Page 2: The Harkonnens
Arrakeen, Palace of the House Harkonnen on Arrakis.
An ellipsoid desk with a top of jade-pink petrified elacca wood stood at the center of the room.Veriform suspensor chairs ringed it, two of them occupied.In one sat youth of about sixteen years with sullen eyes. The other held a slender, short man with effeminate face.Youth and man stared at the globe and the man half-hidden in shadows spinning it.
A chuckle sounded beside the globe. A basso voice rumbled out of the chuckle
There it is, Piter - the biggest mantrap in all history.And the Duke's headed into its jaws. Is it not a magificent thing that I, the Baron Vladimir Harkonnen ,do?
Assuredly, Baron.
I invite you to observe, observe closely, Piter , and you, too , Feyd-Rautha, my darling: from sixty degrees north to sevent degrees south - these exquisite ripples. Their coloring: does it not remind you of
sweet caramels? Could anyone mistake this place? Truly uniqe.A superb setting for a uniqe Victory.
(Baron thinks only of the food?)
And to think. Baron: the Padishah Emperor believes he's given the Duke your spice planet.How poignant.
That's a nonsensical statement. You say this to confuse young Feyd, but it is not necessary to confuse my nephew.
Well?
The fool answered us, Baron!
Whenever did an Atreides refuse the opportunity for a gesture? What does he say ?
He's most uncouth, Baron. Addresses you as 'Harkonnen' - no 'Sire et Cher Cousin', no title, nothing.
It's a good name. What does dear Leto say?
Your offer of a meeting is refused. I have ofttimes met your treachery and this all men know.
And?
(he not seems to be surprised)
'The art of kanly still has admirers in the Empire' He signs it: 'Duke Leto of Arrakis'
Piter began to laugh.
'Of Arrakis! Oh, my! This is almost too rich!'
Be silent, Piter.
Vendetta, heh? And he uses the nice old word so rich in tradition to be sure i know he means it.
You made the peace gesture. The forms have been obeyed.
For a Mentat, you talk too much, Piter.
I must do away with that one soon. He has almost outlived his usefulness
But, Baron! Never has revenge been more beautiful. It is to see a plan of the most exquisite treachery: to make Leto exchange Caladan for Dune - and without alternative because the Emperor orders it. How waggish of you!
You have a flux of the mouth, Piter.
But I am happy, my Baron.Whereas you, you are touched by jealousy.
Piter!
Ah-ah. Baron ! Is it not regrettable you were unable to devise this delicious scheme by yourself?
Someday I will have you strangled, Piter.
(oh i bet he'd love that)
Of a certainty, Baron. Enfin! But a kind act is never lost, eh?
Have you been chewing verite or semuta, Piter?
Truth without fear surprises the Baron.Ah, hah! But you see, Baron, I know as a
Mentat when you will send the executioner. You will hold back just so long as I am useful. To move sooner would be wasteful and I'm yet of much use. I know what it is you learned from the lovely Dune planet -- waste not. True, Baron?
The Baron continued to stare at Piter.
Feyd-Rautha squirmed in his chair.
These wrangling fools!. My uncle cannot talk to his Mentat without arguing. Do they think I've nothing to do except listen their arguments?
Feyd, I told you to listen and learn when I invited you in here. Are you learning?
Yes, Uncle.
Sometimes I wonder about Piter,I cause pain out of necessity, but he . . . I swear he takes a positive delight in it. For myself, I can feel pity toward the poor Duke Leto.
You talk of pity, but --
The Duke must know when I encompass his doom,And the other Great Houses must learn of it. The knowledge will give them pause. I'll gain a bit more room to maneuver. The necessity is obvious, but I don't have to like it.
Already you have the Emperor's eyes on you, Baron. You move too boldly. One day the Emperor will send a legion or two of his Sardaukar down onto Giedi Prime and that'll be an end to the Baron Vladimir Harkonnen.
You'd like to see that, wouldn't you, Piter? You'd enjoy seeing the Corps of Sardaukar pillage through my cities and sack this castle.
You'd truly enjoy that.
Does the Baron need to ask?
You should've been a Bashar of the Corps, You're too interested in blood and pain. Perhaps I was too quick with my promise of the spoils of Arrakis.
Do not toy with Piter, Baron. You promised me the Lady Jessica. You promised her to me.
For what, Piter? For pain?
(this reminds of some Antichrist scenes , Jessica+ Piter
)
Piter stared at him, dragging out the silence.
Feyd moved his suspensor chair to one side.
Uncle, do I have to stay? You said you'd --
My darling Feyd-Rautha grows impatient, Patience, Feyd. What of the Dukeling, the child Paul, my dear Piter?
He will come to you, Baron.
That's not my question,You'll recall that you predicted the Bene Gesserit witch would bear a daughter to the Duke. You were wrong, eh, Mentat?
I'm not often wrong, Baron,Give me that: I'm not often wrong. And you know yourself these Bene Gesserit bear mostly daughters. Even the Emperor's consort had produced only females.
Uncle, you said there'd be something important here for me to --
(isn't feyd annoying?)
Listen to my nephew, He aspires to rule my Barony, yet he cannot rule himself.Well then, Feyd, I summoned you here hoping to teach you a bit of wisdom. Have you observed our good Mentat? You should've learned
something from this exchange.
But, Uncle --
A most efficient Mentat, Piter, wouldn't you say, Feyd?
Yes, but --
Ah! Indeed but! But he consumes too much spice, eats it like candy. Look at
his eyes! He might've come directly from the Arrakeen labor pool. Efficient,
Piter, but he's still emotional and prone to passionate outbursts. Efficient,
Piter, but he still can err.
