Dune II

God Emperor of Dune, places us in a universe vastly different from that of Children of Dune. Leto II still lives, having ruled the Empire for more than three thousand five hundred years. He owes his lifespan to a decision Leto makes in Herbert's previous novel to merge his human body with sandtrout. Leto continues to evolve into a worm, his only remaining human features being his face, tucked in a cowl of wormflesh, and his hands. Leto's legs are nothing more than useless flippers. Leto moves about on a giant mechanical cart equipped with both wheels and suspensors resembling a tank chassis. To the Imperium and to the reader of the book, Leto appears to have changed even more dramatically in ethics than he has in appearance. The third book in the series, Children of Dune, saw Leto II as a hero that would lead humanity along a shining golden path. Now, millennia later, Leto's rule appears to be nothing more than the most depraved despotism humanity has ever witnessed. The worm, as he's called, however, appears confident in the direction of his course despite anyone's ability to see how this could possibly be part of the Golden Path or good for humanity in any way. The book opens with a deadly chase: a band of rebel humans pursued by a pack of deadly, genetically modified wolves known as D-wolves. One by one, the wolves pick off the rebels who have successfully stolen some documents from Leto's keep. When we join the chase, only three rebels remain on their feet. The wolves immediately take down one of the rebels, compelling the penultimate runner, who is hampered by an injury, to make a brave stand to try and give the last runner a few more precious minutes. The last runner, a woman on her final reserves, makes the safety of the opposite bank of the Idaho River. From this safety, Siona, looking across at the baying wolves, curses the Emperor of Arrakis, a curse made all the more meaningful, because we learn that she, like Leto, is of the Atreides family line. Purportedly to ease the loneliness of the centuries, Leto commissions the Tleilaxu to produce one Duncan Idaho ghola at a time. Each Duncan serves Leto as a personal companion and as the leader of his female Fish Speaker army. During a heated discussion with a Duncan ghola, Leto, warned by the Spacing Guild, is aware that Duncan is armed with a lasgun purchased from an Ixian, and intends to assassinate Leto. Leto is not particularly shocked. The reader later discovers that most of the Duncan Idaho gholas eventually turn against Leto before being killed. Having been the loyal swordmaster to House Atreides, as well as Paul's teacher and close friend, Duncan struggles with internal conflict over his allegiance to the Atreides family in opposition with his moral deference to the people he sees as being oppressed by the God Emperor, all clouded by the uncertainty of feeling millennia out of his time. Moneo (Leto's canny majordomo; the name is a Latin verb whose root comes from mens or "mind" in the sense of reminding or admonishing), who refers to the Duncan ghola during an altercation as being an "older model," considers Duncan's social mores and virtues to be outdated and at extreme odds with Leto's Golden Path. Duncan demonstrates his naïveté in some areas, during a discussion with Leto concerning the failures of aristocratic and ruling classes. Despite having already decided to kill Leto, the ghola first acts as if his final meeting with the God Emperor is routine, yet later beseeches Leto to provide an ethical explanation for his seemingly despotic governance. In the midst of the meeting, we learn that the rebels have escaped with some of Leto's personal diaries and a map to his citadel. Leto II lapses into a daydream during the conversation, and Duncan takes this chance to try and kill him. However, Leto reacts faster than any human could, leaping instinctively in the air and crushing Duncan with his body, almost before Duncan gets off a shot. Leto is barely injured, losing nothing more than a physically unnecessary flipper in the process. Symbolically, however, the flipper represents a part of Leto's humanity because it used to be one of his legs. Moneo, Leto's chief minister, is called in to arrange the disposal of Duncan. Moneo has seen similar scenes before and is mostly bothered by how it will affect the routine of government. The reader discovers that loyal Moneo is the concerned father of the rebellious Siona, and that Siona is in some way vital to Leto's plans. The Tleilaxu were aware of Duncan's plans and send along a new Idaho before the previous version has even died. The latest Duncan is met by two members of Leto's personal guard (called Fish Speakers). They, being used to the arrival of Duncan, tell him as much as he needs to know and as little as Leto wants him to know, to best prepare him for his meeting with the God Emperor. Duncan is unsettled, not only by the fact he learns he has been brought back into a world three thousand years after his own, but also by the Fish Speakers. The fact they are female military offends Duncan's sensibilities, but in addition he can see that they have been heavily conditioned to obey without question, which is opposed to the original Atreides ideal. The rebels on Arrakis give the encrypted diaries of Leto to the Ixian ambassador in a secret meeting. The Ixian ambassador mocks Siona for her disguise, asking why she bothers when it is well known she is the leader of the rebels. He goes on to mock her 'rebellion' by asking her when she intends to join the God Emperor, since one generation after another the young Atreides have 'played' at being rebels before being called into the loyal service of Leto. But Siona turns the tables on him by threatening blackmail. Also at the end of the meeting Siona unmasks a spy, sending him back to Leto with a message. Ironically, however, the spy is actually her father's, and it is Siona's closest companion, Nayla, who is Leto's true spy. Moneo and Leto meet again and we learn that the new Duncan is untainted by the Bene Tleilax. In the past, the Bene Tleilax had attempted genetic tampering; to which Leto had responded with violent sanctions. Moneo and Leto discuss Leto's human breeding programme, which he had taken from the Bene Gesserit, much to their disquiet. We also learn that Duncan Idaho has played an important role in this programme and that, in Leto's own words, he rather strangely sees himself as a predator on humanity, a concept that Moneo fails to understand, much to Leto's disappointment. Moneo also raises his fears about his daughter, which Leto sympathizes with, but says that she must be tested and that Moneo should trust in his daughter's capabilities. Later, Leto meets Nayla, his spy in Siona's camp. Nayla is a complete fanatic and utterly devoted to Leto, taking his title of God Emperor utterly literally. He orders her, for unknown reasons, to obey Siona's every command — even if Siona seeks to kill Leto. During their conversation we learn from Nayla that Siona is ready for testing, a fact Leto was unsure of, because she isn't always visible to his prophetic dreams. We do learn, in Leto's favor, that he is not proud of his accomplishment with Nayla, and regrets the necessity of such religious conditioning. Leto initially meets Duncan in a darkened room so Duncan can