Dune Part 3, Chapters 38 - 48
Two years after the Harkonnens’ attack on House Atreides, Feyd-Rautha attempts to assassinate the Baron with the aid of Thufir Hawat, who has replaced the deceased Piter. Thufir betrays Rautha by informing the Baron of the assassination attempt, and the Baron in turn places Thufir in charge of all of Rautha’s actions. He also makes Rautha kill all the women in his harem since he intends for Rautha to remain his heir. the Baron further tempts Rautha to be obedient to him, by promising him an opportunity to ascend to the throne of Emperor. Later, the Baron meets with Thufir and questions him about Salusa Secundus, the prison planet of the Emperor. Thufir hates the Baron, but he wishes to gain revenge against the emperor for betraying the line of Atreides, and the Baron believes this keeps him completely loyal to the Harkonnens. Thufir explains to the Baron the true source of the Emperor’s elite fighting force, the Sardukar. He believes that the Emperor has used the terrible conditions of the prison planet to craft the Sardukar. Thufir informs the clueless Baron that the true reason why the Emperor had moved against Duke Atreides had been the forces of the House. The Emperor had become threatened by the impeccable army that Duke Leto had created with the aid of elite warriors like Gurney Halleck and Duncan Idaho. He cautions the Baron about the situation in Arrakis as the planet’s harsh conditions have led to the creation of elite warriors among the Fremen. This process has been further strengthened by the rule of Rabban, whose oppressive rule has begun to inspire serious offense from the Fremen. Thufir advises the Baron to deprive Arrakis of further reinforcements, which will force him to be crueler to his subjects. In this way, the people of Arrakis will welcome Feyd-Rautha when the Baron sends him to relieve Rabban and be all the more loyal to him. The Baron agrees, and as Thufir leaves the fat man, he thinks about the rumors of Muad’Dib that Gurney Halleck had shared with him.
On Arrakis, Paul struggles to differentiate the future, present, and past. He pulls himself together slowly, realizing that he is preparing for an important ritual of Fremen culture. Chani had been in the south with their son, Leto II, along with his mother Jessica, and his young sister, Alia the strange. Now, Chani had returned to his side to be with him before the ritual ride of Shahi-Hulud. Stilgar gives Paul some last-minute reminders as Paul plants his thumper in the sand to attract a Sandworm.
In the southern latitudes of Arrakis, Jessica resides as the Reverend Mother among the Fremen. She worries about Paul’s test and the future of her daughter. Harrah worries about Alia, even though she understands why Alia has been transformed. She believes that the other Fremen will not be able to understand her and thus be a danger to her. Alia was born with the wisdom of the past Reverend Mothers and has never behaved like a child even though she is barely two years old. Jessica hears rumors from the other Fremen women, the Fremen youth are eager for Paul to challenge Stilgar for the position of leader. They are all confident that Paul can best Stilgar in battle, and lead the Fremen to a new world order. However, Paul can only emerge victorious by killing Stilgar due to the Fremen customs.
Paul passes the test with ease and leads a small group of elite Fremen in riding one of the biggest Sandworms any of them has ever seen. Stilgar criticizes Paul for attempting to mount the Sandworm from a dangerous position without asking for assistance. Paul’s ego is a little hurt but he agrees with Stilgar. Paul decides to head south toward the new Sietch that is being used for the protection of women and children even though most of the Fremen wish to raid the Harkonnens. As they journey South, Paul’s party comes across a set of Ornithopters that belong to the Spice Smugglers. Paul and his Fremen set a trap for the Smugglers, and end up killing most of them with a few exceptions. The smugglers are led by Gurney Halleck, who tells his men to put down their arms just as soon as he sees Paul’s face. Gurney is shocked by Paul’s presence, and the changes the desert has wrought on him. Gurney, Paul, and Stilgar discuss the Harkonnens, who are severely weakened because the Baron has stopped sending Rabban any reinforcements. They believe that there has never been a better time to attack the Harkonnens, but their conversation is interrupted as a few of the smugglers turn out to be Sardukar spies. Paul reveals his identity to them and hopes that one of them will escape and spread the news that the son of Duke Leto Atreides still lives.
Paul decides that the question about Fremen leadership has remained unresolved for too long. He convenes a gathering of the Fremen, along with the council of their elders, and there he declares that nothing would be more wasteful than the death of Stilgar. He tells the Fremen that he is Duke Paul Atreides, ruler of Arrakis, and though the Fremen are his people, he would rather have them be ruled by one of their own. He knights Stilgar with a Crysknife and names him as the leader of the Fremen. Gurney continues to believe that Jessica had been the true betrayer of House Atreides and so plans to kill her when Paul sends for her to attend the gathering of the Fremen. Gurney nearly kills Jessica, but Paul convinces him that the true betrayal had come from Yueh and that his mother had loved his father too much to ever betray him. Gurney apologizes profusely, but Jessica and Paul both forgive him. Paul decides to take the test of the Reverend Mother to prove to himself that he is Kwisatz Haderach.
