My Lieges of House Tseida,

The most curious aspect of the destruction of Carthag, legally speaking, is the Harkonnen response. An atomic explosion obliterates the city, in the middle of a massive workforce riot. The Harkonnen blamed the Atreides, had formal charges drawn up on violations against the Great Conventions. And then… silence. No motions filed. Not another word said on the matter.

What happened? This reaction goes against everything we know about the Harkonnen (even if they discovered evidence to the contrary). What did they find out? Did someone talk them down?

That mystery lingers while they build Neo-Carthag at tremendous speed, creating a massive demand for slaves with a very short life span. This new city’s architecture looks to be everything Carthag was, bursts of gaudy flash in a sea of oppressive brutalism. We should not let this distract from that atomic mystery.

Yours in service,

Amadi Ikeni