Heretics of Dune

Odrade watches the people of Rakis in the Great Square from her window and waits for the priests to bring Sheeana to her. She sympathizes with the girl with so much to learn and unlearn, like Odrade when the Bene Gesserit took her as a child. She cautions herself against giving Sheeana love. The crowd below her performs the “Dance Diversion,” a tradition from the “Siaynoq” ritual performed long ago by Leto II’s fanatic Fish Speakers army. Five naked dancers move in a circle in a style reminiscent of the Fremen’s technique of sandwalking. Odrade sees Sheeana flanked by Priest Guardians making their way safely through the crowd and into Odrade’s building. The crowd turns into a chanting mob and begins pummeling the dancers. Odrade is disturbed to see blood and bodies on the ground and no signs of the dancers. Sheeana enters the room laughing excitedly and claims Shaitan would never hurt the beautiful dancers. Odrade regards the entire ritual as a type of language in the people’s collective unconscious.

Teg leads Duncan and Lucilla into hiding by following a path in the forest Patrin, Teg’s aide, had prepared. Patrin stays behind to lead the Tleilaxu on a decoy path. Teg intuits that Patrin is dead and mourns the loss of his faithful aide and friend. Duncan demands to know why the Tleilaxu wants to kill him and why the Bene Gesserit have ordered Lucilla to imprint him. Neither Teg nor Lucilla knows the full extent of the ghola project. Duncan overhears Teg telling Lucilla he will awaken the ghola’s memories when they reach their sanctuary, an abandoned Harkonnen “no-globe” that will keep them undetected. They pass a burned patch Patrin created to mimic the marks of a no-ship taking off. Lucilla realizes that Patrin sacrificed his life out of love for Teg. Duncan feels he can trust Teg and is eager to reach their shelter to have his original memories awakened. Teg has been conditioned to prioritize honesty and loyalty. He concludes that he must awaken Duncan’s memories before Lucilla can imprint him.

Darwi Odrade and High Priest Hedley Tuek meet in a chamber to discuss Sheeana’s training to become a Reverend Mother. Tuek secretly allows Tylwyth Waff to eavesdrop on the meeting. They have an agreement to set the price of spice privately. Odrade is aware of the listener and openly invites Waff to join them. She detects weapons hidden in Waff’s sleeves and dodges one of his darts while the other weapon kills Tuek. She subdues Waff by breaking his arms and renders him unconscious. 

When Waff awakes, Odrade announces they are now allies against the Honored Matres. Odrade has read Taraza’s reports and knows how to manipulate the Tleilaxu through religion. She supports Waff’s plans to form a spice cartel with Rakis and replaces the dead Tuek with one of Waff’s Face Dancers. Waff is shocked when she speaks their secret language and gives him a Zensunni hand sign. Odrade tells him she wishes no harm to those who preserve the “Great Belief.” She offers her breeding mothers to him. Waff rejoices and believes the Bene Gesserit will openly follow the Bene Tleilax in their “True Faith.”

On Chapter House Planet, Taraza has heard no word from Teg and fears the Honored Matres may destroy the Bene Gesserit completely. Despite Teg’s expert defense system, Chapter House has no defenses against any new and unknown powers that may have evolved among the Lost Ones. Taraza is confident that Odrade can extract more information from Waff and determine if the Tleilaxu are experimenting on the gholas to acquire immortality for themselves. She is less confident in Sheeana’s ability to control the worms and believes Leto II’s plans may unknowingly still be at work. Taraza sends Burzmali, the new Supreme Bashar, to Gammu to investigate what has happened to Teg.

Teg, Duncan, and Lucilla reach the ancient Harkonnen no-globe hidden within a cave. The hideout once served as Patrin’s sanctuary during his lonely childhood. Duncan instinctively hits the walls that display the Harkonnen emblem of the griffin. Teg explains that his original memories will reveal the root of his hatred. Teg prevents Lucilla from being alone with Duncan, and Lucilla ponders if Leto II predicted they would one day need the no-globe. On their eighth day of hiding, Teg explains to Duncan that awakening his original memories will be painful and that he may come to hate Teg. He assures Duncan that he will not lose his current identity but will experience a temporary “double-vision memory.” Teg admits that he has never trained a ghola before and regards his orders from Taraza as distasteful. Being called a ghola stings Duncan, but he feels no resentment toward Teg and seeks his friendship. 

