FAQ about Dune

 FAQ about Dune

With the release of Denis Villeneuve's version of Dune (2021), numerous friends have been asking questions of me about the Dune Universe, either because they need clarification based on watching the various movie adaptations, or they are reading the novel for the first time (no small task) and have questions.  Here are my best answers, without engaging in any spoilers:

 

So Dune takes place about 8,000 years in the future in the Year 10,191AD?

No.  Dune takes place in the Year 10,191AG or "After Guild", i.e. about 10,000 years after the founding of the Spacing Guild, the order whose Guild of Navigators have been mutated over that time through the use of the spice (known as melange in the novels) such that they can safely "fold space" allowing for instantaneously space travel over vast distances. The Spacing Guild was found in 0AG following the Butlerian Jihad (the War against the "Thinking Machines", i.e. Artificial Intelligence) from 201-108BG or "Before Guild." According to the material found in the appendices of the novel the Year 201BG equals 11,100 years after the first interplanetary space probe is launched (i.e. Pioneer 5 in 1960AD), so the Year 10,191AG = 23,352AD or more than 21,000 years in the future!!!

 

Where is Earth? 

Unlike many other works of science fiction, the Earth, birth place of the human race, is of little importance in the story. It is alluded to that either the Earth has been destroyed, is no longer populated, or it has been forgotten which planet in the Dune Universe humans originated on.

 

Where are the alien species?

 In the original Dune books, humans (and their various off-shoots) are the only sentient life in the Universe.

 

What are the uses of The Spice (melenge) in the Dune Universe?

The Spice is used in the Dune Universe primarily by: the Spacing Guild Navigators to accurately see the paths across space-time to safely "fold space"; the Bene Gesserit Revered Mothers to tap into the genetic memories of their (female only) forebearers; and by the rules of the Noble Houses for its anti-agathic (anti-aging) properties (ex: the Padishah Emperor Shaddam IV is 57 years old in the events of Dune and had the events not happened he would have lived to be over 200 years old according to the novel).

 

Who is the narrator of Dune Princess Irulan?

Princess Irulan Corrino is the eldest child of Emperor Shaddam IV who has no sons (a major plot point in the later books!!!)

 

Why did Duke Leto Atreides never married his bound concubine the Lady Jessica?

For political reasons -- To leave the hope open among the other Noble Houses that an alliance through marriage might be possible between their House and House
Atreides.

 

Why did the Bene Gesserit order the Lady Jessica to bear only female offspring?

To allow for a daughter produced from a union between her and Duke Leto Atreides to be wed (and bred) to a House Harkonnen heir (most likely Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen, less likely Glossu Rabban Harkonnen).

 

Why is the Emperor Shaddam IV trying to destroy House Atreides?

House Atreides is a powerful leader among the other Great Houses of the Landsraad (the governing body of representatives from the Houses that oversee rule of the Empire of the Known Universe for the Emperor). If the armies of the Great Houses were every to unite, their force could defeat the forces of the Emperor and place their own successor on the throne. House Corrino has ruled the Imperium for the past 10,000+ years. Emperor Shaddam IV of House Corrino is the 81st Padishah Emperor to hold this unbroken hereditary line of succession. He fears the influence of Duke Leto Atreides among the other Houses and therefore comes up with a scheme to pit two Houses that are already antagonistic to each other (Atreidies and Harkonnen) against each other in hopes of destroting House Atreides (and maybe weakening Harkonnen in the process) without "getting his own hands dirty."

 

Why are there no satellites over Arrakis?

Though a variety of excuses are given by various characters through the novel for this, the real reason is that the Fremen pay bribes to the Spacing Guild in spice (through a network of Spice Smugglers) to keep the skies over Arrakis free of satellites such that the location of their Sietches (hidden cities) cannot be detected by the out-worlder Harkonnens (and later Atreides).

 

[UPDATE: 11/8/2021]

Who are the Suk Doctors and what is the significance of their diamond tattoo?

The Suk Doctors are graduates of medical school in the Known Universe. They are highly values by the Great Houses of the Landsraad for their medical training, expert knowledge, and their (supposedly) mental conditioning that assures loyalty to those they serve. The diamond tattoo on their forehead is seen as a guarantee of that loyalty and a symbol of the group itself.

What are the sign langue hand gestures used between members of House Atreides in the Villeneuve adaptation?

This is part of what would be known as House Atreides Battle Language, a series of gestures or coded words specific to a give Great House, such that anyone else observing (or hearing) the battle language would not be able to interpret the meaning. This is NOT something exclusive to the Bene Gesserit (for if it was, Doctor Wellington Yueh would not be able to communicate with the Lady Jessica).