ordos commander

[Big D]

In the first ordos movie, Roma Atani introduces herself and the executrix then shows what happened to the previous commander. his head was placed on this machine like thing.

I would like to know what happenned to the rest of his body.

is this machine a pain emplifier (edric0 said something about that in dune 2000, something like 'or live out your life in a pain emplifier' ???

why would the ordos be so cruel? I thought the harkonnen were the evil ones??? :O

[Apollyon]

I suppose that the Ordos would do anything to maintain peak efficiency, including torture.

[Big D]

I guess that 'need' for efficiency also make them so cold.

I mean like [Roma Atani] ''It's a sandworm, it does not appear to be FUNCTIONING'' -_-*

or this one about the fremen [Roma Atani]''these CREATURES are of little use to the ordos''

-____-** they're like living robots.

[lowzeewee]

Both are evil houses and thus,both are evil and cruel...

[Dante]

There's a difference between evil and not caring. The Harkonnen enjoy pain, the Ordos see it as a resource to be employed when the situation warrants it. One emotional, the other emotionless. They're almost polar opposites.

[Big D]

the harkonnen like pain! maybe they're sado's ::) ::)

[Terror]

i think that describing them as robots is pretty good.

it's all about efficiency and victory... there is no other option as they say. If the general fails, he is obsolete and is thus removed.

[Inoculator9]

And if his disembodied head can encourage success... what the hell ;)

[Big D]

:O frikking ordos, they're just weaklings, blegh

no matter, my harkonnen forces will come and destroy them ::) ::) ;D lmfboshtic :D

[Darkon]

Yeah right and pigs will start to fly! ::)

[Big D]

points to superpig ::)

[Kyan - Fremen]

The Ordos, as shown in the house intro movie, are pure mercenary, they value profit, and profit only. They ally with whoever can offer them something and will just as easily break that alliance if they have nothing left to offer. Thats how the Ordos function, like mindless drones.

Now Harkonnens are a different story, they are evil because they've been brought up to be a sadistic culture with a history of violence.

P.S. The Ordos mentat is my least favourite, so demanding, nothing ever satisfies her, I think she has a batan stuck up her ass, anyone wanna check?

[Big D]

what's a batan?

lol yeah roma atani is very annoying :D

[Kyan - Fremen]

I may have spelt it wrong, but I tried. A batan is the club that cops carry with them in addition to the gun and flashlights.

[lowzeewee]

Let me correct that-baton :)

[nemafakei]

Batons are usually considered to be somewhat lighter than a policeman's truncheon or cudgel, I think. 'Baton' is also the name given to the cylindrical token passed between runners in a relay race.

[Charliec81]

You know, the reason why I liked Westwood's game more than the bookmwas because of the inclusion of the Ordos.

Atreides and Harkonnen are stereotypical.

Ordos, however, are mysterious.

In the real world equivalent, Atreides would have been AMerica, and Harkonnen, esp., the old one, Russia.

Ordos, however, is different. It could be the infamous conspiracy government. It could a worldwide network of drug dealers and criminals. It could Be CHina (Ordos is actally a name of a palce in China). It could even be Japan.

I'd even go so far as to say that House Ordos is a representation of Corporate AMerica (and just why not ? They ahve their own politics !)

Ordos is complicated. TThe wa to pla them is also complicated, as they require strategy.

That's whyI like the Ordos, just as I like the other houses.

Besides: the Ordos are the closetsts things you cna get to "alien" in the Duniverse. The worms ? They're just super-mutated annelids that have an interesting ecological life-cycle created by Frank Herbet. It's creative, different, bt, not alien. But the Ordos are.

And to the Ordos: cruelty is just a device.

[Pawe]

Nah, to me Ordos are just way too strange. All that shielding technology, messing up with organic tech, profit gaining etc. It's just too wierd for me, I don't like to be commanded by some evil mercenary group... It just lacks the feeling of real war out there. If you play Ordos, its like serving someone who is afraightened to show his/her real face.

