List of technology in the Dune universe

{{Short description|Fictional technology}} {{DISPLAYTITLE:List of technology in the ''Dune'' universe}} Technology is a key aspect of the fictional setting of the [[Dune (franchise)|''Dune'' series]] of [[science fiction]] novels written by [[Frank Herbert]], and derivative works. Herbert's concepts and inventions have been analyzed and deconstructed in at least one book, ''[[The Science of Dune]]'' (2007). Herbert's original 1965 novel ''[[Dune (novel)|Dune]]'' is popularly considered one of the greatest science fiction novels of all time,<ref name="Touponce 119">Touponce, William F. (1988), ''Frank Herbert'', [[Boston]], Massachusetts: Twayne Publishers imprint, G. K. Hall & Co, pg. 119, {{ISBN|0-8057-7514-5}}. "''[[Locus (magazine)|Locus]]'' ran a poll of readers on April 15, 1975 in which ''Dune'' 'was voted the all-time best science-fiction novel…It has sold over ten million copies in numerous editions.'"</ref> and is frequently cited as the best-selling science fiction novel in history.<ref name="Touponce 119"/><ref name="RIF">{{cite web | title=SCI FI Channel Auction to Benefit Reading Is Fundamental | url=http://pnnonline.org/article.php?sid=4302 |date=March 18, 2003 |publisher=PNNonline.org (Internet Archive)|quote=Since its debut in 1965, Frank Herbert's ''Dune'' has sold over 12 million copies worldwide, making it the best-selling science fiction novel of all time…Frank Herbert's ''Dune'' saga is one of the greatest 20th Century contributions to literature.|access-date=September 28, 2007 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070928005501/http://pnnonline.org/article.php?sid=4302 |archive-date = September 28, 2007}}</ref> ''Dune,'' and its five [[sequel]]s by Herbert, explore the complex and multilayered interactions of [[politics]], [[religion]], [[ecology]] and [[technology]], among other themes.

The [[Butlerian Jihad]], an event in the [[back-story]] of Herbert's universe, leads to the outlawing of certain technologies, primarily "[[thinking machines (Dune)|thinking machines]]", a collective term for [[computers]] and [[artificial intelligence]] of any kind. This prohibition is a key influence on the nature of Herbert's fictional setting.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.depauw.edu/sfs/backissues/58/ditom58art.htm|title=History and Historical Effect in Frank Herbert's ''Dune''|last=Lorenzo|first=DiTommaso|date=November 1992|work=[[Science Fiction Studies]]|publisher=#58, Volume 19, Part 3. DePauw.edu|pages=311–325|access-date=July 21, 2009|archive-date=October 17, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121017124444/http://www.depauw.edu/sfs/backissues/58/ditom58art.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> In ''Dune'', ten thousand years after this jihad, its enduring commandment remains, "Thou shalt not make a machine in the likeness of a human mind."<ref>{{cite book |last=Herbert |first=Frank |author-link=Frank Herbert |title=[[Dune (novel)|Dune]] |chapter=Terminology of the Imperium: Jihad, Butlerian |year=1965}}</ref>

==Atomics==  '''Atomics''' is the term used to refer to [[nuclear weapon]]s in the [[Dune (franchise)|''Dune'' universe]].<ref name="Dune">{{cite book |last=Herbert |first=Frank |title=Dune |url=https://archive.org/details/dune0000herb |url-access=registration |year=1965}}</ref> Like real-world nuclear weapons, atomics presumably are [[Nuclear_weapon#Fission_weapons|fission]] and/or [[Thermonuclear weapon|thermonuclear]] weapons, and Herbert notes that "[[radiation]] lingers" after their use.<ref name="Dune"/> However, the author never delves into the specifics of the technology or explores in detail how it may have evolved by the time of ''Dune''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s far-future setting.

In the initial ''Dune'' novels, the Great Houses of the [[Landsraad]] own "family atomics" as heirlooms, keeping a secure, hidden cache as weapons of last resort in their wars.<ref name="Dune"/> Though such possession is necessary to secure power, the use of atomics against humans violates the chief prohibition of the [[Great Convention]], the "universal truce enforced under the power balance maintained by the [[Spacing Guild|Guild]], the Great Houses, and the Imperium".<ref name="Convention">{{cite book |last=Herbert |first=Frank |title=Dune |url=https://archive.org/details/dune0000herb |url-access=registration |chapter=Terminology of the Imperium: Great Convention |year=1965}}</ref> [[Paul Atreides]] notes in ''Dune'' that "The language of the Great Convention is clear enough: ''Use of atomics against humans shall be cause for planetary obliteration''."<ref name="Dune"/> The atomics themselves act as a [[Deterrence theory|military deterrent]]; any House which violates the Great Convention flagrantly (such as using atomics openly in warfare) faces massive retaliation from any number of the other Houses.<ref name="Dune"/> As Paul notes via [[epigraph (literature)|epigraph]] in ''[[Dune Messiah]]'' (1969), "any Family in my Empire could so deploy its atomics as to destroy the planetary bases of fifty or more other Families".<ref name="Messiah">{{cite book |last=Herbert |first=Frank |title=[[Dune Messiah]] |year=1969}}</ref>

A '''stone burner''' is a [[conventional weapon]] that uses atomics for fuel. Whether they are covered by the Great Convention is discussed several times in the series, with the opinion that while they "skirt the intentions of the law" they do not warrant retaliation. The explosion and radiation can be precisely adjusted depending on the desired effect.<ref name="Messiah"/> Stone burners emit "J-rays", a form of radiation that destroys the eye tissue of anyone surviving the initial radiation blast.<ref name="Messiah"/> If of sufficient power, a stone burner can burn its way into the core of a planet, destroying it:

{{blockquote|Paul remained silent, thinking what this weapon implied. Too much fuel in it and it'd cut its way into the planet's core. Dune's molten level lay deep, but the more dangerous for that. Such pressures released and out of control might split a planet, scattering lifeless bits and pieces through space.<ref name="Messiah"/>}}

===The original series=== In ''Dune'', Paul uses an atomic device on the surface of [[Arrakis]] to blast a pass through the Shield Wall, a desert mountain range protecting the planet's capital. He says this act is in accordance with the Great Convention because the atomics are not used against humans, but rather against "a natural feature of the desert".<ref name="Dune"/> A stone burner is used in an attempt to assassinate Paul in ''Dune Messiah''; he survives but is blinded for the rest of his life.<ref name="Messiah"/> In ''[[God Emperor of Dune]]'' (1981), the [[Leto II Atreides|God Emperor Leto II]] notes that since his 3,500-year reign began, he has "searched out all of the Family atomics and moved them to a safe place".<ref name="God Emperor">{{cite book |last=Herbert |first=Frank |title=[[God Emperor of Dune]] |year=1981}}</ref>

===Prequels=== In the ''[[Prelude to Dune]]'' [[prequel]] [[trilogy]] by [[Brian Herbert]] and [[Kevin J. Anderson]] (1999–2001) it is revealed that a renegade House of the Landsraad had devastated the capital of the [[Padishah Emperor|Corrino Padishah Empire]], [[Salusa Secundus]], with atomics and rendered the planet essentially uninhabitable. [[Padishah Emperor]] [[Hassik Corrino III]] had relocated the Imperial throne to the planet [[Kaitain (Dune)|Kaitain]], and the attacking House had been subsequently exterminated. During the events of the series in 10,175 A.G., [[Padishah Emperor]] [[Shaddam IV]] uses atomics to destroy [[House Richese]]'s artificial laboratory moon of Korona. Part of Shaddam's plan to ensure his own [[Melange (fictional drug)|spice]] [[monopoly]], the explosion causes a quarter of the planet [[Richese]]'s population to go blind from the resulting light produced by the destruction of the Richesian mirrors stored on Korona. Finally, the persecuted [[Dominic Vernius|Earl Dominic Vernius]] plans to use atomics to attack Kaitain; when his hidden base on Arrakis is discovered by the Padishah Emperor's [[Sardaukar]] army, Vernius ignites a stone burner to destroy himself and as many of the Sardaukar as he can.<ref name="Prelude">{{cite serial |last=Herbert |first=Brian |author-link=Brian Herbert |author2=[[Kevin J. Anderson]] |title=[[Prelude to Dune]] |date=1999–2001 }}</ref>

The ''[[Legends of Dune]]'' prequel series (2002–2004) establishes that the first human victory of the [[Butlerian Jihad]] (the crusade against the [[thinking machines (Dune)|thinking machines]]) is the 200 B.G. destruction of Earth and the Earth [[Omnius]] using atomics. "Pulse atomics" calibrated for use against the gel circuitry of the thinking machines are also used at the end of the war to systematically wipe out every single machine-controlled planet.<ref name="Legends">{{cite serial |last=Herbert |first=Brian |author2=Kevin J. Anderson |title=[[Legends of Dune]] |date=2002–2004 }}</ref> It is this action, and the millions of human slaves who are killed in it, which ultimately leads to the ban on atomic warfare in the Great Convention. It also contributes to the development of the feud between the Harkonnens and Atreides.

