"You obviously are trained in all the lying tricks of statecraft, the double meanings and the power words. "I prefer the cynical view," Paul said, testing. Is Edric offering himself as a sacrifice?
"Do my arguments lack all merit?" Edric countered.ĭoes he want us to kill him? Paul wondered. "Are you testing the limits of my tolerance?" Paul asked. "What religion and self-interest cannot hide, governments can," Edric said. doubts, confessions of guilt - surely fraud could not suppress all these." "Wouldn't the structure of such a fraud begin to show holes?" Paul asked. And he thought: Muad'dib has often said he sees past the veils of time. "Tell me, Steersman," Paul said, "how could we maintain this hypothetical fraud over such enormous distances of space and time without the means to watch every missionary, to examine every nuance in every Qizarate priory and temple?" "His thinking interests me, Stil," Paul said. "He accuses you of an unholy fraud!" Stilgar said. "M'Lord," Stilgar growled, "you've had men executed for less!" Eventually, they lose touch with reality. "Power tends to isolate those who hold too much of it. "Power-hungry, Sire?" Again, Edric looked at Stilgar. And he said: "Accused or not, you're saying my bishops and I are no better than power-hungry brigands." The boldness of this creature! Paul thought.
"I'm not sure that accuse is the proper word, Sire." Paul shook his head, said: "Then you accuse me of insincerity." Stilgar put a hand to the crysknife beneath his robe. "It could be a question of self-interest and sincerity," Edric said. "Are you suggesting that my missionaries of the Holy Orders, all of them, are preaching subtle falsehood?" Paul insisted. He no longer appeared concerned by Stilgar, although the Fremen continued to glare at him. "Do you nominate the Qizarate?"Įdric's shrug stirred the orange gas around his head. "Who might my accomplices be in such a conspiracy?" Paul asked presently. The taint of melange from Edric's tank felt threatening. He felt that there were too many people in this room, that the air he breathed had passed through too many lungs. "You're not joking, of course," Paul said. How dared this Guildsman talk thus to Muad'dib? Paul looked up at the movement, sensing the thoughts and angers whispering in Stilgar's mind. It is said one can always tell an aristocrat: he reveals only those of his vices which will make him popular."
"People always expect the worst of the rich and powerful, Sire. Edric arched his neck, stared sideways at Stilgar with a look of apprehension.
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