Dune: The Machine Crusade (88 page)

W
hen Serena Butler arrived at Corrin, she and her Seraphim entourage disembarked to a reception committee of gleaming robots lined up on either side of a crimson carpet. Bravely, she marched alone, into their midst.

The den of demons, the lair of my enemies.
Overhead, the huge red sun seemed as if it was about to crash into Corrin and incinerate the Omnius infested world.

“I have come in response to the Cogitors’ peace proposal,” she said, raising her voice. She had practiced her words, chosen the precise terms that would set up the machines for what she intended to do. “I am the Priestess of the Jihad, the Interim Viceroy of the League of Nobles, the Head of the Jihad Council. All humans follow my instructions. Take me to Omnius, who is my equal and counterpart among the thinking machines.”

When Serena motioned for her guards to join her, she saw Niriem look at her curiously, perhaps surprised at the Priestess’s uncharacteristic self-aggrandizement. Serena carried herself with confidence, knowing that the five Seraphim would do precisely what was expected of them, when the critical time came.

A burly, implacable-looking robot stepped out of formation and spoke in a synthesized voice that sounded tinny in the thin atmosphere. “Follow me.”

She shuddered, thinking of the robot Erasmus who had enslaved her so many years ago, tormenting her and killing her baby. But she set her revulsion aside, for it came from another time and another world:
Earth
.

At the other end of the plush carpet, Serena followed her escort onto a conveyor that swept her and the small entourage into the heart of the machine city, finally pausing at a featureless building of dull silvery metal.

Niriem followed closely as Serena strode with pride and a haughty grace into the Central Spire’s immense rectangular lobby of metalloy and plaz and demanded, “Where is Omnius? I will see if I find him worthy. Very few are blessed with the chance to speak to me.” She had to set them up, provoke them, make the machines do what they
must
.

A resonant voice came from all the walls around her, and glowing screens like giant eyes shimmered from the featureless metal. “I am Omnius. I am everywhere. Everything here is part of me.”

She looked around, not bothering to conceal the expression of disdain on her face. “And I alone represent the human race, which has successfully resisted you for so long.”

Without any additional formalities, the evermind said, “Your Cogitor intermediaries suggested terms to end this inefficient conflict. We will now mutually accept the agreement in the formal fashion that humans require.” The computer voice hummed, waiting.

Serena smiled and drew a breath, knowing what she had to do. “You didn’t think that we would simply drop our weapons and go home? After all the decades of the Jihad, you thought we would just forget
why
we were at war? No, Omnius. I will sign a pact only if you agree to one simple, logical condition: set all humans free.”

The evermind’s voice became an exaggerated snarl, which amused Serena with its artificiality. “That is not what the Cogitors arranged. That is not what I accepted.”

Serena pressed forward. “There can be peace only after you release all humans on the Synchronized Worlds. When I receive confirmation of this, I will inform my Army of the Jihad to cease all further military action. But not until then.” She knew Omnius would not agree to her terms. She understood that the thinking machines would never really negotiate and that her words would provoke them.

“I should have anticipated this, based upon my records of prior human unpredictability,” Omnius said. “Such a conundrum, these
hrethgir
.”

The escort robot reached forward to seize Serena in a powerful mechanical grip. Her Seraphim leaped into action, throwing themselves onto the sturdy robot to defend Serena.

In a heartbeat, the living metal floor converted itself into a cage with sharp bars, like the ribs of a prehistoric beast, trapping Serena and all five of her protectors. The entire Central Spire convulsed and extended, soaring high into the Corrin sky. Serena’s stomach lurched as she was vaulted into the air.

The angular shaft gleamed silver all around her. The walls curved, and the ceiling burst open, like clawed fingers releasing a fist to reveal the simmering red giant sun in Corrin’s sky before a new ceiling formed over a now-circular room with high walls. The floor solidified beneath her like metal clay.

She squared her shoulders, continuing her intentional provocation. “Only I can issue commands to the League, Omnius. You dare not threaten me. They see me as a veritable goddess.”

