here
many years ago...
Muad'Dib told me his father said...
"Beauty has finally arrived...
to hold back the wilderness."
In his honor, may I borrow
your duke's words today.
Good friend.
The imperial regent, my lady.
It's been so long.
Of course, you recognize
your grandchildren...
even after all this time.
I hope we can find time
to shed formality...
and get to know each other again.
The mother of Muad'Dib
has returned to us.
You must offer them
your blessing, Grandmother.
I see the hypocrisy of ritual
still thrives.
Sometimes it is necessary
to accommodate ritual...
In order to survive it.
Mother!
Reverend Mother.
I bring you a warning.
The blessings of Muad'Dib
have been corrupted.
The religion of Muad'Dib
is not Muad'Dib.
He renounces it...
as he renounces you.
All of you!
Muad'Dib is dead!
And sand will cover this place.
Sand will cover you.
Take them alive! Alive!
Get out!
Jacarutu!
It's impossible to guard against every
madman willing to suicide himself.
We try to limit
Alia's public appearances.
Are we sure she was the target?
In these times, anyone in
the royal family could be vulnerable.
I seem to recall times not long ago
that were not so different.
- And we survived them.
- As we will survive them again.
I heard the voices in the crowd
calling out Muad'Dib.
We don't know where he's from
or what his motives are.
They say he calls himself
the Preacher.
The people think he's Paul,
don't they, Stil, this Preacher?
- Some do. Some need to.
- What do you think?
His kind are blown in from the desert
every day. Messianic vagabonds.
And Alia's priests tolerate such heresy?
Her priests would like to flay him alive
for the heresy he spews.
But she won't allow it.
"Oh," she says, "he's harmless."
It's because she thinks
it might be true, isn't it?
Well, we hope you'll be comfortable.
Let us know if you need anything.
Paul's gone, my lady.
He walked into the desert.
Blind. Alone.
Shai Hulud came for him.
He is gone.
I want to supervise the interrogation
of those we found on the street.
I'd like Gurney to go with you,
if that's agreeable.
- It would be my honor, Stilgar.
- And my pleasure.
This was their room.
Alia kept it exactly as they did.
We used to play here
when we were little.
It made us feel close to them.
For a moment, you almost imagined
that's who we were.
Didn't you?
You almost let yourself believe
that we were... father and mother.
It was not an unpleasant moment.
I've missed so much.
You've never been far from us,
Grandmother.
Your presence is always strong
within us both.
I thought we agreed
to let her rest first.
Seeing my grandchildren
is all the rest I need.
And there will be time enough
for our reunion, Grandmother.
Now is the time
for you and your daughter.
- They're complicated.
- Yes. What did you expect?
They're Paul's children.
He would be proud.
You've done well.
You look...
wonderful.
I try my best.
My people expect it.
The greening of the desert is proceeding
faster than I ever imagined.
Paul used to say
the only permanence is change.
I wasn't prepared for how much
the desert's retreating.
Only the great mother wilderness
of the south remains untouched.
We still meet with some resistance.
As I've noticed.
Some of the older naibs
have withdrawn from our council...
and taken their tribes
to the far regions.
We're better off without them.
- Some remain to attack you directly.
- We know how to deal with our enemies.
It must be so hard, the responsibility.
The loneliness.
- What can you know of loneliness?
- I've had my share.
Is that why you're here then,
'cause you're lonely?
I came to see my grandchildren,
to see you.
Don't try to conceal anything
from me, Mother.
I can read truth in the slightest tick
of human behavior.
This was your gift to me, remember?
It's in my blood. In my blood before
I was even born, thanks to you.
Don't interrupt me.
I am the regent