Dune: Prophecy prep – the "Imperial Court" story

[00:00:29] Hi, Alicia here. Welcome to the Dune Prophecy preview edition of Wool-Shift-Dust-Dust Dune.

[00:00:35] As regular listeners who listen to our outros know, Luke and I have been prepping a series doing a deep dive into the original Dune book and its adaptations.

[00:00:44] And we initially wanted to cover the new prequel series, Dune Prophecy, on this feed, but HBO and Apple couldn't coordinate their scheduling with us. Rude.

[00:00:52] And now they're both releasing at the same time. So as has already begun, Luke and I will be doing our in-depth coverage of Silo Season 2 on this feed, with extras available in the book club.

[00:01:04] And David will be leading the coverage of Dune Prophecy on the Lorehounds feed, with me joining him for weekly breakdowns of that show, which is set 10,000 years before the Villeneuve movies.

[00:01:15] And Dune Prophecy drops its first episode on HBO Max, or whatever you call it in your country, on Sunday evening for the Americans and Monday for the rest of us.

[00:01:26] That's the 17th slash 18th of November. So about a day from when this episode drops.

[00:01:33] And yes, I highly recommend this series, Sight As Yet Unseen, to fans of Silo. Listen on as I set the stage for that story to find out why.

[00:01:42] This episode that you're listening to now to help you prep for that series is complimentary to the one that David and I dropped in the Lorehounds feed recently.

[00:01:51] You'll find that episode linked in the show notes.

[00:01:55] This episode has two parts.

[00:01:57] First, I've clipped part of a conversation that Luke, David, and I had about this new series and some of the key concepts that set up the backdrop.

[00:02:04] This was recorded about a month before the discussion between David and I that's in the Lorehounds feed.

[00:02:09] So I recommend going to listen to that talk after this one.

[00:02:13] But first, stick around for the second part of this episode where I break down a certain Dune prequel novella.

[00:02:20] Dune Prophecy, as I've said, is set 10,000 years before the original Dune book by Frank Herbert.

[00:02:25] But shortly after, some books and novellas written by Frank Herbert's son, Brian Herbert, and his writing partner, Kevin J. Anderson.

[00:02:33] These 10,000 years ago books tell the saga of the Butlerian Jihad, which the show seems to be referring to as the Great War Against the Thinking Machines.

[00:02:42] And this collection of books consists of two trilogies, plus their associated novellas.

[00:02:48] So the first trilogy is called Legends of Dune, and that's all about the war against the thinking machines, how that began, how that ended.

[00:02:55] And the second trilogy is the aftermath of that war, which the humans won, called Great Schools of Dune.

[00:03:03] And this is about, you know, with the thinking machines gone, how do humans without computers, how do they become computers themselves?

[00:03:13] How do they make up for the skills that they've lost without AI, basically?

[00:03:18] So this second series, Great Schools of Dune, starts with a book called Sisterhood of Dune.

[00:03:23] And this seems to have been especially influential in the new HBO series, which focuses on the formation of the Bene Gesserit, which at this point in history is just called the Sisterhood.

[00:03:33] But the 40-page novella that I'm going to be talking about today is set after these books.

[00:03:39] It's called Imperial Court, and you can find it in the Sands of Dune collection.

[00:03:44] Book Club members, after Silo wraps up, we will be diving in the Book Club feed into all of these early set prequel novels and novellas,

[00:03:52] starting back in the middle of the Machine War and its dramatic conclusion and unfolding the story through the aftermath of this war and the formation of these Great Schools.

[00:04:00] But for now, to get you up to speed for the new TV show as quickly as possible,

[00:04:05] we're jumping to that final story currently published in this part of the timeline,

[00:04:10] which is the last piece of the story we have in writing leading into this series.

[00:04:14] Again, that's Imperial Court, 40-page novella found in the Sands of Dune collection.

[00:04:20] This story features a young Javico Corrino, the Emperor character played by Mark Strong in the new TV show.

[00:04:28] But this is set before the TV show as he's just risen to power.

[00:04:32] But we'll get into the plot and important background that you glean from that story in a bit.

[00:04:36] First, let Luke, David and I set the stage for you with a dive into the key concepts and pressing questions like the rise of AI in our own world that will be important for this new show.

[00:04:52] We wanted to give you a better foundation for understanding the prequel series that's coming in November to HBO Max.

[00:04:59] So this is running at the same time as Silo.

[00:05:02] So David's going to be taking the lead on this one on Dune Prophecy is what they're calling it,

[00:05:08] although it's based on the Sisterhood of Dune prequel book that was written by Frank Herbert's son, Brian Herbert,

[00:05:15] and his writing partner, Kevin J. Anderson.

[00:05:18] So that's going to be on the Lorehounds feed.

[00:05:20] But yeah, that book and the TV series also sets 10,000 years before the original book.

[00:05:28] And yeah, this prequel series will show the story of the origin of the Bene Gesserit.

[00:05:35] We were just talking about Sisterhood and their Missionera Protectiva.

[00:05:40] So Luke, how would you describe the Bene Gesserit?

[00:05:43] They are a religious, well, they are an organization that clothes themselves in religion.

[00:05:54] But really what they are is a bunch of geneticists run amok, basically.

[00:06:03] Because what they're trying to do is breed the perfect human.

[00:06:09] The human that can basically see the future, see the past, be everywhere all at once, be omniscient and omnipresent.

[00:06:20] And at the same time, they are like one of the three pillars of the civilization,

[00:06:27] along with the Imperium and the Spacing Guild.

[00:06:31] So really political power sort of shifts uneasily on this tripod between these three organizations.

[00:06:40] And it really all goes back to this idea that is mentioned in the prequels,

[00:06:45] that there is no artificial intelligence in the Dune universe.

[00:06:50] So in order to make civilization work, humanity has had to train itself to a higher state of physical and mental preparedness,

[00:07:05] perfection, whatever you want to call it.

[00:07:07] And the Bene Gesserit are part of that.

[00:07:09] That's the most succinct way I could describe them.

[00:07:12] Yeah.

[00:07:14] Yeah.

[00:07:14] And I think this series, Doom Prophecy, the prophecy in question is what's called the Missionaria Protectiva,

[00:07:21] which plays an important part in the original book.

[00:07:23] David, how would you describe that?

[00:07:26] The Missionaria Protectiva is an interesting thing because it's really a protocol of the Bene Gesserit.

[00:07:31] And it is a survival mechanism that the Bene Gesserit have seeded into the cultures of thousands of different planets.

[00:07:42] I think something that we have to kind of remember here is the scale,

[00:07:45] even though Dune is taking place on three planets, four planets really.

[00:07:50] Right.

[00:07:51] But primarily, obviously, on Arrakis.

[00:07:54] There are thousands and thousands of worlds and there are human inhabitants scattered across a huge chunk of our solar system.

