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229-630: The power of the Guild is balanced against that of the Padishah Emperor as well as of the assembled noble Houses of the Landsraad . Essentially apolitical, the Guild is primarily concerned with the flow of commerce and preservation of the economy that supports them. Although their ability to dictate the terms of and fees for all transport gives them influence in the political arena, they do not pursue political goals beyond their economic ones. In

458-538: A ghola , Hayt , imbued with the powers of both a Mentat and Zensunni philosopher. In Heretics of Dune (1984) and Chapterhouse: Dune (1985), Miles Teg has an illustrious career as a combined Mentat and high-ranking leader of the Bene Gesserit military forces. In God Emperor of Dune (1981), Leto II outlaws the Mentat order and crushes any renegade training schools he finds. The Bene Gesserit preserve

687-546: A hypnotic state with a predefined, implanted sound (often a specific humming or whistling noise). In Dune Messiah , the Tleilaxu dwarf Bijaz controls the ghola Hayt through a specific humming intonation that renders Hayt open to implanted commands. In Heretics of Dune , the Master Waff attempts to control his perfectly mimicked Face Dancer copy of High Priest Hedley Tuek with a humming language, but fails due to

916-445: A novelization written by Joan D. Vinge , and The Making of Dune (December 1984, ISBN   0-425-07376-9 ), a making-of book by Ed Naha . In May 1992, Ace Books published Songs of Muad'Dib ( ISBN   0-441-77427-X ), a collection of Dune -related poems written by Frank Herbert and edited by his son Brian. Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson released The Road to Dune on August 11, 2005. The book contains

1145-591: A series of video games . Since 2009, the names of planets from the Dune novels have been adopted for the real-world nomenclature of plains and other features on Saturn 's moon Titan . Frank Herbert died in 1986. Beginning in 1999, his son Brian Herbert and science fiction author Kevin J. Anderson published several collections of prequel novels, as well as two sequels that complete the original Dune series ( Hunters of Dune in 2006 and Sandworms of Dune in 2007), partially based on Frank Herbert's notes discovered

1374-495: A theistic Zensunni society, the Tleilaxu believe they are on the brink of taking control of the Imperium. They have perfected their Face Dancers, who are now perfect mimics, able to copy the memories and consciousness of the people they imitate. Virtually undetectable to all but the Bene Gesserit, these Face Dancers begin to replace leaders in the Imperium as a means for the Tleilaxu to seize control. The plan fails as, over time,

1603-675: A trilogy of Dune prequel novels that would come to be called the Prelude to Dune series. Using some of Frank Herbert's own notes, the duo wrote Dune: House Atreides (1999), Dune: House Harkonnen (2000), and Dune: House Corrino (2001). The series is set in the years immediately prior to the events of Dune . This was followed with a second prequel trilogy called the Legends of Dune , consisting of Dune: The Butlerian Jihad (2002), Dune: The Machine Crusade (2003), and Dune: The Battle of Corrin (2004). These were set during

1832-497: A "very powerful" Navigator is described as "one of the Edrics", suggesting a possible breeding plan or use of gholas . In God Emperor of Dune (1981), God Emperor Leto II has secured complete control over of the scarce melange reserves through hydraulic despotism , making the Guild completely dependent on him. He also notes in the novel that though history has attributed the design of the first Guild ship to Aurelius Venport , it

2061-502: A 1980 article, Herbert equated CHOAM with OPEC , the real-world intergovernmental organization which is a major power in the petroleum industry . He writes in Dune : "Few products escape the CHOAM touch ... Logs, donkeys, horses, cows, lumber, dung, sharks, whale fur — the most prosaic and the most exotic ... even our poor pundi rice from Caladan . Anything the Guild will transport,

2290-432: A Hugo Award. Children of Dune became the first hardcover best-seller ever in the science fiction field. Parts of these two first sequels were written before Dune was completed. In 1978, Putnam published The Illustrated Dune , an edition of Dune with 33 black-and-white sketch drawings and eight full color paintings by John Schoenherr , who had done the cover art for the first printing of Dune and had illustrated

2519-594: A Martyr " (2004), " Dune: Sea Child " (2006), " Dune: Treasure in the Sand " (2006), " Dune: Wedding Silk " (2008), and " Dune: Red Plague " (2016). These eight short stories were published together in the 2017 collection Tales of Dune: Expanded Edition . The four novellas include " Dune: The Waters of Kanly " (2017), " Dune: Blood of the Sardaukar " (2019), " Dune: The Edge of a Crysknife " (2022), and " Dune: Imperial Court " (2022). The four novellas were published together in

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2748-648: A bloody jihad subsequently unleashed across the universe in Paul's name but out of his control, the Bene Gesserit, Tleilaxu, Spacing Guild, and House Corrino conspire to dethrone him in Dune Messiah (1969). Though the plot fails, the Atreides Empire continues to devolve in Children of Dune (1976) as the religion built around Paul falters, Irulan's sister Wensicia conspires to place her son Farad'n on

2977-581: A chance to survive by becoming a Navigator. She then folds space to the bridge of the imperial flagship and strikes a deal with the Emperor, agreeing to dissolve VenHold in exchange for Roderick sparing her and all her Navigators, and also establishing the Spacing Guild. In David Lynch 's 1984 film Dune , the Navigator's mutation affects his entire body, and he resembles a giant newt or worm with

3206-412: A character who attains godlike status through scientific means. Frank Herbert said in 1979, "The bottom line of the Dune trilogy is: beware of heroes. Much better [to] rely on your own judgment, and your own mistakes." He wrote in 1985, " Dune was aimed at this whole idea of the infallible leader because my view of history says that mistakes made by a leader (or made in a leader's name) are amplified by

3435-501: A civilization which has banned computers but has also developed advanced technology and mental and physical abilities through physical training, eugenics and the use of the drug melange . Specialized groups of individuals have aligned themselves in organizations focusing on specific abilities, technology and goals. Herbert's concepts of human evolution and technology have been analyzed and deconstructed in at least one book, The Science of Dune (2008). His originating 1965 novel Dune

3664-566: A collective orgasm" (drawing on Norman Walter's 1950 The Sexual Cycle of Human Warfare ). These themes reappear in God Emperor of Dune 's Scattering and Leto II Atreides 's all-female Fish Speaker army. Brian Herbert wrote that " Dune is a modern-day conglomeration of familiar myths, a tale in which great sandworms guard a precious treasure of melange...[that] resembles the myth described by an unknown English poet in Beowulf ,

3893-621: A decade after his death. As of 2024, 23 Dune books by Herbert and Anderson have been published. The political, scientific, and social fictional setting of Herbert's novels and derivative works is known as the Dune universe or Duniverse . Set tens of thousands of years in the future, the saga chronicles a civilization that has banned all " thinking machines ", which include computers, robots , and artificial intelligence . In their place, civilization has developed advanced mental and physical disciplines as well as advanced technologies that adhere to

4122-596: A fictional matriarchal organization in Frank Herbert 's science fiction Dune universe , described as an aggressive cult obsessed with power, violence, and sexual domination. After the death of the tyrant Leto II Atreides in God Emperor of Dune (1981), trillions of people of the Old Empire take to the stars in a diaspora known as the Scattering . Representatives from each major race and order of

4351-466: A force to finally exterminate humanity. Through Other Memory she witnesses the Honored Matres' first encounter with the unknown Enemy. A young Matre commander had invaded an area controlled by the remnants of the machine empire, with initial success. However, the thinking machines' retribution had been terrible, especially when they had realized that humans still existed. The machines had destroyed

4580-506: A form of fighting similar to what the Bene Gesserit refer to as prana-bindu , but they execute movement at a speed that far outmatches that of their Bene Gesserit contemporaries. This is coupled with their fighting style, known as Hormu, which is centered on the use of kicks to weak points on the body. The combination of these produces a warrior that is superhumanly fast and more than a match for any fully trained Reverend Mother in direct combat. In addition to their extremely violent tendencies,

4809-485: A future in which the Ixians released, and ultimately lost control of, self improving hunter-seekers that would eventually consume all organic life in the known universe. Leto talks about his relationship with the former Ixian ambassador Malky, who had been specially raised and trained by the Ixians to be a "tempter", the "Devil to Leto's God." The Ixians had intended for Malky to manipulate Leto into doubting his own purpose;

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5038-646: A group of ambitious, militant humans calling themselves the Titans use this widespread reliance on machine intelligence to seize control of the entire universe. Their reign lasts for a century; eventually they give too much access and power to the AI program Omnius , which usurps control from the Titans themselves. Seeing no value in human life, the thinking machines—now including armies of robot soldiers and other aggressive machines—dominate and enslave nearly all of humanity in

5267-417: A heavily deformed head, V-shaped mouth and vestigial limbs. The Navigator is not shown to have the blue-in-blue eyes of a spice addict. The 2000 miniseries Frank Herbert's Dune portrays the Navigator as a withered figure with a humanoid head, blue-in-blue eyes and arms which have mutated into wings with elongated webbed fingers. The 2003 sequel miniseries Frank Herbert's Children of Dune presents Edric as

5496-444: A highly concentrated form of spice, dubbed " ultraspice ." Edrik and the ultraspice are later intercepted by Face Dancer leader Khrone , who seizes the valuable optimized melange. He incapacitates Edrik by damaging his tank and releasing its spice gas, soon destroying the entire heighliner to rid himself of the Navigator altogether. The Prelude to Dune prequel trilogy (1999–2001) by Brian Herbert and Anderson, set immediately before

5725-476: A hybrid group of Bene Gesserit and Fish Speakers , they had developed their violent tendencies with their third addition: awakened Tleilaxu females. The best kept secret of the Tleilaxu—that their famed axlotl tanks are in fact their race's females kept in a vegetative state—had been laid bare before the matriarchal alliance, and their wrath had known no bounds. Attacking every Tleilaxu planet on their way out of

5954-473: A military and religious force that also functions as the bureaucracy for his tyrannical empire. As Leto sees his Golden Path for humanity's survival from extinction coming to fruition, he allows himself to be assassinated at the end of God Emperor of Dune (1981). Control of the Fish Speakers passes to Duncan Idaho and Siona Atreides . By the time of Heretics of Dune (1984), the influence of

6183-704: A monopoly on spice and thus total control of its use). Personal violence is banned, as is nearly all space travel, creating a pent-up demand for freedom and travel. The Bene Gesserit, Ixians, and Tleilaxu seek ways to regain some of their former power or unseat Leto altogether. Leto also conducts his selective breeding program among the descendants of his twin sister Ghanima, finally arriving at Siona , daughter of Moneo , whose actions are hidden from prescient vision. Leto engineers his own assassination, knowing it will result in rebellion and revolt but also in an explosion in travel and colonization. The death of Leto's body also produces new sandtrout, which will eventually give rise to

6412-495: A novelette called Spice Planet (an alternative version of Dune based on an outline by Frank Herbert), a number of the Brian Herbert/Anderson short stories, and letters and unused chapters written by Frank Herbert. In the 1999 gazetteer The Stars and Planets of Frank Herbert's Dune: A Gazetteer (1999), Joseph M. Daniels estimates the distance from Earth in light-years (ly) for many Dune planets, based on

