Reverend Mother Tertius Eileen Anteac and her fellow Truthsayer, Marcus Claire Luyseyal, arrive on Arrakis to a disastrous morning marked by poor quarters, disabled communications, and a hostile Fish Speaker guard who informs them that their audience with the God Emperor has been demoted to the last position. Soon after, a shaken postulate messenger arrives to report on contacts with the Ixians and a Tleilaxu Face Dancer. Using a memory-trance, the messenger delivers a chilling verbatim warning that the Empire will be rid of the God Emperor by nightfall through an assassination strike before he reaches Onn.
Analyzing the situation, Anteac and Luyseyal deduce that the Tleilaxu sent the message under the assumption that the Bene Gesserit would be forced to join them. Because Fish Speaker guards now trap them inside their quarters and communication tools remain blocked, warning the God Emperor directly proves difficult. Luyseyal questions the reliability of the Tleilaxu assassins, noting that they are bound to act clumsily, while Anteac ponders whether the elusive girl named Siona is somehow tied to the unfolding plot.
The two Truthsayer women debate the potential involvement of the Guild, Siona's uncanny ability to fade from sight, and the catastrophic implications of a Tleilaxu strike. As the conversation turns to past assassins and the history of ghola Idahos, Anteac considers a terrifying possibility involving an Idaho Face Dancer. Dismissing the notion as dangerously unpredictable yet plausible for the Tleilaxu, Anteac orders Luyseyal to summon one of the Fish Speaker guards to prepare for whatever comes next.