There’s no denying that science fiction is a genre that excites. Its other worldly flavor transports us to new bounds that unleash our imagination. Rendering us to go back to our child like–simplistic nature and suspend our disbelief. Its additional strength is presenting reflections of our world that pose questions to our way of life or show how man could be shaped or improved by “going where no man has ever gone before.” It’s this quality, and of course more, that give the genre its cultural relevancy and importance to storytelling.
No single piece of science fiction has made more of a cultural impact to the genre and to the world at large than the Dune chronicles. In the autumn of 1965, Frank Herbert published his first Dune novel, and eventually ending the series in the spring of ’85 with ChapterHouse: Dune. ( 1985) Although, the great writer didn’t get to complete the series due his death the following year.
Set on the dessert planet Arrakis–better known as Dune with its high temperatures, dry and waterless environment, and home to great giant sandworms known to the Fremen as Shai-Hulud who worship them as agents of God. Various fractions known as the Great Houses vies for control of the planet and its profitable resource found only on Arrakis: the spice melange. Dune’s indigenous populace, the Fremen, have learned to not only be one with the dessert, but use the spice melange that gives them or anyone who is addicted total blue eyes. Spice is not only crucial for its health benefits it also is a tool for the Spacing Guild to traverse long distances in foldspace and navigate safe pathways between planets, and the Bene Gesserit: an exclusive sisterhood whose members train their bodies and minds through years of physical and psychological conditioning to acquire superhuman albitites. They use the spice to go through a: “spice agony” allowing them to connect with sisters from the past.
Dune’s beauty is its complexity and commentary that blends itself together to present a story that’s a cautionary tale on charismatic leaders, governmental power, religious authority and manipulation, and high dependence of substances to fuel one’s desires. Much of the love of this franchise is in its ways of conveying ideas and being a book of many abstract ideas that confronts the reader and works to create connections between its “known universe” and ours.
We can see that, for example, with Leto II. Seeing humanities end through use of the spice–knowing that humanities ever ambitious push to dominate and control territory would be their inevitable end Leto II shed his humanity and merged himself with sand trout; eventually morphing him into a worm. Through his large scale and highly sophisticated abilities, Leto II ruled the known universe for 35000 years. Suppressing humanity by hoarding large amounts of spice and prohibiting planetary travel. Humanity was stagnant, but to Leto II he was simply ensuring peace, as conflict between the Great Houses eroded and in part by him disbanding the centralized government, –putting himself as ultimate ruler and God of the known universe.
In our universe we of course have never seen a giant sandworm rule the universe for 35000 years. However, we have seen rulers who subjugate their citizens to harsh conditions for their benefit, personal amusement, or as a justification to benefit its people. We’ve also have had historical moments of rulers using religion as a tool to have the populace fall in line to the status quo. What’s interesting about Frank Herbert’s writing is giving Leto II enough room and space for him to express his own justification. God Emperor of Dune (1981), highly regarded as the best in the series is Leto II at the peak of his powers following his ascension to the throne in the pervious book Children of Dune (1976). The book cleverly as well acknowledges the religious fanaticism and manipulation. It was a universe in which some rebled against his rule, and others saw him as Shai-Hulud. This not only increased his mystique but the devotion towards him.
What Frank Herbert gave to us was a philosophical marvel that stretched the bounds of our mind and suspend our disbelief while simultaneously presenting messaging that has undertones even to today. His science fiction sandbox that he designed in his mind has become a pillar in the genre and a strong inspiration to other sci-fi classics such as Gene Roddenberry’s Star Trek (1965) and George Lucas’s Star Wars (1977)
What he gave us was a beautiful universe plagued with conflict, war, famine, love, mind over technology, morally grey individual’s, abstract ideas, religious undertones, and much more.
A universe that echoes’ the human struggle and our persistence’s to stretch new bounds of our known universe.
