Dune universe

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The fictional Dune universe, or Duniverse is the political, scientific, and social setting of author Frank Herbert's six-book Dune series of science-fiction novels. The highly popular first book, Dune, has been adapted as a movie and as a televised miniseries; its first two sequels have appeared as miniseries as well.

After Frank Herbert's death, his son Brian Herbert and science fiction author Kevin J. Anderson produced a number of "prequel" books, which have been highly successful commercially but gathered mixed reviews from longtime fans of the original novels. Although these prequels utilise Frank Herbert's original notes on his setting, many believe that Brian and Anderson did not fully grasp the complexity or nature of Herbert's world, nor the important themes he was attempting to impart to his audience, and the prequels have been criticised as "merely taking place within the setting".

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Contents

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Brief synopsis of Dune history

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The Dune universe, set in the distant future of humanity, has a history that stretches tens of thousands of years and covers considerable changes in political, social, and religious structure and in technology. However, extant creative works set in the Dune universe are set in six different time periods:

  • The Butlerian Jihad
  • The Corrino-led Imperium
  • The ascension of the Atreides
  • The fall of the God Emperor
  • The return from the Scattering and the coming of the Honored Matres
  • The fall of the Honored Matres and their joining with the Bene Gesserit.
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The Butlerian Jihad

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The Butlerian Jihad is a conflict that results in the destruction of all computers, robots, and any other forms of "thinking machine." The causes and exact nature of this conflict are left rather vague in Frank Herbert's books. In the Legends of Dune prequel trilogy, it is presented as a straightforward battle for supremacy between humans and the sentient machines they have built. However, in the original six novels, there is a strong implication that the rejection of machines was a religious/philosophical act of escaping from a machine mind-set, much in line with Heidegger's thesis that the use of technology conditions users to treat themselves and others as machines.

Whatever the nature of the conflict, the aftermath leads to a near-universal taboo on the creation of "thinking machines": Thou shalt not make a machine in the likeness of a human mind. Even simple computers are banned, which has a profound influence on the socio-political and technological development of humanity.

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The Corrino-led Imperium

House Corrino led the known universe in an Imperium for the ten thousand years following the Butlerian Jihad but before the rise of House Atreides following the Arrakis affair that deposed the eighty-first Padishah Emperor Shaddam Corrino IV. There was very little activity during this period, but it can be assumed that all the intricacies of the Dune universe seen in Dune were established at the beginning of this era and in place in most of its 10,000 year span (see next session).

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The ascension of the Atreides

At the time of the Prelude to Dune prequel trilogy, a feudal empire spanning thousands of inhabited star systems has developed. While some communities exist on its fringes, paying exorbitant bribes to the Spacing Guild interstellar navigators for their privacy and independence, by and large all of humanity lives within the empire's murky but largely stable civilization.

As a result of the Butlerian Jihad's ban on "thinking machines", several secretive societies have developed, using eugenics programs, intensive mental and physical training, and pharmaceutical enhancements to hone human skills to an astonishing degree:

