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DUNE Current revisions by Jon Spaihts Previous drafts by Eric Roth Denis Villeneuve September 24, 2018 The desert has no mercy. You adapt or you die. - Liet Kynes 1. FADE IN: 1 BENE GESSERIT TEMPLE WALL 1 We pan across an intricate mosaic in an ancient sanctuary. Graceful arabesque calligraphy flows across the surface. A woman’s voice speaks: aged and wise. REVEREND MOTHER MOHIAM (V.O.) Once, we let machines think for us -- and those machines enslaved us. Bringing an age of tyranny and war. The mosaic’s design acquires a MECHANISTIC character, looming darkly over stylized human figures. REVEREND MOTHER MOHIAM (V.O.) When at last we threw them down, a new law was made: “Thou shalt not make a machine in the likeness of a human mind.” The towering mechanistic shapes dwindle to rubble, leaving a golden space in which human shapes re-emerge. REVEREND MOTHER MOHIAM (V.O.) Schools were founded to elevate human thought. The Mentats, masters of mathematics and logic. The Spacing Guild, whose Navigators see into the future to leap between the stars. And the Bene Gesserit, whose supreme knowledge of the body and mind guides human affairs. We see the Mentats with haloes of pure mathematics. The Guild Navigators with great ships looming overhead. The Bene Gesserit in black-robed ranks of women led by matriarchs. REVEREND MOTHER MOHIAM (V.O.) All three rely on the spice: a narcotic that enhances psychic gifts in those who possess them. Without it, our civilization would collapse. Rays of orange emerge in the mosaic, transforming the people they touch. Elevating Mentats, Navigators, Bene Gesserit. We follow the rays back to a golden sphere: a desert planet. REVEREND MOTHER MOHIAM (V.O.) The spice has only one source: the desert planet we call Arrakis. Known to its inhabitants as Dune. 2. 2 EXT. ARRAKIS ORBIT 2 Arrakis looms against the stars: a desert world. At the equator, a vast rust-colored hurricane slowly churns. A STEALTH SHIP rockets toward the surface of the planet: a sleek two-seater with a darkened hull and no markings. A PILOT sits in the forward seat, face hidden by a black glass visor. In the rear sits a COMMANDO, in a high-tech cradle that is not quite a seat: a DROP CHUTE. UPPER ATMOSPHERE The ship plunges into the air: vapor screaming over the hull. Friction heats the shuddering fuselage to a red glow. From afar we see the ship blazing down like a falling star. Below, a sea of sand dunes meets a rocky ridge. The ship plunges toward the desert. Terrifyingly fast. At the last moment the pilot pulls up, crushing the commando with G-forces. Skimming over the dunes a hundred meters up. Ahead: the rocky ridge rushes to meet them. The pilot flashes the commando a series of hand signals. The commando replies by thumping the canopy with his fist. Ready. The pilot pulls up hard, aiming for the stratosphere -- and as the ship climbs away, the drop chute opens. The commando falls free. No parachute. A dark figure in free-fall. ON THE COMMANDO As he touches his belt, activating a SUSPENSOR HARNESS. A hum of power as the suspensors fight the force of gravity. 3 EXT. ARRAKIS - ROCK RIDGE - DAY 3 The commando falls into view, decelerating fast. Lands on his feet, taking the shock with his legs. Pulls off his helmet. He is broad-shouldered and lean. Clean-shaven. Late thirties. He radiates quiet competence, even in this hellish place. He is DUNCAN IDAHO. He strips the pack off his back. Takes out a rapier and dagger in scabbards and hangs them on his belt. He scans the ridge, squinting in the sun. Pulls a flask from his belt and takes a swallow of water. Climbs out of sight. Behind him, the dune sea rolls to the horizon. TITLE: DUNE 3. 4 INT. CASTLE CALADAN - MEDITATION ROOM - NIGHT 4 In a wide room of zen simplicity, LADY JESSICA, 35, sits in meditation. She is regal, slender, robed in black. Her posture perfect. Her eyes closed. She is emotional. Striving to calm her heart, to slow her breathing. Eyes darting beneath her eyelids. 5 EXT. SPACE - CALADAN ORBIT 5 Abstract shapes move in silence against the stars. A GUILD HEIGHLINER, a huge torpedo-shaped starship, maneuvers over CALADAN, a blue-green planet like Earth. SUPER: CALADAN - HOMEWORLD OF HOUSE ATREIDES A minuscule egg-shaped SHUTTLE emerges from the Heighliner like a seed and falls toward the planet. 6 INT. CASTLE CALADAN - MEDITATION ROOM - NIGHT 6 Jessica finds stillness. Her heartbeat slows. Her breathing slows...and stops. For a moment it seems time itself stops, with a crackle like ice. As if she has turned to stone. THUNDER RUMBLES overhead. Jessica’s eyes open. 7 EXT. CASTLE CALADAN - NIGHT 7 Rain falls on an ancient castle on a cliff. Stormclouds shroud the moon. Below, a river runs down to the sea. The SHUTTLE settles on a landing pad on the castle’s terrace. 8 INT. CASTLE CALADAN - MEDITATION ROOM 8 From her high window, Jessica watches the shuttle descend. JESSICA’S POV A gangway lowers from the shuttle outside. Four women in Bene Gesserit robes descend the ramp and wait. An OLD WOMAN in the ceremonial cloak of a REVEREND MOTHER follows, her sure strong steps belying her great age. 9 INT. PAUL’S BEDROOM - NIGHT 9 PAUL ATREIDES, 16, lies sleeping. His angular face showing a clear resemblance to Jessica, his mother. 4. He stirs in his sleep. Eyes darting beneath closed lids. INSERT - THE DREAM GIRL Shallow focus. In golden lantern-light, a GIRL gazes into our eyes from kissing distance. Her eyes impossibly blue. JESSICA (PRE-LAP) Paul. Wake up. BEDROOM Paul’s eyelids flutter in the grip of the dream. He whispers: PAUL You are the desert spring. JESSICA (O.S.) Paul. His eyes open. Half-asleep. Confused. It takes him a moment to focus. He blinks in surprise to find Jessica in his room. PAUL Mother. I was dreaming. She takes a uniform from his closet and lays it on his bed. JESSICA Get dressed and come with me. Her voice tight with controlled emotion. She turns and exits. 10 LIBRARY 10 Jessica leads Paul into the library -- wooden shelves heavy with ancient books. Suspensor lights hover in the gloom. Paul is dressed in black with silver trim, a hint of military style. The green Atreides hawk emblazoned on his jacket. He is mystified about the purpose of this midnight awakening. He finds the REVEREND MOTHER MOHIAM, 75, waiting for them. She sits in a heavy wooden chair, her aged face ghostly against her black cloak. Her eyes glitter as she studies him. JESSICA The Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam. She was my teacher at the Bene Gesserit school. Now she is Truthsayer to the Emperor himself. She curtsies and steps aside. Paul is astonished by this meekness in his mother. He studies the Reverend Mother. 