6641-528: A permanent "cranberry-colored stain" on the user's lips. In Dune (1965), House Atreides Mentat Thufir Hawat is considered to be one of the finest Mentats of his time, and his protégé, Paul Atreides , is trained as a Mentat. Twisted Mentat Piter De Vries serves as advisor and strategist to the Baron Vladimir Harkonnen in Dune . In Dune Messiah (1969), the Tleilaxu restore renowned Atreides swordsman Duncan Idaho to life as

6870-476: A plan to save humanity but becomes a symbiote with the sandworm of Arrakis to gain the extended lifespan needed to see this plan to its end. Thirty-five hundred years later in God Emperor of Dune (1981), Leto still rules the universe as a benevolent tyrant, with the help of his all-female army, the Fish Speakers . He denies any spiritual outlets other than his own compulsory religion, and maintains

7099-493: A population of sandworms and a new cycle of spice production. In the aftermath of the fall of the God Emperor, chaos and severe famine in many worlds caused trillions of humans to set off into the freedom of unknown space and spread out across the universe. This diaspora is later called the Scattering and, combined with the invisibility of Atreides descendants to prescient vision, assures that humanity has forever escaped

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7328-476: A proposal sent to publishers, Brian Herbert had discovered his father's 30-page outline for a sequel to Chapterhouse Dune , which the elder Herbert had dubbed Dune 7 . After publishing their six prequel novels, Brian Herbert and Anderson released Hunters of Dune (2006) and Sandworms of Dune (2007), which complete the original series and wrap up storylines that began with Frank Herbert's Heretics of Dune . The Heroes of Dune series followed, focusing on

7557-541: A recognition of Paul's claims, or the banner of Paul's Harkonnen enemies. Instead, the Emperor raises the flag of CHOAM, as a reminder to all of the combatant parties that economics trump political considerations. In 2011, Forbes ranked CHOAM as the largest fictional corporation. In the Great Schools of Dune novels that take place eight decades after the end of the Butlerian Jihad, Josef Venport,

7786-466: A safe path for a heighliner through foldspace. As the first Navigator, Norma begins a training program to produce enough Navigators to pilot a fleet of heighliners. Over 80 years later, she puts the creation of the Spacing Guild in motion through her descendant, Josef Venport. After consolidating its hold on the space travel industry during the events of Sisterhood of Dune (2012), this company, now called "Venport Holdings" or even "VenHold", evolves into

8015-510: A single sandworm , which they will use to restart the spice cycle on their own secret homeworld. In Chapterhouse Dune (1985), the Honored Matres have destroyed all Tleilaxu worlds and have targeted the Bene Gesserit. They intend to assimilate the technology and superhuman skills of the Sisterhood, and then exterminate them. The Honored Matres capture and torture as many Bene Gesserit Reverend Mothers as possible to glean their secrets, while

8244-499: A single product — the spice. Imagine what would happen if something should reduce spice production. — Duke Leto Atreides , Dune CHOAM's management and board of directors are controlled by the Padishah Emperor and the Landsraad , the assembly of noble Houses, with the Spacing Guild and the Bene Gesserit as silent partners . Because of its control of interplanetary commerce, CHOAM is the largest single source of wealth in

8473-618: A sleek, golden humanoid with an elongated head and limbs, and feathery appendages. Though Navigators are not present in Denis Villeneuve 's 2021 film Dune , Guild representatives are depicted as humanoids in white, cloaked space suits with opaque helmet visors. Villeneuve explained: We don't see the Navigators in this first part... I tried to keep all the space-travelling as mysterious as possible, like almost bringing some kind of mysticism or sacred relationship with that part of

8702-411: A small council of Tleilaxu Masters, whose genetically engineered Face Dancer servants have the ability to mimic any human. The Masters themselves possess a bland and diminutive appearance intended to cause other races to underestimate them. In Heretics of Dune (1984) it is revealed that they are a secret totalitarian theocracy ultimately seeking domination of the universe. Despite their influence,

8931-662: A son—unintentionally producing the Kwisatz Haderach a generation early. "Human computers" known as Mentats have been developed and perfected to replace the capacity for logical analysis lost through the prohibition of computers. Through specific training, they learn to enter a heightened mental state in which they can perform complex logical computations that are superior to those of the ancient thinking machines. The Bene Tleilax are amoral merchants who traffic in biological and genetically engineered products such as artificial eyes, "twisted" Mentats, and gholas . Finally,

9160-460: A stable societal order from which they could profit. Houses of the Imperium may contract with the Guild to be removed "to a place of safety outside the System". Some Houses in danger of ruin or defeat have "become renegade Houses, taking family atomics and shields and fleeing beyond the Imperium". The Guild controls a "sanctuary planet" (or planets) known as Tupile, intended for such "defeated Houses of

9389-601: A strange sea." The Navigators' "elongated and repositioned limbs and organs" are noted in Heretics of Dune . In 1985's Chapterhouse: Dune , Lucilla notes that "Navigators were forever bathed in the orange gas of melange, their features often fogged by the vapors," that they possess a "tiny v of a mouth" and "ugly flap of nose" and that "Mouth and nose appeared small on a Navigator's gigantic face with its pulsing temples." She also notes that their mutated voices require translation devices, describing "the singsong ululations of

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9618-453: A system of benevolence and rewards, he switches to a system of strict supervision and punishment, and the method works. By emulating Erasmus, whom he has come to consider his father, Albans becomes the first human to display computer-like cognitive and calculation capacity on the level of thinking machines. Because of Gilbertus' remarkable memory, organizational ability and capacity for logical thinking, Erasmus nicknames him "Mentat", created from

9847-499: A theoretical superhuman male they call the Kwisatz Haderach . When Dune begins, the Sisterhood is only one generation away from their desired individual, having manipulated the threads of genes and power for thousands of years to produce the required confluence of events. But Lady Jessica , ordered by the Bene Gesserit to produce a daughter who would breed with the appropriate male to make the Kwisatz Haderach, instead bears

10076-451: A tight monopoly on melange and space travel. Through his own selective breeding program among the descendants of his twin sister Ghanima , Leto finally achieves Siona , whose actions are hidden from prescient vision. He engineers his own assassination, knowing it will result in rebellion and revolt but also in an explosion in travel and colonization. The resultant chaos and severe famine on many worlds cause trillions of humans to set off into

10305-567: A violent and corrupt matriarchal society known as the Honored Matres , who they suspect may be descended from some of their own sent out in the Scattering. As a bitter and bloody war erupts between the orders, it ultimately becomes clear that joining the two organizations into a single New Sisterhood with shared abilities is their best chance to fight the approaching enemy. The sequels Hunters of Dune (2006) and Sandworms of Dune (2007) by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson complete

10534-704: Is a beautiful, untouched planet that remains so by having no development on the surface. The industry of Ix is subterranean, mainly consisting of labs and factories. The Ixians are the galaxy leader in technological production and have the monopoly on producing the starships known as heighliners . House Vernius rules the planet, but the Padishah Emperor Elrood IX Corrino holds a grudge against Earl Dominic Vernius for two reasons: Dominic had married Elrood's former concubine , Shando Balut , and Ix's new, larger heighliners negatively impact Imperial tax revenue on cargo. Elrood secretly grants

10763-523: Is a landmark of soft science fiction . Herbert deliberately suppressed technology in his Dune universe so he could address the politics of humanity, rather than the future of humanity's technology. Dune considers the way humans and their institutions might change over time. Jon Michaud of The New Yorker called the originating novel Dune "an epic of political betrayal, ecological brinkmanship , and messianic deliverance." Director John Harrison , who adapted Dune for Syfy 's 2000 miniseries , called

10992-411: Is able to depose Shaddam and become ruler of the known universe. With a bloody jihad subsequently unleashed across the universe in Paul's name but out of his control, the Bene Gesserit, Tleilaxu, Spacing Guild and House Corrino plot to dethrone him in Dune Messiah (1969). Seeing the eventual extinction of mankind through prescient vision, in Children of Dune (1976) Paul's son Leto II devises

11221-556: Is balanced by the assembly of noble houses called the Landsraad , which enforces the Great Convention 's ban on the use of atomics against human targets. Though the power of the Corrinos is unrivaled by any individual House, they are in constant competition with each other for political power and stakes in the omnipresent CHOAM company, a directorship that controls the wealth of the entire Empire. The third primary power in

11450-522: Is frequently described as the best-selling science fiction novel in history. It won the inaugural Nebula Award for Best Novel and the Hugo Award in 1966 and was later adapted into a 1984 film , a 2000 television miniseries , and a two-part film series with the first film in 2021 and a sequel in 2024. Herbert wrote five sequels, the first two of which were concomitantly adapted as a 2003 miniseries . Dune has also inspired tabletop games and

11679-406: Is killed and the planet is completely destroyed. Killing Hellica, Murbella discovers that she is in fact a Face Dancer duplicate. With the fall of Tleilax, and the revelation of Face Dancer infiltration, the unbalanced and vindictive breed of Honored Matres is crushed. Murbella soon learns the "missing link" in the origin of the Honored Matres by exploring their past through Other Memory . Initially

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11908-404: Is life-threatening) to smaller, mouse-like life-forms adapted to live with limited water. Dune was followed in its creation of complex and unique ecologies by other science fiction books such as A Door into Ocean (1986) and Red Mars (1992). Environmentalists have pointed out that Dune 's popularity as a novel depicting a planet as a complex, almost living, thing, in combination with

12137-424: Is noted that Tleilaxu sperm "does not carry forward in a straight genetic fashion   ... Gaps occur", and that they are "naturally immune to an Ixian Probe ", an interrogation device which normally can extract information even from the dead. The Tleilaxu are described as short, dwarf-like characters with gray skin, hair and eyes, elfin features and pointy teeth. Masters control their creations by forcing them into

12366-568: Is popularly considered one of the greatest science fiction novels of all time, and is frequently cited as the best-selling science fiction novel in history. Dune and its five sequels by Herbert explore the complex and multilayered interactions of politics, religion, ecology and technology, among other themes. We've a three-point civilization: the Imperial Household balanced against the Federated Great Houses of

12595-516: Is replaced with genuine melange, D'murr uses the last of his strength to return the ship safely to Junction, home of the Guild headquarters, before dying. In the Legends of Dune prequel trilogy (2002–2004) by Brian Herbert and Anderson, unappreciated scientist Norma Cenva creates the Holtzman engine , which allows a ship to fold space, traveling great distances instantaneously. Her future husband, entrepreneur Aurelius Venport, begins mass-producing

12824-480: Is set thousands of years in humanity's future. Faster-than-light travel has been developed, and humans have colonized a vast number of worlds. However, a great reaction against computers has resulted in a ban on any "thinking machine", with the creation or possession of such punishable by immediate death . Despite this prohibition, humanity continues to develop and advance other branches of technology, including extrasensory perception (ESP) and instruments of war. At

13053-470: Is similarly corrupt, materially indulgent, and a sexual degenerate. Gibbon's Decline and Fall partly blames the fall of Rome on the rise of Christianity. Gibbon claimed that this exotic import from a conquered province weakened the soldiers of Rome and left it open to attack. Similarly, the Emperor's Sardaukar fighters are little match for the Fremen of Arrakis because of the Sardaukar's overconfidence and

