Chapter 59 (Truth is an amorphous thing)

On Lampadas, with Manford Torondo away, Butlerian deputies spread a new, absolute oath. At the Mentat School, Gilbertus Albans anticipates their arrival and debates Erasmus about compliance. Galvanized by Draigo Roget’s recent challenge and his own legacy, Gilbertus decides he will not endorse the oath or lie under Truthsayers.

Deacon Harian and Deputy Rasa reach the school overland and, aided by Alys Carroll, enter the grounds. As some Butlerian-leaning trainees begin reciting the oath, Harian orders all students to comply immediately. Gilbertus insists any oath must be read and understood, proposing deliberation instead of instant submission.

Gilbertus dismantles the oath’s logic: its blanket death penalty for “computer use” would implicate Mentats as “human computers,” even as Manford employs Mentats and uses dispensation-bearing ships. The contradictions draw nervous laughter from trainees and anger from Harian and Rasa.

When Anna Corrino likens coercion to Omnius’s practices, Harian demands censure. Gilbertus shields Anna, arguing her damaged condition makes her unfit to swear, and rejects Butlerian claims to seize her. He asserts the school’s autonomy and refuses the oath as vague, draconian, and unnecessary.

Resolved to set a counterexample to Butlerian hysteria even at personal risk, Gilbertus orders the delegation to leave and invites Manford to discuss matters upon return. Harian warns of consequences and withdraws, while Gilbertus recognizes he has endangered himself and Erasmus by this open defiance.