[00:08:04] And the Bene Gesserit, a sister of the Bene Gesserit, may find herself on some planet somewhere in some situation that imperils her life or the lives of the mission that the Bene Gesserit have there.

[00:08:18] And what they have done is they've preceded this concept of various concepts that will work culturally as escape valves for them if they get into trouble.

[00:08:32] So maybe a common reference would be – maybe a relatable concept would be in the Tintin books, right?

[00:08:40] The young adventuring boy and he's out there and then like, oh, it's an eclipse.

[00:08:44] And the eclipse means that this is our god and it's a sign.

[00:08:48] Or like say with the Ewoks in C-3PO, right?

[00:08:51] Oh, he's our metal god.

[00:08:53] They're playing – they've preceded a mythology that they can then activate by saying certain words, phrases.

[00:08:59] They can act in a certain way with that culture.

[00:09:02] And then that culture will go, oh, these people are our – we can't harm them.

[00:09:07] We must help them kind of thing.

[00:09:09] Right.

[00:09:09] So it's a very subtle –

[00:09:11] They're the prophesied ones.

[00:09:11] Yes, they are the prophesied ones.

[00:09:13] And so it's a very subtle manipulation of culture that allows for some safety and ability to manipulate things.

[00:09:22] But this is – it gets – it's such a complex and interesting thing that what happens with the intersection of Paul and the Quazate Tadarac.

[00:09:30] But anyway, I'll leave it there.

[00:09:31] I'll just – I'm trying to bite my tongue.

[00:09:33] Because this is the interesting thing about the Missionario Protective.

[00:09:36] It's how it interacts with whatever culture is already there.

[00:09:41] So it doesn't end up being the same legend or the same story on thousands of planets.

[00:09:48] Because it always has to interact with whatever the native culture already is.

[00:09:54] So you get this kind of weird sort of sense where it hits certain beats in whatever planet you're on.

[00:10:02] But it can also go off in wildly different directions.

[00:10:05] Right, right.

[00:10:06] And the thing to understand about the Bene Gesserit is there's a – I can't remember whether it's in the book or whether it's just in the film.

[00:10:14] But there's this line about their plans are measured in centuries.

[00:10:18] Like what they're doing is over a vast span of time.

[00:10:22] And it passes down through like countless generations of the sisterhood.

[00:10:28] Right.

[00:10:28] Yeah, so this – and by the way, I was going to draw the parallel between the Bene Gesserit and Wheel of Time fans will know that Aes Sedai are definitely based on the Bene Gesserit.

[00:10:37] And yes, people in universe call them witches.

[00:10:40] The Bene Gesserit witch must leave.

[00:10:44] Yes.

[00:10:45] But yeah, these stories – so these stories are set within our own universe.

[00:10:50] But they are thousands of years into the future.

[00:10:53] So the main Dune book, you know, the one we're here to talk about today is set 20,000 to 25,000 years into our own future, which means that Dune Prophecy, the HBO series, should take place about 10,000 to 15,000 years into our future.

[00:11:11] And this takes place shortly after, you know, Luke referred to the taking down of the thinking machines.

[00:11:18] And this was an event called the Butlerian Jihad.

[00:11:22] And to quote this section of this first book, Dune, once – this is what a character known as the Reverend Mother, a Bene Gesserit leader, she says,

[00:11:43] Thou shalt not make a machine in the likeness of a man's mind, Paul quoted.

[00:11:48] Right out of the Butlerian Jihad and the Orange Catholic Bible, she said.

[00:11:52] But what the OC Bible should have said is, thou shalt not make a machine to counterfeit a human mind.

[00:11:58] The Great Revolt took away a crutch, she said.

[00:12:01] It forced human minds to develop.

[00:12:03] Schools were started to train human talents.

[00:12:06] So I have to ask you guys, what do you think that Frank Herbert would think of AI today?

[00:12:11] You know, I think that's probably Frank Herbert's deepest, darkest nightmare.

[00:12:18] I was going to say made flesh, but made un-flesh, made non-flesh.

[00:12:25] But I also think that's partly Herbert wanted to distinguish Dune from other pieces of science fiction.

[00:12:32] And one of the ways he wanted to do that was by having no aliens and no machines.

[00:12:37] So this is all going to be about the human condition and what happens to humanity if you stretch it out over a long enough period.

[00:12:45] Yeah.

[00:12:46] Because he's very specific that there are no aliens.

[00:12:50] You know?

[00:12:51] Right.

[00:12:51] There are no aliens.

[00:12:53] And just a tangential thought there too, he is writing this in the shadow of Asimov in the Foundation series.

[00:13:00] And he's also writing this in the shadow of Lord of the Rings and Tolkien series.

[00:13:05] So when we are looking at epic questions and epic IPs, this is, you know, he's within that literary tradition, if you will.

[00:13:13] But about the Butlerian Jihad and thinking machines in our current modern day and age, I think this goes back to one of the core, what I see as one of the core things that he's advancing in this conversation of the book.

[00:13:30] Which is, and this comes up later in the future books, but I won't spoil any of the details, but just talk about the concept that unless humanity is engaged in its own survival and its own, and it's kind of living on this precipice of being, of leaning forward into the unknown.

[00:13:55] And trying to push ourselves further and further, then we will be doomed genetically as a species.

[00:14:02] We'll end up falling back in ourselves and collapsing.

[00:14:04] And one of the things that you read in that quote there, Alicia, is that when we take away our ability to think and have agency, we doom ourselves.

[00:14:14] And I think Herbert, I don't know him.

[00:14:18] I don't know that much about him as a person deeply.

[00:14:21] I mean, I've read bits and pieces, but nothing, you know, I'm no authority.

[00:14:25] But I would see that he would see that this is a, I would think that he would see this, our current age as we're going to have to go through this natural evolution.

[00:14:35] We are going to have to go through and grapple with AI was going to happen no matter what.

[00:14:42] Once the moment we figured out microprocessors, it was an inevitability.

[00:14:47] And so we have to grapple with it.

[00:14:48] That's why they're illegal in silo.

[00:14:51] Sorry.

[00:14:52] Good point.

[00:14:53] So I think it's, I think it's a, I think it, you know, I think he's like Luke is saying, he's, he's giving us a warning, you know, and, and like a good, I think the morality, the morality tale that is embedded in, in the Dune series as well.

[00:15:10] Is, is that he's trying to think through these things in a complex way so that we have something that we can reflect on.

[00:15:18] And that's something that we can actually bring into our daily lives right here and have awareness.

[00:15:23] We may not be you, us three on a podcast aren't necessarily going to change chat GPT's fortunes, right?

[00:15:27] That's, but the fact that we're aware and we're talking about it as part of, of humanity grappling with that.

[00:15:34] And, and so, uh, I could see that he would, um, probably see this as an, you know, this inflection point is an inevitability.

