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Dune is a science fiction novel written by Frank Herbert and published in 1965. A winner of the Hugo Award and Nebula Award for outstanding science fiction, Dune is popularly considered one of the greatest science fiction novels of all time, and is frequently cited as the best-selling science fiction novel in history. Dune spawned five sequels written by Herbert, and inspired a film adaptation by David Lynch , two miniseries made by the United States-based Sci-Fi Channel , computer games , the trilogy by Denis Villeneuve ( Part One released in 2021, Part Two in 2024 and Part Three anounced for december 2026). A cinema adaptation should been made by Alejandro Jodorowsky , but it couldn't be done and that finally lead to the documentary movie directed by Frank Pavich Jodorowsky's Dune . There's as well series of prequels, interquels, and sequels co-written by Brian Herbert , the author's son, and Kevin J. Anderson . Dune is set far in the future, amidst a sprawling feudal intergalactic empire , where planetary fiefdoms are controlled by Noble Houses that owe allegiance to the Imperial House Corrino . The first novel, modestly entitled Dune, tells the story of young Paul Atreides . Heir apparent to Duke Leto Atreides I from the planet Caladan , he and his family have to relocate to the planet Arrakis , an extremely arid world that is the universe's only source of the spice melange . In a story that explores the complex interactions of politics , religion , ecology, technology , and human nature, the fate of Paul, his family, his new planet and its native inhabitants , as well as the Padishah Emperor , the powerful Spacing Guild , and the secretive female order of the Bene Gesserit , are all drawn together into confrontations that will change the course of humanity . The novel was originally serialised in the magazine, Analog , from 1963 to 1965 as two shorter works: Dune World and The Prophet of Dune .
Opening twenty-thousand years into the future, the human race has scattered throughout the galaxy, populating multiple planets ruled by aristocratic Houses who themselves answer to the galaxy's Imperial family House Corrino . Key is the control of the desert planet Arrakis , the only source of the valuable spice melange . Spice gives those who ingest it an extended life and prescient awareness . Melange is crucial as it enables space travel . This domain is monopolized by the Spacing Guild ; its Navigators use the spice to safely plot a course for the Guild ships via prescience using " foldspace " technology. So they can travel instantaneously to anywhere in the galaxy. Ten thousand years before the beginning of the story, the human race had purged all machines that had replicated many of the functions of the human mind. This event, known as the Butlerian Jihad, resulted in the destruction of all the robots, computers , “ thinking machines ,” ( including the computer-navigators ). Subsequently, it was necessary to replace spaceship computers with humans having the ability to assume same role. That's how emerged the Guild Navigators to allow ships to travel safely through space. The functions of the logical computers were replaced by the Mentats , humans who, through intensive training, learned to enter a heightened mental state in which they could perform complex logical computations. The spice is also crucial to the powerful matriarchal order called the Bene Gesserit . The secretive Bene Gesserit, often referred to as "witches", possess mental and physical powers developed through a combination of thousands of generations of genetic selection and years of physical and mental conditioning. When a Bene Gesserit acolyte becomes a full Reverend Mother by undergoing a massive overdose of specific narcotics (called "The Agony"), she gains access to her "ancestral memories" — the complete life experiences of all her female ancestors back to the point of conception. Only women have been able to survive the transformation. However, the Bene Gesserit have a secret, centuries-old breeding program to create a prescient superhuman — and male equivalent of a Reverend Mother — called the Kwisatz Haderach , who would not only be able to survive The Agony, but whose “organic mental powers would bridge space and time”. The planet Arrakis is completely covered in a desert ecosystem, hostile to most organic life. It is also sparsely settled by a human population of native Fremen tribes arrived a long time ago after an exodus. Tribal leaders are selected by defeating the former leader in combat to death. The Fremen also have complex rituals and systems focusing on the value and conservation of water, a so rare and precious ressource on their arid planet. They conserve the water distilled from their dead, consider spitting an honorable greeting, and value tears as the greatest gift one can give to the dead. Their culture also revolves around the spice, which is created as part of the life cycle of the giant sandworms who dominate the deserts. Bene Gesserit missionary efforts — which the mission is to implement in populations supersitions in the aim to influence the evolving of humanity — have implanted a belief about a male Messiah who will one day come and transform Arrakis into a world more hospitable to humans. When the Atreides familiy will come into Arrakis, the Fremens will believe that Paul is their Messiah, the Mahdi .
