Dune FAQ

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This is a q and a about Dune based upon questions I have seen, using my interpritation of the Dune Encyclopedia. This has nothing to do with Brian and Kevin's work. Though I love their books just as much as the DE, I think I should mention the beauty of what McNelly wrote too. I am not the best writer ever, but I hope you guys enjoy this. Feel free to post questions if you want. Remember this is not canon! this information is from the Dune Encyclopedia. Some of the information could be incorrect. simply because I havent been able to find a copy of it for a long time because I lost my computer version. So it is all from memory. Again, I hope you guys like it. :)

Here it starts.

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Q: What is Dune?

A: If you asked that question... well you dont deserve to even touch the hallowed soil of this website! wait a minute... this site does not have soil.

Q: What is the Butlerian Jihad?

A: It was a long battle between thinking machines and humans that formed a resistance against those machines and the humans that were alligned with them. It touched religious grounds and was one of the most important times in the human history of Dune. What happened to earth or what earth's situation is during the age of Paul the messiah is not mentioned. Only snippets of things are known to us.

The Dune Encyclopedia says that the war itself started from an accidental abortion caused by a thinking machine. The woman who lost the child happened to be Jehanne Butler. A priestess of the Mother Goddess of her home planet which would later be under House Richese's dominion. She had strong political ties because her husband was a noble of their homeworld. They began to protest against these machines with religious fervor. It grew into a holy war that branded machines that could think as an abomination. The machines were themselves deadly but by no means the focus of power. Humans controlled the subserviant machines and did great evil with them. Eventually after they were overthrown, the religions of the universe came together forming one all-encompassing religion. The religious officals apart of this group (the C.E.T.) made sure that no thinking machines would be made again. That was one of the prime directives of the religious unification. Also since people were religiously overzealous after the jihad, there needed to be a coming together in order to keep the people docile.

Q: What is the spacing guild?

A: The Spacing guild was founded early after the Great Jihad. After the blessed spice was discovered, mankind found a way to travel through the great void of space in a realistic timeframe for humans. Originally called the Society of Mystic Mariners, they began mutating specially selected people's for space travel. They soon found that it would be more profitable and less dangerous if they kept behind the politics of the time. They let themselves become subserviant to House Corrino, which was a wise move. They could have a complete Monopoly on space travel, but not be at risk of being overtaken by another large entity or government. They called themselves The Spacing Guild, or The Guild, when they grew large and molded into a true powerhouse.

Q: Who is this Holtzmen guy anyway?

A: Good question, because in many ways, This man is one of the most important figures in the Dune saga. Not much is told about him in the Dune chronicals, but much is mentioned in the Dune Encyclopedia. Originally a son of a Noble in pre jihad days, Ibrahim Von Holtzmen grew up to be a genius inventor. His eccentricity and intelligence was only matched by his love of Ornithopter racing, a relatively new atmosphereic vessel which still had problems of breaking down in flight. It was daring to say the least. It fixed the desire inside him to speed past the sound barrier with wings swept back like a falcon. One fateful day though his thopter crashed. With his body all but mutilated, there were only two choices to be made. he either had to go through an extremely new surgery in order to survive or die. and his father, out of love, decided to let his son go through the surgery.

Ibrahim's brain was transplanted in an early design of an axolotl tank and by his request, fixed to multipule computer mainframes. The surgery was a success. He had no body but only his brain, which was inside a menacing looking tank that was surrounded by computers. These new computers all but amplified his genius. Problems arose though and he began to grow paranoid. His insanity grew day by day and eventually made a bizzare request. He wished to have a new body, which was a space vessel so that he could travel in the void of space in seclusion. His father granted this because he did not want his son destroyed and thought that if he was left alone would cause no harm.

Eventually though he grw more and more insane, and his saddened father finally knew he had to order his own son be destroyed. Vessels were sent after him and nearly destroyed the ship he lived in. He barely escaped with his life but was able to find a secluded star. He entered a comatory orbit around it and was not heard of for a thousand years.

He came back three times, each one thousand years in time difference. Giving new theories on the Holtzmen wave. three dimensions of the wave were founded by him. Eventually interstellar communication and travel became possible and a new golden age of prosperity came to the universe. his fourth and final trip back to humanity was his doom. His fourth and final unified theory was expected to be accepted and would probably have jumped technology 10000 years ahead of it's time. The jihad was happening though and they knew exactly when and where he would be coming, because of his exact one thousand year arrival. When he came back to his home planet, jihad fanatics destroyed him because of his connection to thinking machines, destroying the unified theory. One of the saddest moments in human history.

Q: What is House Corrino and what are it's origins?

A: Ahh, interesting history this is. the corrino people originated on the hostile planet of salusa secondus. Sparatic tribes who had a name that roughly sounds like the word sardaukar, controlled the planet. These people lived in one of the harshest environments in the galaxy. They were zealous about their inter-tribal scirmishes and grew to worship war in their religion. They eventually grew to great size and power and during the Jihad played an important role as solders. They were without any doubt considered the best at that time, probably the best in history. After the Jihad

the leader Saudir the Great understood his advantage of leading the greatest army humankind has ever seen. He lead a coup against the human governments and houses and thus started the Great House Corrino and it's 10000 year reign over the myriad of planets.

I will continue to post more info. I hope you guys enjoy it and get osmething from it. I would like to think Willis McNelly for his writing of the Dune ENcyclopedia. It should never be overlooked and though it isnt canon, it is every bit as deep and heady as Brian and Kevin's novels.

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Q: who are the Bene Gesserit?

A: Taken from a ridulan crystal sheet inside Leto the Tyrant's No-room chamber:

"The roots of the bene gesserit go back as far as 2000 b.c., and span all the way to this age. This insidious group of whores began in the ancient Terran fiefdom of Bab

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Q: Why is the powerstructure feudelistic in the dune universe?

A: Well I have heard this one a lot and I ask myself the question a lot. From what I can see, it is because after intersteller travel became possible, planets were given to large families with heavy political sway. These families grew larger and stronger. By this time, rulership was based upon an emperor. Originally the capital planet was Ceres. This confederacy actually seemed to benefit the people best. With an emperor to control the macromanaging, the regular houses of the landsraad could take care of their own micromanagement. Because the universe is so large it seems to be impossible to have any other form of government.