Here I bring you the remake of this chapter that is located at the end of the third book of Childrens of Dune and begins with God-Emperor of Dune.
Both works belong to their respective creators.
Ten thousand years since Leto II began his metamorphosis from human in Rakis sandworm, and historians still argue about his motives. Was it moved by the desire of a long life? He lived more than ten times the normal average of three hundred standard years, but consider the price he paid for it. Was it the desire for power? He is called the Tyrant for good reasons, but what gave him the power that a human being could desire? Was he driven to save humanity with his sacrifice? We only have his own words about the Golden Path to answer that, and I cannot accept Dar-es-Balat's self-made recordings. Could there be other perks that only their experiences could illuminate? Without further evidence, the question is debatable. We are reduced to saying only that "He did it!" Only the physical fact is undeniable.
The metamorphosis of Leto II, speech by Gaus Andaud on the 10,000th anniversary
Leto II Atreides, son of the former deceased Emperor Padishah, Paul Atreides, and the deceased Sayyadina Fremen, Chani, was only in the Great Hall where political meetings and economic discussions were held regarding the orderly maintenance of the Empire. Leto had chosen to be in the hall to reflect on his new position as Emperor Padishah of the Empire of the Known Universe. In his mind he had organized each plan in a strategic way that he hoped to play at the right time when he had to form a great meeting with his subordinates. There was so much to do, so much to do.
Even so ... knowing the risks ... Leto knew what he was getting into, and the unilateral consequences that were going to happen when the incorporation of new laws that could be extremely authoritative began, but that was something he had recently seen in his prophetic visions knowing that his decisions could completely change the course of human history in the Galaxy if he took a wise option that could favor him.
'There is no time to hesitate, but to act,' he had said mentally, comforting himself and concentrating on the fact that he should follow the course laid out where he would lead mankind along the Golden Path; a route where humanity would flourish when leaving the stagnant feudalism that kept it tied, and where a new stage of space exploration would begin when leaving the Galaxy. And the only way to carry it out is to submit in a self-taught way the great influential powers, such as Landsraad, the Space Guild, the Mentat school and the Bene Gesserit Brotherhood. Just submitting them would promote the next step towards the Golden Path.
He let out a tired sigh; carrying out his work would be a frustrating effort, but it was worth it and the determination he had experienced during the various events that forced him and his twin sister, Ghanima, to survive in an immense sea of intrigue and tension. That made them both mature and unite them more. Many dangers passed, but the two managed to overcome the adversities that appeared on the road, and it was all over in a matter of seconds; Leto defeated the possession of his aunt, Alia, who committed suicide by throwing herself through a window in the throne room because of the atrocities she had committed when she was possessed. He felt pity and sadness for his death, but in turn helped him by being proclaimed Emperor Padishah and total control of the Empire; not to mention that he married his sister to consolidate his hegemony, and that in turn Ghanima married Farad'n Corrino to consolidate the union of the House Corrino, obtaining the loyalty of the Sardaukar of Salusa Secundus and of the House Corrino itself.
A strategy analytically calculated by Leto to see that it would be a variable added to the next step of the Golden Path, and there was only more variable to be added to the scheme of his plan, and one of them was to become a being that surpassed all human logic by merging his body with the sand trout.
Leto removed his left sleeve from his right arm, revealing a shell of rocky-type scales that covered him as part of an armor as it formed as a kind of second skin; just as he covered half of his torso under his white shirt. Sandtrouts maintained a state apart in accelerating the evolution of their body; because his blood contained the melange spice that slowed him down to a late process, in addition to that he had gained new improvements with the use of sandtrout: how to run long distances, superhuman strength, the affinition of his senses and the of his mental perception; which helped him to take another step of the step with his ability of Kwisatz Haderach, and it was his sacrifice that was enough to meet his father in the desert and quickly reach the city of Arrakeen to prevent his sister's wedding.
And now there was no turning back; his destiny was tied when he perpetrated the Golden Path by sacrificing his humanity. It was his own decision to carry that enormous weight that his father had left because he was not sufficiently capable of carrying a great responsibility on his shoulders, and Leto understood it, he understood that this task had not been easy in the past when his father had to endure a conspiracy against him that left him blind by a tleilaxu weapon, and the death of Chani, who had died by giving birth to the twins prematurely for ingesting spice in his diet against contraceptives that Irulan supplied him with jealousy.