==Axlotl tank==  {{For|the real world amphibian|Axolotl}} '''Axlotl tanks''' are a fictional biological technology in the [[Dune (franchise)|''Dune'' universe]] created by [[Frank Herbert]]. Axlotl technology is also mentioned in Herbert's novels ''[[Destination: Void]]'' and ''[[The Jesus Incident]]'' but not elaborated upon.

A [[trade secret]] of the [[Bene Tleilax|Tleilaxu]], an axlotl tank is a "device for reproducing a living human being from the cells of a cadaver",<ref name="Heretics">{{cite book |last=Herbert |first=Frank |title=[[Heretics of Dune]] |year=1984}}</ref> a type of [[clone (fictional being)|clone]] called a [[ghola]].<ref name="Messiah"/> Axlotl tanks are eventually revealed to be semi-[[Artificial uterus|artificial uteri]] created by transforming women into biological factories.<ref name="Heretics"/> Later in the series, the Tleilaxu scientists also use the axlotl tanks to replicate the spice [[Melange (fictional drug)|melange]], previously only available on the [[desert planet]] [[Arrakis]] where it is created naturally as part of the life cycle of giant [[sandworm (Dune)|sandworms]].<ref name="Heretics"/>

===The original series=== The tanks are briefly mentioned in ''[[Dune Messiah]]'' (1969) as the source of the [[Duncan Idaho]] ghola.<ref name="Messiah"/>{{efn|Both mentions of the tanks are spelled "axolotl" in ''Dune Messiah'', but Herbert spells the term "axlotl" in all later novels in the series.}} Their nature is a well-guarded Tleilaxu secret. During his 3500-year reign which ends in ''[[God Emperor of Dune]]'' (1981), [[Leto II Atreides|Leto II]] purchases countless Idaho gholas produced for him in the tanks.<ref name="God Emperor"/>

Within the 1500 years between the events of ''God Emperor of Dune'' and ''[[Heretics of Dune]]'' (1984), the Tleilaxu discover an artificial method of producing the spice melange in their axlotl tanks as well.<ref name="Heretics"/> Some melange users, like the [[Bene Gesserit]], prefer the natural melange of Arrakis to the Tleilaxu substitute, claiming increased potency.

In ''Heretics of Dune'', [[Miles Teg]] recalls how his Bene Gesserit mother [[Janet Roxbrough|Lady Janet]] had said that "No one outside of [the Tleilaxu] planets has ever reported seeing a Tleilaxu female." Wondering whether the Tleilaxu breed or simply rely on the tanks to reproduce, Miles had asked, "Do they exist or is it just the tanks?" Janet confirmed that females do indeed exist. Later in ''Heretics'', Teg's own daughter, [[Reverend Mother (Dune)|Reverend Mother]] [[Darwi Odrade]], theorizes that the axlotl tanks may be, in fact, "surrogate mothers"—Tleilaxu females somehow transformed.<ref name="Heretics"/> Soon, the current Duncan ghola recalls his repeated "births" from the tanks:

{{blockquote|The axlotl tanks! He remembered emerging time after time: bright lights and padded mechanical hands. The hands rotated him and, in the unfocused blurs of the newborn, he saw a great mound of female flesh—monstrous in her almost immobile grossness…a maze of dark tubes linked her body to giant metal containers.<ref name="Heretics"/>}}

In ''[[Chapterhouse: Dune]]'' (1985), the last remaining Tleilaxu Master [[Scytale (Dune)|Scytale]] is coerced into revealing the means of creating the tanks to the Bene Gesserit Sisterhood.<ref name="Chapterhouse">{{cite book |last=Herbert |first=Frank |title=[[Chapterhouse: Dune]] |year=1985}}</ref>

===Sequels=== In ''[[Hunters of Dune]]'' (2006) and ''[[Sandworms of Dune]]'' (2007), the novels by [[Brian Herbert]] and [[Kevin J. Anderson]] which complete Frank Herbert's original series, the Bene Gesserit on the [[no-ship]] ''Ithaca'' use the captive Scytale's knowledge to create their own axlotl tanks from Bene Gesserit volunteers. The Rabbi, leader of the group of "secret" Jews on board, is upset when his follower [[Rebecca (Dune)|Rebecca]], a "wild" Reverend Mother, volunteers herself for the process.<ref name="Hunters"/><ref name="Sandworms"/>

===''Prelude to Dune''=== In the ''[[Prelude to Dune]]'' [[prequel]] [[trilogy]] (1999–2001) by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson (set immediately prior to the events of 1965's ''[[Dune (novel)|Dune]]''), the Tleilaxu attempt to create artificial melange called ''[[ajidamal]]'' using axlotl technology; the best results are gained by using a Bene Gesserit sister to create an axlotl tank. However, the project ultimately fails.<ref name="Prelude"/>

==Cymek==  A '''cymek''' is a type of [[cyborg]], or machine-human [[hybrid (biology)|hybrid]], in the fictional [[Dune (franchise)|''Dune'' prequel universe]]. They appear in the ''[[Legends of Dune]]'' [[prequel]] [[trilogy]] (2002–2004) by [[Brian Herbert]] and [[Kevin J. Anderson]]. The only organic part of a cymek is its brain; in the series, living humans willingly have their brains transplanted into large mechanized bodies with the intent of extending life indefinitely.<ref name="Legends"/> The technology is later revived in the prequel novel ''[[Mentats of Dune]]'' (2014).

===''Legends of Dune''=== Over 11,000 years before the events of Frank Herbert's ''[[Dune (novel)|Dune]]'' (1965), a group of 20 ambitious humans see the stagnation of the [[Old Empire (Dune)|Old Empire]] and realize that their small band can take control of it with the aid of [[thinking machines (Dune)|thinking machines]]. Calling themselves the [[Titan (Dune)|Titans]], they rule humanity for a hundred years and rename themselves after famous historical and mythological figures, most notably [[Agamemnon (Dune)|Agamemnon]], [[Ajax (Dune)|Ajax]], [[Barbarossa (Dune)|Barbarossa]], [[Dante (Dune)|Dante]], [[Hecate (Dune)|Hecate]], [[Juno (Dune)|Juno]], [[Tlaloc (Dune)|Tlaloc]] and [[Xerxes (Dune)|Xerxes]].<ref name="Legends"/>

Ten years into their reign, their leader Tlaloc is killed in a freak accident. Realizing their mortality and limited lifespans, they seek a way to extend their lives. Juno is inspired by the [[cogitor]]s, ancient philosophers whose brains had been installed in fluid-filled canisters so that they might analyze the universe indefinitely; they are living and retain awareness and consciousness, and the ability to communicate should they choose. The Titan Agamemnon is the first to become a cymek, his brain transplanted into a canister which, through special interfaces, is installed into a large, fearsome, and weaponized body. In cymek form, the remaining 19 Titans are virtually unstoppable, and continue their tyrannical rule of the universe for another 90 years. Growing complacent, the Titans are themselves overthrown and enslaved by [[Omnius]], a [[Artificial general intelligence|sentient]] computer network given too much autonomy; Omnius controls the universe for the next 900 years. The Titans recruit humans from the enslaved, Omnius-controlled "[[Synchronized Worlds]]" to become '''neo-cymeks''', footsoldiers who could more fully understand human strategy and thought processes than machines.<ref name="Legends"/>

A small group of worlds, united as the [[League of Nobles]], resist the initial Titan rebellion and remain free from [[machine rule]]. With the thinking machines ever-persistent in their intent to enslave or destroy all humans, the League initiates the [[Butlerian Jihad]], mankind's century-long crusade against the machines. The humans are ultimately victorious, destroying all but one hidden copy of Omnius as well as the Titans, the neo-cymeks and all thinking machine forces. With all thinking machine technology henceforth banned, new organizations arise, composed of humans who had developed specialized skills during the Jihad to replace and exceed technology, including the [[Spacing Guild]], [[Mentat]]s, and the [[Bene Gesserit]].<ref name="Legends"/>

===''Great Schools of Dune''=== In ''Mentats of Dune'' (2014), a group of new cymeks are created by the human Dr. Ptolemy using the brains of failed [[Guild Navigator]]s. Funded by Josef Venport as a counter to Manford Torondo and his fanatical mobs of anti-technology Butlerians, these cymeks are more advanced than their predecessors; a team of them manages to destroy a [[Sandworm (Dune)|sandworm]] on [[Arrakis]], though they are destroyed themselves. Ptolemy himself later willingly undergoes the surgery to have his brain placed in a cymek.

