PtB Ch. 01 - Imbalance

Programmed to Breed

A Dune fanfiction

(re-re-upload: formatting improved)

Story outline:

This is basically a retelling of the original Dune novel with lots of sex in it. It leaves out some elements and abridges others, but I still intend for this to be a cohesive story, that can be enjoyed on its own, without having read the books or seen any of the film adaptations. Besides the books and the films, I draw a lot of inspiration from the parody game 'Behind the Dune' by David Goujard aka Balsamique, mainly in the character department.

[spoilers for Dune]

As far as sexual content is concerned: This story is mainly about incest. Not exclusively, but that is what it revolves around. The possibility of incest is mentioned several times in passing in Frank Herbert's Dune books. Namely: The Bene Gesserit breeding program to create the Kwisatz Haderach sometimes involves the pairing of close relatives, to preserve and accentuate certain positive traits. The Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam states this outright. For example, Jessica was supposed to give birth to a daughter and that daughter was supposed to marry Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen. Unbeknownst to Jessica, Feyd is her cousin. But that plan is destroyed, when she defies orders and deliberately gives birth to a son, Paul. Then, in Dune Messiah, the Reverend Mother tries to make a deal with Paul, in order to bring the breeding program back on track: She wants him to impregnate his sister Alia. Paul rebuffs her of course. As Emperor of the known universe, he doesn't have to bow to the Bene Gesserit anymore. In Children of Dune, she tries it again with Paul's twin children. Even without her meddling, they almost have sex with each other, while under the influence of the genetic memory of their parents. They later marry each other, but only for political reasons. The marriage isn't consummated.

[spoilers for this story]

This story will use the Bene Gesserit breeding program as a hook to bring about a relationship between Paul and Jessica, although a latent attraction already exists between them. The Bene Gesserit aren't just passive onlookers for most of the story, but take active measures early on to salvage their breeding program. Jessica is given a chance to make amends with the Sisterhood: She must preserve the valuable Atreides/Harkonnen bloodline, by having a child with her son. It has been calculated, that the coming of the Kwisatz Haderach will take a few more generations this way, but with the Duke dead and the Atreides and Harkonnens at war, it is the safest way. This breach of taboo will also prove Jessica's loyalty to the Sisterhood. At this stage of his journey, Paul can't defy the Bene Gesserit. Of course, by the time he learns of their plans, his attraction to his mother has already grown so much, that he happily complies.

Chapter 1: Imbalance

A beginning is a delicate time. A time of measurement and finding the right balance. This every sister of the Bene Gesserit knows. To begin your study of the salacious life story of Muad'Dib, then, take care to measure your expectations. Do not be deceived by the knowledge of his eventual demise, into believing that his is a cautionary tale. For everything good or bad has to come to an end. Do not be deceived by the heights of lust and passion he achieved, into believing that he is an example to follow. For who could follow a demi-god? Muad'Dib is beyond judgement.

- from "Apocrypha of Ecstasy" by the Princess Irulan

The Lady Jessica strode through the corridor of the crew quarters, the embodiment of beauty and confidence. She walked more slowly than usual, so all the men could get a good look. It was good for morale in these stressful times of change. Of course, everyone tried their best not to ogle too much. They didn't want to offend their beloved Lady Jessica. Even though she was only the Duke's concubine, she inspired the utmost respect. And just a little bit of fear as well. Being a Bene Gesserit does that to people. That enigmatic order, all-female, supposedly religious, but their religious tenets were unknown. There were plenty of rumors about their true nature, but nobody knew anything concrete. At best, the Bene Gesserit were shrewd manipulators, seeking political power by marrying their members only to the highest of nobles and receiving noble daughters in turn for training. At worst they were witches with unnatural powers of seduction and who knows what else. Jessica's beauty surely couldn't have been achieved by natural means.

Then she rounded a corner and for a split-second it seemed like her conspicuous posterior didn't want to follow her at all. A sigh went through the ranks of the men and they went back to whatever they were doing with a smile on their faces. Jessica's destination was her son Paul's chambers. She entered without knocking, like always. There he was, the heir of House Atreides, standing in front of a large porthole, looking at the big blue jewel among the stars, his homeworld Caladan.

"Did Thufir not tell you never to stand with your back to a door? I could have been an assassin."

"I recognize your footsteps. And your smell."