[00:15:42] Yeah.

[00:15:43] And what we do after the, after this is, is the real question.

[00:15:47] Sorry, Luke.

[00:15:47] I mean, one of the things that makes me slightly uncomfortable about Dune and makes it a bit of a challenging book is I'm not sure this is true of Frank Herbert, but Dune, the book is definitely eugenics.

[00:16:01] Definitely eugenics curious.

[00:16:04] Um, and there's this, there's this, yeah, there's this whole thing about like, literally there's this whole thing where Paul goes on about like race memory and stuff like that.

[00:16:14] And it's, Oh, this is a bit, I'm not sure.

[00:16:17] I'm not sure.

[00:16:18] I'm not sure.

[00:16:19] I like this terminology and what it implies.

[00:16:23] Um, I'm not saying Frank Herbert necessarily believed in any of that stuff, but the text kind of.

[00:16:30] It makes you a little bit uncomfortable.

[00:16:33] Yeah.

[00:16:33] Yeah.

[00:16:34] I mean, no, I think Frank Herbert is not a perfect person, but I do have to say in the race memory in this way, I don't, he doesn't mean it like he means it as literally as lineage and, and sort of like a, you know, younging concept of collective unconsciousness that goes back through generations.

[00:16:51] That's not, but he says other questionable things.

[00:16:54] Yeah.

[00:16:55] Yeah.

[00:16:56] Yeah.

[00:16:56] I think like taken, I think all of it taken in context.

[00:16:59] Yeah.

[00:17:00] I stand by my statement that it's, it's eugenics curious.

[00:17:03] It's not.

[00:17:03] Yeah, no, that's fair.

[00:17:04] That's fair.

[00:17:05] But it is interesting.

[00:17:07] Like that these are set so far in the future just to, so the original book is set, uh, 25,000 years in our future, let's say ish.

[00:17:16] Um, and so if we were to look that far backward in our own history, then we are in the upper, upper paleolithic era.

[00:17:24] So this is when humans have made it to Europe and are just starting to create permanent settlements.

[00:17:29] So yeah, they, to us, to them are essentially the stone age.

[00:17:35] And then this, when sisterhood of Dune and the Dune prophecy show takes place, that's like kind of halfway in between.

[00:17:42] And that would be like the early Neolithic era.

[00:17:45] So we're still, it's still stone age.

[00:17:48] And this is like before there's even evidence of, of pottery being made.

[00:17:52] So we're just so far removed in these time periods are even so far removed from each other between these, this prequel series and, you know, the original series.

[00:18:01] But yeah, as we mentioned this, this, um, this war against the machines is revolution against the thinking machines, the butlery and jihad.

[00:18:09] It's, it happens like 80 years before sisterhood of Dune.

[00:18:14] And so that book, um, takes place in the time when they're just, there's just the rise of all these groups we're going to be talking about today.

[00:18:24] The Mentats, which are the human thinking machines that replace computers, the Bene Gesserit, uh, the Suk School of Conditioned Doctors and the Spacing Guild, who are the ones who learn to use a spice to fold space and time and travel through the stars.

[00:18:38] So, David, what are you, what, what do you think of the Dune Prophecy trailers we've seen so far?

[00:18:45] And what are you hoping for from this series?

[00:18:48] Yeah, I don't think that there's much that I can derive from the trailers.

[00:18:54] They look pretty straightforward and we are in a point of the books that I'm not familiar with.

[00:19:05] I've been long aware of, of Frank Herbert's son, Brian, who's gone back and I don't know how many various writing partners he's had.

[00:19:13] I think it's just the one.

[00:19:15] Yeah.

[00:19:15] Okay.

[00:19:15] Kevin J. Anderson.

[00:19:17] And they've written a whole lot of books, like a lot, a lot of books.

[00:19:20] And I've never, um, and, and as.

[00:19:23] Like 14 or so.

[00:19:24] Yeah.

[00:19:24] Yeah.

[00:19:25] It's a lot.

[00:19:26] Yeah.

[00:19:26] Yeah.

[00:19:26] And, and as, as many fandoms have, we have, um, toxic strains and elements and there's a, there's definitely people who have opinions about Brian.

[00:19:38] I've never read of his work.

[00:19:39] I don't know really anything about him.

[00:19:40] So I don't have any opinions one way or the other.

[00:19:44] And I certainly don't think anybody deserves some of the blowback that he gets.

[00:19:47] I think that's, you know, that's just that stupid, ridiculous stuff.

[00:19:50] But anyway, so I don't really have an impression of what to expect from what I've seen on screen.

[00:19:58] It looks like an HBO drama set 15,000 years in the future.

[00:20:02] Yeah.

[00:20:03] Yeah.

[00:20:03] It looks great.

[00:20:04] I love, you know, I love some of the actors that we're seeing there and they really haven't given us a lot of depth.

[00:20:09] So it's, it's hard for me to judge.

[00:20:11] I think the timeframe is really interesting because it, it really does set up the Bene Gesserit as these, um, you know, this, this origin story for them.

[00:20:22] And I think that that's important because if, you know, somebody is reading all of the, the main Herbert books, when you get into the last three, it's very much about the Bene Gesserit.

[00:20:34] And how Herbert is working to rehabilitate the Bene Gesserit, if I can say that without being too spoilery and how the, what their importance is to the survive, the literal genetic survival of the human species.

[00:20:50] And, um, they are very much, uh, flawed heroes, uh, in, in some way.

[00:20:57] And I think that dealing with their origin story is a really good and logical place to open up additional onscreen adaptations for this entire body of work, both Herbert and his son.

[00:21:16] So I think it's a good inflection point in, and, uh, I'm just hopeful that they do a good job.

[00:21:23] That's all.

[00:21:23] I just need them to do a good job.

[00:21:26] Yeah.

[00:21:27] Hmm.

[00:21:28] And, and Luke, do you, what are your hopes or expectations?

[00:21:31] I mean, I, I kind of agree with David.

[00:21:32] It doesn't tell us a whole heck of a lot.

[00:21:35] The one thing that slightly concerns me is that like what we've seen of the technology in this show seems to be very similar to the technology you get in Dune and particularly how it's going to be.

[00:21:46] How it's portrayed in the, the Neville Neve, um, movies.

[00:21:50] And that's slightly worrying because like you say, the, the, the span of time you would expect technology, ships, shields, things like that to improve.

[00:21:59] It's always like a slight sticking point for me in House of the Dragon that nothing changes in the, like, 250 years.

[00:22:06] But what, what I'd like to, what I'd like to see in it is I'd like to see other noble houses apart from the Harkonnens and the Atreides.

[00:22:15] So I'd like to, I'd like to see more of the Imperium.

[00:22:18] Um, and I'd like a Dune story that isn't centered on Arrakis.

[00:22:23] Yeah.

