Crose

**Crose** is the second planet of Home Star System secondary star. The planet is slightly smaller than Earth with a gravity of 0.92G, a year-length of 335 days, a day-length of 22 hours, 5 minutes, and a diameter of 11,735.7 km (slightly smaller than Venus). The planet is orbited by five moons, the largest, is roughly over half of the diameter of the parent planet both worlds orbit a common barycenter while the second-largest moon orbits slightly beyond the orbit around both worlds, the three smaller moons are irregular-shaped captured objects that also orbit both worlds.

Crose and its largest moon orbit roughly 353,648 km (219,788 mi) from one another. That moon is 5,985 km in diameter or 51% of the size of its parent planet which would make it larger than Jupiter's moon Ganymede but smaller than the planet Mars. The moon, like Saturn's moon Titan, retains an extended atmosphere.

## List of nations

1. Casaan
2. Confederacy of Kalthuun
3. Republic of Erean
4. Innal
5. Valadaam
6. Miroth
7. Seglet
8. Tunlay
9. Ganaan
10. Achevor
11. Bothus
12. Driac
13. Whar Chaud
14. Aldan
15. Farana
16. Dasii
17. Lydaramer

The **Government of the Solarians** was established by the Colonist Papers shortly after the arrival of the Korolev. It is a federal non-partisan directorial republic with thorough elements of direct democracy. It is made of The Council (executive branch) is one of three branches of government which includes the Assembly (legislative branch), and the Hall (judicial branch). The Council is made up of elected officials from various districts and regions across their adoptive homeworld. The Council includes ministers usually picked by the Chancellor, while the Assembly is made up entirely of elected officials and the Hall is predominantly made up of appointed judicial figures. The Council yield great power, though the Assembly ratifies all laws devised by the Chancellor and the Council. It is also able to veto provisions made by the Chancellor. There is no head of state, the Council members are all the head of state though the Chancellor leads the group and is elected to his position by the majority of Solarian citizens. The Vice Chancellor is elected separately, he often leads the Council while the Chancellor presides over both the Assembly and the Council. The Assembly is a unicameral legislative body. The Chancellor's immediate administration is made up of his presidential aide, Chief of Staff, the Vice Chancellor, the Council, his military advisor, science advisor and the Commandant of the Stellar Corps.

Together with the Assembly and the Hall, the government determined that the official term for Korolev colonists would be Solarian. As it was decided that the only unifying cultural identity was that all colonists came from the Solar System and originally native to the 23rd century.

Each colony runs themselves independently but an overarching federal government allows more collaboration and speedy trade. Modeled on the US government and parliamentary systems.

The Solarian government is often referred to as The Union.

http://en.battlestarwiki.org/wiki/Government\_of\_the\_Twelve\_Colonies

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Switzerland

Great Interstellar War

Previous

Belt Wars

### Outcome

Expansion of the human sphere of influence

### commanders2

Chancellor

Grand Marshal

### srclink

Template:War

https://starfield.fandom.com/wiki/United\_Colonies

https://starfield.fandom.com/wiki/Settled\_Systems

***Dune***, also known as the ***Dune Chronicles***, is an American science fiction media franchise that originated with the 1965 novel *Dune* by Frank Herbert and has continued to add new publications. *Dune* is frequently described as the best-selling science fiction novel in history. It won the inaugural Nebula Award for Best Novel and the Hugo Award in 1966, and was later adapted into a 1984 film, a 2000 television miniseries, and a 2021 film. Herbert wrote five sequels, the first two of which were concomitantly adapted as a 2003 miniseries. *Dune* has also inspired tabletop games and a series of video games. Since 2009, the names of planets from the *Dune* novels have been adopted for the real-world nomenclature of plains and other features on Saturn's moon Titan.

Frank Herbert died in 1986. Beginning in 1999, his son Brian Herbert and science fiction author Kevin J. Anderson published several collections of prequel novels, as well as two sequels that complete the original *Dune* series (*Hunters of Dune* in 2006 and *Sandworms of Dune* in 2007), partially based on Frank Herbert's notes discovered a decade after his death.

The political, scientific, and social fictional setting of Herbert's novels and derivative works is known as the ***Dune* universe** or **Duniverse**. Set tens of thousands of years in the future, the saga chronicles a civilization that has banned all "thinking machines", which include computers, robots, and artificial intelligence. In their place, civilization has developed advanced mental and physical disciplines as well as advanced technologies that adhere to the ban on computers. Vital to this empire is the harsh desert planet Arrakis, the only known source of the spice melange, the most valuable substance in the universe.

For the similarities between some of Herbert's terms and ideas and actual words and concepts in the Arabic language, as well as the series' "Islamic undertones" and themes, a Middle Eastern influence in Herbert's works has been widely noted.

## Premise[edit]

The *Dune* saga is set thousands of years in humanity's future. Faster-than-light travel has been developed, and humans have colonized a vast number of worlds. However, a great reaction against computers has resulted in a ban on any kind of "thinking machine", with the creation or possession of such punishable by immediate death. Despite this prohibition, humanity continues to develop and advance other branches of technology, including ESP and instruments of war. At the time of the first book's setting, humanity has formed a feudal interstellar empire known as the Imperium, run by several Great Houses that oversee various planets. Of key interest is the planet Arrakis, known as "Dune". A desert planet with nearly no precipitation, it is the only planet where a special life-extending drug, melange or "the spice", can be found. In addition to life extension, melange enhances the mental capacity of humans: it allows for the mutated Spacing Guild pilots to navigate folded space and travel the distances between planets; and triggers some of the powers of the Bene Gesserit, a religious group that secretly seeks to control the direction humanity takes. Melange is difficult to acquire, not only due to the harsh environment of Arrakis, but also the presence of giant sandworms that are drawn towards any rhythmic sounds on the sands of the desert. Control of Arrakis, its spice production, and the impact on humanity's development become the centerpoints of a millennia-long conflict that develops through the series.

## Plot arc[edit]

The *Dune* universe, set in the distant future of humanity, has a history that stretches thousands of years (some 15,000 years in total) and covers considerable changes in political, social, and religious structure as well as technology. Creative works set in the *Dune* universe can be said to fall into five general time periods:

* The Butlerian Jihad
	+ *Legends of Dune* prequel trilogy (2002–2004) by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson
	+ *Great Schools of Dune* prequel trilogy (2012–2016) by Brian Herbert and Anderson
* The Corrino-led Imperium
	+ *Prelude to Dune* prequel trilogy (1999–2001) by Brian Herbert and Anderson
	+ *Heroes of Dune* series (2008–2023) by Brian Herbert and Anderson
	+ *The Caladan Trilogy* (2020–2022) by Brian Herbert and Anderson
* The rise of the Atreides
	+ *Dune* (1965)
	+ *Dune Messiah* (1969)
	+ *Children of Dune* (1976) by Frank Herbert
	+ *Heroes of Dune* series (2008–2023) by Brian Herbert and Anderson
* The reign and fall of the God Emperor
	+ *God Emperor of Dune* (1981) by Frank Herbert
* The return from the Scattering
	+ *Heretics of Dune* (1984) by Frank Herbert
	+ *Chapterhouse: Dune* (1985) by Frank Herbert
	+ *Hunters of Dune* (2006) by Brian Herbert and Anderson
	+ *Sandworms of Dune* (2007) by Brian Herbert and Anderson

### The Butlerian Jihad[edit]

As explained in *Dune*, the **Butlerian Jihad** is a conflict taking place over 11,000 years in the future (and over 10,000 years before the events of *Dune*), which results in the total destruction of virtually all forms of "computers, thinking machines, and conscious robots". With the prohibition "Thou shalt not make a machine in the likeness of a human mind," the creation of even the simplest thinking machines is outlawed and made taboo, which has a profound influence on the socio-political and technological development of humanity in the *Dune* series. Herbert refers to the Jihad several times in the novels, but does not give much detail on how he imagined the causes and nature of the conflict. Critical analysis has often associated the term with Samuel Butler and his 1863 essay "Darwin among the Machines", which advocated the destruction of all advanced machines.

In Herbert's *God Emperor of Dune* (1981), Leto II Atreides indicates that the Jihad had been a semi-religious social upheaval initiated by humans who felt repulsed by how guided and controlled they had become by machines. This technological reversal leads to the creation of the universal Orange Catholic Bible and the rise of a new feudal pan-galactic empire that lasts for over 10,000 years before Herbert's series begins. Several secret societies also develop, using eugenics programs, intensive mental and physical training, and pharmaceutical enhancements to hone human skills to an astonishing degree. Artificial insemination is also prohibited, as explained in *Dune Messiah* (1969), when Paul Atreides negotiates with the Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam, who is appalled by Paul's suggestion that he impregnate his consort in this manner.

Herbert died in 1986, leaving his vision of the events of the Butlerian Jihad unexplored and open to speculation. The *Legends of Dune* prequel trilogy (2002–2004) by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson presents the Jihad as a war between humans and the sentient machines they had created, who rise up and nearly destroy humanity. The series explains that humanity had become entirely complacent and dependent upon thinking machines; recognizing this weakness, a group of ambitious, militant humans calling themselves the Titans use this widespread reliance on machine intelligence to seize control of the entire universe. Their reign lasts for a century; eventually they give too much access and power to the AI program Omnius, which usurps control from the Titans themselves. Seeing no value in human life, the thinking machines—now including armies of robot soldiers and other aggressive machines—dominate and enslave nearly all of humanity in the universe for 900 years, until a jihad is ignited. This crusade against the machines lasts for nearly a century, with much loss of human life but ultimately ending in human victory.

### The Corrino-led Imperium[edit]

The ancient **Battle of Corrin**—occurring 20 years after the end of the Butlerian Jihad—spawns the Padishah Emperors of House Corrino, who rule the known universe for millennia by controlling the Sardaukar, a brutally efficient military force. Ten thousand years later, Imperial power is balanced by the assembly of noble houses called the Landsraad, which enforces the Great Convention's ban on the use of atomics against human targets. Though the power of the Corrinos is unrivaled by any individual House, they are in constant competition with each other for political power and stakes in the omnipresent CHOAM company, a directorship that controls the wealth of the entire Empire. The third primary power in the universe is the Spacing Guild, which monopolizes interstellar travel and banking. Mutated Guild Navigators use the spice drug melange to successfully navigate "folded space" and safely guide enormous heighliner starships from planet to planet instantaneously.