But being blind, Paul had still been able to exercise his ability of mental perfection and that of his keen senses, something he had used among the Fremen people of Arrakeen in criticizing Alia's actions in power. His sermons had given him the name of the Preacher among the people of Arrakeen; and it was that same city that found his death at the hands of one of his fanatical priests in the square surrounded by the Fremen, and that in turn, the priest was killed by Gurney when he could not protect him in the crowd when he understood that the Preacher was Paul Atreides himself, his former lord who had sworn fidelity and protected him.
Leto knew that his father had accepted his death because he could not bear to bear the name Fremen of Muad'Dib for so long; it was a weight that crushed him, as well as his fateful decisions and the death of his lover. Dying was an option that his father had accepted in order to have a peaceful rest by leaving the underworld that could not take his domain to a better future.
When Leto told his father that he had chosen to continue with the Golden Path, he was saddened and horrified, but he understood with all acceptance that he could see in solemn expression in the desert. Leto understood that his father did not want him to work in the Golden Path for fear that he suffered a horrible fate if he submitted to follow that path that had made him move away from his mother. His father was afraid that Leto could lose all the humanity he had, and yet he agreed to lose his humanity by continuing with the Golden Path, accepting the consequences that would happen to him.
In his prophetic vision, Leto had glimpsed a future where all his followers paid homage to his worm form, except for his armored arms and his face with his glowing bluish eyes. He was a monster who saw him, while his faithful was the incarnation of God through his metamorphosis that recited praise.
It was the vision of the Golden Path, where he could see that he dominated with iron hand all the worlds that made up the Galaxy. He saw that he strongly subjected the great political entities that feared and hated him for his heinous dictatorship.
Knowing that he would live an immortal life, Leto would have Farad'n Corrino as his advisor and write that he would document all events during his long reign in the Empire. In addition, Farad'n was a kind person when he began to meet him, discovering that he was not a spiteful individual, but a nice one. Farad'n had explained that his mother, Wensicia Corrino, gave him a strict and military education by Bashar Sardaukar, Tyekanik, in making him a strong leader to satisfy his mother's ambition to recover the lost power of the Corrino, and Farad'n was not that kind of person who was interested in power; he had devoted himself to the study of law and government, as well as philosophy. He had also noticed that he was instructed in the art of Bene Gesserit by his grandmother, Lady Jessica, to consolidate a mutual cooperation between both rival houses.
Leto knew that he could safely trust him, since he would fill the post that his aunt, princess Irulan, had tainted when he planned to sterilize his mother as a conspirator against his father's plot, and it would be Farad'n Corrino himself who I would clean the dishonor of Irulan, I was sure of it.
'It is time to know what my next step will be,' he said, closing his eyes and letting his mind expand through the vastness of the background, feeling as if he were in an ocean, whose undulations showed events that occurred before and after in such only a fraction of minutes that came and went in directions like spaceships.
Leto observed in detail what was happening in front of his eyes, visualizing them as video footage; people from each planet walking as if nothing had happened, the Fremen did their housework in Arrakeen, ships traveling through space, kites that flew by, nebulas ... He saw everything, thanks to his sense of mental perception where he could see everything that happened, as if it were a god.
The more he inquired into the plane, Leto could feel his consciousness expanding more, like a drop of water spilled on a wooden floor, until he could see light layers that formed the fabric of future routes. But everything had taken a great unexpected turn, being in a plane never seen before.
'What is this place?' he thought with concern, watching the vast black area with some glowing stars like lighted diamonds. He didn't know where he was, but he could feel a great deal of inexplicable energy around him; it was heavy, pressing and chilling ... This whole place was unnatural in his view.
'I must not panic,' he told himself, trying to calm his fear. 'All I have to do is calm down and look for a way out ...if I possibly find her '
He looked around, and let his sense of perception begin to analyze the place, and only found a great interference that made his head ache, accompanied by a strong psychic disturbance that left him numb.
Leto winced as he felt his mind heal from that attempt to explore the strange place and find a way out, but he had failed to try it.
Even so ... there were odds where he was. The first explanation could be attributed to a third plane where, by using his powers of Kwisatz Haderach, he could cross that veil of the metaphysical plane, something that no Bene Gesserit or Guild Navigator has done. The second option could be attributed to the fact that the Fremen had a concept where the spirits of the dead passed through a plane to reach paradise; which, joining those two proposed options, Leto could understand that he was in an unknown terrain.
But, there was a third option that came to mind in the form of an idea, and it was a memory where his father had told him that he found a plane apart from reality, one where he had encountered two huge doors closed bronze and with a statue of a young man in his own age who served as a seal to prevent a being could lead to a great calamity that would extinguish all humanity, and Leto was assuming the same position as his father.
