Arazni Pezh, Studies in Atreidean History 76 (Paseo: Inst. of Galacto-Fremen Culture); the standard modem work is Klevanz D Kiinar's Fear My Power, Respect My Name. Ten Thousand Years of Harkonnen (Giedt Prime: Tiaoimd). HARKONNEN, VLAplMffl. (10110-10193). Siridar-Baron of Giedi Prime during the reign of Shaddam IV. All current translations of the Raids manuscripts agree on the pivotal role House Harkonnen inadvertently played in the ending of the Padishah Imperial Une and the accession of Duke Paul "Muad'Dib" Atreides to the Golden Lion Throne in 10193. Nor is there substantial dispute about the nature of the Siridar-Baron or of the House from which he sprang. House Harkonnen- even in an era of deadly political maneuvering and ruthless exercise of power was noted for its overweening cynicism and cruelty, its hunger for power and profit, and its total subordination of means to ends. Vladimir Harkonnen embodied the characteristics of his ancestry to a high degree: shrewd, cunning, a glutton in every sense, he carried a weight of approximately 180 kg at the time of his death, most of it borne by suspensor units placed about his person. He was, in addition, a voracious pederast, culling lithe bedmates from an inexhaustible supply of slaves. But power was his greatest appetite. In the last years of the Padishah Impcrium, his driving ambition was to put a Harkonnen on the Throne. Had he succeeded it would have been an ironic triumph: House Harkonnen rising from the depths of ignominy to the apex of intergalactic rule. Vladimir Harkonnen was the scion of a family with a history of ruthless self-aggrandizement. Ethical complacency may condemn its practices, but onl> with the caveat that the entire Imperium be condemned. The Padishah feudal structure was stable only insofar as there existed a balance of power among ambitiously antagonistic forces. Constant distrust and the willingness to resort to any means remained the price of security House Harkonnen is best viewed as displaying the excesses of a political morality which did, after all, originate to a large degree on Salusa Secundus.