Paul Atreides is the protagonist of the first two Dune novels, and his family plays an important role in the other books as well. Alia, his younger sister, is one of the more fascinating personalities in the original trilogy because of the strange circumstances of her birth and what they mean on both a personal and a galactic 💫scale.

Alia is called an Abomination by the Bene Gesserit Sisterhood, who fear the kind of person she could become. Despite her initial loyalty to Paul and his empire, Alia's fall from grace drives much of the story in the third novel, Children Of Dune.

This article contains spoilers for Dune, Dune Messiah, and Children Of Dune.

Alia In Dune

Alia is born partway through the first Dune novel. Her mother, Lady Jessica, is already pregnant when House Atreides arrives on Arrakis, but this isn't revealed until after Jessica and Paul flee into the desert to escape the Harkonnens. When the mother and son are taken in by the Fremen of Sietch Tabr and accepted into their tribe, Jessica ingests the 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Water Of Life, a concentrated spice �🧸�dose, as part of a religious ceremony.

The Water Of Life completes Jessica's initiation as a Reverend Mother, the highest rank of the Bene Gesserit. Doing so allows her to access the full lives and memories of all her female ancestors. However, the ritual is not meant to be performed on a pregnant woman; Alia, still in the womb, also experiences the Reverend Mother's awakening. She has full sentience and the same experience as Jessica from the moment she is born, even if her infant body isn't yet capable of speech or motor skills.

Alia's Atreides blood has the same genetic markers as Paul, allowing her to also access the memories of her male ancestors. This trait was why the Bene Gesserit wanted Jessica to have a child with Duke Leto in the first place, in their quest to create a 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Kwisatz Haderach.

At the age of six, Alia participates in the Battle of Arrakeen, supporting her brother's coup that overthrows Houses Corrino and Harkonnen, placing Paul on the throne of the galaxy. Despite being too small to fight, Alia spends the battle finishing off wounded enemies so that their bodies can be claimed by the Fremen for water. She later meets up with Paul during his confrontation with E🌟mperor Sh🅠addam.

Alia taunts Shaddam and reveals herself as a "pre-born" to Reverend Mother Mohiam, the leader of the Bene Gesserit. Mohiam calls Alia an Abomination, the first of many times this epithet will be used. Alia then uses the gom jabbar, a poisoned needle, to kill Baron Vladimir Harkonnen, the grandfather and arch-nemesis of both Paul and herself. Paul then kills the Baron's nephew, Feyd-Rautha, in a duel, ending the Harkonnen line.

Dune: Part 2 (2024)

The most recent Dune film takes a slightly different approach in its portrayal of Alia. While she is still in the womb, Alia communicates telepathically with her mother through their psychic connection and the shared powers they've gained.

In these scenes, Alia is shown as a fully-grown adult played by Anya Taylor-Joy. While this is what Alia will look like when she grows up, it's merely a spiritual projection that exists within Jessica's mind.

Alia In Dune Messiah

Nine years after Paul becomes Emperor, Alia serves as the head of the religion that has formed around him. While Paul is horrified at his own deification and the atrocities committed in his name, Alia is willing to accept the bigger pi💞cture of enforced order in a ch🐓aotic galaxy.

In addition to the usual struggles of going through adolescence, the real dangers of being pre-born begin to reveal themselves to Alia. Unlike Jessica and the other Reverend Mothers, who grew up and developed their own identities and personalities before unlocking their genetic memory, Alia has little sense of self or identity because of all the other selves in her head.

Alia refuses to turn to the Bene Gesserit for help - for one thing, they still call her Abomination, and for another, Reverend Mother Mohiam is engaged in a conspiracy to force Paul's hand in siring an heir. Focusing on exposing the conspiracy and supporting Paul lets Alia avoid succumbing to her other selves for most of the second novel.

Paul is able to save his newborn twins, but not their mother Chani, and decides to walk into the desert to die. Alia is appointed Regent, ruling in Paul's stead until his son grows up. She also marries Duncan Idaho, a loyꦡal Atreides retainer who died defending Paul and was resurrected as🍃 a ghola by Tleilaxu science.

Alia In Children Of Dune

After another nine years, the inner turmoil of Alia's pre-born state reaches a breaking point. Unable to discern between her own thoughts and those of her ancestors, she allows one of the genetic ghosts to possess her, holding the others at bay in exchange for being able to take over her personality from time to time. The ancestor that takes over is Baron Harkonnen, whom✨ Alia herself had killed almost twenty years prior.

Guided by the Baron's selfishness, decadence, and ruthlessness, Alia starts crushing rebellions with a heavy hand while positioning herself to remain in power by killing her niece and nephew, Leto and Ghanima. She also destroys her marriage by starting affairs with guards and retainers.

One by one, Alia's family begin to realize that she has become possessed, but can't make any overt moves against her due to her position as Regent. Jessica and Duncan seek asylum with House Corrino, the family of the deposed Emperor Shaddam, while Ghanima is taken by Paul's widow Irulan to Sietch Tabr for protection. Leto fakes his death and goes into the desert to seek 🔥The Preacher, a wandering mystic rumored to be Paul, still alive.

During his journey, Leto is captured by Jessica's agents and sent on a spice-induced vision quest that allows him to manage his own pre-born identities. Armed with ancient wisdom from his furthest ancestors and Paul's gift of prescience, Leto undergoes a symbiosis with larval sandworms, giving himself superhuman speed, strength, and longev𒀰ity.

As Alia's plan to secure power reaches its conclusion, Leto returns, single-handedly killing any guards that try to stop him and tearing the security doors off of Alia's chamber. He subdues his aunt after a brief fight, and offers her a choice; submit to the Fremen Trial of Possession, a painful, scarring process that will result in her hanging if she fails; or throw herself from the window of the Keep, destroying the possessed monster she's become. Despite the protestations of the Baron's persona, Alia chooses the latter and plummets to her death.