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TMA_1

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Regarding BG mentats, i remember that for some reason, there was a kind of silent prohibition to became a mentat among the BG, 'cause i remember that when the two BG went to LetoII in order to try to take out him with spice essence, LetoII was thinking about one of them to be a "secret" mentat. I don't remember exactly the situation, but i remember Leto impression too gave me the idea of "something that would have not to be". Pheraps i'm wrong pheraps not :)

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Yeah, but I don't think that was an issue of BG not being allowed to be mentats, it was mentats as a whole of any kind that were illegal or whatever.  I believe Leto II crushed the mentat school at some point.

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Yes, Leto prohibited mentats. Also, now that I'm rereading Heretics, I can say that during that era, all of the Bene Gesserit sisters that worked in Archives were mentats. Led by Bellonda. Female mentats are not a rarity, I think, though the claim that they were less efficient than males is ringing a bell.

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Here's the quote I was talking about:

As he accumulated observations of Bellonda, he came to appreciate a viewpoint of those great Mentat Masters who have taught him. "Reverend Mothers do not make the best Mentats."

No Bene Gesserit appeared capable of completely removing herself from that binding absolute she achieved in the Spice Agony: loyalty to the Sisterhood.

His teachers had warned against absolutes. They created a serious flaw in a Mentat. (p. 73)

I think it will clarify that bit about Mentats, women and BG's. No restrictions to female Mentats thus, and no "sexism" in the overall Mentat performance evaluation.

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  • 3 weeks later...

@lord vernius of ix

A "chair dog" is a kind of "living chair" that accomodates itself on the forms of the "sitter". Is a Tleilaxu product, obtained through genetic manipulation of... well something :)

@GriMFandagO

'Cause the emperor Shaddam IV "forced" them to do so, proposing them to replace the Arkonnen on the planet. The reason at the base of this fact is part of an hidden emperor's plot to get rid of Atreides.

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yeah, the tleilaxu are a strange people! So genetically twisted that they would probably be put into their own sub-racial class. I forgot all about chairdogs. I always had a funny image in my mind picturing them.

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It's never clearly explained, I don't think. Which I think is a good thing. They were humanoid, however, and resembled humans enough to be mistaken for one if not examined too carefully. There is reference I think to being tall (or possibly 'long'), gangly creatures, but that may be me filling in what I pictured them to look like. They were, essentially, a human/feline crossbreed. Somehow.

I imagined long, thin men (the idea of female futars never really took hold) with sharply pointed ears that are a bit too high up the sides of the head, and reddish hair. This would also be present as a thin fur - thin enough to see the skin beneath - that held patterns similar to a leopard. Long, pointed teeth and a lengthened jaw.

I liked the futars.

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  • 2 months later...

Hi everyone, I'm new to the board and must saythat this place is very cool!

One of the thing that puzzles me in Chapter HouseDune is the weapon that the Honored Matre have and that they want to power during the whole book. They use it at the end butI did not really understandwhat it did or what it was...

Also, in the last chapter with Marty and his wife, what is the web they use to communicate with Duncan?

Thanks in advance

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One of the thing that puzzles me in Chapter HouseDune is the weapon that the Honored Matre have and that they want to power during the whole book. They use it at the end butI did not really understandwhat it did or what it was...

This Weapon is described as some kind of bio-weapon that brings "bloodless death" to all organic life in a limited radius. Probably some kind of a "Death Ray".

Also, in the last chapter with Marty and his wife, what is the web they use to communicate with Duncan?

This is one of the puzzles Frank left us to solve. A possible interpretation is that these Face Dancers have accumulated such vast knowledge by absorbing other peoples' personae, they just got God-like powers that include supernatural abilities to manipulate objects like a no-ship from huge distances. Another solution is that the web Duncan visualises is metaphorical - the web of patterns humans follow that ultimately trap them. Escaping into the unknown, the refugees on the no-ship break all possible patterns and thus ensure the unlimited diversity of human species continues for the sake of survival. Also, some regard this ending as "breaking the fourth wall", viewing Daniel and Marty as Herbert and his wife. In this case, the characters are set free of the author's will. It may very well be that all of these interpretations coincide in a way.

As it seems, you will not find any of these views in the upcoming sequels by The Successors though :P

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  • 2 weeks later...

I know this is in one of the prequel books, or I thought it was, but when was Salusa Secundus nuked, or turned into a waste land?

Also, does anyone know when the Sardukar started to be trained on Salusa Secundus?

Thanks :)

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This Weapon is described as some kind of bio-weapon that brings "bloodless death"

"Bloodless death" is correct, otherwise i have imagined the Weapon as killing the mind rather than killing the body, but certainly any killer couple does the job as the Weapon & the Charge, just i have imagined the Weapon is special by ensuring the end (killing) rather than the effect (the wounds), the Weapon would be effective yet effectless.

There are some things i can imagine without specifics, but sometimes i can't.

What are H wolfs ? Well i can't say, i have a sense that H stands for Harkonnen, from that i guess Duncan invented the name, meaning he don't like them (may be he feels like a prisoner). Apart that there is not much in my imagination that would make H wolfs different from ordinary dog guardians.

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Also, some regard this ending as "breaking the fourth wall", viewing Daniel and Marty as Herbert and his wife. In this case, the characters are set free of the author's will. It may very well be that all of these interpretations coincide in a way.

totally. In fact this is why I am of the mind to believe that there is no need for a seventh novel(s).  I follow this line of thought.

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