Teg awakens Duncan’s memory by egging him to attack him physically. Duncan fights back violently and abruptly calls Teg “Leto.” The moment triggers the original Duncan’s memories and his vow never to kill an Atreides. Teg observes the agony in Duncan’s face and feels dirty. Duncan remembers his original death at Sardarkur’s hands and asks if Paul survived. He recognizes Lucilla’s resemblance to Lady Jessica and accuses her of attempting to breed with him. Deep in his memories, Duncan has a vision of Lucilla’s dead body covered in blood.

Waff accompanies Odrade and Sheeana into the desert to witness the girl’s communion with the sandworms. Odrade uses the veneration of Sheeana as leverage to lower Waff’s guard and gain more information. She shares Taraza’s suspicions that the Tleilaxu reincarnate their Masters as gholas who retain their continuous memories. Waff regards Sheeana with awe and deference but is dubious of Odrade’s intentions. He is unsure if the Bene Gesserit truly shares in his religion or plans to kill him after extracting enough information. Either way, Waff leaves his fate in God’s hands and knows that his ghola replacement is already growing in an axolotl tank. 

Odrade looks out on the desert horizon and realizes that the Idaho River and the faery bridge once stood in the distance. Leto II was assassinated in that location. Odrade wonders if the worms on Rakis truly contain a pearl of Leto’s consciousness, though Taraza rejects the possibility. Sheeana races across the dunes and begins dancing and calling out for Shaitan. She summons the worm and commands the creature to allow them to ride on its back. The worm obeys and takes them to the spot where Leto II died.

Duncan continues his training in the no-globe and adapts his repertoire of military skills, both old and new, to his younger body. He delays interacting with Lucilla, and Teg confesses that he may no longer have anything to teach Duncan. Duncan responds that there is still much he can learn from Teg. Duncan has read about Teg’s highly esteemed reputation and “moral superiority.” He asks Teg why he fights alongside his troops and spares his enemies. In typical Atreides fashion, Teg responds that this is how he earns trust and loyalty. Duncan notices Teg’s old age and wonders if the charismatic Bashar has ever considered becoming a ghola. Duncan concludes that Teg would never agree to live under the Tleilaxu’s control. 

Teg reminds Duncan that he must also train his mind, and Duncan feels that a part of him remains buried. Duncan criticizes Lucilla and Teg for their obedience to Taraza. He declares he is his own person, not a pawn in their design. He immediately senses that the Tleilaxu have done something that has not yet been expressed to him. Lucilla is determined to complete her task with Duncan and accuses Teg of disobeying Taraza’s orders. Teg retorts that he is obedient, and Lucilla realizes she is also a pawn in Taraza’s plan and equally expendable.

Taraza is overworked and exhausted and has not heard from Teg in three months. Her mind wanders to a memory of Sister Baram, the night proctor at her dormitory when she was a child. Sister Baram had a nerve condition and died unexpectedly in the washroom. She was the first dead person Taraza had ever seen. Unable to fall asleep, Taraza thinks about possible conspiracies within the Sisterhood but concludes that Teg has always been reliable. She wonders if the Lost Ones are returning to Rakis to gain control of the spice and if they have discovered a way to raise sandworms on another planet. 

Burzmali arrives and reports that he has found no trace of Teg’s party on Gammu. He hypothesizes that Patrin may have found an unknown hiding place for them since he was a native of Gammu. To keep the Tleilaxu off their trail, Burzmali returns to Gammu with a small force under the pretense of placing a funeral marker to memorialize Teg. Taraza orders a new Duncan ghola from the Tleilaxu to convince them that the fugitives are dead. She tells Burzmali to make sure his forces have taken her. If they are captured, they must smash and burn their heads so the Tleilaxu cannot use Ixian probes to extract information from their corpses.