Dune Notes

These are my personal notes I took while reading through Dune. I had already watched both the David Lynch and Denis Villeneuve movies before I started reading Dune, so some of the chapter summaries gloss over or completely ignore certain things which I deemed unimportant.

Also note that the chapters in Dune aren't titled or numbered, so the chapters you see are just in ascending order.

This is only for reference. It is NOT a review, or a replacement for reading the book! You can pick up a copy here.

This chapter is taken from Paul's perspective, and follows him as he meets the reverend mother, Jessica's Bene Gesserit teacher. She (TRM) tested Paul by having him put his hand into a box which would simulate pain in his hand.

Jessica, being a Bene Gesserit, was sworn to only raise a daughter, but instead had a son with Duke Leto. She believed that Paul could be the Kwisatz Haderach, the only Bene Gesserit male.

This story takes place from the perspective of Feyd-rautha, the nephew and heir of Vladimir Harkonnen, head of house Harkonnen. The chapter has 3 characters, Feyd, Vladimir, and Piter, a mentat who serves the Baron. They talk about the loss of Arrakis, the planet they have been using to mine spice. They conclude that house Atretis will go to Arrakis, and plot to wipe out their whole house using Saurdaken warriors.

This takes place with TRM, Jessica, and Paul. Paul tells TRM about his dreams, and they all discuss the possibility of Paul being the Kwisatz Haderach.

Thufir Hawat (mentat) and Gurney Helleck (trainer?) take turns talking to Paul in the battle room. Thufir is there to prep Paul for the trip to Arrakis. Gurney is there to train Paul.

This chapter takes place from the perspective of Dr Yueh, an eventual traitor of house Atretis. After talking, he gives Paul a copy of the Orange Catholic Bible, which is stored on a small tape. Paul opens it to a "page" which was marked by Dr Yueh's dead wife, and he yells at Paul to stop reading it.

In the movie, Dr Yueh sides with the Harkonnen because he believes he will be reunited with his wife, yet here, he knows/says that his wife is dead? And still he knows that he is a traitor, or will eventually sabotage his house, so what is his motive?

This chapter was in 3rd person, and covered conversation(s) between Duke Leto and Paul. The Duke again warned Paul about the danger of Arrakis, and the potential trap that the Harkonnen would pull. He know that they would be using Sardaukar warriors dressed as Harkonnen (how?). He also said that the Harkonnen and others had been stockpiling spice, knowing that their supply might go down with house Atretis taking over. He mentioned how CHOAM is a company which has a monopoly over global trade, and their prime commodity is spice. The spacing guild also has a monopoly on interstellar travel, and combined they are very powerful (since everyone needs the spice). The Duke also tells Paul that he may be a mentat, and so now he is also training to be a mentat. Also, it is mentioned that Salusa Secundus (SS) is a prison planet used to train the Saurdaken, which are under the control of the emperor.

This chapter is told from Lady Jessica's perspective. She is on Arrakis, and with the luggage that has been unloaded. She happens to unpack a painting and a bulls head first, which concerns her (why?). The Duke comes in, and orders that the painting be put in the great hall, to which Jessica objects (why?), which doesn't matter. The Duke tells her that the building has been cleared by Hawat, and that a faithful Fremen servant is now in her service. The servant speculates that Jessica is the Missionaria Protectiva, a Bene Gesserit who is prophesied to return to with a son, the Kwisatz Haderach. The servant gives Jessica a crysknife, which is sacred to the Fremen people.

This chapter takes place in a room with Dr Yueh looking out the window, Jessica walking in, and Paul sleeping in an adjacent room. Jessica and Yueh have many discussions, about the unsafe conditions on Arrakis, the palm trees which collectively use up the daily water of 100 people, and much more. One of the big reveals is how Yueh's wife was killed by the Harkonnen, though he believes that she might still be alive, hence the alliance with the Harkonnen. Jessica knows that Yueh is hiding something from her still, but tells herself to put more trust into her friends (ironic).

In this chapter, Paul is almost assassinated by a hunter seeker. The drone comes in over is bed, though he had just got out of his bed to roam the halls. Shadout Mapes (the housekeeper) comes to the door, and that triggers the drone to come for her. Paul catches the drone, destroying it, and saving both of their lives. Mapes tells him that his father and his men are waiting for him, and Paul tells her to go back and tell them what has happened. Feeling in debt to Paul for saving her life, he tells him that there is a traitor among his men (how does she know this?).

In this chapter, Jessica finds an isolated room which is a secret greenery. This room has been found/created by a prior Bene Gesserit, which she knows by a letter that was left behinds. The letter contained a secret phrase which signaled to Jessica that there was a hidden message. The message was written on a leaf, which basically said that there is a traitor in their ranks, and that this greenery should be safe from attacks. They do not suspect Hawat or Yueh.

This chapter follows Duke Leto as he awaits for Gurney's return from Caladan. He directs him to bring 300 of his men to the 800 spice miners who are leaving Arrakis. The Duke wants to convince the men that they should stay, and that they will treat them better then the Harkonnen. In private, the Duke reminds himself that the Harkonnen had attempted to kill his son, and it angers him.

