Bene Gesserit

A sisterhood of mentally and physically conditioned women who have in past Dune novels been at the center of the action, preparing the desert planet to accept its messiah, Paul Atreides, plotting to overthrow his tyrannical rule, and trying to thwart the rise of his equally-gifted son, Leto II, to the Imperial Throne. The Bene Gesserit in this book are much reduced. They no longer have access to sufficient melange spice to transform novices into Reverend Mothers, and like the rest of the population travel across space only at the God Emperor's command. The Bene Gesserit are the only group in the galactic Empire that Leto II has considered wiping out because they are so like him but fall short of his expectations. They continue their machinations, warning him of an assassination plot and a secret alliance to which they are being coerced to join, but...