13282-691: Is the inner circle of the Landsraad during the time of the Faufreluches , "the rigid rule of class distinction enforced by the Imperium." The council is "empowered to act as supreme tribunal in House to House disputes." A grievance is brought before the High Council in a Bill of Particulars. Shortly after the assassination of his father Duke Leto Atreides and the Harkonnen / Corrino invasion of

13511-486: Is to rediscover this secret to break the Bene Gesserit monopoly. The Lost Tleilaxu leadership has been infiltrated and overtaken by Khrone's Face Dancers, however, and soon the last true Elder, Burah , is killed. The Face Dancers have also secretly gained control of many similar power bases across the Old Empire. A minion of the powerful independent Face Dancers Daniel and Marty , Khrone joins them in their pursuit of

13740-532: Is unaware that the no-ship carries the secret to producing melange in axlotl tanks, The Guild Navigator Edrik comes to Uxtal on Tleilax, seeking this knowledge. New Ixian navigation technology, secretly masterminded by Khrone, threatens the Spacing Guild's own monopoly on interstellar travel, and the Bene Gesserit control the melange supply. Uxtal is eventually able to access the genetic material of deceased Master Waff, and through an accelerated process creates several (ultimately flawed) Waff gholas, hoping to unlock

13969-526: Is visible in the eyes, as the drug tints the sclera and iris to a dark shade of blue, called "blue-in-blue" or "the Eyes of Ibad," "a total blue so dark as to be almost black." This is a common side effect in all spice addicts. In the original 1965 novel Dune , Duke Leto Atreides notes that the Guild is "as jealous of its privacy as it is of its monopoly," and that not even their own agents ever see Navigators. Leto's son Paul wonders if they are mutated to

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14198-584: The Ithaca , the no-ship that escaped the Bene Gesserit in Chapterhouse: Dune . They have calculated that it contains something or someone important to their victory in the coming final battle to conquer the human race. Meanwhile, Scytale, still a prisoner of the Bene Gesserit on the wandering Ithaca , manages to negotiate permission to grow a ghola of himself. Khrone sends second-rank Lost Tleilaxu Uxtal , who had served as secretary to Elder Burah, to

14427-422: The Legends of Dune prequel trilogy by Brian Herbert and Anderson. In the series finale, Sandworms of Dune (2007), it is revealed that Khrone and his legions of autonomous Face Dancers seek to overthrow their machine "masters". Secretly in control of Ix and its technology production, Khrone manipulates the Spacing Guild and New Sisterhood, setting them up for disastrous failure in their final battle against

14656-512: The Analog serializations of Dune and Children of Dune . Herbert wrote in 1980 that though he had not spoken to Schoenherr prior to the artist creating the paintings, the author was surprised to find that the artwork appeared exactly as he had imagined its fictional subjects, including sandworms , Baron Harkonnen and the Sardaukar . In 1981, Herbert released God Emperor of Dune , which

14885-704: The Bedouin tribes of Arabia, and the Mahdi prophecy originates from Islamic eschatology . Inspiration is also adopted from medieval historian ibn Khaldun 's cyclical history and his dynastic concept in North Africa, hinted by Herbert's reference to ibn Khaldun's book Kitāb al-ʿIbar "The Book of Lessons" as known among the Fremen. In addition to Arabic, Dune derives words and names from multiple other languages, including Hebrew , Navajo , Latin , Chakobsa ,

15114-480: The Butlerian Jihad , an element of backstory that Frank Herbert had previously established as occurring 10,000 years before the events chronicled in Dune . Herbert's brief description of humanity's "crusade against computers , thinking machines , and conscious robots " was expanded by Brian Herbert and Anderson in this series. With an outline for the first book of Prelude to Dune series written and

15343-449: The Dune series, enormous starships called heighliners employ a scientific phenomenon known as the Holtzman effect to "fold space" and thereby travel great distances across the universe instantaneously. Navigators are able to use a limited form of prescience to safely navigate interstellar space. Navigators are humans who mutated through the consumption of and exposure to massive amounts of the drug melange. Control of these Navigators gives

15572-411: The Dune universe can be said to fall into five general time periods: As explained in Dune , the Butlerian Jihad is a conflict taking place over 11,000 years in the future (and over 10,000 years before the events of Dune ), which results in the total destruction of virtually all forms of "computers, thinking machines , and conscious robots ". With the prohibition "Thou shalt not make a machine in

15801-473: The Fremen , long overlooked by the Imperium. Considered backward savages, the Fremen are extremely hardy people and exist in large numbers; their culture is built around the commodity of water, which is extremely scarce on Arrakis. The Fremen await the coming of a prophesied messiah , not suspecting that this prophecy had been planted in their legends by the Missionaria Protectiva , an arm of

16030-588: The Great Convention 's ban on the use of atomics against human targets. Though the power of House Corrino is unrivaled by any other individual House, they are in constant competition with each other for political power and stakes in the omnipresent CHOAM company, a directorship which controls the wealth of the entire Empire. The third primary power in the universe is the Spacing Guild , which monopolizes interstellar travel and banking through its proprietary use of melange-mutated Guild Navigators who perform

16259-689: The Ixians produce cutting-edge technology that seemingly complies with (but sometimes pushes the boundaries of) the prohibitions against computers, thinking machines and conscious robots put in place 10,000 years before as a result of the Butlerian Jihad . The doctors of the Suk School are the universe's most competent and trusted; those who have received the "Suk Imperial Conditioning" are incapable of inflicting harm. The Swordmasters of Ginaz are an elite group of master swordsmen whose fighting skills are prized and unmatched. Equally fierce in battle are

16488-410: The Kwisatz Haderach . The Bene Tleilax , also called Tleilaxu / t l eɪ ˈ l æ k s uː / , are an extremely xenophobic and isolationist society in Frank Herbert 's science fiction Dune universe . Genetic manipulators who traffic in biological products such as artificial eyes , gholas , and "twisted" Mentats , the Tleilaxu are a major power in the Imperium. The race is ruled by

16717-538: The Landsraad and with the Spacing Guild , which possesses a monopoly over interstellar travel . Members of House Corrino sit on the Golden Lion throne as Padishah Emperors from the time of the ancient Battle of Corrin until the events of Dune some 10,000 years later. Dune establishes that Salusa Secundus had been the homeworld of House Corrino, and at some point the Imperial Court had moved to

16946-592: The Nahuatl language of the Aztecs , Greek , Persian , East Indian , Russian , Turkish , Finnish , Dutch and Old English . Through the inspiration from Lesley Blanch's The Sabres of Paradise , there are also allusions to the Tsarist-era Russian nobility and Cossacks . Frank Herbert stated that bureaucracy that lasted long enough would become a hereditary nobility, and a significant theme behind

17175-477: The Obliterators that destroy the planet Richese , where the Bene Gesserit are mass-producing weapons and armed battleships. Uxtal is ultimately unsuccessful, but the ghola he creates of deceased Tleilaxu Master Waff later offers Edrik something better in exchange for sanctuary—the genetic knowledge for the Guild to create their own, optimized sandworms to produce melange. In Sandworms of Dune (2007),

17404-739: The Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam , who is appalled by Paul's suggestion that he impregnate his consort in this manner. Herbert died in 1986, leaving his vision of the events of the Butlerian Jihad unexplored and open to speculation. The Legends of Dune prequel trilogy (2002–2004) by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson presents the Jihad as a war between humans and the sentient machines they had created, who rise up and nearly destroy humanity. The series explains that humanity had become entirely complacent and dependent upon thinking machines; recognizing this weakness,

17633-782: The Russian conquest of the Caucasus , has also been identified as a major influence upon Dune , with its depiction of Imam Shamil , the Caucasian Imamate , and the Islamic culture of the Caucasus inspiring some of the themes, characters, events and terminology of Dune . Multiple proverbs recorded by Blanch's The Sabres as originating from the Caucasus Mountains are included in Dune , such as "polish comes from

17862-463: The Spacing Guild (the Bene Gesserit prefer clandestine manipulation to overt action and therefore remain a "silent" fourth power in the Empire until the fall of Leto II Atreides ). The Emperor's power derives from Imperial control of the seemingly invincible military forces of the Sardaukar , and of the planet Arrakis and its priceless melange , a source of endless wealth. The Landsraad represents

18091-464: The Spacing Guild . The Tleilaxu seize control of Ix and rename it "Xuttuh" after their founder, and House Vernius is forced to go rogue. Although Ajidica manages to create an artificial melange that seems to have the original's properties, it is proven to have adverse effects when two Guild Navigators, unknowingly testing the substance, cause the destruction of their heighliners. When Duke Leto Atreides invades Xuttuh and reestablishes Rhombur Vernius as

18320-477: The Tleilaxu in their Project Amal . The flawed spice disrupts and confuses D'murr's thoughts, feelings and prescience. Disastrously, the first heighliner emerges from foldspace at the wrong point, striking the defensive shields of Wallach IX and plummeting into the atmosphere to its destruction. Affected by the tainted melange, D'murr misguides his ship out of the known universe and collapses. As his spice supply

18549-477: The Tleilaxu the right to occupy Ix by force (with the help of his Sardaukar army) and remake it into a laboratory station for Project Amal . This secret project seeks to produce a synthetic version of melange which the Tleilaxu Master Ajidica calls ajidamal , or amal . The Emperor wants to take over the spice monopoly by making sure that he has the only access to spice, thus controlling

18778-408: The desert planet Arrakis , known as Dune, which is the only source of the all-important spice melange. The most valuable commodity in the known universe, the spice not only makes safe and reliable interstellar travel possible, but also prolongs life, protects against disease, and is used by the Bene Gesserit to enhance their abilities. The potential financial gains for House Atreides are mitigated by

19007-457: The landed gentry . It is established in the Legends of Dune prequel trilogy (2002-2004) by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson that the predecessor to the Landsraad is the League of Nobles . The League is the system of government employed by the remaining free humans before and during the Butlerian Jihad ; it is feudal at its core but slightly more democratic than the Landsraad, as

19236-405: The "Tlulaxa", who specialize in slaves and replacement organs. They claim that the organs are grown artificially in organ farms, but in reality, the vast majority of the organs are harvested from slaves. The Tlulaxa do have working organ farms, but they are used mainly as a front for the slave harvesting operations and provide only a small fraction of the replacement organs. The Tleilaxu are one of

19465-621: The 1960s, there were just these two colossal superpowers duking it out. Today we're living in a more feudal, corporatized world more akin to Herbert's universe of separate families, power centers and business interests, all interrelated and kept together by the one commodity necessary to all. Novelist Brian Herbert , Frank Herbert's son and biographer, explained that "Frank Herbert drew parallels, used spectacular metaphors, and extrapolated present conditions into world systems that seem entirely alien at first blush. But close examination reveals they aren't so different from systems we know." He wrote that

19694-553: The 1960s—who are the exception among ordinary people in their respective worlds—Herbert's characters grow their powers through "the application of mystical philosophies and techniques." For Herbert, the ordinary person can develop incredible fighting skills (Fremen, Swordmasters of Ginaz and Sardaukar) or mental abilities (Bene Gesserit, Mentats, Spacing Guild Navigators). Due to the similarities between some of Herbert's terms and ideas and actual words and concepts in Arabic , as well as

