Dune 01 - Hunting Harkonnens (Short Story)

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DUNE: HUNTING HARKONNENS

The perfect introduction to the new Dune novel: The Butlerian Jihad.

You are about to read "Hunting Harkonnens" by Brian Herbert and Kevin J.

Anderson. This original SF adventure short story is a unique stand-alone addition to

the bestselling DUNE Saga begun by Frank Herbert with the publication of DUNE-

one of the great epics of imaginative literature-nearly 40 years ago. "Hunting

Harkonnens" takes place just prior to the events of DUNE: THE BUTLERIAN

JIHAD, the first novel of Brian and Kevin's brand-new trilogy, which will tell the

story DUNE fans around the world have longed to hear-the cataclysmic conflict

between humans and thinking machines. DUNE: THE BUTLERIAN JIHAD will

be published by Tor Books this coming September.

"Hunting Harkonnens" is a wild roller coaster of a tale reminiscent of classic short

stories like "The Most Dangerous Game" and the great SF stories of Isaac Asimov,

Robert Heinlein, and Frank Herbert. It tells the story of the deadly hunt by the

cymeks for Piers Harkonnen, the older brother of Xavier Harkonnen, just one of the

new characters to be found in THE BUTLERIAN JIHAD.

Patrick LoBrutto

Editor

DUNE: HUNTING HARKONNENS

This is a work of fiction. All the characters and

events portrayed in this story are either fictitious

or are used fictitiously.

DUNE

Hunting Harkonnens

A Tale of the Butlerian Jihad

this booklet, or portions thereof, in any form.

DUNE: HUNTING HARKONNENS

DUNE

HUNTING HARKONNENS

A TALE OF THE BUTLERIAN JIHAD

Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson

he Harkonnen space yacht left the family-held industries on Hagal and crossed the

interstellar gulf toward Salusa Secundus. The streamlined vessel flew silently, in

contrast to the fusillade of angry shouts inside the cockpit.

Stern, hardline Ulf Harkonnen piloted the yacht, concentrating on the hazards of

space and the constant threat of thinking machines, though he kept lecturing his twenty-

one-year-old son, Piers. Ulf's wife Katarina, too gentle a soul to be worthy of the

Harkonnen name, asserted that the quarrel had gone on long enough. "Further criticism

and shouting will serve no purpose, Ulf."

Vehemently, the elder Harkonnen disagreed.

Piers sat fuming, unrepentant; he was not cut out for the cutthroat practices his

noble family expected, no matter how much his father tried to bully them into him. He

knew Ulf would browbeat and humiliate him all the way home. The gruff older man

refused to consider that his son's ideas for more humane methods might actually be more

efficient than the inflexible, domineering ways.

Clutching the ship controls as if in a death grip, Ulf growled at his son, "Thinking

machines are efficient. Humans, especially riffraff like our slaves on Hagal, are meant to

be used. I doubt you'll ever get that through your skull." He shook his large, squarish

head. "Sometimes, Piers, I think I should clean up the gene pool by eliminating you."

"Then why don't you?" Piers snapped, defiant. His father believed in forceful

decisions, every question with a black-and-white answer, and that belittling his son

would drive him to do better.

"I can't, because your brother Xavier is too young to be the Harkonnen heir, so

you're the only choice I have . . . for the time being. I keep hoping you'll understand your

responsibility to our family. You're a noble, meant to command, not to show the workers

how soft you can be."

Katarina pleaded, "Ulf, you may not agree with the changes Piers made on Hagal,

but at least he thought it through and was trying a new process. Given time it might have

led to improved productivity."

"And meanwhile the Harkonnen family goes bankrupt?" Ulf held a thick finger

toward his son as if it were a weapon. "Piers, those people took terrible advantage of

you, and you're lucky I arrived in time to stop the damage. When I provide you with

DUNE: HUNTING HARKONNENS

detailed instructions on how our family holdings are to be run, I do not expect you to

come up with a 'better' idea."

"Is your mind so fossilized that you can't accept new ideas?" Piers asked.

"Your instincts are faulty, and you have a very naive view of human nature." Ulf

shook his head, growling in disappointment. "He takes after you, Katarina -- that's his

main problem." Like his mother, Piers had a narrow face, full lips and a delicate

expression . . . quite different from Ulf's shaggy gray hair framing a blunt-featured face.

"You would have been a better poet than a Harkonnen."

That was meant to be a grave insult, but Piers secretly agreed. The young man

had always enjoyed reading histories of the Old Empire, days of decadence and ennui

before the thinking machines had conquered many civilized solar systems. Piers would

have fit into those times well as a writer, a storyteller.

