Chapter 22 (If you strike me, I will strike you harder)

Ptolemy surveys Denali’s lethal landscape while overseeing trials of his new cymeks built around proto-Navigator brains. He notes standout performances by Hok Evander and Adem Garl, as well as Xinshop and Yabido Onel, and revels in the walkers’ agility compared to salvaged older frames. His aim is to forge a terror-inducing force to break Manford Torondo’s Butlerians.

As the team practices maneuvers and stress tests—leaping, grappling, and hurling boulders—Ptolemy evaluates their responsiveness, imagining broader deployments and even daydreaming about becoming a cymek himself. He contrasts his program with Administrator Noffe’s other weapon projects but is convinced the Titans will decide the war.

While returning from the test range in an older walker, Ptolemy’s life-support begins to fail from corrosive leaks. He sends a distress call but loses control, crashes, and faces imminent death in the toxic air. Responding instantly, the cymeks piloted by Hok Evander and Adem Garl lift his disabled walker and race him toward the domes, with the rest of the team coordinating the rescue.

Ptolemy reaches the hangar as fumes overwhelm him. Inside, air exchangers clear the atmosphere, and Administrator Noffe and medics stabilize him. The incident convinces Ptolemy that, despite his mistake, the cymeks demonstrated battlefield-worthy competence and initiative under pressure.

Recovering, Ptolemy insists that Directeur Venport must see a more dramatic proof. Over Noffe’s concerns, he resolves to organize a live demonstration on Arrakis, signaling a strategic escalation in deploying the Titans against the Butlerians.