Editing Paul Atreides (section)

===''Dune''===
The son of [[Leto I Atreides|Duke Leto Atreides]] and the [[Lady Jessica]], Paul is the heir of [[House Atreides]], an aristocratic family that rules the planet [[Caladan]]. Jessica is a [[Bene Gesserit]] and an important key in the Bene Gesserit [[breeding program (Dune)|breeding program]]. According to the breeding program, she was to produce a daughter, who would be bred with [[Feyd-Rautha]], a nephew of [[Vladimir Harkonnen|Baron Vladimir Harkonnen]]. However, Jessica falls in love with Leto and grants him the son he desires. Although Paul is a boy, Jessica gives him some training in the Bene Gesserit ways, including enhanced observation and the Sisterhood's specialized martial art. Initially described as "small for his age", Paul has secretly undergone the early [[Mentat]] training, and is also schooled in weapon use by [[Gurney Halleck]] and [[Duncan Idaho]].

In ''[[Dune (novel)|Dune]]'' (1965), Paul is fifteen years old; the [[Padishah Emperor]] [[Shaddam IV]] orders the family to leave Caladan and govern the desert planet [[Arrakis]] (known as Dune), though Paul's father Duke Leto is in full knowledge that the Emperor is colluding with [[House Harkonnen]] to destroy House Atreides as a perceived threat to the throne. On Dune, the family is betrayed by their [[Suk School|Suk doctor]], [[Wellington Yueh]]. He disables the House defensive shields, allowing the Imperial [[Sardaukar]] troops, dressed in Harkonnen uniforms, to capture Duke Leto and [[Thufir Hawat]] and to kill most of the Atreides army. Duncan sacrifices himself while attempting to hold off the Sardaukar and ensures Paul's escape. His betrayal motivated by the Baron's capture and torture of his Bene Gesserit wife, Yueh implants a poisonous gas capsule concealed within a false tooth on Duke Leto after his capture and instructs Leto to use it to kill the Baron. Shortly afterward, the Baron has Yueh murdered. Upon meeting Baron Harkonnen and his twisted Mentat [[Piter De Vries]], Leto bites down on the capsule. He succeeds in killing De Vries—and himself—but not the Baron. Fed a poison for which only the Baron has the antidote, Hawat is forced to serve as the new Harkonnen Mentat. With some help from Yueh, Paul and Jessica escape into the desert.

They flee to the [[Fremen]], who see in Paul the ''Lisan al-Gaib'' or "the Voice from the Outer World", a [[prophet]] they call the [[Mahdi (Dune)|Mahdi]] whom they believe is "The One Who Will Lead Us to Paradise". Paul and Jessica take shelter in [[Sietch Tabr]], a Fremen settlement led by the [[naib (Dune)|naib]], [[Stilgar]]. Paul and his mother train the Fremen in weapon use and martial arts, creating a formidable army. When Paul is accepted into the Fremen tribe, he is given the secret "sietch name" [[Usul (Dune)|Usul]], the Fremen word meaning "the base of the pillar". He chooses "Paul Muad'Dib" as his common name of manhood, to be used openly. Muad'Dib is the name of the adapted [[kangaroo mouse]] of Arrakis, and Stilgar relates that Paul's choice pleases the Fremen:
<blockquote>Muad'Dib is wise in the ways of the desert. Muad'Dib creates his own water. Muad'Dib hides from the sun and travels in the cool night. Muad'Dib is fruitful and multiplies over the land. Muad'Dib we call 'instructor-of-boys.' That is a powerful base on which to build your life, Paul Muad'Dib, who is Usul among us.<ref name="Dune">[[Frank Herbert|Herbert, Frank]] (1965). ''[[Dune (novel)|Dune]]''. {{ISBN|0-441-17271-7}}.</ref></blockquote>
Paul leads a Fremen campaign of resistance against Harkonnen rule. He and [[Chani (character)|Chani]], daughter of [[Liet-Kynes]], take each other as mates and produce a son, named ''Leto'' in honor of Paul's father. Paul also reunites with Gurney Halleck, who had sought refuge with smugglers after the Harkonnen attack. In a bid to unlock his latent powers, Paul undergoes the process of [[spice agony]] via the consumption of the [[Water of Life (Dune)|Water of Life]]. He survives, although barely, and the ordeal gives him knowledge of his male and female [[ancestor]]s; this proves Paul is the [[Kwisatz Haderach]].

Awakening, Paul launches an attack on the Harkonnen and Imperial troops with his Fremen army (and with his personal squad of bodyguards, the [[Fedaykin]]), riding the enormous [[Sandworm (Dune)|sandworms]] indigenous to the planet. In the attack, he learns that his son Leto has been killed in a Sardaukar raid. They win and Paul requests an audience with Shaddam IV. He threatens to destroy the spice [[Melange (fictional drug)|melange]], thus making transport between the planets impossible and effectively destroying civilization. In return for preserving the spice, he requires the hand of the Emperor's daughter, the Bene Gesserit-trained [[Princess Irulan]] as well as the Emperor's abdication in favor of Paul. Urged by the [[Spacing Guild]], Shaddam accepts his terms.