19923-435: The Bene Gesserit dedicated to religious manipulation to ease the path of the Sisterhood when necessary. In Dune , the so-called "Arrakis Affair" puts unexpected Kwisatz Haderach Paul Atreides in control of first the Fremen people and then Arrakis itself. Absolute control over the spice supply allows Paul to depose Shaddam and become ruler of the known universe, with Shaddam's eldest daughter Princess Irulan as his wife. With

20152-554: The Bene Gesserit hope to decipher their new enemies' motives, and learn enough about the fearsome Honored Matres to defeat them. It is also revealed that the Honored Matres are fleeing a powerful "unknown enemy" who had conquered their own massive empire out in the Scattering. Murbella decides to join the Bene Gesserit. During a Bene Gesserit attack on the Honored Matres, Murbella kills the Great Honored Matre Logno with her Bene Gesserit-enhanced fighting skills, and

20381-639: The Bene Gesserit monopoly, Edrik meets with Uxtal , the last of the Lost Tleilaxu , hoping that he can rediscover the method of producing melange in axlotl tanks (a secret believed lost when the Bene Tleilax were destroyed by the Honored Matres ). However, Uxtal is in the forced service of the Matre Superior Hellica , and her price for his expertise is Edrik's help transporting a certain cargo. He agrees, delivering by heighliner

20610-497: The Bene Gesserit pursue their goal to better the human race by subtly and secretly guiding and manipulating the affairs of others to serve their own purposes. By the time of Dune , they have secured a level of control over the current emperor, Shaddam IV , by marrying him to one of their own who intentionally bears him only daughters. The Bene Gesserit also has a secret, millennia-long selective breeding program to bolster and preserve valuable skills and bloodlines as well as to produce

20839-579: The Bene Gesserit, the Mentats, the Suk doctors , the Spacing Guild and the Navigators, as well as the solidifying of the Corrino Imperium." Sisterhood of Dune was released in 2012, followed by Mentats of Dune in 2014. In a 2009 interview, Anderson stated that the third and final novel would be titled The Swordmasters of Dune , but by 2014 it had been renamed Navigators of Dune . The novel

21068-575: The Bene Gesserit." Scholar Kara Kennedy views the Honored Matres, in the context of the discussion of women's sexual agency in the novels, as "a foil to the Bene Gesserits' attitude towards sexuality". In Heretics of Dune , the Honored Matres capture the teenage Duncan Idaho ghola , who is loyal to their enemies, the Bene Gesserit. Young Honored Matre Murbella is tasked to use her sexual imprinting talents to enslave Duncan to force his allegiance to them. The Tleilaxu have secretly programmed

21297-536: The Bene Tleilax are universally distrusted and inspire disgust because their products, though desirable, push the moral limits of what humanity at large considers acceptable, and can involve extensive physiological and physical manipulation of human life. Tleilaxu Masters are the leaders and real minds of the Bene Tleilax. After Dune Messiah (1969), they have the ability to regain their genetic memory with ease, allowing them to live forever, using their axlotl tanks to create gholas of themselves. In Heretics of Dune , it

21526-461: The Bene Tleilax to create synthetic melange in order to eliminate dependence upon the planet Arrakis; intending an eventual Tleilaxu takeover of the universe, Ajidica sends "improved" Face Dancers off to unexplored systems. The ancestors of the Bene Tleilax are featured in the Legends of Dune (2002–2004) prequel series by Brian Herbert and Anderson. They are a civilization of human merchants known as

21755-545: The Bene Tleilax, have come to find them a troublesome, ignorant group. The Bene Gesserit, however, enjoy a particularly great influence over the priesthood. At the time of the discovery of Sheeana , the Priesthood is led by the High Priest Hedley Tuek, a descendant of Esmar Tuek. Tuek is eventually killed by the Tleilaxu and replaced with a Face Dancer , with the approval of the Bene Gesserit. However,

21984-446: The Butlerian Jihad, thinking machine leader Omnius sees humans as animals, but the independent robot Erasmus argues that any human can become brilliant. Omnius picks a nine-year-old, blond-haired boy who appears to be the wildest and most unkempt of all, and challenges Erasmus to prove his theory. Erasmus calls the boy Gilbertus Albans, thinking that this sounds like a smart human's name. After initially failing to make progress by using

22213-430: The Empire spread out beyond the known universe in fleets of untraceable no-ships , beginning the journey along Leto II's Golden Path to save mankind from destruction. The Honored Matres develop during this Scattering, and they return to the Old Empire in Heretics of Dune (1984), wreaking havoc and leaving destruction in their wake. The Honored Matres conquer and rule through sexual enslavement, sheer physical power and

22442-553: The Empire; as such, influence in CHOAM is a central goal of political maneuvering. In Dune , Herbert notes: "You have no idea how much wealth is involved, Feyd ," the Baron said. "Not in your wildest imaginings. To begin, we'll have an irrevocable directorship in the CHOAM Company." Feyd-Rautha nodded. Wealth was the thing. CHOAM was the key to wealth, each noble House dipping from the company's coffers whatever it could under

22671-483: The Face Dancer eventually comes to believe that he is Tuek. The entire Rakian Priesthood is later annihilated, along with the planet's population, when the surface of Rakis is sterilized by the Honored Matres . Orange Catholic Bible Dune is an American science fiction media franchise that originated with the 1965 novel Dune by Frank Herbert and has continued to add new publications. Dune

22900-647: The Face Dancers come to believe they are the people they have copied, and elude their genetically-programmed loyalty to the Tleilaxu Masters. Leto II's death had spawned a widespread diaspora known as the Scattering , and in Heretics of Dune the descendants of "lost" Tleilaxu return from the Scattering. Tleilaxu leader Waff does not fully trust these newcomers, noting that "their accents were strange, their manners even stranger and their observances of

23129-469: The Fish Speakers has significantly waned in comparison to the Bene Gesserit , Bene Tleilax, and Ixians , the latter two now having great control over the Fish Speakers. By then, the Fish Speakers have also incorporated men into their ranks, and have little in common with the force maintained by Leto II in terms of philosophy or practices. Also by this time, many of the leaders of the Fish Speakers have been replaced with Tleilaxu Face Dancers, essentially making

23358-413: The Fish Speakers, and the realms under their domain, puppets of the Tleilaxu. In Chapterhouse: Dune (1985), the unlocking of Murbella 's Other Memory confirms the Bene Gesserit's suspicions that the violent Honored Matres are descendants of Bene Gesserit who had fled into the Scattering following Leto's death. The Fremen are a secretive and misunderstood tribe of humans in the Dune universe. As

23587-609: The Fish Speakers; but Bene Gesserit analysts see them as a failing power, because Ixian society has become a bureaucracy and no great inventions have come out of the workshops of Ix for centuries. The Bene Gesserit control the sandworms and their planet, now called Rakis, through their influence over the Rakian Priesthood that worships the sandworms as the Divided God, Leto II, and now actively participate on interstellar politics and even have their own standing armies. But

23816-429: The Fremen's capacity for self-sacrifice. The Fremen put the community before themselves in every instance, while the world outside wallows in luxury at the expense of others. The decline and long peace of the Empire sets the stage for revolution and renewal by genetic mixing of successful and unsuccessful groups through war, a process culminating in the Jihad led by Paul Atreides , described by Herbert as depicting "war as

24045-597: The God Emperor Leto II Atreides in Frank Herbert 's science fiction Dune universe , appearing primarily in God Emperor of Dune (1981). Named so because "the first priestesses spoke to fish in their dreams," the organization is founded by Leto after the events of Children of Dune (1976). In Dune (1965), Leto II's father Paul Atreides overthrows Padishah Emperor Shaddam IV when Paul's fierce Fremen army manages to defeat Shaddam's previously-unstoppable Sardaukar forces. Though

24274-442: The God Emperor Leto II Atreides . The Tleilaxu have been providing Leto with Duncan Idaho gholas for centuries, and their plot fails in part due to the ingenuity of the latest Duncan. Another 1,500 years later in Heretics of Dune (1984), the Tleilaxu routinely provide the Bene Gesserit with Duncan Idaho gholas, and have also developed the ability to grow the spice melange in the same axlotl tanks they use to grow gholas. Secretly

24503-523: The God Emperor Leto II Atreides, has ruled the Empire for 3,500 years from the verdant face of a transformed Arrakis; melange production has ceased. Leto has forced the sandworms into extinction, except for the larval sandtrout with which he had forged a symbiosis , transforming him into a human-sandworm hybrid. Human civilization before his rule had suffered from twin weaknesses: that a single authority could control it and that it

24732-474: The Guild of the later novels. VenHold originally has the monopoly on foldspace travel, granted to Aurelius Venport by Serena Butler . However, decades after the end of the Butlerian Jihad, Emperor Jules revokes the monopoly in order to curry political favor, resulting in several rival foldspace companies springing up, such as Celestial Transport and EsconTran. These new companies, however, are unable to provide 100% safe transportation due to their lack of Navigators,

24961-506: The Honored Matre empire, and the remnants had then fled back to the Old Empire to build a new dominion. The Ixians are a technological culture in Frank Herbert 's science fiction Dune universe . They provide both simple and sophisticated mechanical devices to the rest of the Imperium. Though Ixian technology is commonplace and considered essential, it sometimes tests the limits of the anti-technology proscriptions established in

25190-503: The Honored Matres are awed by her physical prowess. The Bene Gesserit Mother Superior Darwi Odrade is also killed, and Murbella secures the leadership of both groups, per Odrade's plan. Murbella intends to merge the two orders into a New Sisterhood, which displeases some women on both sides. The Honored Matres also appear in Hunters of Dune (2006) and Sandworms of Dune (2007) by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson , which conclude

25419-457: The Honored Matres are characterized by sexual imprinting abilities far superior to those of Bene Gesserit Imprinters . The Honored Matres are able to imprint a man sexually by amplifying his orgasmic response to such an ecstatic height that the victim of an imprinting becomes "addicted" to his imprinter, thereby becoming a willing slave of the Honored Matre who "marks" him. As the Bene Gesserit rely on melange and its many beneficial properties,

25648-426: The Honored Matres burst upon the universe again, they take special care to lay waste to every extant Tleilaxu world, though the Honored Matres of later generations cannot remember the origin of their own hatred for the Tleilaxu. Murbella also discovers the true nature of the unknown Enemy: they are the resurrected thinking machines , thought destroyed 15,000 years before, at the end of the Butlerian Jihad , but amassing

25877-419: The Honored Matres conquer the Old Empire, the Ixians are reduced to a barely tolerated technological combine. In Chapterhouse: Dune (1985), the latest Duncan Idaho ghola suggests that Leto had never "suppressed" Ix because "he was fascinated by the idea of human and machine inextricably bound to each other, each testing the limits of the other." In the Prelude to Dune (1999–2001) prequel trilogy, Ix

26106-418: The Honored Matres employ (and are similarly addicted to) a different drug that stimulates the production of adrenaline and other chemicals typically produced by the body when experiencing pain. In addition to heightening the senses and responses of a user, this stimulant causes the eyes of an addict to be covered in flecks of orange when agitated, and when an addict is completely enraged the eyes are consumed by

