Dune Messiah

In a spice trance to help him see through the fog caused by the Dune tarot, Paul has a “terrible vision of […] a falling moon” (161). Paul interprets the vision as a warning of his own demise, and confirmation that to “buy an end for the Jihad, to silence the volcano of butchery, he must discredit himself” (161-62). Looking over the city of Arrakeen, Paul disdains his own influence over the architecture and landscape and muses on the inevitability of fate.

Hayt appears, suggesting that Paul is overestimating his own importance in the scheme of eternity. Paul retorts that he is aware of his own mortality and inevitable doom and accuses Hayt of attempting to disturb him further. Again, Paul laments that the only future he can see in which humanity survives is one in which Chani must die.

The Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam is summoned to Paul’s throne room. The colossal size of the room, the emerald throne, and general genius of the design indicate Paul’s immense power; it takes minutes for the elderly Gaius Helen to walk from the entrance to Paul’s throne. She interprets this display of power as a sign that Paul wants something from the Bene Gesserit but intends to humble her first.