Navigators of Dune

“We’ll use them against our enemies, wherever they are, and we’ll force Emperor Roderick to behave responsibly—for the benefit of our collective future. In addition to an overwhelming fleet of VenHold warships, all those cymeks will make the citizens quiver with fear.” He smiled. “I’m going to assemble our most effective military force with all of the top commanders, and contact Norma to have her rally the Navigators as well.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “I am left with no choice except to conquer Salusa Secundus.”

The human form is admirable, both as a work of art and as a sophisticated biological machine, but it was designed by the gradual process of evolution. As a result, the human body possesses numerous flaws and weaknesses that thinking machines do not suffer.

In my cultural studies, however, I have learned that imperfections themselves can make a work of art valuable. Viewed in the light of its imperfections, the human body is a masterpiece, and I have studied it intently, person after person, piece after piece.

—ERASMUS, Secret Laboratory Notebooks

As she watched the male body growing inside the Tlulaxa biological tank, Anna Corrino felt as if she were coming alive along with it. Grown from cells of the late Gilbertus Albans, it made her feel sorry that the poor Headmaster had gotten his head chopped off. But seeing the body also made her happy.

The physical form drifting in the nutrient fluids reminded her of marble statues around the palace square in Zimia, but Anna could only think of it as Erasmus now. Erasmus! Her secret friend, her savior, her most steadfast companion, the one who had saved her from the dark and confusing mental labyrinth where she had been lost.…

She glanced at the pulsing gelsphere resting on the table, connected to its sensory apparatus. “That will be you as soon as it’s finished.” She divided her attention between the growing body in the tank and the robot’s detached memory core, uniting them in her mind.

“I have been without an appropriate body since the Battle of Corrin,” Erasmus said. “I miss my original flowmetal form, but removing my memory core from it was the only way for Gilbertus to save me from the mobs overrunning our city. Now I am eager to have the ability to move around as I please, to see and touch and experiment at will. The added biological component will be fascinating, I am certain.”

Erasmus had been a comforting presence at the Mentat School whenever she drifted off to sleep, a wise and friendly voice that spoke through a secret conduit in her ear, advising her, testing her, helping her through the turmoil in her shattered mind. She would have been lost without him.

“I can always help you, even before your body is ready.” Anna bent close to the gelsphere as if whispering in his ear.

She knew her mind had been damaged from the poison she had taken at the Sisterhood school, but did not consider herself to be foolish or overly gullible. She knew all the stories, had read the history of what the independent robot had done to his human captives, but she was also pleased that he found her fascinating. He had helped Anna in so many ways. How could she not forgive him?

The robot continued, “Dr. Danebh says the body will be ready in nine days for the implantation of my memory core. The waiting is difficult. I am tempted to power down my processor clock, stop my own subjective time, and wake up when the body is ready. I want to see with my new eyes, walk with my new legs, and feel temperatures, textures, pleasure, and pain with my new hands.”

Anna said quickly, “Please don’t shut down in the meantime. I can keep you company. Won’t it be interesting for us to discuss what you can do with a biological body? I have so many ideas, so many suggestions.”

She regarded the biological tank and the human body suspended there. She tapped the smooth, transparent walls, but the naked male form drifted away, bent in a partial fetal position, its arms and legs curled up. “I wonder what it’ll be like to touch it, to feel skin—and know it is you.” Her breath fogged the curved plaz.

“I wonder if it will make me feel more human to be in a human body,” Erasmus mused. “Theoretically, it should.”

She brightened. “You know it will! You’ll sense with nerve endings, feel what real people feel. It won’t just be data. At last you’ll be a real person yourself.”