The matriarchal Bene Gesserit possess almost superhuman physical, sensory, and deductive powers developed through years of physical and mental conditioning. While positioning themselves to "serve" humanity, the Bene Gesserit pursue their goal to better the human race by subtly and secretly guiding and manipulating the affairs of others to serve their own purposes. By the time of *Dune*, they have secured a level of control over the current emperor, Shaddam IV, by marrying him to one of their own who intentionally bears him only daughters. The Bene Gesserit also have a secret, millennia-long selective breeding program to bolster and preserve valuable skills and bloodlines as well as to produce a theoretical superhuman male they call the Kwisatz Haderach. When *Dune* begins, the Sisterhood are only one generation away from their desired individual, having manipulated the threads of genes and power for thousands of years to produce the required confluence of events. But Lady Jessica, ordered by the Bene Gesserit to produce a daughter who would breed with the appropriate male to produce the Kwisatz Haderach, instead bears a son—unintentionally producing the Kwisatz Haderach a generation early.

"Human computers" known as Mentats have been developed and perfected to replace the capacity for logical analysis lost through the prohibition of computers. Through specific training, they learn to enter a heightened mental state in which they can perform complex logical computations that are superior to those of the ancient thinking machines. The Bene Tleilax are amoral merchants who traffic in biological and genetically engineered products such as artificial eyes, "twisted" Mentats, and gholas. Finally, the Ixians produce cutting-edge technology that seemingly complies with (but pushes the boundaries of) the prohibitions against thinking machines. The Ixians are very secretive, not only to protect their valuable hold on the industry but also to hide any methods or inventions that may breach the anti-thinking machine protocols.

Against this backdrop, the *Prelude to Dune* prequel trilogy (1999–2001) chronicles the return from obscurity of House Atreides, whose role in the Butlerian Jihad is all but forgotten. The Imperial House schemes to gain full control of the Empire through the control of melange, precisely at the time that the Bene Gesserit breeding program is nearing fruition.

### The rise of the Atreides[edit]

As Frank Herbert's *Dune* (1965) begins, Duke Leto Atreides finds himself in a dangerous position. The 81st Padishah Emperor, Shaddam IV, has put him in control of the desert planet Arrakis, known as Dune, which is the only source of the all-important spice melange. The most valuable commodity in the known universe, the spice not only makes safe and reliable interstellar travel possible, but also prolongs life, protects against disease, and is used by the Bene Gesserit to enhance their abilities. The potential financial gains for House Atreides are mitigated by the fact that mining melange from the desert surface of Arrakis is an expensive and hazardous undertaking, thanks to the treacherous environment and constant threat of giant sandworms that protect the spice. In addition, Leto is aware that Shaddam, feeling threatened by the rising power and influence of the Atreides, has sent him into a trap. Failure to meet or exceed the production volume of his predecessor, the villainous Baron Vladimir Harkonnen, will negatively affect the position of House Atreides in CHOAM, which relies on spice profits. Further, the very presence of the Atreides on Arrakis inflames the long-simmering War of Assassins between House Atreides and House Harkonnen, a feud ignited 10,000 years before when an Atreides had a Harkonnen banished for cowardice after the Butlerian Jihad.

The little-understood native population of Arrakis are the Fremen, long overlooked by the Imperium. Considered backward savages, the Fremen are an extremely hardy people and exist in large numbers, their culture built around the commodity of water, which is extremely scarce on Arrakis. The Fremen await the coming of a prophesied messiah, not suspecting that this prophecy had been planted in their legends by the Missionaria Protectiva, an arm of the Bene Gesserit dedicated to religious manipulation to ease the path of the Sisterhood when necessary. In *Dune*, the so-called "Arrakis Affair" puts unexpected Kwisatz Haderach Paul Atreides in control of first the Fremen people and then Arrakis itself. Absolute control over the spice supply allows Paul to depose Shaddam and become ruler of the known universe, with Shaddam's eldest daughter Princess Irulan as his consort. With a bloody jihad subsequently unleashed across the universe in Paul's name but out of his control, the Bene Gesserit, Tleilaxu, Spacing Guild, and House Corrino conspire to dethrone him in *Dune Messiah* (1969). Though the plot fails, the Atreides Empire continues to devolve in *Children of Dune* (1976) as the religion built around Paul falters, Irulan's sister Wensicia conspires to place her son Farad'n on the throne, and Paul's twin heirs Leto II and Ghanima rise to power.

The *Heroes of Dune* series (2008–2009) by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson chronicles the major events that take place between *Dune: House Corrino* (2001) and *Dune: The Duke of Caladan* (2020), between *Dune* (1965) and *Dune Messiah* (1969), and between *Dune Messiah* and *Children of Dune* (1976).