She saw that the chamber was studded with jeweled watcheyes and weapons ports, either to impress or intimidate her. Perhaps having learned about such extravagances from a file about the Time of Titans or even the Old Empire, the evermind had even included a throne. A shimmering silvery sphere hovered over the throne.

“Your defiance is illogical, Serena Butler. You are in an untenable position, and have nothing to gain.” The voice came from a thousand places at once. “You are merely one human, and you overstate your importance.”

All the while, Serena just stood with her arms folded across her chest.
Death, I fear you not
. She struggled to keep her pulse in check.
I fear only failure
.

From inside her cage, she declared, “I am the leader of this Jihad. I inspired all of free humanity after thinking machines murdered my son. Tens of trillions of people look to me for guidance, for vision, for hope.”

“I think your population is less than that, according to our calculations.”

“And are your calculations always accurate? Did you predict that we would resist you so fiercely?”
Or what I am about to do to you now
?

“Erasmus has told me much about you, Serena Butler. I have not yet determined if he is fond of you, or disappointed in you.”

Erasmus
. The name filled her with abhorrence and terror. Breathing rapidly, she remembered a mantra that her mother had taught in the City of Introspection, “I have no fear, for fear is the little death that kills me over and over. Without fear, I die but once.” Beside her, she heard Niriem take up the quiet chant; the other four Seraphim contributed their voices as well.

One of the curved walls melted away to reveal a robot wearing an absurdly foppish cape. A young man stood beside him. The robot’s mirror smooth flowmetal face shifted into a delighted, welcoming grin. “Hello, Serena.”

The skeleton of her cage melted like ice into the flexible metal floor of the room, leaving her free… and
exposed
. Serena wanted to scream. She had always believed Erasmus had perished in the atomic destruction of Earth.

“It has been a long time.” The robot’s broad smile absolutely infuriated her. He stepped forward, and his companion paced him dutifully. The young man, who appeared to be sixteen or seventeen years old, with peach fuzz on his face, looked at her quizzically with olive green eyes.

“I hate you.” She spat in the robot’s face, marring the polished perfection of his masked expression. She forced control on herself and said in a low, threatening voice. “You, Erasmus,
personally
ignited the Jihad by killing my baby.”

“Yes, I have heard something to that effect.” He sounded erudite and detached. “But I never understood how such a small thing could possibly…” The robot’s voice trailed off, as he seemed to lose himself in a reverie. Then he said, “I just don’t see how one insignificant child could cause such a furor. If your number is accurate, billions have been killed in your holy war against thinking machines. Consider the mathematics: would it not have been much less costly simply to ignore the death of your offspring?”

Unable to bear anymore, knowing she had nothing to lose, Serena threw herself at him with pounding fists, just as she had done when he’d blithely dropped little Manion off the high balcony.

But Erasmus grabbed her with calm, steely strength and tossed her away from him, bruising her face and arms as she tumbled to the floor. Serena struggled to her feet.

The robot straightened his rumpled cape and turned to his young companion. “Gilbertus, this is the irrational, fanatical human who once served me in my villa. I told you about her.”

The young man nodded. “I promise I won’t disappoint you like she did.”

Serena glared at the boy. Though human, he studied her as if she were an insect on a specimen tray. Like the robot, he seemed curious but utterly devoid of emotion.

“Is he your new toy?” she asked Erasmus. “Another innocent victim of your experiments?”

The robot hesitated, appearing a bit flustered. “No, Gilbertus is… my
son
.”

THE THINKING MACHINES studied and taunted her for hours, it seemed.

The flowmetal cage around Serena and her Seraphim, like the entire Central Spire itself, was a changeling, a machine organism that could transform itself. From hour to hour, at the whim of Omnius, her cell took on varying appearances, from metalloy mesh to ancient prison bars to invisible confinement fields.

