"What about alien species? Talmudic tradition solved it eons ago, recognizing endless creations happened on many planets. Either aliens will have free will, and hence can join the people of Israel, or they do not, in which case the question does nor arise. What about artificial intelligence? The scholars agree that should that ever be created, it will have but the will its creators instill in it. Hence once again, they won't be able to join the People."
- COMMENTARIES OF THE DIASPORA

"Rabbi, we are staking all that we have on the reliability of your sermon," exclaimed Miles Teg. In the metal-encased apartment they were confined to, he did not dare say more for fear of being listened to. If that was a jail, it was a comfortable one indeed, with a fully furnished room, sleeping quarters and bathroom. He did not like the implication that their stay could be long. Thankfully, they did not have to wait for their first visit. The door swung open to let the Security chief enter, Commissioner Hilom.

"Rabbi 'Fool'," he began, "what a fitting name you chose for your little act! Surely Kesil is not your real name? We can speak freely here," he added as the Rabbi watched him alarmed, and sat down at the nearest chair. "Since when the Secret Protocol says you can utter your formulas in front of a planetary council? We can only hope the Sayyadina has not picked up on the clues. Oh, don't you worry, there will be a line of people outside before you know it. Spice makers! All of the trades Israel has picked up along the way, indeed this is the most singular, Rabbi!"

"We adapt."

"So we did. Tradition and change. One of our Rabbis has been notified, obviously. We expect a strong examination before believing your claim. By the deep sky! I had not heard Maimonides' words in ages."

"Maimonides' words are eternal, dear Commissioner."

"Is there going to be a test?" asked Teg.

"Merely one of our interviews," replied the Commissioner. "Do you allow riding a transport to the synagogue on Shabbat, Rabbi?"

"Yes," he replied, "but if you are riding on a no-ship, does God know you are on your way?"

The Commissioner laughed. Then, turning serious: "By the Secret of our community, Rabbi, you have come to this place at a terrible time. Our community will give you asylum, granted, but the ship needs to go. Every day it is orbiting Delphyne, it asks for trouble."

"How so? What can the Commissioner tell us of this planet?" asked Teg.

"Hilom," commented the Rabbi, "the youth you see here is not a youth. He is wise beyond his years."

"I can see that. I will tell you about Delphyne soon enough. What is the motive for your trip here?"

"The Honored Matres displaced us."

"Never heard of them in this part of the Universe."

"Let's pray it stays that way."

"Well then, that spice offer was a gamble. Is it real, Rabbi?"

"It can be real, in small quantities."

"More trouble. There will be a line out of this room in a second."

He paused because of a knock at the door, after which the thin figure of Priest Brogallo timidly entered the room. Tread cautiously, was the meaning of Teg's look to the Rabbi.

"The sons of Israel are welcome by Israel," started the priest. Realization flashed on the Rabbi's eyes.

"Priest Brogallo, you... one of us! But... ordained as a priest of the Worm?"

"Judge not a man until you come into his place," replied the Commissioner. Priest Brogallo's wide smile could not have come from the same shy priest they had seen perform in Council.

"On Delphyne, jails have soft pillows and chains made of feathers," replied the Rabbi, "And our jailors seem attentive as much as demanding. So, Brogallo, do you live as a converso? Rakian priest by day and son of Israel by night?"

"Rabbi, delicate times offer unique opportunities. Anything, so that our secret community does not get exposed."

"Delicate as our offer of spice."

"I have said it already, Rabbi. There will be a line out there soon enough," intervened the Commissioner. "Rabbi Olza will meet you, and if accepted you will have my conditional protection. My conditions are two: the no-ship needs to leave within days, and any spice trade happens off this planet. I am not putting our chapter at risk."

"As you said it. Will it be possible to trade with Israel, elsewhere?"

"If you are accepted. Your circumstances are exceptional. For the time being, you are forbidden to speak of your melange openly. Trust no one. Do you understand armies from other nations will land here in a heartbeat if the information is known?"

"We are in your hands. 'I will seek the lost one, and that which has been cast out I will bring back, and the broken one I will cure.' We have a list of urgent needs for the group of us that remains aboard our ship."

"How many people?"

"Five of the People."

"And how many others?"

"Three dozen or so."

"We cannot promise asylum for them."

"Yes you will" interrupted Miles Teg, a surety of tone that betrayed a much older awareness.

"Tell us Rabbi? Who is this? A midget?" asked the Commissioner coldly.

"You are in the presence of Miles Teg, a renowned leader from the Million Worlds, and one of the Bene Gesserit. His mind is much older than his looks."

"Bene Gesserit," replied Brogallo, his eyes twitching. "How many?"

"All the others on the ship."

"Emigration, or colonization Rabbi? You bring the Bene Gesserit. Are they setting their eyes on this planet?" asked the Commissioner.

"You can think of us as an offshoot. The Sisterhood of old does not know our location."

"A Diaspora of Sisters! Landing here again to spread that Sheeana cult! More and more now they copy the ways of our nation."

"How did they copy..." asked Teg, then kept silent.

"The Azar book? Matrilineal descent and lineage records? And who do you think first prophesied the advent of the Kwisatch Haderach, the witches?" blurted out the Rabbi, out of real anger or maybe just for the sake of impressing the Commissioner and the Priest.

"Thousands of years of pharaonic rule, because of the Sisters' games. Remember history." continued Priest Brogallo.

