted, trapped, but Norma could see only visual echoes of his presence. The Emperor would do anything to understand Navigators, to find a way to strike against Venport Holdings. Roderick Corrino did not comprehend the great danger of his decisions, nor did Josef understand what he had provoked. And Manford Torondo, especially, did not know the terrible consequences of his actions, or actions that were to come.
She could not rescue Dobrec because of all the soldiers the Emperor had stationed to guard the laboratory, but she could help him in another way, show him how to take an infinite and necessary journey.…
Through her agitated awareness, Norma sensed the dark storm coming, a menace to her Navigators that was greater than any peril they had ever faced. The danger loomed over all of them on Kolhar, over all of Venport Holdings … over the future itself.
The threat and terror were crippling. She had no answer. Norma felt as if she were drowning inside her isolated tank. She felt … helpless. And the threat was coming here to Kolhar. And soon.
In a frantic attempt to understand, she reached out with the tendrils of her remarkable mind, probing, searching…
55
Grant me the proper weapons and I will conquer the soul of humanity.
After she returned from Lord Pondi’s planet, Anari Idaho’s report was exactly what Manford had hoped for. With her own eyes, the loyal Swordmaster had seen Pondi’s stockpile of atomics, doomsday weapons like those that had been used to wipe out the thinking machines.
But not all of the warheads had been used in that ruthless holocaust, and a planet-killing reserve had been set aside on Gillek. The nobleman was far too frightened to keep it there, and he was such an eager convert to the Butlerian movement that he had offered it all to Manford — who knew exactly how to make use of such unexpected bounty, and strength. It was just what he needed against Venport and his supposedly impregnable stronghold on Kolhar.
Over the course of several days on Pondi’s planet, Anari and her team had worked under cover of darkness to remove every one of the atomics. As she prepared to depart with her prize, the nervous nobleman had remained behind, bowing, weeping with happiness, thanking Anari for relieving him of such a terrible burden. Her Butlerian spacefolder raced back to Salusa Secundus with a full arsenal of forbidden atomics, and when the ship slipped in among Manford’s fleet, no one guessed how much destruction she carried in the hold.
Proud of her accomplishment, Anari shuttled down to rejoin the ever-growing hordes camped in Zimia’s palace square. Manford was relieved to have her back, and not just because of the news she brought. He was a far stronger leader with his Swordmaster present, and not merely in the physical sense. He could never have asked for a more perfect bodyguard, nor a better emotional bulwark, a stabilizer.
After Anari delivered her oral report in a low voice, close to his ear, Manford heaved a long, ecstatic sigh. Looking toward the towering Imperial Palace nearby, he narrowed his gaze. “I would prefer to keep this knowledge away from our dear Emperor Roderick. It does not concern him, and he has already shown that he is unwilling to take difficult but necessary actions. Therefore, we will use the atomics against our mutual enemy. And we will win. Anari, I am certain that Roderick Corrino will thank us.”
Both he and the Emperor were determined to crush Directeur Venport and erase his cursed technology, but Manford didn’t entirely trust Roderick’s convictions. While weak-willed Salvador could be pressured into doing what he was told, his brother had an unfortunate habit of thinking for himself.
Anari warned, “The use of atomics is strictly forbidden — particularly atomics against humans.”
During the long days of waiting for her report, hoping for the best, Manford had already thought through the consequences. “The use of thinking-machine technology is also forbidden, and Venport is clearly guilty of violating that. He sent cymeks to Salusa Secundus! I will use one anathema to destroy another. Thinking machines tortured and enslaved us for centuries, but remember that atomics liberated us. There is no moral equivalency.” He flushed as he thought of the glorious mission that lay before them. “After we wipe out Kolhar, if Roderick is too upset, I will explain that we did it to avenge the murder of his brother. If there is still too much uproar about our method, we can be contrite and beg forgiveness.” He smiled, nodding to himself. “I don’t expect it to be overly difficult, though. Roderick also gets what he wants.”