gradually become adjusted to him. Leto begins the conversation using Paul Atreides' voice, in order to calm Duncan down. He first tells Duncan that it was a face dancer pretending to be Paul who triggered Duncan's memories, rather than a ghola version. Leto then goes on to confirm the things that the Tleilaxu had told Duncan were true — that he was turning into a worm, that it was three thousand years later, that Leto has brought Duncan back many times, etc. Once he calms Duncan's near hysteria, he changes over to his real voice, and switches on the light so Duncan can see him as he really is. He explains why he has done what he has done; he then reveals that he needs Duncan to command his army. Duncan then gets sidetracked by his chauvinism into asking why Leto has an all female army; Leto gives the short answer that they minimize the level of violence. After having his doubts about the religious mantle Leto has taken on mollified, Duncan swears into Leto's service with the caveat that if he is worse than Baron Vladimir Harkonnen then he will turn against him. Leto is amused that the Baron is Duncan's measure of true evil. The next day Moneo and Duncan talk. Duncan returns to the subject of his doubts — the female Fish Speaker army and the religion Leto has created. They first discuss Leto's ideas about the value of a female army — that unless very well-disciplined, the male army is essentially rapist and a threat to its own population. Duncan is forced to reluctantly accept these arguments when he examines his own personal experience. During the conversation Duncan learns that Moneo is an Atreides and also a descendant of previous Duncan Idaho gholas, and that Leto had taken over the Bene Gesserit breeding programme. Duncan also questions Moneo about the 'god business' and is shocked and pleased that Moneo makes no attempt to defend it and says in point of fact that Leto himself calls it a 'Holy Obscenity.' We are then introduced to Anteac and Luyseyal, Reverend Mothers and Truthsayers who have come to Arrakis to represent the Bene Gesserit; they are disquieted by their poor accommodation, and thus, lack of favor in the eye of the God Emperor. They learn that the Ixian embassy has been overtaken by Face Dancers and that an attack is planned on the God Emperor that day and try to warn Leto. However, the message does not reach the God Emperor in time; while the God Emperor is traveling between cities, the Leto's convoy is attacked by Face Dancers who try to confuse the Fish Speaker guards by imitating Duncan Idaho. Duncan, however, foils their plan by stripping himself of his clothes and the unprepared Face Dancers are unable to copy him, allowing the Fish Speakers to easily slaughter them. The God Emperor tells his guards to hide all evidence of the battle, so the Tleilaxu will think that their attack didn't even inflict a single casualty. The Ixians send Hwi Noree as their new ambassador to Leto, and he is immediately attracted to her. She is a highly empathic and intelligent woman, who has greatly admired Leto from afar and almost immediately understands him. She is exactly the kind of woman that Leto would have wanted as a mate if he were still truly human. He is aware that she quite obviously is some kind of Ixian trap — since someone must have deliberately created and trained her to be such a perfect fit for him — but he cannot resist the pleasure of her company even so. As such, she is a kind of delicious agony for him because his sexual organs have long since disappeared. Furthermore, he possessed no foreknowledge of her, which meant that somehow the Ixians had managed to hide her existence from his prophetic dreams. In the meantime, Leto orders a masked Nayla to publicly flog the Tleilaxu ambassador until he passes out. The Bene Gesserit are in the God Emperor's good graces for attempting to warn him of the attack on his convoy and retain his good will even though they bring concentrated spice-essence with them in the hope of triggering his transition to a worm. In fact, this attempt on his life amuses him because it is so unusual; and so he treats this attack as a gift, offering himself as an oracle as a reward. Of the two Bene Gesserit, Leto is insulted at the naïveté of Luylesal but is impressed by the abilities of the other, Anteac, and, semi-jokingly, offers her a job working for him. Leto decides that Siona has been left independent for long enough and so sends his Fish Speakers to induct her into his service. She does not enter his service willingly and is in fact guarded at all times. Leto intends to breed Siona with Duncan Idaho, and so he arranges for them to go on a trip together expecting that things will happen naturally sooner or later. Siona, angered by this, decides to take Duncan to Goygoa village, which was once called Jacurutu, where the young Leto II made his headquarters in remote past centuries. This is a cruel decision by Siona, because Duncan is stared at as soon as he arrives in the village and is unpleasantly surprised to be confronted by a local boy, who he learns was fathered by the previous Duncan Idaho. Unable to resist the temptation, he identifies the mother of the child, and immediately sees her resemblance to Lady Jessica. Roomed together by the Fish Speakers, Siona and Duncan swap insults in their irritation at Leto's breeding plans for them both; but decline any further intimacy. When he returns, Duncan is introduced to the Siaynoq, the major religious ceremony of the Fish Speakers, during which they celebrate their unique relationship with the God Emperor. Duncan witnesses it firsthand and is stunned by the power of it. During the ceremony Duncan reswears his allegiance to the Atreides, though not directly to Leto. The whole experience does little to ease Duncan's doubts. Hwi Noree and Leto meet for the second time. Hwi Noree is hurriedly called to audience with Leto. When she arrives, she learns that her embassy had been overrun by Face Dancers and the only reason she had survived was because they needed the time to perfect their mimicking of her in order to fool the God Emperor. Shocked by this, she wonders why the God Emperor hadn't wiped out the Face Dancers. He answers that they have their uses and that the only political group Leto had ever actually considered destroying were the Bene Gesserit; because they are so near to what they should be, yet so far. Finally he asks Hwi to be his bride, though he 'reassures' her that he is incapable of being her physical lover; he tells her that she can have children with a discreet lover of his choosing if she so wishes. Duncan and Leto talk again; Duncan is still filled with doubts and confusion, and he doesn't understand the shape of Leto's empire. Leto laughs at this, and says that realizing one doesn't know something is the first step to understanding. Leto then explains more about his Empire; he tells Duncan that he has no prisons because breaking the law in his Empire is a religious crime and thus punishable with death, which does not make Duncan feel any better; he realizes that Leto is the leader of a group that is judge, jury, and executioner. At the conclusion of the conversation, Duncan tells Leto that he will not worship him, to which Leto remarks that the Fish Speakers understand that he has special dispensation. Moneo meets with Leto