Chapter 291: The Gellar Field Generator! Testing the Voice!
"Go back and tell the Padishah: I'm waiting for his Sardaukar legions on Arrakis. That throne under his ass won't be his for much longer!"
"The title of Emperor doesn't belong to him—nor to House Corrino."
With that, Leto tossed the scroll in his hand to the ground. The terrified envoy scooped it up and scrambled back into the ship, stumbling over himself in his panic.
The other members of the imperial delegation didn't hesitate either, quickly retreating in his wake and rushing into the spacecraft.
The hatch slammed shut, the engines roared to life, and the ship soared into the sky, disappearing beyond the horizon.
"Father, are we going to start mustering our troops now? Head to Arrakis early and seize favorable terrain for the coming war?"
Paul looked toward the horizon where the ship had vanished, then turned to ask Leto.
Perhaps it was adolescent rebellion—or just the thrill of defying authority—but Paul wasn't the least bit anxious about their impending rebellion. On the contrary, he was faintly excited, eager for the action.
Toppling an emperor alongside his father and defeating the royal legions? The idea was thrilling—something he'd never dared to imagine.
"That's not your concern. Focus on your studies with your mother and your teachers."
Leto didn't respond to Paul's question directly. He had little hope in this still-immature son. While he could still move these aging bones of his, he would do everything he could to build a foundation for Paul.
When it came to war, they had the Atreides generals and the massive fleets of the interstellar conglomerates. No need for them to step onto the battlefield personally.
Besides, the political legacy of House Atreides would eventually fall to Paul. If anything were to happen to the heir apparent, all of Leto's lifelong efforts would be for nothing.
Without a blood successor, no matter how vast their fortune, it would ultimately fall into the hands of others.
…
Back aboard the Heighliner, the shaken members of the Bene Gesserit were still reeling. Their nerves were rattled, and they could only gasp that House Atreides had completely lost their minds.
"Duke Leto must have gone mad. They actually dared say something so treasonous—and even challenged the Emperor's army to a battle on Arrakis… This is insanity!"
One Sister shook her head repeatedly, unable to understand Leto's apparent suicide mission.
Other members who had heard what had happened wore expressions of disbelief. Who could have imagined that the ever-loyal House Atreides would publicly rebel against the Emperor?
"If House Atreides falls, so be it. But what about Jessica and Paul? They're our people."
Another Sister spoke up.
Jessica was a high-ranking member of the Bene Gesserit, a critical figure in the breeding program. And Paul—Jessica's son—was a candidate with the potential to become the Kwisatz Haderach.
Both were considered "assets" of the Sisterhood—extremely important ones.
If Emperor Shaddam flew into a rage and had Jessica and Paul purged along with House Atreides, then the Sisterhood's efforts over the past twenty years would be wasted.
And who knew how long it would take to reboot the breeding program for the next cycle?
"Calm yourselves—it hasn't reached that point yet."
Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam took a whiff from a spice-infused sachet, soothing her anxious mood before speaking with poise:
"Whether Paul truly has the potential to become the Kwisatz Haderach is still uncertain. Unfortunately, we didn't get the chance to test him this trip."
"If we can confirm his aptitude, saving both him and Jessica won't be difficult."
The Bene Gesserit had long operated behind the scenes of the great Houses, and over thousands of years had built an extensive web of influence and political capital.
Moreover, they commanded unique powers like the Voice—making them a formidable force within the Galactic Empire.
And Helen herself was the Emperor's personal Truthsayer, frequently summoned to the royal court.
Once it was confirmed that Paul was indeed the one-in-a-million Kwisatz Haderach, Helen would stop at nothing to keep him alive.
If necessary, she was even willing to die with the Emperor to secure Paul's escape.
In short, birthing the prophesied messiah was the Sisterhood's singular purpose. Through him, they hoped to bring the Bene Gesserit out of the shadows and into the forefront of power.
If they could help a "chosen one" ascend to God-Emperor status, then the Bene Gesserit could begin mass-producing God-Emperors—and by controlling them, rule the galaxy.
Eventually, they might even drop the pretense and install a Bene Gesserit Reverend Mother as ruler of the entire Empire.
Of course, such a transformation would require dozens—perhaps hundreds—of generations of effort.