And besides, Ordos are strange, creepy and wierd. Atreides shall prevail.

[Big D]

roma atani is chinese/japanese/asian ;D

[Charliec81]

Nah, to me Ordos are just way too strange. All that shielding technology, messing up with organic tech, profit gaining etc. It's just too wierd for me, I don't like to be commanded by some evil mercenary group... It just lacks the feeling of real war out there. If you play Ordos, its like serving someone who is afraightened to show his/her real face.

And besides, Ordos are strange, creepy and wierd. Atreides shall prevail.

That's the whole point behind the Ordos. They're MEANT to be strange.

It reminds me of the Irken EMpire from Invader Zim. The whole of House Ordos is an artistc expression for that brand of warfare: the real, strategic, manipuylative warfare.

~

Of course: taken from another perspective, ATreides shall prevail.

ANd why not ?

Call me hypocritical, but, ATreides is good, as a house.

(maybe I should set up a different alter-ego for my interest in ATreides)

Every side has its good sides, agendas, ideaologies and philosophies. It's good enough to write a whole story on this.

[Pawe]

They are meant to be strange.. well.. they most definetely are. Strange, creepy... bah. Not my type at all.

[Charliec81]

They are meant to be strange.. well.. they most definetely are. Strange, creepy... bah. Not my type at all.

I didn't reallyfind them THAT strange. After all: having been exposed to the ideas of dystopia (and being interested in 1984 and "brave new world") the idea behind Ordos is nothing really new.

Coming to think of it: Invader Zim remnds me of the Ordos most, if you watch the cartoon, you would know.

[Big D]

what is dystopia?

[Atomic Mitten]

what is dystopia?

There once existed a land in which all rulers were content. True they fought for land and honour as all leaders do, but none ever contemplated leaving their paradise for the unknown beyond.

But contentment cannot last forever, and some began to question the leadership of the all-powerful overlord. Though revered for bringing an end to chaos and creating this elysian land, even his most devoted followers began to question many of his decisions.

Soon the strongest leaders began to consider leaving to form new kingdoms outside of paradise. Eventually all the strong leaders would go, leaving behind only the overlord and his band of sycophants, and those too weak to survive without his protection.

The strongest leader of them all would go on to found a new, antithetical paradise. A paradise in which the weak would be slain rather than protected. A paradise in which the strong were not penalized for their success. A truly dystopian paradise.

And thus Dystopia was born.

Dystopia is the opposite of Utopia.

[Atomic Mitten]

DEFINITION OF DYSTOPIA

What is a dystopia? Well, that question is not as easily answered as one might think. To put it as plain and simple as possible, a dystopian depiction can be described as a dark vision of the future. That is hardly a satisfactory definition, though.

Unfortunately, the different definitions that are available are not as congruent as one might wish. A few examples:

"An imaginary, wretched place, the opposite of Utopia." (Cassel's Consice English Dictionary)

"An imaginary place where people lead dehumanised and often fearful lives." (Merriam-Webster's On-line)

"The word 'dystopia' is the commonly used antonym of 'eutopia' [i.e. utopia] and denotes that class of hypothetical societies containing images of worlds worse than our own. [...] Dystopian images are almost invariably images of future society, pointing fearfully at the way the world is supposedly going in order to provide urgent propaganda for a change in direction." (Grolier's Multimedia Encyclopedia of Science Fiction)

"[...] dystopian fiction looks at totalitarian dictatorship as its prototype, a society that puts its whole population continuously on trial, a society that finds its essence in concentration camps, that is, in disenfranchising and enslaving entire classes of its own citizens, a society that, by glorifying and justifying violence by law, preys upon itself. [...] dystopian society is what we would today call dysfunctional; it reveals the lack of the very qualities that traditionally justify or set the raison d'être for a community." (Erika Gottlieb's Dystopian Fiction East and West: Universe of Terror and Trial)

"A dystopia is any society considered to be undesirable, for any of a number of reasons. The term was coined as a converse to a Utopia, and is most usually used to refer to a fictional (often near-future) society where current social trends are taken to nightmarish extremes. […] Often, the difference between a Utopia and a Dystopia is in the author's point of view. […] Dystopias are frequently written as warnings, or as satires, showing current trends extrapolated to a nightmarish conclusion. […] A dystopia is all too closely connected to current-day society." (Wikipedia On-line Dictionary)

Wikipedia's definition is, albeit somewhat lengthy, the most suitable one for an instrumental approach to the dystopian concept. It pin-points essential features:

Dystopian societies are undesirable or even horrifying.