with news. He first suggests that Anteac is a secret Mentat, a skill prohibited in the Empire. Leto agrees, but says that it amuses him. Moneo goes onto say that they have pressured the Bene Tleilaxu into giving him information about Hwi Noree. The Bene Tleilaxu played a role in her birth, by supplying the Ixians with technology to do a cellular restructuring. Leto suggests that it is interesting that Hwi Noree seems the total opposite in character to Malky, the previous Ixian ambassador, with whom Leto once had a close friendship. Malky was crafted by the Ixians as a being of pure cynicism and amorality. Hwi Noree and Leto talk again. Leto explains the shape of his Empire and what he is trying to produce; he talks about how in human affairs each cycle is a reaction to the previous cycle. He explains what will happen when he goes into the sands and his empire falls apart. Basically, he believes that the process will make humankind more mature, through being confronted by the same desperate experience of the disasters his death will cause. Hwi Noree, unlike Moneo and the Duncans, understands what Leto means, which pleases Leto greatly. At the end of the audience Leto asks her if she has given any thought to his proposal, and she answers that she has chosen to marry him. Upon leaving Leto, Hwi goes to see Anteac and shares her knowledge of the environment in which she was brought up. Anteac has been conscripted by Leto to lead a Fish Speaker assault on Ix, to wrest the secret of Hwi's origins. Anteac is shocked at the knowledge that Hwi is to marry Leto and at the same time annoyed that her order had allowed such a talented woman to pass through their training programme without turning her into a Bene Gesserit. Later, the city of Onn rises in rebellion against Leto; Leto is completely surprised, which is interesting in itself. The rebels attack the Ixian embassy, which, because of the threat to Hwi, sends Leto into a rage; he leaps out of his cart, and attacks the rebels. The Fish Speakers, using the confusion and panic his assault causes, wipe out the rebels. Regaining his calm upon discovering Hwi is safe, Leto regrets his intervention because he has created a new dependency among his Fish Speakers; now they know that he awaits in the wings, a seemingly invincible death machine. Leto realizes it will take generations to erase this dependency. Leto also realizes that this attack must have been planned by Malky, hidden away within the Ixian device that protects people from his vision. The announcement that Leto is marrying Hwi Noree upsets Moneo immensely; he believes the wedding will bring Leto's enemies in alliance against him. Moneo asks Leto for an explanation for why Leto must do this. Leto tells him that it is because of emotions, that Hwi provokes glorious emotions within him that he had long thought he had lost, restoring his sense of humanity. During the conversation we learn more about Moneo's abilities and limits; Leto tries to raise Moneo's level of awareness but ultimately fails. Moneo's idea of himself limits him from being all he could be. After the frustration of having to deal with Moneo, Leto answers Duncan's calls for audience. Duncan, Leto realizes, is suffering from what he calls 'Since Syndrome,' something which happens to most gholas, but with this one had happened much earlier than ever before. Duncan feels out of sync with this time and place. Duncan is also upset by the news that Leto is marrying Hwi, a woman he finds intensely attractive also; Leto orders him not to spend time with her. Some time later Moneo and Leto discuss Duncan. Leto is irritated that Duncan is courting Hwi Noree. However, Moneo informs him that it is Hwi Noree herself who is initiating the meetings; he says that Hwi feels a great deal of sympathy for Duncan because he is so out of his time and place. But this does not calm Leto, as he feels Duncan is very clever with women. Leto asks when a new Duncan ghola can be provided by the Tleilaxu; Moneo says that the Tleilaxu claim they are having problems and that it will be a year. In response, Leto orders that his marriage to Hwi be hurried along. Leto meets with Siona to assess her readiness for the testing. They talk about many subjects, including his worm body, and the state of his Empire. She points out that his position is much weaker now, because of his reaction to the attack on the Ixian embassy, people now realize that he is vulnerable to attacks on the people he loves. She goes on to question his right to rule; this is the root of her rebelliousness. Leto's response is that he rules by right of loneliness and sacrifice. This puts Siona on the defensive, because she had never considered that Leto might have any rights as a consequence of his uniqueness. Moneo and Duncan talk. Moneo tries to get Duncan to call off his pursuit of Hwi Noree. The conversation becomes very heated and Duncan says a number of critical things about the God Emperor within the hearing of Fish Speakers. When Duncan finally returns to his room he finds Hwi waiting for him. She had been told of his latest outbursts by some sympathetic Fish Speakers and had rushed to calm him down. However, things do not get any calmer. Hwi says that she was produced to seduce the God Emperor, to seduce an Atreides, and that he, Duncan, is as much the Atreides ideal as any. In the heat of the emotional interchange, Hwi Noree and Duncan have passionate sex. But to Duncan's great disappointment she tells him afterwards that she's still going to marry the God Emperor. When Duncan asks why, she says it is because he has the greatest needs of the two of them, the greatest need in all the Empire. Siona is tested in the deep desert by Leto. She is forced to drink spice-essence from Leto's body, which sends her into a spice trance and into prophetic dreaming. In her dreams she sees Arafel, she sees the various possibilities in the human future, and more importantly how in all futures visible to prescient vision, humans are hunted and killed to the last person by deadly, evolving machines; it is implied later that these machines were built by the Ixians. The solution, Leto shows her, is that humans need to escape the prescient trap; which is where Siona's own genes (which render her invisible and unpredictable by prescience) come in, and also the no-ships and the repression of peoples in the Old Empire. All these things make up Leto's Golden Path, which she realizes is the only way out. Duncan and Moneo meet. Duncan wants to know where Leto is, Moneo explains he is in the desert with Moneo's daughter. Duncan is also upset when he discovered that some of the Fish Speakers are lesbians. Moneo's grows impatient at Duncan's 'puerile' questions and treats him in an offhand way. The conversation goes from bad to worse and he accuses Duncan of not having the courage to fulfill Leto's expectations, Duncan is enraged by Moneo's comments and attempts to strike him a blow; but, to his utter surprise, Moneo not only avoids the blow, but with amazing quickness hurls Idaho to the floor. Idaho looks up in shock, 'How?' is all he can say; and the angry Moneo utters words he later regrets 'Leto has been breeding us for generations. You're just an older model.' Duncan upset beyond words, retires to his rooms in shock. After a day of contemplation, Duncan's