Luyseyal gave him a curt nod. “Tleilax and Ix make alliance with the Guild and seek our full cooperation.”
“And you fear Ix the most?”
“We fear anything we do not control,” Anteac said.
“And you do not control me.”
“Without you, people would need us!” Anteac said.
“Truth at last!” Leto said. “You conic to me as your Oracle and you ask me to put your fears to rest.”
Anteac’s voice was frigidly controlled. “Will Ix make a mechanical brain?”
“A brain`? Of course not!”
Luyseyal appeared to relax, but Anteac remained unmoving. She was not satisfied with the Oracle.
Why is it that foolishness repeats itself with such monotonous precision? Leto wondered. His memories offered up countless scenes to match this one-caverns, priests and priestesses caught up in holy ecstasy, portentous voices delivering dangerous prophecies through the smoke of holy narcotics.
He glanced down at the iridescent vial on the ledge beside Moneo. What was the current value of that thing`? Enormous. It was the essence. Concentrated wealth concentrated.
“You have already paid the Oracle,” he said. “It amuses me to give you full value.”
How alert the women became!
“Hear me!” he said. “What you fear is not what you fear.”
Leto liked the sound of that. Sufficiently portentous for any Oracle. Anteac and Luyseyal stared up at him, dutiful supplicants. Behind them, an acolyte cleared her throat.
That one will be identified and reprimanded later, Leto thought.
Anteac had now had sufficient time to ruminate on Leto’s words. She said: “An obscure truth is not the truth.”
“But I have directed your attention correctly,” Leto said.
“Are you telling us not to fear the machine?” Luyseyal asked.
“You have the power of reason.,” he said. “Why come begging to me?”
“But we do not have your powers,” Anteac said.
“You complain then that you do not sense the gossamer waves of Time. You do not sense my continuum. And you fear a mere machine!”
“Then you will not answer us,” Anteac said.
“Do not make the mistake of thinking me ignorant about your Sisterhood’s ways,” he said. “You are alive. Your senses are exquisitely tuned. I do not stop this, nor should you.”
“But the lxians play with automation!” Anteac protested.
“Discrete pieces, finite bits linked one to another,” he agreed. “Once set in motion, what is to stop it?”
Luyseyal discarded all pretense of Bene Gesserit self-control, a fine comment on her recognition of Leto’s powers. Her voice almost screeched: “Do you know what the lxians boast? That their machine will predict your actions!”
“Why should I fear that? The closer they come to me, the
more they must be my allies. They cannot conquer me, but I can conquer them.” Anteac made to speak but stopped when Luyseyal touched her arm. “Are you already allied with Ix?” Luyseyal asked. “We hear that you conferred overlong with their new Ambassador, this Hwi Noree.” “I have no allies,” he said. “Only servants, students and enemies.” “And you do not fear the lxians’ machine?” Anteac insisted. “Is automation synonymous with conscious intelligence?” he asked. Anteac’s eyes went wide and filmy as she withdrew into her memories. Leto found himself caught by fascination with what she must be encountering there within her own internal mob. We share some of those memories, he thought. Leto felt then the seductive attraction of community with Reverend Mothers. It would be so familiar, so supportive. . . and so deadly. Anteac was trying to lure him once more. She spoke: “The machine cannot anticipate every problem of importance to humans. It is the difference between serial bits and an unbroken continuum. We have the one; machines are confined to the other.” “You still have the power of reason,” he said. “Share!” Luyseyal said. It was a command to Anteac and it revealed with sharp abruptness who really dominated this pair-the younger over the older. Exquisite, Leto thought. “Intelligence adapts,” Anteac said. Parsimonious with her words, too, Leto thought, hiding his amusement. “Intelligence creates,” Leto said. “That means you must deal with responses never before imagined. You must confront the new.” “Such as the possibility of the Ixian Machine,” Anteac said. It was not a question. “Isn’t it interesting,” Leto asked, “that being a superb Reverend Mother is not enough?” His acute senses detected the sudden fearful tightening in both of the women. Truthsayers, indeed! “You are right to fear me,” he said. Raising his voice, he demanded: “How do you know you’re even alive?”
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