Organizations of the Dune universe
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 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).[1][2][3] His originating 1965 novel Dune is popularly considered one of the greatest science fiction novels of all time,[4] and is frequently cited as the best-selling science fiction novel in history.[4][5] 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 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
The
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,
Thirty-five hundred years later in
Fifteen hundred years later, as
Bene Gesserit
The Bene Gesserit are a key social, religious, and political force in Frank Herbert's science fiction Dune universe. The
Bene Tleilax
The Bene Tleilax, also called Tleilaxu
The original series
The Tleilaxu control a number of planets but are originally connected with Tleilax, the sole planet of the star Thalim. Herbert's 1965 novel
Over 3,500 years later in
By the events of
Sequels
In
A minion of the powerful independent Face Dancers
While the universe at large is unaware that the no-ship carries the secret to producing melange in axlotl tanks, The
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 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.[16]
Prequels
In the
Emperor: Battle for Dune
The Tleilaxu are one of the five subfactions in the 2001 computer game Emperor: Battle for Dune.
CHOAM
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 a 1980 article, Herbert equated CHOAM with OPEC, the real-world intergovernmental organization which is a major power in the petroleum industry.[19] He writes in Dune:
"Few products escape the CHOAM touch ... Logs, donkeys, horses, cows, lumber, dung, sharks,
Duke Leto Atreides, Dune
CHOAM's management and
"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 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.[6]
Before the climactic battle in Dune,
In 2011, Forbes ranked CHOAM as the largest fictional corporation.[20]
Prequels
In the Great Schools of Dune novels that take place eight decades after the end of the Butlerian Jihad, Josef Venport, 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.
Fish Speakers
The Fish Speakers are the all-female army of 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).[10]
In
By the time of
Fremen
The Fremen are a secretive and misunderstood tribe of humans in the Dune universe. As 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.
Honored Matres
The Honored Matres are a fictional
In Heretics of Dune, the Honored Matres capture the teenage
Sequels
The Honored Matres also appear in
Ixians
The Ixians are a technological culture in
By the time of the events described in the 1965 novel
The Ixians had kept Hwi's development a secret through the use of their new invention, the no-room (later called a
Prequels
In the
Landsraad
The Landsraad is a political body in
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
The word Landsraad is a compound word meaning "council of the land" (the 's' indicates possessive case). The word exists in several
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 the landed gentry.[29]
Prequels
It is established in the
Mentats
A Mentat is a type of human, presented in
In
Prequels
The origin of the first Mentat is later explored in the
Padishah Emperors
The Padishah Emperors
As Dune begins, the 81st Padishah Emperor is
Prequels
Several
Rakian Priesthood
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 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 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
Sardaukar
The Sardaukar are a military force from
As Dune begins, the 81st Padishah Emperor
In
A line of Dune action figures released by toy company LJN in 1984, styled after David Lynch's film, included a figure of a Sardaukar warrior.[38][39]
Spacing Guild
The Spacing Guild is an organization in the Dune universe whose
Suk School
The Suk School is a prominent medical school in Frank Herbert's science fiction Dune universe. Suk doctors are the universe's most competent and trusted physicians. Those who have received the "Suk Imperial Conditioning" are incapable of inflicting harm upon their charges. These individuals bear a black diamond tattoo on their foreheads, and wear their hair in a special silver ring.[6]
The fallibility of Suk training is proven in
Emperor. Great store is set on Imperial Conditioning. It's assumed that ultimate conditioning cannot be removed without killing the subject. However, as someone once observed, given the right lever you can move a planet. We found the lever that moved the doctor.[6]
To gain such leverage against Yueh, Baron
Later in the series, in Heretics of Dune (1984) and Chapterhouse: Dune (1985), many Bene Gesserits are trained by Suk Schools to become doctors for the Sisterhood.[11][12]
Prequels
The origins of the school are explored in the
Swordmasters of Ginaz
The Swordmasters of Ginaz are a school of martial artists in
Prequels
The school's origins are detailed in the
Thinking machines
Thinking machines is a collective term for
, the glossary of which includes the following:JIHAD, BUTLERIAN: (see also Great Revolt) — the crusade against computers, thinking machines, and conscious robots begun in 201 B.G. and concluded in 108 B.G. Its chief commandment remains in the
O.C. Bible as "Thou shalt not make a machine in the likeness of a human mind."[42]
In
"The target of the Jihad was a machine-attitude as much as the machines," Leto said. "Humans had set those machines to usurp our sense of beauty, our necessary selfdom out of which we make living judgments. Naturally, the machines were destroyed."[10]
Later in the same novel, Leto tests
He knew this experience, but could not change the smallest part of it. No ancestral presences would remain in her consciousness, but she would carry with her forever afterward the clear sights and sounds and smells. The seeking machines would be there, the smell of blood and entrails, the cowering humans in their burrows aware only that they could not escape . . . while all the time the mechanical movement approached, nearer and nearer and nearer ...louder...louder! Everywhere she searched, it would be the same. No escape anywhere.[10]
Herbert's death in 1986 left this topic unexplored and open to speculation.[43]
Prequels
Chronicling the Butlerian Jihad, the
Sequels
In
Titans
The Titans are a group of warlike
Over 11,000 years before the events of Frank Herbert's Dune (1965), a group of 20 ambitious humans see the stagnation of the Old Empire and realize that their small band can take control of it with the aid of
References
- ISBN 978-1-933771-28-1.
