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

him. You see him there -- a man snared by Destiny, a lonely figure with his light dimmed behind
the glory of his son. Still, one must ask: What is the son but an extension of the father?
-from "Muad'Dib, Family Commentaries" by the Princess Irulan

Paul watched his father enter the training room, saw the guards take up stations outside. One
of them closed the door. As always, Paul experienced a sense of presence in his father, someone
totally here.
The Duke was tall, olive-skinned. His thin face held harsh angles warmed only by deep gray
eyes. He wore a black working uniform with red armorial hawk crest at the breast. A silvered
shield belt with the patina of much use girded his narrow waist.
The Duke said: "Hard at work, Son?"
He crossed to the ell table, glanced at the papers on it, swept his gaze around the room and
back to Paul. He felt tired, filled with the ache of not showing his fatigue. I must use every
opportunity to rest during the crossing to Arrakis, he thought. There'll be no rest on Arrakis.
"Not very hard," Paul said. "Everything's so . . . " He shrugged.
"Yes. Well, tomorrow we leave. It'll be good to get settled in our new home, put all this
upset behind."
Paul nodded, suddenly overcome by memory of the Reverend Mother's words: " . . . for the
father, nothing."
"Father," Paul said, "will Arrakis be as dangerous as everyone says?"
The Duke forced himself to the casual gesture, sat down on a corner of the table, smiled. A
whole pattern of conversation welled up in his mind -- the kind of thing he might use to dispel
the vapors in his men before a battle. The pattern froze before it could be vocalized, confronted
by the single thought:
This is my son.
"It'll be dangerous," he admitted.
"Hawat tells me we have a plan for the Fremen," Paul said. And he wondered: Why don't I tell
him what that old woman said? How did she seal my tongue?
The Duke noted his son's distress, said: "As always, Hawat sees the main chance. But there's
much more. I see also the Combine Honnete Ober Advancer Mercantiles -- the CHOAM Company. By
giving me Arrakis, His Majesty is forced to give us a CHOAM directorship . . . a subtle gain."
"CHOAM controls the spice," Paul said.
"And Arrakis with its spice is our avenue into CHOAM," the Duke said. "There's more to CHOAM
than melange."


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"Did the Reverend Mother warn you?" Paul blurted. He clenched his fists, feeling his palms
slippery with perspiration. The effort it had taken to ask that question.
"Hawat tells me she frightened you with warnings about Arrakis," the Duke said. "Don't let a
woman's fears cloud your mind. No woman wants her loved ones endangered. The hand behind those
warnings was your mother's. Take this as a sign of her love for us."
"Does she know about the Fremen?"
"Yes, and about much more."
"What?"
And the Duke thought: The truth could be worse than he imagines, but even dangerous facts are
valuable if you've been trained to deal with them. And there's one place where nothing has been
spared for my son -- dealing with dangerous facts. This must be leavened, though; he is young.