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Doctor Wellington Yueh was the personal physician of Duke Leto Atreides, and ultimately the one to set the plot in motion by

betraying the Duke and his forces to the Harkonnens on Arrakis.

Much stock was placed in the fact that Yueh was a graduate of the Imperial Suk Academy, thus ensuring loyalty to his employer. However, I'm confused as to who his actual employer was, given his status as an Imperial doctor.

Was Yueh employed and/or a member of the Atreides family, or was he considered an Imperial employee like Dr. Liet Kynes (and therefore a 'contractor' to the Atreides)?

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    Wasn't "Imperial Doctor" just a title indicating that he had graduated the Suk academy?
    – Harry Johnston
    Oct 27, 2017 at 23:37
  • @HarryJohnston - not sure, that's what I'm trying to figure out. I just finished reading the first novel again and it never really made that clear.
    – Omegacron
    Oct 27, 2017 at 23:43
  • Actually Suk doctors are not thought to be loyal to their employer - they are generally unable to cause their patients harm (don't have the book at hand - but dune.wikia.com/wiki/Suk_Doctor )
    – bdecaf
    Oct 28, 2017 at 13:32
  • However we know that his wife was taken by the Harkonnen before he joined the Atreides - this at least means he was not under protection of the emperor.
    – bdecaf
    Oct 28, 2017 at 13:39
  • If I remember correctly, the Suk's are basically similar to the BG that way; they are often on long-term contracts to specific houses, but when the house no longer needs them, dissolves, or whatever (such as the school recalling them), they return to the Imperial Academy. I believe that's one reason they are said to serve a house, but never mentioned as being part of one, directly. They served a house, loyally enough (due, in part, to their conditioning, although that's really more to do with not causing harm), but their ultimate loyalty was to the school.
    – K-H-W
    Oct 30, 2017 at 2:10

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While employment records from that age are difficult to find, the conditioning seems more of a process—"Yueh was a conditioned medic, fit for a royal house" ("Dune", p.701), "a ... graduate with Imperial Conditioning" (p.30) and "Imperial Doctor" is never found from a search on "doctor" in the text. Moreover, in the conversation around p.30 "the obvious suspect is Dr. Yueh" and that Hawat had to investigate to find that Yueh had the conditioning—"safe enough to minister even to the Emperor", but zero evidence that this conditioning somehow places the individual on the Imperial payroll. A simpler explanation is that Yueh is employed by House Atreides, and that the good doctor has flawless credentials.

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Dr. Yueh was employed by the Atreides, according the "Prelude to Dune" series by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson. Dr. Yueh was an expert in cybernetic prosthetics, and was hired by Leto to treat his severely injured friend Rhombur Vernius. Dr. Yueh's services were retained by Leto after Rhombur had left Caladan.

Even the Emperor has to pay for treatment by a Suk Doctor. Graduating from the Suk school simply means they are qualified to treat the Emperor.

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