Every Reverend Mother had to stay the course, strictly advancing the breeding program step by step.
That's why religious indoctrination and dogmatic rituals were so essential: only by binding every Sister through belief could the organization maintain cohesion.
"Since Leto and the Padishah have agreed to fight on Arrakis, our earlier efforts there might just come into play."
Helen mused.
Over the years, the Bene Gesserit had not entirely abandoned military development. Knowing they couldn't match others in wealth or resources, they set their sights on the native Fremen of Arrakis.
They preached and manipulated, indoctrinating the Fremen into believing that the Kwisatz Haderach was their prophesied messiah—a divine figure destined to lead them to glory.
In essence, the messiah myth was fabricated by the Sisterhood from the very start. Lies cost nothing, after all—and even fooling a few was enough.
The Fremen, long isolated from the Empire's mainstream society, had never encountered manipulators as cunning as the Sisterhood. They swallowed the lies hook, line, and sinker.
Through this mass manipulation, the Bene Gesserit built their own army on Arrakis: the Fremen.
This elite force was their "angel investor" in the rebellion they hoped the Kwisatz Haderach would one day lead.
If Paul passed Helen's test, he could command this army and charge straight through House Corrino's defenses to become Emperor of the galaxy.
The Fremen were the elite of the elite in the Empire—arguably even more fearsome than the Sardaukar.
According to the original plot, the Bene Gesserit fanned the flames from the shadows while Paul, hidden deep in the desert, gained a loyal force, regrouped, and launched his campaign.
The Sisterhood, as the secret shareholder, would watch gleefully as Paul exploded onto the scene, shattered the Sardaukar, claimed the throne, and ascended to the Lion Throne as the new Emperor.
But the situation had changed. Helen had been unable to test Paul's abilities, and Duke Leto's sudden rebellion had thrown all their plans into disarray.
She was deeply frustrated.
Just as Helen furrowed her brow, pondering her next move, a message arrived from Jessica.
Helen checked the contents immediately—it was a flight path. Jessica was asking the Sisterhood to reroute so she could meet Helen in person.
"Hmph. At least she hasn't forgotten her roots."
Helen finally breathed a small sigh of relief. For a moment, she'd feared Jessica had betrayed the Sisterhood to side fully with House Atreides.
"Ready the ship. We're heading to the surface of Caladan."
Helen set down her spice sachet and ordered the others to prepare a shuttle to escort her down to the planet.
"Yes, Reverend Mother."
Half an hour later, a shuttle detached from the Spacing Guild's Heighliner and followed the designated flight path toward the surface of Caladan.
It soon landed in a remote corner of a large estate—specifically, a garden area of the Atreides mansion where few people ever came.
When Helen stepped out of the shuttle, Jessica was already there waiting and offered a respectful bow, silently apologizing for her earlier disrespect.
Seeing that Jessica had come personally, Helen thought to herself, Good. She still has some sense. At least she didn't send a servant to deal with me.
But when she noticed the two figures standing behind Jessica, her brow furrowed again.
The two were clad in full mechanical power armor. One wore a skull-shaped helmet, concealing his face entirely. The other had removed his helmet, revealing a defiant yet refined young face.
The two newcomers were none other than Master Chief John-117 and the leader of the Spartan squad, Rita.
Seeing unfamiliar faces present, Reverend Mother Helen's expression instantly darkened. She scolded Jessica and demanded that Rita and the Master Chief leave the area.
She didn't want any irrelevant parties overhearing their conversation.
But Jessica looked troubled—she didn't have the authority to dismiss representatives of the Universal Megacorp. Even the act of notifying Helen had been done at the Megacorp's behest.
She was nothing more than a pawn caught up in the machinations of this colossal power.
Before Jessica could open her mouth to introduce them, Rita spoke first: "You're Reverend Mother Helen of the Bene Gesserit."
Seeing that the woman didn't deny it and simply glared at her coldly, Rita continued, "We're members of the Universal Megacorp's vanguard unit. We're here to invite you to join the Megacorp and assist in researching the Voice."
Wasting no time with small talk, Rita got straight to the point. Meanwhile, far away at the headquarters of the Myriad Realms Base, Li Ang was observing the scene through a visual-sharing device.
He had sent Rita to meet with Reverend Mother Helen primarily because he wanted to witness firsthand how powerful her Voice actually was.
