Pulse of the Imperium

Despite all the urgency, Sinsei had to sit down for a moment as the adrenaline had run out and the blood loss kicked in. She needed to eat something, anything.

Cuyler had taken some of the food supplies and made a quick meal for their guest.

"It's not much, but this should help you regain sone strength." She offered.

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Day 2 | Afternoon | Many Worlds Interpretation, Preparing a Quick Meal for Sinsei, Average Education (Intellect): 3eP+2eD 1 success, 1 threat

Sinsei took a glance. "You didn't lie about being a chef. Thank you." She accepted the meal and took some bites in silence, then turned back to Cuyler. "To spice the meal up, you could tell me about Arrakis."

"It's almost the opposite of all of this." She gestured to their surroundings. "But, there are similarities. There's conflict and there's danger. It's hard to say which is deadliest, the environment, the creatures or the people."

"Always the people." Sinsei shared an irony between bites. "Though I'd like to hear more of the similarities. Do you know why the mantas aren't attacking you now?"

"Were they attracted to the electromagnetic fields generated by the thopters?" she guessed. "The other theory is that they don't normally come into the jungle."

"I think the first one is more correct. They likely assess the danger a creature can pose by the strength of their magnetic field. Anything with an active Holtzmann generator is probably read as extreme danger and the murder does their utmost to neutralise such a behemoth predator. But then, are they wrong?"

"It makes sense." She nodded. "Are there predators that generate large fields?"

"No megafauna in these jungles. The system is too diverse and full of checks and balances for any sufficiently large animal to emerge. For instance, Electrophorus dendratus can fell anything within their reach with their electric discharge despite only moderate body mass. Perhaps in the deep oceans." She gestured forth. "Much points to the fact that the original magnetic distortion is geological, given we're in an active subduction zone." She pointed to the mountains on the horizon. "It may result from some pocket molten metal anomaly shallow in the mantle, like a chip of the core separated from it by some cosmic event when the planet was forming. From there the electromagnetic fields pile up, however, and it's reasonable to assume that the very biome, with its concatenation of fungi, lichens and plantlife evolved within electromagnetic pressures, can account for the field effects. This whole area is a radiowave trap, no contact with the outside world, perhaps with the exception of mountain peaks, but I haven't climbed any of them to check." She returned to eating. "Anything similar on Arrakis?"

"Not really." She shook her head. "The closest I can think of are the static discharges caused by the approach of sandworms. The sandworms and sandtrout have the greatest natural impact on the planet."

"I've heard of them! I wonder how they can be taxonomised. Are those worms like, gargantuan annelids? Do they hunt the sandtrout? I've read several of dr Kynes' papers but they cover the fauna very scracely and there's not many of them in the first place. He's very eccentric, they say, writing everything on paper by hand rather than on ridulian crystal, so editing manuscripts takes more time than usual. Maybe there's more in his reports for the Emperor but they're available only for those with very high clearance because of the whole spice harvesting thing..." She pouted. "But wonder if those sandworms have only electrostatic discharges due to friction, or they are actually conductors. Thermodynamics dictates that they must be taking that energy to travel from somewhere, so maybe storms? They are huge there, no?" She hmm'ed.

"Here, the mentioned tree eels are conductors. They actually look like dangling snakes or lampreys but they are annelids. Their discharge comes from burrowing into the tree with one end to absorb electrofluid. I haven't yet figured out if this is parasitic or symbiotic, but knowing the scale of ecological interdependence of everything here I think it's the latter. It's hard to analyse them in vivo, though, for obvious reasons."

"The worms are difficult to study. " She said. "The fremen are most familiar with them, but they observe them from a cultural and mythical view. Kynes may have more insight, but our paths never crossed. I assume they gain most of their nourishment as they burrow deep beneath the sands. But, I've seen how quickly they will breach to swallow anything they sense on the surface. That's when you see the wormsign."

"Fascinating! After I defend my thesis I'll petition the court to let me join dr Kynes on Arrakis. You know, I read that during the Old Imperium, before the Titans and the Thinking Machines, there had been a very advanced planetological mission on Arrakis. Many testing sites all over the planet, with research programs lasting decades if not centuries. They're all probably long gone, and their knowledge too, but I imagine we might regain one day what, as humanity, we had lost there."

"It will be difficult. Mining is the priority on Arrakis. There are few resources allocated for anything else."

"Certainly not under the Harkonnens." She agreed. "You are House Mutelli. Before I began my fieldwork here, your Great House wasn't too close to the Atreides. Something has changed?"

"Relations have improved." She nodded. "Duke Leto intervened with a situation on Arrakis, a CHOAM audit I was a part of. That led to an alliance, that House Mutelli hopes to strengthen."

"I see. Still, House Mutelli's first loyalty is to the Emperor, no?" She mused. "So you have some foothold on Arrakis?"

"Of course. But, it is always good to have friends, especially when dealing with the Harkonnen. It is difficult to find your feet on Arrakis."

"Then I have a proposal to make, Ms Gray. If I survive this and end up on Arrakis as I intend, I'll help House Mutelli to stregthen their foothold on the planet in the ways a trained planetologist can. This way I'll repay the debt I'd like to incur now. You have more leverage with these people than I do. Please support me."

"I'm willing." She nodded. "But, I would like to know your intentions."