This chapter takes place in a meeting with Thufir, The Duke, Paul, Gurney, Duncan, Stilgar, and aides of some of the ranking officers. The chapter starts with Paul and Leto in the room alone, talking about Thufir, and how he failed to recognize the Harkonnen assassination attempt. Paul said how Thufir's training helped save his life, and that he had been serving for 3 generations, which should be proof that he is loyal. Thufir comes in, apologizes, tries to resign, but is shut down by Leto, saying how he is being a fool, and shouldn't be beating himself up. He tells Thufir to bring the rest of his people in. They talk about how the sietches (underground caverns) are filled with more Fremen then the Harkonnen's had originally calculated. They also pulled from the Harkonnen accounting info, and saw that they pull on average about 10 billion solaris a year (or every 330 "standard days". In general, the equipment that the Harkonnen left them with is not in good condition, and they will take a hit to their profit margin. They then show the sandworms, and how they are hundreds of meters long, and can swallow an entire spice mining machine. Using a shield will only cause the worms to go into a "killing frenzy". In general, the Fremen don't use shields, even on their ornithopters. This concerns Leto, and he speculates that this might be a Harkonnen plot to make the lower their guards. Leto tells Thufir to gather 5 battalions of Fremen fighters to take on the 4-5 battalions of Sardaukar warriors. Paul begins to recognize Thufir's age, and his hesitation, and how so much depends on him to make things operate. Of the 800 spice miners, they where able to convince 286 of them to stay and work for them. Duncan comes in, and almost shows the men a crysknife, but Stilgar comes in and tells him to not show it to anyone. After some agreeing, Stilgar spits on the table as a sign of respect, given how scarce water is. Both Duncan and Leto return the favor. Duncan becomes a "dual-citizen" of Leto and the Fremen people. Duncan says that there is a million solaris prize for bringing a crysknife off-world and to the Harkonnen people. Having this means that they could infiltrate the Fremen, and they would have no reason not to believe them. There is also talks of secret bases created by the Imperium which are now abandoned, but could contain materials that they need to fix the broken equipment they have. Thufir objects, saying that the Fremen might oppose, and that Dr Kaynes, the Imperial-imposed arbiter, would be the last person you would want to talk to about that. The meeting ends, and there is some confusion on what to do next. Paul begins to fear the potential for defeat.

In this chapter, Thufir and Leto talk about many things. Firstly, they talk about how the Harkonnen have stockpiled a lot of spice, and that they plan on destroying it, which would make them mad (and also secretly please the Emperor). Later, Thufir explains how he translated phrases that the Fremen where saying, and how there was a prophecy that stated a Bene Gesserit would come with a child to Arrakis, and that they thought that person could be Paul. They then talk about Thufir's general nervousness, and it it revealed that a message was intercepted from a Harkonnen messenger. The message was supposed to be self destruct, and before the acid burned through the film, the reaction stopped. Part of the message read that the traitor would be someone who's betrayal would utterly destroy Leto, and that once he knew who it was, he would have been truly defeated. Leto assumes that this person is Jessica. After hearing this, Leto goes to Paul, then walks out to a balcony overlooking the landing pads, and is entranced by the beautiful moon-rise, the red and blue collages, and the likes.

This chapter takes place in a conference room with Leto and Paul. Leto is very sleep deprived, and is not super coherent. He talks about how Paul is prophesied to be the Lisan Al Galib, and how his he suspects his mother might betray him. He tells this to Paul in case he dies, though he does not seem to think he will live for much longer. Leto is being cynical, saying that the Atretis house could become ruthless, and a symbol of evil, and this makes Paul uncomfortable.

This chapter starts out with Paul, Gurney, and Leto meeting Dr Kaynes. Kaynes is not convinced that Paul is this so-called Lisan Al Galib. Kaynes explains how their stillsuits work (the suits meant to recollect water as they move around the desert). Gurney and Leto's stillsuits need adjustment from Kaynes, but Paul's suit is perfect, and Kaynes takes note of this. They get in the ornithopter, and start to fly out to a spice miner. They talk about who Kaynes is, and what her relation is to the Imperium. It is revealed that she is a planetologist, and she distrusts the Atretis. Leto wants to find out the location of these supposed shelters/hideouts created by the Emperor. They eventually talk about the worms, and it is asked what the relationship is between the worms and the spice. Kaynes says that we cannot get rid of the spice, since it is too economically infeasible. Paul senses that this is a lie. Paul later asks "how big an area does each worm stake out?", to which Kaynes thinks "This child kept asking adult questions". They arrive at the spice miner, and find a worm about 25 minutes out. After some time passes, there is still no sign of the carryall, the ship designed to pickup the spice miner. Leto decides to drop down and pickup the men on the miner ship. Kaynes mutters some scripture to himself, and seems convinced that Paul is the Lisan Al Galib. Below, there are 2 men riding a worm, and Paul asks why there are Fremen down there. Kaynes scoffs at him, though secretly she is impressed at his accuracy. At the end, she says that she likes this Duke.

