Alia Atreides

Alia Atreides is a fictional character in the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. Introduced in the first novel of the series, 1965's Dune, the character was originally killed in Herbert's first version of the manuscript. At the suggestion of Analog magazine editor John Campbell, Herbert kept her alive in the final draft. Alia would next appear as a main character in both Dune Messiah (1969) and Children of Dune (1976). The character is brought back as a ghola in the Brian Herbert/Kevin J. Anderson conclusion to the original series, Sandworms of Dune (2007). In the novels, Alia is the daughter of Duke Leto Atreides of Caladan and his Bene Gesserit concubine, Lady Jessica, and the younger sister to Paul Atreides. Born on the planet Arrakis eight months after her father's death, she possesses the full powers of an adult Bene Gesserit Reverend Mother. Later known to her followers as St. Alia of the Knife, Alia is considered an Abomination by the Bene Gesserit because of the unique nature of her birth. As an adult, she becomes a devoted ally to Paul, and later regent for his children. She marries the ghola Duncan Idaho, but becomes possessed by the persona of her deceased maternal grandfather, Baron Vladimir Harkonnen. Alia is portrayed by Alicia Witt in David Lynch's 1984 film adaptation, by Laura Burton in the 2000 miniseries Frank Herbert's Dune and by Daniela Amavia in its 2003 sequel, Frank Herbert's Children of Dune. Description The daughter of Duke Leto Atreides of Caladan and his Bene Gesserit concubine, Lady Jessica, Alia is the younger sister to Paul Atreides. During the events of Dune, Alia is born on the planet Arrakis in the year 10,191 A.G., eight months after her father's death. Because of the unique nature of her birth she possesses the consciousness of an adult Bene Gesserit; thus she is considered an Abomination by the Bene Gesserit. The Fremen woman Harah notices that four-year-old Alia "only pretends to be a little girl, that she has never been a little girl." She seeks to explain Alia's unique nature to the superstitious and wary Fremen. In the later years of her regency, Alia's enemies and victims among the Fremen call her Coan-Teen, "the female death spirit who walks without feet." An adult Alia is described by Herbert in Dune Messiah: