Paul lifted the glass of spice to mouth and took a mouth full. "This spice doesn't seem to be having any effect on me." His words emerged from his mouth along with particles of the spice which scattered all over the table. Eventually his words gave way to coughing.
Paul, why are you drinking sand again?" Chani had dodged aside to avoid the sand that Paul was coughing out. "You always try to drink sand."
"It's spice! It gives me powers, it makes my eyes blue. Don't you see them?" Paul pulled down one of his bottom eyelids exposing the entire lower portion of one of his eyeballs.
"You wear contacts Paul, I've seen the box they came in!"
"Silence concubine." Paul clapped his hands together and a man clad in a one piece suit of some leather-like substance appeared at the door.
"Oh god, not again." Chani held her hand to her face.
"Your orders mua dweeb?" The man did some kind of fascist salute and then stood eerily still.
"How does the production of Kryss knives proceed Aravhat?"
"Well, Mua Dweeb, it turns out that worm teeth won't make decent blades after all."
"What, haven't you seen them, they're huge!"
"No mua dweeb, worms are small invertebrates. If they have teeth they are too small for the naked eye to see, much less use to cut something with."
"What about that worm I rode to work yesterday? Use that one."
"That was me Mua Dweeb." All three in the room were silent, Paul avoided Chani's horrified gaze. The silence was broken by another clap of Paul's hands.
"You may leave Aravhat, but bring me more spice."
"You mean sand? Okay." Aravhat walked out, his strange suit squeaking with every step he took.
Chani started cleaning the sand off the table and forced Pauls cup of spice away from his hand. "Paul, who was that man and how did he get into our house?"
"That was Aravhat, leader of my first legion."
"That was somebody you met at a bus stop and talked into believing your messiah story, isn't it."
"well, yes, that too. You see, some people take me seriously."
"That's what worries me, it all starts with one reinforcing this nonsense, tomorrow you'll have started a cult."
Paul itched at his eye, his eyes had never adapted to his contacts. He was convinced at any rate that it was only a temporary solution until he had had enough exposure to the spice to regain the eye colour. Things had changed since he had left Arrakis, that much was for sure. In Arrakis he had been a celebrity, a god. Here he was nothing, such was the power of PR.
"Chani."
"Yes."
"Remember that time I killed Feyd Rautha Harkonnen."
"I do."
"I think that was the best moment of my life. That depresses me."
"Now Paul, you took over the Galaxy once, you have nothing to prove to anybody."
Paul eyed his cup of sand longingly. It had been a dry hateful journey but all that messiah rubbish had really made him feel like somebody. Sure, he still had Chani, all of his memories. But.
"Chani, I must drink the water of life again. It's the only thing that can cheer me up."
"Alright dear." Chani dropped a large clear bottle labeled "Water of Life." on the table. "But not too much, okay?"
Paul started knocking back the vodka, soon he was moving while staying still.
"Chani, put on some electric six."
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