This chapter is about a dinner party that house Atretis puts on In the hall, there are these basins which guests will dip their hands in, dry them off with towels, and throw the towels on the floor. The duke did not like this tradition, and ordered it to be stopped Many people are there, a guild banker, a stillsuit manufacturer, a water shipper, a smuggler, Dr Kaynes, Paul, and Jessica Once everyone is seated, Leto begins his toast, and Jessica says to herself how the guests think Leto is drunk. Food is served, but the Duke is still standing. He says a few more words, drinks, smashes his cup on the table, lifts it again, and pours it on the floor. His guests are discomforted by this Jessica suspects that the banker is a Harkonnen agent. The banker talks about birds, and how these particular birds are attracted to blood. Paul then asks if these birds are cannibals. After some deliberation, the duke makes a complement to his son, and the banker is annoyed by this. The banker then says that the Fremen scum drink the blood of the dead. It is explained that they are not drinking the blood, but the water their bodies contain. Kaynes is asked if there is a possibility that Arrakis could be made sustainable, and that water could be made plentiful. He says it might be possible, though he is not sure. Jessica detects that he is lying. Leto receives a message, and must excuse himself from the dinner. Paul told a story of a man who drowned on Caladan, and that they had marks on them from other fisherman who climbed over them. He says that this is understandable if you are drowning, except when you see it at the dining table (i still don't know what this story means). Kaynes says how there are no water pouches on Arrakis, though Jessica detects this as a lie again. The duke responds, saying that the missing carryall was found, and it had been overtaken by Harkonnen's, and attempted to be sold to smugglers. It was also stated that the Harkonnen's tried to get in a shipment of lasguns, these white laser beam guns that can cut through anything but a shield.

This chapter starts with Jessica being awoken by guards calling for Dr Yueh. When she comes out, she sees 2 gauges carrying Duncan, and he is drunk. She tries to help him, though he does not want to get sober. Duncan lashes out, and says he does not want help from a Harkonnen spy, to which Jessica assumes he is talking about Thufir. She has Yueh call Thufir into her room. When he arrives, Jessica immediately knows that he is loyal, though she wants to instill the seriousness of the situation to him. She says many things that anger him, and eventually she uses the voice on him. He is left speechless, as he could not believe the power which Jessica possessed. By the end they end up on the same page, and Thufir returns to his normal duties. Also, she reveals that she is pregnant.

In this chapter, Leto learns that Dr Yueh is the traitor. He finds that Tuek (the smuggler), and Mapes are both dead. Before he can react, Yueh launches a dart at him, which paralyzes him. Yueh then tells him that he struck a deal with the Baron, and is giving Leto as the price. He is also using the Duke as bait, and is hoping that he will kill the Baron. He implants a poisonous tooth, that when bitten down on, releases a toxic gas which will kill anyone that breathes it in.

This chapter starts with Jessica realizing that she has been drugged, gagged, and bound. She waits until someone enters the room, which happens to be the Baron and Piter. The Baron gives Piter a choice: get lady Jessica, and be exiled from the Imperium, or stay and rule Arrakis. The mentat chooses to stay and rule Arrakis, to which Jessica thinks how this is a lie. The Baron tasks 2 soldiers, one of which is tone deaf, to take Jessica and Paul to the dessert. The Baron also is also abstaining from learning all of the information about the plot, in the event that he is put in front of a truth sayer. The guards put Paul and Jessica into a thopter, and make their way into the desert. At one point, the guards begin to sexualize Jessica, saying how they have never "had" a highborn before. Paul is angered by this, and demands them to not lay a hand on his mother (using the Voice). The guards do not respond, and Jessica thinks to herself that he needs to use a different pitch. Paul again uses the voice to tell them to remove her gag, and they do. Afterwards, Jessica uses the voice, telling the guard who can hear to kill the deaf one. Then Jessica instructs the guard to cut Paul loose, and he does, to which Paul kicks him in the sternum, stopping his heart. As they stumble out of the thopter, they see another thopter following them, which Jessica says is a Harkonnen thopter.

This is a small chapter which follows the encounter between Yueh and a Saurdaken solider. The solder asks him about the Duke, and when his poison will wear off, etc., and calls him a traitor. He waits for the Baron, and while doing so, makes sure to put the Dukes ring in the thopter that will be taking Paul and Jessica.

This chapter takes place in the great hall (?), starting with the Baron and Piter. Yueh is brought in, and it is revealed that his wife was tortured, and that she was "relieved" of her suffering by killing her, and that "joining her" meant to be killed. Then the Duke was brought in. In conversations with Piter and the Baron, it is revealed that Paul and Jessica escaped. The Baron gets close to Leto, and he uses his poisoned tooth, breathing it out. It kills Piter, and almost kills the Baron, but he escapes before it can harm him. Afterwards, the Baron meets with a Saurdaken colonel, who is requesting that he see that the Duke was killed in a human manner, so that it can be reported to the Emperor. The Baron allows it, but mentions how this will look like a sign of weakness, coming this close to dying.

This takes place in a stilltent (a tent used by Fremen to hid in the desert), where Paul and Jessica are hiding. Paul experiences this hyper awareness, and is able to see multiple possible futures, with various levels of certainty. Despite his father dying, he cannot seem to feel remorse for him, or grieve his death. They hear reports from Atretis soldiers, and Harkonnen soldiers, and Paul expresses his pessimism towards their future. Jessica, although being a Bene Gesserit, is unable to keep up with the Mentat capabilities of Paul, and Paul begins to realize this. Paul says that the reason that the weather balloons that the Spacing Guild supplies are so expensive, is because there are things on this planet, and in the deep desert, which cannot be easily seen/want to be seen, that being the Fremen. Paul states that the Fremen are unmatched in expertise, and no one else could possibly rule Arrakis better then the Fremen. Paul freaks out, blames Jessica for creating him, and giving him this terrible purpose. He states how the spice is addictive, and changes you when you take it. He states how the spice makes them trapped here. He states that to escape, they will find a home with the Fremen, where the Missionaria Protectiva has "bought us a bolt hole". Somehow, Paul understands that Jessica's father is the Baron. Paul envisions many possible futures, one of them being him saying "hello grandfather" to the Harkonnen, and another with the Atretis fighting, leaving a wave of fire across the galaxy.

