Paul finishes a demanding practice session with Hayt and waits in the royal Keep for news from the clinic, where Chani has been taken during the sixth week of her pregnancy. Although Paul’s prescience has already shown him this period, Paul deliberately avoids leaning on the oracle and tries to meet events as they come. Paul reflects that hiding the truth about Chani’s contraceptive poisoning has prolonged Chani’s life, even though the coming birth will also bring Chani’s death.

Chani returns from the clinic furious. The medics have discovered that someone has been feeding Chani a contraceptive for a long time, and the resulting damage has made the pregnancy dangerously accelerated. Chani identifies Irulan as the source and wants to kill Irulan, but Paul stops Chani, asking Chani not to do it because killing Irulan will not help.

Chani presses Paul about what Paul has seen, but Paul refuses to explain his vision. Chani accepts Paul’s request outwardly, though Chani’s anger remains. Paul recognizes that life in the palace has not changed Chani’s Fremen nature; Chani remains direct, violent when wronged, and loyal to Paul.

Chani notices Hayt and objects to Paul crossing blades with the ghola. Paul insists Hayt is not meant to harm him and argues that Hayt is more than a ghola because Duncan Idaho still exists inside him. Chani questions this, and Paul begins probing Hayt’s identity, pushing him to consider whether some memory of Duncan Idaho survives in his reborn flesh.

Hayt admits that he longs for restoration, though no ghola has ever recovered a former life. Paul’s questioning briefly brings forward a vivid human presence in Hayt, and Chani realizes that Paul wanted Chani to glimpse Duncan Idaho inside the ghola. Chani is still unable to abandon her anger toward Irulan, but she understands why Paul values Hayt.

The chapter ends with Chani frightened by the speed of the pregnancy and by the medics’ demand that Chani consume much more food and spice. Paul silently agrees that the pregnancy is moving too fast and thinks the fetus itself understands the need for haste.