Schools of Dune, #1
Sisterhood of Dune
by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson
Contents
66. There are many journeys …
Overview
Dorotea survives the poison ordeal and awakens as a Reverend Mother, gaining ancestral memories that transform her understanding of herself and the Sisterhood. Dorotea learns that Raquella is Dorotea's grandmother, that Dorotea's mother was forced away, and that the Sisterhood secretly preserves bloodline records using forbidden computers.
These revelations turn Dorotea's Butlerian convictions against the Sisterhood leadership and set up a potential internal revolt. Rather than confront Raquella immediately, Dorotea chooses to recover, plan, and seek allies.
Summary
Dorotea awakens in the Sisterhood infirmary after taking the calibrated poison for the Reverend Mother trial. At first Dorotea can barely move, but Dorotea recognizes the room where failed candidates are kept alive and remembers seeing Valya take the drug before Dorotea lost consciousness.
As Dorotea regains awareness, Dorotea discovers that her mind has opened to a chorus of female voices and inherited memories. Dorotea traces a maternal line through Karida Julan, Helmina Berto-Anirul, Raquella Berto-Anirul, Arlett, and finally herself, realizing that Reverend Mother Raquella is Dorotea's grandmother and that Arlett was Dorotea's mother.
The ancestral memories reveal that Raquella separated Arlett from Dorotea after Dorotea's birth, insisting that family attachments had no place in Sisterhood training. Dorotea also learns that this decision led to the switching and anonymizing of babies in the nursery, turning them into daughters of the Sisterhood rather than acknowledged children of specific mothers.
More memories flood Dorotea's mind, including Raquella's experiences during the epidemic on Parmentier and early Rossak, where the Sorceresses preserved vast bloodline records. Dorotea is horrified to learn that those records were kept and processed in forbidden computers, confirming that the Sisterhood secretly relies on the very kind of technology that Manford Torondo condemns.
Fully awake, Dorotea understands three life-changing truths: the Sisterhood possesses illegal computers, Raquella is Dorotea's grandmother, and Dorotea has survived the trial to become a Reverend Mother. Because Dorotea is weak and the knowledge is dangerous, Dorotea decides not to confront Raquella immediately but to gather allies and plan while Raquella is away at the Suk School.
Dorotea then uses her new internal awareness to examine and regulate her own body, restoring confidence in Dorotea's health and strength. When Dorotea sits up, the medical Sisters notice in astonishment and rush to help, while Dorotea calmly accepts their attention and wonders what happened to Valya.
Who Appears
- DoroteaSurvives the poison ordeal, becomes a Reverend Mother, and discovers hidden memories and Sisterhood secrets.
- Raquella Berto-AnirulRevealed through ancestral memories as Dorotea's grandmother and keeper of forbidden Sisterhood computer records.
- ArlettDorotea's mother, seen in memories being forced to abandon her daughter for the Sisterhood.
- ValyaRemembered by Dorotea as another poison-test participant; Valya's fate remains uncertain in this chapter.
- Medical SistersInfirmary attendants who notice Dorotea's recovery and rush to examine the newly awakened Reverend Mother.