human races in Dune

[TMA_1]

this question has been popped up a few times over the years, want to see what some of the new people think about it, as well as what those veteran duniverse posters think now after the time that the question was asked.

Where are the races in Dune? It seems that many houses have kept their racial traits, such as the atreides with the olive skin and piculiar nose and facial features. There are other places where things like that are explained with different people, but nothing is really mentioned where all the races went.

I have two ideas for it.

Either the books really dont pay attention to it, as it isnt a big deal. That it really isnt apart of the storyline.

Or, most racial characteristics arent mentioned because they have largely amalgomated. Like in 3001, where it mentions that all the races of the world have come together because of the unity of space-travel andwhatnot.

What do you guys think? I am not sure really, of course it isnt that important to the storyline, but with houses and all with seperation of cultures, wouldnt it seem normal that those houses stemmed from earlier sects from cultures based on distant historical earth?

[Vanguard3000]

Well, keep in mind that tens of thousands of years have passed.  That's a long time for the different "races" of humands to "average out", as is the situation you seem to be describing in 3001.  There would only be certain sects of humanity that would still really have their own physical uniqueness (i.e. apart from a simple nose shape or whatever).  The Fremen, for example.

[Emperor Harkonnen]

I believe that fremen have more of an arabic appearance, since they have lived for such a long time in the desert. except that they eye color is blue. humans adapt for the enviroment.

for example white people only needed like 10.000 years to adapt to the sun and climate in the north. dunno about other examples.

so I think that they would adapt to the place they lived. I dunno how the atreides would look though.

harkonnens would probably have white skin, due to the weak sun, giedi prime is orbiting.

[Dante]

It's possible that they had some measure of control over their own appearance, considering the available technology (just look at the Tleilaxu).

On the other hand, I personally think that if the Atreides were able to trace back their lineage to ancient Greece then they would quite likely bare some resemblance to that phenotype; i.e. black/dark hair, olive skin... Etc. Also you have to consider that the human race has had a lot of time to intermingle though, and inter-house marriages were common. And of course there is always the Bene Gesserit breeding programs in the background to consider.

[TMA_1]

yeah, that is what I was gettig at with 3001. In it all the races have pretty much intermingled, except for ganymede colony, which is almost a seperatist state in itself.

[Emperor Harkonnen]

but don't you guys think it would mostly depend upon the climate. if hunmans had lived in one place for thousand years they would adapt to a small extent.

[Dante]

Not if they spend all their time travelling/indoors/somewhere else. I mean look at the Harkonnens. The first thing that we think of (generally speaking) when we think of the Baron is that he was fat. But that wasn't genetic, it was a disease. His hair was (in the books) black and he himself in good shape. None of this was due to his enviroment, it was because of his lineage and station.

Hmm, I'm not making much sense here... Suffice to say that I don't think, with the ammount of interstellar travel available to them, that genetic differences would become too pronounced.

[nemafakei]

I'm of the view that the books didn't mention it because it wasn't important.

The families of the great houses would be fairly similar (possibly breeding out most dangerous genes), but with enough  variation to keel the gene pool salient (the Bene Gesserit will have made sure of that). Note that their population must have easily run into at least hundreds of thousands at any given time.

The population at large will have specialised to a certain degree towards suitability for their planet - those who have lived there for a good many generations, at least. Fremen, certainly, would be very genetically different... remember that at least half of the imperium won't have seen another planet, and may not have seen the extremities of their own, so intermarriage and 'averaging out' would only happen on a continental basis at best.

The Tleilaxu are obviously an exception, as are the guild.

[Caid Ivik]

If we would live on other planets, there will be surely new human races. People born on spaceships or stations may be weaker due to lack of gravity. Those born on larger planets otherwise. Color of skin may be altered by variable suns as well. Or a planet with sulphuric atmosphere would surely eradicate danger of smoking after some generations died of cancer... And so on.

[Emperor Harkonnen]

to be hounest, nothing racist or anything, but I do not think that Herbert intended the people on dune to be for example black. I would picture them that way.

[Mahdi]

Not if they spend all their time travelling/indoors/somewhere else. I mean look at the Harkonnens. The first thing that we think of (generally speaking) when we think of the Baron is that he was fat. But that wasn't genetic, it was a disease. 

Not according to the original novels.  In them he was fat due to his hedonistic nature (which is also how Jessica was begotten "he sampled many pleasures in his youth" and also due to his genese, as can be seen with Rabban turning to fat, like his uncle, and the Bene Gesserit comment on Feyd "That one won't LET HIMSELF turn to fat like the uncle".

As to the topic, I simply think Herbert didn't see it as important.

[Leto le Juste]

Herbert thought perhaps that such a thing was not a problem because it is not a problem. Humankind is a race but there is no difference between humans. So, don't search a problem where there is nothing.. ;)

[TMA_1]

yeah it doesnt seem too important, I agree with you nema and mahdi. Just wondering waht you guys think.

[AeonGrey]

I believe that fremen have more of an arabic appearance, since they have lived for such a long time in the desert. except that they eye color is blue. humans adapt for the enviroment.

for example white people only needed like 10.000 years to adapt to the sun and climate in the north. dunno about other examples.

so I think that they would adapt to the place they lived. I dunno how the atreides would look though.

harkonnens would probably have white skin, due to the weak sun, giedi prime is orbiting.

Ah yes, but you have to remember...the Fremen don't exactly go out and sunbathe now do they?  Anytime they're out in the sun, you can bet that they're covered head to toe to preserve that precious moisture.  So I wouldn't really bet on their skin being dark, unless of course there is an ancient genetic trait for dark skin among them.

[nemafakei]

There would have been some with darker skin and some with paler skin, but those with darker skin may have survived slightly better, so there may have been a greater tendancy toards dark skin on Arrakis than on, say, Caladan.

[Andrew]

Their features would depend on genetics (lineage) and their climate that they have been exposed to over thier life.

The largest racial differences would be with the Tleilaxu and navigators versus every other human.

[Jekal]

yes...

[Leto le Juste]

Yes but it is said that BT and Guild are genetically modified and become, for the guildean, different humans. But Herbert didn't speak about races and behaviour about it concerning the large part of humankind, expect perhaps the Dispersion but he couldn't tell us more about it.