26335-477: The Honored Matres through a shaky alliance with them. The Lost Tleilaxu council of Elders are served by a subgroup of advanced Face Dancers, led by Khrone , who cannot be detected by even the Bene Gesserit. Despite having the technology to create gholas, the Lost Tleilaxu do not know how to manufacture melange in axlotl tanks, the process for which died with the original Tleilaxu Masters. Their immediate goal

26564-556: The Imperial throne. Several prequel novels by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson further explore the back-story of the Dune universe. According to their Legends of Dune prequel trilogy (2002–2004), the Empire had been founded on Salusa Secundus. Following the human victory over the thinking machines in the Battle of Corrin , Viceroy Faykan Butler takes the last name Corrino in commemoration. He ultimately names himself

26793-741: The Imperium ... Location(s) known only to the Guild and maintained inviolate under the Guild Peace". In Dune Messiah (1969), the Navigator Edric engages in a conspiracy to dethrone Emperor Paul Atreides, joined by the Tleilaxu Face Dancer Scytale , the Bene Gesserit Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam , and Paul's embittered consort, Princess Irulan of House Corrino . With their endless need for melange,

27022-500: The Ixians and the Administrative faction of the Spacing Guild refer to as "compilers". These compilers perform calculations very similar to computers, nearly violating the prohibitions against " thinking machines " that were imposed following the Butlerian Jihad several millennia before. These compilers eliminate the need for the Navigators, and the strategic disadvantage that this aspect of melange dependency has become, because

27251-472: The Ixians produce cutting-edge technology that seemingly complies with (but pushes the boundaries of) the prohibitions against thinking machines. The Ixians are very secretive, not only to protect their valuable hold on the industry but also to hide any methods or inventions that may breach the anti-thinking machine protocols. Against this backdrop, the Prelude to Dune prequel trilogy (1999–2001) chronicles

27480-567: The Landsraad exists to begin with). The Judge of the Change is "an official appointed by the Landsraad High Council and the Emperor to monitor a change of fief, a kanly negotiation, or a formal battle in a War of Assassins . The Judge's arbitral authority may be challenged only before the High Council with the Emperor present." As a political body, the Landsraad predates the end of the Butlerian Jihad (itself 10,000 years before

27709-426: The Landsraad, and between them, the Guild with its damnable monopoly on interstellar transport. As Frank Herbert's Dune (1965) begins, the known universe is ruled by Shaddam IV , the 81st Padishah Emperor of House Corrino , whose power is secured by his control of the Sardaukar , his brutally efficient military force. Imperial power is balanced by the assembly of noble houses called the Landsraad , which enforces

27938-546: The League members vote for which Viceroy they prefer to govern them. After the Jihad and the accession of Faykan Corrino to the new Imperial throne, the Landsraad is formed by the League in order to keep the power of the Corrinos in check. A Mentat is a type of human, presented in Frank Herbert 's science fiction Dune universe . In an interstellar society that fears a resurgence of artificial intelligence and thus prohibits computers, Mentats are specially trained to mimic

28167-634: The Mentat discipline, assuming that Leto knows of this through his prescience , and approves. Later, in Chapterhouse Dune , the Bene Gesserit Reverend Mother Bellonda learns from Other Memory that the Order of Mentats was founded by Gilbertus Albans. The origin of the first Mentat is later explored in the Legends of Dune (2002–2004) prequels written by Kevin J. Anderson and Brian Herbert . During

28396-520: The Navigator's voice with its simultaneous mechtranslation into impersonal Galach ." In an unused passage by Frank Herbert from Dune Messiah published in The Road to Dune (2005), Edric is described as surviving without spice gas once a hole is opened in his tank, though his prescient abilities are practically useless in this state. In Dune (1965), the Spacing Guild enjoys a profitable monopoly on interstellar travel and commerce. Though powerful,

28625-405: The Navigators' abilities are slowly being compromised by the severe reductions in the availability of spice resulting from the destruction of Dune and the sandworms on that planet, and the strict control by the Bene Gesserit, who maintain a monopoly over the largest stockpiles of melange. The prescient rule of Leto II that lasted 3,500 years has shown the universe the perils of prescience, namely that

28854-435: The Priesthood of the Divided God, control the sandworms and their planet, now called Rakis, but the Tleilaxu have discovered how to produce melange using their axlotl tanks in quantities that greatly exceed natural melange harvests. This balance of power is shattered by a large influx of people from the Scattering, some fleeing persecution by an as-yet-unknown enemy. Among the returning people, the Bene Gesserit finds its match in

29083-435: The Spacing Guild has a vested interest in breaking Paul's stranglehold over the spice supply. Edric's involvement also protects the conspirators from discovery, as his prescience hides the activities of himself and those around him from other prescients, like Paul. The plot ultimately fails, and Edric and Mohiam are executed by Fremen naib Stilgar on orders from Paul's sister Alia Atreides . In Chapterhouse Dune (1985),

29312-556: The Spacing Guild has never actively tried to openly seize power over all of humanity and rule directly, instead sharing power with the Emperor and the Great Houses, and influencing events from the shadows. Paul Atreides concludes that the Guild does this out of a belief that any political empire is finite, ending sooner or later. The only way to guarantee their continual existence is to be a "parasite", propping up one imperial dynasty until it collapses, then simply switching to support

29541-628: The Spacing Guild its monopoly on interstellar travel and banking, making the organization a balance of power against the Padishah Emperor and the assembled noble Houses of the Landsraad . To enable their prescience, Guild Navigators not only consume large quantities of the spice, but are also continuously immersed in highly concentrated amounts of orange spice gas. This level of extreme and extended exposure causes their bodies to atrophy and mutate over time, their heads and extremities elongating, and causing them to become vaguely aquatic in appearance. The first external sign of melange-induced metabolic change

29770-524: The Tleilaxu can provide Paul with a fully realized ghola of his deceased concubine Chani , in exchange for his abdication. Paul refuses, and kills Scytale. Duncan further ponders the Tleilaxu legacy of his creation in Children of Dune (1976). Over 3,500 years later in God Emperor of Dune (1981), Tleilaxu Face Dancers kill and replace nearly everyone in the Ixian embassy on Arrakis as part of an assassination attempt on Paul's seemingly immortal son,

29999-502: The Tleilaxu have also discovered how to synthetically produce melange, and they are preparing to subjugate the rest of humanity. As a large influx of people begin to return from the Scattering, the Bene Gesserit find their match in a violent and corrupt matriarchal society known as the Honored Matres . A bitter and bloody war erupts between the orders, but in Chapterhouse: Dune (1985) it ultimately becomes clear that joining

30228-403: The affairs of others to serve their own purposes. "Human computers" known as Mentats have been developed and perfected to replace the capacity for logical analysis lost through the prohibition of computers. The Bene Tleilax are amoral merchants who traffic in biological and genetically engineered products such as artificial eyes, "twisted" Mentats and a type of clone called a ghola . Finally,

30457-399: The aftermath of the Butlerian Jihad , humanity's crusade against computers, thinking machines , and conscious robots . Among the Ixians' inventions later in the series are the no-chamber , a construct that hides anything inside from prescient vision and long-range instruments, and the no-ship , a no-chamber in starship form that does not require a Guild Navigator to fold space . By

30686-592: The aristocratic families in Dune was "aristocratic bureaucracy" which he saw as analogous to the Soviet Union . Brian Herbert called the Dune universe "a spiritual melting pot", noting that his father, Frank Herbert, incorporated elements of a variety of religions, including Buddhism , Sufi mysticism and other Islamic belief systems, Catholicism , Protestantism , Judaism , and Hinduism . He added that Frank Herbert's fictional future in which "religious beliefs have combined into interesting forms" represents

30915-458: The art forms of Ecaz , the machines of Richese and Ix . But all fades before melange . A handful of spice will buy a home on Tupile . It cannot be manufactured, it must be mined on Arrakis . It is unique and it has true geriatric properties ... But the important thing is to consider all the Houses that depend on CHOAM profits. And think of the enormous proportion of those profits dependent upon

31144-577: The author's solution to eliminating arguments between religions, each of which claim to have "the one and only revelation." Frank Herbert writes that, in the aftermath of the technology-purging Butlerian Jihad, the Bene Gesserit composed the Azhar Book, which "preserves the great secrets of the most ancient faiths". Soon after, an ecumenical council created a syncretic religion defined by the Orange Catholic Bible , which would become

31373-498: The ban on computers. Vital to this empire is the harsh desert planet Arrakis , the only known source of the spice melange , the most valuable substance in the universe. For the similarities between some of Herbert's terms and ideas and actual words and concepts in the Arabic language , as well as the series' " Islamic undertones " and themes, a Middle Eastern influence in Herbert's works has been widely noted. The Dune saga

31602-475: The battlefield. One mission in the game involves the three House attacking each other on a Guild heighliner. The Guild forces in the game can also deploy a unit called the Maker, an infantry unit somewhat resembling both a Navigator and a small sandworm, armed with an electrical weapon. Later in the game, the Spacing Guild attempts to seize control of the universe by building an "Emperor Worm". John C. Smith analyzes

31831-680: The city, wisdom from the hills," becoming "polish comes from the cities, wisdom from the desert" for Arrakis. The environment of the desert planet Arrakis is similar to the Middle East, particularly the Arabian Peninsula and Persian Gulf , as well as to Mexico . The novel also contains references to the petroleum industries in the Arab states of the Persian Gulf as well as Mexico. The Fremen people of Arrakis were influenced by

32060-660: The cognitive and analytical ability of computers. In Herbert's Dune universe, a historical movement known as the Butlerian Jihad results in the strict prohibition of all " thinking machines ", including computers, robots and artificial intelligence of any kind. This is a key influence on the setting of Herbert's Dune series. More than simply calculators, Mentats possess exceptional cognitive abilities of memory and perception that enable them to sift large volumes of data and devise concise analyses. They can accurately assess people and situations by interpreting minor changes in body language or intonation. Early training occurs without

32289-620: The collection Sands of Dune , which released on July 28, 2022. In 1984, Herbert's publisher Putnam released The Dune Encyclopedia . Approved by Herbert but not written by him, this collection of essays by 43 contributors describes in invented detail many aspects of the Dune universe not found in the novels themselves. Herbert's estate later confirmed its non- canonical status after Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson had begun publishing prequel novels that directly contradict The Dune Encyclopedia . The 1984 Dune film spawned The Dune Storybook (September 1984, ISBN   0-399-12949-9 ),

32518-569: The color orange. The Honored Matres lack the precise control over their internal chemistry possessed by the Bene Gesserit, making them vulnerable to toxins and disease in ways the Bene Gesserit are not. Honored Matres are also capable of using combinations of language and tone in order to compel listeners into obedience on a subconscious level, though nowhere near as potently as the Bene Gesserit Voice . Tleilaxu Master Waff notes that they are "far more terrible than Reverend Mothers of

32747-466: The compelling tale of a fearsome fire dragon who guarded a great treasure hoard in a lair under cliffs." Paul's rise to superhuman status follows the hero's journey template; after unfortunate circumstances are forced onto him, he suffers a long period of hardship and exile, and finally confronts and defeats the source of evil in his tale. As such, Dune is representative of a general trend beginning in 1960s American science fiction in that it features