"Who you are?" demanded a hoarse voice with a strange galach. Leto turned, looking for the voice, and to his surprise, he found the two huge doors closed, just like the teenager his father had told him in his first time when he saw him: he had blue hair with the bangs covering half of the left side of his face, and leaving the right side intact where his light blue eye was staring at him. Leto explained that his strange outfit was what his father had explained was high school, and with the red band with the initials S.E.E.S in black. It was definitely in the presence of the young man who sacrificed himself for the good of humanity on the Old Earth, Minato Arisato.
The young man looked at him scowling, feeling the weight of his gaze was penetrating and direct, almost piercing his soul. Leto decided to answer diplomatically:
"I am Emperor Padishah Leto II Atreides. I come in peace." He hoped that his presentation would help him calm the boy, and it served him when he saw a surprise in his apathetic expression.
"Atreides?" said the blue-haired teenager, confused. "Are you the son of Paul Atreides?"
"Yes," Leto replied kindly. "I am his son" he bowed his head. "It's a great honor to meet you, Minato Arisato. My father told me a lot about you."
Minato returned the greeting.
"The honor is mine," he spoke calmly. "I assume you used your mental ability to find a solution to the future of humanity"
"Exactly," Leto replied, nodding. "But I ended up here without realizing that I broke through the barrier"
"That was the same thing that happened to your father," Minato explained simply. "This place is on a plane apart from reality, and only that with sufficient mental capacity can get here, of course if you survive the high pressure of a whole lot of overwhelming psychic energy. Your father, Paul Atreides, he was the first to enter this plane by the use of his ability. What happened to him?"
Leto was sad to mention his father, and told him what happened to him. After finishing the whole story, Minato's expression was distant, apathetic, solemn, and depressed; Paul Atreides's death affected him deeply.
"... I see" Minato's voice was tangent. "So now it will be you who will carry out your father's failed project"
"Yes," Leto replied firmly. "I plan to resume work on continuing with the Golden Path that my father has left for the loss of my mother. It was a decision that I made when I had the prophetic visions of the futures where humanity has become extinct. To perpetrate the Golden Path you have to make sacrifices for the greater good, and I have sacrificed myself as a tribute to my responsibility by assuming the position of supreme ruler of the Empire, which would allow me to exercise total control and continue with the Golden Path indications"
Minato looked at him and nodded, understanding the decision made by the son of the man who had spoken for the first time for many years.
"I can understand your determination to continue with what your father has left. It is not easy to be the person who would guide humanity towards salvation. Paul had tended his doubts about it when he assumed the position of savior for his followers and supreme leader He had difficulties when he explained that he lacked an identity crisis when he knew what his purpose father went through a lot to become the individual who had all placed their hopes on him, but he was not a supreme being, but a human being with all its flaws"
"Yes, of course it was," Leto said melancholy. "My father told me that he had always hated himself for being the fruit of a genetic reproduction program. He wanted to have a normal life as a duke in Caladan, but circumstances made him something he did not want. He tried to avoid a wave of destruction on the part of his followers in submitting each world to his authority by the war path, and failed in the attempt; his guerrillas in Arrakis grew a mass of more followers, began to worship him as the prophesied messiah, even in his ascent as Emperor Padishah made the situation worse when the uprisings and rebellions began in each galactic sector ... all that made him know that his role as Kwisatz Haderach was a poison that killed him slowly"
"Playing the role of messiahs is not easy, Leto," replied Minato. "It is an effort that requires challenges and sacrifices to be the person who will bring salvation to the innocent and lead them to a better future, but it has its consequences and risks. My case was the exception, and that should have told you your father what I did, right?"
"You sacrificed your soul to prevent Nyx from bringing the Fall that would end all humanity on Earth for a hundred years. My father had told me," said Leto, looking behind Minato at the two huge closed doors; with the blue-haired boy acting as a security seal against a godlike entity that waited from the other side.
The enormous amount of energy surrounding the two closed doors was intense and overwhelming for Leto that left him murky. It was the first time in his life that he witnessed witnessing it with his own eyes on his astral body; since he had only heard it through his father's descriptions. Even so, it was an extraordinary experience. It was wonderful, and terrifying at the same time; even when it came to the existence of a true powerful deity.
