Chapter 22

An epigraph describes the prophecy trance as immersion in changing realities, shattering fixed explanations. That night, Leto II remains awake in his audience chamber while guards keep watch, his thoughts circling necessities, disappointments, and the unbearable pull of Hwi Noree.

Leto confronts his exposure: the Ixians have discovered his secret and sent Hwi as proof. He considers reversing his metamorphosis but knows it is impossible and selfish, conflicting with the Golden Path. In an inner debate, ancestral voices demand he honor his oath and purpose, while Leto admits exhaustion, self-pity, and fear for Hwi’s safety.

Seeking relief, Leto contemplates his usual antidote—losing himself in ancestral safaris: music and Bach, distant ancestors like Jessica and Norma Cenva, histories of conquest and sexuality. He rejects these diversions because Hwi’s presence makes the past intolerably dull and because such inward journeys risk becoming an escapist pilgrimage from which he might not return.

Leto concludes the Ixians wisely attacked him with flesh rather than machines, striking at his vulnerability. He recognizes the growing danger of being caught in his own empire-wide mythic dream-state. As Fish Speaker guards quietly wonder at their god’s troubles, Leto trembles and weeps in the darkness.