Paolo

Expanded Dune

This article or section refers to elements from Expanded Dune.

Paolo was a Ghola created during the time of Kralizec, from the blood residue cells of Paul Atreides, scraped from the Emperor's Blade, from a failed assassination attempt on Muad'Dib's life over 5000 years earlier. Paolo was created at the request of the Enhanced Face Dancer leader Khrone, in Bandalong on the planet Tleilax, at the behest of the Thinking Machine rulers Omnius and Erasmus, in an attempt to create the Ultimate Kwisatz Haderach.

Early Life on Tleilax and Caladan

Upon the urging of Khrone, the Lost Tleilaxu scribe Uxtal, created the ghola of Paolo in an Axlotl Tank in Bandalong. Upon his subsequent reaching the age of being a toddler, the ghola of Vladimir Harkonnen, created nine years earlier, became jealous of Paolo. Harkonnen would complain of Paolo, whom he said reminded him of a constantly mewing cat. It was at this time that Khrone told Harkonnen that Paolo was a very important individual, far more important than Vladimir himself.

As Paolo reached the age of four, Khrone decided that it would be best for Paolo to be raised on the Atreides home-world of Caladan, where he and Vladimir were subsequently taken. At that time, Harkonnen was formally given the charge of raising the young clone, and mandated that Vladimir eradicate all aspects of any kind of Atreides upbringing.

As the years rolled by, Harkonnen continued with Paolo's training, and was especially nice to Paolo, as he was told that the ghola may indeed be the Ultimate Kwisatz Haderach, even though Vladimir had never believed in such prophecies. During the latter part of his first decade, Paolo began to have visions that involved prescience about his future. In his perceptions, he would see recurring foresights of himself, battling another older version of himself. In the vision, he would always be victorious holding a knife.

On Synchrony

As the end of the age approached and Paolo approached the age of maturity, Khrone once again appeared and announced that the Thinking Machine rulers wanted Paolo brought to Synchrony; where they could meet, continue to educate, and test the young ghola. It was revealed to the now 11 year old Paolo, that he was believed to be a super-being, and would help the Machines rule human-kind. Once upon the planet, Erasmus continued Paolo's training, especially in the area of martial arts and fighting abilities.

Death on the Day of Kralizec

As the events of Kralizec unfolded, the no-ship Ithaca was captured and brought to Synchrony. The entire crew was disembarked, and the ghola of Paul Atreides, who had been raised aboard the ship, was brought to the heart of Synchrony, the Cathedral. Based upon Erasmus' "mathematical projections", Omnius decided the two Paul's would duel-to-the death in one-on-one combat, as he believed that the victor between the two would be the stronger, and hence the Ultimate super-being. Paul was severely wounded and Paolo, victorious, collected his prize; a quantity of Ultraspice.

After he ingested a massive amount of the enhanced melange, Paolo's prescience was enhanced exponentially, and he began to see almost all aspects of the universe. With the melange having coursed fully through his veins, Paolo also experienced and saw all actions of humanity into the future, as well as those of the past. Paolo soon realized that he was unable to communicate with those around him, became delirious, and he fell into an irreversible, persistent trance-coma.

Even though the events of Kralizec unfolded just yards away from him; Paul's self-healing, the banishment of Omnius by the Oracle of Time, the death of all Enhanced Face Dancers activated by Erasmus in response to Khrone's failed attempted coup'; Paolo was completely unaware of them. Slowly over the course of the next few days, Paolo starved and thirsted to death, as he was unable to eat or drink.

Appearances

• Hunters of Dune
• Sandworms of Dune