"Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson - Dune 12 - The Battle at " - читать интересную книгу автора (Herbert Brian & Frank)

Though billions of human beings have been slaughtered by the thinking machines, we must not call them
victims. We must not call them casualties. I hesitate to even name them martyrs. Every person who died
in this Great Revolt must be nothing less than a hero. We will write the permanent record to reflect this.

тАФSERENA BUTLER,private proceedings of the Jihad Council

I donтАЩt care how many documents you show meтАФhow many records, or interviews, or damning bits of
evidence. I am perhaps the only person still alive who knows the truth about Xavier Harkonnen and the
reasons for what he did. I have held my peace for these many decades because Xavier himself asked it of
me, because it is what Serena Butler would have wanted, and because the needs of the Jihad demanded it.
But do not pretend that your propaganda is accurate, no matter how many League citizens believe it.
Remember, I lived through those events. None of you did.

тАФVORIAN ATREIDES,private address to the League of Nobles

The gravest error a thinking person can make is to believe that one particular version of history is
absolute fact. History is recorded by a series of observers, none of whom is impartial. The facts are
distorted by sheer passage of time andтАФespecially in the case of the Butlerian JihadтАФthousands of years
of humanityтАЩs dark ages, deliberate misrepresentations by religious sects, and the inevitable corruption
that comes from an accumulation of careless mistakes. The wise person, then, views history as a set of
lessons to be learned, choices and ramifications to be considered and discussed, and mistakes that should
never again be made.

тАФPRINCESS IRULAN,preface to theHistory of the Butlerian Jihad


Part I
69 B.G.
Machinery does not destroy. It creates, provided always that the controlling hand is strong enough to
dominate it.

тАФRIVEGO,
a muralist of Old Earth


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 Dune

Erasmus found the pecking order among the dying and hopeless humans fascinating, even amusing. Their
reaction was all part of the experimental process, and he considered the results to be very worthwhile.

The robot strolled through the corridors of his meticulously organized laboratory facility on Corrin,
swirling his plush crimson robe. The garment itself was an affectation he had developed in order to give
himself a more lordly appearance. Alas, the victims in their sealed cells paid little heed to his finery,
preoccupied instead with their suffering. Nothing could be done about that, since distractible humans had
such difficulty focusing on matters that did not directly affect them.

Decades ago, squads of efficient construction robots had built this high-domed facility according to his
exact specifications. The numerous well-equipped chambersтАФeach one completely isolated and
sterileтАФcontained everything Erasmus required for his experiments.