The first Dune novel largely concerns Paul’s rise to power and reluctant transformation from a precocious teen to Fremen messiah and hero. In Dune Messiah, Herbert challenges the idea that Paul is a hero and that heroes generally are positive influences on society. A common generic element of science fiction novels is the “chosen one” narrative, a messianic plot device in which an individual is either destined or selected to save a particular population, or sometimes all people. Herbert subverts genre expectations early in the Dune saga by indicating that the entire Fremen religion is a carefully crafted mythology planted by the Bene Gesserit centuries before Paul arrived on Dune as a kind of theological safety net should a Bene Gesserit sister ever need to exploit it. With the help of Bronso of Ix’s contextualization, the reader understands from the outset of Dune Messiah that Paul has accepted the mantle of messiah, but it is not genuine. Herbert’s insistence on secular, non-supernatural science fiction helps to reinforce this throughout the novel.

After 12 years of Jihad, Paul’s “heroic” exploits have established Fremen culture throughout the universe, but at the cost of billions of lives and countless other cultures.