### The reign and fall of the God Emperor[edit]

At the time of *God Emperor of Dune* (1981), Paul's son, the God Emperor Leto II Atreides, has ruled the Empire for 3,500 years from the verdant face of a transformed Arrakis; melange production has ceased. Leto has forced the sandworms into extinction, except for the larval sandtrout with which he had forged a symbiosis, transforming him into a human-sandworm hybrid. Human civilization before his rule had suffered from twin weaknesses: that it could be controlled by a single authority, and that it was totally dependent upon melange, found on only one planet in the known universe. Leto's prescient visions had shown that humanity would be threatened by extinction in any number of ways; his solution was to place humanity on his "Golden Path," a plan for humanity's survival. Leto governs as a benevolent tyrant, providing for his people's physical needs, but denying them any spiritual outlets other than his own compulsory religion (as well as maintaining a monopoly on spice and thus total control of its use). Personal violence of any kind is banned, as is nearly all space travel, creating a pent-up demand for freedom and travel. The Bene Gesserit, Ixians, and Tleilaxu find themselves seeking ways to regain some of their former power or unseat Leto altogether. Leto also conducts his own selective breeding program among the descendants of his twin sister Ghanima, finally arriving at Siona, daughter of Moneo, whose actions are hidden from prescient vision. Leto engineers his own assassination, knowing it will result in rebellion and revolt but also in an explosion in travel and colonization. The death of Leto's body also produces new sandtrout, which will eventually give rise to a population of sandworms and a new cycle of spice production.

### The return from the Scattering[edit]

In the aftermath of the fall of the God Emperor, chaos and severe famine on many worlds cause trillions of humans to set off into the freedom of unknown space and spread out across the universe. This diaspora is later called **the Scattering** and, combined with the invisibility of Atreides descendants to prescient vision, assures that humanity has forever escaped the threat of total extinction. At the time of *Heretics of Dune* (1984) and *Chapterhouse: Dune* (1985)—1500 years after Leto's death—the turmoil is settling into a new pattern; the balance of power in the Old Empire, as it is now called, rests among the Ixians, the Bene Gesserit, and the Tleilaxu. The Spacing Guild has been forever weakened by the development of Ixian machines capable of navigation in foldspace, practically replacing Guild Navigators. The Bene Gesserit, through manipulation of the Priesthood of the Divided God, control the sandworms and their planet, now called Rakis, but the Tleilaxu have discovered how to produce melange using their axlotl tanks in quantities that greatly exceed natural melange harvests. This balance of power is shattered by a large influx of people from the Scattering, some fleeing persecution by an as-yet unknown enemy. Among the returning people, the Bene Gesserit finds its match in a violent and corrupt matriarchal society known as the Honored Matres, whom they suspect may be descended from some of their own sent out in the Scattering. As a bitter and bloody war erupts between the orders, it ultimately becomes clear that joining the two organizations into a single New Sisterhood with shared abilities is their best chance to fight the approaching enemy.

The sequels *Hunters of Dune* (2006) and *Sandworms of Dune* (2007) by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson complete the original series and wrap up storylines that began with *Heretics of Dune*.

## Development and publication[edit]

### Original series[edit]

Herbert's interest in the desert setting of *Dune* and its challenges is attributed to research he began in 1957 for a never-completed article about a United States Department of Agriculture experiment using poverty grass to stabilize damaging sand dunes, which could "swallow whole cities, lakes, rivers, and highways." Herbert spent the next five years researching, writing, and revising what would eventually become the novel *Dune*, which was initially serialized in *Analog* magazine as two shorter works, *Dune World* (1963) and *The Prophet of Dune* (1965). The serialized version was expanded and reworked—and rejected by more than 20 publishers—before being published by Chilton Books, a printing house best known for its auto repair manuals, in 1965. *Dune* won the inaugural Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1966, and the 1966 Hugo Award. The novel has been translated into dozens of languages, and has sold almost 20 million copies. *Dune* has been regularly cited as one of the world's best-selling science fiction novels.

A sequel, *Dune Messiah*, followed in 1969. A third novel called *Children of Dune* was published in 1976, and was later nominated for a Hugo Award. *Children of Dune* became the first hardcover best-seller ever in the science fiction field. Parts of these two first sequels were written before *Dune* was completed.

In 1978, Berkley Books published *The Illustrated Dune*, an edition of *Dune* with 33 black-and-white sketch drawings and eight full color paintings by John Schoenherr, who had done the cover art for the first printing of *Dune* and had illustrated the *Analog* serializations of *Dune* and *Children of Dune*. Herbert wrote in 1980 that though he had not spoken to Schoenherr prior to the artist creating the paintings, the author was surprised to find that the artwork appeared exactly as he had imagined its fictional subjects, including sandworms, Baron Harkonnen and the Sardaukar.

In 1981, Herbert released *God Emperor of Dune*, which was ranked as the #11 hardcover fiction best seller of 1981 by *Publishers Weekly*. *Heretics of Dune*, the 1984 *New York Times* #13 hardcover fiction best seller, was followed in quick succession by *Chapterhouse: Dune* in 1985. Herbert died on February 11, 1986.

### Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson[edit]

Over a decade after Herbert's death, his son Brian Herbert enlisted science fiction author Kevin J. Anderson to coauthor a trilogy of *Dune* prequel novels that would come to be called the *Prelude to Dune* series. Using some of Frank Herbert's own notes, the duo wrote *Dune: House Atreides* (1999), *Dune: House Harkonnen* (2000), and *Dune: House Corrino* (2001). The series is set in the years immediately prior to the events of *Dune*. This was followed with a second prequel trilogy called the *Legends of Dune*, consisting of *Dune: The Butlerian Jihad* (2002), *Dune: The Machine Crusade* (2003), and *Dune: The Battle of Corrin* (2004). These were set during the Butlerian Jihad, an element of backstory that Frank Herbert had previously established as occurring 10,000 years before the events chronicled in *Dune*. Herbert's brief description of humanity's "crusade against computers, thinking machines, and conscious robots" was expanded by Brian Herbert and Anderson in this series.

With an outline for the first book of *Prelude to Dune* series written and a proposal sent to publishers, Brian Herbert had discovered his father's 30-page outline for a sequel to *Chapterhouse Dune*, which the elder Herbert had dubbed *Dune 7*. After publishing their six prequel novels, Brian Herbert and Anderson released *Hunters of Dune* (2006) and *Sandworms of Dune* (2007), which complete the original series and wrap up storylines that began with Frank Herbert's *Heretics of Dune*.

The *Heroes of Dune* series followed, focusing on the time periods between Frank Herbert's original novels. The first book, *Paul of Dune*, was published in 2008, followed by *The Winds of Dune* in 2009. The next two installments were to be called *The Throne of Dune* and *Leto of Dune* (possibly changing to *The Golden Path of Dune*), but were postponed due to plans to publish a trilogy, *Great Schools of Dune*, about "the formation of the Bene Gesserit, the Mentats, the Suk doctors, the Spacing Guild and the Navigators, as well as the solidifying of the Corrino Imperium." *Sisterhood of Dune* was released in 2012, followed by *Mentats of Dune* in 2014. In a 2009 interview, Anderson stated that the third and final novel would be titled *The Swordmasters of Dune*, but by 2014 it had been renamed *Navigators of Dune*. The novel was published on September 13, 2016. A third *Heroes of Dune* novel, *Princess of Dune*, was released on October 3, 2023.

In July 2020, Herbert and Anderson announced a new trilogy of prequel novels called *The Caladan Trilogy*. The first novel in the series, *Dune: The Duke of Caladan*, was published in October 2020, and the second, *Dune: The Lady of Caladan*, was released in September 2021. The third novel, *Dune: The Heir of Caladan*, was released on November 22, 2022.

Jon Michaud of *The New Yorker* wrote in 2013, "The conversion of *Dune* into a franchise, while pleasing readers and earning royalties for the Herbert estate, has gone a long way toward obscuring the power of the original novel."

### Short stories[edit]

In 1985, Frank Herbert wrote an illustrated short work called "The Road to Dune", set sometime between the events of *Dune* and *Dune Messiah*. Published in Herbert's short story collection *Eye*, it takes the form of a guidebook for pilgrims to Arrakis and features images (with descriptions) of some of the devices and characters presented in the novels.

Brian Herbert and Anderson have written eight *Dune* short stories and four *Dune* novellas, most of them related to and published around their novels. The eight short stories include "Dune: A Whisper of Caladan Seas" (2001), "Dune: Hunting Harkonnens" (2002), "Dune: Whipping Mek" (2003), "Dune: The Faces of a Martyr" (2004), "Dune: Sea Child" (2006), "Dune: Treasure in the Sand" (2006), "Dune: Wedding Silk" (2008), and "Dune: Red Plague" (2016). These eight short stories were published together in the 2017 collection *Tales of Dune: Expanded Edition*. The four novellas include "Dune: The Waters of Kanly" (2017), "Dune: Blood of the Sardaukar" (2019), "Dune: The Edge of a Crysknife" (2022), and "Dune: Imperial Court" (2022). The four novellas were published together in the collection *Sands of Dune*, which released on July 28, 2022.

## By other authors[edit]

In 1984, Herbert's publisher Putnam released *The Dune Encyclopedia* under its Berkley Books imprint. Approved by Herbert but not written by him, this collection of essays by 43 contributors describes in invented detail many aspects of the *Dune* universe not found in the novels themselves. Herbert's estate later confirmed its non-canonical status after Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson had begun publishing prequel novels that directly contradict *The Dune Encyclopedia*.

The 1984 *Dune* film spawned *The Dune Storybook* (September 1984, ISBN 0-399-12949-9), a novelization written by Joan D. Vinge, and *The Making of Dune* (December 1984, ISBN 0-425-07376-9), a making-of book by Ed Naha. In November 1984, Pocket Books published *National Lampoon's Doon* by Ellis Weiner (ISBN 0-671-54144-7), a parody novel.

In May 1992, Ace Books published *Songs of Muad'Dib* (ISBN 0-441-77427-X), a collection of *Dune*-related poems written by Frank Herbert and edited by his son Brian. Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson released *The Road to Dune* on August 11, 2005. The book contains a novelette called *Spice Planet* (an alternative version of *Dune* based on an outline by Frank Herbert), a number of the Brian Herbert/Anderson short stories, and letters and unused chapters written by Frank Herbert.