== Face Dancer ==  '''Face Dancers''' are a fictional servant [[caste]] of sterile [[humanoid]] [[shapeshifting|shapeshifters]] in [[Frank Herbert]]'s [[Dune (franchise)|''Dune'' universe]]. Created by the [[Bene Tleilax]], they are able to physiologically change their appearance to impersonate other people. Face Dancers possess full sentience, but also genetically programmed loyalty to the Tleilaxu Masters. They are used by the Tleilaxu throughout the universe to replace people whom the Tleilaxu find useful, usually killing the originals. In this way they may infiltrate and control various groups in the universe. Face Dancers are "Jadacha [[hermaphrodite]]s", able to change their gender at will.<ref name="Messiah"/> In ''[[Heretics of Dune]]'' (1984), Herbert describes a pair of Face Dancers in their natural state: "Two small men as alike as twins. Almost chinless round faces, pug noses, tiny mouths, black button eyes, and short-cropped white hair that stood up from their heads like the bristles on a brush."<ref name="Heretics"/> The Tleilaxu are able to control Face Dancers by forcing them into a hypnotic state with a predefined sound, often a specific humming or whistling noise. In ''Heretics of Dune'', Master Waff attempts to control his Face Dancer duplicate of [[Hedley Tuek]]: "Humming sounds like the noises of angry insects came from his mouth, a modulated thing that clearly was some kind of language."<ref name="Heretics"/>

=== Original series === In ''[[Dune Messiah]]'' (1969), Tleilaxu Face Dancer [[Scytale (Dune)|Scytale]] enters into a conspiracy with the [[Bene Gesserit]], [[Spacing Guild]] and [[House Corrino]] to remove [[Paul Atreides]] from the Imperial throne. Scytale is the architect of a multi-pronged plot against Paul centered on the Tleilaxu [[#Ghola|ghola]] Hayt, a reincarnation of Paul's friend Duncan Idaho who has been programmed to unwittingly destroy Paul psychologically, and failing that, kill Paul when triggered by an implanted command. Scytale also kills and replaces the [[Fremen]] girl [[Lichna]] to infiltrate Paul's household and lure him to an assassination attempt outside the safety of his stronghold. Paul's [[Bene Gesserit]] training allows him to detect the substitution, but he allows the plot to play out. All of these schemes fail to eliminate Paul, but set the stage for Scytale's final ploy: the unlocking of Duncan's memories in Hayt illustrates that the Tleilaxu can provide Paul with a fully realized ghola of his deceased [[concubine]] [[Chani (character)|Chani]], in exchange for his abdication. Paul refuses, and kills Scytale.<ref name="Messiah"/>

Over 3,500 years later in ''[[God Emperor of Dune]]'' (1981), Tleilaxu Face Dancers kill and replace nearly everyone in the [[Ix (Dune)|Ixian]] embassy on [[Arrakis]] as part of an assassination attempt on Paul's seemingly immortal son, the God Emperor [[Leto II Atreides]]. Though these Face Dancers are more imperceptible than ever before, Leto and the Bene Gesserit Reverend Mother [[Anteac]] are able to detect the impostors thanks to the Bene Gesserit techniques of acute observation.<ref name="God Emperor"/> Another 1,500 years later in ''Heretics of Dune'' (1984), the Tleilaxu have perfected their Face Dancers, who are now perfect mimics, able to copy the memories and consciousness of the people they imitate. Virtually undetectable to all but the Bene Gesserit, these Face Dancers begin to replace leaders in the Imperium as a means for the Tleilaxu to seize control. The plan fails as, over time, the Face Dancers come to believe they are the people they have copied, and elude their genetically-programmed loyalty to the Tleilaxu Masters.<ref name="Heretics"/> In ''[[Chapterhouse: Dune]]'' (1985), [[Duncan Idaho]] notes that the mysterious observers [[Daniel and Marty]] resemble Face Dancers, but atypically autonomous ones.<ref name="Chapterhouse"/> Daniel and Marty later confirm that they are independent Face Dancers, noting "[The Tleilaxu] gave us the power to absorb the memories and experiences of other people{{nbsp}}... The Masters should've known we would gather enough of them one day to make our own decisions about our own future."<ref name="Chapterhouse"/>

=== Sequels === In [[Brian Herbert]] and [[Kevin J. Anderson]]'s 2006 continuation of the original series, ''[[Hunters of Dune]]'', the leaders of the [[Lost Tleilaxu]] have been killed and replaced by their own advanced Face Dancers, who cannot be detected by even the Bene Gesserit. The Face Dancer leader, '''Khrone''', serves Daniel and Marty in their plot for domination of the universe, but has separate schemes of his own. Khrone's Face Dancers have secretly gained control of many power bases across the Empire, and Daniel and Marty are revealed to be new incarnations of mankind's ancient enemies, [[Thinking machines (Dune)|thinking machine]] leader [[Omnius]] and his second-in-command [[Erasmus (Dune)|Erasmus]], introduced in the ''[[Legends of Dune]]'' prequel trilogy by Brian Herbert and Anderson.<ref name="Hunters"/>

In the series finale, ''[[Sandworms of Dune]]'' (2007), it is revealed that Khrone and his legions of autonomous Face Dancers seek to overthrow their machine "masters". Secretly in control of [[Ix (Dune)|Ix]] and its technology production, Khrone manipulates the Spacing Guild and New Sisterhood, setting them up for disastrous failure in their final battle against the thinking machine forces of Omnius. When Khrone asserts dominance over even the machine empire, a smug Erasmus activates a fail-safe built into all enhanced Face Dancers, instantly killing Khrone and all of his minions across the universe.<ref name="Sandworms"/>

==Ghola==  {{Redirect|Ghola|other uses|Ghola (disambiguation)}} A '''ghola''' is a fictional humanoid in the [[Dune (franchise)|''Dune'' universe]] created by [[Frank Herbert]]. Similar to [[clone (fictional being)|clones]], they are "manufactured" human duplicates grown in an [[axlotl tank]] from cells collected from a deceased subject. A true ghola is initially shown to be the resurrection of a corpse through regrowth of damaged tissues, while later gholas in the series are more accurately described as clones—grown from genetic material extracted from a few cells (e.g. a small scraping of skin taken moments before death). Through specific stresses, gholas can be made to recall the memories of the original, including their moment of death. In Herbert's ''[[Dune (novel)|Dune]]'' series, the technological process is developed and initially [[monopoly|monopolized]] by the [[Bene Tleilax|Tleilaxu]];<ref name="Messiah"/><ref name="Heretics Ghola">{{cite book |last=Herbert |first=Frank |title=Heretics of Dune |url=https://archive.org/details/hereticsofdune00herb |url-access=registration |year=1985 |quote=Gholas: humans grown from a cadaver's cells in Tleilaxu axlotl tanks.}}</ref> in later novels the process is also used by the [[Bene Gesserit]].<ref name="Chapterhouse"/>

The first ghola featured in the series—[[Hayt (Dune)|Hayt]] in 1969's ''[[Dune Messiah]]''—is a [[resurrection]] of the [[corpse]] of [[Duncan Idaho]].<ref name="Messiah Duncan">{{cite book |last=Herbert |title=Dune Messiah |url=https://archive.org/details/dunemessiah0000herb |url-access=registration |year=1969 |quote=…our wise [[Sardaukar]] commander had [[Duncan Idaho|Idaho]]'s corpse preserved for the axolotl tanks. Why not? This corpse held the flesh and nerves of one of the finest swordsmen in history, an adviser to the [[House Atreides|Atreides]], a military genius. What a waste to lose all that training and ability when it might be revived as an instructor for the Sardaukar…He was killed here on [[Arrakis]]…a grievous head-wound which required many months of regrowth.}}</ref> Later gholas are grown from a few cells, as in the case of subsequent Idaho gholas provided to [[Leto II Atreides|Leto II]], as described in ''[[God Emperor of Dune]]'' (1981).<ref name="God Emperor"/> The Tleilaxu can [[Brainwashing|control]] their creations by forcing them into a [[hypnosis|hypnotic]] state with some predefined sound (often a specific humming or whistling noise) that has been pre-conditioned into each ghola.{{efn|In ''Dune Messiah'', the Tleilaxu dwarf [[Bijaz]] hums to activate dormant programming in the Duncan Idaho ghola [[Hayt (Dune)|Hayt]] to induce him to kill [[Paul Atreides]]: "He began to hum, a keening, whining monotonous theme, repeated over and over…Hayt stiffened, experiencing odd pains that played up and down his spine…The sound made Hayt think of ancient rituals, folk memories, old words and customs, half-forgotten meanings in lost mutterings."}}{{efn|In ''Heretics of Dune'', [[Tylwyth Waff|Master Waff]] tries to control his [[Face Dancer]] duplicate of [[Hedley Tuek]]: "Humming sounds like the noises of angry insects came from his mouth, a modulated thing that clearly was some kind of language."}}{{efn|In ''Chapterhouse Dune'', [[Scytale (Dune)|Scytale]] sees an opportunity to control/influence the Duncan Idaho ghola and thus effect his escape from the Bene Gesserit when he thinks: ''Somehow, I must contrive it that Idaho and I meet intimately. There's always the whistling language we impress on every ghola.''}}

