GEDC SESSION III Questions and Observations

Observations: 1)The deep hilarious irony of a worm controlling fish (speakers) as well as a worm (being traditional bait) commenting about how nice some bait is. If you didn't mention during the recap. Thanks, since the start of the novel, for highlighting the funny parts in earlier chapters. It helped add a nice layer of critique as I read. 2)The quote: “Membership in a conspiracy as in an army frees people from the sense of personal responsibility”. I wonder if Herbet knew of Plato’s Republic and it’s story of the ring of Gyges. Do you? Do others? It’s pretty important if y’all haven’t heard of it. From wikipedia: The ring grants its owner the power to become invisible at will. Through the story of the ring, Republic considers whether an intelligent person would be just if one did not have to fear any bad reputation for committing injustices. This is kinda what we see on Twitter and the Internet in general, people being able to influence the world without personal responsibility, from anonymity.

Clear Menser

Couldn't come up with a good question this time but wanted to suggest checking out What If? on Disney plus. The last episode broaches upon the no fun Mommy deal with Captain Marvel. Thor calls her out on it, it's pretty cool.

OBSERVATIONS we're back to some of these being spoilers, read silently first on each 1. paraphrasing p.221: "You are forgiven. However, your stupidity requires a response." One of my favorites, I think i've said it in conversation once. Also, reminds me of: Elizabeth Taylor as Cleopatra, to Lotus: "I forgive you. Now...drink it." (Lotus collapses...and then seventeen-year old Francesca Annis shouts for Apollodorus) 2. p.216-217 (might not want to read this one out, spoiler) (read it to yourself first) (...are we far enough into the book that it is now not a spoiler, you decide) Leto recalls the conversation with Malky and mentions the new Ixian machine. Just an observation that it's a nice touch that Leto is using a multi-pronged approach to break humanity out of predictability, a genetic solution with Siona and a technological solution with pushing the Ixians, over time, into creating the No-Room. 3. p.173-178 Chenoeh's secret conversation with Leto (another optional one, read silently first) Did you want to spoiler that the little figurine of Sister Chenoeh is in Odrade's workroom. 4. p.159-161 Leto's discussion of the Jesuits with Moneo. This ties in nicely with the way James Clavell portrayed the Jesuits as scheming in the 1975 novel of Shogun. People reading God Emperor when it came out in 1981 would have been fresh off of reading the other book and the miniseries of Shogun had been out for only a year at that point. I kept a copy of Shogun handy in my dorm room at Seattle University in 1998-1999 because the Jesuits were allover campus. And took a quarter of Japanese.

Maybe I'm a lecherous old man, but all I can see is how profoundly horny Leto/Herbert is. One of the chapters starts with how women invented religion and medicine and how that was taken from them for being too powerful, which seems plausible but unverifiable, yet I have to say to Herbert: being horny does not make you a feminist. So I do wonder, why is Leto so horny? He never had puberty and his human body was absorbed and symbioted into his worm body long before that. He seems to have some phantom human body syndrome now for an adult body he never had. Why after 3500 years now be very horny for multiple females, to the point of feeling incel-y?

PJ B

I loved the description of the procession to Festival City. It felt truly grand. I also enjoyed Leto explaining the landmarks and where things used to be. Duncan seemed to find the changes so different to what he once knew, it was almost unrecognisable but he was also amused to hear about the River Idaho etc. It reminds me of going back to my home town but finding lots of areas have been changed quite drastically. Some of it feels good, others feel disorienting and some feels sad. Question: I wonder what inspires ppl and what their art and culture would be like during the reign of Leto II? He controls the religions and histories... There's no new heroes or adventure... All the old Houses are withering away... It must be strange, the everyday ppl must be slightly cooky from it all? After yesterday's Ginger Snaps chat, maybe it'd be a world of just zombies, no werewolves, vampires or ghosts! Just zombies?... 🧟🧟‍♀️🧟‍♂️ Why is this the Golden Path?

Cazzamatazz

Observation: Sister Chenoeh - Leto told her she would die before she became a Reverend mother. She had that prescient statement hanging over her entire life, and all evidence is that she believed Leto's prescient was the real deal. So when she finally found herself about to undergo the spice agony as the final step to become a Reverend Mother, she had to be going into the ritual knowing she would not survive it. I wonder if that was frustrating, frightening, or freeing? Question: Leto talks dismissively about "rhetorical despotism" but I am not clear on what he means. Does he mean creating and then using religiously or philosophically charged labels (heathen/infidel/communist/liberal/socialist/fascist/"whatever group you have to agree is evilist") to control people by herding them with a mixture of self-righteous camaraderie and fear of being cast out? That is the closest thing I could figure, but I feel I may have missed a point.

Observation - high level character factions overview atredies: leto II, moneo, siona duncan: duncan rebel: siona, topri, nayla fs: nayla bg: anteac, luyseyal, chenoeh ix: hwi, kabat, malky tleilaxu: nunepi guild: ?

eneve