[00:22:23] Or Arrakis.

[00:22:24] Um, yeah.

[00:22:26] Can we get away from Tatooine, please?

[00:22:27] Yeah.

[00:22:28] Can we just get off Tatooine?

[00:22:30] Yeah.

[00:22:31] Yeah.

[00:22:32] Yeah.

[00:22:33] I think if I can add a little bit more, uh, Luke's, uh, comments made me think a little bit more too.

[00:22:41] You know, I want a character centered drama, you know, one that where we have characters that we can go on a journey with and, and really, um, have them illuminate and, uh, explore the, the concepts that they're going to be bringing for us.

[00:22:58] As well, I want to see the politics of the Bene Gesserit because the, you know, Luke had suggested that the, the, and I think rightly so that the Bene Gesserit clothe themselves in religion, but they are a highly political organization.

[00:23:16] And they are a kind of politics that we, you know, um, we don't necessarily see at least in our, our, our modern age.

[00:23:24] And I'm sure it's, uh, occurred before, you know, when, um, I can think maybe in, in some, maybe, uh, European history where we would see some of this.

[00:23:32] But this idea of being seated within the, the, the, the, the social fabric of power structures that, um, that's a really interesting area.

[00:23:47] And I would love to see how the Bene Gesserit do that.

[00:23:51] I want to see the, the, the political machinery that they undertake to be able to put themselves into those positions.

[00:23:58] I think that's, that would be a fascinating story.

[00:24:00] Yeah.

[00:24:00] Yeah.

[00:24:01] Yeah.

[00:24:01] I think, I mean, it's, it's, it's really like, I have no idea what to expect from this show.

[00:24:07] Um, but if they can hook me with the characters, they have a great cast.

[00:24:12] So when there looks great when there, um, I think it's just going to come down to is the writing compelling and doesn't create compelling characters.

[00:24:21] Exactly.

[00:24:21] Yep.

[00:24:22] Yeah.

[00:24:22] Because of the, you know, the world building that's all handed to them on a platter.

[00:24:26] So yeah, it has all the makings to be a great show.

[00:24:30] So fingers crossed.

[00:24:31] Yep.

[00:24:32] Absolutely.

[00:24:33] Great to talk to you.

[00:24:34] And maybe we'll, you know, when we get finished with, um, uh, doing prophecy, we can, uh, maybe

[00:24:39] do a little check in with each other as well.

[00:24:41] Yeah, absolutely.

[00:24:42] And, and thank you for joining us to introduce some of the most important key terms.

[00:24:48] Anytime.

[00:24:48] All right.

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[00:25:55] Okay, if you don't want to know anything about the prequel books going into the new series,

[00:26:00] then this is your moment to bow out.

[00:26:02] Go check out the preview app on the Lorehounds feed for a continuation of this conversation between David and I.

[00:26:08] You'll find that link in the show notes.

[00:26:10] And anyone who's still around, I'm really excited to get into this.

[00:26:14] I haven't been this excited to be exploring a new deep dark past of some beloved franchise's timeline since the Star Wars Hover Public was announced.

[00:26:23] I'm going to be talking to you through a summary of a 40-page novella from Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson called Imperial Court that was published as part of the Sands of Dune collection.

[00:26:34] And it was only published in 2022, actually.

[00:26:38] This story is set after Sisterhood of Dune and the rest of the Great Houses of Dune trilogy, but before the new Dune Prophecy HBO series.

[00:26:47] And since it's just me, I'm going to go into full narrator mode.

[00:26:52] So first, let's set the mood.

[00:26:55] First, there are a few things you should know before we get into the story itself.

[00:27:00] One is that we do not know if every piece of this story in particular will be canon to the new TV show.

[00:27:06] As David always says, that show is set in the Viennove universe.

[00:27:10] And this story was only published in 2022 after the TV series was already in development.

[00:27:16] But this story does do a great job summarizing some of the most important events from the preceding books.

[00:27:22] So our discussion here will spoil some of those books plots as well.

[00:27:28] Okay, still here?

[00:27:30] Well, then the next thing you should know is, although this story is set in the court of a 23-year-old newly crowned Emperor Javiko Corino,

[00:27:39] a younger version of the character played by Mark Strong in Dune Prophecy,

[00:27:43] this story is really about a turning point in the millennia-long feud between the two great houses, the Harkonnens.

[00:27:50] And yes, I'm using the more Finnish pronunciation now. Thank you, Marilyn.

[00:27:53] And the Atreides.

[00:27:55] The Atreides is the house that will eventually create Paul Atreides, a.k.a. Moadib, a.k.a. Lisan Al-Gaib, a.k.a. Timothee Chalamet,

[00:28:04] and his whole family.

[00:28:06] And the Harkonnens in the Viennove movies, they are the ones who are portrayed as hairless cannibals

[00:28:12] on a literally black and white planet.

[00:28:15] But this is the same universe, same families, but 10,000 years before all of that.

[00:28:22] So things are a bit different.

[00:28:24] During the Batllari and Jihad prequel novels, the Harkonnens begin as actually quite sympathetic

[00:28:31] and allies of the Atreides.

[00:28:33] And the Atreides, while always virtuous, they can sometimes be a little bit insufferable.

[00:28:39] So this story is set about a century after a battle known as the Battle of Corrin,

[00:28:44] which marked the end of the war against the Thinking Machines.

[00:28:48] And over the past century or so, events have transpired that have increasingly pitted these

[00:28:53] two great houses against each other.

[00:28:55] And here are the most important events in this growing feud.

[00:29:00] So there was once upon a time an Abelard Harkonnen, and he was once a close friend of his mentor,

[00:29:09] Vorion Atreides.

[00:29:11] But during the Battle of Corrin, Abelard defied Vorion's orders

[00:29:16] because he thought that doing so would save the lives of 2 million human slaves.

[00:29:22] But doing this ended up leading to a bloodier outcome in the war.

[00:29:27] So Vorion Atreides branded him a coward.

[00:29:30] And basically, the other great houses wanted to kill him.

[00:29:34] And Vorion said, well, let's brand him a coward and force him into exile as a way to save his life.

[00:29:39] But this is what started the feud.

[00:29:42] And the Harkonnen family ended up being exiled to a planet called Lankyphail,

[00:29:48] which is a very desolate, cold, stormy planet where their greatest export is whale fur.

[00:29:57] Now to add insult to injury, you know, this is all about taking down the Thinking Machines.

[00:30:03] Well, it turns out that Vorion Atreides himself is the biological son of a Cymec named Agnemenum,

[00:30:09] named after the ancient ancestors of the Atreides house.

[00:30:14] A Cymec is basically like a cyborg.

[00:30:16] It's a human who has been enhanced with machine parts.

[00:30:20] But eventually, Vorion fell in love with Serena Butler, who led this war against the Thinking Machines.