Csilla Csori analyzes the concept of recording and restoring memories in the essay "Memory (and the Tleilaxu) Makes the Man" in ''[[The Science of Dune]]'' (2007).<ref>{{cite book|editor-first=Kevin R.|editor-last=Grazier|editor-link=Kevin Grazier|title=[[The Science of Dune]]: An Unauthorized Exploration into the Real Science Behind Frank Herbert's Fictional Universe|series=Psychology of Popular Culture|year=2007|location=Dallas, TX|publisher=[[BenBella Books]]|isbn=978-1-933771-28-1|chapter=Memory (and the Tleilaxu) Makes the Man|author1-first=Csilla|author1-last=Csori|pages=[https://archive.org/details/scienceofduneuna00graz/page/167 167–175]}}</ref>

===The original series=== Before the events of ''Dune: Messiah'', gholas are merely physical copies without the memories of their original incarnations. The ghola Hayt is programmed by the Tleilaxu to kill Emperor [[Paul Atreides]] under [[post-hypnotic suggestion]]. The attempt fails but, as hoped by the Tleilaxu, the stress of attempting to kill someone who was deeply loved in the ghola's previous life breaks the mental barrier between the ghola's consciousness and the life memories of the original. Hayt recovers the full memories of the original Duncan Idaho. The Tleilaxu are now able to offer Paul a similar ghola "resurrection" of his deceased beloved [[Chani (character)|Chani]] to gain leverage over him, but he refuses.<ref name="Messiah"/>

In ''God Emperor of Dune'', over Leto II's 3,500-year reign he has, as constant companions, a series of Duncan gholas with restored memories of the original Idaho but not the memories of the previous gholas. They are perfectly reconstructed incarnations made from a few cells, created as needed in the time span of one to two years. In this novel, one of the Duncans recalls how, as a blank ghola, he was tasked to kill a [[Face Dancer]] duplicate of Leto's father and Duncan's friend, Paul, and the psychological stress awakened his memories.<ref name="God Emperor"/> Fifteen hundred years later in ''[[Heretics of Dune]]'' (1984), Leto is dead and the Bene Gesserit are the users of Duncan gholas. The current Idaho ghola recovers the memories of the original like his predecessors; however, the later attempt by the [[Honored Matre]] [[Murbella]] to [[imprinter (Dune)|sexually imprint]] him results in his recovery of the memories of all his ghola incarnations.<ref name="Heretics"/> It is later determined that the Tleilaxu had mixed the cells from multiple Idaho gholas to make this one—however, recovery of genetic material from every incarnation would have been impossible for the Tleilaxu, indicating the development of some form of [[prescience (Dune)|prescient]] or metaphysical awareness.<ref name="Chapterhouse"/>

Though intense psychological trauma is the key to unlocking the memories of a ghola, the actual situation contrived to accomplish this is specific to each individual. When military genius [[Miles Teg]] is killed in ''Heretics of Dune'', a ghola of him is born in ''[[Chapterhouse: Dune]]'' (1985) on orders from Teg's own daughter, Bene Gesserit leader [[Darwi Odrade]].{{efn|Though the replacement Teg is called a ghola, Herbert notes that he is technically a clone because the cells used to create him had been taken from the original just prior to his death, rather than from a corpse.}} His former memories are unlocked using sexual imprinting.<ref name="Chapterhouse"/>

The discovery of how to reawaken a ghola has tremendous consequences for the Tleilaxu Masters themselves; they subsequently use the technology of axlotl tanks and memory recovery to grant themselves effective immortality. Every Master is "recreated" upon his death with recovered memories, accumulating many generations of knowledge and experience and permitting planning on a timespan of [[millennium|millennia]].<ref name="Heretics"/>

===''Dune'' games=== There are also mentions of gholas in the [[List of Dune games|''Dune'' games]]. In ''[[Dune 2000]]'' (1998), the [[House Harkonnen|Harkonnen]] [[Mentat]] is allegedly a ghola cloned from Tleilaxu flesh vats, and in ''[[Emperor: Battle for Dune]]'' (2001), [[House Ordos]] constantly deploy their own gholas in assassination and infiltration missions. This is particularly effective in tricking the [[Sardaukar]] and [[Fremen]] into allying with House Ordos. On a much larger scale, they plan to use a ghola of the now-deceased [[House Corrino|Corrino]] [[Padishah Emperor|Emperor]] to claim the Golden Lion Throne, with the Executrix as the true leaders behind the so-called "puppet Emperor".

==Heighliner==  A '''heighliner''' is a type of fictional [[starship]] used for [[interstellar travel]] in the [[Dune (franchise)|''Dune'' universe]] created by [[Frank Herbert]]. These enormous spaceships are the "major cargo carrier of the [[Spacing Guild]]'s transportation system".<ref name="Dune Term">{{cite book |last=Herbert |first=Frank |title=Dune |url=https://archive.org/details/dune0000herb |url-access=registration |chapter=Terminology of the Imperium |year=1965 }}</ref>

[[Leto I Atreides|Duke Leto Atreides]] speaks of them in ''[[Dune (novel)|Dune]]'' (1965):

{{blockquote|A Heighliner is truly big. Its hold will tuck all our frigates and transports into a little corner—we'll be just a small part of the ship's manifest.<ref name="Dune"/>}}

Heighliner operation requires a [[Guild Navigator]], who uses a limited form of [[prescience (Dune)|prescience]] (made possible by their use of the drug [[melange (fictional drug)|melange]]), to safely guide the ship across space at "translight" speeds.<ref name="Messiah"/><ref name="Appendix III">{{cite book |last=Herbert |first=Frank |title=Dune |url=https://archive.org/details/dune0000herb |url-access=registration |chapter=Appendix III: Report on Bene Gesserit Motives and Purposes |year=1965}}</ref> Navigators are confined to giant tanks, completely immersed in highly concentrated orange spice gas.<ref name="Messiah"/> Unable to land, heighliners jump from point to point, parking in planetary orbits, though the ship itself does not technically move. Special laws govern travel aboard a heighliner; heighliners are considered [[neutral territory]] and all acts of war aboard heighliners carry stiff penalties.<ref name="Dune"/> Leto notes that while they are traveling to Arrakis it is quite likely they will share cargo space with Harkonnen vessels, but neither will be aggressive to each other for fear of losing shipping privileges.

It is mentioned in ''[[God Emperor of Dune]]'' (1981) that while history books credit Aurelius Venport with designing the first Spacing Guild ship, it was actually Venport's mistress, [[Norma Cenva]], who gave him the design.<ref name="God Emperor" /> In the ''[[Legends of Dune]]'' [[prequel]] [[trilogy]] (2002–2004), Norma invents heighliners during the [[Butlerian Jihad]].<ref name="Legends"/> The ''[[Prelude to Dune]]'' prequel trilogy (1999–2001) establishes that in subsequent millennia, the ships are manufactured on the planet [[Ix (Dune)|Ix]].<ref name="Prelude"/> During the events described in the 2001 prequel ''[[Dune: House Corrino]]'', a heighliner is expertly spacefolded into a cavern under the surface of Ix, incapacitating an occupying army during the Atreides-led liberation of the planet. In the novel, heighliners are noted to be more than 20 kilometers long.<ref name="House Corrino">{{cite book |last=Herbert |first=Brian |author2=Kevin J. Anderson |title=[[Dune: House Corrino]] |year=2001}}</ref>

==Holtzman effect== The '''Holtzman effect''' is a fictional scientific phenomenon in the [[Dune (franchise)|''Dune'' universe]] created by [[Frank Herbert]], beginning with the 1965 novel ''[[Dune (novel)|Dune]]''. The effect is never explained in detail, but it makes (among other things) defensive [[force shield]]s and instantaneous space travel possible through its application in [[Holtzman shield]]s, [[foldspace]] or [[Holtzman drive]]s, [[suspensor (Dune)|suspensors]], and [[glowglobe]]s.<ref name="Dune Term"/> Herbert defined the Holtzman effect as "the negative repelling effect of a shield generator."<ref>{{cite book |last=Herbert |first=Frank |title=Dune |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/dune0000herb |chapter-url-access=registration |chapter=Terminology of the Imperium: Holtzman Effect |year=1965}}</ref> Its discovery is explored in the ''[[Legends of Dune]]'' [[prequel]] [[trilogy]] by [[Brian Herbert]] and [[Kevin J. Anderson]] (2002–2004).<ref name="Legends"/>

===Holtzman shield=== In ''Dune'', the Holtzman effect has been adapted to produce personal defensive shields which permit penetration only by objects that move below a pre-set velocity.<ref name="Shield">{{cite book |last=Herbert |first=Frank |title=Dune |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/dune0000herb |chapter-url-access=registration |chapter=Terminology of the Imperium: Shield, Defensive |year=1965 |quote=Shield, Defensive: the protective field produced by a Holtzman generator. This field derives from Phase One of the suspensor-nullification effect. A shield will permit entry only to objects moving at slow speeds (depending on setting, this speed ranges from six to nine centimeters per second) and can be shorted out only by a shire-sized electric field.}}</ref>{{efn|[[Charles L. Harness]] uses a similar concept in his 1953 novel ''Flight into Yesterday''.}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sff.net/people/richard.Horton/aced18.htm |title=Ace Double Reviews, 18: ''The Paradox Men'', by Charles L. Harness/''Dome Around America'', by Jack Williamson |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607121812/http://www.sff.net/people/richard.Horton/aced18.htm |archive-date=June 7, 2011 |access-date=January 8, 2020 |first=Rich |last=Horton |url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Paul Atreides]] notes in ''Dune'', "In shield fighting, one moves fast on defense, slow on attack ... The shield turns the fast blow, admits the slow [[Khanjali|kindjal]]".<ref name="Dune"/>

