Written by Old Bluffer 20th Feb 2007

Please read the death of Duke Leto before reading this death.

Dr. Yueh has broken his Imperial Conditioning to betray his Duke in a way that causes the utter downfall of House Atreides.
Why he does this isn't entirely clear, but it has something to do with his wife.

He is an intelligent man though, and must know that Baron Harkonnen will not honour any deal once the blackmail is successful. We must conclude therefore that he knows his wife is doomed, and knows that the only possible way he could get revenge is by using Duke Leto as an assassin.

This is just about plausible, but one wonders why Imperial Conditioning is given such a high status given how easily Yueh rationalises a way of breaking it!

Yueh's death, when it comes is predictably swift.
The Baron taunts him briefly by asking "Do you want to join your wife?"
Yueh is momentarily filled with hope, but is of course stabbed from behind by Piter De Vries.
Piter is the brains behind the Baron's oafish bluster. Almost literally so in fact as his bushy eyebrows and red stained mouth show that he is a mentat - a human whose brain has the calculating power of a supercomputer. Even this won't help the Harkonnens once Paul Atreides seeks revenge for his father and fallen House though...