5. She takes the measure of him in turn. His stance. His stare. REVEREND MOTHER MOHIAM Defiance in the eyes. Like his father. (to Jessica) Leave us. Jessica turns to go, reluctant but obedient. She pauses. JESSICA Paul. The test you’re about to receive... PAUL Test? JESSICA You must do everything the Reverend Mother tells you. Remember you’re a Duke’s son. She hurries out. Paul glares at the Reverend Mother. PAUL You dismiss my mother like a servant in her own house. REVEREND MOTHER MOHIAM The Bene Gesserit exist to serve. SIT DOWN. The command cracks like a whip, her voice suddenly more than human. Compelling obedience irresistibly. This is THE VOICE. Paul sits on the footstool, helpless to resist. Shaken. PAUL You used the Voice on me! She lifts a green metal cube, six inches tall, from the folds of her robes. Sets it on the arm of her chair. One side opens into a black interior which no light can illuminate. REVEREND MOTHER MOHIAM Put your right hand in the box. Paul doesn’t comply. Defiant. REVEREND MOTHER MOHIAM (CONT’D) Your mother bade you obey me. The invocation of his mother moves him. Reluctantly Paul puts his hand in the box. The old woman leans forward, placing her hand beside Paul’s neck. A glint of metal. He starts to turn his head -- 6. REVEREND MOTHER MOHIAM (CONT’D) STOP. He freezes. Breathing hard. We see a long gleaming NEEDLE, rock-steady in the old woman’s hand. Almost touching him. REVEREND MOTHER MOHIAM (CONT’D) I hold at your neck the gom jabbar. A poison needle. Instant death. This test is simple. Remove your hand from the box, and you die. Paul stares at her incredulously. This is madness. PAUL If I call out, the guards will come. REVEREND MOTHER MOHIAM Your mother stands outside that door. OUTSIDE THE DOOR Jessica stands with her back to the door like a sentry. REVEREND MOTHER MOHIAM (V.O.) No one will get past her. Jessica’s face is taut with terror. Her son’s life hangs in the balance. She begins to whisper the Litany against Fear: JESSICA I must not fear. Fear is the mind- killer. Fear is the little death that brings obliteration. IN THE LIBRARY Paul stares at the Reverend Mother apprehensively. PAUL What’s in the box? REVEREND MOTHER MOHIAM Pain. And suddenly he feels it: a tingling sensation in his fingers that makes his breath catch. He hisses in pain. OUTSIDE THE DOOR Jessica’s voice shakes as she whispers the Litany. JESSICA I will face my fear. Let it pass over me and through me. 7. IN THE LIBRARY Sweat beads on Paul’s forehead as the pain grows into agony. PAUL Why are you doing this? REVEREND MOTHER MOHIAM To determine whether you’re human. An animal caught in a trap will gnaw off its own leg to escape. What will you do? Paul moans through clenched teeth. His left hand balled into a white-knuckled fist, his arm trembling. Pain! OUTSIDE THE DOOR Jessica closes her eyes. JESSICA When it has passed I will turn my inner eye to see its path. IN THE LIBRARY Paul trembles. The gom jabbar glints against his neck. The Reverend Mother’s eyes burn into him. He is panting. INSERT: Paul’s hand inside the box. Like a hand in a bonfire. The skin blackening. Splitting. Paul CRIES OUT involuntarily. The Reverend Mother hisses: REVEREND MOTHER MOHIAM Silence! OUTSIDE THE DOOR Jessica’s voice rises -- JESSICA And where the fear has gone there will be nothing! IN THE LIBRARY Paul shudders in excruciating pain. Locking eyes with the old Reverend Mother. At the very edge of his endurance. INSERT: Paul’s hand. Crisp flesh falling from charred bones. Paul shuts his eyes. His mouth opens in a silent scream. 8. REVEREND MOTHER MOHIAM Enough! The pain cuts off at once. Paul’s eyes snap open with a gasp. OUTSIDE THE DOOR Jessica opens her eyes. JESSICA Only I will remain. IN THE LIBRARY The Reverend Mother stares at Paul as he gasps in relief: sweaty, breathing hard. She is shocked at herself. REVEREND MOTHER MOHIAM No woman-child ever withstood so much. I must’ve wanted you to fail. Take your hand from the box, boy, and look at it. Reluctantly Paul complies -- sure he will see a ruined stump. But his hand is unmarked. He wiggles his fingers, amazed. REVEREND MOTHER MOHIAM (CONT’D) Pain by nerve induction. We can’t go around maiming potential humans. He stares at her, his curiosity overriding his anger. PAUL What is this test for? The Reverend Mother smiles, concealing the box in her robes. REVEREND MOTHER MOHIAM Like sifting sand through a screen. We sift people to find the humans. If you were unable to control your impulses, like an animal -- we could not let you live. You inherit too much power. PAUL Because I’m a Duke’s son? REVEREND MOTHER MOHIAM Because you are Jessica’s son. You have more than one birthright, boy. You’ve proven you can rule yourself. Now you must learn to rule others. It’s something none of your ancestors learned. 9. PAUL My father rules an entire planet. REVEREND MOTHER MOHIAM He’s losing it. PAUL He’s getting a richer planet. REVEREND MOTHER MOHIAM He’ll lose that one too. Arrakis is a deathtrap, boy. The die is cast. Paul stares at her, disconcerted. What does she mean? OUTSIDE THE DOOR Jessica stands rigid, serene. Waiting. REVEREND MOTHER MOHIAM (O.S.) (CONT’D) Jessica! Jessica goes in, fear on her face. At the sight of Paul her face floods with relief. REVEREND MOTHER MOHIAM (CONT’D) Your mother was tested with the gom jabbar when she was your age. Paul looks at Jessica in astonishment. But the Reverend Mother changes the subject, pulling at his attention. REVEREND MOTHER MOHIAM (CONT’D) Tell me about these dreams. Paul hesitates. This old woman knows all his secrets. PAUL I had one tonight. REVEREND MOTHER MOHIAM What did you see? PAUL A girl. In a cave on Arrakis. REVEREND MOTHER MOHIAM Have you dreamt of her before? PAUL Many times. I will know her. REVEREND MOTHER MOHIAM Do you often dream things that happen just as you dreamed them? 10. PAUL Yes. Someone dies in that cave. The Reverend Mother takes that in gravely. Looks at Jessica. REVEREND MOTHER MOHIAM Your son has depths. But it takes more than a touch of the Sight. You’ve been training him in the Way. JESSICA Yes. REVEREND MOTHER MOHIAM I’d have done the same, and the Devil take the rules. Carry on. Ignore the regular order of training. His safety requires the Voice. And deadlier weapons. She looks up at Paul with glinting eyes. REVEREND MOTHER MOHIAM (CONT’D) Goodbye, young human. I hope you live. 11 EXT. CASTLE CALADAN - TERRACE LANDING PAD - NIGHT 11 Jessica walks Reverend Mother back to her ship in the rain. The old woman carries a short staff in her hand: a SHIELD PROJECTOR that wards off the rain with an invisible dome. Water runs in rivulets over the shield and patters down around the two women as they walk. REVEREND MOTHER MOHIAM So much potential, wasted on a male. You were told to bear only daughters! JESSICA It meant so much to Leto. REVEREND MOTHER MOHIAM You’re his concubine, not his wife. (mockingly) Your Duke wanted a son. And you in your pride thought you could produce the Kwisatz Haderach! JESSICA (defiantly) I sensed the possibility. 