The interaction of a [[lasgun]] beam and a Holtzman field results in [[subatomic]] [[Nuclear fusion|fusion]] and a [[nuclear explosion]].<ref name="Lasgun">{{cite book |last=Herbert |first=Frank |title=Dune |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/dune0000herb |chapter-url-access=registration |chapter=Terminology of the Imperium: Lasgun |year=1965}}</ref> The magnitude of this blast is unpredictable; sometimes it destroys only the shielded target and gunner, sometimes the explosion is more powerful than [[atomics (Dune)|atomics]].<ref name="DuneJessicaLasgun"/> Using lasguns in a shielded environment can result in military and environmental catastrophe, though at one point in ''Dune'', [[Duncan Idaho]] deliberately allows shield/lasgun contact as a discouragement to his enemies,<ref name="Dune"/> and in ''[[Chapterhouse: Dune]]'', [[Miles Teg]] directs the creation of lasgun/Holtzman-field shield drone-mines for use against the [[Honored Matres]]. By the time of ''[[God Emperor of Dune]]'' (1981), [[Leto II Atreides|God Emperor Leto II]] has banned shields throughout his empire "to avoid such explosive interactions."<ref name="God Emperor"/>

The vibrations of an active shield will drive a [[sandworm (Dune)|sandworm]] on [[Arrakis]] into a killing frenzy, drawing them from across territorial lines to attack the shield.<ref name="Attract">{{cite book |last=Herbert |first=Frank |title=Dune |url=https://archive.org/details/dune0000herb |url-access=registration |year=1965 |quote=Jessica: ''Perhaps suspensors are another thing to avoid in the open desert. Maybe they attract the worms the way a shield does.''}}</ref> For this reason, the native [[Fremen]] eschew them. It is noted in ''[[Children of Dune]]'' (1976) that the Fremen have developed a small shield generator known as a "pseudo-shield" to attract and madden a worm, for use as an [[ersatz]] bomb.<ref name="Children">{{cite book |last=Herbert |first=Frank |title=Children of Dune |year=1976 |title-link=Children of Dune }}</ref>

===Holtzman drive=== The effect is used in this case to fold space at the quantum level, allowing the [[Spacing Guild]]'s [[heighliner]] ships to instantaneously [[interstellar travel|travel]] far distances across space without actually moving at all. However, the [[Chaos theory|chaotic]] and seemingly [[Indeterminism|non-deterministic]] [[Quantum chaos|quantum]] nature of "foldspace" requires at least limited [[prescience (Dune)|prescience]] on the part of the human navigator; otherwise the absurdly complex mathematics involved in producing reliable physical projections of such events would only be possible with advanced computers, which are strictly prohibited because of mankind's crusade against [[thinking machines (Dune)|thinking machines]], the [[Butlerian Jihad]]. To this effect, the Guild produces [[Melange (fictional drug)|melange]]-saturated [[Guild Navigator|Navigators]] who intuitively "see paths through foldspace" in this way.<ref name="Dune"/> This stumbling block is overcome several thousand years after the events of ''Dune'' when [[Ix (Dune)|Ixian]] scientists develop mechanical replacements for Guild Navigators.<ref name="Heretics"/>

[[Kevin Grazier|Kevin R. Grazier]] analyzes the concepts of folding space and [[faster-than-light]] travel in the essay "Cosmic Origami" in ''[[The Science of Dune]]'' (2007).<ref>{{cite book|editor-first=Kevin R.|editor-last=Grazier|title=The Science of Dune|year=2007|isbn=978-1-933771-28-1|chapter=Cosmic Origami|author1-first=Kevin R.|author1-last=Grazier|pages=[https://archive.org/details/scienceofduneuna00graz/page/177 177–206]|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/scienceofduneuna00graz/page/177}}</ref>

===Suspensors=== Hovering devices called '''suspensors''' utilize the "secondary (low-drain) phase of a Holtzman field generator" to nullify [[gravitation|gravity]] "within certain limits prescribed by relative mass and energy consumption."<ref>{{cite book |last=Herbert |first=Frank |title=Dune |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/dune0000herb |chapter-url-access=registration |chapter=Terminology of the Imperium: Suspensor |year=1965}}</ref> Suspensors are used in chairs, tables, and structures that are too massive to be physically sound, among other uses. In ''Dune'', the grotesquely obese [[Baron]] [[Vladimir Harkonnen]] utilizes suspensor belts and harnesses to buoy his flesh and allow him to walk.{{efn|In both ([[Dune (1984 film)|1984]] and [[Dune (2021 film)|2021]]) ''Dune'' films and the 2000 [[miniseries]] ''[[Frank Herbert's Dune]]'', the Baron floats or levitates rather than walk on the ground himself.}} In ''Dune'', Jessica theorizes that suspensors, like shields, attract sandworms.<ref name="Attract"/>

Kevin R. Grazier analyzes the concept of [[anti-gravity]] technology in the essay "Suspensor of Disbelief" in ''The Science of Dune'' (2007).<ref>{{cite book|editor-first=Kevin R.|editor-last=Grazier|title=The Science of Dune|year=2007|isbn=978-1-933771-28-1|chapter=Suspensor of Disbelief|author1-first=Ges|author1-last=Seger|author2-first=Kevin R.|author2-last=Grazier|pages=[https://archive.org/details/scienceofduneuna00graz/page/207 207–216]|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/scienceofduneuna00graz/page/207}}</ref>

===Glowglobes=== A varied use of the Holtzman effect is the '''glowglobe'''. This device is a small glowing sphere that floats gracefully above a surface like a portable, personal sun, and is typically tuned to a yellowish color.<ref name="Dune"/> Herbert describes it as a "suspensor-buoyed illuminating device, self-powered (usually by organic batteries)."<ref>{{cite book |last=Herbert |first=Frank |title=Dune |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/dune0000herb |chapter-url-access=registration |chapter=Terminology of the Imperium: Glowglobe |year=1965}}</ref>

==Ixian Probe==  An '''Ixian Probe''' is a fictional device in [[Frank Herbert]]'s [[Dune (franchise)|''Dune'' universe]] used to capture the thoughts of a person (living or dead) for analysis.<ref name="Heretics 93">{{cite book |last=Herbert |first=Frank |title=Heretics of Dune |year=1984 |publisher=[[Ace Books|Ace]] (1987 ed.) |pages=[https://archive.org/details/hereticsofdunedu00fran_0  93] }}</ref> Ixian Probes are mentioned in Herbert's ''[[Heretics of Dune]]'' (1984).<ref name="Heretics 93"/>

As described in ''Heretics of Dune'', the probe is an [[interrogation]] device of [[Ix (Dune)|Ixian]] manufacture which "can raid the mind even of a dead person".<ref name="Heretics"/> However, the substance [[shere (Dune)|shere]] blocks the effects of the probe, and will protect a person who has taken it even in death.<ref name="Heretics"/> The probe itself or how it works are not described, but when [[Miles Teg]] sees a [[T-Probe]] for the first time, he believes it is an Ixian Probe.<ref name="Heretics"/> The T-Probe consists of a hood with a series of [[electrode]]s attached to the skull, controlled by an operator; the notable difference is that shere has no effect against a T-Probe.<ref name="Heretics"/>

==Lasgun==  A '''lasgun''' (pronounced {{IPAc-en|ˈ|l|eɪ|z|ɡ|ʌ|n|}}) is a fictional [[directed-energy weapon]], specifically a [[laser gun]], in the [[Dune (franchise)|''Dune'' universe]] created by [[Frank Herbert]]. In ''Terminology of the Imperium'', the glossary of the 1965 novel ''[[Dune (novel)|Dune]]'', Herbert provides the following definition:

{{blockquote|LASGUN: continuous-wave laser projector. Its use as a weapon is limited in a [[Holtzman shield|field-generator-shield]] culture because of the explosive pyrotechnics (technically, [[subatomic]] [[nuclear fusion|fusion]]) created when its beam intersects a shield.<ref name="Lasgun"/>}}