In the 1999 gazetteer *The Stars and Planets of Frank Herbert's Dune: A Gazetteer* (1999), Joseph M. Daniels estimates the distance from Earth in light-years (ly) for many *Dune* planets, based on the real-life distances of the stars and planetary systems referenced by Frank Herbert when discussing these planets in the glossary of the novel *Dune*. Though Herbert used the names of actual stars and planetary systems in his work, there is no documentation supporting or disputing the assumption that he was, in fact, referring to these real-life stars or systems. *The Science of Dune* (2008) analyzes and deconstructs many of Herbert's concepts and fictional inventions.

In 2016, the Oni Press published the *Rick and Morty* graphic novel *Head-Space* (ISBN 978-1-7858-5985-4), written by Tom Fowler and illustrated by CJ Cannon, a parody of *Dune* in which the storyline's version of Morty Smith becomes the Morty'Dyb and its Rick Sanchez becomes QuasRick Haderach. In 2022, Oni Press published another spin-off series parodying *Dune*, titled *Rick and Morty Presents: HeRicktics of Rick* (ISBN 978-1-6371-5124-2), written by Amy Chu and Alexander Chang, and illustrated by Sarah Stern.

## Themes and influences[edit]

link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Dune-CardGameCover.jpg|thumb|Cover of the collectible card game *Dune* (1997)

The *Dune* series is a landmark of soft science fiction. Herbert deliberately suppressed technology in his *Dune* universe so he could address the politics of humanity, rather than the future of humanity's technology. *Dune* considers the way humans and their institutions might change over time. Jon Michaud of *The New Yorker* called the originating novel *Dune* "an epic of political betrayal, ecological brinkmanship, and messianic deliverance." Director John Harrison, who adapted *Dune* for Syfy's 2000 miniseries, called the novel a universal and timeless reflection of "the human condition and its moral dilemmas", and said:

> A lot of people refer to *Dune* as science fiction. I never do. I consider it an epic adventure in the classic storytelling tradition, a story of myth and legend not unlike the *Morte d'Arthur* or any messiah story. It just happens to be set in the future...The story is actually more relevant today than when Herbert wrote it. In the 1960s, there were just these two colossal superpowers duking it out. Today we're living in a more feudal, corporatized world more akin to Herbert's universe of separate families, power centers and business interests, all interrelated and kept together by the one commodity necessary to all.
>
>

Novelist Brian Herbert, Frank Herbert's son and biographer, explained that "Frank Herbert drew parallels, used spectacular metaphors, and extrapolated present conditions into world systems that seem entirely alien at first blush. But close examination reveals they aren't so different from systems we know". He wrote that the invaluable drug melange "represents, among other things, the finite resource of oil". Michaud explained, "Imagine a substance with the combined worldwide value of cocaine and petroleum and you will have some idea of the power of melange." Each chapter of *Dune* begins with an epigraph excerpted from the fictional writings of the character Princess Irulan. In forms such as diary entries, historical commentary, biography, quotations and philosophy, these writings set tone and provide exposition, context, and other details intended by Herbert to enhance understanding of his complex fictional universe and themes.

Michaud wrote in 2013, "With daily reminders of the intensifying effects of global warming, the spectre of a worldwide water shortage, and continued political upheaval in the oil-rich Middle East, it is possible that *Dune* is even more relevant now than when it was first published." Praising Herbert's "clever authorial decision" to excise robots and computers ("two staples of the genre") from his fictional universe, he suggested that "This de-emphasis on technology throws the focus back on people. It also allows for the presence of a religious mysticism uncommon in science fiction."

### Environmentalism and ecology[edit]

The originating novel *Dune* has been called the "first planetary ecology novel on a grand scale". After the publication of *Silent Spring* by Rachel Carson in 1962, science fiction writers began treating the subject of ecological change and its consequences. *Dune* responded in 1965 with its complex descriptions of life on Arrakis, from giant sandworms (for whom water is deadly) to smaller, mouse-like life forms adapted to live with limited water. *Dune* was followed in its creation of complex and unique ecologies by other science fiction books such as *A Door into Ocean* (1986) and *Red Mars* (1992). Environmentalists have pointed out that *Dune*'s popularity as a novel depicting a planet as a complex, almost living, thing, in combination with the first images of Earth from space being published in the same time period, strongly influenced environmental movements such as the establishment of the international Earth Day.

### Declining empires[edit]

Lorenzo DiTommaso compared *Dune*'s portrayal of the downfall of a galactic empire to Edward Gibbon's *The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire*, which argues that Christianity allied with the profligacy of the Roman elite led to the fall of Ancient Rome. In "History and Historical Effect in Frank Herbert's *Dune*" (1992), DiTommaso outlines similarities between the two works by highlighting the excesses of Padishah Emperor Shaddam IV on his home planet of Kaitain and of the Baron Vladimir Harkonnen in his palace. The Emperor loses his effectiveness as a ruler through an excess of ceremony and pomp. The hairdressers and attendants he brings with him to Arrakis are even referred to as "parasites". The Baron Harkonnen is similarly corrupt, materially indulgent, and a sexual degenerate. Gibbon's *Decline and Fall* partly blames the fall of Rome on the rise of Christianity. Gibbon claimed that this exotic import from a conquered province weakened the soldiers of Rome and left it open to attack.