Did you call me in here to impair my efficiency with criticism, Baron?
Impair your efficiency? You know me better, Piter. I wish only for my
nephew to understand the limitations of a Mentat.
Are you already training my replacement?
Replace you? Why, Piter, where could I find another Mentat with your cunning and venom?
The same place you found me, Baron.
Perhaps I should at that,You do seem a bit unstable lately. And the spice you eat!
Are my pleasures too expensive, Baron? Do you object to them?
My dear Piter, your pleasures are what tie you to me. How could I object to
that? I merely wish my nephew to observe this about you.
Then I'm on display,Shall I dance? Shall I perform my various functions for the eminent Feyd-Rau-
Precisely,You are on display. Now, be silent. This is
a Mentat, Feyd. It has been trained and conditioned to perform certain duties. The fact that it's encased in a human body, however, must not be overlooked. A serious drawback, that. I sometimes think the ancients with their thinking machines had the right idea.
They were toys compared to me,you yourself, Baron, could outperform those machines.
Perhaps, Ah, well . . .
He took a deep breath, belched.
Now, Piter, outline for my nephew the salient features of our campaign against
the House of Atreides. Function as a Mentat for us, if you please.
Baron, I've warned you not to trust one so young with this information. My observations of --
I'll be the judge of this,I give you an order, Mentat.
Perform one of your various functions.
As you know a few days ago, the entire household of the Duke Leto embarked on a Spacing Guild liner for Arrakis. The Guild deposited them at the city of Carthag. The Duke's Mentat, Thufir Hawat, concluded rightly that Carthag is easy to defend.
Listen carefully, Feyd,Observe the plans within plans within plans.
(say what? Dune inception?)
This is more like it. The old monster is
letting me in on secret things at last. He must really mean for me to be his
heir.
There are several tangential possibilities,We must not, ignore the possibility
the Duke has contracted with the Guild to remove him to a place of safety
outside the System. Others in like circumstances have become renegade Houses, taking family atomics and shields and fleeing beyond the Imperium.
The Duke's too proud a man for that.
It is a possibility,The ultimate effect for us would be the same, however.
No, it would not! I must have him dead and his line ended.
That's the high probability.There are certain preparations that indicate when a House is going renegade. The Duke appears to be doing none of these things.
So,Get on with it, Piter.
At Carthag,the Duke and his family will occupy the Residency, lately the home of Count and Lady Fenring.
The Ambassador to the Smugglers.
the Baron chuckled.
Ambassador to what?
Your uncle makes a joke, he calls Count Fenring Ambassador to the Smugglers, indicating the Emperor's interest in smuggling operations on Arrakis.
Why?
Don't be dense, Feyd, as long as the Guild remains effectively outside Imperial control, how could it be otherwise? How else could spies and assassins move about?
We've arranged diversions at the Residency, there'll be an attempt on the life of the Atreides heir -- an attempt which could succeed.
Piter,you indicated --
I indicated accidents can happen, and the attempt must appear valid.
Ah, but the lad has such a sweet young body, of course, he's potentially more dangerous than the father . . . with that witch mother training him. Accursed woman! Ah, well, please continue, Piter.
We have planted traps all over the Carthag palace, before we left off Arrakis.
And if this will fail? They have the Mentat Hawat who is an expert on finding and disarming traps.
We will kidnap someone close to Paul , like his mother.We'll divert Leto further with uprisings in a few garrison towns and the like.These will be put down. The Duke must believe he's gaining a measure of security. Then, when the moment is ripe, we'll move in with our major force . . . ah . . .
Go ahead, tell him all of it.
We'll move in strengthened by two legions of Sardaukar disguised in Harkonnen livery.
Sardaukar!
You see how I trust you, Feyd.No hint of this must ever reach another Great House, else the Landsraad might unite against the Imperial House and there'd be chaos.
The main point,is this: since House Harkonnen is being used to do the Imperial dirty work, we've gained a true advantage. It's a dangerous advantage, to be sure, but if used cautiously, will bring House Harkonnen greater wealth than that of any other House in the Imperium.
You have no idea how much wealth is involved, Feyd.Not in your wildest imaginings. To begin, we'll have an irrevocable directorship in the CHOAM Company.
CHOAM was the key to wealth, each noble House dipping from the company's coffers whatever it could under the power of the directorships. Those CHOAM directorships -- they were the real evidence
of political power in the Imperium, passing with the shifts of voting strength
within the Landsraad as it balanced itself against the Emperor and his
supporters.
The Duke Leto,may attempt to flee to the new Fremen scum along the desert's edge. Or he may try to send his family into that imagined security. But that path is blocked by one of His Majesty's agents -- the planetary ecologist. You may remember him -- Kynes.
Feyd remembers him, get on with it.
You do not drool very prettily, Baron.If matters go as planned.House Harkonnen will
have a subfief on Arrakis within a Standard year. Your uncle will have
dispensation of that fief. His own personal agent will rule on Arrakis.
More profits.
Indeed
It's only just. We're the ones who
tamed Arrakis . . .except for the few mongrel Fremen hiding in the skirts of the desert . . . and some tame smugglers bound to the planet almost as tightly as the native labor pool.
And the Great Houses will know that the Baron has destroyed the Atreides.They will know.
They will know.
Loveliest of all, is that the Duke will know, too. He knows now. He can already feel the trap.
It's true the Duke knows, He could not help but know . . . more's the pity.
The Baron moved out and away from the globe of Arrakis.
I am hungry.Send for food, my darling Feyd. We will eat before we retire.
in next page we return to atreides !
What the fucking fuck is this shit ? Too much fucking text not enough fucking pics !!
