The war against the thinking machines The betrayal that turned House Atreides and House Harkonnen into mortal enemies The discovery of spice--the most valuable substance in the known universe The birth of the Sisterhood, Suk Doctors, Mentats, and Spacing Guild The origins of the Fremen--former slaves who find a new home on the desert planet Ten thousand years before Frank Herbert's masterpiece Dune, humanity is oppressed by powerful machine rulers--the computer overmind Omnius, the maliciously curious robot Erasmus, and their monstrous half-machine collaborators, the cymeks. But embattled worlds, led by brave Xavier Harkonnen and his firebrand fiancée Serena Butler, fight for the freedom of the human race. They must find new technologies, and the strength of the human spirit, to fight the terrible thinking machines. Vorian Atreides is born among the machine worlds and trained to be loyal to his cymek father, but he finds all his preconceptions challenged when Serena Butler becomes a prisoner of Erasmus and a victim of his insidious experiments. After a heart-wrenching tragedy, Serena's passionate grief ignites the religious war that will sweep across the Galaxy and liberate humans from their machine masters--no matter the cost. Will Vorian discover that he belongs among humanity, or remain a pawn of the thinking machines? Here, too, is the amazing tale of the Zensunni Wanderers, who escape bondage to flee to the desert world where they will declare themselves the Free Men of Dune. Experience how they learn to summon and ride the majestic sandworms. Read the origins of Frank Herbert's Dune.