Chapter 72 (I now understand regret)

Erasmus reviews centuries of experience and his quest to understand volatile human emotions, newly framing regret and love, insights he credits to Gilbertus Albans. As Butlerians encircle the Mentat School, Erasmus laments that his study may end, noting his fascination with Anna Corrino and ongoing need to learn from Gilbertus.

Inside the besieged school, Mentat students assess defenses while Administrator Zendur, capable but not a leader, struggles to inspire confidence. Anna hides Erasmus’s memory core in her quarters and obsessively gathers data on the Butlerian camp, feeding counts and observations to Zendur and the students. Erasmus monitors events through spy-eyes and sees growing agitation among the fanatics.

After meeting Manford Torondo, Gilbertus is taken under heavy guard to a side tent, signaling failed negotiations or a new revelation. Erasmus analyzes the crowd’s expressions and fears Manford may unleash them despite prior promises, as he has done when tensions peak.

At dusk, Manford, borne by Anari Idaho, addresses the walls. He asserts he will spare the school per his vow but declares Gilbertus’s earlier crimes—collaboration with machines and Erasmus’s tutelage—supersede that promise. Manford announces Gilbertus will be executed at dawn, and the school will be opened by force if needed, with trainees subjected to “reeducation.”

Anna recognizes the exposure of Gilbertus’s past puts Erasmus at risk of discovery. Concluding that Butlerian pledges cannot be trusted, Erasmus tells Anna they must escape that night to preserve their most valuable assets—Anna herself and Erasmus’s hidden core—and to avoid capture that would doom both.