32976-463: The concept of the Guild in the essay "Navigators and the Spacing Guild" in The Science of Dune (2008). Padishah Emperor Multiple organizations of the Dune universe dominate the political, religious, and social arena of the setting of Frank Herbert 's Dune series of science fiction novels, and derivative works. Set tens of thousands of years in the future, the saga chronicles

33205-416: The copy's complete assimilation into its new form. The Tleilaxu control a number of planets but are originally connected with Tleilax , the sole planet of the star Thalim. Herbert's 1965 novel Dune notes that the Tleilaxu are the source of twisted Mentats. Baron Harkonnen states his intent to "send at once to Tleilax for a new Mentat" after Piter De Vries is killed. The Tleilaxu themselves step into

33434-483: The creation of the universal Orange Catholic Bible and the rise of a new feudal pan-galactic empire that lasts for over 10,000 years before Herbert's series begins. Several secret societies also develop, using eugenics programs, intensive mental and physical training, and pharmaceutical enhancements to hone human skills to an astonishing degree. Artificial insemination is also prohibited, as explained in Dune Messiah (1969), when Paul Atreides negotiates with

33663-483: The creation process of whom is a proprietary secret tightly held by VenHold. Director Josef Venport ruthlessly crushes the competition and even executes a rival CEO. Josef Venport's desire for restoring his family's monopoly and thirst for knowledge put him in conflict with the Butlerians, a radical religious sect that follows the teachings of the late Rayna Butler under the leadership of Manford Torondo. Realizing that

33892-554: The devices on their ships. All are unaware that Face Dancer infiltrators are behind the plan, plotting their own takeover of the universe. Waff works in secret, hidden on Edrik's own heighliner, on genetically engineering his "advanced" sandworms. He accomplishes this by altering the DNA of the sandtrout stage and creating an aquatic form of the worms, which are then released into the oceans of Buzzell . Adapting to their new environment, these "seaworms" quickly flourish, eventually producing

34121-410: The director of Venport Holdings (Venhold), the largest foldspace transportation company in the universe and the only company utilizing Navigators, forms Combined Mercantiles to mine spice on Arrakis. While ostensibly an independent company, it's an open secret that Combined Mercantiles works for Venhold. Presumably, the company eventually evolves into CHOAM. The Fish Speakers are the all-female army of

34350-669: The entire universe can be locked into the vision of a single entity, giving that entity absolute power. The Guild, facing obsolescence and suspicion, couples itself with Ix in decline; Navigators continue to exist, but their importance in the universe is severely diminished. As Paul Atreides notes in Dune , it was the Spacing Guild's obsession with the "safe path" that led them "ever into stagnation", and brought on their eventual obsolescence. After publishing six Dune prequel novels , Frank Herbert's son Brian Herbert and author Kevin J. Anderson released two sequel novels, Hunters of Dune (2006) and Sandworms of Dune (2007), which complete

34579-516: The events of Chapterhouse: Dune (1985), the Bene Tleilax have been all but eradicated by the Honored Matres save for one Master, Scytale. He is a ghola of the original Scytale of Dune Messiah , somehow having ascended from Face Dancer to Master. He tells the Bene Gesserit leader Darwi Odrade how the Lost Ones brought back captive Futars , hybrids of human and cat, which could not be reproduced in axlotl tanks. Both Odrade and Scytale realize this

34808-428: The events of Dune , explores the previously-unexplained process of becoming a Navigator through the story of D'murr Pilru . D'murr, a human native of the technology-producing planet Ix , goes through the training process and physical transformation to become a full Navigator. In House Corrino (2001), D'murr is piloting one of two heighliners which Count Fenring uses to secretly test the synthetic melange created by

35037-521: The events of the novel) by approximately 2000 years. It was at some point referred to as the Landsraad League, and held influence over more than 13,300 worlds immediately after the Jihad. The word Landsraad is a compound word meaning "council of the land" (the 's' indicates possessive case). The word exists in several Germanic languages . It was still written as landsraad in Danish until

35266-470: The fact that mining melange from the desert surface of Arrakis is an expensive and hazardous undertaking, thanks to the treacherous environment and constant threat of giant sandworms that protect the spice. In addition, Leto is aware that Shaddam, feeling threatened by the rising power and influence of the Atreides, has sent him into a trap. Failure to meet or exceed the production volume of his predecessor,

35495-484: The first Padishah Emperor, Faykan I. The Prelude to Dune prequel trilogy (1999–2001) chronicles the last years of the reign of Shaddam's father, Elrood IX , as well as Shaddam's accession and reign until the events of Dune . The series also reveals that, after centuries as the capital of the Corrino Padishah Empire, Salusa had been devastated by atomics . The Imperial throne had been relocated to

35724-516: The first images of Earth from space being published in the same time period, strongly influenced environmental movements such as the establishment of the international Earth Day . Lorenzo DiTommaso compared Dune 's portrayal of the downfall of a galactic empire to Edward Gibbon 's The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire , which argues that Christianity allied with

35953-427: The five subfactions in the 2001 computer game Emperor: Battle for Dune . The Combine Honnete Ober Advancer Mercantiles ( CHOAM ) is a universal development corporation in Frank Herbert 's science fiction Dune universe , first mentioned in the 1965 novel Dune . CHOAM controls all economic affairs across the cosmos, though it is still at the mercy of the Spacing Guild 's monopoly on interstellar travel . In

36182-496: The focus back on people. It also allows for the presence of a religious mysticism uncommon in science fiction." The originating novel Dune has been called the "first planetary ecology novel on a grand scale". After the publication of Silent Spring by Rachel Carson in 1962, science fiction writers began treating the subject of ecological change and its consequences. Dune responded in 1965 with its complex descriptions of life on Arrakis , from giant sandworms (for whom water

36411-670: The foreground in Dune Messiah , as their Face Dancer Scytale enters into a conspiracy with the Bene Gesserit , Spacing Guild , and House Corrino to topple the rule of Paul Atreides . To this end, the Tleilaxu resurrect Paul's dead friend Duncan Idaho as the ghola Hayt, trained as a Mentat. Hayt's function is to unwittingly destroy Paul psychologically, and failing that, kill Paul when triggered by an implanted command. The emotional stress of this assassination attempt unlocks Duncan's memories in Hayt, which Scytale uses to illustrate that

36640-399: The former Tleilaxu capital, Bandalong , now ruled by renegade Honored Matre leader Hellica . Uxtal is tasked to pacify Hellica by producing the orange adrenaline-enhancing drug used by the Honored Matres with axlotl technology. Khrone, however, has his own agenda for domination of the universe, and believes that, like the Tleilaxu, Daniel and Marty can be fooled. While the universe at large

36869-484: The freedom of unknown space and spread out across the universe in a diaspora later called the Scattering . Fifteen hundred years later, as Heretics of Dune (1984) begins, the balance of power in the Empire rests among the Ixians, the Bene Gesserit and the Tleilaxu. The Spacing Guild has been forever weakened by the development of Ixian machines capable of navigation in foldspace , practically replacing Guild Navigators. Ixians are at their apex with their alliance with

37098-407: The galaxy, the martial prowess of both the Fish Speakers and the Bene Gesserit had ensured their victory. They had managed to liberate a number of the axlotl tanks, and their next task had been to rehabilitate the brain-dead women. The fledgling order had enjoyed a modicum of success, and eventually the Tleilaxu females, angry at their males for treating them in such a way, had vowed revenge. Thus, when

37327-432: The ghola with the male equivalent to the imprinting power of the Honored Matres, which is unlocked by Murbella's attempt. Duncan and Murbella imprint each other, and in her weakened condition Murbella is easily captured by the Bene Gesserit. Following a Bene Gesserit plan, Miles Teg goads the Honored Matres into destroying the desert planet Arrakis , the only source of melange. The Bene Gesserit have, however, escaped with

37556-411: The guise of humbly "serving" the Empire, the Sisterhood is in fact a major power in the universe, using its many areas of influence to subtly guide mankind along the path of their own plan for humanity's future. The Bene Gesserit also have a secret, millennia-long selective breeding program to bolster and preserve valuable skills and bloodlines as well as to produce a theoretical superhuman male they call

37785-412: The inaugural Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1966, and the 1966 Hugo Award . The novel has been translated into dozens of languages, and has sold almost 20 million copies. Dune has been regularly cited as one of the world's best-selling science fiction novels. A sequel, Dune Messiah , followed in 1969. A third novel called Children of Dune was published in 1976, and was later nominated for

38014-430: The intensifying effects of global warming, the spectre of a worldwide water shortage, and continued political upheaval in the oil-rich Middle East, it is possible that Dune is even more relevant now than when it was first published." Praising Herbert's "clever authorial decision" to excise robots and computers ("two staples of the genre") from his fictional universe, he suggested that "This de-emphasis on technology throws

38243-679: The invaluable drug melange "represents, among other things, the finite resource of oil". Michaud explained, "Imagine a substance with the combined worldwide value of cocaine and petroleum and you will have some idea of the power of melange." Each chapter of Dune begins with an epigraph excerpted from the fictional writings of the character Princess Irulan . In forms such as diary entries, historical commentary, biography, quotations and philosophy, these writings set tone and provide exposition, context, and other details intended by Herbert to enhance understanding of his complex fictional universe and themes. Michaud wrote in 2013, "With daily reminders of

38472-419: The likeness of a human mind," the creation of even the simplest thinking machines is outlawed and made taboo , which has a profound influence on the socio-political and technological development of humanity in the Dune series. Herbert refers to the Jihad several times in the novels, but does not give much detail on how he imagined the causes and nature of the conflict. Critical analysis has often associated

38701-401: The mental capacity of humans through prescience , allowing the Spacing Guild pilots (mutated by heavy melange use) to navigate folded space and travel the distances between planets; and triggers some of the powers of the Bene Gesserit , a religious group that secretly seeks to control the direction humanity takes. Melange is challenging to acquire due to the harsh environment of Arrakis, and

38930-529: The movie. Everything involving space is just evocated and very mysterious. Writing for Screen Rant , Adam Felman opined that the limited inclusion of the Guild in Villeneuve's film helped prevent the story from becoming convoluted. The Spacing Guild is a sub-faction in the real-time strategy video game Emperor: Battle for Dune (2001). It has its own private army with which it can back up its demands. The Guild uses its heighliners to transport troops of

39159-494: The native Fremen of the desert planet Arrakis , known as Dune. Naturally honed to excellence in harsh conditions rivaling the planet on which the Imperial Sardaukar are trained, the Fremen are misunderstood and underestimated by the other powers in the universe. Arrakis is the only natural source of the all-important spice melange, and by leading the Fremen to seize control of the planet in Dune , Paul Atreides

39388-409: The necessary computations to safely navigate " folded space ". The matriarchal Bene Gesserit possess almost superhuman physical, sensory, and deductive powers developed through years of physical and mental conditioning . While positioning themselves to serve mankind, the Bene Gesserit pursue their goal to better the human race by subtly and secretly guiding and manipulating human bloodlines and

39617-494: The next five years researching, writing, and revising what would eventually become the novel Dune , which was initially serialized in Analog magazine as two shorter works, Dune World (1963) and The Prophet of Dune (1965). The serialized version was expanded and reworked—and rejected by more than 20 publishers—before being published by Chilton Books , a printing house best known for its auto repair manuals, in 1965. Dune won