The interaction of a lasgun beam and a Holtzman field results in [[subatomic]] [[Nuclear fusion|fusion]] and a [[nuclear explosion]].<ref name="Lasgun"/> The magnitude of this blast is unpredictable; sometimes it destroys only the shielded target and gunner, sometimes the explosion is more powerful than [[atomics (Dune)|atomics]].<ref name="DuneJessicaLasgun">{{cite book |last=Herbert |first=Frank |title=Dune |year=1965 |publisher=[[Ace Books|Ace]] |isbn=0-441-17271-7 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/dune000herb/page/145 145–146] |quote=Jessica focused her mind on lasguns, wondering. The white-hot beams of disruptive light could cut through any known substance, provided that substance was not shielded. The fact that feedback from a shield would explode both lasgun and shield did not bother the Harkonnens. Why? A lasgun-shield explosion was a dangerous variable, could be more powerful than atomics, could kill only the gunner and his shielded target. |url=https://archive.org/details/dune000herb/page/145 }}</ref> Using lasguns in a shielded environment can result in military and environmental catastrophe, though at one point in ''Dune'' [[Duncan Idaho]] deliberately allows shield–lasgun contact as a discouragement to his enemies.<ref name="Dune"/> In ''[[God Emperor of Dune]]'' (1981), lasgun fire is described as "blue arcs";<ref name="God Emperor"/> a lasgun is noted to be "heavy" in ''[[Chapterhouse: Dune]]'' (1985).<ref name="Chapterhouse"/> A [[cutteray]] is described in ''Dune'' as a "Short-range version of a lasgun used mostly as a cutting tool and surgeon's scalpel".<ref name="Dune Term"/>

==No-chamber/No-ship==  [[File:FrankHerbert ChapterhouseDune 1st-No-ship.jpg|thumb|upright|A no-ship, from the cover of ''[[Chapterhouse: Dune]]'' (1985)]] A '''no-chamber''' is a fictional [[stealth technology]] in the ''Dune'' [[Dune (franchise)|universe]] created by [[Frank Herbert]]. Originally called a '''no-room''' in Herbert's ''[[God Emperor of Dune]]'' (1981),<ref name="God Emperor"/> it is a construct that hides anything inside from [[prescience (Dune)|prescient]] vision and long-range instruments.<ref>{{cite book|last=Herbert|first=Frank|title=Heretics of Dune|year=1985|publisher=[[Berkley Books]]|isbn=0-425-07669-5|page=[https://archive.org/details/hereticsofdune00fran/page/457 457]|quote=The no-ship sat there creaking, a glistening steely ball whose presence could be detected by the eyes and ears but not by any prescient or long-range instrument.|url=https://archive.org/details/hereticsofdune00fran/page/457}}</ref> A '''no-globe''' is a larger construction of no-chambers, and a '''no-ship''' is a no-chamber in [[starship]] form, with enough limited prescience to be capable of [[interstellar travel]] without the use of a [[Guild Navigator]].<ref name="Heretics"/>

===The original series=== In ''God Emperor of Dune'', [[Leto II Atreides|Leto II]] deduces that the new [[Ix (Dune)|Ixian]] Ambassador [[Hwi Noree]] had been "born" in what would come to be known as a no-room to shield her creation and upbringing from him.<ref name="God Emperor"/> Hwi had been created by the Ixians from the cells of Leto's friend/nemesis [[Malky (Dune)|Malky]] but as Malky's direct opposite, using [[Bene Tleilax|Tleilaxu]] [[ghola]] technology, and designed to be irresistible to Leto.<ref name="God Emperor"/> The no-room is an improvement upon a device the Ixians had previously created for Leto to record his thoughts into a written journal and hide them from prescient vision.<ref name="God Emperor"/>

In ''[[Heretics of Dune]]'' (1984), [[Miles Teg]], the [[Bene Gesserit]] [[Lucilla (Dune)|Lucilla]] and the [[Duncan Idaho]] ghola hide in a no-globe on [[Gammu (Dune)|Gammu]], created by the [[House Harkonnen|Harkonnens]] millennia before when the planet had been called [[Giedi Prime]].<ref name="Heretics"/> It is a sizeable complex, noted to be "very ancient but the chambers are still intact and functioning".<ref name="Heretics"/> The exact era of its creation is not specified, but it is written that "Gammu was Giedi Prime, a Harkonnen place ... They were rich ... Rich enough to accomplish the secret installation of a no-room ... even of a large no-globe ... Bribes, third-party purchases, many transshipments ... The [[Famine Times]] were very disruptive and before that there were all those millennia of the [[Leto II Atreides|Tyrant]] ... When the Harkonnens kept their heads down or lost them."<ref name="Heretics"/>

No-ships are in use at the time of ''Heretics of Dune''; like no-chambers, anything inside a no-ship is hidden from prescient vision and other means of detection, and the ship itself is invisible to sight or photography.<ref name="Heretics"/> However, a no-ship has much greater technological capability than a no-chamber, as it can perform the functions of a Guild Navigator.<ref name="Heretics"/> Specifically, a no-ship's navigation machine is capable of enough limited prescience to successfully navigate its way through [[foldspace]].<ref name="Heretics"/> Teg steals a massive no-ship from the fierce [[Honored Matres]] on Gammu in ''Heretics of Dune'', and its Great Hold alone is noted to be one kilometer in length, large enough to transport an adult [[Sandworm (Dune)|sandworm]].<ref name="Heretics"/> In ''[[Chapterhouse: Dune]]'' (1985), the Bene Gesserit initially confine Duncan and [[Murbella]] to this no-ship on [[Chapterhouse (Dune)|Chapterhouse]] for their own protection from prescient spying. As Murbella becomes the leader of a [[New Sisterhood]] composed of both the Bene Gesserit and Honored Matres, Duncan and Teg flee Chapterhouse with [[Sheeana]] and other passengers on the no-ship.<ref name="Chapterhouse"/>

In ''Heretics of Dune'' and ''Chapterhouse Dune'' it is suggested that certain characters of [[House Atreides|Atreides]] ancestry have the ability to use their prescient powers to "see" no-ships.<ref name="Heretics"/><ref name="Chapterhouse"/> This ability to nullify no-field invisibility is unleashed in Miles Teg after he is interrogated with a device called a [[T-Probe]].<ref name="Chapterhouse"/> Teg's subsequent ghola duplicate also retains that unique ability after his memories are re-awakened.<ref name="Chapterhouse"/>

===Sequels=== In ''[[Hunters of Dune]]'' (2006) and ''[[Sandworms of Dune]]'' (2007), the novels by [[Brian Herbert]] and [[Kevin J. Anderson]] which complete Frank Herbert's original series, the fleeing no-ship is named the ''Ithaca'' by its passengers in homage to the long journey of the [[Greek mythology|mythological Greek]] hero [[Odysseus]] to his home of [[Homer's Ithaca|Ithaca]]. Accompanying Duncan, Teg and Sheeana are some 150 refugees, including the (apparent) last Tleilaxu Master [[Scytale (Dune)|Scytale]], some Bene Gesserit Sisters, and a group of secret [[Jew]]s. They seek a new world onto which to introduce the captive sandworms on board, as well as a new home for the Jews, but are in constant pursuit by the [[Daniel and Marty|Unknown Enemy]] who seek to ensnare the ship in an inescapable [[tachyon net]]. With the help of genetic material possessed by Scytale, the passengers of the ''Ithaca'' begin growing gholas of historical heroes such as [[Paul Atreides]] and [[Lady Jessica]] to assist them in the [[kralizec|final battle]] they know is coming against the Unknown Enemy.<ref name="Hunters">{{cite book |last=Herbert |first=Brian |author2=Kevin J. Anderson |title=[[Hunters of Dune]] |year=2006 }}</ref><ref name="Sandworms">{{cite book |last=Herbert |first=Brian |author2=Kevin J. Anderson |title=[[Sandworms of Dune]] |year=2007 }}</ref>

===''Prelude to Dune''=== In the ''[[Prelude to Dune]]'' [[prequel]] [[trilogy]] (1999–2001) by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, the creation of the Harkonnen no-globe is attributed to a man named Chobyn.<ref name="Prelude"/> He invents the technology and builds the no-globe for [[Vladimir Harkonnen|Baron Vladimir Harkonnen]] immediately prior to the events of ''[[Dune (novel)|Dune]]'' (1965).<ref name="Prelude"/> However, Chobyn is killed and the technology lost<ref name="Prelude"/> until it is reinvented by the Ixians millennia later during the reign of Leto II.<ref name="God Emperor"/>

==Ornithopter==  An '''[[ornithopter]]''' (from [[Greek language|Greek]] roots ''ornithos-''<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.dictionary.com/browse/ornitho-|title=Definition of ornitho-|website=[[Dictionary.com]]|access-date=November 12, 2021|archive-date=December 9, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211209082501/https://www.dictionary.com/browse/ornitho-|url-status=live}}</ref> "bird" and ''pteron'' "wing"<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.dictionary.com/browse/-pter|title=Definition of -pter|website=Dictionary.com|access-date=November 12, 2021|archive-date=May 18, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220518070052/https://www.dictionary.com/browse/-pter|url-status=live}}</ref>) is an [[aircraft]] that flies by flapping its wings.

