Chapter 10

At dawn on Gammu, Duncan Idaho stands at a Forbidden Window, inhaling the forest scents and confronting the pull of half-remembered knowledge that feels not his own. After Patrin relays a delay in training and orders for tedious exercises, Duncan sneaks by a Forbidden Route to the window, savoring the risk while leaving no trace to avoid Schwangyu’s punishments.

Back in his room, Duncan wrestles with the sense of a stranger within—memories and skills he should not have. He recalls a silent vision of a young woman he longs to believe is his mother and fears being subsumed by the other self. Past violence in the Keep prompts him to remember shere and Ixian Probes, imagining macabre Bene Gesserit methods, with Schwangyu as the ominous observer.

Duncan outwardly humors Lucilla’s teachings that religion is useful energy, but privately rejects “occult” powers and plots eventual escape once he learns enough. Lucilla detects his dichotomy and notes to Schwangyu that this fear blocks him from essential methods, even as his desire for knowledge remains a powerful lever.

Later, in an assessment session, Lucilla confronts Schwangyu’s earlier tactic of damaging Duncan’s trust to weaken him. Lucilla declares she is bonding him as an acolyte and will handle the delicate final imprinting. They argue over Tleilaxu interference and the danger of creating another Kwisatz Haderach. Lucilla reveals Taraza left spice dosage to her discretion and that she has already increased it, prompting Schwangyu’s furious warning that such risks may destroy the Sisterhood.