The potion leaves him near death for three weeks and all the Fremen begin to believe that Paul has been killed, but Jessica believes he is going to survive. She tries everything to resurrect him for three weeks and finally decides to summon Chani from the south. She is very distressed by Paul’s state but rightly understands that Paul had tried to take the test of the Reverend Mothers. She believes that giving him some more of the water of life would help, but Paul recovers with just the smell of the water. He awakens and demonstrates to Jessica that he is indeed the Kwisatz Haderach. His powers of premonition are severely heightened and he discovers that the Baron and the Emperor have arrived in the orbit of Arrakis to take control of it once and for all. However, Paul also learns that the Spacing Guild wouldn’t allow the emperor to take Arrakis if the Fremen threaten to destroy Spice production. He foments a plan of action, but he is unable to see the exact path of the future.
Paul, Gurney, and a few of the Fremen observe the humongous encampment of the Emperor, who has landed with his court in Arrakeen. Paul plans to use atomic weapons to destroy the shield wall that protects Arrakeen from the sandstorms. The coming storm would cause mayhem in the camp, and the fremen would ride in and overwhelm the forces of the Emperor. Paul watches as the atomics hit the shield wall along with the storm. He readies to join the attack as the storm enters the city. He receives a garbled message about an attack on the Southern Sietch, which led to the death of his son, and his sister being captured.
Baron Harkonnen is brought before the Emperor to be interviewed in the Princes of the Reverend Mother Mohiam. The Emperor seeks to learn whether the Baron had been aware of the true potential of the Fremen as deadly troops. He seems to think that the Baron had perhaps intended to shield Paul Atreides along with the Fremen and to use them as a tool to climb to the throne. However, the Emperor becomes certain that the Baron was completely in the dark about the true situation of Arrakis, after the Baron fails to recognize Alia. The Reverend Mother is horrified by Alia and wishes for the Emperor to kill the child. The Emperor wishes to reconsider the situation of Arrakis, so he decides to withdraw to Orbit, and orders the death of Alia. She escapes the Emperor’s grasp and runs toward the Baron. Alia kills the Baron with the Gom Jabbar, and Paul’s attack on the camp begins. The Emperor watches as his forces are overwhelmed, and he orders Mother Reverend to summon Count Fenring.
At the head of the victorious Fremen, Paul walks the corridors of the state building where he had arrived with his father. He receives an envoy from the Emperor and agrees to treat with him. In the meanwhile, he asks to see Jessica and Chani. Upon his mother’s arrival, Paul assures her of Alia’s safety, and she cautions him against marrying anyone but Chani. Paul believes marriage to a daughter of the Emperor will help end the war, while Jessica doesn’t want him to repeat the same mistakes that his father had made. Paul then comforts the mourning Chani, and he assures her that they would have other children together. Gurney brings in the Emperor, with the imperial court which includes Thufir Hawat, Feyd-Rautha, Count Fenring, and Mother Reverend Mohiam. Thufir Hawat had been instructed to kill Paul to receive an antidote to the poison that was killing him. Thufir chooses to die in the arms of Paul, who advances to meet the old man fully aware that Thufir could choose to kill him. Paul defeats Feyd-Rautha in combat and secures the support of the spacing guild by threatening the production of Spice forever. Paul then declares that he will marry Princess Irulan, and become the Emperor, while the old Emperor will be exiled to Salusa Secundus. He disbands the Bene Gesserit and is supported by his mother in this measure. Paul assures Chani that she will forever be his only love, even if he were married to the Princess. Jessica tells Chani that history will remember them as wives, even if they only ever held the title of concubine.
Analysis
Part 3 begins two years after Paul’s first introduction into Fremen society. In these two years, Paul’s integration into Fremen culture as their messianic figure has progressed significantly. The author allows the reader to experience some of the same awe that the Fremen feel for him by distancing the narrative from Paul. The stories of Paul’s brave deeds are only ever discussed in awed whispers, while Paul himself seems quite changed. Not all of these changes can be considered positive. For instance, Gurney is quite horrified to learn that Paul is the face behind the infamous mask of Muad’Dib. Paul’s increased hardness separates him from his father, Duke Leto, who had prized the life of his subjects above all else.
Paul’s ascent to the throne is depicted to be the beginning of greater warfare in the galaxy rather than a time of peace. Paul dreads the consequences of unleashing the powerful force of the Fremen, and he is accompanied in this fear by Mother Reverend Mohiam as well, who begs him to prevent the holy war that she foresees. Paul fails to upend the power structure of the galaxy, and instead, he integrates himself into it. He repeats his father’s mistake of not marrying the woman he loves, but Paul goes a bit further by marrying for political gain despite being in love with Chani.
