The Dune Encyclopedia - e-reading.life

1 Her e is a ric h b ackgroun d (an d foreground ) for the Dun e Chronicles, includi ng scholarl y bypath s and amusin g sidelights . Som e of the contributions are sur e to arous e c ontroversy , base d as the y are on q uestionabl e sources . Other s round out lon g speculation . Specialist s hav e had thei r f iel d d ay her e wit h p roblem s geological , biological , astronomical, and mystical , wit h p ronounciations, majo r biographies, historie s and account s of little-know n figures.

2 The rang e of topic s is catholic : cf. fro m game s for amusement t o g ame s of life and deat h (Cheop s or Pyrami d Ches s to "The Assassins ' Handbook").The histor y of the Financia l Synod whic h spawne d CHOA M get s its firs t airin g in thes e pages . In fact, man y secret s hidde n in the Dun e Chronicle s are answere d h did Irula n firs t gai n and the n arous e the displeasur e ofGhanima ? Who was J ehann e Butle r and why doe s the Butleria n Jiha d carry her name ? Wha t are the hidde n o rigin s of the Spacin g Guild ?

3 Wher e did spice-trance navigational technique s develop ? Wha t was Let o II's privat e opinio n o f Hol y Siste r Quintiniu s Viole t Chenoeh ? Doe s Cheop s hav e somethi ng in comm on wit h the three-bod y problem?I mus t confes s tha t Ifoun d it fascinatin g to re-ente r her e som e of the source s on whic h the Chronicle s are built . As the first' Dun e fan, '' I giv e thi s Encyclopedia my delighte d approval , althou gh I hold my own counse l on som e of the issue s s till to b e explore d as the Chronicle s k HerbertPor t Townsend, WANovember , 198323 COMPILE D B Y DR.

4 WILLI S E . McNELLYBERKLEY BOOKS, NEW YORK4 THE DUNE E NCYCLOPEDIAA Berkle y Book/published by arrangement wit h the authorPRINTI NG H ISTORYB erkle y trad e paperbac k edition/Jun e 1984 All right s reserved. Copyright 1984 b y Dr. Willi s E. d by Jeremia h B. LighterThis book may n ot be reproduce d in whol e or in part,by mimeograp h or any othe r means , withou t informatio n address : The Berkle y Publishi ng Group,200 Madiso n Avenue, New York, Ne w Yor k N 0-425-06813-7A BERKLE Y BOOK TM 757,375 Berkle y Book s are publishe d b y The Berkle y Publishin g Group,200 Madiso n Avenue, New York, Ne w Yor k nam e "BERKLEY" and the stylize d "B" wit h desig n are trademark s belongi ng to Berkle y Publishin g CorporationPRINTE D IN THE UNITE D STATE S OF AMERICA5 INTRODUCTIONS nippet s of poetr y fro m the Imperium.

5 A Sampl e fol k tal e fro m the Ora l History ; brie f biographie s of ove r a doze n Dunca n Idahos : t wo differin g approache s to Pau l Muad Di b h imsel f and to h is son, Let o II; Freme n recipes ; Freme n h istory ; secret s of the Ben e Gesserit ; the song s of Gurne y Halleck thes e are jus t som e of the treasure s foun d whe n an earthmove r f ell int o the God Emperor' s no-roo m at Dar-es-Balat , and are now include d in The Dun e s of scholar s hav e rushe d int o p rin t wit h thei r translation s of one or mor e of the ridulia n crystals , and the popula r pre ss on man y planet s has bee n fille d wit h h ypothesis , conjecture , and o utrigh t fabrication.

6 In the meantim e literall y hundred s of scholars , rangin g fro m anthropolinguists andcultura l historian s to professor s of ever y facet of science , hav e bee n laborin g quietl y and p atientl y wit h the incredibl e amoun t of materia l lef t hidde n b y Let o II nearl y eightee n hundre d year s labor s of the Librar y Confraternity hav e finall y brough t som e orde r to the chaoti c randomnes s of the no-roo m artifacts . Whil e onl y a ver y sma ll percentag e of the extan t materia l has bee n eithe r unearthe d o r translated , and littl e has receive d any kin d o f scholarl y evaluation , nonetheles s enoug h p rogres s hasbee n accomplished to p resen t t his initia l volum e of The Dun e Encyclopedia .

7 Thi s boo k h as bee n the wor k o f literall y dozen s of scholar s who h ave contribute d thei r effort s s o tha t reader s on world s fro m one e nd o f the galax y to anothe r may finall y hav e a c lear, coheren t pictur e of the legendar y day s of Pau l Muad'Di b and his son Let o Atreides, known duri ng h is 3,500-yea r lifetim e a s the "Go d Emperor."Reader s of The Dun e Encyclopedia shoul d understa nd its limitations : it is not designe d as a definitiv e stud y of the entir e e ras encompassed b y the Atreide s Imperium.

8 Yet the thousand s of descendant s of Dunca n Idah o and Sion a Atreide s can no w, afte r the recover y fro m the deleteriou s effect s of the Starvati on and the Scattering , lear n somethi ng o f thei r ancestor s and the condition s tha t produce d the God Emperor . The y may als o b ecom e a war e of the undercurrents tha t resulte d in his Fall . However , if reader s of thi s volum e a re searchi ng for the formul ae whic h cove r the electroni c intricacie s of the Spacin g Guil d trans-ligh t Ixia n Navigational systems , the y will be disappointed.

9 Thi s typ e of materia l alread y exist s elsewher e and n eed not be duplicate d on thes e pages. Rather it has bee n the aim of the editor s and the Librar y Confraternity to p resen t in thi s volum e a broadspectru m of materia l concerni ng thos e event s and p eopl e whic h shape d o ur presen t addition , we mus t als o conside r somethin g o f the eccentricities of Lor d Leto , who was solel y responsibl e for accumulating, assembling , and secreti ng wha t is now known as the Raki s Hoard.

10 If Let o was intereste d in som e topic , the materia l was saved . If he was not, its absen ce in the Raki s dig s is obvious. Furthermore, if he was amuse d b y som e scra p o f information, he preserve d it, eve n 6thoug h man y contemporary scholars feel the informatio n may well hav e bee n fals e or misleadin g in the firs t hav e mad e no attemp t to separat e Leto' s truth s fro m his foible s or to indicat e whic h is which . Suc h judgment s are bes t l eft t o scholar s or to the genera l readin g publi c at who m thi s boo k is aimed.