"And yet, a secret alliance with the same, bringing safety and refuge in the most trying of times," warned the Commissioner, relaxing. "Do not mind our bantering, Teg-boy. Debate, disagreement and dissent all are in our blood."

"Yet you hide in the shadow of the Rakian religion, Brogallo? Do you prostrate in front of an animal deity?" demanded the Rabbi.

"The old worm was just a worm. We are first and foremost a pragmatic folk, stepping up to the role of governing this planet so that our community remains safe, discreet, and undetected. And in doing so we act as conduits for other communities of Israel scattered in deep space. People, customs and even religions change as they Scatter, Rabbi."

Hilom came closer, speaking with finality: "We honor the commitment to our people, and to the Bene Gesserit. Forgive us the theatricals in the council room. Everybody's informants had learned about your gift before we could do any damage control. Delphyne has established itself as a safe haven, a place of religious freedom and prosperity, but the times are changing."

"How so?" asked the Rabbi.

"The neutral stance we achieved by forestalling foreign interests, that stance will be tested soon. We don't want to offer any opportunity - and that includes a giant no-ship orbiting around the planet - to create points of friction."

"Yet, Commissioner, this ship comes to you as a free rook just as you thought you were running out of pieces on the board," stated Teg.

"Very perceptive. What makes you think of that?"

"I have limited data to make a guess, but..." continued Teg with emphasis and manners that assured his audience he was no youth, "you act like under contrasting pressures. Your council has representation from the most singular power groups, representatives of foreign powers. You embrace us while calculating how you can discredit us, hide us away, wait for the right moment. Make no mistake, our entrance here has altered the old balance."

"What Bene Gesserit trick is this boy? Know that this planet has been living off of its neutrality for decades. The center where all forces balance out. No power too strong, no action without a reaction. The conquest nobody pursued, fearing their opponents' reactions."

"That's admirable," replied Teg. "It is the subtlest of games, balancing opposing enemies out..."

"Yes!" replied the priest.

"Except a single feather can unbalance the scales."

"And the scales were quite unbalanced just before you arrived."

"Is war coming?"

"Perhaps."

"But then," asked the Rabbi, "do be clear with me. If the presence of spice-trading merchants is so troublesome, why haven't you sent us away already?"

"Their balance is about to collapse," replied Teg, "... but a giant no-ship came out of the sky with promises of spice. If you work with us, we will together dish out melange to any interested party - and all of Delphyne's enemies are on that list - and this planet will become once again too precious for any faction to let it fall into other people's hands. And so the pendulum will swing back to equilibrium."

"I am speechless," admitted the Commissioner, "But then again, we heard the Bene Gesserit would make your mind feel naked." He stood up while heading for the door: "We will have to play the act, you understand. There will be an inspection of the ship. We will pretend to expose you as empty handed. Which for what I know could really be the case." He stood up. "In the meantime, you will be our guests. The chapter will accept or reject our dear Rabbi shortly. Our brother Ben - Brogallo for all others - will take care of your needs. I will find an excuse to see you later," and without another word, he marched out.

"Ben, speak clearly," said the Rabbi. "Why are you two so involved? Pack up, or go underground, what compels you to steer the politics of this planet? To trust a no-ship come out of the past?"

"I don't! I will let our Rabbi speak for you. But would you refuse the gift of Providence?"

The false priest searched around the room, like looking for something to lean on.

"Do you know," he continued in a whisper, "that Delphyne is the crossroads of all faiths? Walk south a few miles, just outside the city center, and you will find a ruined temple that was built by the first wave of fugitives from the Million Worlds. The priestesses there follow no religion we can remember. And Israel remembers. They drink the fumes rising from the cracks in the ground, they shake in wild seizures while proffering the most unholy words. I visited once. The head prophetess, wearing rags, laughed at me as I approached. It took time for me to realize she was talking in her sleep. I woke her up - I am the chief priest of Dur, after all - and asked her to foretell the future of my People. Do you know what she said while dancing above the mists?"

"What..." attempted to chime in Teg.

"She touched my arm," interrupted the priest touching Teg's arm, "and said words I remember to this day. She said: 'The Emperor's gold it carries defiant / in its belly, Golem the name of the giant'. I started laughing at the notion of gold, but the laughter died in my throat as soon as she uttered the giant's name. I froze. I felt found, exposed, but the woman uttered words that were not hers. Like she was being played by an invisible hand. She did not know what the Golem was or how that revealed my origins. I derided her and told her I was a priest - what good was gold to a priest? 'Out of the sky the giant will land / to back the righteous who inherits the land' she finished, and collapsed on the floor and never spoke again. Rabbi, is your vessel called Golem, by chance?"

"No," replied the Rabbi in earnest.

"But it indeed brings the Emperor's gold. Only, Rabbi..."

"Yes?"

"Do not forget to let your giant rest at Shabbat, this time."

The door re-opened. Commissioner Hilom stood in the way. "I am back sooner than expected. Rabbi Esther Olza is waiting in an adjacent room for our 'fool'," he said with a harmless smile.

"I will..." chimed in Teg.

"I should go alone, Miles. I am ready," replied the Rabbi.

"Ready as we always must be," continued the Commissioner. "Oh and, Commerce Agent Kilaz has been seen walking toward us. I trust that your Teg-boy can handle an impious scumbag? Because he is going to be alone with him while you are busy with your meeting, Rabbi. Oh, and please pardon my old Galach."