In this chapter, Jessica and Paul leave their stilltent, and make their trek across the desert during the night. At the end, they hear thopters overhead

This chapter takes place from Thufir's perspective, with 20 of his men and some Fremen in a huddle, after retreating. Thufir and a Fremen solider are "arguing" over water bonds, a concept that is not well conveyed by the Fremen, and not understood by Thufir. When one of Thufir's men died, he was offered as a "water bond", and the Fremen solider was willing to help them. They waited. While they waited, a few Sardaukar soldiers came near them. In an instant, Fremen soldiers popped up from the ground, and killed the Sardaukar soldiers, suffering no losses. Some time later, they got into a thopter, and made their escape. They witnessed a Fremen in a thopter suicide dive into a ship carrying about 300 Sardaukar soldiers. The ship crashed, many soldiers came out, one of them threw a knife at one of the people in the thopter, and one of them hit Thufir with a stunner dart.

In this chapter, Duncan picks up Jessica and Paul in the desert, and take them to a secret base. The base is one of the ecological research bases created by the Imperium. Kaynes and Paul get into discussion about his authority, and suggest a plan to marry one of the Emperors daughters, and make Arrakis a habitable planet. During this conversation, they are attacked by Sardaukar soldiers, and have to make an escape. The escape breaks Kaynes away from Paul and Jessica, and Kaynes tells them to go to the left, and use the thopter at the end of the tunnel. They are told to fly above the dust storm, as that is the only way that they can survive without getting caught. They do this, and are spotted, and make their way through the dust storm.

In this chapter, we are in the Barons private room, and he talks to his new head of security, Iakin Nefund. He reports that Paul and Jessica must be dead, given that they went into the sand storm. The Baron asks were the bodies are, and Nefund does not have an answer for him. Nefund also reports that that Kaynes seems to be siding with their enemy, and the Baron demands that he be killed, though to make it look like an accident. Also, Thufir was caught, and the Baron wants to convert him into a mentat, since Piter died. Thufir believes that Jessica was the one to betray House Atretis, and he is going to use that to sway him. He then summons Rabban, who is a brother (?), but it is not clear. He tells him that he has reclaimed control of Arrakis like he did when he ruled last, but has to keep his spending in check. He also lets him know about how he plans to cover up Yueh being a conditioned doctor (by saying he faked it), and the fact that he (the Baron) revealed this annoys him, since he knows that his brother will be the heir. Again, the Baron ignores the importance of the Fremen, saying that they are not of any concern.

Jessica and Paul make there way out of the sandstorm, and make a landing in the desert. A worm comes and eats their thopter. They venture out into the desert, and it is dark, so they can keep going. They reach a chasm, which they must descend into. There is a part which they must slide down, and in doing so, Jessica gets buried in sand. Paul digs her out, but now the pack that they have been carrying has been buried. He takes apart his paracompass, and gets some spice, and makes a foamy substance that is used to help dig out some of the sand. They dig it out, and then set up camp in this cavern for the day.

gurney meets with the smuggler, who saved him and his man. The smugglers name is Staban Tuek. He grants Gurney and his men sanctuary, but that he cannot allow for revenge, which will almost certainly kill them. He understands their anger, and tells him that their day will come. Tuek says that Paul and Jessica are dead, or that that was what he had heard from his Harkonnen intel. Tuek needs to attend to something, and Gurney goes wandering through the barracks. A man gives him his baliset, saying that a man is dying, and wants to hear his general play him a song. After playing it, the man dies, and Gurney says he now has 73 men.

Paul and Jessica make there way out of there tents and into the desert under the cover of the night. Paul plants a thumper in the sand, timing it to start in 30 minutes. They head out into the desert, attempting to make it to the other side of the desert, towards another cliff. After being in the desert for a while, they hear the thumper that they planted start thumping. It attracts a worm, and they keep on going. After more time passes, they hear a hissing of sand, indicating another worm is coming towards them. They break into a sprint, and make it to a rocky covered place. They hide in a narrow slit in the side of the rocks, and the worm makes its way to them, raising its bug mouth up to them. The worn is about 80 meters wide, and is emitting a strong smell of cinnamon. Previously, Kaynes said that it was economically infeasible to eliminate the worms, but seemed to lie, covering up a potential connection between the worms and the spice.

Dr Kaynes is thrown into the desert in the middle of the day, and with no stillsuit (by the Harkonnens of course). He is delirious, and imagines his father lecturing him. His father, a fellow ecologist/planetologist, gives him "advice", which is all things that Kaynes knows. He says that Arrakis is actually quite a good planet ecologically, it has a nitrogen/co2 rich atmosphere, and is largely unencumbered by humans and their destructive ways. Kaynes feels/smells a gas pocket form in the send beneath him, and knows that it will kill him. He also knows that deep below, there is water, though it will not be of any use to him. The bubble bursts, and the cavity is replaced by a whirlpool, which sucks him up and kills him.