11. REVEREND MOTHER MOHIAM Vanity! An Atreides daughter could have been wed to a Harkonnen son and united both Houses. Instead we shall have chaos and war. We could lose both bloodlines now. The defiance drains out of Jessica. She looks frightened. REVEREND MOTHER MOHIAM (CONT’D) The Missionaria Protectiva has prepared the way. There is hope for the boy. But for the father... The words are a dagger in Jessica’s heart. MOMENTS LATER Jessica stands in the rain in her hooded cloak, watching the shuttle lift off. Rain sheets off the ovoid spacecraft and dances in the floodlights. The ship rises into the clouds. Jessica turns to walk back inside -- and finds Paul standing behind her in the rain. Staring at her. They face each other uncertainly, ten feet of empty space between them. PAUL You just walked me into that room. The hurt and accusation in his voice breaks her heart. JESSICA It was the same for me, a long time ago. He looks at her with new eyes. Questioning everything. PAUL She said I have more than one birthright. What does that mean? Jessica throws back her hood. Letting the rain soak her the way it’s soaking Paul. Humbling herself. JESSICA The Bene Gesserit provide concubines to the Noble-born. Leaving them free to marry for political advantage. We’re companions. Bodyguards. Counselors. We bear extraordinary children. We say we exist to serve. (she hesitates) But that’s not all we do. 12. Paul’s hyper-acute mind is already tunneling into the problem. A flash of insight. He stares at her, shocked. PAUL You control the bloodlines of the Great Houses. You’re breeding them. His leap of intuition startles her. She nods, shaken. JESSICA And placing members of our Sister- hood beside them. To guide them, toward peace. Enlightenment. Paul is stunned. His life suddenly thrown into a new light. PAUL All part of a plan. Do you... love my father? JESSICA Yes! He hesitates to ask the next question, looking very young. PAUL Do you love me? Jessica’s face crumples. JESSICA Oh, Paul. She strides across the space between them and throws her arms around him. They cling to each other in the downpour. 12 INT. CASTLE CALADAN - PAUL’S STUDY - MORNING 12 In the early light, Paul sits studying a tabletop hologram. It shows images of ARRAKIS, a harsh desert planet, and of the FREMEN -- the enigmatic cloaked people of the deep desert. In the doorway behind Paul, a man appears: THUFIR HAWAT, 75. Gray-haired and slender, his eyes hawkishly keen. He is a MENTAT, a human supercomputer who sees intricate probabilities as clearly as most of us see the weather. Paul doesn’t turn as Hawat enters. PAUL I know, Thufir. I’m sitting with my back to the door. I knew it was you by your footsteps. 13. HAWAT Someone might imitate my stride. PAUL I’d know the difference. Have you seen my father? HAWAT He’s with the Planning Council. We leave for Arrakis in a few days. To say he is busy sells the matter short. His eyes go to the hologram table, where an orange-red hurricane wheels over the southern hemisphere of Arrakis. HAWAT (CONT’D) You’ve been studying the sandstorms on Arrakis. The winds reach seven hundred kilometers per hour! They’ll cut through metal or bone. PAUL But there’s people living in the open desert where those storms blow. The Fremen. HAWAT Humans are endlessly adaptable. They’ve lived there for thousands of years. PAUL And then Spice was discovered -- and their planet became a prize for the Imperium and the Great Houses to fight over. HAWAT And now that prize will be ours. PAUL If we can keep it. Did you meet the Reverend Mother? HAWAT The Imperial Truthsayer! Yes, why? PAUL Do you think she can see the future? HAWAT As a Mentat I trade in probabilities, not prophecies. What did the old witch say to you? 14. PAUL She said Arrakis is a trap. HAWAT It is a trap. Paul frowns, still troubled by the morning’s events. HAWAT (CONT’D) Our enemies mean for us to fail there. Lose everything. But when you see the trap laid for you, it can become an opportunity. PAUL Isn’t success another trap? HAWAT What do you mean? PAUL Mining spice for profit...keeping the Fremen in their place...we’re no better than Harkonnens. We become what we despise. Hawat grins, pleased with Paul’s moral compass. HAWAT You know your father better than that. A wise ruler can lift his people up as easily as keep them down. Your father sent Duncan Idaho to Arrakis weeks ago, on a mission I have high hopes for. And I have schemes of my own to manage. I leave for Arrakis today. PAUL Today!? HAWAT When next we meet, we will stand together on a new world. Until then, keep your shield fully charged -- and sit facing the door. He drags Paul’s suspensor chair -- with Paul in it -- around the table to face the door. Paul laughs. Thufir Hawat exits. 14 INT. TRAINING ROOM - DAY 14 Paul stands in a fencing practice room. A few high-tech target dummies stand against the wall, old and battered. 15. He looks out the window. On the terrace below, servants lower a MOUNTED BULL’s HEAD into a custom-made case. Others carry a huge portrait of the Old Duke into a cargo floater. GURNEY (O.S.) What are you brooding about? GURNEY HALLECK, 45, stands behind him: a swordmaster, lethal with any weapon. His eyes flash with swashbuckling mischief. A SCAR curls along his jaw, left long ago by an inkvine whip. A BALISET, a stringed instrument, is slung across his back. His arms are full of swords and knives in scabbards. PAUL Gurney Halleck! Are you the new Weapons Master? Gurney grins raffishly. He is the closest thing to a friend Paul has among his father’s retainers. GURNEY The Weapons Master is busy packing. So I must make do as best I may. He lays the weapons out on a table in matched pairs. GURNEY (CONT’D) Choose your blade. PAUL I’ve had quite a morning, Gurney. Give us a song instead. Gurney eyes Paul darkly. He picks up a rapier. With his other hand he reaches for the baliset where it lies on the table, and without picking it up, plucks a tune: GURNEY Oh, Galacian girls Will do it for pearls. On Westerhold They’ll roll for gold. But on Arrakis A rich man’s daughter Will drop her dress For a drop of water. Paul claps mockingly. PAUL Very nice. But if my mother hears you singing that, she’ll nail your ears to the castle gates. 