[00:30:28] And this convinces him that his father is wrong.

[00:30:33] And he ends up turning against his father and the AI ruler named Omnius.

[00:30:38] And Vorion aligns himself with the League of Nobles and helps lead them in an eventual victory against these Thinking Machines.

[00:30:47] And then he also ends up leading the killing of the Cymec Titans, including his own father as well.

[00:30:54] But before that happened, Vorion was given a life-extending treatment by his father.

[00:31:01] So he lives far longer than the normal human lifespan.

[00:31:05] And he's actually, by the time of this story, he's lived two whole lives where he's had a wife, had kids,

[00:31:12] had his entire family grow old.

[00:31:14] And then, you know, he, after the war and after his wife died, he ended up going to a new planet and founding a new family there.

[00:31:25] Meanwhile, on the Harkonnen side, Valya Harkonnen, played by Emily Watson in the upcoming series,

[00:31:31] she's spent most of her life climbing an influence within the Sisterhood.

[00:31:35] So by the time of this story, she's the Reverend Mother of Sisterhood,

[00:31:38] and she's the head of the Sisterhood in this TV series.

[00:31:42] Valya, she has dedicated her life to restoring the name and position of House Harkonnen.

[00:31:49] She wants to get them out of exile, off Lankifel.

[00:31:52] And her biggest ally in this was her eldest brother, Griffin.

[00:31:57] Until Griffin died while in the desert with, guess who?

[00:32:01] Vorion Atreides.

[00:32:03] So the one who she sees is betraying her father.

[00:32:07] They had gone to fight each other, but Griffin actually talked it out with him and they had made up.

[00:32:13] And then a third party entered the picture, killed Griffin.

[00:32:16] But of course, the other Harkonnens never learn of that.

[00:32:19] And they believe that Vorion's the one who did it.

[00:32:21] So the hatred intensifies.

[00:32:24] So eventually Valya orders her younger sister, Tula, who's played by Olivia Williams in the TV show.

[00:32:31] She orders her to wed Ori Atreides, one of the Atreides.

[00:32:36] And this seems to be a move to heal the rift between their families.

[00:32:40] But then she has to murder him on their wedding night.

[00:32:45] And Tula is obviously being pursued by Ori's brother and by Vorion.

[00:32:51] And so she goes to the sisterhood and is hiding under Valya's wing for protection.

[00:32:58] So family blood feud officially back on.

[00:33:02] And then to add more fuel to the fire on the Atreides side, Valya is blamed for the death of Vorion.

[00:33:10] And this is a short excerpt from the story that we're discussing.

[00:33:14] It's a conversation between two Atreides that we'll talk about in a minute, characters in this story.

[00:33:19] And they are discussing the death of Vorion.

[00:33:23] So.

[00:33:23] I was there when Vorion died, Willem said, feeling the sting of pain and sadness and realizing everyone was listening.

[00:33:30] It was in the ruins of Corrin under the red giant sun.

[00:33:33] Valya Harkonnen came to kill him.

[00:33:36] They dueled and Vorion defeated her.

[00:33:38] But you know how treacherous Harkonnens are.

[00:33:40] Around the table, the Kepler cousins looked sickened.

[00:33:44] Even though Vorion resolved to the feud and let her live afterward, Valya had planted a bomb on his ship.

[00:33:50] It blew up midair.

[00:33:52] We all watched him die.

[00:33:54] Acid filled his voice.

[00:33:56] Luke hung his head.

[00:33:58] Assassins came to Kepler hunting for Vorion too.

[00:34:01] They burned the farmhouse.

[00:34:03] Killed our grandmother, Mariela.

[00:34:05] The big man grumbled.

[00:34:07] Vorion had a habit of bringing tragedy wherever he went.

[00:34:11] Willem sat up straighter.

[00:34:12] Don't blame him for the hateful things others did.

[00:34:15] My vengeance is directed toward the Harkonnens where it belongs.

[00:34:21] But there is a reference elsewhere that implies that Vorion actually did not die in this explosion.

[00:34:28] And instead went off to explore another life that we don't really know anything about at this point.

[00:34:33] But as far as his family knows, he's dead.

[00:34:35] So inter-family hatred to the max.

[00:34:38] Okay.

[00:34:39] Now that that groundwork has been laid.

[00:34:41] About half of that is actually referenced in the story.

[00:34:45] And about half of that I supplemented a little bit from the prior trilogy.

[00:34:48] Let's get into the plot of this story itself.

[00:34:51] The start of the story is dated 97 years after the Battle of Korin and the end of the Thinking Machines.

[00:34:58] And nine years after the formation of the Spacing Guild.

[00:35:01] So listen to my preview episode with David in the Lorehounds feed for more talk about the Spacing Guild.

[00:35:08] They don't really play a role in this particular story.

[00:35:10] So I'm going to ignore them for now.

[00:35:12] This story takes place on one planet.

[00:35:15] On the planet Seleucus Secundus.

[00:35:17] About 10,000 years from now, this planet will be a barren wasteland.

[00:35:21] That's suitable only for the most unbreakable warriors.

[00:35:24] But a decamillennial before that, it's a lush temperate planet.

[00:35:28] And the home planet of the Korino family.

[00:35:30] Descendants of the Butler family who spurred the war against the Thinking Machines.

[00:35:34] But now under a new name are emperors of most of the galaxy.

[00:35:38] So a 23-year-old named Chavico has just ascended to the throne after the death of his father, the Emperor Roderick Quirino.

[00:35:46] And Roderick died under some potentially suspicious circumstances.

[00:35:51] And a man named Lopar, the Emperor's court chamberlain or key advisor, fled after the death either guilty or afraid suspicion would fall on him.

[00:36:01] Chavico is therefore looking for a new court chamberlain, which is an advisory role that comes with quite a bit of power.

[00:36:07] But Chavico is also trying to negotiate his own new power and figure out what kind of emperor he will be.

[00:36:13] He wants to be distinct from his well-loved and wise, I should point out, father.

[00:36:19] But his mother is now a recluse after the death of her beloved husband and his sisters and married off to other noble households.

[00:36:26] So Chavico is largely finding his way on the throne on his own.

[00:36:31] And he wants to make a name for himself.

[00:36:33] For example, he sees a chance to make an alliance with the Potentate of the Orua Confederation.

[00:36:39] And this is one of the last holdouts in joining the Quirino Galactic Empire.

[00:36:44] Chavico's father, Roderick, refused to make the concessions that they demanded to form an alliance.

[00:36:50] But Chavico might be willing to make those concessions himself.

[00:36:53] Meanwhile, the Potentate arrives with his bitchy daughter, Chrysanda, who seems to be the one to impress.

[00:37:00] And she has her eyes on a political marriage with Chavico.

[00:37:04] Side note, there are unconfirmed rumors swirling that the Potentate, or more likely his daughter,

[00:37:10] had something to do with the death of Emperor Roderick, whom they considered uncooperative.

