Chapter 26

An epigraph about a drylander’s prized literjon frames value and concealment. In the Gammu no-globe practice hall, Duncan Idaho, in a mobile cage, drives an arduous session, determined to adapt his new body to seven core combat attitudes against eight-directional attack. Teg operates the complex Harkonnen training systems, noting Duncan’s innovative blend of ancient and modern methods and his rapid ascent in skill.

As Lucilla watches and withdraws, Teg senses Duncan delaying her imprinting. Between exchanges, Duncan challenges Teg on past campaigns, revealing deep knowledge from Keep records and exposing Teg’s reliance on reputation and calculated risk. Renewed practice shows Duncan seamlessly parrying burn-lines and hunter-seekers, shifting from response to anticipatory attack until Teg’s aging body falters, prompting a halt.

Teg presses that Duncan’s survival and delivery to Rakis are paramount, but Duncan insists on autonomy and refuses blind obedience. They debate shifting geopolitical constraints—no-ships undermining old treaties—and Duncan conjectures he was revived to confront the worm, though Teg cannot confirm Taraza’s aims. Duncan admits sensing a latent, undisclosed Tleilaxu alteration within himself.

Lucilla enters, chiding their openness, and acknowledges Duncan has moved beyond fixed attitudes: “no fixed position, no attitude.” Duncan openly distrusts Lucilla but trusts Teg’s candor. The trio weigh growing exposure on Gammu, crowded with returnees from the Scattering, and the risk that someone might connect Rakis with Dares-Balat to find the Harkonnen no-globe.

When Lucilla accuses Teg of disobeying Taraza, Teg asserts he has acted exactly as Taraza intended, revealing the depth of her foresight. Lucilla suddenly comprehends the larger design: Taraza maneuvers them as pawns in a broader game. She accepts the escalation of stakes—and the sobering truth that pawns are expendable—while Duncan’s untriggered Tleilaxu secret and his resistance to imprinting raise the peril for all.