A week before Paul Atreides stood before Emperor Shaddam IV in the arena of Arrakis, the universe had also begun to tilt in another direction, invisible to most, but just as inevitable. Far from the Imperial axis, on the confines of galactic maps where trade routes were not drawn and planets had no names in the official languages of the Landsraad, Kael Atreides was sowing the first seeds of his Empire.
The planet Garsuun was no longer the same. In just six weeks, its sky had changed color, its seasons had been stabilized by atmospheric rings, and its continents had been restructured by terraforming nanosystems. What had been a mountainous world of gray clouds and stony soil had been transformed into a paradise of living forests, floating fields, rivers of silicon-light, and biomechanical cities.
At the center of the main continent, a new city arose: Vireon. Elevated on anti-gravity platforms, supported by flexible carbon structures anchored to the planet's core, Vireon was a living city. Every street, every structure, was adaptable, sentient, capable of modifying its shape according to the weather or the emotional state of its inhabitants.
There, Kael resided with Lysia Calveran, now recognized as the First Gene Mother of the new dynasty. She was no prisoner. She had become a sacred figure, an object of veneration among the early settlers of the new world.
On one of the city's floating terraces, Lysia walked among gardens of translucent plants that emitted soft light, accompanied by two synthetic protocol attendants. Her belly was beginning to show the curve of her pregnancy, and her face, though calm, was always alert.
Kael arrived unannounced, as was his custom. The black armor he usually wore had been replaced by a gray tunic made of intelligent fabrics that responded to the surrounding electromagnetic fields.
"It's growing well," Kael said, looking at her abdomen.
"I know. I feel it. It pulses unlike any other living thing. As if it can hear me think."
Kael nodded.
"And it will. Its brain is already being structured with neuromimetic interfaces. It will be able to process ideas before speaking. Its heritage is not only ours... it's from time."
At that moment, one of the tactical monitors integrated into the terrace system emitted a high-pitched whir. Lysia looked at the panel. The symbols of an approaching fleet appeared.
"Trade vessels?"
Kael narrowed his eyes. "The CHOAM. They thought they could approach undetected."
In Vireon's command room, the synthetic commanders—designed with intelligence specific to strategy—had already initiated the defensive sequence. In outer space, swarms of Sentinels were deployed: fractal-shaped drone ships, impossible to track with conventional Imperial technology. They were loaded with directional plasma charges, capable of disintegrating matter at the molecular level.
Kael walked to the center of the room.
"Direct channel." Imperial voice.
A beam of light connected their position with the flagship of the CHOAM fleet. On the screen, the face of Commander Varnu appeared, a man with shrewd eyes and a diplomatic smile.
"Hail, traveler. We come in the name of trade. We did not know this world had an owner."
Kael bowed his head with false courtesy.
"Now you know."
"Perhaps we can establish a relationship. Our freighters bring offerings, tools, medicine…"
Kael cut the transmission.
"Extermination order. Eliminate the entire fleet, except for one ship. That one is to return to Kaitain. With a message."
The skies darkened as the orbital defenses unleashed their fury. From the surface, the inhabitants of Vireon watched in silence as the bright spots in the sky were extinguished one by one, like candles smothered by the wind.
Only one ship was allowed to escape. On board, the automated systems inserted a sealed message. Not in words, but with an image: Kael standing over his city, the Atreides symbol altered: a falcon wrapped in circles of data.
And one sentence:
"I have returned. Not as an ally. As a conqueror."
Days later, as Paul Atreides was signing the peace treaty with the Emperor on Arrakis, that ship broke through space to reach Kaitain.
And the echoes of the second heir, the unexpected one, began to reach the gates of the Empire.