Leto had understood that religions were based on the existence of a higher power that ruled the entire Known Universe with its single metaphysical and spiritual presence observing everything that surrounded it. The Great Mother had been designated by the Ecumenical Commission of Translators as a female horned-neutral-masculine deity who represented the universe as a new object of worship in the formation of the Empire; while Shai-Hulud was the name Fremen was given to sandworms as the manifestation of God in Arrakis. Alia, in her state possessed by the memory of Vladimir Harkonnen, had created her own domain mechanic by using religion over the Fremen people; divinizing the House Atreides as messengers of God. But Nyx's case was different.
Nyx was a true deity; her title of Goddess of the Night was a clear reference of her power in representing the night as her incarnation, except that her body was incomplete when she fragmented, leaving the other half on Earth's moon, and Minato kept her so that He did not recover completely.
"Exactly," Minato had said monotonously to Leto. "The sacrifice that I have made demonstrates a high price to pay when you have to face the indecisive choice to save those you love most, and it was my friends who gave me the strength to sacrifice myself. Nyx was not an evil deity, Leto, but it was maternal. She did not cause the Fall by malice, but by compassion for humanity"
"And that compassion was for humans to accept death as a method of peace and harmony," Leto added with a shudder in his voice.
"Indeed," said Minato. "Although it is Erebus, the manifestation of negative emotions, which makes Nyx recognize that humanity must choose death as the only way to salvation. Do not worry, Erebus has been defeated before, but will always return when there is despair and hysteria"
"But ..." Leto stammered, trying to find his voice in a dry murmur, "... but ... you mean that humanity is doomed to fail? Even knowing there are two powerful beings who want everything I finished?"
Minato shrugged indifferently, maintaining a passable expression at Leto's exasperation.
"Sometimes humans are a species that is doomed to self-destruction without us being aware of what we do; either by creation by mortal weapons, or by cognitive entities. No matter what threat comes, it is the survival instinct that exerts greater degree of receptivity in the mind when a calamity looms in. Humans will find anything that guarantees to preserve themselves in order to live in. Your father and I are examples of being the saviors of the species without deserving any recognition for our actions. .. But there are those who are happy that we gave them a second chance to live. Now it's your turn, Leto"
Leto hesitated, looking toward the floor, or rather, space.
"I ... I don't know what to do," he stuttered, clenching his hands in the form of fists. "All this information, all this responsibility that I have right now is something that makes me doubt if I really deserve to save humanity from extinction. I know that you and my father suffered a lot in your ways for the good of human society. I admire both of you, but I am afraid; I fear that I can ruin everything my father has done when he rose as leader of the Fremen during the revolt in Dune. But you, Minato, are different: you acted without thinking about what I was going to do. happen, you sacrificed for your friends, and that encouraged humanity to colonize the entire Galaxy" A look of determination formed on his face, staring at him. "I will not back down. I will not give up something that I have accepted despite the adversities of failing the attempt. I will give everything of myself to boost the Golden Path. I will make your sacrifice and that of my father's not in vain. I will lead humanity towards the future, submitting to each political entity under my authority, whether it is necessary to use violence or not. I give you my word as Padishah Emperor of the Known Universe"
Minato smiled to see Leto's enthusiasm and determination to continue his father's legacy, as well as his action he had done a hundred years ago on Earth, when he and his friends against the Nyx Avatar in the last room of Tartarus to stop the Dark Hour and stop the Fall. I was proud of the boy.
"I think you already decided to continue with the path that your father has left"
"Yes," Leto replied. "I will return to my plane and carry out the procedures that the Golden Path deserves to guide humanity, knowing that I have to transform myself into a monster so that they fear me and respect me. I will accept my responsibility in doing so"
The blue-haired teenager smiled and nodded.
"I wish you luck in your work, Leto"
Leto returned the greeting with an accent.
"Thank you, and I want to thank you for this conversation with you, Minato Arisato. You are the one who inspires me to continue with my destiny"
Reality began to distort, and Leto found himself sitting in his chair, but with great confidence inside, like a spark that has just been set amidst the doubts that overwhelmed him, he was now a person with a determination to make a difficult plan that warrants the greatest degree of sacrifice one has to give.
Leto knew what he had to do, the conversation with Minato Arisato helped him enough. He would do everything in his power to honor the memories of both saviors who gave their lives, and he would not disappoint them ... he would not give up no matter how many obstacles are in his way.
He would carry out the Golden Path, and in the deepest of his prophetic visions, he was himself with the body of a worm, leading legions of his most faithful subjects throughout the Known Universe, praising him as a god ... or more Well, as the God-Emperor of the Known Universe.
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