Similarly, the Emperor's Sardaukar fighters are little match for the Fremen of Arrakis because of the Sardaukar's overconfidence and the Fremen's capacity for self-sacrifice. The Fremen put the community before themselves in every instance, while the world outside wallows in luxury at the expense of others. The decline and long peace of the Empire sets the stage for revolution and renewal by genetic mixing of successful and unsuccessful groups through war, a process culminating in the Jihad led by Paul Atreides, described by Herbert as depicting "war as a collective orgasm" (drawing on Norman Walter's 1950 *The Sexual Cycle of Human Warfare*). These themes reappear in *God Emperor of Dune*'s Scattering and Leto II Atreides's all-female Fish Speaker army.

### Heroism[edit]

Brian Herbert wrote that "*Dune* is a modern-day conglomeration of familiar myths, a tale in which great sandworms guard a precious treasure of melange...[that] resembles the myth described by an unknown English poet in *Beowulf*, the compelling tale of a fearsome fire dragon who guarded a great treasure hoard in a lair under cliffs".

Paul's rise to superhuman status follows the hero's journey template; after unfortunate circumstances are forced onto him, he suffers a long period of hardship and exile, and finally confronts and defeats the source of evil in his tale. As such, *Dune* is representative of a general trend beginning in 1960s American science fiction in that it features a character who attains godlike status through scientific means. Frank Herbert said in 1979, "The bottom line of the *Dune* trilogy is: beware of heroes. Much better [to] rely on your own judgment, and your own mistakes." He wrote in 1985, "*Dune* was aimed at this whole idea of the infallible leader because my view of history says that mistakes made by a leader (or made in a leader's name) are amplified by the numbers who follow without question."

Juan A. Prieto-Pablos says Herbert achieves a new typology with Paul's superpowers, differentiating the heroes of *Dune* from earlier heroes such as Superman, van Vogt's Gilbert Gosseyn and Henry Kuttner's telepaths. Unlike previous superheroes who acquire their powers suddenly and accidentally, Paul's are the result of "painful and slow personal progress." And unlike other superheroes of the 1960s—who are the exception among ordinary people in their respective worlds—Herbert's characters grow their powers through "the application of mystical philosophies and techniques." For Herbert, the ordinary person can develop incredible fighting skills (Fremen, Swordmasters of Ginaz and Sardaukar) or mental abilities (Bene Gesserit, Mentats, Spacing Guild Navigators).

### Middle-Eastern and Islamic influences[edit]

Due to the similarities between some of Herbert's terms and ideas and actual words and concepts in Arabic, as well as the series' "Islamic undertones" and themes, a Middle Eastern influence on Herbert's works has been noted repeatedly.

As a foreigner who adopts the ways of a desert-dwelling people and then leads them in a military capacity, Paul Atreides' character bears many similarities to the historical T. E. Lawrence, whose 1962 biopic *Lawrence of Arabia* has also been identified as an influence. Lesley Blanch's novel *The Sabres of Paradise* (1960) about Muslim resistance to the Russian conquest of the Caucasus, has also been identified as a major influence upon *Dune*, with its depiction of Imam Shamil, the Caucasian Imamate, and the Islamic culture of the Caucasus inspiring some of the themes, characters, events and terminology of *Dune*. Multiple proverbs recorded by Blanch's *The Sabres* as originating from the Caucasus Mountains are included in *Dune*, such as "polish comes from the city, wisdom from the hills," becoming "polish comes from the cities, wisdom from the desert" for Arrakis.

The environment of the desert planet Arrakis is similar to the Middle East, particularly the Arabian Peninsula and Persian Gulf, as well as to Mexico. The novel also contains references to the petroleum industries in the Arab states of the Persian Gulf as well as Mexico. The Fremen people of Arrakis were influenced by the Bedouin tribes of Arabia, and the Mahdi prophecy originates from Islamic eschatology. Inspiration is also adopted from medieval historian ibn Khaldun's cyclical history and his dynastic concept in North Africa, hinted by Herbert's reference to ibn Khaldun's book *Kitāb al-ʿibar* "The Book of Lessons" as known among the Fremen.

#### Additional linguistic and historic influences[edit]

In addition to Arabic, *Dune* derives words and names from multiple other languages, including Hebrew, Navajo, Latin, Chakobsa, the Nahuatl language of the Aztecs, Greek, Persian, East Indian, Russian, Turkish, Finnish, Dutch and Old English. Through the inspiration from Lesley Blanch's *The Sabres of Paradise*, there are also allusions to the Tsarist-era Russian nobility and Cossacks. Frank Herbert stated that bureaucracy that lasted long enough would become a hereditary nobility, and a significant theme behind the aristocratic families in *Dune* was "aristocratic bureaucracy" which he saw as analogous to the Soviet Union.

