“Disguised in Harkonnen livery, no doubt,” the Duke said. “But the soldier fanatics nonetheless.”
“How can Fremen help us against Sardaukar?”
“Did Hawat talk to you about Salusa Secundus?”
“The Emperor’s prison planet? No.”
“What if it were more than a prison planet, Paul? There’s a question you never hear asked about the Imperial
Corps of Sardaukar: Where do they come from?”
“From the prison planet?”
“They come from somewhere.”
“But the supporting levies the Emperor demands from C”
“That’s what we’re led to believe: they’re just the Emperor’s levies trained young and superbly. You hear an
occasional muttering about the Emperor’s training cadres, but the balance of our civilization remains the same:
the military forces of the Landsraad Great Houses on one side, the Sardaukar and their supporting levies on the
other. And their supporting levies, Paul. The Sardaukar remain the Sardaukar.”
“But every report on Salusa Secundus says S.S. is a hell world!”
“Undoubtedly. But if you were going to raise tough, strong, ferocious men, what environmental conditions
would you impose on them?”
“How could you win the loyalty of such men?”
“There are proven ways: play on the certain knowledge of their superiority, the mystique of secret covenant, the
esprit of shared suffering. It can be done. It has been done on many worlds in many times.”
Paul nodded, holding his attention on his father’s face. He felt some revelation impending.
“Consider Arrakis,” the Duke said. “When you get outside the towns and garrison villages, it’s every bit as
terrible a place as Salusa Secundus.”
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