39846-439: The next one. At the end of the novel, Paul deposes Padishah Emperor Shaddam IV by seizing control of Arrakis , the only source of the all-important drug melange . Paul has learned the extent of the Guild's dependence on spice, and that without it they are "blind" and unable to navigate interstellar travel. The Guild is forced to side with Paul, threatening to strand the Emperor and his troops on Arrakis if he does not relinquish

40075-435: The no-ship, a starship that can remain unseen and does not require a Navigator to fold space. By the time of the events described in Heretics of Dune (1984), the power of the Ixians seems at its apex with their alliance with the Fish Speakers; however, Bene Gesserit analysts see them as a failing power, because Ixian society had become a bureaucracy and no great inventions had come out of the workshops of Ix for centuries. As

40304-490: The novel a universal and timeless reflection of "the human condition and its moral dilemmas", and said: A lot of people refer to Dune as science fiction. I never do. I consider it an epic adventure in the classic storytelling tradition, a story of myth and legend not unlike the Morte d'Arthur or any messiah story. It just happens to be set in the future... The story is actually more relevant today than when Herbert wrote it. In

40533-444: The numbers who follow without question." Juan A. Prieto-Pablos says Herbert achieves a new typology with Paul's superpowers, differentiating the heroes of Dune from earlier heroes such as Superman , van Vogt 's Gilbert Gosseyn and Henry Kuttner 's telepaths. Unlike previous superheroes who acquire their powers suddenly and accidentally, Paul's are the result of "painful and slow personal progress." And unlike other superheroes of

40762-422: The original series and wrap up storylines that began with Heretics of Dune . Herbert's interest in the desert setting of Dune and its challenges is attributed to research he began in 1957 for a never-completed article about a United States Department of Agriculture experiment using poverty grass to stabilize damaging sand dunes , which could "swallow whole cities, lakes, rivers, and highways." Herbert spent

40991-573: The original series and wrap up storylines that began with Frank Herbert's Heretics of Dune . The works were based on a 30-page outline by Frank Herbert for a sequel to Chapterhouse Dune he dubbed Dune 7 . In Hunters of Dune , the Navigator Edrik fears his kind's obsolescence when the Spacing Guild itself (pressured by a shortage of melange) begins funding the development of superior Ixian navigation technology that would not require Navigators. Seeking an alternative source of spice to break

41220-466: The original series. Joining forces under Murbella's rule, both the Honored Matres and Bene Gesserit struggle to coexist. Renegade Honored Matres still persist, led by Matre Superior Hellica and maintaining strongholds on captured worlds such as Buzzell, Gammu and Tleilax. Over the course of twenty years, Murbella leads the Sisterhood against the renegades, culminating in the Battle of Tleilax, where Hellica

41449-531: The plan had ultimately failed. They had later created Hwi Noree , a female designed specifically to attract, seduce, and hold influence over Leto. In the novel, Leto meets Hwi and sees this intent, but cannot dismiss his attraction to her. The Ixian embassy on Arrakis is infiltrated by Tleilaxu Face Dancers , who kill and replace everyone there—except for Hwi—as part of an assassination attempt on Leto. The attempt fails, but Leto later allows himself and Hwi to be killed by Siona Atreides as part of his own plan for

41678-477: The planet Kaitain . As Dune begins, the 81st Padishah Emperor is Shaddam IV , but by the end of the novel he is deposed by Duke Paul Atreides in 10,193 A.G. (After Guild ) after Paul seizes control of the desert planet Arrakis , the only source of the all-important spice melange . Though Paul subsequently rules as Emperor, the term "Padishah" is dropped, and the Imperium as it has previously been known essentially ceases to exist since absolute control of

41907-412: The planet Arrakis in Dune , Paul Atreides expresses a desire to put forward a Bill of Particulars to the Landsraad High Council to express his grievance and point out the laws that had been broken by this invasion. Paul believes that his grievance would be supported because the Great Houses would never endorse the Sardaukar eliminating them one by one (which is, of course, one of the principal reasons why

42136-446: The planet Kaitain, where it remains for millennia. The Rakian Priesthood is a priestly body that worships the Divided God, Leto II Atreides . They rule Rakis during the time the Lost Ones are returning from the Scattering, approximately 1500 years after Leto II's death. They are presumably descendants of the Fish Speakers priestesses. The Rakian Priesthood maintain that both Muad'Dib and his son Leto II were hallowed, and that Leto

42365-446: The point of no longer appearing human. At the end of the novel, two self-identified Guild Navigators accompanying Emperor Shaddam IV are described as "fat" but not otherwise non-human. The Guild Navigator Edric, introduced in the first chapter of Dune Messiah (1969), is called a "humanoid fish," and described in his tank of spice gas as "an elongated figure, vaguely humanoid with finned feet and hugely fanned membranous hands—a fish in

42594-546: The power of the directorships. Those CHOAM directorships — they were the real evidence of political power in the Imperium, passing with the shifts of voting strength within the Landsraad as it balanced itself against the Emperor and his supporters. Before the climactic battle in Dune , Paul Atreides and the Fremen watch the Padishah Emperor's encampment to see whether he will raise the Atreides flag, indicating

42823-559: The presence of giant sandworms that are drawn towards any rhythmic sounds on the sands of the desert. Feudal control over the fiefdom Arrakis, its spice production, and the impact on humanity's development become the centerpoints of a millennia-long conflict that develops through the series. The Dune universe, set in the distant future of humanity, has a history that stretches thousands of years (some 15,000 years in total) and covers considerable changes in political, social, and religious structure as well as technology. Creative works set in

43052-594: The primary orthodox religious text in the universe. Its title suggests a merging of Protestantism ( Orange Order ) and Catholicism. Herbert writes in the glossary of Dune : Orange Catholic Bible: the "Accumulated Book," the religious text produced by the Commission of Ecumenical Translators. It contains elements of most ancient religions, including the Maometh Saari, Mahayana Christianity, Zensunni Catholicism and Buddislamic traditions. Its supreme commandment

43281-661: The profligacy of the Roman elite led to the fall of Ancient Rome . In "History and Historical Effect in Frank Herbert's Dune " (1992), DiTommaso outlines similarities between the two works by highlighting the excesses of Padishah Emperor Shaddam IV on his home planet of Kaitain and of the Baron Vladimir Harkonnen in his palace. The Emperor loses his effectiveness as a ruler through an excess of ceremony and pomp. The hairdressers and attendants he brings with him to Arrakis are even referred to as "parasites". The Baron Harkonnen

43510-506: The real-life distances of the stars and planetary systems referenced by Frank Herbert when discussing these planets in the glossary of the novel Dune . Though Herbert used the names of actual stars and planetary systems in his work, there is no documentation supporting or disputing the assumption that he was, in fact, referring to these real-life stars or systems. The Science of Dune (2008) analyzes and deconstructs many of Herbert's concepts and fictional inventions. The Dune series

43739-451: The religiously loyal Fremen and the remnants of the Sardaukar are later at Leto's disposal, Leto (possessing the life experiences of his ancestors over millennia through Other Memory ) has come to believe that male-dominated military organizations are essentially predatory and will turn on the civilian population in the absence of an external enemy. Ruling for 3,500 years as a human- sandworm hybrid , Leto molds his Fish Speaker army into both

43968-450: The resident population of the desert planet Arrakis – who came there after thousands of years of wandering the universe – when Dune (1965) begins they have been long overlooked by the rest of the Imperium and are considered backward savages; in reality they are an extremely hardy people and exist in large numbers, their culture built around the commodity of water, which is extremely scarce on Arrakis. The Honored Matres are

44197-421: The rest of his order as well. In the meantime, he has given the Bene Gesserit enough of the axlotl technology to produce melange and grow their own gholas, in particular a replacement for their military genius Miles Teg . In Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson 's 2006 continuation of the original series, Hunters of Dune , the descendant Tleilaxu, now called the Lost Tleilaxu , have avoided extermination by

44426-446: The return from obscurity of House Atreides, whose role in the Butlerian Jihad is all but forgotten. The Imperial House schemes to gain full control of the Empire through the control of melange, precisely at the time that the Bene Gesserit breeding program is nearing fruition. As Frank Herbert's Dune (1965) begins, Duke Leto Atreides finds himself in a dangerous position. The 81st Padishah Emperor, Shaddam IV, has put him in control of

44655-430: The rituals questionable." And though he believes the so-called Lost Ones may be religiously tainted by their time away, he is willing to overlook this because of the valuable information they have brought with them. In particular, they have made it possible for the Tleilaxu to condition their latest Duncan Idaho ghola to possess a sexual imprinting ability to match that of the fierce, domination-hungry Honored Matres . By

44884-421: The ruler of Ix, all the records of Project Amal are destroyed. The Landsraad is a political body in Frank Herbert 's science fiction Dune universe . As established in Herbert's 1965 novel Dune , it is the assembly of all noble Houses in the Imperium, and plays a very important role in the political and economic power balance of the Empire, which is shared among the Landsraad, the Padishah Emperor , and

45113-559: The secret of producing melange in the tanks. The Bene Gesserit New Sisterhood conquers Tleilax, Uxtal is devoured by hungry sligs , and the sole remaining Waff ghola escapes. He finds refuge with the Spacing Guild, offering Edrik something better than artificial melange: the genetic knowledge for the Guild to create their own, optimized sandworms , the natural origin of the spice cycle. Daniel and Marty are revealed to be new incarnations of mankind's ancient enemy, thinking machine leader Omnius and his second-in-command Erasmus , introduced in

45342-405: The sequel to Hunters and finale of the original Dune series, the Spacing Guild has begun replacing its Navigators with the more cost-effective Ixian navigation devices and cutting off the Navigators' supply of melange. More and more Navigators are dying from withdrawal of the spice—including Ardrae, "one of the oldest remaining Navigators"—and many defect and disappear into space rather than allow

45571-489: The series' " Islamic undertones " and themes, a Middle Eastern influence on Herbert's works has been noted repeatedly. As a foreigner who adopts the ways of a desert-dwelling people and then leads them in a military capacity, Paul Atreides' character bears many similarities to the historical T. E. Lawrence , whose 1962 biopic Lawrence of Arabia has also been identified as an influence. Lesley Blanch 's novel The Sabres of Paradise (1960) about Muslim resistance to

45800-413: The ships which are eventually known as heighliners. The technique proves to be unsafe, however, as one in ten flights ends in the ship's destruction due to navigational difficulties. Desperate for a solution, Norma consumes increasing amounts of melange to improve her thinking and concentration. Full immersion in a tank of spice gas deforms her body, but ultimately bestows on her the prescient ability to plot

46029-432: The spelling reform of 1948 saw it changed to landsråd . Herbert borrowed the word from a Scandinavian language. When asked, he defined the Landsraad thus: Q: In the novel Dune , what is the Landsraad? Herbert: Well, Landsraad is an old Scandinavian word for an assembly of landowners. It's historically accurate in that it was an assembly and the first meetings of the legislative body—an early one, yes. The Landsraad—it's

