Read Dune: The Butlerian Jihad for Free Online

toady little man who stuttered, placed the dripping slice on a clean plate, added a dollop of savory brown sauce, and extended it toward Erasmus. Clumsily, the chef bumped the knife off the serving tray and it clattered against one of Erasmus’s smooth feet, leaving a nick and a stain.
    Terrified, the man bent to retrieve the knife, but Erasmus flashed a mechanical hand down and grabbed the handle. Sitting straight, the elegant robot continued to talk to Omnius. “A new offensive? And is it a mere coincidence that the Titan Barbarossa requested exactly that as a reward when he defeated your fighting machine in the gladiator arena?”
    “Irrelevant.”
    Staring at the blade, the chef stammered, “I will p-personally p-polish it and m-m-make it good as n-n-new, Lord Erasmus.”
    “Humans are such fools, Erasmus,” Omnius said from speakers on the wall.
    “Some of them are,” Erasmus agreed, waving the carving knife with graceful movements. The little chef mouthed a silent prayer, unable to move. “I wonder what should I do?” Erasmus wiped the knife clean on the trembling man’s smock, then stared at the fellow’s distorted reflection in the metal blade.
    “Human death is different from machine death,” Omnius said dispassionately. “A machine can be duplicated, backed-up. When humans die, they are gone permanently.”
    Erasmus simulated a boisterous laugh. “Omnius, though you always talk about the superiority of machines, you fail to recognize what humans do better than we.”
    “Do not give me another of your lists,” the evermind said. “I recall our last debate on this subject with perfect accuracy.”
    “Superiority is in the eye of the beholder and invariably involves filtering out details that do not conform to a particular preconceived notion.” With his sensory detectors waving like cilia in the air, Erasmus smelled the odor of foul sweat from the chef.
    “Are you going to kill this one?” Omnius asked.
    Erasmus placed the knife on the table and heard the toady man emit a sigh. “Individually, humans are easy to kill. But as a species, the challenge is far greater. When threatened, they draw together and become more powerful, more dangerous. Sometimes it is best to surprise them.”
    Without warning, he grabbed the knife and plunged it into the chef’s chest with enough force to drive it through the sternum and into the heart. “Like so.” Blood spurted down the white uniform, onto the table and the robot’s plate.
    The hapless human slid off the blade, gurgling. As Erasmus held the bloody knife he considered attempting to duplicate his victim’s look of disbelief and betrayal with his own pliable mask, but decided not to bother. His robot face remained a flat, mirrored oval. Erasmus would never be required to display such an expression anyway.
    Curious, he tossed the blade aside with a clatter, then dipped sensitive probe threads into the blood on his plate. The taste was quite interesting and complex. He wondered if the blood of various victims would taste any different.
    Robot guards dragged the chef’s body away, while other terrified slaves huddled by the doorway, knowing they should clean up the mess. Erasmus studied their fear.
    Omnius said, “Now I wish to tell you something important that I have decided to do. My attack plans are already set in motion.”
    Erasmus feigned interest, as he often did. He activated a cleaning mechanism that sterilized the tip of his probe, which then snaked back into its hiding place beneath the robe. “I defer to your judgment, Omnius. I have no expertise in military matters.”
    “That is exactly why you should heed my words. You always say you want to learn. When Barbarossa defeated my gladiator robot in exhibition combat, he requested the chance to strike against the League Worlds, as a boon from me. The remaining Titans are convinced that without these hrethgir , the universe would be infinitely more efficient and tidy.”
    “How medieval,”