16. GURNEY You’re right. I can’t leave any witnesses alive. With his sword-blade he flips the other rapier to Paul. GURNEY (CONT’D) On your guard! Paul catches the sword deftly and activates his shield. A shimmering force-field appears around him. Gurney activates his own shield and prowls forward. Their blades clash. Paul STRIKES, rapidly -- his blade making splashes of light in the air where Gurney’s shield blocks the blow -- Then he lunges more slowly -- and slips his rapier into Gurney’s shield. Only the slow blade penetrates. They fence -- a sparkle of energy where their shields intersect -- until Paul attempts another slow attack. Gurney grabs Paul’s blade in his gloved hand, lunges through Paul’s shield and SLAPS PAUL’S FACE with the flat of his blade. Paul jerks back, shocked. Rubbing his cheek. Gurney glowers. GURNEY (CONT’D) Never let a man inside your guard! Even in sport! Not even me! PAUL I guess I’m not in the mood today. Gurney appears to become genuinely angry. GURNEY Mood?! What has mood to do with it? You fight when the necessity arises, no matter your mood! Now fight! He attacks fiercely, his sword snaking into Paul’s shield. Paul falls back, hard-pressed. He draws a dagger from his wrist-sheath, giving him two blades to defend himself with. The anger on Gurney’s face unsettles him. Is this real? Cornered, Paul activates his shield belt’s SUSPENSOR FIELD -- and leaps over Gurney’s head, swords clashing on the way, to land lightly behind him. Gurney spins, snarling. GURNEY (CONT’D) What’s the matter? Can’t face me on the ground? 17. He switches on his own suspensors -- and leaps after Paul. His rapier is a flickering flame of death. Paul’s in trouble. He takes a deep breath. 15 EXT. CALADAN CASTLE - PAVILION - DAY 15 A pavilion open to the elements -- greenery on all sides. Rain drums on the roof and patters from the eaves. Beautiful. Jessica and Paul move across the pavilion, synchronized. Performing a kind of kata -- a stylized martial arts drill. It is slow and graceful like tai chi -- violence veiled. We focus on their movement -- a foot sweep -- a turn -- 16 INT. TRAINING ROOM - DAY 16 Paul repeats the same movement, faster: a darting foot-sweep. A rotating sidestep. A lightning slash of the rapier blade. Gurney parries just in time, his eyes sparking. Impressed. GURNEY That’s not Duncan Idaho. Who taught you that? He redoubles his attack. Paul falls back. He leaps away, caroming off the wall. Gurney matches his leap -- and when they land Paul is cornered. Gasping for air. GURNEY (CONT’D) Come on! 17 EXT. CALADAN CASTLE - PAVILION - DAY 17 Jessica and Paul sit cross-legged, face to face, knees almost touching. They are sparring, their hands flashing through the space between them. Graceful. Serene. Lethal. 18 INT. TRAINING ROOM - DAY 18 Paul’s hands adopt the swift, circular motion of his memory. He deflects Gurney’s blades, gets inside his guard -- and his blade stops, quivering, an inch from Gurney’s throat. PAUL I have you. GURNEY Aye. But look down, m’lord. 18. Paul glances down without lowering his sword. Gurney has a dagger in his left hand, the blade an inch from Paul’s groin. GURNEY (CONT’D) You’d have joined me in death. He grins and deactivates his shield, sheathing his blades. His menacing aspect melting away. GURNEY (CONT’D) I see you found the mood. Paul sighs and puts away his own weapons. PAUL Would you really have hurt me? GURNEY If you’d fought one whit below your best, I’d have given you a scar to remind you. You need to be sharp. Soon we go to Arrakis! PAUL Will it be that bad? GURNEY House Harkonnen controlled Arrakis for eighty years! They have grown fat on it. They won’t give it up without a fight. 19 EXT. SPACE - GIEDI PRIME 19 A charcoal-gray world orbits a cold blue sun. SUPER: GIEDI PRIME - HOMEWORLD OF HOUSE HARKONNEN 20 EXT. HARKONNEN PALACE - DAY 20 A massive fortress of brutalist architecture. Guns on the battlements. Guards at every door in dark orange uniforms, with the black Harkonnen griffin emblem. A SKIFF arrives at the palace gates. “BEAST” RABBAN HARKONNEN steps out: a bull of a man with a glowering look. He walks like a wrestler, his thick body heavy with muscle. 21 BARON’S CHAMBERS - CONTINUOUS 21 A room of ostentatious finery, its domed ceiling trimmed with gold, furniture laden with sumptuous cushions. 19. At the center of the room stands a lavish GLOBE OF ARRAKIS made like a Fabergé egg: all gemstones and precious metals. Guards and slaves stand around the edges of the room. They do not matter. They are furniture. They are terrified. Rabban stomps into the room. A HERALD announces him: HERALD Rabban Harkonnen, the Count of Lankiveil! As Rabban approaches the globe, a MAN looms into view behind it like a greater planet: BARON VLADIMIR HARKONNEN. He is coifed and richly dressed, fingers heavy with rings. He is a mountain: six hundred pounds of flesh piled on a sofa like a basking walrus. Despite his gross girth he regards himself as beautiful: his gestures and movements are sensual. RABBAN Uncle. BARON HARKONNEN I am Baron Harkonnen, head of this House. I will have your courtesy. Rabban stiffens: he may be a killer himself, but the Baron is something still more dangerous. RABBAN Your Excellency my Uncle. BARON HARKONNEN Rabban! Why the long face? PITER (O.S.) The Emperor’s taken away his toys. Only now we see the man sitting by the Baron: PITER DE VRIES, a human stiletto. Here is a man who takes pleasure in others’ pain. His eyes have the piercing blue of spice addiction. PITER (CONT’D) Last week he was overseer of an entire planet. “Beast” they called him! Beast Rabban! How can he go back to flogging wretches in the slave pits, once he’s ruled Arrakis? Rabban glares at Piter with pure hatred. To the Baron: RABBAN Who is this creature? 