[00:37:15] So meanwhile, the Atreides player in this game, Willem Atreides, age 30.

[00:37:21] He is the great, great, great grandson of Orion Atreides, but knew him well.

[00:37:25] And after the murder of Willem's brother Ori, that was the one killed by Tula on their wedding night,

[00:37:31] Willem is the last of his branch of his family from the water planet of Caledon,

[00:37:36] which is the planet where Paul Atreides will be born millennia later.

[00:37:40] Willem is a descendant of Orion Atreides and his first wife.

[00:37:43] So that's kind of the quote-unquote more legitimate side of the family.

[00:37:47] And Willem was a mentee of the late Emperor Roderick, whom he served for almost a decade,

[00:37:53] never getting married or having children because of it, although he admits he's still plenty young to do that.

[00:37:58] But now he is alone at court and worries that may hurt his chances of becoming the next court chamberlain,

[00:38:04] especially when Chavico, who does give him special treatment,

[00:38:08] nonetheless isn't as receptive to Willem Atreides' court chamberlain pitch as Willem expected.

[00:38:14] Chavico dismisses his words as the same meaningless platitudes Chavico is hearing from every noble vying for the job.

[00:38:21] And he knows that Willem was his father's favorite, but Chavico isn't hearing anything that separates Willem from the pack,

[00:38:27] when everyone's belief in their own qualifications and noble intentions seem equally earnest.

[00:38:34] They all believe that they and they alone are not like all those other schemers.

[00:38:40] Chavico asserts that he is not his father and his trust must be earned separately.

[00:38:44] For now, Willem remains a candidate for the job, but so do all the other noble applicants,

[00:38:49] including Willem's arch-nemesis, Danvis Harkonnen,

[00:38:53] brother of the aforementioned Valia Antula Harkonnen.

[00:38:57] And Valia even briefly shows up in the story to advise him at court.

[00:39:01] Danvis is shown to be a crafty man, insinuating himself as the go-between between the Potatente of the Arua Confederation and the Carino court.

[00:39:10] He's definitely catching Chavico's eye.

[00:39:13] But while Danvis is progressing his career at court, Willem Atreides is making an unexpected familial connection.

[00:39:20] Luke Atreides, a descendant of Vorian's second family on the Kepler planet side,

[00:39:24] shows up with his extended family and they want to petition the Emperor,

[00:39:28] but they also were hoping to get to know Willem and invite him back to live the good life on the quiet planet of Kepler,

[00:39:35] where we saw their mutual ancestor once enjoying hunting and running a happy village with his family in the book Sisterhood of Doom.

[00:39:41] So their family has a big banquet to celebrate being reunited,

[00:39:47] and this is a very public and extravagant affair that everybody sees.

[00:39:52] But does this look suspiciously showy in retrospect,

[00:39:56] especially with mysterious new family members suddenly arriving from a foreign planet?

[00:40:01] Should certain accusations arise surrounding other events this night, perhaps people will think that.

[00:40:09] Allow me to explain.

[00:40:10] At one point, Danvis goes to the Harkonnen Consulate,

[00:40:14] their family's very private estate on the capital planet, Seleucia Secundus.

[00:40:18] He goes to consult with his bug-loving cousin Gerhard,

[00:40:22] who seems to hate the Atreides even more than Danvis does.

[00:40:26] Gerhard is a formal emissary to the royal court,

[00:40:29] reporting to his older cousin Danvis,

[00:40:32] which positions Gerhard well to collect whispers.

[00:40:35] To quote the story,

[00:40:36] he had a knack for acquiring information and accomplishing missions quietly.

[00:40:41] He's also, as I said, a bug guy,

[00:40:43] and has created elaborate environments in the Harkonnen Consulate

[00:40:47] dedicated to many rare and varied insects and arachnids from all over the galaxy.

[00:40:53] So one day, while Danvis enjoys his favorite drink,

[00:40:57] which is palma juice,

[00:40:58] a strong and bitter extract reputed to have healthy properties,

[00:41:02] which is an acquired taste for most,

[00:41:05] Danvis sips his palma juice and listens to his cousin's diabolical plan.

[00:41:09] They will take out the other applicants for the court chamberlain position,

[00:41:13] except William Atreides,

[00:41:15] and they will prime the rumor mill to accuse him of the crimes.

[00:41:19] The weapon will be Inigo gnats from Gerhard's bug collection.

[00:41:23] Gnats so tiny,

[00:41:25] they are but barely visible as a blur to the naked eye,

[00:41:29] but lethally venomous.

[00:41:30] They come from Rosak,

[00:41:32] the planet of arid cliffs and deadly exotic jungles

[00:41:35] where the school of the Sisterhood is located.

[00:41:38] And if Gerhard releases the gnats into a room with the intended victim,

[00:41:43] they will bite the victim,

[00:41:45] killing them within a couple hours

[00:41:47] and leaving no trace behind but a rash.

[00:41:49] The short-lived bugs will quickly die

[00:41:52] and the slightest breeze will scatter their almost invisible corpses.

[00:41:56] Gerhard will tie a green and black Atreides ribbon near each of the bodies

[00:42:01] and the investigation will conclude it was done by Willem.

[00:42:05] And this actually works.

[00:42:07] All the targets die

[00:42:08] and the blame is immediately pinned on Willem.

[00:42:11] But there's a catch.

[00:42:12] Danvis is one of the applicants

[00:42:14] and it would look suspicious if he weren't also bit,

[00:42:17] especially him as he's known to be Willem Atreides' enemy.

[00:42:21] But never fear, Gerhard says.

[00:42:23] I have invented an antidote,

[00:42:25] taken preemptively,

[00:42:26] that will keep you from dying.

[00:42:28] You will appear dead,

[00:42:29] but then we will be able to wake you back up.

[00:42:32] But the timing and the weights and the measurements

[00:42:34] and all that is very complicated,

[00:42:35] so we have to do it right now.

[00:42:37] So Danvis reluctantly puts down that poma juice

[00:42:40] that he's always drinking

[00:42:41] and follows his cousin for the first in a series of bad experiences.

[00:42:46] Danvis gets bitten in his office the next day

[00:42:49] and goes into a coma.

[00:42:51] With Danvis in a coma near death,

[00:42:54] Willem looks guiltier than ever

[00:42:56] and Gerhard makes a big show of it at court.

[00:42:58] He declares Conley,

[00:43:00] which is a formal type of blood feud

[00:43:01] that these two families will still be declaring on each other 10,000 years later.

[00:43:06] And then Gerhard kills Willem in the court in front of everyone with a needle gun.

[00:43:11] Willem dies in his cousin Luke's arms

[00:43:14] and Willem's last words to his cousins are a request

[00:43:18] to end the Atreides-Harkonnen feud before even more die.