We are back to the basin with Paul and Jessica, where they are surrounded by a group of Fremen. It is revealed that Stilgar, the leader of said group, is the one who spotted them first. He is the one doing the most talking, though his other men chip in as needed. They recognize Paul and Jessica, and mention the possible implications that Paul is the Lisan al Galib. Stilgar makes mention of either killing Jessica, or leaving her, to which she overtakes Stilgar, with a knife to his neck. Paul disarms a Fremen standing right beside him, and takes his pistol. He scurries up the walls of the basin, getting a vantage point. Stilgar and Jessica negotiate, and he convinces his men that she is useful, more so then the worth of her water. At the top, Paul meets Chani, the daughter of the Liet (Stilgar?), who is the girl from his dreams on Caladan. Stilgar orders her to take Paul under her wing, and to be responsible for him. They (about 40 Fremen) make their way across the open desert, making their way to the Cave of the Ridges.

The group arrives at the cave of ridges. Chani gives Paul some food, which has spice in it. Jessica and Stilgar get into conversation, and there is an undertone that some people are expecting/assuming Jessica and Stilgar are a thing. It is also said that Sayyadina, their reverened mother, is dying, and may be in need of replacement. Stilgar also confirms what Paul had said earlier, about how the Fremen sell spice to the Spacing Guild to ward off their surveillance drones, as they are hiding the transformations that they are doing to the planet. Also, it is explained that Kaynes is the Liet. Jessica sees a composed and true man inside of Stilgar, and says how she "underestimated" him. Jessica starts reciting scripture/prophecy, and everyone goes all wide-eyed, starts to believe that she is the prophesied return of the reverened mother. Chani starts to say things to Paul, in an effort to "tempt" him. Paul is zonked on spice, and seeing all the possible futures ahead of him, ending it by saying "and all of which I see myself lying dead in my own blood, with a crysknife in me", implying a betrayal.

In this chapter, Paul and Jessica encounter Stilgar and Jamis (the man Paul bested in the basin). Jamis is furious, and demands the Amtal rule, basically saying that he challenges him. Paul receives a crysknife from Chani, and she tells him that he can use a knife with both hands, and to watch the switch. They fight, and Paul kills him. Paul is named Usul, which is to be used in his sietch (his "troop name"). He then is asked what he wants to be called. He asks what the little mouse that lives in the desert is called, to which Stilgar replies muad'dib. Paul agrees, but wants to keep the name his father gave him, and asks to be called Paul-Muad'dib, to which Stilgar accepts.

The ritual for Jamis is held later that night, and Paul, as tradition has it, will take Jamis' water, being that he is battled against him and won. There is a circle formed around Jamis, and people take turns saying that Jamis was his friend, something that he did for them, and then take one of his possessions as a gift. It became apparent that people were looking to Paul to say something, and he eventually did, saying that Jamis had taught him about consequences, and how he wished he could know him better. He started to cry, and people started touching his face, as the water in his tears were seen as a gift. Afterwards, Stilgar takes Paul, Jessica, Chani, and a bunch of other troops down into a secret cavern, with the entrance being behind a hidden behind a rock with a crack in it. In the room leading them down to the cavern, it was moist. They where walking through a windtrap, a device that captures perspiration from the air, storing the water. When they get to the cavern, they are greeted with 38 million decaliters of water. Stilgar tells them about how there are thousands of these caverns all over the place. He says that when they get enough water, they will be able to terraform Arrakis, and turn it into an inhabitable place. They go back up, and Paul is holding the baliset that he got from the Jamis ritual, and played a song for the people around him. It was a love song, and Jessica told herself how dangerous this was for him to be so enthralled with her. Paul tells himself that his mother is his enemy, that she bore him, and has planned his destiny for him, therefore she is the enemy. Paul also makes remarks about how he sees the green Atretis banners reeking havoc across the Imperium, and how he "cannot allow it to happen"

In this chapter, Count Senring and his lady (a Bene Gesserit) come to Arrakis to take part in a gladiator-style fight starring Feyd-Ruatha. The Baron introduces Feyd to the lady Senring, to which he is enticed by. He says he will honor this fight in her name, to which she says no. The Count and the Baron have a private conversation. The Count says that he should not have withdrawn the Saurdaken troops, since there are still lots of Fremen to deal with. The Count also suggests that the Emperor could charge the Baron with treason, though the Baron denies it. The Baron suggests he could turn Arrakis into a prison planet, like Salusa Secundus, the planet that the Emperor uses to train his secret Saurdaken troops. The Count recommends that he not do so without permission from the Emperor. The Count talks about how Thufir is now a mentat under their control, though it is dangerous because he knows of the Harkonnens use of the Saurdaken troops on Arrakis. This knowledge could cause a revolt against the Harkonnen, and in turn the Emperor. When Feyd enters the arena, we are told that he had planned with Thufir to put an un-drugged gladiator into the arena, and how this will only make him look stronger to defeat a imposter. The man has been "trained" to collapse at the word "scum", which will allow Feyd the win if needed. He is wearing 2 gloves, a white and a black one, with the white glove holding a short knife, and the black one holding a long knife. Traditionally, the knife in the white glove has poison in, and the black on does not. Feyd instead put the poison on the black knife, which is meant to betray the gladiators assumption. He kills the gladiator, and everyone goes wild. The Baron is angered that Feyd does not take the head of the man as a trophy, and so is the crowd. To calm them, he declares a fete, which is a large, festive event. As the Count and his lady walk out, they talk about what just occurred, and how the lady will impregnate herself with Feyd, in the way of the Bene Gesserit way of mending bloodlines.

