The Machine Crusade

by Brian Herbert

  He looked at her. "And since I am a comparative stranger, you believe I am not stifled by those expectations?"

  "You are a leader of your own people, a man who commands their respect, who is fair and firm and not afraid to stand by his convictions. You are a rock, not a soft dune to be reshaped by every errant breeze." He frowned. "You ask me to forget my other wife." Marha shook her head. "I ask you to forget nothing. Nor will I ever forget my first husband. We both have our pasts, Ishmael… and our futures. We are stronger together."

  Her words frightened him, but Ishmael recognized the truth in her words. "You have given me a heavy burden to bear." She stood very close to him, so that he felt intoxicated by her sharp intelligence and beauty. She shrugged, then kissed his rough cheek. "We all bear burdens, do we not?"

  And so they wed each other, and worked together to lead the growing band of outlaws in their continued effort to stifle the hemorrhaging flow of melange from Arrakis. All of them swore to defend Shai-Hulud and prevent the taking of spice.

  Now, after summoning his bandits to join him at the cave opening, Ishmael stared at these people who had followed him over such a great distance?, and the others who had accepted him as the successor to Selim Wormrider. Behind him on the sands, the new day grew warmer.

  Selim had experienced many visions, receiving flashes of the future through his connection to the great Shai-Hulud, through a conduit of potent melange. Ishmael, though, had no such reliable source to guide him in his decisions. He had to study the Koran Sutras and all the other scriptures, hoping he could properly determine the will of God. At times, Ishmael often found time alone in the darkest hours of night to quietly scan the infinite desert as if he could see the future out there, somewhere…

  As the sun crept up the rugged cliffside, he inhaled a deep breath of dry air and felt its harshness. Arrakis was far more inhospitable than Poritrin or Harmonthep — but this was his new home, a place where he could live away from the threats of slavers and thinking machines, and even away from the League of Nobles.

  With a smile, Ishmael looked around, from face to face. "We can live on this world as we choose, making our own lives and future. We shall never be slaves again!" He sighed with immense pride, and added, "From this day forward we shall call ourselves the Free Men of Arrakis."

  Appendix

  THE MARCH OF VICTORIES AND DEFEATS:

  SIGNIFICANT EVENTS IN THE PROGRESS OF THE JIHAD

  (All dates standardized according to conventional calendar)

  BG (Before Guild) Serena Butler's son murdered by Erasmus.

  League Armada retaliates by deploying waves of atomics on Earth to destroy Omnius.

  First organized attack of the Army of the Jihad, after the victory Earth. Jihadis select a target at random, the Synchronized World of Bela Tegeuse, and go out with much fanfare. Vorian Atreides distinguishes himself in battle. Despite incredible destruction of robots and humans, the skirmish is inconclusive. The human forces retreat.

  Realizing that the entire character of the war has changed, the Corrin-Omnius responds, sending another heavy fleet to Salusa Secun-dus, but the Army of the Jihad rebuffs them. Segundo Xavier Harkonnen feels this is a vindication for him, a rematch after the Battle of Zimia, where he was badly injured years before.

  Vorian Atreides returns to Bela Tegeuse to see what has happened in the year following the skirmish and discovers that the thinking machines have rebuilt their industries and reestablished their base, as if nothing has happened there. Despite all the struggle and loss of human life, the Jihad has made no progress.

  Vorian Atreides is promoted to Segundo, First Grade.

  Norma Cenva modifies Holtzman's shields to partially address the serious problem of overheating during a battle engagement. Thermal breakdowns remain a flaw, but the new shields are significantly improved over the original versions.

  Honru Massacre. In a major offensive, the Army of the Jihad attempts to free the captive population from the Synchronized World of Honru, but are misled about the number of machine forces waiting for them. Omnius uses more aggressive tactics, suicide robot ships that wipe out the whole Jihad fleet. Over five hundred thousand free human soldiers are killed.

  After the Honru Massacre, Grand Patriarch Iblis Ginjo and Priestess of the Jihad Serena Butler beg for more volunteers to join the fight. Iblis Ginjo suspects that traitorous spies purposely transmitted the disinformation about the machine strengths on Honru. He establishes an investigation team to look into the matter, led by Yorek Thurr.

  In the urgent call for new jihadi soldiers after Honru, Segundo Xavier Harkonnen's adopted brother Vergyl Tantor, only 17, gets into the Army of the Jihad.

  "Jipol" (Jihad Police) officially established after Yorek Thurr submits his report, which suggests the prevalence of other machine spies among the League Worlds, deceitful humans who swear allegiance to Omnius. In a political marriage to increase his power base, Iblis Ginjo marries Camie Boro, descendant of the last emperor who ruled before the Time of Titans, more than a thousand years earlier.

