Paul of Dune - Entry #2

“And you are perfect?”

He lowered his voice, revealing a secret.  “Nothing can be perfect.  It is an insult to the universe.”

(Paul of Dune, p. 380)

This exchange was between little six year old Marie and the would-be Tleilaxu Kwisatz Haderach Thallo.  Paul of Dune provides the detail about the failed Tleilaxu Kwisatz Haderach that is mentioned a few times in Dune Messiah.  This story of Thallo and how he died at the hands of Marie fills in an important gap in the Tleilaxu history.

A written “fact” is considered innately more true than spoken gossip or hearsay, but physical documents have no greater claim to accuracy than an anecdote from an actual eye witness.

-GILBERTUS ALBANS

Mentat Discourses on History

(Paul of Dune, p. 451)

Ahh, a reminder of Gilbertus, child raised by the robot machine Erasmus in the time of the Butlerian Jihad.  Gilbertus went on to found the Mentat School.  The importance of mentat training cannot be stressed enough as so many important characters are mentats.  However, this particular passage sheds light on the importance of Irulan’s role to “document” history.  Her writings are taken as truth and Paul understands the power in that.

It is understanding the power of the written word that gets Bronso of Ix into apparent conflict with his old friend, Paul, and later with Alia.  There are quotes from Bronso in Frank Herbert’s books but we really know nothing about him without Brian Herbert’s books beginning with Paul of Dune.  Bronso becomes a historian in his own right to counter the history crafted by Princess Irulan.  Consider this chapter starter:

Just as Leto Atreides was shaped by his father, so it was with young Paul.  A strong sense of honor and justice passed from generation to generation.  This made what eventually happened to Paul an even greater tragedy.  He should have known better.

-BRONSO OF IX, The True History of Muad’Dib

(Paul of Dune, p. 471)

In this part of the book, the War of Assassins that started with House Moritani and House Ecaz but eventually included Harkonnens, Atreides, Vernii, and even Corrinos, is described.  The Moritani Viscount had laid a trap for Shaddam who he correctly presumed would come to Grumman to end the conflict just as he would do later on Arrakis.  Shaddam is really quite predictable.