After all, in the Dune universe, of all the spice-induced abilities, the Voice was by far the most practical and useful.
With just a few words, one could compel others to act according to their will—definitely a power worth studying.
Back at the scene, Reverend Mother Helen had already realized something was off. She turned to Jessica and angrily demanded, "Who exactly did you bring here? Who are they really?"
Facing Helen's interrogation, Jessica took a deep breath to calm her nerves. Then she summoned her courage to meet the eyes of her birth mother and teacher, and replied:
"Reverend Mother, they're from the Universal Megacorp. The Megacorp is currently allied with House Atreides. It's a supercivilizational complex spanning multiple universes."
"The recent Atreides rebellion against the Imperial House was orchestrated by them."
Jessica decided to lay the truth bare for Helen, hoping she wouldn't make any pointless resistance. The sooner she cooperated and chose to side with the Megacorp, the better—otherwise, she'd only bring trouble upon herself.
"Universal Megacorp…"
Helen's brow furrowed even deeper as she struggled to comprehend what she had just heard. A civilization spanning multiple universes? What sort of absurd nonsense was this?
"Is this some new political coalition formed by the noble houses? Wasn't Duke Leto's Landsraad Federation enough? And now he's come up with something called the Universal Megacorp?!"
Helen's worldview and cognitive framework simply couldn't fathom the true scale of what she was hearing. To her, the Megacorp was just another new organization founded by the noble houses.
And the one pulling the strings behind it all—undoubtedly—was Leto Atreides.
What puzzled her, though, was that despite the Bene Gesserit's extensive intelligence network spread across the Galactic Empire, she had received not even a whisper of news about this so-called Universal Megacorp.
That could only mean one thing—House Atreides had been planning this rebellion for a long time, just waiting for the right moment to strike.
That old fox Leto had really hidden his cards well!
"Reverend Mother, whether you believe in the existence of the Universal Megacorp or not, we sincerely invite you to join us and assist in researching the Voice."
"If you need proof, you can come with us. I'll show you the true power of the Megacorp."
Rita didn't care how Helen chose to interpret her words. Her mission was simple: to invite Helen to join the Megacorp. Whether she accepted or not was entirely up to her.
"The Voice is a closely guarded secret of the Bene Gesserit. I will never divulge it, let alone allow you to study it."
Reverend Mother Helen rejected the invitation on the spot. What a joke—this was the Bene Gesserit's trump card, their signature ability for surviving and thriving in the galaxy. If it were handed over to outsiders, how could the Sisterhood continue to operate?
"However, I'm willing to give you a taste of what the Voice can do—to let you feel what it's like to be at someone else's mercy."
Helen's gaze suddenly darkened. She intended to teach these two unknown figures a lesson, to show them exactly how formidable the Sisterhood could be.
Rita's face remained calm, but inwardly, she felt a flicker of unease. She'd heard that the Voice could manipulate human behavior—forcing people to harm themselves or even commit suicide.
Just as she was hesitating, Li Ang 's voice suddenly came through the comms:
[Don't panic. Let her try it. This is the perfect chance to test whether our new equipment works. With John standing by, nothing will happen to you.]
With Li Ang 's clear directive, Rita finally nodded and agreed to let Reverend Mother Helen use the Voice on her.
The "new equipment" Li Ang mentioned was actually the Gellar Field Generator from the Warhammer 40K universe.
It was a device capable of generating a specialized energy field designed to block out psychic interference and mind control.
Its defensive strength was such that it could even resist the Chaos Gods—at least temporarily. So, when it came to dealing with Helen's Voice, it should be more than adequate.
But whether or not it truly worked would be determined by this test. It was the perfect opportunity to see if the device was effective.
Seeing Rita step forward, locking eyes with her, Reverend Mother Helen didn't hesitate. She activated the Voice and issued a command:
"Kneel!"
This command was not only a direct attempt to seize control of Rita—it was also a warning to Jessica.
No matter how much the political landscape of the Galactic Empire changed, the Bene Gesserit remained its hidden puppeteers. Jessica had abandoned the Sisterhood and thrown her lot in with House Atreides—a betrayal both foolish and disgraceful.
Such a traitor deserved nothing less than to kneel before the Reverend Mother in repentance.
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