Chapter 6

On Rakis, eleven-year-old Sheeana waits atop a dune as a giant worm approaches, aware the priests observe from a distant tower. She thinks of worms as those who spared her, recalling the day three years prior when a worm destroyed her poor village during a pre-spice blow, consuming everyone she knew.

In grief and fury, eight-year-old Sheeana had leapt onto the worm’s back, and it carried her swiftly to the outskirts of Keen, stopping before the qanats. Defiant and terrified, she confronted the worm, which then withdrew into the desert. Priests arrived by ornithopter, prostrated themselves when she began the Dance of Propitiation, and took her into their care.

Within the temple, High Priest Hedley Tuek and his councillors argued over Sheeana: some demanded punishment for riding a worm; others urged caution, noting her lack of maker hooks and her apparent rapport with Shai-hulud. Tuek ordered a test to resolve the dispute.

The next morning, priests flew Sheeana far into the desert, set a thumper, and watched from above as two worms answered the call. Resigned to death, Sheeana confronted them, accusing them of killing her family and pointing at the hovering ’thopter. The worms held back, then retreated when she waved them away, obeying her unspoken command.

Shaken, the priests recovered Sheeana and returned to Keen. The event confirmed her extraordinary connection with the worms, disrupting priestly certainties and politics. A full report reached the Bene Gesserit embassy by nightfall and was forwarded to Chapter House, signaling a development of immense strategic significance.