20. BARON HARKONNEN Piter de Vries. My new Mentat. He and Thufir Hawat are preparing a game of chess on that desert planet. Piter smiles gleefully. PITER A game I intend to win. The Baron shoots Piter a look of annoyance. BARON HARKONNEN How you talk! Look at your eyes. How much spice are you eating? PITER Enough. The farther I must see, the stranger my eyes become. RABBAN You buzz like bees! What do we do? Don’t pretend to be calm! I know what we’ve lost. I’m the one who counted the money. Without that income, all this falls down. He waves at the opulent surroundings. The Baron points an angry finger at him. Rabban freezes and modulates his tone: RABBAN (CONT’D) Forgive me, Uncle. I only want Arrakis returned to us. To you. PITER Why do you think the Emperor gave Arrakis to Duke Leto? The question surprises Rabban. He thinks a moment. RABBAN He’s popular. Wins battles. Commands good men. Gives a pretty speech. PITER Exactly what the Emperor fears. The Great Houses squabble among themselves, which keeps the Emperor strong. But if Leto were to unite them against the Imperium -- it could shake the throne itself. RABBAN If the Emperor fears Leto -- why give him Arrakis? 21. BARON HARKONNEN When is a gift not a gift? The Baron rises: an extraordinary maneuver. He leans forward ponderously, and lifts out of the cushions with a HUM of energy. A SUSPENSOR HARNESS supports his bulk, leaving no more than fifty pounds to be carried by his legs. With the floating gait of a hippopotamus walking on a river bottom, he circles the globe of Arrakis. BARON HARKONNEN (CONT’D) To break a virtuous man, give him a burden too heavy to bear. He brushes the globe with his hand. It rotates at his touch. BARON HARKONNEN (CONT’D) A lesser man would drop it. But the good man will carry it ‘til it crushes him. 22 EXT. CASTLE CALADAN - DUCAL CEMETERY - DAY 22 An ancient graveyard below the castle walls, overlooking the sea. Here the Atreides have been laid to rest for centuries. The monuments and mausoleums show the passage of time: Moss and lichens adorn the stones. Trees lean over the walls. DUKE LETO, 50, stands looking out over the sea. Far off rain is falling, a gray curtain on the horizon. Leto has a soldier’s build and a poet’s eyes, seeing deeper meanings. He is a man who lives by two watchwords: honor and duty. Paul appears at his side. His formal manner barely concealing his happiness to be in his father’s company. Leto lays his hands on the stone crypt of a fallen ancestor. DUKE LETO Twenty-six generations. These are our roots. PAUL Then why leave? We know Arrakis isn’t safe. DUKE LETO We can’t stay here. Every Great House rules at the pleasure of the Emperor. The fief of Caladan is no longer ours. 22. PAUL It’s not fair. The Emperor gave the order. He should protect us. DUKE LETO He’ll appoint a Judge of the Change to oversee the transition. But the Emperor has his own interests here. PAUL What do you mean? Leto turns and walks among the graves. Paul walks with him. DUKE LETO The Great Houses look to me for leadership. Their unofficial spokesman. This troubles the Emperor, who does not like rivals. House Harkonnen, on the other hand, has grown alarmingly rich. The Atreides and Harkonnens have been enemies for centuries: by taking Arrakis from them and giving it to us, the Emperor sets our Houses against each other. A war would erode my popularity, and drain the Harkonnen treasury. (he smiles) Clever piece of statecraft, honestly. PAUL Here we’re strong. On Arrakis we’ll be exposed. LETO (nodding) It’ll take time to dig in. During the transition we’ll be vulnerable. If the Harkonnens mean to hit us, that’s when they’ll try. But if we hold? Tap the wealth of Arrakis? We’ll be stronger than ever. He looks at the tomb of his father: in a bas-relief carving, the Old Duke faces a bull in the arena. A matador. LETO (CONT’D) It’s time you start sitting in on staff meetings. Learn what I do. You’ll be the Duke someday. He throws an arm around Paul’s shoulders. Paul smiles, flushed and proud. 23. 22A EXT. CLIFFTOPS - SUNSET 22A Paul climbs alone to a promontory above the sea. Waves crash and sigh on the rocks far below. He stands watching the sun set, the wind in his hair. Takes a knee to curl his fingers into the flowering grasses on the clifftop. The soil. His last sunset in the land of his birth. 22B INT. CASTLE CALADAN - LETO’S BEDROOM - NIGHT 22B Leto and Jessica lie in bed. She gazes at the moonlit sea. JESSICA I already miss home. LETO You are my home. He pulls her into his arms. They kiss. Her arms sliding around him passionately. 23 EXT. CALADAN LANDING - DAY 23 A Guild Heighliner hangs in the blue sky, a pale oblong. The sparks of smaller ships converge on it and enter its hold. On an ancient stone landing pad beside the sea, the Atreides Flagship waits. Leto, Jessica, and Paul walk toward the ship. Paul’s eyes are on the sky, where the entire Atreides fleet is standing out to orbit -- and the waiting Guild Heighliner. Jessica looks back at Castle Caladan, tears in her eyes. Leto puts his arm around her and holds her close as they walk. Wind plucks at their clothing as another ship rises off the ground. Paul grins in excitement. An adventure beginning. 24 EXT. ARRAKIS - DEEP DESERT - DAWN 24 A spectacular blood-red sun rises, spilling light across an endless sea of dunes. Silence. Not a living thing in sight. SUPER: ARRAKIS A MAN crosses the dune sea -- walking strangely, in broken, erratic strides. He wears a close-fitting STILLSUIT to protect him from this lethal landscape. He mounts to the top of a rock formation and throws off the hood and mask of his stillsuit to take in the view. 24. The man revealed is a desert lion with a mane of black hair, a fierce dark beard. He stands like a king. This is STILGAR, 45, master of the desert and a leader among the Fremen. On the horizon he sees the SHIELD WALL that shelters the city of Arrakeen. High above, he sees the Guild Heighliner -- pale in the dark blue sky, like another moon. Parked in orbit. As he watches, the ships of the Atreides fleet begin to emerge. 25 EXT. ARRAKEEN LANDING - DAY 25 A sprawling spaceport: miles of concrete landing-pads and cavernous hangars. There are spaceships large and small, and ORNITHOPTERS: aircraft that beat their wings like insects. The Atreides flagship touches down. The largest ship in view. On the perimeter of the field, Arrakeen natives have turned out to watch the Atreides arrive: thousands of people outside the barricades, huddling in the shade of the fences. 26 INT. ATREIDES FLAGSHIP - BOARDING RAMP 26 Flanked by bodyguards in Atreides combat armor and active shields, Leto, Jessica, Paul, and Gurney watch the ship’s gangway lowering to the tarmac. They squint in the sunlight. Gasp at the blast-furnace air. Heat ripples off the pavement. Dust eddies around their feet. GURNEY “My lungs taste the air of Time, Blown past falling sand...” Paul stares into the blazing day. A new world before him. 27 EXT. LANDING FIELD 27 Hawat’s security detail encircles the ship. Weapons in hand, shields shimmering around them. Nearby, the Atreides legions are marching out of troop carriers and forming up. An impressive force in combat gear: light armor, helmets, swords and daggers. Thufir Hawat walks to meet the ducal family. He looks weary, almost haggard, but he smiles as he greets them. Clasps hands with Leto. Bows to Jessica. Hugs Paul. HAWAT Young master! How does it feel to walk on another world? 