CoDC Session 5 Qs

I super read ahead to the next book already

Question: if the twins and Alia only have memories, why do they perceive that they have personalities inside them? Maybe they're really just schizophrenic and Herbert's point is that royalty is inbred and crazy?

It was interesting to see how Javid is described in Jessicas eyes. He's well fed, he shrugs etc. Seeing as the book was written in the mid 70s, where youth culture is becoming a big thing, and the previous generations of the 50s and 60's are having trouble connecting to youth culture, do you think that Frank Herbert is commenting on older and younger generations being so different and not being able to connect to each other?

I didn't get the adab moment. Adab it's supposed to be a demanding memory coming unrequested at the front of your consciousness. Yet, Jessica doesn't describe a memory. Instead, she lives this frozen-time moment of increased awareness. What are your thoughts?

Given your situation today, I decided to remove my contrarian question. On an unrelated note, from the previous session (or any session since book 2 ended): can gholas reproduce with humans (including abominations)?

PJ B

I'm wondering what you think about the differences in Irulan's character in the books and the Sci-fi adaption of CoD. In the Sci-fy adaptation Irulan is shown as a saavy woman who's allegiance is to the twins at all cost, why do you think they changed it from the book?

GoKate206

Something I missed the first time I read this book - why did Alia go to all the trouble of convincing Duncan to abduct Jessica, then try to have her assassinated before he did so? Are we meant to assume that the Baron is so desperate to see Jessica dead that he pushed Alia to forego her more carefully laid plans, or did I miss something? Also, I want to comment on how enjoyable it is to read this novel which is such a different style from anything else I've read or watched recently. While reading about Leto's plan to hypnotically induce Ghanima to believe that he was actually dead, I was thinking that if this had been any work of fiction I had read or watched in the last 20 years, they wold have just gone straight to Ghanima running in and telling everyone Leto was dead, only to have some big reveal at the end that Leto had staged the whole thing and was alive all along. The way Herbert shows you everything going on as it happens while still allowing for surprises makes so much of the other fiction I consume seem trite and contrived. Do you feel that way too? Maybe I need to up my reading list. Finally, what exactly is a twisted mentat? I know Devries was one, but what does that mean?