“The Padishah Emperor turned against House Atreides because the Duke’s Warmasters Gurney Halleck and Duncan Idaho had trained a fighting force—a small fighting force—to within a hair as good as the Sardaukar. Some of them were even better. And the Duke was in a position to enlarge his force, to make it every bit as strong as the Emperor’s.” The Baron weighed this disclosure, then: “What has Arrakis to do with this?” “It provides a pool of recruits already conditioned to the bitterest survival training.” The Baron shook his head. “You cannot mean the Fremen?” “I mean the Fremen.”