Since Paul bested Jamis, as per tradition, he is to take Jamis' wife as his own wife, or as a servant. Paul chooses servant, as he is unaware of the potential consequences that might arise if he was to take her as his wife. Harah, Jamis' wife, escorts Paul to their quarters. On the way, it is said how they are preparing to leave this sietch, as they are anticipating an ambush from the Saurdaken/Harkonnen. They pass by a dew collector manufacturing plant, and stillsuit repair place, and more. They come to their quarters, and Harah is making suggestive remarks about how he needs to "take of his stillsuit", and such. She asks if he is hungry, and he says yes. She goes to get him food. Paul hears a screaming noise, someone saying the time (why?). He also is aware of the smell of a poison. He then sees 2 small children beside him, both with crysknifes.

Jessica is summoned to the top of a "throng" (large gathering of people), 20 thousand about. She is taking part of some sort of ceremony, which is meant to pass all of the memories of one reverened mother to a new reverened mother. Jessica takes the "water of life", a liquid created from a dead sandworm. The liquid is some sort of drug, which she feels almost poisoned by. She has an eye opening experience, and realizes that she must neutralize this liquid. She uses her telekinetic powers (?!?!?) to change the molecular structure of the liquid, making it harmless. The old reverened mother pops into her consciousness, and tells her she is dying, and that they need to get things going. She is mad that Jessica did not tell anyone about the fact that she is pregnant, as this could kill the child. Jessica undergoes the procedure, and able to see all of the thoughts and memories of the past reverened mothers, and of the Fremen. Paul, for whatever reason, is told to drink this water of life stuff, which causes him to go on one of his psychedelic time tripping episodes. Paul and Chani leave, and find themselves alone in a room. It is revealed that Chani has some of the same powers as Paul, but less so. Chani tells Paul that she loves him, and that she wants to have his kid or something.

This chapter starts with the Baron, in raged, coming down the hall to where Nefund was stationed. It is revealed that it has been 2 years since they (the Harkonnens) have arrived back on Arrakis. He is enraged about many things, one being that Nefund did not keep track of where Feyd was, and that Nefund did not check the quality of "the slave boys" he sent to him. The Baron killed this person (why I do not know). As the Baron is speaking, Feyd walks in, saying that he was playing pyramid chess with the slave master. Feyd said that he won against the slave master, to which the Baron said to have him killed, as he did not want such inept chess players in their ranks. The Baron ordered Nefund to kill the slave master, and to have 2 guards take the body of the slave boy he killed away. After seeing how the 2 guards carried the slave boy, he told Nefund to have the guards killed next, because he did not like the way that they were carrying his body. The Baron has Feyd help escort him to his room, so they can talk in private. The Baron tells him of a new prophet on Arrakis, who goes by the name Muad'dib. Feyd tells the Baron that the gladiator that he had fought 2 years ago was a setup, and he did it to undermine his slave master. The Baron says that he knows he put a poisonous needle in the thigh of the slave who was sent to the Baron. He tells him to not be so foolish, and that he wants a bargain: The Baron taunts the possibility of Feyd becoming the next Emperor, and how he will step down and give him his position as the Baron when the time is right. They only thing that he has to do is stop trying to kill him, have Thufir watch over him, and kill all of the women in the "pleasure room" (very barbaric).

Thufir and the Baron are plotting. They talk of how they want to turn Arrakis into a prison planet, just like Salusa Secundus. Thufir reveals his idea that the reason the Emperor gave Arrakis to the Duke was because the Atretis where trying to rally an army, similar to that of the Saurdaken, and this angered the Emperor. Thufir tells the Baron that he estimates that there are at least 10 million Fremen living on Arrakis, and that the Harkonnen's are loosing 5 times the soldiers that they are killing (the Fremen). They talk about how they will squeeze Rabban, set quotas, and force him to further oppress the Fremen. He will then replace him with Feyd, who will seem like a savior to the Fremen, and cause them to rally around house Harkonnen (or so they think).

Paul is tripping on spice again. He is unable to differentiate between the future, and his past, since they all seem like they are just memories to him. He questions whether Alia, his sister, is born yet, or whether her has lead a raid to recover the water of the dead on Arrakis yet. Chani killed a man in the sietch who had challenged her, and she did it to protect Paul. His mother tells him that she accepts Chani, and this makes Paul feel better. Suddenly, his consciousness dissolves, and he is suddenly in the desert with Chani and their child. Paul is about to ride a sandworm, which is a tradition for true acceptance into the Fremen culture. There is a small ceremony/ritual, and Paul accepts the hooks used to reign the sandworm. He goes onto a dune, and places a thumper. A huge sandworm, the biggest he has ever seen, comes for him.

Jessica is suddenly aware that Paul is soon to undergo the sandworm trial, and this worries her. Here we meet Alia, Jessica's daughter, whom underwent the "crossover" with Jessica as she became the Reverened Mother. Alia learned the same knowledge that Jessica did. Harah is annoyed with Alia, since she is not acting like a child. She is not playing with the other children, and when a newborn was born, it was crying, and Alia reached out and touched it, making him stop crying. This freaked some people out. Alia tells Harrah that she knows what to do, which is to tell the people that Alia was never a child, she was born with the mind of that of a Reverened Mother. The men that Paul have trained have started to rise up. They are going to confront Paul, make him assume control over the Fremen, and (possibly) lead them into war.

