"Frank Herbert - Dune 1 - Dune (2)" - читать интересную книгу автора (Herbert Brian & Frank)

you'd --"
"My darling Feyd-Rautha grows impatient," the Baron said. He moved within the shadows beside
the globe. "Patience, Feyd." And he turned his attention back to the Mentat. "What of the
Dukeling, the child Paul, my dear Piter?"
"The trap will bring him to you, Baron," Piter muttered.
"That's not my question," the Baron said. "You'll recall that you predicted the Bene Gesserit
witch would bear a daughter to the Duke. You were wrong, eh, Mentat?"
"I'm not often wrong, Baron," Piter said, and for the first time there was fear in his voice.
"Give me that: I'm not often wrong. And you know yourself these Bene Gesserit bear mostly
daughters. Even the Emperor's consort had produced only females."
"Uncle," said Feyd-Rautha, "you said there'd be something important here for me to --"
"Listen to my nephew," the Baron said. "He aspires to rule my Barony, yet he cannot rule
himself." The Baron stirred beside the globe, a shadow among shadows. "Well then, Feyd-Rautha
Harkonnen, I summoned you here hoping to teach you a bit of wisdom. Have you observed our good
Mentat? You should've learned something from this exchange."
"But, Uncle --"
"A most efficient Mentat, Piter, wouldn't you say, Feyd?"
"Yes, but --"
"Ah! Indeed but! But he consumes too much spice, eats it like candy. Look at his eyes! He
might've come directly from the Arrakeen labor pool. Efficient, Piter, but he's still emotional
and prone to passionate outbursts. Efficient, Piter, but he still can err."
Piter spoke in a low, sullen tone: "Did you call me in here to impair my efficiency with
criticism, Baron?"
"Impair your efficiency? You know me better, Piter. I wish only for my nephew to understand
the limitations of a Mentat."
"Are you already training my replacement?" Piter demanded.


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"Replace you? Why, Piter, where could I find another Mentat with your cunning and venom?"
"The same place you found me, Baron."
"Perhaps I should at that," the Baron mused. "You do seem a bit unstable lately. And the spice
you eat!"
"Are my pleasures too expensive, Baron? Do you object to them?"
"My dear Piter, your pleasures are what tie you to me. How could I object to that? I merely
wish my nephew to observe this about you."
"Then I'm on display," Piter said. "Shall I dance? Shall I perform my various functions for
the eminent Feyd-Rau-"
"Precisely," the Baron said. "You are on display. Now, be silent." He glanced at Feyd-Rautha,
noting his nephew's lips, the full and pouting look of them, the Harkonnen genetic marker, now
twisted slightly in amusement. "This is a Mentat, Feyd. It has been trained and conditioned to
perform certain duties. The fact that it's encased in a human body, however, must not be
overlooked. A serious drawback, that. I sometimes think the ancients with their thinking machines
had the right idea."
"They were toys compared to me," Piter snarled. "You yourself, Baron, could outperform those
machines."
"Perhaps," the Baron said. "Ah, well . . . " He took a deep breath, belched. "Now, Piter,
outline for my nephew the salient features of our campaign against the House of Atreides. Function