Sarahbones

I've played on there... I think I'm like level 2 or something.

All right, in an attempt to be on topic, I'd like to begin a sort of hybrid fanfic/RPG thing. Basically we make up a character or more than one character that would fit in the Duniverse and throw them in a situation together and kinda see what happens. All Houses and factions are okay. Anybody up for it? - Sarah

i wouldnt say "less" of a christian, but i would absolutely say disobedient and committing sin. There is nothing un-Christian about slavery. While racial bigotry is a sin, simply owning a slave or several slaves is perfectly within the rules. Paul wrote in Ephesians that masters are to treat their slaves well and slaves are to obey their masters. If slavery was wrong, he would have written against it.

Unfortunately the marriage age has gone ridiculously high (the average, not the minimum allowable) and that adds up to a lot of time that you have to find something else to do with. Even if you are "average" then you'll have about 10 or so fertile years you'll spend childless, and it's important to find something else to do. And there are always a number of old bachelors and old maids who never are able to pair up. That leaves the sex, babies, and death formula stripped to just death... uhh, that bites. I'd say life should be spent finding fulfillment and making the world a better place for others to find fulfillment. Thanks to several cultural factors my ability to do this is limited, but am working on a couple writing projects and, perhaps, like Princess Irulan, will find solace in that since I will not have "heirs". I find it quite paradoxical that a society that places such a high value on children and parenthood simultaneously discourages breeding.

Politically, I would argue that cloning PARTS is okay, but not whole beings and no brain components. A liver, for instance, has no mental capacity whatsoever - it is not an organism, it's an organ. It does not have its own special genetic structure. Religiously and personally, all cloning gets the thumbs down. Let God be God and humans be humans. But I could understand that others wiht different religions might think cloning is all right, and as long as they are not creating organisms to be destroyed but instead only tissues to save lives, then I wouldn't try to stop them.

Love does not conquer all. Even if you were totally, madly in love with her and she would make you happier than anybody else (and this is, in all likelihood, an overstatement of the actual case), and she didn't have feelings back, then it wouldn't work. It is possible that through time and friendship she will change her mind - and it's also possible that she won't. You never know. Someone twice as good for you might be heading your way in short order, and it would be a shame to miss that because you're pining over someone who won't return the emotion. (Someone in the background whispers something about a pot and a kettle... Sarah shrugs and moves on with her day)

[quote author=Acriku

AAH! The prequels are messing up my neat little timeline! I guess I'd better read the Butlerian Jihad books soon. T = -11000 years... tick... tick... tick...

Actually my choice, for me, would be neither - I'd pick Feyd-Rautha and if he wasn't available, then a Sardaukar. But, if I were male: Irulan is Bene Gesserit trained; Chani isn't. Irulan is beautiful and well-educated; Chani, well, isn't. Also, it would be very, very difficult to poison or drug Irulan (unlike Chani) and she is far less likely to die in childbirth (ditto). Best of all, she's an excellent writer. Can Chani even write her name?

Most girls take up your time... not all. If time is an issue, just make sure to look for a girlfriend who has her own life apart from you and would appreciate the extra time to herself. Some enjoy having an ample amount of breathing room - it just depends on each person's expectations. Most women's "dream man" would irritate the hell out of me, and since I'm probably not a genetic fluke, there are plenty more people out there who are fed up with normalcy. Remember that even if there's a gorgeous girl out there (and this applies to guys too), if the personality doesn't match, you can keep looking - you'll find someone who's just as good-looking and has a temperament better suited to what you need.

Irulan. She's more educated and cultured, and would be easier to hold a conversation with.

Weeellll... actually... We have 14198 years until the Butlerian Jihad, counting from 14255 BG as equivalent to the year 1955. either way it's a d*** long time. - SB

I am... Alia! (which is probably the most true out of all the choices, so kudos to ya, spice flavor of course...)

I had been wanting to learn Galach, and the info in the Dune Encyclopedia is too scanty to really build a language from it. Does anybody know of any other sources, or is that pretty much it?

I'd say the Tleilax are more evil but also have the capacity to do more good. The Ixians are trying to copy the human mind. The Tleilax are tampering with human genetics. But a thinking-machine is at best a thinking-machine, whereas the Tleilax are able to "revive" lost loved ones and other relics of the past (not that they would do it out of sheer kindness or anything).