Paul rides the sandworm, and it is a big, old sandworm based on the scales and size. Other Fremen jump on as well. Stilgar is right behind Paul, and he tells him that he could've died, if the sandworm had decided to turn towards him, there would've been nothing you could've done. Stilgar asks if he will try and best him, and Paul says that he trusts him, that he will avoid doing it at all costs. Paul says that they will travel 20 thumpers south. Stilgar tries him, saying "what if I say we will go north instead?", and Paul stands by his decision. He knows he must remain strong over the Fremen, who all see him as a god. They see an approaching ornithopter, and get off the sandworm, hiding in the sand. They conclude that the thopter is a smuggler, and decide to raid the assumed spice miner, to teach the smugglers who's boss.

Gurney is and his men are the ones in the spice miner. They come down, land, and Gurney sets out and looks at the ridge for possible Fremen. Then rockets appear out of nowhere, hitting some of the ornithopters. A masked man tells Gurney to tell his men to stop. The man is Paul, and Gurney is shocked. They have some back and forth talking, and Gurney signals that there are people in his command whom he does not trust (possibly Sardaukar). Quickly, they move the carryall into an opening in the ridge, and the Fremen and the rest of the troops go into the ridge. Just as they are settling in, a fight breaks out, and they are ambushed from what appears to be Sardaukar soldiers. There were 10 Sardaukar, 7 dead, and 2 dead Fremen. The captain is one of the remaining Fremen. Paul begins to interrogate him, asking what his name is, and what he was sent there to do. One of his men tell him that they should kill the Sardaukar right away, but he says not to. He wants to let them go, to let the Harkonnen and the Emperor know of his existence. Paul probes Stilgar, asking him if he would kill him for the tribe, if needed. He says he would, but begrudgingly. Stilgar says that he could kill Paul, though he could not kill the Lisan-al Galib. Paul orders Chani to go to his mother, and ask her to come here, to give counsel to him. He says that Stilgar accepts him as Duke Atretis. Gurney, still under the impression that Jessica is traitor, internally plots to kill her.

The scene where Paul says he is the Duke, and that he needs to convince his tribesmen of this, is he implying that he is stepping away from the Fremen life, to rise up again as the Duke of house Atretis?

Paul is in a sietch, prepared to give a speech. Paul is asked whether he will call out Stilgar, and he says no. He goes on to say how he is the Duke, and that Stilgar is still needed to be here, and that killing a good man is pointless, that they need to kill their true enemy, the Harkonnen. Paul says that there was an intercepted message from a Harkonnen courier, saying that the Rabban has been denied reinforcements, and that he has failed to meet spice production quotas. Paul, being the Duke, "knights" Stilgar, and tells the Fremen to treat his words as if they were his own. Jessica goes back to her room, and Gurney enters, pulling a knife on her. Paul walks in right after, and Gurney reveals how he is under the assumption that Jessica was the traitor. They all argue/debate, and Gurney finally begins to believe. Paul meets with the counsel to discuss the pending war, and says that he will drink the water of life, and truly become the Kwisatz Haderach. It is revealed that the water of life comes from drowning a sandworm in water.

Jessica calls for Chani via thopter, as Paul has been poisoned for 3 weeks. Jessica has done all that she can, and called Chani as a last resort/instinct. Paul seems to be dead, clinging on to life by a thread. Chani tells Jessica to get some of the water of life, and give it to Paul. Chani sticks her finger in the liquid, and Paul sniffed it. She put a drop of it on Paul's lips, and he immediately wakes up. He says that he has seen so much, and proceeds to take 2 handfuls of the water. Jessica is shocked, and Paul orders her to go to the place where no Reverened Mother is able to go. Some weird metaphysical stuff happens, and Paul/Jessica awake. Jessica is weak and startled, and Paul is aware of everything that is happening in the present. He tells them that the Guild is above them, including the Emperor, the Baron, 5 legions of Sardaukar, and many of the other houses. He proposes making the water of death, mixing the water of life with the spice. This would kill all of the sandworms, put an end to the spice, and make everyone very mad.

Paul, Gurney, Stilgar, and many Fremen troops are in a cavern awaiting battle. The emperor has landed his massive portable skyscraper looking thing, and the Harkonnens are somewhere off on the side. They talk strategy, and wait. There is a big storm approaching. Paul tells Gurney to wait until the sandstorm comes to destroy the shield wall on the emperor's ship. The emperors ship signaled a CHOAM flag, not a Harkonnen or Atretis flag. They send their Sardaukar solider that they captured, and once he is received, the Emperors ship puts up there shield. After some time, they decide to destroy the shield. They take cover deeper in the cavern due to the impending sandstorm. They overhear something on the comas, and it is revealed that Paul's son is dead, and Alia is captured. Paul is filled with dread.

This takes place in the hut attached to the emperors ship. The Baron is waiting, alone. The Emperor comes out with his truthsayer, and begin questioning the Baron. The Baron says that he does not know anything, and that he does not know who this Muad'dib person is. They then bring in Alia, and she shocks both the Baron and the reverened mother. The emperor continues to question the Baron, and he still cannot answer any if his questions. He tells them of out the Fremen women, children, and old men where enough to overpower their Sardaukar forces. Alia reveals who she is, and the Emperor tells her to be quiet She says that she does not take orders from the emperor. Then, the reverened mother says to kill the child, and that she is an abomination. There is rumbling, and their shield wall is down. Chaos erupts. Alia backs into the Baron, who throws her on the ground. In the process, she stabs him with a gom jubbar, and tells him that he is her grandfather. It is revealed that the guilds-men are wearing contacts, and underneath them, they have deep blue, almost black eyes. The emperor now realizes the guilds dependency on spice. The emperor summon count Fenring.