- ^ "The Science of Dune". SmartPopBooks.com. January 2008. Archived from the original on March 16, 2013. Retrieved September 13, 2010.
- ^ Evans, Clay (March 14, 2008). "Review: Exploring Frank Herbert's 'Duniverse'". DailyCamera.com. Archived from the original on March 19, 2008. Retrieved March 19, 2008 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ ISBN 0-8057-7514-5. "Locusran a poll of readers on April 15, 1975, in which Dune 'was voted the all-time best science-fiction novel...It has sold over ten million copies in numerous editions.'"
- ^ "SCI FI Channel Auction to Benefit Reading Is Fundamental". PNNonline.org. March 18, 2003. Archived from the original on September 28, 2007. Retrieved September 28, 2007 – via Internet Archive.
Since its debut in 1965, Frank Herbert's Dune has sold over 12 million copies worldwide, making it the best-selling science fiction novel of all time ... Frank Herbert's Dune saga is one of the greatest 20th Century contributions to literature.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Herbert, Frank (1965). Dune.
- ^ a b c d Herbert, Frank (1965). Dune.
We've a three-point civilization: the Imperial Household balanced against the Federated Great Houses of the Landsraad, and between them, the Guild with its damnable monopoly on interstellar transport.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Herbert, Frank (1969). Dune Messiah.
- ^ a b c d Herbert, Frank (1976). Children of Dune.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Herbert, Frank (1981). God Emperor of Dune.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Herbert, Frank (1984). Heretics of Dune.
- ^ a b c d e Herbert, Frank (1985). Chapterhouse: Dune.
- ^ "Audio excerpts from a reading of Dune by Frank Herbert". Usul.net. Archived from the original on November 11, 2010. Retrieved October 6, 2010.
- ^ Herbert, Frank (1981). God Emperor of Dune.
- ^ a b c d Herbert, Brian; Kevin J. Anderson (2006). Hunters of Dune.
- ^ Herbert, Brian; Kevin J. Anderson (2007). Sandworms of Dune.
- ^ Prelude to Dune.
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- ^ Herbert, Frank (July 1980). "Dune Genesis". Omni. DuneNovels.com (Internet Archive). Archived from the original on June 16, 2008. Retrieved June 16, 2008.
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- ProQuest 2739477367. Archivedfrom the original on 2024-03-28. Retrieved 2023-08-21.
- ISBN 978-3-030-89205-0. Archivedfrom the original on 2023-08-21. Retrieved 2023-08-21.
- ^ Herbert (1965). "Terminology of the Imperium (House-Houses Major-Houses Minor)". Dune.
- ^ Herbert (1965). "Terminology of the Imperium (Faufreluches)". Dune.
- ^ Herbert (1965). "Terminology of the Imperium (High Council)". Dune.
- ^ Herbert (1965). "Terminology of the Imperium (Judge of the Change)". Dune.
- ^ Herbert, Frank (1965). "Appendix II: The Religion of Dune". Dune.
The major dams against anarchy in these times were the embryo Guild, the Bene Gesserit and the Landsraad, which continued its 2,000-year record of meeting in spite of the severest obstacles.
- ^ Herbert (1965). "Appendix II: The Religion of Dune". Dune.
Historians estimate the [anti-ecumenism] riots took eighty million lives. That works out to about six thousand for each world then in the Landsraad League.
- ^ "Vertex Interviews Frank Herbert" (Interview). Vol. 1, no. 4. Interviewed by Paul Turner. October 1973. Archived from the original on May 19, 2009. Retrieved November 24, 2013.
- Legends of Dune.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Bueno, Rose (July 30, 2019). "Who Are the Mentats in Dune?". Nerdist. Archived from the original on April 16, 2022. Retrieved July 31, 2019.
- ^ Lorenzo, DiTommaso (November 1992). "History and Historical Effect in Frank Herbert's Dune". Science Fiction Studies. #58, Volume 19, Part 3. DePauw.edu. pp. 311–325. Archived from the original on October 17, 2012. Retrieved July 21, 2009.
- ^ Padishah (پادشاه) is a Persian title meaning "great king" or "king of kings", which was historically given to Persian emperors and kings.
- ^ Salusa Secundus.
- ^ Shaddam IV is noted to have ended in 10,196 A.G. (After Guild).
- Kaitain. Salusa Secundus is homeworld of House Corrino ...
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- ^ Daniels, James (January 12, 2014). "Toys We Miss: The Long Forgotten Figures From Frank Herbert's Dune". Nerd Bastards. Archived from the original on January 27, 2014. Retrieved October 30, 2019.
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