Dune Club Session 5 Questions 🐛

I'm on Team19 now! Huzzah!

Magnus D. Magnus

Hey Team, I just signed up to Patreon for this. <question> Hi CBGTeam, I hope everyone is okay and last week wasn't a serious emergency. Hey, could you please post some warning on your Youtube channel if we'll be skipping any more sessions? I'm in Australia and it's a 6am start for me. Okay... <question> On page 314, Jessica takes mental solace from the OC Bible "a time to keep and a time to cast away..." but just two pages earlier on 312, she talks about how the Manipulator of Religion seeded Arrakis with Messianic prophecies. I can't reconcile how she can be so pious and yet know all about the 'behind-the-curtain' exploitative nature of religion. Also, 'Mercury in Retrograde' is some raw mauvaise foi. </question></question>

Magnus D. Magnus

Hey CB19! Dune is my favorite book and I am so happy you're doing this book club. I had a question about the Bene Gesserit vs the Kwisatz Haderach, are the Bene Gesserit able to unlock the genetic memories of only other Reverend Mothers, or female humanity as a whole? Whose memories are there on the male side for the Kwisatz Haderach to unlock? Also, as we talk about the jihad Paul anticipates being carried out in his name, I'm left wondering this: what will be the Guild's response to this holy war? How is it Paul's warriors get off planet? Can't the Guild shut it down? And

During Paul's awakening, he considers the path of becoming a Guildsman and recognizes his own strangeness that this is even a possible future for him. "I have another kind of sight. I see another kind of terrain: the available paths." I'm not sure I understand fully the distinction between Paul's "available paths" and how it differs from the Guild's "possible paths" when they are piloting Guild liners. Can you go into this in more depth?

What is your opinion on Paul's emotional state? What role do emotions play on his way to becoming the KW? I understand that he disgusted of his inability to feel like he normaly would, but it sounds very frightening (I feel with Jessica on this). Sounds very lovecraftian with the weight of the knowledge and the chance for madness on the way to comprehension.

Van the Cheesen

Do you think it is an appropriate reflection to say that the future DUNE proposes is one where people don't rely on technology for progress/evolution, but instead drugs? In our timeline humans have put all of our eggs in the technology basket, but in DUNE it seems like everyone put theirs into drugs. Do you think that's a better solution for human evolution? Is a mix of the two more healthy?

The Letter F

On page 288 the Baron makes reference of white on the utter emptiness of black outside the viewport: "Quite suddenly, the Baron's mind could conceive of nothing more beautiful than that utter emptiness of black. Unless it were white on the black. Plated white on the black. Porcelain white." What's the white represent?

Niko Ketsilis

Teacher! Teacher! Dune is one of those books with a glossary at the end because of its use of made-up words, often inspired by other languages such as Arabic, Latin and French. What are your thoughts on the use of this vocabulary? How do they reflect the evolution of various human cultures and customs into the supposed distant future in which Dune is set? How diverse is the Imperium? There certainly seem to be some distinct cultures left, such as the Fremen, but otherwise only factions, subparts within a single cultural entity.

PJ B

Not sure if I misunderstood since English is my second language. In the desert Paul mentions that they can't leave Arrakis since they are now are addicted to spice in some way? Wouldn't they know about spice being addictive of spice beforehand so why even consume it? And even if they are addicted to spice, wouldn't they just be able to import it from Arrakis anyway? And did the spice contribute to Paul's awakening? I might have misunderstood this whole part so I would super happy to get some clarity on this.

Was Paul's enlightenment directly tied to the death of his father, as if he wouldn't have been able to fully ascend while his father was still alive? The chapter intro quotes make me think this may be the case. "There should be a science of discontent. People need hard times and oppression to develop psychic muscles." and "Arrakis teaches the attitude of the knife - chopping off what's incomplete and saying: "Now, it's complete because it's ended here."

Do you think it's regressive of Frank to have put hyper-competent women in servile positions? Why wouldn't the most powerful and enlightened and knowledgeable people want to lead humanity to a better future? I personally think it's because they want humanity to still have free will, but as we see in later books, when free will is taken away, humanity actually experiences a peace that lasts for a very long time. So, if free will equals death and horror, and no freedom equals prosperity and peace, isn't that the better option? What is it the BG really see in free will, I guess is my question.

Stephanie Pappas

Sorry, two parter: 1. I was thinking of the Worms equaling Moby Dick, and the hunt for whales equating to the hunt for spice. Do you think Herbert used inspiration from that novel, illustrating man's greed and hubris to try and control nature absolutely? 2. Also, why wasn't Paul seduced by Jessica's Voice? Was he trained to resist her's but not the Mother Bene Gesserit? thanks for all you do! :)

(Note: Since this week is cancelled, I'm posting this question for next week.) Is it possible that the fall of House Atreides is the direct result of Duke Leto's failure to marry Jessica? The marriage may have put the Duke in a politically weaker position, but the Emperor may have felt less threatened as a result, and he may have never set the trap for House Atreides on Arrakis.