soul searching is interrupted by a Fish Speaker relaying Moneo's requests for Duncan's presence, Duncan is uninterested, until he is told Hwi is there. On his arrival it is clear that they have been discussing him before he arrives. They are both worried by the fact that the warrior Duncan arrives without his knife. Moneo apologizes for his actions and words in front of Hwi Noree, Duncan takes this well and apologizes himself; Duncan experiences a weird feeling that Moneo, Hwi, and himself are the only real humans in existence. Duncan asks about Siona's experience in the desert, Moneo explains his experience and explains that the reason he serves Leto so faithfully is that, after seeing the prophetic visions, he is relieved that he never had to make the decision Leto made to become a worm and is free just to serve. Duncan seems unconvinced by this argument. He flies into a rage at the fact that he and Hwi cannot see each other. His outburst exasperates Hwi and Moneo. But as Duncan leaves, we realize that, for once, his actions do not reflect his true feelings. He had deliberately made himself pathetic for Hwi's sake, so that she could be happier in her choice to put Leto first. Duncan and Moneo meet later, and we discover Moneo's relief at his daughter's survival. To Moneo's surprise, Duncan asks a very un-Duncan question: 'What was it the other Duncan Idahos didn't learn?' Moneo answers him that they did not learn how to trust. Duncan is shocked by this comment in turn, since he has always considered himself to be a man who trusts others. Moneo responds that the circle of his fellowship is too limited — it includes only fellow warriors and women who complement his sense of himself. After this conversation Moneo decides to try and save Duncan by sending him and Siona away to Tuono Village, for the duration of the wedding. When Leto learns of this, he is amused that Moneo is attempting to save Idaho and changes the location of his wedding to Tuono. Malky has been captured by the Fish Speakers, though Anteac died capturing him. The Tleilaxu and Spacing Guild, seeing Leto move against the Ixians, had struck first in order to steal the secret of the Ixian device. But Anteac had managed to delay them enough to allow the Fish Speakers to lay siege. As a result, the secret of the Ixian concealment device is scattered far and wide. Malky is escorted into Leto's presence, Malky and Leto talk about old and new times. At the end of this conversation, Moneo does what Leto cannot and kills Leto's friend at Leto's behest. Leto and his convoy set off to Tuono village. Duncan and Siona talk at Tuono village after a difficult start; and realize that they both still believe that the God Emperor needs to be killed, and his religious empire overthrown. They discuss how the God Emperor, in his worm-like body, can be killed by water, and they hatch a risky plan to kill him. Idaho climbs a high cliff by himself without ropes, using the experience he learned in his youth. From there, he lowers a rope down for Siona and Nayla. From the cliff, they await the arrival of Leto's convoy. When the convoy does arrive, Siona orders Nayla to fire her lasgun at the bridge. Having been directly ordered by Leto to obey Siona's every order, Nayla obeys, fully expecting it to be a religious test of Leto's, and expecting him to perform a miracle. The shot shatters the bridge and Moneo, Hwi Noree, Leto and the rest of the convoy are hurled into the water. A dying Leto escapes to the shore, allowing the sandtrout that make up most of his body to escape into the sands, thus fulfilling his prophecy of the resurgence of sandworms on Arrakis. Duncan is distraught that Nayla has killed Hwi, and turns his vengeance on an utterly shocked Nayla, killing her. The dying human remnants of the God Emperor reveal to Duncan and Siona the hidden place of his spice reserves, effectively leaving stewardship of his Empire to them. Leto then breathes his last.

Much has changed since the death of the God Emperor. True to his prophecies, sandworms have reappeared on Arrakis (now called Rakis) and created Dune anew, renewing the flow of spice to the galaxy. The Empire, meanwhile, has fallen into chaos and confusion; with Leto's death, a hugely complex economic system built on spice collapsed, and with it much of civilization. The famine caused by this resulted in millions upon millions leaving known space in a great Scattering. The planets of the old empire have now recovered, and a new civilization has risen. There is no longer one dominant power, but three - the Ixians (the builders of no-ships capable of piloting between the stars and invisible to outside detection), the Bene Tleilax (who have learned to manufacture spice in their axlotl tanks), and the Bene Gesserit (subtle political manipulators). Lesser powers are the Spacing Guild and the Fish Speaker council. However, circumstances are about to change, as new forces begin to make their presence felt in old worlds. People from the Scattering are returning with their own peculiar powers, secrets, and agendas. The most powerful of these forces are the Honored Matres, who are a kind of twisted Bene Gesserit, an order of women bred and trained for two purposes: combat and the sexual control of men. Things are brought to the boil by something new arising on Rakis. Another of the God Emperor's prophecies has come to pass. A girl called Sheeana has been discovered who can control the giant worms of Rakis. The priesthood on Rakis has accepted her as holy, and the Bene Gesserit watch her development with serious interest. The Bene Gesserit have long been waiting for this to occur. They have been buying Duncan Idaho gholas generation after generation from the Tleilaxu, in anticipation of the promised sandrider. The Sisterhood intends to use an Idaho ghola to gain control of this sandrider, and thus regain control of the religious forces of mankind. Unlike the multiple Idahos that the God Emperor used in his service, the Bene Gesserit have subtly been altering the gholas to bring their physical reflexes up to modern standards. Upon the discovery of the sandrider, Taraza (the Mother Superior and leader of the Bene Gesserit) brings Miles Teg reluctantly out of retirement and details him to guard the new Idaho. Teg is the Mentat son of a Bene Gesserit Reverend Mother (RM), bred to serve the Sisterhood as the commanding Bashar of all their forces. Guarding Idaho is no minor task: The previous eleven gholas have all been assassinated by the Tleilaxu, the ghola providers, upon reaching adulthood. Taraza also meets with Reverend Mother Darwi Odrade and details her to take command of the Bene Gesserit keep on Rakis. Odrade is considered something of a loose cannon in the Bene Gesserit: other Sisters are suspicious of Odrade's limited prescience (inherited through her Atreides genes), an ability that manifests itself in subtle detections of threats to the Sisterhood. Further, Odrade does not obey normal Bene Gesserit prohibitions about showing emotion and the rejection of love as a "suspect" redundant human characteristic. Despite this, she is supremely talented and most suited to Taraza's needs. Making things even more complicated, Odrade is Teg's daughter. The novel begins on Gammu (previously known as Giedi Prime, former homeworld of House Harkonnen) where