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Study Guide

Dune Book III, Chapter 47

By Frank Herbert

Book III, Chapter 47

  • The Baron Harkonnen is in the Imperial audience chamber when who should walk in but the Emperor… to have an audience… with him.
  • The Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam is with him to provide her truth-saying services.
  • The Emperor questions the Baron about Hawat's whereabouts and what his nephews are doing. It's obvious he's upset about something.
  • Then the Emperor asks the Baron about this Muad'Dib character. Ah, now we're getting somewhere.
  • The Baron tries to write Muad'Dib off as a madman. The Emperor has a little girl come into the audience chamber. It's Alia.
  • The Emperor had sent in five troop carriers to pick up prisoners for questioning. Against the elderly, women, and children, only one carrier managed to escape with a whopping three prisoners. Talk about the law of diminishing returns.
  • Alia even suggests that she let herself be kidnapped, and we don't think she's just trying to save face.
  • The Emperor accuses the Baron of plotting against him. How else could he not know about the superb fighting skills of these people?
  • The Baron tries to plead for his innocence, but the Emperor will have none of it until the Reverend Mother proclaims he's telling the truth.
  • The Emperor is pretty astonished that the Baron is so simpleminded as to not recognize Alia as Duke Leto's daughter.
  • Speaking of Alia, the Reverend Mother asks kindly if the Emperor will kill her. She is an abomination, after all.
  • Alia teases the Reverend Mother about her own role in Alia's creation. She enjoys the teasing just a bit.
  • The Emperor says they'll return to space and regroup. He also orders Alia thrown out into the storm.
  • Alia runs into the Baron's arms. The Baron thinks he has the girl captured, but Alia uses the gom jabbar on her grandfather, killing him.
  • At that moment, the shield is knocked out. The Sardaukar make the Emperor retreat, and he sees the Fremen riding the worms into battle through the storm.
  • The Emperor reconvenes with the Reverend Mother and orders her to get Count Fenring from his chambers. They need to devise a new plan.
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