[00:43:22] But Luke basically swears double Conley on the Harkonnens after this latest insult instead.

[00:43:27] But first, he and his family and Willem's remains

[00:43:30] retreat to the planet Keplar.

[00:43:32] And Danvis Harkonnen does wake up from his coma,

[00:43:36] though Gerhard admits that he wasn't sure that he would.

[00:43:39] It turns out that Gerhard was not lying about the antidote,

[00:43:42] which he did make to Danvis' physical specifications.

[00:43:45] But Gerhard knew that there's something that interferes with the antidote working fully

[00:43:50] and that something is a chemical found in palma juice,

[00:43:54] which he knows Danvis drinks religiously.

[00:43:56] It caused a series of strokes that left Danvis completely paralyzed,

[00:44:01] unable to speak or move a muscle.

[00:44:04] Gerhard knows that Danvis wouldn't have had the stomach to actually kill Willem

[00:44:08] or do the other dirty work needed to restore the Harkonnen family to their rightful prominence.

[00:44:12] Better Danvis be kept alive as a tool to inspire rage and pity,

[00:44:17] a tool who conveniently can't speak.

[00:44:20] Plus, his ancestor Xavier Harkonnen,

[00:44:24] the great hero of Serena Butler's jihad,

[00:44:26] stated unequivocally that a Harkonnen does not kill a Harkonnen.

[00:44:30] But to add insult to injury,

[00:44:32] after explaining how he left Danvis in this state,

[00:44:35] Gerhard instructs his nurse to give him palma juice regularly,

[00:44:39] calling it his one comfort,

[00:44:41] undoubtedly suspecting how deeply Danvis must hate this stuff now.

[00:44:45] But Danvis, after some time,

[00:44:47] is starting to be able to wiggle his fingers.

[00:44:50] If he can survive long enough,

[00:44:52] he might be able to have his revenge yet,

[00:44:55] one day.

[00:45:03] So, just some thoughts on this story.

[00:45:06] And of course, I want to hear your thoughts as well.

[00:45:08] Write in to woolshiftdustpodcasts at gmail.com,

[00:45:12] that link in the show notes,

[00:45:13] to be included in discussion in future Dune episodes.

[00:45:17] But yeah, here's some food for thought.

[00:45:18] So, Willem, it is clear through the story

[00:45:22] that he is the better person morally,

[00:45:24] but knowing that about yourself

[00:45:26] doesn't mean that everybody else sees it.

[00:45:28] So, think about real world politics.

[00:45:31] Willem comes off as a little self-righteous,

[00:45:34] and that rubs Chavico the wrong way.

[00:45:36] So, I do like the political complexities

[00:45:39] of the early stories in this timeline.

[00:45:41] I do think it holds up to the Dune standard

[00:45:43] of asking these sorts of questions.

[00:45:46] Yeah, Willem definitely did not read the room.

[00:45:48] He couldn't drop the formality

[00:45:51] and be straight with Chavico.

[00:45:53] And it's a shame that he didn't have a chance

[00:45:55] to learn that skill from his newly rediscovered cousins,

[00:45:58] because they're a bit rougher around the edges,

[00:46:00] and they were kind of getting Willem to loosen up.

[00:46:03] I don't think that Willem would have gone with Luke

[00:46:06] back to Kepler, though, if he lived.

[00:46:08] He couldn't give up that court life.

[00:46:10] That's how he was raised,

[00:46:12] on the Kaladin side of the family,

[00:46:13] that that's the important thing.

[00:46:15] I mean, actually, Luke was able to get him

[00:46:18] out of the throne room after Danvis,

[00:46:21] after the second round of accusations

[00:46:24] when Danvis fell into a coma.

[00:46:25] And it was Willem who insisted on going back,

[00:46:28] because basically, he valued his own honor

[00:46:31] above his own life,

[00:46:34] which is kind of like a very Atreides thing to do.

[00:46:36] You know, you can imagine them,

[00:46:38] you can compare them to like the Starks

[00:46:40] of the Song of Ice and Fire,

[00:46:43] Game of Thrones universe.

[00:46:46] Interesting that there are,

[00:46:48] it seems like there's not much Atreides family left

[00:46:52] on Kaladin, the planet,

[00:46:54] the water planet where Paul Atreides

[00:46:56] will eventually be born.

[00:46:58] And most of the Atreides family is on Kepler.

[00:47:01] Maybe that explains why,

[00:47:04] why the Doom book says that

[00:47:06] they'd only been on Kaladin

[00:47:09] for the equivalence of 500 years.

[00:47:12] I did always wonder about that.

[00:47:15] So, Javiko,

[00:47:16] he is a main character in this upcoming TV show.

[00:47:21] And we don't know how much his characterization

[00:47:24] will resemble or differ from this.

[00:47:26] But I have to say that in this story,

[00:47:28] especially,

[00:47:29] he comes across as a bit superficial at times,

[00:47:32] and possibly short-tempered.

[00:47:34] Definitely not shaping up to be the emperor his father was.

[00:47:37] He's a bit more in temperament like his uncle, Salvador,

[00:47:41] who preceded his father as emperor.

[00:47:43] And Salvador,

[00:47:44] the saving grace of Salvador

[00:47:46] was that he had Roderick,

[00:47:48] Javiko's father,

[00:47:50] as his advisor.

[00:47:51] And that made Salvador a better emperor.

[00:47:55] So Javiko,

[00:47:56] without having that firm foundation of a good advisor he can trust,

[00:48:00] who knows what that will do.

[00:48:03] I don't know if they're going to keep that characterization.

[00:48:06] This is obviously,

[00:48:08] you know,

[00:48:09] the Dune Prophecy series.

[00:48:11] Mark Strong is not,

[00:48:12] this is a 23-year-old character in this story.

[00:48:14] Mark Strong is not 23 years old.

[00:48:15] So some time has passed,

[00:48:17] even if they do stick to this backstory.

[00:48:19] Um,

[00:48:20] so who knows what sort of man he's matured into becoming.

[00:48:24] But,

[00:48:24] this,

[00:48:25] yeah,

[00:48:25] there's,

[00:48:25] there's some worrying red flags at this point in his story.

[00:48:29] Um,

[00:48:30] Danvis actually tells his cousin at one point

[00:48:32] that Javiko shows sign of paranoia

[00:48:34] and is looking for someone to trust.

[00:48:36] So,

[00:48:37] but I have to ask,

[00:48:39] why would anybody think that Willem would tie

[00:48:42] ribbon confessions near all of the bodies?

[00:48:45] Like,

[00:48:45] that does not make sense to me.

[00:48:46] Why would people fall for that?

[00:48:47] I mean,

[00:48:48] I guess people believe dumber things in real life.