"I gave you an opportunity, son, hoping that I could depend on you. But I have

had my answer." The elder Harkonnen stood clenching his large, callused fists. "This

whole trip has been a waste."

Katarina caressed her husband's broad back, trying to calm him. "Ulf, we're

passing near the Caladan system. You talked about stopping there to investigate the

possibility of new holdings . . . maybe fishing operations?"

Ulf hunched his shoulders. "All right, we'll divert to Caladan and take a look."

He snapped his head up. "But in the meantime, I want this disgrace of a son sealed in the

lifepod chamber. It's the closest thing to a brig onboard. He needs to learn his lesson,

take his responsibilities seriously, or he will never be a true Harkonnen."

s he sulked inside his improvised cell, with its cream-colored walls and silver

instrument panels, Piers stared out the small porthole window. He hated arguments

with his stubborn father. The rigid old ways of the Harkonnen family were not always

best. Instead of imposing tough conditions and harsh punishments, why not try treating

workers with respect?

Workers. He remembered how his father had reacted to the word. "Next you'll

want to call them employees. They are slaves!" Ulf had thundered as they stood in the

overseer's office back on Hagal. "They have no rights."

"But they deserve rights," Piers responded. "They're human beings, not

machines."

Ulf had barely contained his violence. "Perhaps I should beat you the way my

father beat me, pounding contrition and responsibility into you. This isn't a game.

You're leaving now, boy. Get on the ship."

Like a scolded child, Piers had done as he was commanded. . . .

He wished he could stand toe to toe with his father, just once. Every time he

tried, though, Ulf made him feel that he had let the family down, as if he were a shirker

who would waste their hard-won fortunes.

DUNE: HUNTING HARKONNENS

His father had entrusted him to manage the family holdings on Hagal, grooming

him as the next head of the Harkonnen businesses. This assignment had been an

important step for Piers, with complete authority over the sheet diamond operations. A

chance, a test. The implicit understanding was that he would operate the mines as they

had always been run.

Harkonnens held the mining rights to all sheet diamonds on sparsely populated

Hagal. The largest mine filled an entire canyon. Piers recalled how sunlight played off

the glassy cliffs, dancing on the prismatic surfaces. He had never seen anything so

beautiful.

The cliff faces were diamond sheets with blue-green quartz marking the

perimeters, like irregular picture frames. Human-operated mining machines crawled

along the cliffs like fat, silver insects: no artifical intelligence, and therefore considered

safe. History had shown that even the most innocuous types of AI could ultimately turn

against humans. Entire star systems were now under the control of diabolically smart

machines, and in those dark sectors of the universe, human slaves followed the

commands of mechanized masters.

At optimal spots on the shimmering cliffs, the mining machines would lock onto

the surface with suction devices and separated the diamond material with sound waves at

natural points of fissure; holding diamond sheets in their grasp, the dumb machines

would make their way back down the cliff to loading areas.

It was an efficient process, but sometimes the sonic cutting procedure shattered

the diamond sheets. Once Piers gave the slaves a stake in the profits, though, such

mishaps occurred much less frequently, as if they took greater care after they received a

vested interest.

Overseeing the Hagal operation, Piers had come up with the idea of letting the

captive gangs work without typical Harkonnen regulations and close oversight. While

some slaves accepted the incentive program, a number of problems did surface. With

reduced supervision, some slaves ran away; others were disorganized or lazy, just waiting

for someone to tell them what to do. Initially, productivity dropped, but he was sure the

output would eventually meet and even exceed previous levels.

Before that could happen, though, his father had made an unannounced visit to

Hagal. And Ulf Harkonnen wasn't interested in creative ideas or humanitarian

improvements if profits were down. . . .

His parents had been forced to leave their younger son Xavier on Salusa with a

pleasant old-school couple. "I shudder to think how the boy will turn out if they raise

him. Emil and Lucille Tantor don't know how to be strict."

Eavesdropping, Piers knew why his manipulative father had left his little brother

with the Tantors. Since the aging couple was childless, wily Ulf was working his way

into their good graces. He hoped the Tantors might eventually leave their estate to their

dear "godson" Xavier.

Piers hated the way his father used people, whether they were slaves, other

nobles, or members of his own family. It was disgusting. But now, trapped inside the

cramped lifepod chamber, he could do nothing about it.

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DUNE:HUNTINGHARKONNENSTheperfectintroductiontothenewDunenovel:TheButlerianJihad.Youareabouttoread"HuntingHarkonnens"byBrianHerbertandKevinJ.Anderson.ThisoriginalSFadventureshortstoryisauniquestand-aloneadditiontothebestsellingDUNESagabegunbyFrankHerbertwiththepublicationofDUNE-oneofthegreatepicsofim...

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