House Atretis has taken back the city which they occupied before the Harkonnens took over. Paul orders that Chani and Jessica be brought to him, in preparation for the negotiations with the Emperor. He orders a Sardaukar solider to be brought to him, and he gives him a message: Basically, tell the Emperor to come down here, and we promise we wont kill him. He gives the solider his Ducal Signet, as a way of "signing" the message. Paul insists that he will marry the Emperors Bene Gesserit daughter, princess Irulan. Jessica insists that he not make the same mistake that she made, though he tells her it will all work out in his favor. The Emperor and his "entourage" makes way to the entrance of the building. Feyd-rautha, Thufir, the Reverened Mother for the Emperor, Count Senring, and many others make their way into the building. Paul is unaware of Count Senring, and concerned that he has never seen him in any of his visions. He begins to question if this is the person who will kill him, given that has seen no such future with him. Paul sees a future where Thufir will kill him with a poisonous needle, as per the Emperors command. Paul confronts Thufir, in a way which tells him he is aware of the possible treachery. Thufir understands and decides to kill him self with the poisonous dart instead. This angers the Emperor. Paul begins to tell the Guildsmen to call off the other houses whom are awaiting to descend onto Arrakis, doing so directly, not addressing the Emperor. The Emperor says that the Guildsmen do not take his orders. He tells them that he can destroy all spice operations on Arrakis, and that convinces the Guildsmen to do so. The old reverened mother tells Jessica that Paul is indeed the one, and that makes up for the fact that her daughter, Alia, is an "abomination". Paul then mocks her, saying that he will never do her bidding, and that their generation upon generations of intermingling bloodlines has been made useless. Paul then challenges Feyd-rautha, and Gurney argues with Paul, saying that he was never able to avenge Duke Leto by killing the Baron/Rabban. Paul tells him that he got his revenge, and that he must kill the Harkonnen himself. Feyd accepts the challenge. The Emperors blade is given to Feyd as his fighting weapon. Paul and Feyd begin their fight. Feyd and Paul dance around, and Feyd lounges, switching knife hands as he does it. Paul begins to realize the strength of the opponent he is up against. Feyd manages to land a blow against Paul, and it is revealed that the blade is soporific, meaning that it is slightly poisonous, and will cause muscle fatigue shortly. Paul lands a blow on Feyd, which has an acid on it. Feyd has a flip dart on his waistband, and tries to use it against Paul once they get into close quarters. He avoids it, but now Feyd is on top of Paul. Paul says "I will not say it!", and Feyd is shocked. Paul flips him around, gets on top of him, and shoves a knife from under his jaw, into his brain. The Emperor talks to Count Senring, telling him to kill him. Paul and the Count have a connection: they where both potential Kwisatz Haderachs, and because of this, the Count cannot say that he will kill him. The Emperor and Paul come to an agreement. Paul says that Jessica will be his negotiator. Paul tells Jessica that he wants the entire Emperors stake in the CHOAM company as dowry, Gurney to have a position of power in the CHOAM company, and retribution for all living Atretis soldiers, regardless of rank. Chani and Jessica talk, and Jessica tells Chani how the princess that Paul is to marry will see none of his tenderness, none of the love, only what is deemed necessary. Chani will be Paul's concubine, his true lover, and all will be well.

I liked the line where he is saying how the Spacing Guild has some foresight of the future, but only chose the clear path, which always leads to stagnation. I like this line, because it encourages you to veer off the beaten path, and to seek uncertainty, and reap the benefits of it.

This takes place before Liet Kaynes, when his father, Pardot Kaynes, comes to Arrakis. As an ecologist, he (Pardot) saw that Arrakis was not a barren wasteland, but a energy dense planet which could one day inhabit live in a peaceful way. He made his way into the seitch by killing 6 Harkonnens whom had captured some Fremen kids. They could not decide whether to kill him, being that he was an outsider, who also worked for the Imperium. They decided they where going to kill him, and sent 2 men to kill and collect his body. Kaynes was talking about how Arrakis could be inhabitable, what they would need to do, and how it would be. The man who had been sent to kill Kaynes, instead of killing him, decided to fall on his own knife, and thus save Kaynes. Kaynes now became accepted into the seitch, and began terraforming Arrakis near the southern pole, little by little. He would start by making the sand more firm, and growing small crops on it. They eventually noticed that the water used in these plants that where planted on the dunes began to scare away the sandworms, and this had some pros and cons: The good part is that this area would be easily walked, without the fear of sandworms attacking, the con being that they would not be able to terraform all of Arrakis, for fear of killing off the spice supply. Kaynes said that it would be about 350 years before this paradise would be formed, but that it was doable.

This chapter talks about the many religions across the Imperium. After the Butlerian Jihad, the religions of the universe were brought into question, knowing that they can cause tension, especially when they all claim to be the one true religion. The CET, The commission of Ecumencial Translators, was formed, which sought to consolidate the religions of the universe into a single digestible form. This did not work at first, but eventually took hold on the universe as the defacto bible.

This chapter is basically roasting the Bene Gesserit for not knowing that Paul was the Kwisatz Haderach: 1. they knew he could see the future 2. the old reverened mother put him up to the gom jubbar test, to which he passed, despite her putting him through even longer then anyone she had done before 3. and when Paul and Jessica where "lost" in the desert, the rise of a new religious leader, Muad'dib, was never thought to be Paul. There were more reasons then this, but these were the most important ones