25. PAUL Like my eyes are drying out. HAWAT Let’s get you out of the heat. (to Leto, hopefully) Sire. There’s room in the ornithopter... LETO No. You take Paul and Jessica. I’m going to walk in with the troops. HAWAT (tensely) The security situation is not ideal. LETO The people need to see me. They need to know times have changed. He looks across the tarmac, where Hawat’s men are tearing down Harkonnen emblems and burning them with flamethrowers. Long, streaming Atreides banners are raised in their place. 28 ORNITHOPTER PAD 28 Hawat leads Paul and Jessica to Duke Leto’s personal ornithopter: a craft both luxurious and powerful. A CHEER goes up from the throng outside the fences. HAWAT Don’t be fooled by the welcome. They follow their old masters’ rules. Mandatory attendance. That’s Harkonnen love out there. Some of the crowed point at Jessica and Paul -- shouting with religious fervor. Lisan al-Gaib! Lisan al-Gaib! Paul frowns. 29 INT. ORNITHOPTER - CONTINUOUS 29 Hawat takes a seat beside the PILOT. Paul and Jessica sit in back. As the engines spin up, Paul stares out at the crowd. PAUL They were pointing at us. What are they shouting? JESSICA Lisan al-Gaib. Voice from the Outer World. 26. She speaks quietly, for Paul’s ears alone. JESSICA (CONT’D) It means the Missionaria Protectiva’s been here. It’s a Bene Gesserit mission. They plant legends and superstitions on primitive worlds. To protect us -- and let us manipulate religions, or even entire cultures. Paul takes that in with astonishment. PAUL You take a lot on yourselves. Jessica nods. Not entirely comfortable with it. JESSICA We do. The ornithopter lifts off, beating its powerful wings. 30 INT./EXT. ORNITHOPTER (IN FLIGHT) 30 As they exit the spaceport, they see a cliff wall with an INSCRIPTION in arabesque calligraphy. Jessica reads it: JESSICA “You who know what we suffer here, do not forget us in your prayers.” Outside the spaceport, a road runs toward Arrakeen. Beside the road, a hundred black metal crosses, X-shaped, stand in ragged rows. It has the look of a Golgotha. Paul frowns at the field of crosses, unsure what he’s seeing. Hawat points at a giant rocky rampart in the distance. HAWAT Shield Wall. Natural feature. Protects the city from the weather. And the worms. Paul marvels at the sight. Turns to stare at a new wonder: ARRAKEEN: a low, sprawling metropolis of sloping concrete, with occasional spires of carved stone. A city that bows to the force of the desert by echoing its shapes. As Paul watches, a distant BOOM echoes. A billow of dark smoke rises from the far side of the city. 27. PAUL What’s that? Hawat touches his earpiece, listening. He smiles wearily. HAWAT Minor incident, Sire. My people have it under control. Jessica looks back at the column of troops marching out of Arrakeen Landing. Where Leto is. 31 EXT. ARRAKEEN - MAIN ROAD 31 The Atreides legions walk from the spaceport toward the city. The visors of their battle armor closed against the heat -- their suits’ environment systems humming. Long banners in Atreides black and green flying overhead. Leto leads them, dressed in armor with decorations and insignia befitting his rank. The sword and dagger on his belt are ornate and well-worn. He is a warrior: bare-faced, his visor raised -- walking tall. A shield shimmers around him. Gurney Halleck walks a few paces back -- his visor also open. They pass the field of crosses -- the black metal pitted and scoured by a thousand sandstorms. Each X-shaped cross is fitted with shackles for human limbs. Tilted back to bare their unfortunate occupants to the sun. Most of the crosses are empty, but the mummified remains of a few unfortunates still hang in the shackles. Bones litter the ground. The men curse and look away. LETO Who are they? GURNEY Hawat says Fremen. Resistance fighters killed by the Harkonnens. The Duke scowls in moral indignation. LETO I want those crosses torn down. Reach out to the Fremen. Find a respectful way to return those remains to their people. Gurney smiles. Proud of his lord commander. GURNEY It will be done, Sire. 28. A gust of wind carries dust into their faces. They cough and rub at their eyes. Gurney pulls his visor closed. GURNEY (CONT’D) “Deliver me, O Lord, from the dry and thirsty land.” Leto laughs and pulls his visor down as well. The column marches into Arrakeen -- the city gates like a narrow black chasm in the monumental city walls. 32 EXT. ARRAKEEN RESIDENCY - DAY 32 Onlookers crowd the Residency’s gates. There are clear types: sophisticated city-dwellers, rustic townsfolk, merchants -- and a few FREMEN: people of the deep desert, in stillsuits and robes that blend with the sand. Hawat’s men are everywhere. Flyers blow in the street: LOVE THE GOOD DUKE! ATREIDES, HOUSE OF HONOR! AN END TO TYRANNY! On the front gates a calligraphic NOTICE is posted: Our Sublime Padishah Emperor has charged me to take possession of this planet and end all dispute. -- Duke Leto Atreides The ornithopter lands inside the compound. Paul, Jessica, and Hawat climb out. In front of the house, a row of date palms stands. People press against the fence, gazing at the trees. JESSICA Look at them. Staring at the trees. HAWAT You see trees. They see water. A lavish expenditure on this planet. A knot of people outside the gates point at Paul and shout wildly: Mahdi! Mahdi! Mahdi! PAUL What’s that one? Mahdi. JESSICA The leader who brings deliverance. If they planted that one here... this must be a hideous place. 33 INT. RESIDENCY - GREAT HALL - DAY 33 Cyclopean in scale, built to last ten thousand years. A steady traffic of porters and cargo handlers flows through. Uniformed Atreides staff hurry to and fro. 29. Paul and Jessica enter, looking up at the cavernous walls. A porter passes Paul, and he stares at the man’s eyes: an unnatural blue-within-blue. 34 NORTH WING - CORRIDOR 34 Paul walks down a corridor decorated with a long FRESCO of a SANDWORM among rolling dunes. He looks at it in amazement. 