Ammon was relieved to leave that office. He could be sure that Fenring and Rabban would from time to time come over to check up on his activities. Ammon did not know who to fear more; the Harkonnen or the Ordos. Rico and the Ordos guards brought him to an open area of the city where an ornithopter was parked.
"We must get to the polar cap immediately Director. There are things that need your immediate attention: a broken ice drill and some water miners taking too much time off" Rico said while stepping into the small aircraft. The guards rudely pushed Ammon forward and demanded that he get into the ornithopter with no respect for whatever authority he held.
The trip to the polar cap took just over an hour. The temperature on the polar cap was below zero but was not as cold as Draconis IV. Still, Ammon wished he could work in a warmer environment. The polar cap was a mountainous region with large dust covered glaciers. The ornithopter landed on a flat area at the base of a glacier.
"There are hundreds of people here mining water. There are one hundred Ordos water miners while the rest work for wealthy merchants residing in the cities" Rico said as they stepped out of the ornithopter. Outside Ammon could see people at work everywhere leaving tunnels after drilling and breaking off blocks of ice from the glaciers, pulling them on suspensor trucks over to ice harvesters; mobile factories that would melt the ice into water and be brought to the cities by carryalls. While this work was not quite as profitable as harvesting mélange, it was less hazardous. Worms were a far greater risk than collapsing ice.
"Thank you for that data Rico. Now tell me where my office and quarters are" Ammon said looking around seeing no buildings.
"Oh we will not be staying here Director. We will reside in Arrakeen where the Ordos bank and water distribution center is. We shall go there as soon as we have settled matters here. We will only travel here once a week for inspections" Rico then handed Ammon a map of the relatively small area where they were permitted to mine for water. "We must not mine in the other areas. The water merchants of the cities have divided all land on the polar cap and…"
"Yes, yes enough trivia. I understand. Now tell me where this broken ice drill is" Ammon interrupted. Ammon did not know if his assistant was a fool or had no experience dealing with mentats.
"Right this way Director" Rico led him to the ice harvester. The factory was slightly larger than a heighliner frigate. Ammon entered through the back entrance. Inside Ammon could see a conveyor belt where blocks of ice were placed and brought to a heating machine where the ice would melt into a vat below and with pumps the water was brought through tubes to storage tanks that took up half the space of the harvester. The tanks kept the water at room temperature until it could be distributed in the cities. There was one worker keeping watch over the temperature of the heating device and other workers coming in with chunks of ice and placing them on the conveyor belt. The workers were coming in and out at a disappointing speed. Leaning against the wall Ammon saw the giant ice drill.
"In what way is this drill broken?" Ammon asked a worker who was about to leave to get more ice.
"Some of the springs have snapped sir" he replied. Ammon felt anger building up within him. He could not see any reason why no worker was willing to have the machine repaired except that they were not ordered to do so by a superior. He realized that these workers needed to have some discipline pounded into them. Ammon knew that this lack of work was due to the loss of their previous director. Ammon asked Rico if he had a horn or a whistle. Rico shrugged. Seeing no other way to signal all the workers, Ammon grabbed one worker by the collar of his uniform and demanded him to go and tell all Ordos water miners to report to the harvester immediately. The man ran outside and did what he was told to do. As the message was sent out, workers stopped what they were doing and rushed to the harvester. In less than ten minutes every single Ordos worker had gathered by the harvester. Ammon prepared himself to speak loudly and firmly to his subordinates.
"I am your new Director who has been sent here by the Executrix. The Masters would be most displeased with your lack of efficiency. You are to work twice as fast in the coming week for this week's lack of progress" Ammon stopped for a moment and asked Rico to show him this week's profit in water sales and the weeks before his predecessor was removed. Rico handed him the document. Comparing the two, Ammon was disappointed.
"You fools have been taking too much time off. You think just because you do not have a director means that you may take a holiday? If you do not mine enough water in the coming weeks, you will be detained and you will not be able to feed your families" The workers all looked to the ground in shame. Ammon took another look at the charts showing the amount of last week's water produced. Ammon then asked for all water miners to raise their hands. Ammon quickly counted eighty. The rest were suspensor truck drivers, people who operated the water harvester and the carryall pilot. Ammon did some quick calculations before he continued.
"Starting tomorrow, you are each going to mine at least one gallon of water for every hour. That is eighty gallons of water every hour, for ten hours every day for six days. That is eight hundred gallons of water every day and forty eight thousand gallons every week" Ammon then pointed to the carryall pilot. "You go to Arrakeen, find a mechanic who can fix the ice drill" The pilot nodded. "Now all of you get to work!" On that order all the workers quickly got back to their work.
"But Director, with that much water we might need another harvester" Rico said.
"Then you will act as my messenger. You will go to Draconis IV and ask the Executrix for another harvester. In the meantime get in the ornithopter. It is time I see my office and our bank" Getting back in the ornithopter, Ammon wondered if these workers could help him get the message out that the Ordos were using thinking machines and were plotting something that could affect the whole Imperium.