The central figure of the book is Paul , son and heir presumptive to Duke Leto Atreides , head of the House Atreides , and Leto's concubine , Jessica , a Bene Gesserit . The Bene Gesserit perform many functions in the Empire, as Truthsayers (human lie detectors), negotiators, advisors, and teachers, but all these functions serve one deeper purpose: for at least ten thousand years, they have been selectively breeding humans trying to improve humanity. The goal of their breeding program is the Kwisatz Haderach , a human being who will be aware of both maternal and paternal ancestral memories, and have prescient abilities greater than those of the Guild's navigators. The Bene Gesserit are close, they believe, to the fruition of their plan, and Paul Atreides is at the heart of it. Jessica , his mother, disobeyed Bene Gesserit orders out of attachment to Leto Atreides , and gave birth to a boy, Paul . Her express orders had been to produce a girl, whom the Bene Gesserit would have mated with a Harkonnen, and they hoped from this union they would produce the Kwisatz Haderach . Ultimately, the change in plan causes Paul Atreides to exhibit unexpected resources, and possibilities that were unforeseen by the Bene Gesserit plan. With House Atreides becoming increasingly more powerful within the Landsraad , the Padishah Emperor concocts a plan to rid the Imperium of the great house under the guise of a Harkonnen attack. The emperor awards House Atreides with the stewardship of Arrakis , a desert planet and the only source of the most valuable substance in the universe, spice melange . Whilst Leto is aware that the Emperor is out to betray him, he sees Arrakis as a way to prove himself within the Landsraad and grow in power by turning around Arrakis — a feat that had not been accomplished by the Harkonnens in eight decades.
Source: Dune (novel) on Dune Wiki
Source: Timeline (Original Dune)
Paul Atreides ( 10176 A.G. - 10219 A.G. ), predominantly known as Muad'Dib (also called Usul by the Fremen and The Atreides Bastard by the Bene Gesserit ) was the last Duke of the noble House Atreides . The only son of Duke Leto Atreides and Bene Gesserit Sist…
Arrakis (/əˈrɑːkɪs/), also known as " Dune ", and later " Rakis " after the fall of God Emperor Leto Atreides II , was a harsh desert planet located on the far edge of the Old Imperium in the Canopus star system. It later became the Imperium's center under Mua…
Leto Atreides II was the third and final ruler of the Atreides Empire and its first and only God Emperor from 10219 A.G. until his assassination in 13728 A.G. — an event that dissolved his multigalactic regime into a tenuous confederation of rival factions. Le…
Duncan Idaho was originally a Ginaz Swordmaster in the service of the honorable House Atreides during the last days of the Corrino Empire , and one of the Duke Leto 's right-hand men, with Gurney Halleck and Mentat Thufir Hawat , and regarded as something of a…
Leto Atreides I ( 10140 A.G. - March 10191 A.G. ) was the 20 and penultimate Duke of House Atreides and the father of Emperor Paul Atreides . Well known for his even-handed and compassionate leadership style, Leto ruled over Caladan and later Arrakis while at …
Mohiam travelled to Arrakis with the Emperor Shaddam during the last year of the Desert War two years later, in which Paul was the religious leader "Muad'Dib" of the Fremen. After the Battle of Arrakeen, she was involved in the final confrontation. She recogni…
Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen (/ˈhɑːrkənən/) (October 10174 AG - December 10193 AG ), born as Feyd-Rautha Rabban , was the Na-Baron of House Harkonnen . The cunning and charismatic nephew and heir of Vladimir Harkonnen , he briefly held dominion over Arrakis and assum…
Shaddam Corrino IV ( 10119 AG ) was the 81st and final Padishah Emperor of the Corrino Empire . After pressuring Duke Leto Atreides and his Great House to relocate to Arrakis and take over its profitable spice production, Shaddam enlisted the House Harkonnen m…
Piter de Vries (d. 10191 AG ) was a Twisted Mentat developed by the Bene Tleilax . Serving House Harkonnen under the Baron Vladimir , Piter was an ambitious and impatient sadist whose bloodlust disturbed even his master. Exceedingly prideful of his Mentat tale…
Count Hasimir Fenring ( 10133 AG - 10225 AG ) was a renowned assassin and Mentat political tactician who was one of the deadliest fighters in the Corrino Imperium . Fenring was also a genetic eunuch and a failed Kwisatz Haderach . A distaff cousin of House Cor…
Thufir Hawat (d. 10193 AG ) was a Mentat and Master of Assassins for House Atreides during the time of Duke Leto the Just . For three generations, Hawat had been responsible for Atreides House security. This meant protection for Atreides family members, anti-e…
Supreme Bashar Vorian Atreides [b. 223 BG ] was the first person to hold the name of Atreides and the true forerunner of House Atreides , creating its symbol of the hawk and paving the way for its political success through his prominence among the Great Houses…
Pardot Kynes [d. 10175 AG ] was an Imperial Planetologist who studied Arrakis . He remained there and married a native Fremen woman, with whom he had his only child, Liet Kynes . Kynes was the first to be sent to study Arrakis, perhaps by Elrood Corrino IX . F…
Despite his loyalty to the Imperium, Kynes was the secret spiritual leader of the Fremen. Kynes would later become conflicted in his opinion of the Atreides, but found himself allying himself with them. Kynes later aided Paul and Jessica in their escape from t…
Some or all of this article was copied from the following external source: The Dune Encyclopedia Harah was the Fremen wife by custom of Paul Atreides ; widow of Jamis ; nurse of Alia , Leto , and Ghanima Atreides ; wife of Stilgar . Harah's maternal impulse dr…
Alia Atreides (November 10191 AG - 10219 AG ), also known as Saint Alia of the Knife and later Coan-Tean ("the female death-spirit who walks without feet") to the Fremen and called Hawt the Fish Monster on the outer worlds, was the posthumous daughter of Duke …
Omnius was the self-proclaimed title of the collection of powerful artificially intelligent entities which tyrannically ruled the Synchronized Empire prior to and during the Butlerian Jihad , and later the reborn thinking machine civilisation, the New Synchron…
A House , in the time of the Imperium , was a dynastic seat of power, sometimes limited to a world and sometimes spanning several worlds. Numerous Houses existed within the imperial hierarchy, and collectively they formed the Landsraad , which was governed by …
House Major or Great House refers to one of the main houses or communities of the Landsraad from the Dune franchise. Typically, a House Major was a familial dynasty that ruled a planet or a planetary system. During the time of the Padishah Emperors , this usua…
Typically ruled by a Siridar-Baron , House Harkonnen was essentially annihilated as a major political entity after the Battle of Arrakeen , though its family line continued on Giedi Prime throughout the reign of the Atreides Empire .