35 PAUL’S NEW ROOM - CONTINUOUS 35 Paul stands in a beautifully designed room. The bed has a carved headboard: an Asian-styled relief of fish in swirling waters. A shaft of sunlight fills the room with gold. Paul has already had a few cartons of his belongings dropped off. He unpacks, setting belongings on shelves. A few ancient books on the colonization of Arrakis and the Fremen tribes. He gazes out the window at the alien skyline of Arrakeen. HAWAT (O.S.) I thought you’d like this room. Paul turns to see Hawat in the doorway. HAWAT (CONT’D) And I wasn’t the only one: we found three listening devices and a very nasty booby trap in here. He nods to the headboard, where a wooden fish’s eye is covered by one of Hawat’s seals. HAWAT (CONT’D) Perfectly safe now. PAUL Thank you. DOCTOR YUEH (O.S.) Ah, there you are. DOCTOR WELLINGTON YUEH, 40, appears at the door. A Doctor of the Imperial Suk School: a diamond tattooed on his forehead. A graceful man, his long hair bound by a silver ring. HAWAT Doctor Yueh. He nods to Yueh on his way out. Doctor Yueh turns to Paul, who greets him with a smile. A lifelong Atreides retainer. 30. DOCTOR YUEH Drink this please, master Paul. It will help your body adjust to a lower water content here. He passes Paul a vial of blue liquid on a little silver tray. Paul obediently drinks it as Yueh checks his vital signs. DOCTOR YUEH (CONT’D) On most worlds, people are exposed to spice only when they purchase it at great cost. But on Arrakis, spice is in the air. The food. A low-level dose is unavoidable. There are health benefits, of course: but we’ll want to keep your exposure lower than the natives do. At high doses, spice becomes addictive. The body cannot live without it. You’ll see the eyes: blue on blue. PAUL The “eyes of the ibad.” DOCTOR YUEH You’ve been studying the Fremen! Good. Learn all you can. He takes something from his pocket. DOCTOR YUEH (CONT’D) I wanted you to have this. He hands Paul a tiny black book -- a super-compact codex with thin onion-skin pages pressed tight between slim covers. PAUL The Orange Catholic Bible. DOCTOR YUEH A compact edition for space travelers. It belonged to my wife, Wanna. She treasured it. He reaches out and clasps Paul’s hands around the tiny book. DOCTOR YUEH (CONT’D) Keep it with you always. When you are lost, it may bring salvation. 37 DINING HALL 37 A formal dining room with a table long enough to seat thirty. Sandstone walls, hovering antique chandeliers. 31. The large portrait of the OLD DUKE leans against one wall. The mounted BULL’S HEAD lies face up on the table. Six Arrakeen women in white dresses stand in a row. Hawat leads Jessica in and gestures at the women. HAWAT Candidates for housekeeper, my Lady. He bows and leaves her. Jessica walks up to the women. They drop to their knees and prostrate themselves, startling her. JESSICA Oh. Is this Arrakeen custom? One woman looks up: a weathered old woman of unknowable age, with wise eyes and a blunt demeanor. Her lean body corded with muscle. She is the SHADOUT MAPES. SHADOUT MAPES We do not bow and scrape by choice, my Lady. The Harkonnens demanded it. JESSICA We’re no Harkonnens. Please rise. The women comply. Jessica walks down the row, studying each in turn. When she gets to the Shadout Mapes she lingers. Observing her with hyper-awareness. Her eyes. Lips. Hands. JESSICA (CONT’D) What is your name? SHADOUT MAPES The Shadout Mapes, my Lady. Jessica doesn’t take her eyes off Mapes. JESSICA The rest of you may go. The other women file out, leaving Jessica and Mapes alone. There’s a tension between the two of them, like gunfighters. JESSICA (CONT’D) Shadout. That’s an old Chakobsa word. Water-dipper. You’re Fremen. SHADOUT MAPES (startled) You know the ancient tongues. Jessica registers that. The Missionaria Protectiva at work. Still she watches Mapes warily, as if she were a wild animal. 32. JESSICA I know many things. I know you have borne children, that you have lost loves, that you have hidden in fear. You have done violence and will do more violence. Mapes trembles in superstitious dread, lowering her eyes. SHADOUT MAPES I meant no offense, my Lady! Jessica speaks sternly, her body preparing for action: JESSICA I know you have a weapon concealed in your bodice. If you mean to harm me, I’ll warn you: whatever you’re hiding won’t be enough. The Shadout Mapes’s eyes rise to meet Jessica’s, awed. SHADOUT MAPES The weapon is meant as a gift, if you are truly the One. Slowly she reaches into her dress. Pulls out a knife and draws it from its sheath -- revealing a milk-white blade, slightly translucent. Wickedly sharp. It’s beautiful. SHADOUT MAPES (CONT’D) Do you know this? Jessica gazes at it in wonder. This is a mythical object. JESSICA It’s a crysknife. SHADOUT MAPES Do you know its meaning? Jessica feels her way forward carefully, sensing the significance of the moment. JESSICA It’s a maker of... Mapes WAILS in ecstasy. Jessica trails off, startled: JESSICA (CONT’D) ...of death. SHADOUT MAPES A Maker of the Deep Desert! Sayyadina! (MORE) 33. SHADOUT MAPES (CONT'D) When one has lived with prophecy for so long, the moment of revelation is a shock. Lisan al- Gaib. The Mother and the Son! She sheaths the knife and presses it into Jessica’s hands. SHADOUT MAPES (CONT’D) It is yours. Tooth of shai-hulud. Jessica takes a gamble. JESSICA They say you must not sheath the blade unblooded. Mapes gasps at her error. Kneeling, she pulls her dress off one shoulder to bare her breast. SHADOUT MAPES Take the water of my life! Jessica puts the knife to Mapes’s skin. Draws a delicate scratch. Blood wells up and dries at once. Mapes rises. SHADOUT MAPES (CONT’D) Keep it hidden, Lady. Who sees that blade must be cleansed or slain. 38 COMMAND TOWER 38 At the Residency’s highest point, a compact command center overlooks Arrakeen: panoramic views through bunker-like slot windows. Leto and Gurney look out through binoculars. Heat ripples off the concrete of Arrakeen. Leto lowers his binoculars, shaken by the inimical landscape. LETO What have I done? GURNEY What you must, my Lord. You’ll master this place. (hesitating) Any word from Duncan Idaho? A shadow crosses Leto’s face. He’s worried about Duncan. LETO None yet. But I have faith we haven’t seen the last of him. He points, changing the subject. Pulling himself together. 34. LETO (CONT’D) There’s the spaceport. That dust plume over there is the spice refinery. Our two most vulnerable points. I want you guarding them. If we can’t refine spice and ship it offworld, we’re dead here. NARRATOR (PRE-LAP) The spice melange is an awareness- spectrum narcotic. 38A CLOSE ON: A PARTICLE OF SPICE 38A A single grain of SPICE, vividly orange, rotates under a microscope -- its edges looming as vast as mountain cliffs. Its crystalline structure as intricate as a cathedral. NARRATOR (V.O.) It enhances mental abilities, giving the Navigators of the Spacing Guild the prescient sight that makes interstellar travel possible. As the narrator speaks, we dive into the grain’s crystalline structure until we are looking at the complex molecule itself. Watching it interact with neurons in the human brain. 