Peter James Mann
What to Know Before You Go
Dune comes out this weekend in theaters and on HBO Max! This is, by a wide margin, my favorite science fiction/fantasy novel period. It proved to the world you could be as large and as epic as any ancient myth or fantasy story in a science fiction world. But that also means there’s a lot, A LOT, of world building and appendices even in the 1st book. And since this film is only part of the 1st novel, well, we might be going over most of that terminology in this first foray into the desert sands of Arakkis
So warm up some tea, grab a snack, and cover it in Spice Mélange to open those blue within blue eyes and see into the future, the future where you know all about Dune.
Fact #1: He Who Controls the Spice, Controls the Universe.
Arakkis is a planet completely covered in sand and is known for three things: a deadlier tribe of people known as the Fremen, even deadlier Sandworms that swim across the desert sands destroying all in their path, and the Spice Mélange. It allows people to have prescience, or the ability to see into the future.
In the future, the only way to travel through space is to know every possible obstacle in your way. Even a few inches off one way or another could land your ship in an asteroid, or a planet, or the center of a star. That’s not counting random debris that can come in the way.
Pilots have to be engulfed in this Spice on a regular basis, turning them basically into monsters with psychic powers. They can literally predict the paths of every ship. And without Spice, not only can they not do their job, trade would stop (we’ll talk more about them later).
Furthermore, anyone who eats it becomes immediately physically addicted. They would literally die along with millions of humans across the universe.
So yeah, it’s pretty important.
Fact #2: AI is Bad, Mmm, Mmkay?
“Well if it’s literally that hard, why can’t they just make computers that do?”
I’m glad you asked. They did. And it turns out the only way a computer can think like that is if it can think for itself and reason and compare paths, which means the easiest way is to make an artificial intelligence.
…until it realizes it’s a machine and that humans are evil and don’t deserve to live so they go on a war to exterminate their creators in the hopes of creating a more peaceful, less organic universe. You know, like they usually do.
So this alternative, while it allows for massive concentrated power, also doesn’t kill the universe!
Fact #3: Guns are Also Illegal!
Yes, guns are super bad here. See, laser guns USED to be the norm, until someone invented a personal force field for royalty that, when shot with said gun, released the energy of your garden variety Hydrogen bomb. Imagine a M.A.D.D scenario but also with guns, and you get the idea.
But swords and knives can get through just fine! But you have to learn how to fight, because the shield also makes you blurry and have a bit of echo with your movements. If you know how to predict the echoes and blurs, you can actually hit your target.
Go get them, Duncan Idaho! Don’t know who that is? Oh, you will.
Fact #4: Who Runs the Worlds? Girls!
I know I said he who controls the Spice controls the universe, but there’s a caveat to that: the Bene Gesserit.
Equal parts religious cult, Force-wielding warriors, and royal court necessity, they are the secret force behind every dynasty and prophecy found on pretty much every planet humans reside upon. I mean, even the Fremen have been touched by the Bene Gesserit in the far past. Which has some very far reaching consequences in the upcoming film.
They have complete control over their bodies, to the point where they can decide whether or not to be pregnant or even what to give birth to. They can even master The Voice, an ancient technique that makes everyone who hears it obey your commands and make you feel certain emotions.
Lady Jessica and The Reverend Mother herself will be making appearances in this movie and play a major role in Paul, our hero’s, life. I mean, Lady Jessica is LITERALLY his mother.
Fact #5: Mentats Are Not Mints
Not only is a Bene Gesserit priest essential to a court in the far flung future, so is a mentat. They are truly a human computer. They are trained and enhanced to act as though they are an AI construct of the past, but without the whole “let’s murder the flesh bags!” aesthetic.
Their loyalty must be without question. Because if not, they could destroy entire kingdoms. Imagine a universe of thousands of Killmongers, and you get the idea.
Most lords who have multiple children will have a son who is a mentat, but even those with only one heir to the throne often give their sons mentat training. It can only help in the road ahead.
Fact #6: CHOAM Corp: The Spice Must Flow!
So, we’ve gone over the Spice Mélange, the Bene Gesserit and the Mentats, but we’ve glanced over the fact that I’ve been talking about Lords and royalty in a futuristic setting. This is one of the many ways they enter the picture, and its the one that scratches that Good Ol’ Weyland-Yutanti Itch in my chest cavity. Welcome to…
THE CHOAM CORPORATION! Because The Spice Must Flow! And that’s their actual tagline! Sell me a T-Shirt Warner Bros. Right now.
Imagine the UN, but it was just the G7 Summit and then basically shadow wars the rest of the time. And it was all over the Spice and who controls what in that part of production. Also they’re all shielded. And in capes and armor. On a space station or something.
There is an overseeing emperor, who controls the Galactic Padishah Empire, which is made up of these major and minor houses. He also dictates basically how all of these elements, including the shadow wars, all go.
It’s fascinating to read all these layers and it truly is all plans within plans within plans. And they all have a purpose. That’s a saying you’re going to hear a lot.
This universe is wild.
Fact #7: Well Actually, The Spacing Guild is the Center of the Power in the Univ–OH COME ON!
I know, I know. But you also did this with Game of Thrones and survived. This is probably where G.R.R.M. got his ideas for how things should be layered and structured. It is much more Dune than Lord of The Rings. Just start researching major and minor houses of Dune, like House Atreides and you’ll see what I mean.
There are many centers of power in the universe. But the Spacing Guild also is extremely, extremely powerful. Because how else are you going to fly your mentat assassins to kill some random doctor’s family? Without the power of a pilot at the wheel, you literally cannot fly through space.
They are hampered by one teeny tiny problem, they need catastrophically large amounts of Spice to the point where they need to be rolled around in glass tubes to enter rooms with average run-of-the-mill humans. When I said they were mutated earlier, I meant beyond Total Recall. I mean they look otherworldly.
That’s even if they can be seen through the London Fog level of Spice swirling around them. You could play laser tag in there. Oh wait, the shields. Forgot…
And who’s the only people who can get the Spacing Guild Spice? CHOAM. But how do you get Spice off of Arakkis? The Spacing Guild.
And that’s how the Grand Game really began.
Fact #8: Now You Know a Bunch More About Dune!
Well, I think that’s a sizable info dump, but this Primer should set you up for success when walking into Dune, while still leaving you some surprises along the way.
Until next time! See you soon!