Dystopian societies are usually futuristic and fictional.

Dystopian depictions can be regarded as warnings.

Dystopian fiction is both about today and tomorrow.

Dystopian fiction comments on our own society.

Dystopian and utopian concepts are relative.

I have deviced my own definition for Exploring Dystopia, which is instrumental for the selection of dystopias on this site, including recommendations from you. It is formulated as follows:

A dystopia is

A) an imaginary society that

B) comments on our own society and

C) a majority of us would fear to live in.

Four key words I find essential in my definition:

Imaginary, as dystopian stories reflect, not depict contemporary society. An example: Enemy of the State might resemble Nineteen Eighty-four in certain respects, but it still depicts our own society, albeit in a speculative manner. A dystopia that is not imaginary to one degree or another actually lacks the raison d'être for a dystopia, namely to explore possiblities and probabilities.

Society, as dystopian stories discuss major tendencies in contemporary society. An example: In Lord of the Rings, Sauron's rule is truly dystopian, but it does not really comment on our own society. Another example: Lord of the Flies has many dystopian qualities, but this island community cannot really be considered as a representative society.

Fear, as dystopias reveal and illustrate potential and more or less plausible dangers. An example: There are obviously many dangers in the Star Wars galaxy, but few would spontaneously fear to live there. However subjective this issue may be, the aim with a dystopian depiction is to frighten and provoke. As a rule, the more realistic and alarming a dystopia is, the more frightening and provoking is it.

Majority, as dystopias are positioned in relation to conventional contemporary values. An example: Some deranged individuals would probably enjoy the savage world of the Mad Max triology, but most of us would not. This issue can become somewhat complex when dealing with explicitly ideological dystopias or pseudo-utopian dystopias.

It is important to have two other aspects in mind as well:

Relativity, as Dystopia is a question of point of view and differs over time and place. For instance, the visionary man's Utopia is often the common man's Dystopia. In Hitler's Third Reich, the ruling class and its boot-licking servants probably thought they were living in Utopia, but political dissidents and concentration camp inmates were sure they were living in Dystopia. Some people may claim we are already living in Dystopia today, others may claim it is Utopia. Your Utopia might be my Dystopia and vice versa. As a common example, the world in Starship Trooper might seem attractive at first glance, but most of us would probably not enjoy living in a militarised society.

Intuitiveness, as Dystopia is difficult to demarcate and define. It is a general label used simply because it is convenient and fancy. I like to compare it to the likewise arbitrary label film noir. We can intuitively tell if a movie is film noir, but not why it is film noir. Exact characteristics are often difficult to extract. Furthermore, even if we can extract exact characteristics, a depiction with strong dystopian qualites does not necessarily have to be a dystopia. For instance, Alien is not necessarily a dystopia: it hints at dystopian concepts and it definitely looks dystopian, but does it really fit any of the definitions presented above?

Also, note that a dystopian depiction by no means need to take place in the future. Uchronian stories, i.e. alternative history stories, are not seldom dystopian, but take place in the present or in the past: they tell us what could have happened. Furthermore, the year 1984 has passed, but George Orwell's harrowing vision might still come true in the future, albeit in a different shape.

On a similar note, dystopian fiction is not necessarily science fiction. For instance, compare Nineteen Eighty-four with Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Do they really have anything in common? If you are writing an essay or a thesis, you should also have in mind that it is malapropos to call dystopian fiction science fiction in certain academic circles. Personally, I couldn't care less, but then again, I'm not a university professor...

Maybe this will explain it better ?