Editing God Emperor of Dune (section)

==Plot==
[[Leto II Atreides]], the God Emperor, has ruled the universe as a tyrant for 3,500 years after becoming a hybrid of human and [[sandworm (Dune)|sandworm]]. The death of all other sandworms as a result of the [[terraforming]] of [[Arrakis]], and his control of the remaining supply of the all-important [[Melange (fictional drug)|spice]], has allowed him to keep civilization under his complete command. Leto has been physically transformed into a worm, retaining only his human face and arms, and though he is now seemingly immortal and invulnerable to harm, he is prone to instinct-driven bouts of violence when provoked to anger. As a result, his rule is one of religious awe and [[Despotism|despotic]] fear.

Leto has disbanded the [[Landsraad]] to all but a few Great Houses; the remaining powers defer to his authority, although they individually conspire against him in secret. The [[Fremen]] have long since lost their military power and have been replaced by the [[Fish Speakers]], an all-female army who obey Leto without question. He has rendered the human population into a state of trans-galactic stagnation; space travel is non-existent to most people in his empire, which he has deliberately kept to a near-[[medieval]] level of technological sophistication. All of this he has done in accordance with a [[prophecy]] divined through precognition that will establish an enforced peace preventing humanity from destroying itself through aggressive behavior.

Arrakis has been transformed via terraforming from a [[desert planet]] to a lush forested biosphere with the exception of "The Sareer", a single section of desert retained by Leto for his Citadel. A string of [[Duncan Idaho]] [[ghola]]s have served Leto over the millennia, and, during that time, Leto has also fostered the bloodline of his twin sister [[Ghanima Atreides|Ghanima]]. Her descendant, [[Moneo Atreides]], is Leto's [[majordomo]] and closest confidant, while Moneo's daughter, [[Siona Atreides|Siona]], has become the leader of an Arrakis-based rebellion against Leto. She steals a set of Leto's secret journals from his archives, not realizing that he has allowed it. Leto intends to breed Siona with the latest Duncan ghola, but is aware that the ghola, moved by his own morality, may try to assassinate him before this can occur.

The [[Ixian]]s send a new ambassador named [[Hwi Noree]] to serve Leto, and though he realizes that she has been specifically designed and trained to ensnare him, he cannot resist falling in love with her. She agrees to marry him. Leto tests Siona by taking her out to the middle of the desert. After improperly using her [[stillsuit]] to preserve moisture, dehydration forces her to accept Leto's offer of spice essence from his body to replenish her. Awakened to Leto's prophecy, which he calls the [[Golden Path (Dune)|Golden Path]], Siona is convinced of the importance of it. She remains dedicated to Leto's destruction, and an errant rainstorm demonstrates to her his mortal vulnerability to water.

When Duncan falls in love and copulates with Hwi, Moneo sends him and Siona out to Tuono Village, an outcropping along the Royal Procession road, to keep them safe from Leto's wrath. Leto changes the venue of his wedding from Tabur Village to Tuono Village. Siona and Duncan overcome a mutual hatred of each other to plan an assassination. As Leto's wedding procession moves across a high bridge over a river, Siona's Fish Speaker bodyguard [[Nayla (Dune)|Nayla]], ordered by Leto to do whatever Siona says, destroys the support beams with a [[lasgun]]. The bridge collapses and Leto and his entourage, including Hwi, fall to their deaths into the river below. Leto's body rends apart in the water; the [[sandtrout]] which are part of his body encyst the water and scurry off, while the worm portion burns and disintegrates on the shore. Enraged by Hwi's death, Duncan kills Nayla.

With his dying breaths, Leto reveals a secret portion of the Golden Path: the production of a human who is invisible to prescient vision. Having begun millennia before with the union of Leto's twin sister Ghanima and [[Farad'n]] of [[House Corrino]], Siona is the finished result, and she and her descendants will retain this ability. He explains that humanity is now free from the domination of oracles, free to scatter throughout the universe, never again to face complete domination or complete destruction. After revealing the location of his secret spice hoard, Leto dies, leaving Duncan and Siona to face the task of managing the empire.

The Ixians have also begun the construction of navigation computers that will render the [[Spacing Guild]]'s [[Guild Navigator|Navigator]]s obsolete. Leto's death causes [[The Scattering (Dune)|the Scattering]], a great forced exodus of the former Imperium citizens to other galaxies and planets.