Chapter 283: Collective Wisdom! The Proxy Agent to Correct the Tech Tree!
As soon as Song Zhaomei finished speaking, many of the high-ranking executives in the conference room showed varying degrees of surprise.
They hadn't expected that even a colossal conglomerate like Universal Megacorp would consider adopting a "theocracy"—the kind of system used by a Grand Pontiff.
While it didn't seem like a natural fit for Universal , it wasn't entirely out of the question either.
On paper, Universal Megacorp operated under a standard corporate structure, but in reality, Li Ang now held a position of absolute authority—no different from Saburo Arasaka of the former Arasaka Corporation.
Li Ang's power had long surpassed any typical corporate executive; he was effectively a dictator or emperor. No board members or executives could balance or diminish his control.
As the sole authority over Universal 's personnel decisions, Li Ang was the corporation's "Divine Emperor." Instituting a theocratic merger would simply mean adding another title—no big deal.
It wasn't a difficult endeavor.
What's more, Li Ang's legendary experiences and feats—if even slightly repackaged and marketed under a title like "Divine Emperor of the Multiverse"—would practically sell themselves.
Back in the early Western Han Dynasty, imperial scribes wracked their brains to invent an awe-inspiring origin story for Liu Bang, the founding emperor, eventually producing the utterly absurd tale that his mother had been impregnated by a dragon.
Even Liu Bang's father was written into the history books as having accepted being cuckolded by a mythical beast—all in the name of legitimizing political power.
So when Li Ang, once the undisputed arms king of Little Chinatown, single-handedly reverse-engineered an infinite-class carrier and opened the Stargate to launch multiversal expeditions in just a few years—was it really so hard to believe?
"I agree with Song Zhaomei's idea."
At this moment, Alt Cunningham stood up to support Song Zhaomei's proposal and then offered his own input regarding technological reform.
"However, we also need to implement some technological restructuring within the Dune universe."
"The foundation of their interstellar civilization is built entirely around spice, which is not a rational tech paradigm. That has to change!"
After the human civilization in the Dune universe was betrayed by AI—nearly facing extinction—they had completely abandoned research in artificial intelligence.
But interstellar colonization requires intensive calculation and navigational planning, so those essential tasks were taken over by spice-enhanced Navigators.
You could say that the current space routes in the Dune universe were built by tens of thousands of such Navigators.
If the spice were to disappear, those Navigators would gradually lose their cognitive enhancement and revert to ordinary humans.
At that point, all interstellar travel would collapse, and the galaxy-spanning empire would fracture, with humanity splintering into warring factions due to the loss of interconnectivity.
Since Universal Megacorp intended to integrate the Dune universe, it was necessary to correct their distorted technological progression.
Of course, that was just the surface-level reasoning.
More importantly, once Universal 's R&D Department took over the task of reforming Dune's tech tree, they could also prioritize siphoning talent from that universe into their own division.
Over the years, the Expansion Division had accumulated major achievements by integrating new universes, drawing much of the company's talent pool to their side.
If left unchecked, this trend would eventually lead to a talent imbalance that would hinder other departments from achieving their own breakthroughs.
Although Li Ang had the authority to reshuffle the upper ranks at will, one's background still mattered.
A person's "origin" often stuck with them for life—it wasn't something that could be easily erased.
Therefore, the best approach was to evenly distribute talent acquisition across all departments.
The R&D Division needed fresh blood—personnel untainted by the influence of other departments, with politically sound and loyal backgrounds.
And that was precisely Li Ang's intention.
However, overhauling the tech tree of the Dune universe would be no small feat. It would require full cooperation across multiple departments.
After all, the scope of this reform was no less daunting than rewriting the founding doctrines of a feudal dynasty.
Many seemingly irrational or inefficient practices persisted because of deeply entrenched path dependency; the inertia behind them could not be undone overnight.
Moreover, to the people of Dune, AI was synonymous with the cause of their near-extinction—a tool of annihilation.
Any attempt to revisit that path would be seen as a rejection of the holy war and everything that their savior Butler had accomplished.
That belief was the foundation of their galactic empire's legitimacy.
If Universal Megacorp wanted to shake the beliefs of the Dune population, it would have to destroy the old to build the new.
This task would be difficult—but it had to be done.
After all, using spice to mutate humans into grotesque pseudo-beings just to perform navigation was a dead-end path.
Based on their current tech tree, the upper limit of Dune humanity was already within sight.
They could neither ascend to higher dimensions nor comprehend the mysteries of the universe, let alone manipulate the laws of physics.
So Universal 's intervention here was essentially a philanthropic effort in technological reform—correcting a wayward path.
