Dune Club Session 2!!!

Not a question, since I really have no questions about the last selection we read, but I kind of want Alicia Witt to be cast in whatever production of Dune is coming. I think she would make an outstanding Lady Jessica. What do you think?

With all the abilities that Paul has learned to do like imprinting peoples faces along with their names into his brain, it seems in destroying all the AI Robots, They have evolved to where they are now becoming the AI robots themselves. Also Duke Leto is ruthless when it comes to fighting, killing, and destroying the Harkonnens. And what about the spice. I don't believe we have seen anyone actually take spice yet, just the after effects? How do you even take it, do you smoke it, snort it, inject eat, eat it, or what?

EvilDeadTiM

There's an interesting couple of paragraphs after the hunter-seeker incident with Paul is over, when Duke Leto can't stop thinking about how "they have tried to take the life of my son!" What I find interesting, page 126, are his thoughts about the Padishah Emperor's note: "...but what else is one to expect obf barbarians whose dearest dream is to live outside the ordered security of the faufreluches?" Is this a subconscious understanding of both the Emperor and the Baron as men who crave power and use others? What of the line concerning the Duke who "that his own dearest dream was to end all class distinctions and never again think of deadly order", and the irony of wanting this but having Paul as the ultimate of classes, the Kwisatz Haderach?

This is more a comment than a question, but man does the line on page 116/117 in Lady Fenring's note: "the proximity of a desirable thing tempts one to overindulgence" have some relevance to today's society 😔I assume you'll cover this, but wanted to bring extra attention to it 😊

Niko Ketsilis

In the early part of the third reading selection Paul is thinking about a book Yueh had him read about which he remembered it was written before the discovery of the Spice. If the Spice is necessary for the Space Guild to travel between the stars, how was it done before the Spice?

Dune Club Question: Man has spread out to the stars and Earth has since become, assuming its not outright abandoned, a back water. Just how big is the imperium and what area of space does it occupy? They also talk several times about going renegade and going "beyond the imperium's reach". How many inhabited systems are not under imperial control?

PixelCrusader

Dune club QUESTION: I have always had a deep interest in the mystery schools teachings from our own history and it seems that Frank has included snippets of these in his book. I find it somewhat frustrating however that, do to the nature of his writing style, he is very vague in his descriptions of the various mental practices that the Bene Gesserit teach and are taught. Is there any more information about these teaching elsewhere in the book, or in any supporting material that Frank put together for his readers?

Danial McCoy

Duke Leto seems to have a dual nature as evidenced in the text, "the Duke is really two men. One of them I love very much... But the other man is...cold, callous, demanding, selfish - as harsh and cruel as a winter wind. That's the man shaped by the father." And the question has already been raised whether if Paul is merely an extension of his father, just as Leto can't get away from the influence of his father either. Therefore, is Paul doomed to have that same duality such as being both Kwisatz Haderach and Mentat? Or will he be able to master his nature and balance both roles?

Hi - this could be wildly off topic but... I was watching a documentary on Jean Giraud, and they mentioned a lot of the creative leads assembled for Jodorowsky's Dune later ended up working for Ridley Scott's Alien project. What do you feel about the possibility of the Dune and Alien sharing the same universe? :D Of course, it's not the case, but it does sound totally awesome. Thanks!

το φοινικικό

Q: Alright going deep here! Speaking of Chapter starting quote analysis, my question directly pertains to and is partially contained within the quote starting the Chapter on page 125 about Duke Leto where Irulan asks, “Is it possible he deliberately sacrificed himself that his son may find a better life?” So, if it is possible Duke Leto sacrificed himself, was he trying to help Paul become the Kwisatz Haderach?, perhaps unknowingly? Would the Duke have known about the Bene Gesserit legend? We know Duke Leto was trying to make Paul great giving him Mentat and Bene Gesserit training, but he seemed to know the greatest a sacrifice of his life would make Paul even more incredible. Duke Leto does seem confident but definitely not blind. He actually seems very thorough in his planning, actions, and in anticipating an Emperor aided Harkonnen attack. Part of this confidence in walking into this trap seems to come from honor, justice and even karma, which to me seems to be a recurring themes in Dune. The Duke knows if he dies as a result of this spice deal, it will not only piss off much of the Landsraad but mean bad karma for both the Baron and Emperor perhaps at the hands of his very powerful wife and son. It seems like Duke Leto knows intuitively what is going to happen and was doing it 'for Paul' or maybe Muad'Dib. Q: Could Muad'Dib be guiding Duke Leto or perhaps other events in his coming into being. For example in The Children of Dune mini series, Paul dreams of Leto II, his son, who is trying to tell what to do next. Leto II is helping himself come into being by influencing his father. So this would not be that far fetched outside the Duniverse. Also, if Muad'Dib had omnipresence, prescience, space folding, and other powers, perhaps he can see and do things from outside time itself. Like the alien beings in the movie The Arrival, where they view time totally differently and can think and communicate outside of it. Perhaps Leto like all of us is guided by the unknown and unseen, a cosmic higher self/soul that is part of Muad'Dib. Jurgen Prochnow was awesome as Duke Leto in the Dune movie, whether or not he made a few mistakes, it was hard to let him go. Though it may not be canon, there is a big clue to this analysis in the great 1984 movie. That is, when Duke Leto gives Paul the sleeper must awaken speech. A great and relevant speech to our own lives, but carries even deeper meaning with Paul. Paul later hears his fathers voice saying this in his dreams and spice trances. Later when his father dies he vows the sleeper will awaken, and then finally when he becomes Muad/Dib he yells “Father, the sleeper has awakened.” This indicates that Paul, now Muad'Dib thinks he's fulfilled his fathers wish by awakening and becoming Muad'Dib. If Muad'Dib the super being thinks his father knew what he wanted him to be, and Muad'Dib is also partly comprised of Duke Leto's genetic memory and perhaps consciousness , it must be true that he knew. Right? Phew. If you made it this far, Thank you CBG19 you are wonderful, thank you Team 19 and Dune Club. I love you all.

Chapter don't have numbers but they all start with an amazing quote. Could we analyse some of them or could you tell us how do you process them in your understanding of the story or how much of it you find in the following text? Are they supposed to guide the reader in a particular way in a particular chapter? and what do think of this way of introducing each new chapter? Thanks xxx

What are your thoughts or points we should know about being conscious of your own consciousness in respects to Paul and it's relation to the reader, i.e. how/what can we take away from that? Can this be touched upon again in future sessions?