Dune: Prophecy

What holds more truth, history or prophecy?

When humans rose up against the thinking machines

that had enslaved them,

history says it was an Atreides who led them to victory

while my great-grandfather deserted the fight.

When war ended and all thinking machine technology was banned,

history branded my family as cowards.

And so we were banished to a desolate world.

Others who shared my blood were resigned to living in shame.

But the history the Atreides wrote was spun out of lies.

And I, Valya Harkonnen, would set out to change it.

So I broke free from the past, and chose a new family,

made up of women unafraid of their power.

There, I met my true mother, the first Mother Superior,

Raquella Berto-Anirul.

A hero during the wars,

she trained Sisters to work as Truthsayers.

Assigned to the Great Houses to help them sift truth from lies.

Together, they would form a network of influence

throughout the Imperium.

Raquella would use it to govern the future.

But those who held power were inherently driven

by violence and greed.

They required more than just guidance.

They required transformation.

Mother Raquella embarked on a secret project.

She wanted to breed better leaders.

She amassed a vast genetic archive.

She would use it to foster the right royal unions

and cultivate rulers we could control.

Zealots among us would view this breeding as heresy.

But Mother Superior knew I shared her vision.

And I would stop at nothing to carry it out.

That is why

in her final moments

she called for me.

Valya.

It's me, Dorotea.

Valya Harkonnen.

Wait here, Tula.

These prayers won't help her.

What is she doing here?

I'm here, Mother Superior.

Red dust.

Tell them to leave us now.

Red-- Red...

It's coming.

Tiran-Arafel.

Valya.

Grow us, safeguard our power.

Use every tool.

The Sisterhood must be strengthened or it will fall.

You will be the one to see

the burning truth and know.

She warned us.

-Tiran-Arafel. -A reckoning.

A holy judgment brought on by a tyrant.

From what I saw in Raquella's eyes, I believe one is coming for us.

We have to prepare.

How?

By putting one of ours on the throne.

A Sister?

The first empress to rule the Imperium.

-One loyal to us. -Dorotea will never agree.

She has to, Kasha.

It is the only thing that ensures our protection.

Mother Raquella always said, "We could not be split in our purpose."

Factions in the Sisterhood would only weaken our order.

What she foresaw was a force of unimaginable darkness

that could destroy us completely.

I had to convince my Sisters of what was true.

We must carry her legacy forward.

We must keep pushing the boundaries of what it means to be human.

We must harness our powers of truthsense

until we advise all the Great Houses who govern.

Mother Raquella urged us to use every tool.

Humility is the foundation of our virtues.

Humility is the foundation of our virtues.

The mind of man is holy.

The mind of man is holy.

Thou shall not disfigure the soul!

Thou shall not disfigure the soul.

Adversity always lies in the path of advancement.

Most would run from it.

I would walk through it.

That is why Mother Raquella chose me to lead.

I see you wasted no time stepping in.

Mother Dorotea, what are you doing?

What should've been done long ago.

Why do you need access to the breeding index?

So I can return the Sisterhood to its values.

You can't do this!

We are the hand that points toward a righteous path.

We are meant to guide the Imperium, not rule it.

We must create the path and lead others to it.

We are the only ones who can.

Ever since you arrived, you and your sister, Tula,

you've thought too highly of yourself.

You'd risk our destruction to keep your principles pure.

Mother Raquella didn't share your beliefs,

nor do others aside from your faction of zealots!

You heard what she said. You swore to use every tool!

Because I did not want to fight with her on her deathbed.

This is no tool.

This is us playing God.

And we will be judged for it.

I honor my grandmother

but this great work of hers must be destroyed.

I beg of you, don't do this. Dorotea!

Stop!

Face me!

What?

A new skill I've been honing.

One I'd hoped to share with you.

And I will

if you bend.

I will never bend to you, Valya Harkonnen.

Then take out your blade!

Drive it into your throat!

I knew then, the name Valya Harkonnen

would forever be damned to the wrong side of history.

But my truth lay in prophecy.

What do we do?

Sisterhood above all.

House Varick and House Khumali have put in requests for a Truthsayer.

And House Harkonnen has put in a fourth request.

Mother Superior Valya?

Yes to House Varick.

Khumali will have to wait.

And you can tell House Harkonnen no for a fourth time.

Excuse me, Sister Avila.

Imperial guards.

They're here for the princess.

Her new husband must be quite a catch, fleeing him so quickly.

That's the princess's half-brother.

He has no claim to the throne.

A man with no purpose devises only mischief.

Exactly. Nothing I like more

than a man with great wealth and idle hands.

Perhaps once his sister is here, he'll pay us more visits.

And one day, I'll be her Truthsayer and sister-in-law.

I think the whole point of her coming here is to be her own Truthsayer.

Come along, now. Quickly.

We instruct many daughters of the Great Houses,

Lord Constantine.

There will be no risk to the princess here.

None of those other daughters is the heir to the Golden Lion Throne.

If my sister's going to spend the next 10 years here,

we need to take precautions.

Also, the princess will require her own quarters.

Once your sister is here,

she will be treated as every other student.

The dormitory is quite comfortable.

That's not acceptable.

Well, that is unfortunate.

I had to try.

Shall we?

Humanity's greatest weapon is the lie.

If you observe the large amount of white matter

in the prefrontal cortex, do you know what that makes this man?

-A criminal. -A sociopath.

A survivor.

Yes, Sister Jen.

Human beings rely on lies to survive.

We lie to our enemies.

We lie to our friends.

We lie to ourselves.

Lying is among the most sophisticated task a brain can perform.

Because, for most of us, we don't like to lie.

The body rejects it.

-How does it do that? -Pupils dilate.

-Changes in breathing. -Perspiration on the brow.

Yes, that's right. All of them signs that we work to perceive in Truthsaying.

It's clear you have a grasp of theory,

but application is what distinguishes a Sister.

Tomorrow, you will be tested on your progress.

I suggest you get some rest today. Class is dismissed.

Good news, little sister.

So it went well?

This time next week, she'll be ours.

You almost had me that time.

I did not.

Focus on the body, not the blade.

Your eyes, they can lie, but this...

this'll tell you where your opponent's headin'

even before they know.

Unhand the princess! Filthy scum.

Constantine, you made it!

How could I have missed you tying the knot

to a boy just out of diapers?

Keiran.

Between your sword master training and the Sisterhood,

I'm worried Nezzy will grow too full of herself to bear.

She has become quite good.

She'll acquit herself well on Wallach IX.

How was the Sisterhood?

Well, if you like barren landscapes and minimalism,

you'll be very happy.

-Princess. -You wanna see?

As a royal wedding present,