the Bene Gesserit are bringing up a new Duncan Idaho ghola. RM Lucilla, a young Bene Gesserit Imprinter, has been sent by Taraza to teach this ghola and bind his loyalty to the Sisterhood. Lucilla's task is made difficult by internal divisions within the Bene Gesserit. The Sisterhood is fiercely divided on the issue of the Duncan Idaho gholas: a strong minority faction believes that they are dangerous to the Bene Gesserit, and owing to the Byzantine nature of Sisterhood politics, they have placed one of the factional leaders, RM Schwangyu, in charge of the ghola project. Lucilla has the additional agenda of repairing any damage created by Schwangyu, who has been subtly encouraging its failure, and even protecting Idaho from Schwangyu if it should prove necessary. Ghola-Idaho has already been tarnished by Schwangyu by the time Lucilla arrives on Gammu. He nurses hate for the Bene Gesserit, hoping only to escape their control of his life. He is extremely precocious and has already divined the fact that he is a ghola. The action shifts to a Bene Tleilax meeting in council. The Bene Tleilax are secretly an intensely religious organization who have long nursed dreams of hegemony of human space, dominating others under the weight of their religion. They are currently discussing the so-called Atreides Manifesto, an anonymous document that attacks all religions in known space, except for the Tleilaxu's. They decide to treat the Manifesto as a gift from God and spread it far and wide. The council also reveals the existence of a new breed of Face Dancer. While previous Face Dancers could only mimic the physical attributes of a desired human, the new Dancers are able to absorb the memories of another human, and use those memories to shape themselves in a perfect image of the original. Several of these new Dancers have infiltrated the highest ranks of Ixian, Guild, and Fish Speaker leadership. Additionally, the council is expecting the return of Face Dancers sent out in the Scattering hundreds of years prior. There is some mistrust of these Dancers, however, and many Tleilaxu Masters doubt that these Dancers could have maintained their purity after being exposed to the Lost Ones for so long. After this meeting, the Tleilaxu Master Waff goes to secretly meet with the Honored Matres. The Honored Matres intend to 'mark' him and take over the Bene Tleilax, but they underestimate the little Master, and with the aid of a Face Dancer (disguised as an Honored Matre), Waff takes over the ship and kills the Honored Matres aboard. The Face Dancer reports that the Honored Matres have similar skills to the Bene Gesserit, without Other Memory, but greater sexual and fighting skills. Waff fears that the Honored Matres and Reverend Mothers might make common cause. On Gammu, Duncan Idaho blossoms under the training of Lucilla and Teg. Schwangyu has used all her wiles to seduce Lucilla to her side but is coming to realize that she has much underestimated Lucilla. Meanwhile, the sandrider Sheeana has been growing up among the priesthood. As a child, Sheeana's home, a village in the desert of Rakis, was destroyed by a rampaging sandworm. At the wane of the attack, Sheeana suicidally confronted the sandworm, which ceased its movements and came to rest in front of the girl. Climbing aboard the great worm as the Fremen once did, she is carried to Keen (formerly Arrakeen), where she is found by two priests. She calls the sandworms "Shaitan", not the priest-approved "Shai-hulud", which was yet another prophecy of the God Emperor. It can be noted that in Islam, Shaitan means "God's Adversary", and is the Etymon of the word Satan. Her adolescence has been strange to say the least. The priesthood believe her to be holy and obey every order she gives them, though they haven't precisely decided what her role should be, and what she will become. Surprisingly she has not been too spoiled by this experience, and because there have been no constraints on her curiosity, her mind has flowed freely and well. The Bene Gesserit have also attached their own spy to her entourage, and ensure her education proceeds in the right way. The priesthood is in turmoil on Rakis. Sheeana is approaching adulthood, and her actions and commands are putting the priesthood under increasing pressure. She persists in calling the worms Shaitan, and has banned the priesthood from certain punishments, which the priesthood have had to replace with alternative ones. All this has made Sheeana widely popular among the people, and her religious mantle has spread off world as the Bene Gesserit expected. The priesthood are split into two factions led by Tuek (the High Priest) and Stiros (leader of the conservatives). Above Gammu, Mother Superior Taraza is willingly captured and held hostage by the Honored Matres aboard an Ixian no-ship. The Honored Matres insist Taraza invite Miles Teg to the ship, hoping to gain control of the ghola project. In an impressive display of his Mentat powers, Teg manages to turn tables on the Matres, and rescues the Mother Superior and her party as the Mother Superior had planned. Odrade is in Taraza's party, and she and Teg talk on Taraza's orders; it turns out that Odrade is one of Miles Teg's many daughters, and that it is she who wrote the Atreides Manifesto. An attack is made on Sheeana on Rakis, which is only prevented by the intervention of the Bene Gesserit, who take unofficial control of the Priesthood and Rakis (and thus the teaching and guarding of Sheeana). Odrade, personally selected by Taraza, is now leader of the Rakis station, and she takes Sheeana under her wing, training her to be Bene Gesserit. At about the same time an attempt is made on the life of Duncan Idaho, but Teg is able to defeat it. Realizing he can no longer protect his charge at the Bene Gesserit keep, Teg flees with Duncan and Lucilla into the countryside. With secret knowledge from his aide-de-camp Patrin, who was born on Gammu, Teg locates a forgotten Harkonnen no-globe which Patrin located as a boy. Patrin decoys the attackers, sacrificing his life so that his Bashar might live. Taraza arranges a meeting with Waff, going into the meeting full of supposition. The Bene Gesserit have re-evaluated their records and have finally asked themselves the right questions. They have come to recognise that all they know about the Bene Tleilax is what the Tleilaxu have wanted them to know. They suspect that the Tleilaxu have been using gholas among their leaders but aren't even sure of that. Taraza gambles and blackmails Waff with the knowledge that the Bene Tleilax have killed Honored Matres, a knowledge she only has fully confirmed when she sees Waff's reaction. Waff is forced to tell her what he knows about the Honored Matres, and when pressed on the issue of Duncan Idaho admits that the Bene Tleilax have included their own agenda within him. As the meeting draws to a close, she manages by accident to divine that Waff is a secret Zensunni, which finally gives the Bene Gesserit a lever to understand their ancient competitor, and she arranges to meet Waff again on Rakis. In the Harkonnen no-globe, Teg proceeds to awaken Idaho's original memories. Teg is facially the spitting image of Duke Leto Atreides, (Paul Muad'Dib's father) and uses this semblance (and a variety of relentless physical and mental attacks) to