"An enemy could imitate my footsteps and my smell."

Paul hesitated to turn around, knowing his eyes would once again be assaulted by the sight of his mother's voluptuous shape. "What do you want, mother?"

"It is morning. On Caladan at least. I came to wake you. Did you get enough sleep?"

"Just barely."

"Again the same dream?"

"Yes."

"A cavern filled with water. A beautiful girl. And a battlefield, right?

"Right. Doctor Yueh thinks, it might have to do with my increased Spice intake these last few weeks. The navigators of the Spacing Guild are said to be able to predict future events pretty well, thanks to the Spice."

As do the Bene Gesserit, with limited success, she thought.

"What if these dreams really are visions? What could they mean?", Paul continued.

"Your Spice consumption doesn't even compare to that of the navigators. It all sounds plausible to me. The water symbolizes our home, that we are leaving behind and the battle symbolizes our uncertain future. We all worry about it Paul. And the girl, well... You should be used to dreaming about girls by now, you're old enough. Something must be special about her... I'd like you to tell me more about her someday."

Paul rolled his eyes. "It's not that kind of dream."

"Whatever the case may be, we will have opportunity to speak about your dreams with the Reverend Mother soon enough. She will know, if there is any meaning to them."

"Is that not a good thing?"

"It is."

"You don't seem to look forward to it."

He is getting good at reading people. Jessica cursed herself for underestimating him, even though she had trained him herself. From now on, she would need to put more effort into lying. "My relationship with that woman is strained." Not technically a lie. But Jessica was omitting the real reason for her worry. "Anyways, it is still a few hours until the last transports have come in and we make the jump to translight speed. You can follow your daily routine until then."

"Don't worry, mother. I won't forget my duties, just because we aren't home anymore. I can't wait to read more about Fremen culture."

"I'm glad. But first, Duncan wants to see you. You can shower and eat after combat training."

"Understood. Just one more minute."

Jessica nodded and left. He allowed himself a brief look, as she went out. Front and back. Damn. His mother's dress left little to the imagination. The Duke liked it that way, but unfortunately, so did Paul. Suppressing these uncouth thoughts, he returned his attention to the starfield outside. Arrakis, land of sand. I'm hungry to learn more about you. How could it be? Arrakis was arguably the most important planet in the known universe and yet he hadn't learned much about it until relatively recently, when his father was given stewardship of the planet. But he wasn't alone in his ignorance. Only the northern half of the planet had been fully mapped out. The local Fremen were notoriously reclusive and uncooperative. Dangerous even. Paul was determined to change this nonsensical state of things under Atreides rule. He was filled with a great sense of purpose and adventure, not a hint of homesickness or dread. But what else could his dreams be about? Caverns filled with water. And the words "Tell me again of the oceans of your homeworld, Usul.", spoken by a local girl. He could see it all clearly, when he closed his eyes. What did Usul mean? He couldn't find it in any dictionary.

And at the end of every dream: Death, death, death. A bloody standard, bearing the Atreides crest and a war chant containing his name. It made him shudder.

And then, there were these other dreams of course. Seemingly unrelated to the presumed visions. He has had them for much longer. Dreams of his mother. Sexual dreams. He would rather not talk about those with the Reverend Mother of the Bene Gesserit. But she is also the Emperor's truthsayer. Could he even hide the truth from her? There was no use pondering the future now. Duncan was waiting.

When Jessica returned to the Duke's chambers, it seemed like an impromptu meeting had been called. Thufir Hawat, Gurney Halleck and a few others were there. Duncan Idaho was just leaving. There was an uneasy silence in the room. Her husband was in deep thought, staring off into a corner.

"Did I miss something important?", Jessica interrupted.

Thufir spoke up: "We have just received news from the Judge of the Change on Arrakis. The last of the Harkonnen troops have just left. The Baron himself and the Governor, Glossu Rabban, have left yesterday. Everything is happening as the Emperor has willed it. No foul play is being observed or has been observed at any point. Our own spies do not contradict this. Baron Harkonnen once again professes his unshaken loyalty to the Emperor and his peaceful intentions towards us. He claims to harbor no ill will and hopes, that our damaged relationship will improve in the future."

"Damaged relationship he calls it, that slime! Atreides and Harkonnens have been sworn enemies for generations!", Gurney chimed in.

