Chapter 22

In the Temple at Keen, Odrade meets High Priest Hedley Tuek, steering him into discussing the Atreides Manifesto and Sheeana’s fate while noting a concealed listener. Tuek insists on exclusive control of Sheeana, but Odrade cites new dangers and announces Miles Teg’s review of Rakian defenses.

Exposed, Waff enters with Face Dancers despite prior limits. As Odrade presses the Manifesto’s implications, she discerns Waff’s intent to murder Tuek and replace him with a Face Dancer. When Odrade warns Tuek, Waff fires darts; Tuek is hit and dies. Odrade moves with startling speed, breaking both of Waff’s arms and holding him hostage to halt the Face Dancers.

Odrade dismisses the Face Dancers, disarms Waff, and stabilizes his injuries. She reframes the incident as a shared crisis, revealing that rival priests led by Krutansik will accept a Face Dancer as Tuek to avoid turmoil, ensuring continuity the Sisterhood can exploit.

Turning to strategy, Odrade outlines Waff’s spice-monopoly gambit and the Guild’s forced reliance on Ixian navigation, signaling deeper insight into Tleilaxu designs. She invokes the Shariat and makes a Zensunni sign, offering Bene Gesserit breeding mothers and proposing alliance against threats from the Scattering, particularly Honored Matres.

Convinced the Sisterhood understands and respects core Tleilaxu beliefs, Waff abandons suicidal fury. The immediate outcome is Tuek’s death, a pending Face Dancer replacement, and a nascent Bene Gesserit–Tleilaxu alignment poised to weather the coming storm.