Intersteller travel by way of the mind. Hook me up with some spice. Spice is only to be found on one planet in the whole entire universe, Arrakis. Spice is guarded by the sand worms. Taking the perspective of Joseph Campbell's mythic quest we can see the the spice is the treasure, the great boon to mankind and the worms are the dragons that lie in wait guarding the treasure.
Spice alone has to be one of the best concepts of the last millenium.
Most importantly spice is used to aid pilots in intersteller travel. In the movie the concept of spice was treated exactly as the book which was good to see. Spice or something very similiar can become a very valuable resource in any genre. A fantasy campaign can be centered around a drug similiar to spice. Maybe it shortens life instead of lengthening it.