  Ginaz mercenaries offer their services to the fight as independent warriors, not as ranking soldiers in the Jihad Army. After much discussion about the implications, Grand Patriarch Ginjo suggests they be accepted. Other planets offer mercenaries, though the Ginaz fighters are generally considered to be best.

  Savant Tio Holtzman offers a "flicker and fire" technique for his shields, a carefully choreographed system that shuts off the protective fields for a fraction of a second, just long enough to allow Jihad ships to fire. Norma Cenva quietly modifies and corrects his calculations, averting disaster, but does not tell him what she has done.

  Major purge, seven League representatives — all of them political rivals or people who have spoken out against Iblis Ginjo — implicated as machine spies. Yorek Thurr interrogates them. Grand Patriarch Ginjo creates the "Seraphim" to protect Serena Butler, a set of fanatically loyal female guards.

  Manion Butler retires as Viceroy, asking that his daughter Serena be appointed to take his place. She is voted in by acclamation, but insists that she: is only willing to be the "interim Viceroy" until the war is over.

  Thinking machines attack and conquer the small colony of Ellram. All humans either killed or enslaved. The battle is over before the League ever hears about it.

  When Serena Butler comes to speak at a Parliament assembly, an assassination attempt is thwarted (one of the Seraphim guards gives her life) and Serena is rushed back into the protection of the City of Introspection. The would-be assassin is killed during the capture, and Yorek Thurr's investigation uncovers proof that the man was a brainwashed spy sent in by Omnius.

  Machines strike again, this time hitting Peridot Colony. The Army of the Jihad fights fiercely, driving back the Synchronized forces. Zon Noret leads his Ginaz mercenaries on the ground, destroying many robots, but the machine forces follow a scorched-earth policy, and the colony settlements are ultimately destroyed.

  Impetuously, a group of jihadi soldiers disobey orders and strike out to attack the new machine headquarters at Corrin in order to destroy the current Omnius Prime. All are killed by robot defenses.

  Segundo Xavier Harkonnen is the spearhead of a movement to erect a huge war memorial to all those who have fallen in the Jihad. Serena Butler adds her support, and the giant construction is begun at Giedi Prime, a place of terrible loss of life but also a significant victory over the machines. An identical monument is to be built in Zimia.

  After the debacles on Ellram, Peridot Colony, and Corrin, Grand Patriarch Ginjo addresses the League Parliament. The Great Revolt has now been under way for thirteen years, and he proposes that in time of war there should be a different governing body, a "Jihad Council," which actually runs the overall war in a unified and visionary way. He suggests that all matters related to the Jihad — both domestic (the Jipol) and abroad (the Army of the Jihad) — be consolidated and administered by this Council. Other commercial, social, and domestic matters can
be discussed and debated in the normal League Parliament, for those kinds of decisions can take as long as they require. But matters of the Jihad require swift and decisive leadership that is not possible among the thousand-voices of Parliament. The proposal passes.

  More Jipol purges across the League. People become more paranoid about finding machine spies in their midst. Serena Butler gives passionate speeches from her protective isolation in the City of Introspection.

  Xavier Harkonnen and Vorian Atreides both promoted to rank of Primero in Army of the Jihad.

  Thinking machines begin to target Unallied Planets, seeing them as easier conquests. No Jihad forces are there to stop them, and the small populations are insufficient to resist Omnius. Three Unallied Planets are conquered, used as bases of operations for the expansion of the Synchronized Worlds.

  While Norma Cenva continues to be obsessed with her foldspace equations and works alone, Savant Tio Holtzman hires many more young and eager assistants in order to tap them for ideas; they are thrilled with the opportunity to work with the great scientist.

  Two more Unallied Planets—Tyndall and Bellos—fall to machine domination. Each world has very small population, traders, miners, farmers, and the Jihad Council is unable to understand why Omnius would bother with such places. Then Primero Atreides sees the pattern, that each of these planets is being used as an anchor point, surrounding the League Worlds like a net, drawing closer for a full-fledged coordinated attack.

  With the support of Xavier Harkonnen, Vorian Atreides proposes that the Army of the Jihad must devote its resources and military strength to defending the Unallied Planets as well as League Worlds. At first the Jihad Council resists this, but Primero Atreides shows tactical projections of how Omnius is moving, the pattern by which he is taking strategic star systems on the fringe. The thinking machines will have bases from which they can launch massive strikes against Salusa Secundus and other key League Worlds. Iblis Ginjo sees the proposal as a chance to expand League territory.

  Unallied World of Tyndall, recently captured by Omnius, is freed by a massive and unexpected Jihad counterstrike. The coordinated battle is led by both Primeros Atreides and Harkonnen. Vergyl Tantor distinguishes himself in battle, receives two medals, which he sends home to his wife and three children.

  Omnius forces detected at Unallied World of IV Anbus, the likely next conquest in the overall entrapment plan. Army of the Jihad dispatches a large force to defend the primarily Zenshüte planet.