[00:48:51] Now,

[00:48:52] Valya,

[00:48:53] I mentioned that she is advising her brother Danvis

[00:48:56] before all this goes down,

[00:48:57] but she doesn't really play much of a role in this story.

[00:49:00] Otherwise,

[00:49:00] uh,

[00:49:01] she is going to be,

[00:49:02] she and Tula,

[00:49:03] her sister are going to be main characters

[00:49:04] in,

[00:49:05] um,

[00:49:05] the new series as well.

[00:49:07] Also,

[00:49:07] obviously a bit older.

[00:49:09] Um,

[00:49:10] she's a very morally gray character.

[00:49:12] Like,

[00:49:13] she's not the outright villain her cousin Gerard turned out to be,

[00:49:16] but she's probably the second worst.

[00:49:19] Like,

[00:49:20] a lot of violence that occurs between the families is based on misunderstandings,

[00:49:24] but she takes her thirst for vengeance to greater levels,

[00:49:27] which leaves no room to correct misunderstandings.

[00:49:31] But just to point out,

[00:49:32] like,

[00:49:32] how cold Gerard is,

[00:49:35] Conley,

[00:49:35] it's an important,

[00:49:36] um,

[00:49:37] it's Conley something that happens in the original doom book.

[00:49:41] It is an,

[00:49:42] um,

[00:49:42] important term to learn.

[00:49:44] Uh,

[00:49:45] basically it's a very formal blood feud.

[00:49:47] And by formal,

[00:49:48] I mean,

[00:49:48] you actually have to file paperwork in advance.

[00:49:51] So this is straight up first degree murder,

[00:49:54] but if you file the proper paperwork,

[00:49:57] then it's okay.

[00:49:59] So Gerard does this in the middle of a crowded throne room.

[00:50:05] Uh,

[00:50:05] and the guard does actually knock the gun out of his hand after he fires his shot.

[00:50:10] And,

[00:50:10] and he would have,

[00:50:11] I'm sure the guard would have stopped Gerard if he could have.

[00:50:15] Um,

[00:50:16] but he,

[00:50:17] Gerard's going to get away with it because he filed the Conley paperwork.

[00:50:20] So it's okay.

[00:50:21] Now,

[00:50:22] at the end of the story,

[00:50:23] Don Viss,

[00:50:24] who's paralyzed at this point is brought to back to Lankfield.

[00:50:27] That,

[00:50:27] um,

[00:50:28] exile planet of the Harkonnens.

[00:50:29] And you get the idea that,

[00:50:32] you know,

[00:50:32] sadistic Gerard is maybe considers this a sort of punishment,

[00:50:36] but actually one of the bright linings for Don Viss is that he'd actually been missing the planet in his mind earlier in the story.

[00:50:43] You know,

[00:50:44] it's,

[00:50:44] uh,

[00:50:44] where he was raised with his siblings and he has memories.

[00:50:48] They're warmer than the local weather.

[00:50:51] Uh,

[00:50:52] just one more point I want to point out is that,

[00:50:55] uh,

[00:50:55] if you're more familiar with the Dune book,

[00:50:57] then in the,

[00:50:59] by the time of the original book,

[00:51:00] House Atreides is said to have closer blood ties with the Imperial family.

[00:51:04] But at this point in the timeline,

[00:51:06] 10,000 years earlier,

[00:51:07] the Harkonnens are by far the more established house.

[00:51:10] And,

[00:51:11] and Vorion is basically considered the founder of the House Atreides.

[00:51:14] So it only started a few generations ago.

[00:51:17] Well,

[00:51:18] thank you all for your ears today.

[00:51:19] I hope you enjoyed this Dune story interlude and that you find this information helpful in giving context to help you get even more out of the new Dune prophecy series.

[00:51:28] I cannot wait to watch that myself.

[00:51:30] If you are curious to learn more about these stories,

[00:51:33] members of the Wool Shift Us book club will be getting story time summaries and analyses like these of all of the Butlerian Giad books and novellas,

[00:51:42] uh,

[00:51:42] starting after that full two feed coverage of this season of Silo wraps up,

[00:51:46] of course.

[00:51:47] Um,

[00:51:47] and yes,

[00:51:48] there will be a season pass option for the Dune prequel books as well.

[00:51:52] Now do go check out my and David's prophecy preview episode on the Lorehounds feed,

[00:51:57] which follows up on the discussion at the start of this episode.

[00:52:00] You'll find that link in the show notes and make sure that you follow that feed wherever you listen to podcasts to ensure that you get notifications about our weekly episode breakdowns.

[00:52:10] You can also catch up on my Agatha all along coverage on that feed and coverage of Pachinko with me,

[00:52:15] David and Japan historian,

[00:52:17] and Nate plus tons of stuff for Tolkien fans from rings of power to Silmarillion stories.

[00:52:22] And our finale coverage of the penguin and a new wicked one shot is coming soon as well.

[00:52:28] On this feed,

[00:52:29] Luke and I will be back in your ears soon talking more Silo.

[00:52:32] The feedback's already rolling in,

[00:52:34] but I think scheduling wise,

[00:52:35] we may end up doing a combined mailbag episode for the first two episodes of the series after episode two airs in the book club.

[00:52:42] You can catch up on all the Silo book and story breakdowns.

[00:52:45] The season one book spoiler rewatch and mine.

[00:52:48] Abby's first season two spoiler cast called a tale of two rebellions will be released on that feed in a couple of days.

[00:52:55] You'll find supercast and Patreon links in the show notes.

[00:52:58] I recommend supercast.

[00:53:00] You'll find more options there,

[00:53:01] including one time season passes.

[00:53:04] If you choose the Silos in level,

[00:53:06] you will have access to the same amount of episodes that are available on Patreon.

[00:53:11] And yes,

[00:53:12] I'll be setting up season passes for the Doom prequel books once that begins.

[00:53:17] Okay,

[00:53:17] I'll keep it short,

[00:53:18] but a few more highlights from the Lorehounds network.

[00:53:20] You can listen to Anthony's absolutely insane takes about the penguin and a new episode from Properly Howard in that feed.

[00:53:26] The Radioactive Ramblings feed is continuing the Ramblers Rising coverage of the Red Rising book series.

[00:53:32] Plus,

[00:53:34] plus they just started a new Ghibli series with Hell's Moving Castle.

[00:53:37] And of course,

[00:53:38] do check out Nevermind the Music,

[00:53:40] the newest podcast on the network about how music and psychology interact.

[00:53:45] I promise you will never listen to music the same way again.

[00:53:48] You can follow the link in the show notes to explore everything that I mentioned here and other shows.

[00:53:55] And join us in the Lorehounds Discord to discuss all these topics and more.

[00:53:59] See you back here shortly for more Silo and on the Lorehounds feed for more Dune prophecy.

[00:54:05] Until then,

[00:54:06] don't worry too much about the next rash you get.

[00:54:10] Zzzz.