### Religion[edit]

Brian Herbert called the *Dune* universe "a spiritual melting pot", noting that his father, Frank Herbert, incorporated elements of a variety of religions, including Buddhism, Sufi mysticism and other Islamic belief systems, Catholicism, Protestantism, Judaism, and Hinduism. He added that Frank Herbert's fictional future in which "religious beliefs have combined into interesting forms" represents the author's solution to eliminating arguments between religions, each of which claim to have "the one and only revelation." Frank Herbert writes that, in the aftermath of the technology-purging Butlerian Jihad, the Bene Gesserit composed the Azhar Book, which "preserves the great secrets of the most ancient faiths". Soon after, an ecumenical council created a syncretic religion defined by the **Orange Catholic Bible**, which would become the primary orthodox religious text in the universe. Its title suggests a merging of Protestantism (Orange Order) and Catholicism. Herbert writes in the glossary of *Dune*:

> Orange Catholic Bible: the "Accumulated Book," the religious text produced by the Commission of Ecumenical Translators. It contains elements of most ancient religions, including the Maometh Saari, Mahayana Christianity, Zensunni Catholicism and Buddislamic traditions. Its supreme commandment is considered to be: "Thou shalt not disfigure the soul."
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Early in his newspaper career, Frank Herbert was introduced to Zen, a school of Mahayana Buddhism, by two Jungian psychologists, Ralph and Irene Slattery, who "gave a crucial boost to his thinking". Zen teachings ultimately had "a profound and continuing influence on [Herbert's] work". Throughout the *Dune* series and particularly in *Dune*, Herbert employs concepts and forms borrowed from Zen Buddhism. The Fremen are **Zensunni** adherents, and many of Herbert's epigraphs are Zen-spirited. In "*Dune* Genesis", Frank Herbert wrote:

> What especially pleases me is to see the interwoven themes, the fuguelike relationships of images that exactly replay the way *Dune* took shape ... I involved myself with recurrent themes that turn into paradox. The central paradox concerns the human vision of time. What about Paul's gift of prescience—the Presbyterian fixation? For the Delphic Oracle to perform, it must tangle itself in a web of predestination. Yet predestination negates surprises and, in fact, sets up a mathematically enclosed universe whose limits are always inconsistent, always encountering the unprovable. It's like a koan, a Zen mind breaker.
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The Bene Gesserit practice "religious engineering" (social engineering), through the Missionaria Protectiva, which spreads contrived myths, prophecies and superstition on primitive worlds so that the Sisterhood may at a much later time exploit embedded belief to advance their universal strategies. Herbert suggests a process of wish-fulfilling recognition of "sacred" texts created by the Bene Gesserit's master plan in a particular person, and transforming events into common belief. In the novels, the Fremen religion on Arrakis has been thus influenced, allowing Paul to embody their prophesied messiah. Paul is agonized by visions of terrible jihad which will destroy the Imperium, but he becomes Paul Muad'Dib, Mahdi of the Fremen, accepting the role imposed by Bene Gesserit. A new religion sweeps Paul to power.
Between the events of *Dune* and *Dune Messiah*, the name Muad'Dib becomes a battle cry on the lips of the Fremen army that sweeps across the universe in a jihad in the name of Muad'Dib's religion. The population of the universe sees Muad'Dib as their god, whether they like it or not, and they cannot deny his power religiously. The Fremen culture is irreparably damaged by jihad; the new religion takes shape of rituals that are dependent on Muad'Dib's omnipresence. As Muad'Dib, Paul is the messiah and the Emperor (King of Kings) who gives himself to fate and becomes a martyr to his followers, wanders blinded into the desert to die, later finding emancipation as a heretic of his own church as the Preacher. The regency of Paul's sister Alia and the Qizarate priests continue to promote Muad'Dib's religion to help keep control of the universe, ensuring that others do not oppose them. In his Golden Path, Herbert presents an argument of how to create a healthy society, avoiding despotism and hero worship, a trap in which social groups can be caught:

> To make a world where human kind can make its own future from moment to moment, free from one man's vision. Free from the perversion of the prophets words. And free of future pre-determined...
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## Legacy[edit]

The political, scientific, and social fictional setting of Herbert's novels and derivative works is known as the ***Dune* universe** or **Duniverse**. *Dune* has been widely influential, inspiring numerous novels, music, films, television, games, and comic books. It is considered one of the greatest and most influential science fiction novels of all time, with numerous modern science fiction works such as *Star Wars* owing their existence to *Dune*. *Dune* has also been referenced in numerous other works of popular culture, such as *Star Trek*, *The Chronicles of Riddick*, *The Kingkiller Chronicle*, and *Futurama*. *Dune* was cited as the prime inspiration for Hayao Miyazaki's manga, and later film, *Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind* (1982–1994).

Jon Michaud noted in 2013 in *The New Yorker*, "what's curious about *Dune*'s stature is that it has not penetrated popular culture in the way that *The Lord of the Rings* and *Star Wars* have." He praised Herbert's "clever authorial decision" to excise robots and computers ("two staples of the genre") from his fictional universe, but suggested that this may be one explanation why *Dune* lacks "true fandom among science-fiction fans".

Since 2009, the names of planets from the *Dune* novels have been adopted for the real-world nomenclature of plains (planitiae) and complexes of valleys (labyrinthi) on Saturn's moon Titan. Planet names used to date include Arrakis, Caladan, Giedi Prime, Kaitain, Salusa Secundus, and Tleilax. The Hagal dune field and other sites on Mars are informally named after planets mentioned in the *Dune* series. The city of Tacoma, Washington, Herbert's birthplace, dedicated part of Point Defiance Park as the "*Dune* Peninsula" to honor the writer and the series.