  • The Spacing Guild is the foundation of the interstellar civilization. Its Navigators use the spice drug melange to gain limited prescient abilities, enabling them to successfully navigate folded space, which is created by the Holtzman Generator on board, and safely guide enormous Heighliner spaceships from planet to planet instantly. As its mathematical and pharmaceutical methods are secret and Guild Navigators interact with others only through intermediaries, the Guild has a monopoly on interstellar transport and banking, which it can leverage as absolute political and economic power over other factions when necessary to maintain its dominance.
  • Mentats are "human computers" who have learned to enter a heightened mental state in which they can perform complex logical computations. Frequently working in the sworn service of the aristocratic great houses, mentats manage internal governance as well as external strategy in the shifting alliances and vendettas between the houses. Some mentats are also melange addicts, but it is not clear whether they use the spice for psychic enhancement or merely for the longevity and good health it confers (most of the nobility and the wealthy use tiny amounts of the expensive spice for such purposes, and some use the addiction to control their high servants). Not as much a secret society or civilization as a way of life, mentats are trained in several schools, and the methods are used internally by other groups; notably, the Tleilaxu sell "twisted" mentats, psychopathic sadists that can only be controlled by their vices. It appears that, in contrast to several other groups, the genetic heritage of a would-be mentat is of almost no importance; the proper mental-physical training starting at a very young age, rather, can make almost any child a mentat. This idea was supported in the Butlerian Jihad trilogy by Erasmus the robot, who took an ordinary slave, Gilbertus Albans, and made him the first known mentat; this boy had no known special genetic advantage.
  • The Bene Gesserit is a society of females with almost inhuman physical, sensory, and deductive powers developed through many years of conditioning. While the public motto of the Bene Gesserit is that they "exist only to serve", and indeed Bene Gesserit wives and concubines do provide advantages to many powerful men, the B.G. concept of service is not always what it appears to outsiders. The Bene Gesserit wish to better the human race, but do so by secretly tampering with the affairs of almost every group, religion, and institution in existence, altering the direction of organizations and ideologies to serve B.G. purposes. The Bene Gesserit have a millennia-long selective breeding program, with its Sisters being directed to produce children of specific sexes with specific males; the children may then be taken for Bene Gesserit training. Bene Gesserit outside of their chapter-houses may serve others, from those of the lowest status to emperors, but in the end their actions serve only the Bene Gesserit. However distrusted the Bene Gesserit "witches" may be, though, the services they can provide make them indispensable to most of the great houses.
After a Bene Gesserit student-acolyte has progressed enough in her mental and physical abilities, she may become a full Reverend Mother with full command of her ancestral memories (those prior to the birth of the child) -- the complete memories of all her female ancestors, which, in the Dune universe, all humans possess at the genetic-cellular level but ordinarily cannot access. This process is an ordeal known as the Spice Agony, which involves a near-lethal overdose on the melange drug. A Reverend Mother cannot, however, recall the memories of her male ancestors, and is overwhealmingly terrified by the psychic space within her that the masculine memories inhabit.
The Bene Gesserit eugenics program's purpose -- along with 'improving' humanity by removing genetic defects and selectively breeding more intelligent and physically superior humans -- is to develop a superhuman male, the Kwisatz Haderach, who can recall both his male and female ancestral memories, as well as the ability to see (and thus control) the future. The Bene Gesserit at the time of Dune were 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 the Bene Gesserit ordered to produce a daughter to become the Kwisatz Haderach's mother instead bore a son.
  • The Imperium has long been ruled by the noble House Corrino, which controls the brutally efficient soldier-fanatics of the Imperial Sardaukar. Although none of the other Houses Major or Minor individually approaches the power of House Corrino, and the great houses are in constant competition for fiefdoms, political power, and Imperial favor, they are collectively represented in an assembly known as the Landsraad, which can balance the power of the Empire and enforce the Great Convention against the use of atomic weapons against human targets. The Great Houses and the Emperor also grapple for financial power in the omnipresent CHOAM Company, a directorship in which brings vast economic gains, and in which secret societies like the Guild and the Bene Gesserit exercise a great deal of influence.
  • On the fringes of imperial control, law, and morality lie two other major secret societies: the Tleilaxu, or Bene Tleilax, who have for millennia hidden an ancient totalitarian theocracy, and selective breeding program of their own, behind the guise of amoral merchants trafficking in genetically engineered slaves and depraved amusements; and the Ixians, who produce cutting-edge technology that skirts the taboo of the Butlerian Jihad. House Richese is Ix's primary competitor. Richese is noted for miniaturization and mass production while Ix is notable for elegance and efficiency.

Against this backdrop, the novels chronicle the conflicts between the major powers, which orchestrate a violent eruption in the long-simmering battle between House Atreides and House Harkonnen in order to gain control of the desert planet Arrakis, known as Dune.

The little-understood native population of Arrakis are the Fremen, long overlooked by the Imperium and the fief-administrators of the great houses. They were considered backward savages by House Harkonnen, but demonstrate subtle complexity and wield great power; a hardy people, used to the hardship and deprivation of their arid planet, some of House Atreides' advisors also suspect that they could rival the Sardaukar as a fighting force. They await the coming of a prophesied messiah, not suspecting that this was hidden in their legends by the Missionaria Protectiva, an arm of the Bene Gesserit dedicated to religious manipulation, in order to ease the path of the Bene Gesserit on Arrakis, and the ascendance of the Kwisatz Haderach. The mystical and highly religious Fremen also have a connection to one of the few other successful inhabitants of Arrakis -- the enormous, virtually indestructible sandworms, called by the Fremen Shai-Hulud and considered holy, which, in a way unknown to all but the Fremen, govern the ecology of Dune.

A planet apparently almost devoid of water and unsuited for human colonization, the Imperium would give little notice to Arrakis and its religious-fanatic inhabitants had the planet not been the sole known source in all the universe of melange, the "spice" drug that prolongs its user's lifespan and protects against disease; with it, the Guild Navigators see a path through foldspace, and the Bene Gesserit enhance their abilities. Melange is also known to extend the powers of the mind by some unknown means, and prolonged usage often results in an individual with extraordinary mental capacity, including such otherwise uncommon qualities as total recall and an almost superhumanly deep awareness and control of one's own state of mind. Melange is the most valuable commodity in the universe, with a market value of 620,000 solaris to the decagram. It is the only method of realistic space travel, it is necessary for all the powerful factions in the universe to function, and its usage by the rich allows the privileged few cognitive and lifespan advantage over the masses, allowing easier social control. It can only be mined from the desert surface of Arrakis, where it is produced by an unknown biological mechanism (it is later revealed that this mechanisim is the waste of the sandworm). This makes Arrakis a rather peculiar object within the universe. No one can live there, strange things happen there, but everyone wants it. No administrative, productive or military facilities of any significant kind exist on Arrakis.

