"In war, truth is the first casualty."

Excerpt from Jarek's journal - Date Unknown

It is dark. I no longer have any idea how long I have been here. It seems like only yesterday that we were removed from the Tribunal Office to this installation. We found ourselves part of a sorry bunch of men and women, heads bowed and shuffling, led through a maze of doctors and machinery that poked and prodded us without emotion. Individually and in groups, we had wires attached to various body parts, various images were played seemingly directly into our heads and a wide array of blood and tissue samples were taken by the army of white-coated scientists that surrounded us like insects feeding upon a rotting and bloated corpse.

Separated from the rest, I was hung from a huge contraption that resembled a gyroscope I once saw on the mantle of my uncle's house. The machine rotated and span until I could no longer retain consciousness, and my mind was flooded with inescapable dreams of death and carnage. I forgot everything. The faces of my loved ones seemed to fade before the gaze of my mind's eye, and eventually I could not even have correctly named myself had my very life depended on it.

I awoke strapped to a gurney in a long, brilliantly white corridor. My head was fixed in such a way that I could only partially see my surroundings, yet I was aware that far from being alone, I was surrounded by others fastened similarly. In time, a group of doctors approached and asked me a series of questions: Who was I? Where was I from? Questions that, as they were being asked, I was supremely confident of being able to answer seemed, as I formed my lips to respond, to require a monumental mental effort, as if the part of my mind that made me who I am had been submerged beneath layers of other, new information I had never had to access before. My reflexes were tested, and then finally I was given yet another series of injections that made me sleep once more.

And so I found myself in the darkness. For a long time I allowed myself to imagine that all the life I had lived so far had been an illusion, some bizarre hallucination of an unborn foetus suspended safely inside its mother's womb. The fluid that surrounded me was tepid, yet comforting, buoying my invisible limbs and flooding my throat. As time passed I began, blindly, to explore my body, discovering a complex network of wires and tubes that seemed at once both alien and yet completely natural. I understood intrinsically that these were as important to my survival as any organic part of my wrinkled and puckered form. A hard mesh fit snugly over my scalp, its wiry ends burrowing deeply into the broken skin of my head. A flash of panic briefly struck me as I realised that I was no longer actively breathing, bringing with it all the old tales my Grandmothers had told me as a child of creatures living beyond death. Horrible, twisted creatures that rose from the earth to feed, parasitically, upon the living. Was this to be my fate?

After the longest time, I woke again in the dark. A dry dark this time, my beleaguered body rested upon a most comfortable bed. My lungs ached from the renewed exertions of pumping air into my frame, and my entire system felt as though I had been beaten, badly, yet I found relief in the open and welcoming arms of sleep. My dreams were filled with complex images, and upon waking it seems that now I have a deeper understanding of my situation than before.

Soon the others will come to release me from the darkness.

Soon, ensconced in my life-preserving pod, I shall learn to control the fantastic craft that rage against our ancient oppressors.

Soon my existence will be filled with the light of a thousand thousand suns, and I shall join my kindred in the crucible of righteous WAR.

"In justice is all virtues found in sum."

--- Republic Justice Deparment ---

Tribunal Report No. 685573
Tribunal Office: Dal IV M17
Presiding Justice: Grand Adjudicator Sarli Narjus
Accused: Jarek Kalensa
Prosecution: Brutor Tribe Security Officer #X38Ry
Charge: Petty larceny.
Judgement: Immediate Secondment to TLF (Tribal Liberation Force) for a period not less than 5 standard years. No possibility of discharge before this time.

---Minmatar Republic---
---Freedom at any price---

“Adventure must start with running away from home”

Dearest sister,

Firstly, I must apologise for not having been in contact for so long. I feel dreadful that I was unable to speak to you or reassure you before my departure, but for the sake of security it had to be this way. It was imperative to me that you and our father would not suffer any reprisals from the Republic for my actions, and also that I would be able to establish myself in my new home safely. I have no doubt that you will judge me harshly for my actions, but first let me explain my decision:

All of my life I have dreamed of exploring the universe, of breaking free from the persecution and slavery that we were born into. One day, at the end of secondsummer last year, Kevorax and I found ourselves aimlessly wandering through the alleyways of the marketplace of Dal Prime. We had found an easy mark earlier in the day, and had relieved him of his bulging wallet, and having filled our bellies with his stolen ISK, were feeling pretty contented and carefree. Little did we know how our day was fated to end.

We were looking at the wares of an elderly silversmith, and I was browsing a selection of fine torques and necklaces, hoping to buy you a gift. Suddenly, we became aware of a disturbance outside the stall, and turning to see its cause, were horrified to see the grimacing face of our earlier victim, flanked by to officers of the security force, their scowling eyes hidden behind their tinted spectacles. We were quickly identified and arrested, and in no short amount of time, found ourselves imprisoned in a holding cell whilst charges were brought against us. I was terrified, but managed to maintain my composure, however Kevorax immediately broke down and began to sob uncontrollably. I attempted to console him, but he kept insisting through his tears that we were undoubtedly headed for the noose.

As must surely be obvious from this missive, we escaped that horrific fate, but the tale of our emancipation must wait, as I must leave in a few minutes to attend to my duties. Be assured that I am safe now, and in due time you will, i hope, come to understand and forgive the path that I have chosen to take. Please reassure our father that I am alive, and place an offering on my behalf at our mother's shrine.

I remain your loving brother,

Jarek

Begin at the Beginning - A Pilot's Prayer

LITANY AGAINST FEAR

I must not fear.
Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear.
I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.
Only I will remain.



Bene Gesserit Litany Against Fear - From Frank Herbert's Dune Book Series
© 1965 and 1984 Frank Herbert
Published by Putnam Pub Group
ISBN: 0399128964