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By the first Leto II, I'm referring to the one born in Dune, who died during the Sardaukar raids. Additionally, I am not necessarily implying that Paul was not the Kwisatz Haderach (because that is its own discussion), I am asking, could the first son have achieved the same "terrible purpose" that Paul saw and Leto II fulfilled.

The first son had the same heritage as the second, and so should genetically be as capable as the later son.

Paul shares some prescient connection with both of them: he knows the instant the first has died, and the vision-sharing experience on the night of the second's birth. This in contrast to him not even knowing Ghanima was born.

Would the genetics alone have led him along the Golden Path?

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  • Did you mean Leto I? Feb 11, 2014 at 19:06
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    Paul Muad'dib had two sons, the first died in a Harkonnen attack, the second survived and became the God Emperor. Both were named Leto II
    – Valorum
    Feb 11, 2014 at 19:25
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    @DVK Leto I is the father of Paul
    – Envite
    Feb 11, 2014 at 20:07
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    Both sons were named Leto. Leto II was a regnal name that did not apply to a dead baby. Apr 16, 2017 at 5:21

2 Answers 2

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The short answer is 'no' with a healthy dollop of 'probably' on the side...

In order to successfully steer humanity along the Golden Path (and become a sandworm/human hybrid) you seem to require three things;

  • The Atreides genetic structure

Duke Leto's male heirs seem to possess quite similar powers; the ability to view the memories of their male forebears and a form of prescience. Although the Bene Gesserit are pretty convinced that Paul Muad'Dib is the Kwisatz Haderach, he himself constantly claims that he's not, that he's something similar but distinct and different.

Either way, in order to walk along the Golden Path you have to have the Atreides genes in order to be able to sense the future and use the powers of the Bene Gesserit to resist the chemical changes needed (see below).

  • Saturation with Melange spice

When Leto II (the Second) begins the initial change, he has become super-saturated with Spice. In addition to supplementing his visions of the future, the Spice also allows his body to become physiologically compatible with the baby sandtrout. A normal human would simply have died by this point.

  • You need to be Pre-born but not possessed.

Leto II (the Second) and Paul have an intense conversation in the desert before Leto deposes Alia. It's pretty clear that Paul has seen the possibility of joining with the sandtrout but had rejected it because the option is simply too horrible to consider. The path essentially requires the subjugation of humanity, the death of billions more people as well as centuries of unpleasant physical changes;

Leto : "I've already done it. My skin is not my own."

Paul : "You think I've not seen a thing similar to what you choose?"

Leto : "You saw it"

Paul : "Is your vision any better than mine?"

Leto : "Not one whit better. Worse, perhaps,"

Which all brings us back to Leto II (the first). Although he possessed the Atreides genes and certainly could have become a male Bene Gesserit/Kwisatz Haderach, the simple fact is that without being pre-born he would have lacked the emotional detachment (as did Paul) required to guide the human race along the Golden Path.

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    I'm not sure your second point is valid. If Paul was capable of joining with the sandtrout, but simply chose not to, then Leto II the first would have been physically capable of surviving the saturation too.
    – friggle
    Feb 11, 2014 at 20:19
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    Joining with them isn't the issue, coping with the intense psychological changes over hundreds of years is.
    – Valorum
    Feb 11, 2014 at 20:24
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    Paul says "I did not see that among the choices," when Leto II tells him that the Golden Path is necessary. That's not really open to interpretation; Paul flat-out admits he didn't realise that the Golden Path was the only way to save humanity, though he had seen the Golden Path's possibility. Mar 22, 2014 at 3:56
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    I'm not sure I agree with the answer, but I'm also not sure Frank Herbert really left us enough to go on. My thought is that Paul and Chani's first son Leto could indeed have turned out to be a Kwizatz Haderach, despite not being pre-born, but also might well have turned aside from the Golden Path, which was not what the Sisterhood had in mind when they contrived the concept. So, I think Leto the infant martyr could well have been a Kwizatz Haderach, but probably would not have become The Tyrant. Oct 3, 2015 at 23:02
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    You're missing my point: the Golden Path was no part of the definition of "Kwizatz Haderach". It was not what the Bene Gesserit wanted or expected, or even knew was needed. Even 1500 years after the Tyrant's death, the Sisterhood questioned whether it was really necessary and resented their bondage under the Tyrant's rule. The question does not ask if the earlier child Leto would have followed the Golden Path. It asks if he was or could have been a Kwizatz Haderach -- a prescient who could survive the Spice Agony. Oct 3, 2015 at 23:32
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I think it's unlikely. Leto and Ghanima were pre-born due a combination of being part of Paul's line (and therefore possessing many of the same qualities that marked Paul as the Kwisatz Haderach) and the large quantities of spice that Chani ingested to counter the effects of the drugs that Irulan was slipping her to prevent pregnancy. We have no evidence to suggest that the first Leto II shared that attribute. I don't believe that genetics alone would have been sufficient for him to have taken the Golden Path, because it was the oversaturation of spice in Leto's system that really allowed him to bond with the worms and give him ultimately the control over the spice.

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  • Alia was pre-born due to the Water of Life. If Chani's spice consumption alone was enough to cause pre-birth, then why would it be a "ancient Fremen fertility diet", considering they had prohibitions against Abominations? I agree that there was no textual evidence of Leto II the first being pre-born (the little guy barely has any text at all), but I don't recall her consuming large amounts of spice beyond her diet.
    – friggle
    Feb 11, 2014 at 20:25
  • @friggle Edited my response to include that it was more likely a combination of their unique genetics being triggered by the overlarge spice consumption. (The Water of Life being distilled spice essence, the same sort of effect would have led to Alia.)
    – Roger
    Feb 11, 2014 at 20:33

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