"Director Alt is right," said another voice, "but I don't think we should handle this directly ourselves. That would expose us to too much resistance and risk."
The speaker was Margaret, the newly appointed head of the Intelligence Bureau. She picked up where Alt and Song Zhaomei left off:
"We should first identify a suitable proxy within the Dune universe—someone we can support to carry out the mission of installing the Divine Emperor and redirecting the tech trajectory."
"More importantly, this person must be 100% loyal to Universal Megacorp!"
Since joining the company, Margaret had extensively studied Li Ang's history and his flawless handling of numerous events.
Upon learning that the Executive Director had a near-perfect track record—resolving every crisis with maximum efficiency—Margaret had developed profound respect for his foresight.
The tactic she most admired and studied from Li Ang's playbook? "Recruit them as dogs."
"A proxy agent, huh?"
The staff nodded thoughtfully. That did seem like a solid strategy. But who would make the ideal proxy?
Should they support a smaller, more controllable faction? Or ally with a major family with influence?
These were crucial decisions to consider.
Margaret smiled and made her case: if they were going to back a proxy, it had to be someone with enough clout to keep the smaller factions in check.
As for whether this proxy would willingly comply… that wasn't their decision to make.
"Colleagues, you already know who the most suitable candidate is."
The moment Margaret finished speaking, everyone thought of the same name—the Atreides family.
Most of the Universal executives were already familiar with the major noble factions in the Dune universe.
According to the original storyline, the Atreides were about to be "honored" by Emperor Shaddam with control over Arrakis, the planet that produced spice.
On the surface, this was a golden opportunity. In truth, Arrakis was a desert deathtrap.
There were no proper fortifications, no advanced comms systems to call for reinforcements—it was a kill zone, hand-picked by the Harkonnens and the royal family for a quiet execution.
And sure enough, when the Harkonnens launched their attack on the Atreides, it went off without a hitch.
Unfortunately for them, their execution wasn't swift enough—Paul and his mother, Lady Jessica, managed to escape deep into the desert aboard an ornithopter, surviving by sheer luck.
If Universal Megacorp needed a suitable proxy within the Dune universe, the Atreides were the best option.
Not only because they were about to be targeted and desperately needed help, but because they were far more competent and respected than other families.
As the leading noble house—second only to the Corrino royal family—the Atreides held undeniable sway.
If Universal could secure their allegiance, the rest of the aristocratic families would likely fall in line.
The other houses were either too weak to lead or, like the Harkonnens, too treacherous to trust.
Though the Dune universe had reached the interstellar age, its political system was still feudal, dominated by ruthless landlords.
Every noble house, especially those under the Corrino regime, was corrupt to the core. Only the Atreides, in their treatment of the people, could still be considered remotely humane.
Whether or not their benevolence was a PR stunt didn't matter—even a "noble pretender" was preferable to a genuine monster.
In short, only a noble house like the Atreides could make Universal 's future operations viable.
"Alright, we'll proceed with that plan."
After summarizing everyone's proposals, Reed formally announced the next phase of deployment.
As for Li Ang himself, he simply watched from the sidelines like a player who had activated auto-mode—observing as his NPC subordinates carried out the mission flawlessly.
He was quite satisfied with the outcome of this high-level meeting.
Their collective input had basically covered everything he had anticipated.
It proved that after five successful integrations, Universal Megacorp had established a mature and well-oiled system for multiversal expansion.
Unless they encountered a particularly difficult universe, Li Ang could now afford to take a hands-off approach—just sit back and wait for results.
And this Dune universe would be the first real test of whether his upper management could win him the title of "Divine Emperor."
---
005 Universe: Dune. Atreides Homeworld—Caladan.
In the capital city of Caladan, surrounded by a sprawl of medieval palaces, Duke Leto Atreides stood in a high tower, listening to a report from one of his Mentats.
"My lord Duke, under your wise governance, all Atreides colonies and production zones enjoy favorable conditions and political stability."
After the obligatory flattery, the Mentat shifted his tone:
"However, based on recent observations, I suspect that the Corrino royal house and the Harkonnen family are conspiring against us."
"I believe we must prepare in advance—for what may come."
This Mentat was Thufir Hawat, the Atreides' master of assassins and trusted military advisor.
As one of Duke Leto's closest aides, Hawat had rendered countless services to the Atreides family.
During this time, based on a series of personnel appointments within the Corrino royal family, along with shifts in trade and policy changes, Hawat had deduced one thing—House Harkonnen and the royal family were definitely up to no good!