46258-546: The spice gives Paul unprecedented power over the Landsraad, Spacing Guild and all other factions. As detailed in Dune Messiah (1969), Paul's apparent death 13 years later puts his sister Alia in place as Imperial Regent for his children, Leto II and Ghanima . Young Leto ascends the throne in 1976's Children of Dune , becoming a human- sandworm hybrid to achieve superhuman physical abilities and longevity. Leto rules as God Emperor for over 3,500 years; his assassination in God Emperor of Dune (1981) effectively abolishes

46487-422: The stability of society. In "Terminology of the Imperium," the glossary of Dune (1965), Herbert specifies a House as a "Ruling Clan of a planet or planetary system," with major Houses holding planetary fiefs and being interplanetary entrepreneurs, and minor Houses being planet-bound. Individual Houses are in constant competition for fiefdoms, financial and political power, and Imperial favor. The High Council

46716-473: The subject's knowledge, and at a certain age they are made aware, and given the choice to continue. Though human nature brings an ethical component to a Mentat's logic and reasoning, the Tleilaxu can create "twisted Mentats", who are sociopaths free from the usual constraints of human morality and ethical boundaries. Mentat capabilities can be greatly increased by taking sapho juice , an addictive drug extracted from roots found on Ecaz . Repeated use leaves

46945-461: The term with Samuel Butler and his 1863 essay " Darwin among the Machines ", which advocated the destruction of all advanced machines. In Herbert's God Emperor of Dune (1981), Leto II Atreides indicates that the Jihad had been a semi-religious social upheaval initiated by humans who felt repulsed by how guided and controlled they had become by machines. This technological reversal leads to

47174-420: The terror inspired by their draconian methods. They are completely without mercy and quick to anger, often resorting to extreme measures of violence in the face of the slightest provocations. The leadership succession practices employed by the order are also severe: a subordinate sister who manages to kill the leader, the so-called Great Honored Matre or Matre Superior, takes her place. The Honored Matres exercise

47403-483: The thinking machine forces of Omnius. When Khrone asserts dominance over even the machine empire, a smug Erasmus activates a fail-safe built into all enhanced Face Dancers, instantly killing Khrone and all of his minions across the universe. In the Prelude to Dune (1999–2001) prequel trilogy by Brian Herbert and Anderson, it is noted that the founder of the Bene Tleilax had been a Master named Xuttuh . Master Hidar Fen Ajidica heads Project Amal , an early attempt by

47632-504: The threat of total extinction. At the time of Heretics of Dune (1984) and Chapterhouse: Dune (1985)—1500 years after Leto's death—the turmoil is settling into a new pattern; the balance of power in the Old Empire, as it is now called, rests among the Ixians, the Bene Gesserit, and the Tleilaxu. The Spacing Guild has been forever weakened by the development of Ixian machines capable of navigation in foldspace, practically replacing Guild Navigators. The Bene Gesserit, through manipulation of

47861-483: The three player Houses ( Atreides , Harkonnen and Ordos ) from their homeworlds to Arrakis. The Guild also uses its Navigators to pilot their NIAB ("Navigator in a Boat") Tanks, a hover tank that projects a single electrical bolt, and NIAP ("Navigators in a Plane") Flyers, an aerial version of the NIAB Tank, although without any weapons of its own. The NIAB Tank also has the ability to fold-space for short distances on

48090-444: The throne, and Paul's twin heirs Leto II and Ghanima rise to power. The Heroes of Dune series (2008–2009) by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson chronicles the major events that take place between Dune: House Corrino (2001) and Dune: The Duke of Caladan (2020), between Dune (1965) and Dune Messiah (1969), and between Dune Messiah and Children of Dune (1976). At the time of God Emperor of Dune (1981), Paul's son,

48319-449: The throne. In 'Appendix A' of Dune , Herbert wrote that the Guild, along with the Bene Gesserit order, had been responsible for the standardization of religion in the universe by promoting the adoption of the Orange Catholic Bible and offering protection to the dissenting theologians who created this book. Nonetheless, in the same appendix, Herbert held that the Guild members themselves were atheists, and only promoted this move to promote

48548-409: The time of the events described in the 1965 novel Dune , Ix is the leader in providing technology to the Imperium. Ixian devices are ever-present, but the society itself is unseen until later in the series. The sequel to Dune , Dune Messiah (1969), refers to the "Ixian Confederacy". In God Emperor of Dune (1981), Leto II Atreides 's precognition shows him that his Golden Path has prevented

48777-454: The time of the first book's setting, humanity has formed a feudal interstellar empire known as the Imperium, run by several Great Houses that oversee various planets. Of key interest is the planet Arrakis , known to the native population as "Dune". A desert planet with barely any precipitation , it is the only planet where a special life-extending drug, melange (or "the spice"), can be found. In addition to life extension, melange enhances

49006-409: The time periods between Frank Herbert's original novels. The first book, Paul of Dune , was published in 2008, followed by The Winds of Dune in 2009. The next two installments were to be called The Throne of Dune and Leto of Dune (possibly changing to The Golden Path of Dune ), but were postponed due to plans to publish a trilogy, Great Schools of Dune , about "the formation of

49235-572: The two organizations into a single New Sisterhood with shared abilities is their best chance at survival against the approaching enemy who had driven the Honored Matres into the Old Empire. The Bene Gesserit are a key social, religious, and political force in Frank Herbert's science fiction Dune universe. The matriarchal group is described as a secretive and exclusive sisterhood whose members train their bodies and minds through years of physical and mental conditioning to obtain superhuman powers and abilities that can seem magical to outsiders. Under

49464-402: The unification of all the other ruling families, known as Houses, to create a check against the individual power of the Emperor, a theoretically comparable force. Both the combined Houses and the Emperor are in turn dependent on the Guild for interstellar travel. This delicate balance of power initially serves to prevent any particularly ambitious or destructive faction or individual from upsetting

49693-608: The universe for 900 years, until a jihad is ignited. This crusade against the machines lasts for almost a century, with much loss of human life but ultimately ending in human victory. The ancient Battle of Corrin —occurring 20 years after the end of the Butlerian Jihad—spawns the Padishah Emperors of House Corrino, who rule the known universe for millennia by controlling the Sardaukar , a brutally efficient military force. Ten thousand years later, Imperial power

49922-494: The universe is the Spacing Guild , which monopolizes interstellar travel and banking. Mutated Guild Navigators use the spice drug melange to successfully navigate " folded space " and safely guide enormous heighliner starships from planet to planet instantaneously. The matriarchal Bene Gesserit possesses almost superhuman physical, sensory, and deductive powers developed through years of physical and mental conditioning. While positioning themselves to "serve" humanity,

50151-453: The universe. The Ixians had kept Hwi's development a secret through the use of their new invention, the no-room (later called a no-chamber ), a construct which is able to hide the people within from prescience, as Guild Navigators can. The Ixians had also created the Navigation Device which would eventually take the place of Guild Navigators and help fuel the diaspora known as the Scattering. Combining these two technologies later results in

50380-447: The villainous Baron Vladimir Harkonnen , will harm the position of House Atreides in CHOAM, which relies on spice profits. Further, the very presence of the Atreides on Arrakis inflames the long-simmering War of Assassins between House Atreides and House Harkonnen, a feud ignited 10,000 years before when an Atreides had a Harkonnen banished for cowardice after the Butlerian Jihad. The little-understood native population of Arrakis are

50609-547: The weak Emperor Salvador Corrino is unwilling to crush the Butlerians, Venport lures him out to Arrakis and has him eaten by a sandworm. Unfortunately for him, Salvador's sabotaged ship manages to return to Salusa Secundus and report the truth to the newly-crowned Emperor Roderick, Salvador's brother. Roderick swears vengeance on Venport. Just then, Torondo gets his hands on a cache of atomics, which he uses to obliterate VenHold's main planet. Eventually, imperial forces track down Venport's secret laboratory and invade. Norma offers Josef

50838-402: The words "mentor", "mentee", and "mentation". The Padishah Emperors are the hereditary rulers of the Old Empire in Frank Herbert 's science fiction Dune universe . In Herbert's originating novel Dune (1965), it is established that while the Padishah Emperor is supreme sovereign ruler of the known universe, power is shared, in a quasi-feudal arrangement, with the noble houses of

51067-417: Was God Himself. Their canon details how, after his death, Leto divided into the sandworms and became Shai-Hulud, hence the term "Divided God". The Priesthood is largely populated with individuals who lack insight, but possess ambition. After Leto's death, they maintain a brutal rule over Rakis, marked by random executions. Other powers from the Old Imperium, including the Bene Gesserit , the Fish Speakers, and

51296-522: Was a ploy of the descendant Tleilaxu to gain the confidence of the Masters and yet not divulge their secrets. Scytale's secret bargaining tool while held against his will by the Bene Gesserit is a hidden nullentropy capsule containing cells carefully and secretly collected by the Tleilaxu for millennia, including the cells of Tleilaxu Masters, Face Dancers, Paul Atreides, Chani, Gurney Halleck , Thufir Hawat and other legendary figures. He intends to not only grow his own life-sustaining ghola, but to resurrect

51525-473: Was actually Venport's mistress Norma Cenva who designed it. The fifth and sixth novels of the series, Heretics of Dune (1984) and Chapterhouse: Dune (1985), are set 5,000 years after the reign of Paul Atreides, a period that includes 3,500 years of Leto II's reign and 1,500 years following his death. The warlike Honored Matres have seized control of Junction , the old Spacing Guild complex above Gammu . The technocrats of Ix develop technology that

51754-450: Was dependent upon melange, found on only one planet in the known universe. Leto's prescient visions had shown that humanity would be threatened by extinction in any number of ways; his solution was to place humanity on his " Golden Path ," a plan for humanity's survival. Leto governs as a benevolent tyrant, providing for his people's physical needs, but denying them any spiritual outlets other than his compulsory religion (as well as maintaining

51983-460: Was published on September 13, 2016. A third Heroes of Dune novel, Princess of Dune , was released on October 3, 2023. In July 2020, Herbert and Anderson announced a new trilogy of prequel novels called The Caladan Trilogy . The first novel in the series, Dune: The Duke of Caladan , was published in October 2020, and the second, Dune: The Lady of Caladan , was released in September 2021. The third novel, Dune: The Heir of Caladan ,

52212-400: Was ranked as the #11 hardcover fiction best seller of 1981 by Publishers Weekly . Heretics of Dune , the 1984 New York Times #13 hardcover fiction best seller, was followed in quick succession by Chapterhouse: Dune in 1985. Herbert died on February 11, 1986. Over a decade after Herbert's death, his son Brian Herbert enlisted science fiction author Kevin J. Anderson to coauthor

52441-724: Was released on November 22, 2022. In 1985, Frank Herbert wrote an illustrated short work called " The Road to Dune ", set sometime between the events of Dune and Dune Messiah . Published in Herbert's short story collection Eye , it takes the form of a guidebook for pilgrims to Arrakis and features images (with descriptions) of some of the devices and characters presented in the novels. Brian Herbert and Anderson have written eight Dune short stories and four Dune novellas, most of them related to and published around their novels. The eight short stories include " Dune: A Whisper of Caladan Seas " (2001), " Dune: Hunting Harkonnens " (2002), " Dune: Whipping Mek " (2003), " Dune: The Faces of

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