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The Golden Path of the God Emperor

At the time of God Emperor of Dune, the God Emperor Leto Atreides II has ruled the Empire for 3,500 years from the verdant face of a transformed Arrakis; melange production has ceased. The sandworms are gone, except for the sandtrout (a larval stage) that Leto forged a symbiosis with, transforming him into something like a human-sandworm hybrid. The Empire he had been born in suffered from the twin Achilles heels that it could be governed by one man, and that it was totally dependent on melange, found on only one planet in the universe. Leto's prescient visions had shown a high probabilty of humanity being extinguished by thinking machines. Leto's solution was to place humanity on "The Golden Path." Leto governed as a benevolent tryant, providing for his people's physical needs but denying them any spiritual outlets other than his own religion. Personal violence of any kind was banned, as was nearly all space travel. This created a pent-up demand for freedom and travel. Leto also conducted a selective breeding program among the descendants of House Atreides (the descendants of his sister, Ghanima), finally arriving at Siona, daughter of Moneo, whose actions were hidden from prescient vision. After Leto's death there was rebellion and revolt, but also an explosion in travel and colonization known as the Scattering, in which the number of inhabited planets came to outnumber the old Empire by perhaps 100 to 1. The Scattering, combined with the invisibility of House Atreides to prescient vision, ensured that humanity would never again be threatened with total extinction.

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The return from the Scattering

At the time of Heretics of Dune and Chapterhouse Dune, the turmoil caused by the fall of the God Emperor and the Scattering of billions of humans into the freedom of unknown space is settling into a new pattern. The balance of power in the Old Empire rests between the Ixians, the Tleilaxu, and the Bene Gesserit. The Spacing Guild has been forever weakened by the development of machines capable of navigation in foldspace, practically replacing Guild Navigators. However, this balance of power is shattered by a large influx of people from the Scattering, fleeing some unknown enemy. Among them the Bene Gesserit finds its match in a feared female society known as the Honored Matres.

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Planets of the Dune Universe

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The dating system of Dune

The Dune novels use a different calendar dating system than of present day Earth. Years are not based on the common era (BCE and CE), but before and after the formation of the Spacing Guild, measured as "Before Guild" and "After Guild" (BG and AG, respectively).

Using the information given by the Dune books, it is possible to determine how the dating system used in the novels corresponds to our own.

1. Butlerian Jihad
Butlerian Jihad lasts "two cruel generations" Dune, Appendix II / V
201 - 108 BG

2. The 200th century
"Mankind's movement through deep space placed a unique stamp on religion during the one hundred and ten centuries that preceded the Butlerian Jihad. " Dune, Appendix II
~11,200 years

Dune begins in 10,191 AG, so we simply add 10,191 to 11,200+201 together:

<math>10,191+11,401=21,592</math>

Thus, the year 10,191 AG corresponds to the year 21,391 AD. That is, of course, assuming that the Dune chronology actually uses Earth years.
But Dune counts in Standard years:
"Taraza was momentarily abashed. This was an imposition. Teg was still a regal figure, tall and with that large head topped by gray hair. He was, she knew, four SY short of three hundred. Granting that the Standard Year was some twenty hours less than the so-called primitive year, it was still an impressive age with experiences in Bene Gesserit service that demanded that she respect him." HoD ~Page 36

So there could be a maximum error of about 400 years (since we do not know when the Dune Universe started using the "Standard" year). This method also assumes that man began exploring "deep" space in the 20th century.

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Artistic works in the Dune universe

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The original series

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First Prequel

There is also a prequel trilogy to Dune, known as the Prelude to Dune. It was written by Brian Herbert (son of Frank) and Kevin J. Anderson and based in part on Frank Herbert's notes, found after his death. This trilogy is set in the years leading up to the events in Dune. Although highly unpopular with fans of the original series, these books have enjoyed commercial success, and have introduced the Dune universe to a new generation of fans. Critics of the Prelude to Dune series cite inconsistencies, plot and character liberties taken by the authors, and lack of comparable depth and quality to Frank Herbert's work.

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Second Prequel

Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson followed with a second prequel trilogy called the Legends of Dune. This trilogy is set at an earlier time in the history of the Dune universe, when humans and sentient machines battled for supremacy.

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Completion of the original series (A.K.A. "Dune 7")

Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson have scheduled the release of three more books[1]. These books (two novels and a compilation of short stories) are based off of an existing framework that Frank Herbert wrote prior to his death (the working title of that framework is known as Dune 7, though it is not known if that was Frank's title or if the writings were given that name posthumously).

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Other artistic works based in the Dune universe

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ISBN numbers

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See also

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External links

hu:Dűne (regény) it:Ciclo di Dune ru:Вселенная Дюны

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