Prince Corrin (b. 1022 AG) was a grandson of Emperor Wallach II (r. 933–995). In 1027, there was a rupture with the Sardaukar forces and the Sardaukar Bashar Feyd-al-Feyd usurped the throne. To cement his claim, all close imperial relations were killed, with P…
After it had been established in 10,191 A.G. that Paul Atreides was the Kwisatz Haderach, the Bene Gesserit breeding program continued. However, it was shortly thereafter usurped by Paul's son Leto II , and maintained by him until his death approximately 3,500…
The Alman Corrinos repeatedly challenged the original branch of House Corrino, the House of Saluso Corrino , for rule over the Imperium . The Alman Corrinos were themselves also challenged by various other influential families, such as the House of Rautha and …
Bashar was a military rank of the Sardaukar comparable to the Old Earth rank of Colonel, " a fractional point above the standardized military classification of Colonel". Ranks above it included Caid and Burseg . A later title, Supreme Bashar , was used by the …
The Golden Lion Throne was the name given to the seat of ultimate power for House Corrino , since the symbol of that great House was the golden lion. During the days of the Old Imperium, the name was also synonymous with the Imperial throne, since House Corrin…
Caladan , later renamed Dan , was the third planet orbiting the star Delta Pavonis . It was a lush oceanic world, and the ancestral home of House Atreides .
Harko was a major city of the planet Giedi Prime under the rule of House Harkonnen . Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen celebrated his 17th birthday in Harko. He fought and killed his 100th slave-gladiator in the family games. Count and Lady of the Fenring were royal visit…
Giedi Prime , later renamed Gammu , was a planet orbiting the star Ophiuchi B . It was the historical homeworld of House Harkonnen .
Corrin was a location near the star Sigma Draconis , from which the Battle of Corrin ( 88 BG ) and the House Corrino derived their names. The victor took the regnal name of Corrino in remembrance of the battle.
The Imperial Opal Palace , the residence of the Padishah Emperors , is located in Corrinth City , the capital city of the planet Kaitain along the Imperial Boulevard: a large garden avenue lined with the statues of the previous Corrino Emperors. Above the entr…
Castle Caladan was the official residence of the ruling clan of planet Caladan . It was an ancient structure, made of very old stone and wood, and was characterised by many rooms and halls, as well as vaulted ceilings with patterned wooden beams. It stood by a…
Carthag was the capital of the planet Arrakis under the rule of House Harkonnen . Upon the change of fief ordered by the Padishah Emperor Shaddam IV , House Atreides took control of Arrakis in 10,191AG. Under the Atreides leader, the Duke Leto , the capital mo…
Corrinth City , or Corrinth , is the most lavish and glamorous capital city of the planet Kaitain . It was the chief city and capital of the planet Kaitain , homeworld of the Padishah Emperors during the ten millennia of the rule of the Corrino Empire . The ci…
The Imperial Palace on Kaitain housed the Padishah Emperor , the relatives of the House Corrino , the bodyguards and slaves of the House and aristocratic visitors. The Selamlik was a gigantic hall within the palace, entered through the plasteel marble doors, a…
The Hassik III Center for the Performing Arts is a center on Kaitain dedicated to the performing arts. Named after Hassik Corrino III , it was a cavernous building that has a column-studded edifice designed with acoustic enhancements and prismatic windows. The…
Barony , later renamed as Ysai , was the capital city of planet Giedi Prime during the rule of House Harkonnen . After the fall of the Harkonnens, the city was renamed by Atreides Barony's skyline was dominated by an extremely large rectangular building in its…
The Contemplation Tea House is a sumptuous dining house located at the Imperial Opal Palace on the planet Kaitain , the crown-jeweled home planet of the Imperial House Corrino . A separate building in the ornamental Palace gardens, large, with colorful woodcut…
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