There was just 2 cm between the inner vat and the shell The heating unit was a parabolic solar collector, 50 cm across at maximum The energy generated was trans ferred to resistor coils oa the exterior surface It had only a large-capacity catchpocket, without fiowmeter, instead of a waiting basin The Kitab at Ibar says that "a man s flesh is his own, but his water belongs to the tribe" After the distilling process, water measurement, and mingling with the tribe's waterhoard, what little residue remained was treated with utmost care and "buried in the earth to share with Shat Hulud ' J L G Farther refeitBce: Anon, The Faces of the Marid Attien tr Bracar Baum, Ub Coaf Temp Series 641 HUNTER-SEEKER. An ingenious assassination device invented m 9846 by Roj Amalkin Weapons Master for Audni XI (9828 9851) Its development, coupled with Audni s will mgness to make judicious use of the weapon on his enemies, may have been partially responsible for the Emperor s enjoyment of a comfortable old age Elegant m its simplicity, the hunter seeker was composed of two parts the control console, from which its operator directed the weapon s movements, and the hunter seeker proper, a hair thm metal sliver measuring five centimeters or less The sliver was powered by a compressed suspensor field, which gave the operator the combined advantages of speed (the sliver could travel in short bursts, at speeds m excess of 100 kph) and high maneuverability In the hands of a skilled operator, it could also be moved with the exquisite timing necessary to penetrate a personal force shield At one end of the sliver-the' 'nose' -was a pointed crystal eye Through this, the opera tor would see to hunt his or her prey, harder than the metal making up the body of the sliver, the eye was also the tip with which the hunter-seeker entered its victim's body Once contact was made, the outcome was inevitable Regardless of what portion of the body it struck the shver, attracted to electric impulses, was drawn into the nearest nerve pathway It would then follow this course to the major organs, leaving a path of torn and destroyed tissue in its wake When sufficient damage had resulted to cause death the flow of energy through the nervous system stopped, and the shver froze m place The unstable metal was designed to disintegrate within half an hour of losing its energy contact, leaving only the tiny-and easily overlooked- crystal eje inside the corpse The console and its operator, of course, were less easily concealed, particularly be cause the hunter seeker s field could be con trolled only within a seventy-five meter range For approximately the first three centuries following the device s invention such concealment was less crucial, as the knowledge of the weapon's existence was one of House Comno's most carefully guarded secrets Other Houses, Major and Minor, buzzed with speculation concerning the emperor s' 'private death's angel,' but no real information was revealed until 10155 Public exposure of the hunter seeker was brought about by a thwarted assassination IDAHO, DUNCAN 317 IDAHO, DUNCAN attempt against the then-Heir Apparent, Prince Shaddam Corrino (later Shaddam IV).