At the moment her prison appeared to extend for hundreds of meters with no barriers in view, though she knew theywere there. She no longer cared what form her cage took. Demonstrating the thinking machines’ cruelty, however, her surroundings metamorphosed, precisely replicating the courtyard of the Butler estate on Salusa, where she had spent halcyon times with her family so long ago, and pledged her love to Xavier at a betrothal banquet.

To Serena, the accuracy of the facsimile was concrete proof of machine spies among the League Worlds; the information had undoubtedly been turned over to Omnius by traitorous humans in his employ. The very thought of a flesh-and-blood free human voluntarily working for the evil Omnius turned her stomach.

Memories of her betrothal banquet in this courtyard came back— the Salusan performers who had tied ribbons on shrubs and delighted everyone with their charming folk dances— the women in flowing skirts and men dressed like dapper peacocks. Xavier had worn a spotless Armada uniform that day. He had been so handsome, so filled with joy at the prospect of their life together.

At the Memorex eyes misted over, but she held back her tears, refusing to give Omnius the satisfaction.

Finally, the evermind said, “This charade wastes too much of my time. Serena Butler, you must change your mind and formally agree to the terms the Cogitors proposed.”

“Pay close attention to what she does,” Erasmus said to Gilbertus Albans.

Serena snorted. “You wouldn’t dare harm me, Omnius. My people see me as invincible, and that is why I alone must stand up to you and demand the immediate freedom of every human slave in your domain. I am equivalent to the evermind of the human race— but I am different from you, Omnius, for I have a heart and a soul! That is why I can never fail.”

Tense and expectant, the Seraphim stood close by their Priestess. Niriem looked imploringly at Serena.
Soon
. If only the machines would take the bait.

“If you do not agree to the terms, I will have you killed. Your death will cause great damage to the human cause. They will see you are not invincible.”

Serena raised her chin. “You can’t kill me. You promised safety to the human representative.”

“I promised safety on the condition that a human come to accept the terms. You have refused to do so, therefore you have already broken the conditions. I am no longer bound to my conditional guarantee.”

Erasmus studied beautiful Serena as she stood trapped inside the holo-projection of the Butler manor house. Despite her defiant independence, that woman had been the most interesting subject he had ever kept… besides Gilbertus. Erasmus and Serena could have done so much more together. He wondered what she was doing, why she was trying to provoke Omnius.

With bright eyes, young Gilbertus continued to observe, as he had been instructed to do. “What will happen to her?”

The flowmetal face shifted into a wry smile. “That depends on Serena herself. The outcome is impossible to project.”

Finally, Serena said, “You’re bluffing. And I will never change my mind.”

“Please, Priestess,” the chief Seraph whispered, crowding close to her inside the cage, surrounded by bucolic images of Salusa Secundus. “Isn’t there another solution?”

“You know the answer to that, Niriem.”

All the while, Serena stood smiling, with her arms folded across her chest.
My life does not matter, except for what I can do to further freedom. My death today will do more for the cause than all the words and speeches I could have given in my waning years.

Iblis Ginjo would take care of the rest. Eternally logical and oblivious, Omnius would never know what had caused the changes that were about to sweep across all of humanity….

When Erasmus saw the inexplicable beatific smile on Serena Butler’s face, he was troubled.
What don’t I comprehend?

For years now, trying to impose rational explanations on the chaotic Jihad, Omnius had expressed his curiosity about religious insanity among humans. Erasmus had tried to instruct him, reflecting the lessons of his own investigations, but intangible concepts were difficult for a computer to grasp.

By holding Serena helpless now, the evermind was trying to make a point to all the defiant
hrethgir
who continued to fight against the marvelous civilization Omnius had built. Her people saw her as indestructible, their guiding force, combining aspects of prophet and savior. She was the equivalent of the evermind to the human race. She knew that without her, the jihadis would be weak and unfocused. Why would she risk herself here?

And why does she insist on smiling, as if she is in control? Surely she must fear that continued defiance will only lead to her execution?

“The decision is made,” Omnius said, and his ominous combat robots strode forward. “Kill Serena Butler, and her companions.”