He Was Supposed to Die on Arrakis
A young man is exiled to a hostile desert planet where an ancient prophecy foretells him as the universe's most powerful leader. As power awakens within him, he discovers a crushing truth: his rise will trigger a galactic jihad no one can stop.
On Caladan, a boy sleeps while empires crumble in the dark.
The Kwisatz Haderach. It could be him.
You speak of prophecy. What if he refuses it?
No one refuses destiny. They only delay it.
What is this test?
Place your hand in the box. Do not remove it.
Pain flooded through him. Pain beyond measure.
If I move, the needle kills me.
He did. Not. Move.
Humanity confirmed. You are not an animal.
He survived the gom jabbar.
But another trial awaits him far from here.
On distant worlds, shadows plotted his extinction.
The emperor grants us Arrakis. For Caladan.
An uneven trade, Baron.
Beneath that desert lies more wealth than empires.
Spice. Melange. Addiction made manifest.
The Atreides will arrive and die in the sand.
A daughter would unite the houses. Seal the breach.
Yet Jessica chose to bear a son instead.
Duke Leto desired an heir. I gave him one.
Both women understood the price of that choice.
I dreamed of a girl. She knew my name.
Usul. A name pulled from tomorrow.
Arrakis will test every breath of your body.
The Fremen are not enemies. They are something rarer.
Your foes will show no mercy. Neither will I.
Training intensified. Warnings accumulated.
Sandworms of Arrakis consume continents. They are gods.
Yet Dr. Yueh was a betrayer cloaked in words.
Harkonnen schemes encircle us like vultures.
But we will be ready. We will prevail.
And if we are not, father?
Then we fall as Atreides. With honor intact.
The ships rose from Caladan toward sand and ruin.