However, he still couldn't fully determine what kind of tactics they would use against House Atreides.
Upon hearing this sudden warning, Duke Leto merely gave a calm smile. As the head of a great noble House on Dune, he had weathered more than his fair share of political upheaval.
Schemes and covert attacks like these—he was no stranger to them.
Especially now, under Leto's leadership, House Atreides had risen steadily, earning the admiration and respect of countless factions. Leto knew better than anyone the truth behind the old saying: "The tallest tree in the forest is the first to be felled."
That the Corrino royal family was trying every means to suppress them? It was entirely within his expectations.
Granted, if the royal family were to join forces with House Harkonnen, they could indeed pose a serious threat to House Atreides.
But to try and bring down House Atreides without solid cause or proof? That would only incite the other noble Houses to oppose the Corrinos.
After all, the other great Houses weren't mere decorations. House Atreides had done much to win them political benefits. If their success was met with persecution, the others would surely rise up in protest as well.
Based on the principle of mutual survival, they wouldn't hesitate to raise arms against the Corrino royal family's tyrannical rule.
The Corrinos already hoarded the lion's share of resources, which had long bred resentment among the Houses. If this upheaval led to a redistribution of resources, the others would certainly welcome it.
So under normal circumstances, the Corrino royal family wouldn't dare move against House Atreides lightly.
They simply couldn't afford the consequences of such a rebellion.
In Duke Leto Atreides' estimation, over the next few years, the worst that might happen would be some financial losses for the merchant guilds or occasional uprisings in the colonies.
Nothing too severe.
"If there's any new intel, report to me immediately," Leto instructed Hawat.
As the head of his House, Leto couldn't afford to brush off this warning entirely. No matter the situation, he had to remain vigilant and thorough.
"Yes, my lord."
Hawat nodded solemnly in response.
Just as they were about to discuss other urgent matters, a piercing alarm suddenly rang out from outside.
Leto's expression darkened instantly—it was an enemy incursion alarm. Their homeworld, Caladan, was under threat!
Moments later, the room's communication terminal activated, and a voice crackled from the frontline:
"Reporting, my lord—we've detected a fleet just outside Caladan's atmosphere. They're rapidly approaching the surface!"
"We haven't yet identified the source. The Spacing Guild hasn't provided a response. Do we initiate full emergency protocol?"
Faced with this sudden crisis, both Leto and Hawat instinctively linked it to the sanctions targeting House Atreides.
Could it be that the Corrino royal family and House Harkonnen were moving this quickly?
To dispatch a fleet and attack Caladan directly—that was outrageous!
There was no time to consider further. Leto issued immediate orders to the communications team:
"Activate full emergency protocol. Evacuate all civilians, mobilize all military divisions, ready every battleship, and activate the planetary defense shields."
"Master Hawat and I will be there shortly!"
With those final words, Leto also dispatched a small ornithopter to escort them to the command center.
"Yes, my lord!"
Shortly after the call ended, an ornithopter landed outside.
Leto and Hawat boarded it in turn, and once they had a moment to steady themselves, they resumed strategizing their next moves.
"My lord, the Corrino royal family and House Harkonnen have prepared many underhanded tactics to hinder our growth," Hawat began.
"But I don't believe they would initiate an open military conflict so rashly."
As one of the foremost Mentats, Hawat's analytical mind was second to none, and his strategic forecasts rarely missed the mark.
"Caladan is our stronghold. We have generations of Atreides military forces stationed here. An outright assault would only bring massive losses to the enemy."
"They cannot take Caladan in a short timeframe. During that window, we can send out requests for aid and rally support from the other Houses."
"If it turns out that the Corrinos and the Harkonnens truly launched a joint attack on us, we could even seize the opportunity to flip the situation in our favor—forcing them to yield more political concessions."
In just a brief span of time, Hawat had already crafted a response plan most beneficial to House Atreides, outlining the broader landscape for Leto with precise clarity.
Duke Leto nodded in satisfaction, his tension easing slightly.
"If it wasn't the royal family and the Harkonnens, then who else could it be?" Leto wondered aloud.
Hawat shook his head. "We still can't determine who they are, but Caladan is a fortress. We're defending our home. Please rest assured, my lord."
As House Atreides' military advisor, Hawat had full confidence in Caladan's fortifications.
Even if the Corrinos and Harkonnens deployed their full might, they would not easily overwhelm the Atreides forces.
Worst-case scenario?
If it truly was the combined elite expeditionary force of the Corrinos and Harkonnens, Hawat was still confident he could preserve House Atreides—
—and perhaps even turn the tide and annihilate the invaders right here on Caladan!
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