39 INT. PAUL’S ROOM - DAY 39 Paul sits on his bed in the near-dark, holding a FILMBOOK. It is active: its HOLOGRAPHIC PROJECTION fills half the room. He watches as the program traces the propagation of spice through the human body. NARRATOR (V.O.) Spice enhances health and extends the human lifespan. These qualities have made melange the most valuable substance in the universe. It cannot be synthesized. Its only source is the planet... Paul knows all this. Impatiently he waves back to the menu. He opens an encyclopedia of life on Arrakis. Selects a display of desert-adapted plants. NARRATOR (V.O.) In addition to native species, a number of terranic plants have adapted to Arrakis. Saguaro. (MORE) 35. NARRATOR (V.O.) (CONT'D) Burro bush. Date palm. Sand verbena. Evening primrose. Barrel cactus. They appear as the narrator speaks. As Paul watches, something MOVES in the projection. He rises and steps closer. Sees a DESERT MOUSE scurrying on the ground. As Paul gets near, it moves into the grasses as if to hide from him. NARRATOR (V.O.) Incense bush. Smoke tree. Creosote bush. Joshua tree. A CLICK behind him makes Paul turn -- moving into the projection. Stepping into concealment just like the mouse. A GLEAMING SLIVER OF METAL emerges from the fish’s eye in the carved headboard of the bed. Tearing through Hawat’s seal. NARRATOR (V.O.) These plants cling to life in a parched, nutrient-poor landscape... The silver dart hovers in the air. A HUNTER-SEEKER: a weapon of assassination, guided by some unseen hand. HUNTER-SEEKER POV A fish-eye view of the dim room, distorted. Paul, motionless and hidden within the filmbook hologram, is difficult to see. ON PAUL Standing stock-still as the Hunter-Seeker quests through the room like a shark in the shallows. Darting hunting runs. NARRATOR (V.O.) ...where every organism containing water is a target for predators. Paul’s eyes go to his shield belt, lying uselessly on his desk beside his dagger in its sheath. With exquisite slowness be begins to reach for the tranceiver behind his ear. Instantly the Hunter-Seeker darts toward him. A foot from his eye. Hunting for him in the shifting light. Paul freezes. THE DOOR OPENS behind him, spilling light into the room. The Hunter-Seeker turns and LEAPS toward the figure in the door. Paul spins, his hand whipping around behind him to SNATCH the Hunter-Seeker from the air inches from its victim’s face. He SMASHES the thing’s nose against the wall until it shorts out with a blue flash. 36. The Shadout Mapes stands in the doorway, arms full of sheets. She stares at the thing in his hand. Gazes at Paul in awe. SHADOUT MAPES (in Chakobsa, subtitled) He shall hold life and death in his hands. PAUL Who are you? SHADOUT MAPES The housekeeper. That thing almost killed me. PAUL You were moving. But it was meant for me. It’s a hunter-seeker. The operator must be nearby. 40 EXT. RESIDENCY - COMPOUND - DAY 40 Hawat’s security force swarms over the house and grounds, searching every possible hiding-place. They scan the ground with sonic probes that display ghostly X-ray images of what lies beneath. 41 INT. RESIDENCY - BASEMENT - DAY 41 The cellar of the Residency. Hawat’s troops have cut a HOLE in the basement wall, revealing a grim crypt in the masonry. A gaunt, pale man lies dead inside: a HUNTER-SEEKER CONSOLE beside him. The horrible paraphernalia of his entombment are visible: canisters of rations and of waste. Hawat’s people wrinkle their noses: the smell is ungodly. Jessica stares into the crypt in a smoldering fury as Hawat briefs her -- professional but shamed by his own failure. HAWAT He killed himself as we were digging him out. Looks like he was cemented into that hole six weeks ago. Ran the hunter-seeker through a water pipe inside the walls. 42 INT. ARRAKEEN RESIDENCY - COMMAND TOWER - NIGHT 42 Duke Leto stands with Hawat, looking out at the lights of Arrakeen. Two crescent moons in the sky. 37. LETO Was he native-born? HAWAT No, m’Lord. Didn’t have the eyes. Offworlder. A Harkonnen agent. Leto nods, his face darkening at the sound of that name. HAWAT (CONT’D) Sire. I failed you today. There is no excuse. You have my resignation. Leto turns on him angrily. DUKE LETO You would deprive me of your talents at this time? Hawat speaks as if lacerating his own back with a whip: HAWAT They placed a booby-trap in that room, knowing I would find it. By removing it, I created the opening for the true menace to enter. Plans within plans... DUKE LETO It was cunning. Learn from the day, and carry on. HAWAT Sire, my honor demands... LETO I don’t give a damn about your honor! I care about my people. I care about my family. You want absolution? Go catch some spies. Hawat nods curtly, swallowing his emotion. HAWAT Your Grace. He exits. Alone, Leto stands at the window, looking out at the night. Fists driving into the concrete. LETO They tried to take the life of my son! 38. 42A INT. ARRAKEEN RESIDENCY - HAWAT’S OFFICE - DAY 42A Hawat sits at his CRUCIBLE, a terminal that displays large data sets holographically. One of his hands rests on a sphere that allows him subtle neural control of the data-space. He looks like a chessmaster studying the board. Paul sits beside him, watching Hawat work. In the crucible: an intricate scatter-graph of thousands of dots connected by filaments of light. Pure data. Hawat’s pupils flicker from point to point with unnatural rapidity. HAWAT The attack on you had more than one purpose. If it had succeeded, House Atreides would be without an heir. But even in failure -- it focuses our attention inside the walls, not out there. It clouds our thinking. Even a Mentat may be distracted by a threat to the ones he loves. He lowers his eyes as he speaks. Paul looks at him fondly. PAUL You taught me about hunter-seekers. Your training kept me alive. HAWAT Then let us continue your training. What do you see? Paul gazes into the Crucible. The shifting web of data. PAUL Assassinations. HAWAT I’ll make a Mentat of you yet. Yes. We’ve lost a hundred and twenty-two people in two weeks. Poisonings. Bombings. Sabotaged machines. What’s worse, the Harkonnens are targeting people we trade with. PAUL They’re sending a message. INT. PITER’S OFFICE (GIEDI PRIME) - DAY On Giedi Prime, the Mentat Piter de Vries sits at his own crucible. The Baron stands behind him, watching.