Now Leto spoke: "He is lying, obviously. Trying to save face and not seem like a sore loser in front of the Emperor and the Landsraad. We will not dignify that lie with an answer. Hostilities will resume soon enough. But for now we have to sit still and play nice. No more propaganda and sabotage against the Harkonnens for now. The other houses will be jealous enough of us already for our favor with the Emperor and our new fief of Arrakis. They wouldn't like to see us kick the Baron, while he's down. However much he might deserve it."

Jessica contemplated this for a while, then said to Leto: "Your popularity with the other houses may be dampened by our extraordinarily good fortune, but you still maintain good relations with all of them. The Emperor favors you enough to entrust you with all Spice production on Arrakis. Your army is stronger than ever. The Harkonnens can't challenge you militarily, and with their biggest source of income gone, won't be able to in the foreseeable future either. And yet you sense a credible danger." She now looked at Thufir.

"I do, my Lady. I can't run any reliable calculations yet. There are simply too many unknown variables. But if I were to rely on my gut-feeling and my experience as an old Mentat, I would say that if something seems too good to be true, it usually is."

"A trap?"

"I think so, my lady. I think the chances are high, that we will come under some sort of attack on Arrakis. And if it happens, it will happen soon."

Leto continued: "Our forces are now split up between two distant planets. We are newcomers in a hostile environment, that we barely know, but our enemy knows well. Any defensive systems, that are left on the planet, are also known to our enemy. Until we have established a firm presence on the planet and gained a foothold, we are far from invulnerable."

"So what do we do about this?", Jessica inquired.

Thufir was eager to have his opinion known: "I stay firm on my previous stance: We mustn't go to Arrakis!"

"We are already going to Arrakis!", Leto said. "It's not like I can just defy a direct order from the Emperor. If I wanted to do that, I might just as well renounce my title and ask the Guild to take us into exile on Tupile. No. The first step to evade a trap, is to know of its existence. And we know of it. That's the one advantage we have."

The old man wasn't convinced: "We should buy ourselves some time at least. Delay the journey to Arrakis for as long as possible and use that time to find out more! Make up some excuses to Shaddam! It's not too late to back down, just because we're already aboard the heighliner."

"And make ourselves look like cowards? Our good reputation is as powerful a defense as any forcefield. Besides, we would only tip off our enemies, that we know of their trap. We will go to Arrakis as scheduled."

Silence descended over the room again. Jessica went to Leto's table and sat on it. That was her sign to him to dismiss everyone.

He nodded. "Alright gentlemen. There's no more to discuss for now. I believe we all have plenty else to do right now. You may go."

With the other men gone, Jessica lay down on the table in front of her husband, took his hand and smiled at him. "Tupile sounds like a nice place. We should go there. We might finally have some time to ourselves. Let the other houses fight among each other. What do we need titles and armies and fiefdoms for?"

"Oh, a nice place you say? Have you interrogated some high-ranking member of the Guild for that information, while I wasn't paying attention? Only they know the location of that planet."

Jessica stretched herself on the table. "It can't be worse than Arrakis."

"Oh, Arrakis is actually quite beautiful, in a brutal sort of way."

"Yes, giant sandworms and deadly storms under a picturesque blue sky. What else could you want?"

Leto let out a contented sigh. "I'm glad you're coming with us, Jessica. I couldn't go through this without you."

She freed a breast from her tight dress and he grabbed it immediately and played with it like a kitten. Squeezing, kneading, pulling and shaking.

"I couldn't just let you go alone. And Paul. I still have many things to teach him."

"How is he? Has he slept well?"

"Yes, as well as could be expected."

"You better teach him more fighting techniques and mind reading and that kind of thing. He might need it real soon. Advanced sexual education can wait a little longer."

"First of all, I can't read minds, only body language. Second, don't underestimate the importance of sexual education."

"Yeah well, I just think, maybe he should learn it from someone else. Actually, what more does he really need to know at this point? He's studious, he's curious, he has access to all the information he could want on that subject. What Paul needs is not a teacher but a girlfriend. We have kept him couped up inside the castle for too long. He has barely even talked to girls his age."

"I agree with you about Paul lacking experience. And I would be happy to give him access to women, if you think we could relax our safety protocols just a little. However..."

