Day 4 | Afternoon | It's All About Spice

[Kannon]

This time, he poured her a glass of water, shaking off an unpleasant memory when his mother would not let him drink unless he'd succeed in using the Voice. "And what's the approach?"

[Cuyler Gray]

"There is the possibility of acquiring the Tleilaxu antidote through Mutelli connections. But, there are risks with that." Kiran mentioned that the hostages shared dreams while drugged in captivity. They were able to help one another through the experience. That is another possible route. I'm not sure how likely that is to work, but it's arguably better than dealing with the Bene Tleilax."

[Kannon]

"I would caution you against any such dealings with the Tleilaxu. They may keep their part of the deal in a twisted way, but in the process they will compromise and subvert everything you hold dear or try to accomplish. It is ever a Shaitan's bargain." Paul said grimly as if he had a case in mind.

The other idea got his close attention, however.

"Duncan didn't mention that! Have you ever... met someone in dreams before you would meet them awake? Like the meeting was... prophesised?"

[Cuyler Gray]

"I don't think so." she shook her head. "The melange vision I experienced was the life of someone in the past, an ancestor. It suggested that I had ties to Arrakis that I had been unaware of."

[Kannon]

That would explain it. Maybe I see the past too, and all along I've been seeking a shadow. But why her ancestors? And why without melange?

"You have Zensunni among your ancestors? I think this is what the people of Arrakis are. We have the Muadh on Caladan as you well know, an older form of Buddhislam, but I think there are still quite many Zensunni on Harmonthep."

[Cuyler Gray]

"I think so." she nodded. "I still don't fully understand what I saw. I am sure I will need to return to Arrakis to learn more. I hope to speak with Dr. Kynes, as well, but our paths haven't crossed yet."

[Kannon]

"Who's dr Kynes?" Paul had no direct reason so far to gobble down on Arrakis-related filmbooks.

[Cuyler Gray]

"The planetologist for Arrakis." she explained. "He spends a lot of time with the Fremen."

She wasn't sure how much she should tell of what she had learned.

[Kannon]

"Dr Vim's colleague then. Perhaps talking to the planetologist of Caladan can give you some answers you seek."

Paul committed the name to memory, not pressing for explanations she wasn't ready to offer.

[Cuyler Gray]

"He was still recovering, the last I saw him, from his ordeal and from seeing his daughter in her current state." She paused for a quiet moment. "I do wish to speak with him, but I'm not sure when the best time would be."

[Kannon]

"His worry isn't going to disappear tomorrow. You may actually help a deep thinker if you occupy their mind." Paul said with confidence.

[Cuyler Gray]

"That is very true." she smiled. "I will look for him. But, now you've made me curious. What occupies your mind Paul?"

[Kannon]

"You. Since the moment we met." He answered honestly. "Because I'd been seeing you in my dreams before that. Or perhaps someone who is a spitting image of you, maybe an ancestor of yours. Sitting in the desert together, speaking about it, making odd requests of each other. It feels like someone else's life, she doesn't even use my name, but I am drawn to it. There has been no-one who could explain any of this to me, even my mother hasn't, and figuring it out on my own has only got me so far."

He sighed, relieved he came clean with the reason for the attention he had been giving her. "I hope it didn't sound as wrong as it potentially could."

[Cuyler Gray]

"I can imagine how frustrating that must be." She smiled. "I can't offer an answer. But, I don't think she's the ancestor who's life I experienced. You would not have met her in the desert. It feels more likely to be your future. Perhaps we'll see each other on Arrakis. Perhaps you'll meet someone else."

She shrugged. "Visions can be very difficult to understand."

[Kannon]

"I don't feel bad about that. Some other dreams are worse though. People I hold dear die in them. Duncan says they are just dreams, nothing to worry about. But in uncertain times they feel like a premonition. The one with the desert girl, I am happy when it returns."

Paul opened up a little more, lowering his mental guard.

"I guess it's a 'wait and see' thing. Or maybe I'll never do what opens up this particular future."

[Cuyler Gray]

"While I've never experienced it, I've always thought of prophecy as a cruel thing." She frowned. "On one hand it could be a future set in stone that you cannot affect, a fate you can only watch unfold. On the other hand, what you've seen may represent one or many futures. You may be able to guide your destiny, but it's impossible to forsee every possibility. You cannot really know the best path forward. Either way, the benefits of your visions are limited and your decisions are your own, regardless. I suppose it's best to think of your place in such visions and what that means to you. How you can stay true to yourself."

[Kannon]

How indeed. Do I know who I am?

"Thank you... It is like standing in the dark valley between hills, with no way of knowing what's behind the hill until I figure out how to climb it. I think you're right. Just doing my part is the only way to go forward, at least as long as all possibilities can't be known."

He looked at her with new curiosity.

"Is it the wisdom you drew from your time on Arrakis?"

[Cuyler Gray]

She nodded. "My time there made it clear to me that I do not really know who I am. I thought I did. I had never really questioned my place or purpose before then. But, I didn't really understand why I was selected for the audit. An ability to judge the quality of melange didn't seem significant enough."

"But, then I saw the worm and caught scent of the spice in the air. The vision came later, after allowing myself to truly indulge in the infusions I helped create. I found I was part of a history I had never known existed. Since then, I have felt a need to uncover my past. To learn where I came from and who I truly am."

[Kannon]

"The worm... I heard they are huge."

Paul listened attentively. He thought he knew his past, all those generations of Atreides leaders he had read or been told about, but it didn't make it any easier for him to understand his place, unless he would fully accept that he was just his father's improved successor.

"I would like to go there, to see if I can experience any self-discovery of that kind. It doesn't seem likely though. There is no place for any Atreides on Arrakis as long as the Harkonnen rule it."

[Cuyler Gray]

"I have never seen any other creatures that are remotely as large." she said. "If your dreams mean anything, you may see one for yourself one day."