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have withdrawn from our council...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 of this empire.
I rule in Paul's name for his children.
I am the supreme authority here.
You abandoned me...
to fend for myself after Paul died.
I was only 15, Mother.
You had Stilgar. You had Duncan.
You had the Council of Naibs.
No one could challenge you.
You knew how I felt about this place.
And yet here you are,
after all these years, to judge me.
Just like that wicked
Bene Gesserit bitch who taught you.
- We were right to kill her.
- Abomination.
Abomination.
That's what she called me.
- Alia, I can't undo the past.
- But I can influence the future.
Paul taught me that well enough.
That's what you're afraid of, isn't it?
You're afraid I have Paul's vision,
his power.
No, my darling.
I am afraid that you will get lost
trying to achieve it.
I hate you.
I love you.
I will never forgive you.
Blasphemers!
Idolaters!
You fool yourselves...
with images of things
you cannot possibly understand.
You cripple yourselves
with these toads...
of ritual and ceremony.
They give you only fear.
And in return...
you give them obedience.
But I give you a warning.
Those who accept self-deception...
shall perish by that self-deception.
And those who pray for dew
at the desert's edge...
shall bring forth the deluge.
Milady.
Don't torture yourself.
He's mad.
He's a mere thunderclap in the night,
startling for a moment, then gone.
And if I asked you to kill him,
would you?
I wouldn't hesitate.
But I would advise against it.
I'd say it's not time
to move against the Preacher yet.
- Listen to him, darling.
- Let him gain some currency.
- He's so handsome, isn't he?
- Let our enemies rally to his ideas.
The man has flaws.
When the time is right,
they can be used to discredit him.
Just what the doctor ordered.
Better he is disgraced than martyred.
You're always good medicine
for my distress,Javid.
Whatever the cause
of that distress, milady.
Reverend Mother.
- They told me I might find you here.
- I was afraid it might be gone.
Paul-- Muad'Dib
would never have permitted that.
He said your promise
to the old housekeeper Mapes...
would never be broken.
It seems a little silly now though,
doesn't it?
Considering the changes
that are everywhere.
People don't come to visit like they
used to, but still, it remains a symbol.
Symbolism is everywhere these days,
just like these weeds.
I'm truly happy to see you, Irulan.
Your devotion to my grandchildren
has been a comfort to me.
They are the source of my happiness.
And your occasional
exasperation, I hear.
They are... strong-willed.
As I would have expected,
considering.
And what else did you expect,
Reverend Mother...
considering?
I am-- was a Bene Gesserit...
trained just as you were.
I know the Sisterhood has never lost
interest in the children's bloodlines.
Although they would never confide
as much to a defector like me.
Isn't it ironic, Irulan?
We're both Bene Gesserits...
who've deserted our sisterhood
for the same reason--
love.
Love of men who are now dead.
I did love your son,Jessica.
And I would have made him a good wife.
Instead I have satisfied myself
being a good teacher to his children.
And friend.
Nothing--
Nothing will harm them