In the ''Dune'' universe, ornithopters (or '''{{'}}thopters''') are one of the primary modes of transportation on Arrakis. Herbert describes ornithopters as "Aircraft capable of sustained wing-beat flight in the manner of birds" in his 1965 novel ''[[Dune (novel)|Dune]]''.<ref name="Dune Term"/> The craft achieve [[takeoff]] primarily through the beat of their wings, with [[jet engine|jet]] power assisting in propulsion and stabilization:

{{blockquote|Leto fed power to the wings, felt them cup and dip—once, twice. They were airborne in ten meters, wings feathered tightly and afterjets thrusting them upward in a steep, hissing climb.<ref name="Dune"/>}}

The wings themselves, consisting of "delicate metal interleavings", are adjustable in length through a "retractor bar" or manually.<ref name="Dune"/> They are fully extended when the jetpods are used little or not at all:

{{blockquote|The Duke kicked on the jet brakes. The ship bucked as its tail pods whispered to silence. Stub wings elongated, cupped the air. The craft became a full 'thopter as the Duke banked it, holding the wings to a gentle beat.<ref name="Dune"/>}}

The wings are shortened when more jet thrust is used or the 'thopter uses the "jet-boost" alternative mode of takeoff, and tip to assist in braking.<ref name="Dune"/>

In the [[Dune (1984 film)|1984 film adaptation]], ornithopters are depicted with small, folding, non-flapping wings. According to the film's designers, propulsion is provided via an antigravity device called an "etherbender", which is shown but never mentioned in the film itself. In the 2000 [[Sci Fi Channel (United States)|Sci Fi Channel]] [[miniseries]] ''[[Frank Herbert's Dune]]'', the craft have wings that appear to incorporate [[tiltrotor]] technology. In the [[Dune (2021 film)|2021 film adaptation]], ornithopters are depicted with four or eight foldable, flapping wings on either side, resembling those of a [[dragonfly]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://screenrant.com/dune-dragonfly-aircraft-ornithopter-operable-working-details/|website=[[Screen Rant]]|last=Ahmed|first= Sahil|title=''Dune''{{'s}} Dragonfly Aircraft Were Actually Operable|language=en|date=October 20, 2021|access-date=November 1, 2021|archive-date=October 21, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211021035049/https://screenrant.com/dune-dragonfly-aircraft-ornithopter-operable-working-details/|url-status=live}}</ref> a design that director [[Denis Villeneuve]] had conceived when he read the novel at a young age.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ign.com/articles/dune-how-denis-villeneuve-designed-the-ornithopters|website=[[IGN]]|title=''Dune'': How Denis Villeneuve Designed the Ornithopters|last=Cardy|first=Simon|language=en|date=October 28, 2021|access-date=November 1, 2021|archive-date=October 28, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211028140308/https://www.ign.com/articles/dune-how-denis-villeneuve-designed-the-ornithopters|url-status=live}}</ref> Villeneuve's VFX team used actual helicopters as placeholders, which they later replaced with [[computer-generated imagery|computer-generated]] ornithopters. Two 12-ton practical ornithopters were built and taken to [[Budapest]] and the [[Jordan]]ian desert for filming. VFX production supervisor Paul Lambert explained, "These machines had a fully hydraulic ramp to open and close, and were lifted by cranes for take off and landing. CG wings were added in post."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.indiewire.com/2021/11/dune-denis-villeneuves-vfx-sandworms-ornithopters-1234676083/|title=''Dune'': How Denis Villeneuve's VFX Team Created Desert Power for the Sandworms and Ornithopters|first1=Bill|last1=Desowitz|website=[[IndieWire]]|date=November 5, 2021|access-date=November 12, 2021|url-status=live|archive-date=November 5, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211105222623/https://www.indiewire.com/2021/11/dune-denis-villeneuves-vfx-sandworms-ornithopters-1234676083/}}</ref>

==Stillsuit==  [[File:Fremen (Chani and Stilgar) in stillsuits-Dune (2021).jpg|thumb|upright|Fremen [[Chani (character)|Chani]] ([[Zendaya]]) and [[Stilgar]] ([[Javier Bardem]]) wearing [[stillsuits]] in ''[[Dune (2021 film)|Dune]]'' (2021)]] A '''stillsuit''' is a fictional body suit in [[Frank Herbert]]'s [[Dune (franchise)|''Dune'' universe]], worn by the indigenous [[Fremen]] of the [[desert planet]] [[Arrakis]] to maintain their body moisture in the harsh environment.<ref name="gr stillsuit">{{Cite web|url=https://gamerant.com/dune-stillsuit-explained/|title=''Dune'': The Stillsuit, Explained|first=Joshua Kristian|last=McCoy|date=June 15, 2023|website=[[Game Rant]]|access-date=March 6, 2024|archive-date=September 13, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230913050441/https://gamerant.com/dune-stillsuit-explained/|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Description=== As described in the 1965 novel ''[[Dune (novel)|Dune]]'', a stillsuit is a "body-enclosing garment" of Fremen design which performs the "functions of heat dissipation and filtering bodily wastes" to reclaim moisture.<ref name="Dune Term"/> Perspiration, urine, and the water vapor expelled during respiration are captured by the stillsuit and filtered, and [[reclaimed water]] accumulates in pockets and is made available for drinking through a tube at the neck. Walking and breathing provide the pumping action to move water through the filtration process and provide the necessary heat exchange. Without a stillsuit, the average person on Arrakis could lose more than 10 liters of water daily through their pores, but the stillsuit reduces that loss to 5 milliliters.<ref name="gr stillsuit"/> Imperial Planetologist [[Liet-Kynes]] describes the stillsuit in ''Dune'': {{quote|It's basically a micro-sandwich—a high-efficiency filter and heat-exchange system. The skin-contact layer's porous. Perspiration passes through it, having cooled the body ... near-normal evaporation process. The next two layers ... include heat exchange filaments and salt precipitators. Salt's reclaimed. Motions of the body, especially breathing and some osmotic action provide the pumping force. Reclaimed water circulates to catchpockets from which you draw it through this tube in the clip at your neck ... Urine and feces are processed in the thigh pads. In the open desert, you wear this filter across your face, this tube in the nostrils with these plugs to ensure a tight fit. Breathe in through the mouth filter, out through the nose tube. With a Fremen suit in good working order, you won't lose more than a thimbleful of moisture a day".<ref name="Dune"/>}}

Due to its scarcity on Arrakis, water and its preservation are sacred to the Fremen.<ref name="gr stillsuit"/>

===Analysis=== In his essay "Stillsuit" in ''[[The Science of Dune]]'' (2007), John C. Smith analyzes Herbert's stillsuit and its feasibility in the real world as described. Smith suggests that "Stillsuits designed using strict literal interpretations from the ''Dune'' books probably would not work and most likely would cook the wearer like a [[Crock-Pot]] ... However, engineering solutions can be envisioned for all the suit's shortcomings."<ref>{{cite book|editor-first=Kevin R.|editor-last=Grazier|editor-link=Kevin Grazier|title=[[The Science of Dune]]|year=2007|isbn=978-1-933771-28-1|chapter=Stillsuit|author1-first=John C.|author1-last=Smith|pages=[https://archive.org/details/scienceofduneuna00graz/page/127 127–141]}}</ref>

==T-Probe==  A '''T-Probe''' is a fictional device in [[Frank Herbert]]'s [[Dune (franchise)|''Dune'' universe]] used to capture the thoughts of a person (living or dead) for analysis.<ref name="Dreamer">{{cite book |last=Herbert |first=Brian |title=Dreamer of Dune: The Biography of Frank Herbert |year=2003 |publisher=[[Macmillan Publishers (United States)|Macmillan]] (2004 ed.) |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=hlbSrcGnhRIC&pg=PA129&dq=%22T-Probe%22+dune#PPA129,M1 129] }}</ref> T-Probes appear or are referred to in Herbert's ''[[Heretics of Dune]]'' (1984) and ''[[Chapterhouse: Dune]]'' (1985),<ref name="Heretics"/><ref name="Chapterhouse"/> as well as the [[sequel]]s ''[[Hunters of Dune]]'' (2006) and ''[[Sandworms of Dune]]'' (2007) by [[Brian Herbert]] and [[Kevin J. Anderson]].<ref name="Hunters 59">{{cite book |last=Herbert |first=Brian |author2=Kevin J. Anderson |title=Hunters of Dune |year=2006 |publisher=Macmillan (2007 ed.) |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=bE_kZF3UENgC&pg=PA59&dq=%22T-Probe%22+dune&ei=SOUFSY7GBKDKzQTE35SbAg 59] }}</ref><ref name="Sandworms 296">{{cite book |last=Herbert |first=Brian |author2=Kevin J. Anderson |title=Sandworms of Dune |year=2007 |publisher=Macmillan |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=ehrmZBzv2vsC&pg=PA296&dq=%22T-Probe%22+dune&ei=SOUFSY7GBKDKzQTE35SbAg 296] }}</ref>