Leto pinched Jessica's nipple and pulled on it, eliciting a surprised moan. "Actually, we can't relax our safety protocols.", he said.

"...However, there are things about sex, that only a Bene Gesserit can teach. And my sisters would be very cross with me, if Paul didn't learn these things."

"They're already cross with you. They've cast you out. You don't owe them anything.

"They've almost cast me out. And I would like to get back in their good graces."

"I don't like how much influence they still have over you. I wish you wouldn't be so tight-lipped about anything having to do with the Bene Gesserit. Damn these witches and their secrecy! I want to know, what's going on in your life! I still don't even know the real reason, why they got mad at you in the first place. Because you gave birth to a son? I don't believe it. I paid them full price to have you as my concubine, but they kept half of you for themselves! And now they're spreading their influence over my son as well!" He let go of Jessica's breast and let himself fall back into his chair in frustration.

"Please Leto, their methods might be questionable sometimes, but they have noble goals, just like you. I wouldn't lie to you about this. They want to help humanity grow. And they need me for that. And perhaps Paul as well."

"I need you, Jessica."

"I know, my Duke. I am sorry."

"And they won't take my son from me."

"No, they never will. He would resist them. He has too much of you in him." She rolled off the table and onto Leto's lap and grabbed his hair. "But he will benefit from their teachings. No other heir to the ducal throne has ever had such an education. Not just from me, but from all his teachers. He will be magnificent. He is very capable already."

"Bene Gesserit tricks, Mentat logic, Ginaz swordsmanship and Atreides morals. It could be a potent mixture. He'll be fit to be an Emperor." Leto's mood had improved slightly.

For a moment, they just sat there quietly and enjoyed being close to each other.

"You know, Jessica, we're not going to have much time for each other in the coming weeks, or even months. But we should continue to try for another child. It's been too long. I have a splendid heir, so maybe a girl this time would be nice?"

He didn't know for sure, but he had a hunch, that Jessica could influence that outcome somehow.

"Yes. Yes, it's been too long. I think it will work sooner or later. I know it."

"How much time do you have right now? Maybe we could go for a..."

"Attention House Atreides.", a stern voice declared over the ship's intercom system. It was an announcement from the Guild. "Please excuse, that we aren't sending you a delegation as welcome. The last of your transports has entered our ship. But there has been a change in schedule. Our planned first stop at Sigma Draconis IV has been pushed back. Our next stop will be at Kaitain instead. Repeat: Our next stop will be at Kaitain. The Emperor has ordered it. He wants to see Duke Leto. We will start the engines in 4 standard minutes."

"Or maybe not." Leto rolled his eyes at this unwelcome interruption.

"Shaddam? What does he want all of a sudden? If he wants to congratulate you in person, that's fine, but can't he announce his visit in advance, like everyone else?"

"You know what he's like. He has this flair for drama."

"That man hasn't been told 'no' often enough in his childhood."

"It's not too late for that yet. But not today. Come on, we have to get ourselves ready."

Paul let himself slide into the bath. It wasn't as good as the thermal bath in Castle Caladan, but it was good enough to relax him after the prolonged duel he had with Duncan Idaho. The training automaton and the practice swords were all boxed up, so all they could do that day was sparring with knife and shield. Duncan wasn't his usual self. He was on edge, almost angry. They were fighting with real knives. They nearly killed each other. Paul was a good enough fighter to beat almost any soldier in their army in every form of combat. Duncan apparently didn't believe, that that was good enough anymore. Everyone is so tense these days. Duncan, Gurney, Thufir, even his mother, though she hides it well. Even the lower ranks are nervous. Nobody is looking forward to Arrakis. A great opportunity, but an even greater risk. For six decades, the planet had been ruled by the cruel Harkonnens, arch-enemies of House Atreides. The two noble houses have been in a state of vendetta for many generations. None of them wanted open warfare, but economic warfare, sabotage and even assassinations were acceptable. And whenever an Atreides encountered a Harkonnen, it had to end in violence. Honor demanded it. How silly. But there was no way of reconciliation. They had done too much damage to each other. Peace was not an option. Yet. The Atreides had steadily grown in power, and now with Arrakis in their grasp and close ties to the Emperor... The Baron was finished. He was still an outrageously wealthy man, but no amount of money in the universe could improve his reputation and buy him soldiers, that were truly willing to die for him.