awaken Duncan to his pre-death memories. He does so before Lucilla can imprint Duncan and thus tie him to the Sisterhood. Lucilla naturally is not gratified with this, and is unable to use her wiles to imprint Duncan afterward, because the now-awoken Idaho is aware of her agenda. Duncan even tells her that if she tries it, he will attempt to kill her. Waff meets Odrade on Rakis. In a meeting with Tuek and Odrade, he panics and tries to assassinate them both; while he succeeds in killing the unsuspecting Tuek, Odrade is too clever for him, and not only dodges his attack but shatters both his arms in a counterattack. Odrade turns the tables on Waff, using knowledge Taraza gained from her meeting with Waff to partially convince him that the Sisterhood shares the religious beliefs of the Bene Tleilax. Waff and Odrade install a new Face Dancer as a replacement Tuek, as the alternatives would be too inconvenient. In the meantime Taraza, via Teg's finest pupil Burzmali, has been searching for Teg and his party, having little success. But finally, in a flash of inspiration, Burzmali realizes where Teg must be, and establishes contact with him and arranges to bring his party to safety. During the extraction operation, however, Teg and his companions are ambushed. Teg sacrifices himself to capture while Lucilla and Duncan escape with Burzmali. Odrade decides it would be a good idea to put Waff under pressure and so she arranges a sandworm ride into the desert with Sheeana. The worm, influenced by the God Emperor's "pearl of consciousness" trapped within it, takes the passenger to the former Sietch Tabr, where Odrade finds a secret Spice hoard and a message sent down through time from the God Emperor. This message challenges the Bene Gesserit to abandon their secret ways and openly protect Leto's Golden Path. Leto particularly maligns the Sisterhood's lack of "noble purpose," an attack that strikes Odrade deeply. Odrade takes it upon herself to offer full alliance with the Bene Tleilax, in the face of the onslaught of forces out of the Scattering. The cement for this alliance is Waff's belief that the Sisterhood shares his Tleilax religion, which sees Leto as a Prophet from God. Part of the alliance promises Bene Gesserit breeding Sisters for the Tleilaxu to work into their ghola breeding programs; as compensation, the Sisterhood will receive a working axlotl tank for their own purposes. This agreement causes consternation among the Bene Gesserit. Some call for Odrade to be assassinated. Taraza worries over this and then decides to go to Rakis to decide whether to follow Odrade's course, or to kill her. On Gammu, Teg is interrogated, indeed tortured, but under the pressure of the experience discovers a new ability in his Atreides heritage: he is able to speed up his physical and mental reactions to lightning speeds, and so is able to escape his bonds and kill everyone imprisoning him. After this acceleration, however, Teg requires massive amounts of food to replenish his lost energy. At the same time, Duncan Idaho, who is attempting to get off of Gammu undetected in the guise of a Tleilaxu Master, is ambushed and taken hostage. Meanwhile on Rakis, Taraza has come for her inspection. She is worried that Odrade may need to be killed, but on arrival realizes that Odrade has seen her real plan and is merely following it in her own creative way. Taraza seeks the destruction of Dune, because she believes the God Emperor still binds humankind on a particular course through the sandworms of Rakis; Taraza wishes to free humanity to follow its own possibilities. With the destruction of Rakis, the Bene Gesserit would be totally dependent on the Tleilaxu for the Spice they utterly need, so alliance with the Tleilaxu would ensure their supply. Taraza evaluates Sheeana and is impressed with what she sees, and this raises the possibility of the Bene Gesserit following a secondary plan of seeding other planets with worms transported by the sandrider. In an interview with Taraza, Waff discovers he cannot control his Tuek Face Dancer - its copying is so perfect it has forgotten it is actually a Face Dancer. Taraza uses the moment to confirm her alliance with the Bene Tleilax. By this time Lucilla and Burzmali arrive at a Bene Gesserit safe house to discover it has been taken over by Honored Matres. Luckily, the young Honored Matre, Murbella, stationed at the safe house is fooled by Lucilla's stolen Honored Matres robe, and accepts her as an observer. Murbella proceeds to seduce the captured Duncan Idaho. However, as she starts the seduction procedure, hidden Tleilaxu conditioning kicks into action and Duncan responds with an equal technique, one that overwhelms Murbella in sexual pleasure, draining her energy. Overwhelmed with a desire to feel such euphoria again, Murbella finds herself unable to kill Duncan, though she recognizes the danger he poses to the Matres. Taking advantage of Murbella's post-coital exhaustion, Lucilla knocks her unconscious. The Honored Matres finally attack Rakis. Taraza is killed with the first attack, cut down by lasguns. Odrade has time to merge minds with her, becoming temporary leader of the Bene Gesserit, before escaping with Sheeana into the desert on a worm. Eluding capture for a while Teg finally goes to a supposed safe house, only to discover that it has been taken over by the Honored Matres. Meeting them in person Teg is disgusted by their corruption and complete lack of human decency. The Honored Matres have assessed Teg's value to their order and decide to 'mark' him, binding him to their designs. Teg, aware of his new abilities, waits for the chosen Honored Matre to come to collect him, and then unleashes himself upon the complex. Teg must seek his own allies in order to escape Gammu. He finds a groups of ex-soldiers who have formed a resistance group to the Honored Matres. He brings them together and attacks a no-ship, and captures it. He locates Duncan and Lucilla, and with the captured Honored Matre, takes them to Rakis. Teg arrives at this time and with his new vision finds Odrade and Sheeana and their giant worm. He loads them all up in his no-ship, finally leading his troops out on a last suicidal defence of Rakis, designed to attract the rage of the Honored Matres. Fulfilling Taraza's designs, the Honored Matres attack Rakis in full force, destroying the planet and the sandworms. With this attack, the Matres hoped only to destroy Teg, whose abilities they had witnessed through his escape from their Gammu complex. The giant worms are destroyed bar the one the Bene Gesserit escape with. They drown the worm in a mixture of spice and water killing the worm and turning it into sandtrout which will turn Chapterhouse into another Dune. Taraza's camp is proved right: the God Emperor did wish to be freed from his existence, and he did not prevent them from destroying Dune. As we leave the book Odrade is the precarious temporary leader of the Bene Gesserit, by virtue of being at the right place at the right time having inherited Taraza's memories.

