As a companion for Denis Villeneuve’s upcoming adaptation of Frank Herbert’s Dune, I’ve
been exploring the characters and elements that make up this fascinating science fiction
universe.
With a story set approximately 20 thousand years into mankind’s future, many readers
would expect to come across a civilization dominated by technology.
However, the author saw fit to place humanity in a setting which had seen the abolition
of any machines that reproduced any humanlike function.
As a result of this restriction, at first glance it would appear that society in many
ways has moved backwards.
However while there is no longer widespread reliance on machines based on the concept
that man may not be replaced there have been significant scientific discoveries and advancements
in the way of interstellar space travel and shielding technology.
While significant scientific advancements have been made in the way of interstellar
space travel and shielding technology.
The battles in Frank Herbert’s Dune are largely between armies of sword wielding warriors.
In this video I’d like to talk about how warfare has advanced throughout the history
of Frank Herbert’s Dune and why the use of advanced offensive weaponry is so limited.
While reliance on bladed weapons in warfare on its face seems like regression, it is actually
the result of a technological breakthrough.
10,000 years before the setting of Dune, during the time of the Butlerian Jihad, a war which
saw an uprising against and subsequent banishment of thinking machines, a famed physicist and
scientist by the name of Tio Holtzman pioneered a branch of theory relating to the repellant
force of subatomic particles which came to be known as the Holtzman effect.
From his efforts, many technologies were developed to utilize this effect, such as light producing
glow globes and gravity defying suspensors, used to various objects and people.
Among the different applications that came from Holztmann’s discovery two stand out
as perhaps the biggest contributors to humanity’s evolution and advancement after the banishment
of thinking machines.
One was the creation of a Holtzman engine, which effectively folded space and time allowing
for instantaneous interstellar travel.
Another was the development of shielding technology.
These shields contained Holtzman generators, which produced a field derived from Phase
One of the suspensor-nullification effect.
These shields had the ability to block incoming projectiles, and could be calibrated to allow
the passage of material that traveled below a set speed.
This was necessary since if all matter were not allowed to enter the shield, any individuals
inside would suffocate.
The primary weapons used in the Dune universe were various swords and knives, projectiles
and lasguns.
However, as the use of personal shields became more widespread, the use of conventional projectile
weapons became partly obsolete.
Before personal defensive shields had become commonplace, the weapon preferred by most
armies were Lasguns.
The reason why these fell out of general use was that if contact was made between a lasgun
and shield it would result in a nuclear explosion that could potentially kill everyone within
a large radius.
Because of this, hand-to-hand combat with the skillful use of blades came to once again
dominate ground based warfare.
With a Holtzman shield if a blade was moved slowly enough, it would be able to get through
the energy field.
In order to fully take advantage of this one small vulnerability, new styles of fighting
and martial arts were developed to be slow on attack and fast on defense.
By the time of the first Dune novel, the most extreme forms of martial arts came from the
Bene Gesserit, with their exercise of Prana Bindu, also called the Weirding Way, hand
to hand combat techniques developed from supreme muscle and nerve control.
The Emperor’s mighty Sardaukar warriors were also quite formidable in ground combat,
as well as the sword masters of the Ginaz whose training was largely focused on fighting
with the blade.
While a personal shield is commonplace to ensure one’s safety throughout the universe,
there is one planet in which such a device would mean disaster for the wearer.
On Arrakis, the deadly jewel of the universe, the mighty sandworm reigns supreme.
These beasts have been known to be enraged and driven into a frenzy by the rhythmic sounds
produced by personal shields and so any battle in the deep desert must be done without these
devices.
Because of this, warfare in the deep desert of Arrakis is dominated by personal firearms
and projectile weapons.
In this area the native Fremen warriors, therefore, have a unique tactical advantage over all
other opponents in warfare involving firearms.
Another use for shielding technology in the universe of Dune is to protect key buildings
and fortifications.
In attacking a shielded fortification, there are a couple of methods which have been known
to be effective.
One way would be to sabotage the shield generators from within.
Another method is to overwhelm a shield with large amounts of mass and kinetic energy,
this could be done using a vessel called a crusher which is a military space vehicle
that could form into a larger vessel, designed to fall on a target, effectively "crushing
it".
Given the destructive results of the interaction between a lasgun and a shield, many have wondered
why the militaries of the Great Houses did not simply deploy kamikaze troops, so to speak
in order to wipe out enemy forces.
Although this kind of action is not unheard of, there are a few reasons why this tactic
is rarely deployed in war.
Shortly after the destruction of the thinking machines a historic treaty called the Great
Convention was brokered between the Imperium, the Great Houses and the Spacing Guild.
This treaty prohibited the use of atomics against human targets.
Strict rules were also put in place for wars and feuds.
Because the nuclear nature of the explosion caused by a lasgun beam’s interaction with
a shield, this kind of attack would fall under the atomic category prohibited by the Great
Convention.
Any violation of that treaty would most certainly result in the swift and harsh retribution
from the combined forces of the Empire and Houses of the Landsraad.
While the use of atomic weapons against human targets is prohibited, the Great Houses did
hold nuclear weapons called "family atomics", which were passed down from generation to
generation in the noble families as weapons of last resort.
Because of the retaliation that would be triggered by the deployment of these weapons, they remain
largely unused.
Another provision made under the Great Convention in order to protect innocent bystanders was
an allowance for a limited form of warfare called a War of Assassins in which the assassination
of nobles and high government officials was allowed.
This was a provision in which formal declarations of intent were required, and where only certain
kinds of weapons and practices were allowed, as outlined in the Assassins' Handbook.
Because of this, even during times of peace, poisons in food and drink are of constant
concern.
Subsequently the Great Houses tend to rely on mechanical devices called poison snoopers
which would detect poison in food or drink in their dining halls..
Another effective assassination tool is the remotely operated floating tadpole-like machine
called a hunter seeker.
This machine was equipped with a needle, tipped with a quick-acting, lethal poison.
The Landsraad also allowed for acts of formal feud or vendetta referred to as Kanly.
Similar to ancient duels on earth, the act of kanly was originally created to allow disputes
to be resolved without any harm being brought upon innocent bystanders.
This animosity continued from father to son, until the last child was dead or the two families
made peace.
The monopoly on space travel held by the Spacing Guild made it so that the Guild held the status
of final arbiter on who is allowed to wage war against whom as without the Spacing Guild’s
Heighliners, there would be no practical way of transporting armed forces.
Also because of the Guild’s grip on space travel, there were generally no conflicts
in space either.
With all of these rules and circumstances in place, warfare in the Dune universe is
shaped in a way that feels unique among other futuristic settings.
In Dune Frank Herbert effectively flipped "science fiction" on it's head with the realization
of the counterintuitive effects that technological progress could have on society.
His world-building results in a return to a sort of medieval warfare where with skill
and training the individual could make a real impact on almost any battlefield.
But I’m curious to know what you think of the unique way in which Frank Herbert molded
the rules of combat and warfare in his series.
Are there certain kinds of fighting styles or weapons from the series you would like
to see showcased on screen?
Let me know your thoughts in the comments section below.
I hope you enjoyed this video, leave a like if you did and be sure to subscribe for more
Dune and other sci-fi and fantasy news and lore.
Thank you all so much for your support and as always, have a very nerdy day.