Piter de Vries

Piter de Vries is the planner behind the Harkonnen campaign against House Atreides. In the Baron's study on Giedi Prime, with young Feyd-Rautha looking on, he lays out the strategy in detail, walking through the diversions and psychological tactics he has crafted against Duke Leto and his household. The scheme follows the Atreides from Caladan to Arrakis, taking in Arrakeen and the Residency there, and it shows the full range of his cunning.

That cunning comes at a price the Baron weighs openly. Piter depends on drugs, and his passions run dangerous even by Harkonnen standards. The Baron finds the combination both amusing and worrying, and says so to his face during the planning session. Piter, for his part, gives no sign of curbing either the dependency or the appetite; his value as a Mentat is what keeps the arrangement standing.