The Bene Gesserit still find themselves questioning the Golden Path of humanity set by the the God Emperor Leto II. Now they must survive the Honored Matres, whose reckless conquest of the Old Empire threatens Bene Gesserit survival. The Sisters must reassess their timeless methods: does ultimate survival go beyond calculated manipulation? Is there greater purpose to life than consolidating power? This situation is desperate for the Bene Gesserit as they find themselves the targets of the Honored Matres, whose conquest of the Old Empire is almost complete. The Matres are seeking to assimilate the technology and developed methods of the Bene Gesserit, their "last enemy in the million planets" (i.e. the Old Empire before The Scattering). Given the strength and record of the Matres, the Bene Gesserit need a plan. In charge of this plan is Mother Superior Darwi Odrade, successor of Taraza. Her prescient visions show an unknown axeman stalking her — an adequate analogy to the Bene Gesserit situation. The Bene Gesserit are also creating a new Dune on the planet Chapterhouse. Sheeana, in charge of the Worm project, expects a sandworm soon. The Honored Matres conquest destroyed the Bene Tleilax, who falsely assumed that their control of spice production guaranteed their protection. The Matres, we come to see, are surprisingly impulsive in their use of violence. A single Tleilaxu Master remains, albeit in Bene Gesserit captivity. He yields a secret of the Tleilaxu: ghola production. The technology compromises Bene Gesserit ethics; the Tleilaxu method requires a human womb — turning women into "tanks" fit for ghola production. The first ghola produced is that of Miles Teg, the great military commander introduced in Heretics of Dune. The Bene Gesserit have three important prisoners on Chapterhouse, held in a no-ship: Scytale, Duncan Idaho and Murbella (the Matre introduced in Heretics). The Bene Gesserit considers them valuable keys to the present predicament. This mode of thinking — that people are tools fit for a task — makes the prisoners uncooperative, despite the shared threat of the Matres. The Bene Gesserit intend to wring more secrets of the Tleilaxu from Scytale; namely, how to create spice from the axolotl tanks. Scytale bitterly regrets supplying the Bene Gesserit with ghola technology, but he must barter with them; he is their prisoner. Within Scytale's chest is a nullentropy tube, containing the cells of all Tleilaxu masters and various figures of the last few millennia, including Paul Atreides himself. Capable of recreating the Bene Tleilax, he retains his sense of destiny. Additionally, Scytale also wields the mind-controlling whistling language imprinted in all gholas; what ends could Duncan Idaho achieve for Scytale? Duncan Idaho and Murbella are living together. The bond created by their mutual imprinting in Heretics has made them somewhat reluctant lovers. The Bene Gesserit have accepted Murbella as a novice and are training her to be a Sister, despite their belief that she intends to steal their secrets and escape back to the Honored Matres. The Bene Gesserit wonder about Idaho's capabilities and potential; they suspect he remembers more than this ghola existence because they see signs of his being a Mentat, a talent not taught to him. They also wonder why Leto II consistently resurrected Duncan; was it his genetic potential? Indeed, he remembers his serial ghola lives, which mystifies him. His mentat awareness tells him that the Bene Tleilax could not have accomplished this, implying that his awareness is linked beyond genetics. Lampadas, a center for Bene Gesserit education, has been destroyed by the Honored Matres. One Sister, Lucilla, who served as vice chancellor, manages to escape the disaster. She carries the salvation of destroyed Lampadas: the shared-minds of its millions of murdered Reverend Mothers. Unfortunately, Lucilla's ship is damaged by a mine and she makes a forced landing on Gammu. Lucilla seeks refuge with an underground group whom she knows will be sympathetic to the Bene Gesserit: Jews. Long ago, Jews went underground to escape the repeated pogroms against them. They continued to practice their religion in secret, under cover as "religious revivalists," to conceal their unbroken connection to ancient history. They were so successful that they have survived for 26,000 years while history believed them long since annihilated. The Bene Gesserit — with their memories of the past — were not deceived, and have developed a relationship with the Jews. The Rabbi, trapped in the web of mutual obligation, gives Lucilla temporary sanctuary, but in order to save his organization he must deliver Lucilla to the Matres. To Lucilla's shock he reveals Rebecca, a "wild" Reverend Mother who has gained her Other Memories without Bene Gesserit training. Lucilla shares minds with Rebecca, who promises to take the memories of Lampadas safely back to the Sisterhood. Lucilla is then "betrayed" to the Honored Matres. Back on Chapterhouse, Odrade's plans are reaching fruition. She confronts Duncan Idaho and forces him to admit that he is a Mentat, proving he retains memories of many ghola lives. To some degree this is a relief to Duncan, as he no longer has to disguise his abilities, but he realizes this makes his position still more precarious. Lucilla is taken before the Great Honored Matre Dama, and to her surprise she is not killed outright. A game of words begins, and the Matre tries to persuade her to join the Honored Matres, preserving her life in exchange for Bene Gesserit secrets. It becomes known that the Matres dearly want to learn to modify their biochemistry as the Bene Gesserit do. It is speculated that the Matres were driven from The Scattering by an enemy who used biological weapons. Meanwhile, Murbella collapses under the pressure of Bene Gesserit training and pregnancy, giving in to "word weapons" that the Bene Gesserit planted to undermine her earlier Honored Matre identity. Murbella realizes that she really admires and wants to be Bene Gesserit, and sees her former Matres as ignorant children. The words of her initiation are repeated with an emphasis not in the original. Dortujla, the head of a Sisterhood keep on Buzzell, arrives on Chapterhouse reporting that Handlers and their half-man/half-cat enslaved Futars have offered alliance, though Dortujla's Mentat analysis suggests they intend dominance. She speculates that if the Handlers found Buzzell then Matres may too; smugglers would have sold their information indiscriminately. Why have the Honored Matres not already attacked? Odrade sees an opportunity and orders Dortujla to return to Buzzell with the Sisterhood's offer of surrender. Dortujla is to set up a meeting at Junction — the old Spacing Guild complex above Gammu — which the Matres control. Unbeknownst to them, Miles Teg has intimate experience with Junction from his human life. Lucilla's word battles continue for weeks. When she reveals to Dama that although the Bene Gesserit know how to manipulate and control the populace, they practice and believe in democracy, Dama's desire to destroy the Sisterhood is redoubled; the Bene Gesserit teach dangerous knowledge and believe in ridiculous ideas like democracy! Dama kills Lucilla. Odrade decides that the task of awakening Teg's human memory is best suited to Duncan Idaho, and so he and Murbella take over Teg's training. It is a job that Duncan excels at, but he is not satisfied with the traditional way of awakening a ghola, remembering the pain he went through to release his own memories. Odrade and Tamalane tour Chapterhouse