Sandworms of Dune - Entry #12

     Enter Khrone.  Khrone thought this was the Face Dancers' opportunity to take over.  But Erasmus already saw the truth and depth in Duncan Idaho and knew that Duncan's powers were even just emerging.  He had to laugh at what he already knew was not only a hopeless attack on the humans with their Kwisatz Haderach, but on the robot world also.

     Ignoring Khrone, [Erasmus] spoke to Duncan.  "I am laughing because the inherent differences between humans and Face Dancers are painfully hilarious.  I hold great fondness for your species -- as more than specimens, more than pets.  You have never ceased to astonish me.  In defiance of my most careful predictions, you still manage to do the unexpected!  Even when those actions work to the detriment of thinking machines, I can appreciate them for their uniqueness."

(Sandworms of Dune, p. 475)

     But Khrone was still convinced they had the upper hand and their victory was eminent.  But he couldn't have been more wrong.

      "Now who is drawing conclusions from insufficient data?  Ever since the end of the Butlerian Jihad, when Omnius and I were sent out here on our long exile to start the machine empire all over again, I was the one in control.  I allowed Omnius to continue believing he ruled everything and made all the decisions, but even in his first incarnation he was a self-aggrandizing annoyance, overconfident and unconscionably stubborn.  More so that most humans!"  The robot swirled his plush robes.  "The evermind never learned to adapt and never bothered to face his mistakes, so I refused to let him ruin our chances again.  Thus, I took control of the Face Dancer program from the moment the first of you arrived on our fringe planets."
      Khrone remained defiant, though his voice carried a slightly uncertain undertone.  "Yes, you manufactured us -- made us stronger than ever."
     "I manufactured you, and I wisely planted a fail-safe routine in each and every Face Dancer.  You are biological machines, evolved and manipulated over thousands of years, according to my own exacting specifications."  Erasmus moved closer.  "A tool should never confuse itself with the hand that wields it."

(Sandworms of Dune, p. 476-477)

     No surprise at what happens next.  Death to all Face Dancers.

Sandworms of Dune - Entry #11

     Well, it's been over 3 months since I last wrote here.  This has been a very hectic semester but most importantly has been my time spent on the Presidential Search Committee to help the college select the best candidate to replace our current president who will retire in August.  It is so wonderful to think I have a little time to indulge in the world of Dune even though it is the week prior to finals and there is still a lot to do.  I put in a long day yesterday just so I could NOT do any school work today.  So back in to the Dune universe ... aaahhh.

     Back at Chapterhouse, Murbella was preparing for a suicidal attack on the machine fleet.  There were so many Enemy ships!  "It seemed obvious that the evermind had learned the value of intimidation and showmanship, as well as the wisdom of redundancy" (Sandworms of Dune, p. 464).  But the Enemy attack didn't come.  The Oracle, Norma Cenva, had removed the evermind and left the machine fleet to drift aimlessly without a leader or a purpose.

     But there was still a stand-off on Synchrony.  There was Erasmus to deal with as well as the Face Dancer myriad.  But first ... the confrontation with Erasmus is too awesome to not include in its entirety:

     "Neither you nor your robots can make any difference here," Duncan warned.  "All of you are far too slow."
     "Either you are overconfident, or you are fully aware of what you can do." The flowmetal smile tightened, just a little, and the bright optic threads glistened a bit more.  "Perhaps it is the latter, and perhaps not."  Somehow, Duncan knew with absolute certainty that Erasmus meant to unleash all the destructive power under his control, wreaking whatever havoc he could.
     Before the robot made half a turn, Duncan was upon him with all the speed Miles Teg had shown, knocking him backward.  Erasmus crashed to the floor, his weapons disabled.  Was it just a test? Another experiment?
     Duncan's heart pounded, and his body radiated heat as he stood over the robot, but he felt exhilarated, not exhausted.  He could keep fighting like this against any machines Erasmus chose to send against him.  At that thought, he left the independent robot where he had fallen, dashed at hyperspeed around the circle, and battered the silvery sentinel robots with quick kicks and punches until they shattered into debris.  It was so easy for him now.  Before the metal pieces had finished falling to the floor, he was back, looming over Erasmus.
     "I sensed your doubts as well as your intentions," Duncan said.  "Admit it.  Even as a thinking machine, you wanted more proof, didn't you?"
     Lying on his back and looking upward through the hole in the dome at the thousands of huge Guild Heighliners in the sky, Erasmus said, "Assuming you are the long-awaited superman, why don't you simply destroy me? With Omnius gone, removing me would assure the victory of humanity."
     "If the solution were that simple, a Kwisatz Haderach would not be needed to implement it." Duncan surprised Erasmus, and himself, by reaching down and helping the robot to his feet.  "To end Kralizec and truly change the future requires more than just the annihilation of one side or the other."
     Erasmus examined his body core and his robes to ensure his appearance, then looked up with a broad smile.  "I think we just might have a meeting of the minds -- something I never really achieved with Omnius."

(Sandworms of Dune, p. 469-470)