A tall man with a deeply cleft chin, the High Priest stood behind Roderick and raised the jeweled crown high as his assistant priest read a long passage from the illuminated pages of the Orange Catholic Bible. Valya was impressed that the holy man could hold the heavy crown so high for so long. Amplifiers transmitted the words out over the crowd and across Salusa; the ceremony was also being recorded for immediate distribution around the Imperium.
When the crowd began to show signs of restlessness, the assistant priest finally concluded, “The Imperium is the very soul of the human race, and the Emperor is its heart. Do you, Crown Prince Roderick Corrino, swear fidelity to your people, to your honor, and to the Imperium?”
“For as long as I live.” Roderick formally bowed, as he had rehearsed.
The High Priest set the crown on Roderick’s head. “Long live Emperor Roderick Corrino the First. May your reign shine as long as the stars!”
The plaza erupted in boisterous applause and cheers, with so much excitement and giddy relief that Valya worried the mobs might work themselves into a frenzy. But Imperial soldiers had been stationed at strategic points, some with stun darts or canisters of soporific gas. All those seated rose to their feet, while the assistant priest stood at the front of the stage, sprinkling a container of iron-red holy dust onto the audience.
As the newly crowned Emperor gazed out at the crowd, he was joined by his wife, Haditha, and their surviving children, all dressed in regal finery. Haditha’s long scarlet-and-gold gown glittered with a thousand jewels. The boy Javicco wore a princely outfit, and the two daughters were dressed in matching gowns.
Valya watched the fledgling Emperor with the intense focus she had developed through Sisterhood training and noticed that Roderick looked neither happy nor eager to begin his new role. Apparently he would not be an Emperor who reveled in trappings or power, but a man who accepted and endured his responsibility. His smile was strained. According to reports Valya had read, Roderick had genuinely loved his brother, even though Salvador was never much beloved by his people, nor known for great deeds.
After years of uninspired rule, the Imperium was in a fragile, turbulent state. Emperor Salvador had committed a grave error, she thought, when he decided to seize all melange operations on Arrakis, just before his mysterious (and convenient?) disappearance. An accident? An assassination? She couldn’t believe Josef Venport would be so bold.
Venport Holdings had, however, reiterated its embargo against any world that signed the Butlerian pledge, and there were persistent rumors that Directeur Venport was increasing the number of armed ships in his force. To what purpose?
Meanwhile, antitechnology fanaticism still ran rampant, and she’d learned that Manford’s followers had overrun the Mentat School on Lampadas. And that Anna Corrino was missing. Valya knew the vapid girl was not capable of surviving difficult circumstances, although she would make a good hostage. Valya felt a twinge of sympathy; she had not disliked the Corrino girl while pretending to be her friend … but Valya had moved on to greater things.
This was an uncertain time. Valya knew that the Sisters — including those loyal to Dorotea — had excellent sources of information, and she decided she would take time to learn the details, analyzing Roderick’s motivations and the alliances hidden in the politics. As Mother Superior, she had to understand the entire tapestry if her Sisters were to pull the right strings. Once she had all the new information, she would see that loyal Sisters were assigned to important houses in the Landsraad, where they would advise nobles, while knowing the overall plan that Mother Superior Valya would develop.…
After the coronation, an endless reception line formed. The procession had been organized in advance, yet it still seemed chaotic. Standing formally, and patiently, the new Emperor greeted hundreds of dignitaries, including the Sisters, who flowed forward like a flock of black birds.
Valya stood at the front, as a Mother Superior should. With a formal bow, she introduced herself, not sure that Roderick Corrino would know who she was, even though she had previously visited the court. And he might not know that she had taken his sister under her wing at the Rossak School.
“I am Mother Superior Valya, ranking member of the Sisterhood after the death of Mother Superior Raquella. My Sisters are here to serve you, Sire. I will travel regularly between Wallach IX and Salusa Secundus to coordinate matters.”
He seemed puzzled. “Where is my Truthsayer Dorotea?”
Valya bowed, avoiding his gaze. “I am sorry to report that she died on Wallach IX of a self-inflicted wound. We will provide the Truthsayer you need, more than one if you require. We will strive to make your reign as strong as possible. In our unified Sisterhood, you have an even greater ally than you did before.”
Roderick hung on to his silence for a moment, then said, “As my investigations continue into my brother’s disappearance, I may have need of many Truthsayers.”
Valya nodded and moved along as the rest of the Sisters gave their congratulations. She felt strong, satisfied, and confident that she would be remembered by future generations — not only by the Sisterhood but by House Harkonnen.
Using her rapidly increasing influence, she would open doors in the Landsraad for the Harkonnens to pass through. Perhaps the Emperor could find a position for her brother Danvis.
And one day, she thought, there may even be a Harkonnen Emperor.
Chapter 81 (Murder is murder)
Murder is murder, no matter the justification.
— NORMA CENVA
Killing an Emperor was no small thing.
During the flight from Kolhar to Salusa Secundus — a respectful time after the coronation, as commanded — Josef Venport explained his actions to Norma Cenva.
She had helped him eliminate the Imperial Barge at Arrakis, because he told her it was necessary, but he wasn’t confident that she fully comprehended his rationale for doing so. Her thoughts and concerns were vastly distant from the realities Josef had to deal with. Now, however, he needed her to focus on the crisis and grasp the importance of the political course he had mapped out for the Imperium.
With Roderick as the new Emperor, a rational man who was already predisposed to despise the Half-Manford and his barbarians, they no longer needed to fear the looming dark ages.
On the Navigator deck in front of the broad observation windows that offered a view of the entire universe, he spoke with his great-grandmother even as she folded space and moved the ship from Kolhar. She floated inside her tank full of swirling orange gas, but he couldn’t tell whether she was listening.
After the aurora-light display around the ship ceased and they settled back into normal space in the Salusan star system, he repeated his last few sentences, until Norma cut him off. “I heard and absorbed all data.” Her voice sounded tinny across the tank’s speaker system. “I am ancient, but aware.”
She could help him save the Imperium now. The dangerously incompetent Salvador and his entourage had vanished down the gullet of a sandworm; no trace remained of the spice operation, and the Imperial Barge was lost in the vastness of space, due to Taref’s sabotage. Now that Roderick Corrino had been crowned, human civilization had a chance to survive the dark forces of ignorance, so long as he worked with Josef. The grim future Norma had foreseen no longer needed to come to pass.