and visit Sheeana to consider promotion. Arriving at the inland sea of Chapterhouse, Odrade is dismayed to see how small it has become. As she swims, she accepts the ruthlessness of some decisions, and returns to the shore with the decision to accelerate the terraforming by removing the last sea on the planet. Arriving at Desert Watch station, Odrade confronts Sheeana as a test of her suitability for promotion. But Odrade is undermined by her lingering affection for Sheeana and so does not force the full truth out of her, but discovers that Duncan and Sheeana have been allied together for some time and have exchanged much information. Sheeana does not reveal that they have been considering the option of reawakening Teg's memory through Imprinting, nor does Odrade discover that Sheeana has the keys to Duncan's no-ship prison. While Odrade is away, Bellonda (a chief advisor to Odrade) decides to get rid of Duncan Idaho, whom she believes is too dangerous. However, she underestimates Duncan's capabilities; when she confronts him he protects himself with Teg, since Teg would never serve them after witnessing the murder of his teacher and friend. With his centuries of awareness — his serial lives — Duncan manipulates Bellonda by revealing his genius as a Mentat. He chides the Sisterhood by focusing on things that they refuse to face, arguing that their emergency plan of Scattering is flawed. Nobody sent to the Scattering has ever returned; ergo they are being trapped. Bellonda leaves, realizing not only that Duncan is too useful to kill, but also that Odrade probably manipulated her into this precise situation. She releases the blocks on Duncan's information flow. "If you have a tool, use it properly," she admits to herself. Odrade's molding of Scytale continues apace. She points out to him that his dream of Scytale's great revival is fatally flawed, because the Tleilaxu who scattered are no longer true to his beliefs and indeed serve the Matres. Scytale is amazed and terrified when Sheeana arrives with a baby sandworm. The Bene Gesserit now have their long term supply of spice, destroying Scytale's main bargaining card. Teg is awakened by Sheeana using imprinting techniques at Duncan's suggestion. His mother had conditioned in him a resistance to imprinting and so under Sheeana's sensual assault his old conditioning triggers and his memories are awakened. In his awakening he can't help but reveal the new physical abilities given to him by the T-Probe, the device used by the Honored Matres to torture him in Heretics. She frees and appoints him again as Bashar of the military forces of the Sisterhood for the assault on the Honored Matres. Finally it is decided that Murbella is ready to become a Reverend Mother. Odrade relaxes the strictures, and for the first time ever, a man — Duncan — is allowed to watch a spice ceremony. Duncan is filled with trepidation, first because he fears Murbella will not survive the ritual, and second because he wonders whether she will still love him after going through such a life changing experience. Odrade watches with equal trepidation because Murbella is vital to her plan to deal with the Honored Matres and to reform the Sisterhood. Odrade believes that the Bene Gesserit made a mistake in fearing emotion, and that in order to evolve, the Bene Gesserit must learn to accept emotions. Murbella, Odrade is pleased to find, takes and survives the hard path to becoming a Reverend Mother. Murbella goes through a manic phase after becoming a Reverend Mother, and her feelings for Duncan are not the same — a fact that worries Odrade as much as Duncan. Whether it is a temporary effect of the experience or a permanent one is unknown. Odrade calls a Convocation (a meeting of all the Bene Gesserit) announcing her plan to attack the Honored Matres. She tells them that this attack will be led by Teg. She also announces candidates to succeed her as Mother Superior; she will share with Murbella and Sheeana before she leaves. Odrade goes to meet the Great Honored Matre with Dortujla and Tamalane. To Odrade's surprise Dama seems cooperative; Odrade wonders whether she was wise to have prearranged the attack. After a while she realizes that Dama intends no reasonable negotiation. Under cover of Odrade's diplomacy, the Bene Gesserit forces under Teg attack Gammu with tremendous force. Teg uses his secret ability to see no-ships to secure control of the system. Survivors of the attack flee to Junction, and Teg follows them there and carries all with him. Victory for the Bene Gesserit seems inevitable. In the midst of this battle, the Jews (including Rebecca with her precious memories) take refuge with the Bene Gesserit fleet. Logno — chief advisor to Dama — assassinates Dama with poison and assumes control of the Honored Matres. Her first act surprises Odrade greatly; she surrenders to Odrade. Teg arrives, and reports come in. Too late; Odrade and Teg realize they have fallen into a trap, and the Honored Matres use "the Weapon" and turn defeat into victory. Murbella saves as much of the Bene Gesserit force as she can and they begin to withdraw to Chapterhouse. Odrade, however, had planned for the possible failure of the Bene Gesserit attack and left Murbella instructions for a last desperate gamble. Murbella pilots a small craft down to the surface, announcing herself as an Honored Matre who, in the confusion, has managed to escape the Bene Gesserit with all their secrets. She arrives on the planet and immediately announces her intentions by killing an overeager Honored Matre with a blinding speed enhanced by Bene Gesserit training that makes her faster than any Honored Matre before her. Murbella is taken to the Great Honored Matre and immediately declares herself hostile. Unable to control her anger, Logno attacks but is disposed of by Murbella, who becomes Great Honored Matre by having killed her succesor. Awed by her physical prowess, the remaining Honored Matres are forced to accept her as their new leader. Odrade is also killed in the melee and Murbella Shares with her, thereby also becoming Reverend Mother Superior. Murbella's ascension to the leadership of the Honored Matres and the Bene Gesserit is not accepted as victory by all the Bene Gesserit. Some feel that she will suborn the spirit of the Bene Gesserit and many worry that her plan of merging the two orders is doomed to failure. Some then decide to flee Chapterhouse, notably Sheeana, who has a vision of her own. They ask Duncan and Teg whether they wish to join them, and then escape in the giant no-ship, with Scytale and the Jews from Gammu still aboard. Murbella recognises their plan at the last minute, but is powerless to stop them, realizing at the same time that Duncan's departure solves many problems for her. Watching this escape with interest are Daniel and Marty, a mysterious pair of observers who by all indications are independent Face Dancers. The story ends on a cliffhanger with several questions left unanswered regarding the merging of the Honored Matres and Bene Gesserit, the fates of those on the escaped no-ship (including the role of Scytale, the development of Idaho and Teg, and the role of the Jews), the identity of the god-like characters in the book's final chapter and the ultimate mystery of what chased the Honored Matres back into the Old Empire.