As described in ''Heretics of Dune'', the probe is a non-[[Ix (Dune)|Ixian]] [[interrogation]] device brought by the [[Honored Matres]] from [[The Scattering (Dune)|the Scattering]]. It is attached to the body through a series of "medusa contacts" placed around the skull and on major nerve centers. An operator can increase or decrease the power supplied to the probe to maximize its efficacy while at the same time not overloading the nervous system of the subject. While being subjected to the probe, [[Miles Teg]]'s [[Mentat]] thinking deduces that not only can it "command his body as though he had no thinking part in his own behavior", but also "The whole spectrum of his senses could be copied into this T-probe and identified ... The machine could trace those out as though it made a duplicate of him."<ref name="Dreamer"/> The probe builds a 'digital framework' of the person which can be subjected to stimuli, and will respond as the person would. The T-Probe also causes massive, virtually unendurable pain in a living subject. [[Shere (Dune)|Shere]] only prevents the T-Probe from recovering memories directly (as it does for the [[Ixian Probe]]) and does not impede any of the other features. Memories can still be guessed at from the model the probe constructs. The T-Probe is what causes [[Miles Teg]]'s brain to change its structure, giving him the blinding speed and amazing abilities seen at the end of ''Heretics of Dune''. This mental alteration continues in Teg even after being 'reborn' as a [[Bene Tleilax|Tleilaxu]] [[ghola]] in ''Chapterhouse Dune''.<ref name="Chapterhouse"/>

==Weirding Module==  Specific to the 1984 ''[[Dune (1984 film)|Dune]]'' film adaptation by [[David Lynch]], a '''Weirding Module''' is a fictional sonic weapon. Used by [[House Atreides]] and later by [[Fremen]] fighters, the device is a sonic beam weapon that translates specific sounds of varying potency into attacks.

In the novel, [[Paul Atreides]] and his mother [[Lady Jessica]] teach the Fremen the [[Bene Gesserit]] [[martial arts]] which was called the "[[weirding way]]" by the Fremen. An indirect reference to this detail is made in the scene where Jessica physically overpowers Fremen leader [[Stilgar]] at their first encounter. Lynch is said to have adapted the weirding way into the Weirding Module because he did not like the idea of "[[Chinese martial arts|kung-fu]] on sand dunes".<ref name="Geek">{{cite web |url=http://www.denofgeek.com/movies/52112/top_ten_screen_screams.html |title=Top Ten Screen Screams |first=Martin |last=Anderson |website=[[Den of Geek]] |date=May 9, 2008 |access-date=August 28, 2010 |archive-date=January 23, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100123090552/http://www.denofgeek.com/movies/52112/top_ten_screen_screams.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> The change literalizes Paul's line "My own name is a killing word". In the novel, the Fremen shout his Fremen name, "[[Muad'Dib]]", as a battle cry; in the film, the Fremen are surprised to find that saying "Muad'Dib" is a powerful trigger for the Weirding Module.

The Weirding Module appears in the computer games ''[[Dune (video game)|Dune]]'' (1992) and ''[[Emperor: Battle for Dune]]'' (2001), and the concept is adapted into "sonic tanks" for the games ''[[Dune II]]'' (1992) and ''[[Dune 2000]]'' (1998). There is no reference to this technology in the original novels.

==Other technologies== In ''Dune Messiah'', the ghola Hayt is provided by the [[Tleilaxu]] with metallic artificial eyes, which they boast "improved on the original." Survivors of atomic stone burner blasts are typically blinded, but the superstitious [[Fremen]] in [[Paul Atreides]]' armies tend to believe that Tleilaxu eyes "enslave their users", and that a union between metal eyes and human flesh "must be sinful."<ref name="Messiah"/> The Bene Tleilax also produce biological products other than gholas and Face Dancers. [[Chairdog]]s are living and partially sentient creatures used for seating which possess the ability to shape themselves to fit their occupant. Some characters dislike sitting on an animal and prefer normal chairs. A [[slig (Dune)|slig]] is a hybrid livestock animal—a cross between a large [[slug]] and a Terran pig—first mentioned in ''Heretics of Dune'' and considered a culinary delicacy. Despite being the producers of sligs, the Tleilaxu themselves do not consume the animals, having designed them to facilitate what they see as the degrading decadence and spiritual bankruptcy of all cultures but their own.

Herbert's series of ''Dune'' novels have numerous other technologically advanced devices. In ''Dune'' (1965), water is scarce on the [[desert planet]] [[Arrakis]]; the native [[Fremen]] use a type of [[air well (condenser)|air well]] called a [[windtrap]] to condense moisture from the air and collect it in vast catch basins.<ref name="Dune Term"/> They also collect moisture from the dead using a device called a [[deathstill]].<ref name="Dune"/> The Fremen accomplish long-distance coded communication using a [[distrans]], a [[steganography|steganographic]] device that produces a "temporary [[neural network|neural]] [[Imprinting (psychology)|imprint]]" on the nervous system of bats or birds. The message imprint is carried within the animal's normal cry, and can later be separated out using another distrans.<ref name="Dune Term"/> A [[palm lock]] is a lock or seal keyed to a specific human hand, a [[solido (Dune)|solido]] is a projected three-dimensional image, and a [[poison snooper]] is a device which can detect poisons by analyzing radiation in the "olfactory spectrum".<ref name="Dune Term"/> In ''Dune'', the Baron [[Vladimir Harkonnen]] employs a [[cone of silence (Dune)|cone of silence]], a sound-deadening field used for privacy, though it does not visually obscure lip movement.<ref name="Dune"/> In ''Heretics of Dune'' (1984) Herbert mentions an [[Ixian damper]], a similar, portable device described as a "black disc" which is buoyed midair by [[suspensor (Dune)|suspensors]]. It hides words from anyone without the proper coded translator, and projects distortions that hide the precise movements of lips and the sounds of voices.<ref name="Heretics"/> A [[filmbook]] is a shigawire imprint, used for training and education, which carries a mnemonic pulse that imprints information and corresponding images in the reader's mind.<ref name="Dune Term"/>

Herbert mentions other unnamed technologies in the ''Dune'' series. In ''Dune'', the [[Bene Gesserit]] Reverend Mother [[Gaius Helen Mohiam|Mohiam]] "tests" young Paul Atreides using a box that inflicts pain through "[[nerve induction]]". It is described as "a green metal cube about fifteen centimeters on a side", with one open side revealing a blackness so dark that no light penetrates it. Paul is forced to place his hand into the box and not remove it until Mohiam allows him. He experiences first coldness, tingling, then itching, followed by "the faintest burning" which soon intensifies to the point that "he could feel skin curling black on that agonized hand, the flesh crisping and dropping away until only charred bones remained". The pain stops, and when he is permitted to remove his hand, it is unmarked and unharmed.<ref name="Dune"/> This device is later referred to as the "agony box" in ''Heretics of Dune'', and is noted to be used for interrogation as well.<ref name="Heretics"/> Carol Hart analyzes the concept of inflicting pain without injury in the essay "The Black Hole of Pain" in ''[[The Science of Dune]]'' (2007).<ref>{{cite book |editor-first=Kevin R. |editor-last=Grazier |title=The Science of Dune |year=2007 |isbn=978-1-933771-28-1 |chapter=The Black Hole of Pain |first=Carol |last=Hart |pages=[https://archive.org/details/scienceofduneuna00graz/page/143 143–150] }}</ref>

In ''God Emperor of Dune'' (1981), [[Moneo Atreides]] uses a [[memocorder]], a tiny handheld device described as "a dull black [[Ix (Dune)|Ixian]] artifact whose existence crowded the proscriptions of the [[Butlerian Jihad]]".<ref name="God Emperor"/> In the same novel, the Bene Gesserit Reverend Mother [[Anteac]] writes a message to be sent to her Sisterhood: {{blockquote|On Anteac's lap lay a small square of inky black about ten millimeters on a side and no more than three millimeters thick. She wrote upon this square with a glittering needle—one word upon another, all of them absorbed into the square. The completed message would be impressed upon the nerve receptors of an acolyte-messenger's eyes, latent there until they could be replayed at the Chapter House.<ref name="God Emperor"/>}}

In ''Heretics of Dune'', Reverend Mother [[Lucilla (Dune)|Lucilla]] recognizes a device called a [[hypnobong]] in use on the street, witnessing a passerby lean into a concave basin and then lift his face "with a shudder ... staggering slightly, his eyes glazed". She notes that the device is "outlawed on all of the more civilized worlds".<ref name="Heretics"/>

==See also== {{portal|Novels}} *[[Glossary of Dune (franchise)]]

==Notes== {{notelist}}

==References== {{reflist|30em}}

==External links== * {{cite web |url=http://www.technovelgy.com/ct/AuthorTotalNewsList.asp?AuNum=1 |title=Science Fiction in the News Articles: Frank Herbert |publisher=TechNovelgy.com |access-date=October 27, 2008 }}

[[Category:Dune (franchise)|Technology]] [[Category:Fictional technology by work|Dune]]