I thought the best word to describe the first meeting of Atreides and Harkonnen before the Butlerian Jihad would be "ironic". But upon looking up the definition, just to make sure the word served my purposes, I found that "coincidental" and "unexpected" did not hit the mark for me. I can say that it made me feel uncomfortable, as if my world had been turned upside down.
I mean, really, just consider this exchange between Xavier Harkonnen and Vor Atreides:
As the Armada Commander [Xavier Harkonnen] took evasive maneuvers and rallied his kindjal pilots, he hurled insults back at Vor on the comline. "You are a disgrace to humanity, a traitor!"
Vor laughed, proud of his place here. He quoted what he had been taught all of his life. "I am the pinnacle of humanity -- a trustee of Omnius, the son of General Agamemnon." (The Butlerian Jihad, p. 248)
Harkonnen on the side of humanity? Atreides on the side of Omnius who is in the process of enslaving or destroying all of humanity? Crazy talk I tell you!!
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