goodreads.ccAppendix IV: The Almanak en-Ashraf
(Selected Excerpts of the Noble Houses)
SHADDAM IV (10,134-10,202)
The Padishah Emperor, 81st of his line (House Corrino) to occupy the Golden Lion Throne, reigned from 10,156 (date his father, Elrood IX, succumbed to chaumurky) until replaced by the 10,196 Regency set up in the name of his eldest daughter, Irulan. His reign is noted chiefly for the Arrakis Revolt, blamed by many historians on Shaddam IV's dalliance with Court functions and the pomp of office. The ranks of Bursegs were doubled in the first sixteen years of his reign. Appropriations for Sardaukar training went down steadily in the final thirty years before the Arrakis Revolt. He had five daughters (Irulan, Chalice, Wensicia, Josifa, and Rugi) and no legal sons. Four of the daughters accompanied him into retirement. His wife, Anirul...ene Gesserit of Hidden Rank, died in 10,176.
LETO ATREIDES (10,140-10,191)
A distaff cousin of the Corrinos, he is frequently referred to as the Red Duke. House Atreides ruled Caladan a...iridar-fief for twenty generations until pressured into the move to Arrakis. He is known chiefly as the father of Duke Paul Muad'Dib, the Umma Regent. The remains of Duke Leto occupy the "Skull Tomb" on Arrakis. His death is attributed to the treachery o...uk doctor, and is an act laid to the Siridar-Baron, Vladimir Harkonnen.
LADY JESSICA (Hon. Atreides) (10,154-10,256)
A natural daughter (Bene Gesserit reference) of the Siridar-Baron Vladimir Harkonnen. Mother of Duke Paul Muad'Dib. She graduated from the Wallach IX B.G. School.
LADY ALIA ATREIDES (10,191- )
Legal daughter of Duke Leto-Atreides and his formal concubine, Lady Jessica. Lady Alia was born on Arrakis about eight months after Duke Leto's death. Prenatal exposure to an awareness-spectrum narcotic is the reason generally given for Bene Gesserit references to her as "Accursed One." She is known in popular history as St. Alia or St. Alia-of-the-Knife. (Fo...etailed history, see St. Alia, Huntress o...illion Worlds by Pander Oulson.)
VLADIMIR HARKONNEN (10,110-10,193)
Commonly referred to as Baron Harkonnen, his title is officially Siridar (planetary governor) Baron. Vladimir Harkonnen is the direct-line male descendant of the Bashar Abulurd Harkonnen who was banished for cowardice after the Battle of Corrin. The return of House Harkonnen to power generally is ascribed to adroit manipulation of the whale fur market and later consolidation with melange wealth from Arrakis. The Siridar-Baron died on Arrakis during the Revolt. Title passed briefly to the na-Baron, Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen.
COUNT HASIMIR FENRING (10,133-10,225)
A distaff cousin of House Corrino, he wa...hildhood companion of Shaddam IV. (The frequently discredited Pirate History of Corrino related the curious story that Fenring was responsible for the chaumurky which disposed of Elrood IX.) All accounts agree that Fenring was the closest friend Shaddam IV possessed. The Imperial chores carried out by Count Fenring included that of Imperial Agent on Arrakis during the Harkonnen regime there and later Siridar-Absentia of Caladan. He joined Shaddam IV in retirement on Salusa Secundus.
COUNT GLOSSU RABBAN (10,132-10,193)
Glossu Rabban, Count of Lankiveil, was the eldest nephew of Vladimir Harkonnen. Glossu Rabban and Feyd-Rautha Rabban (who took the name Harkonnen when chosen for the Siridar-Baron's household) were legal sons of the Siridar-Baron's youngest demibrother, Abulurd. Abulurd renounced the Harkonnen name and all rights to the title when given the subdistrict governorship of Rabban-Lankiveil. Rabban wa...istaff name.
Terminology of the Imperium
In studying the Imperium, Arrakis, and the whole culture which produced Muad'Dib, many unfamiliar terms occur. To increase understanding i...audable goal, hence the definitions and explanations given below.
A
AB...oose robe worn by Fremen women; usually black.
ACH: left turn...orm-steersman's call.
ADAB: the demanding memory that comes upon you of itself.
AKARSO...lant native to Sikun (of 70 Ophiuchi A) characterized by almost oblong leaves. Its green and white stripes indicate the constant multiple, condition of parallel active and dormant chlorophyll regions.
ALAM AL-MITHAL: the mystical world of similitudes where all physical limitations are removed.
AL-LAT: mankind's original sun; by usage: any planet's primary.
AMPOLIROS: the legendary "Flying Dutchman" of space.
AMTAL or AMTAL RULE...ommon rule on primitive worlds under which something is tested to determine its limits or defects. Commonly: testing to destruction.
AQL: the test of reason. Originally, the "Seven Mystic Questions" beginning: "Who is it that thinks?"
ARRAKEEN: first settlement on Arrakis; long-time seat of planetary government.
ARRAKIS: the planet known as Dune; third planet of Canopus .
ASSASSINS' HANDBOOK: Third-century compilation of poisons commonly used i...ar of Assassins. Later expanded to include those deadly devices permitted under the Guild Peace and Great Convention.
AULIYA: In the Zensunni Wanderers' religion, the female at the left hand of God; God's handmaiden.
AUMAS: poison administered in food. (Specifically: poison in solid food.) In some dialects: Chaumas.
AYAT: the signs of life. (See Burhan.)
B
BAKKA: in Fremen legend, the weeper who mourns for all mankind.
BAKLAWA...eavy pastry made with date syrup.
BALISET...ine-stringed musical instrument, lineal descendant of the zither, tuned to the Chusuk scale and played by strumming. Favorite instrument of Imperial troubadours.
BARADYE PISTOL...tatic-charge dust gun developed on Arrakis for laying dow...arge dye marker area on sand.
BARAKA...iving holy man of magical powers.
BASHAR (often Colonel Bashar): an officer of the Sardauka...ractional point above Colonel in the standardized military classification. Rank created for military ruler o...lanetary subdistrict. (Bashar of the Corps i...itle reserved strictly for military use.)
BATTLE LANGUAGE: any special language of restricted etymology developed for clear-speech communication in warfare.
BEDWINE: see Ichwan Bedwine.
BELA TEGEUSE: fifth planet of Kuentsing: third stopping place of the Zensunni (Fremen) forced migration.
BENE GESSERIT: the ancient school of mental and physical training established primarily for female students after the Butlerian Jihad destroyed the so-called "thinking machines" and robots.
B.G.: idiomatic for Bene Gesserit except when used wit...ate. Wit...ate it signifies Before Guild and identifies the Imperial dating system based on the genesis of the Spacing Guild's monopoly.
BHOTANIJIB: See Chakobsa.
BI-LA KAIFA: Amen. (Literally: "Nothing further need be explained.")
BINDU: relating to the human nervous system, especially to nerve training. Often expressed as Bindu-nervature. (See Prana.)
BINDU SUSPENSION...pecial form of catalepsis, self-induced.
BLED: flat, open desert.
BOURKA: insulated mantle worn by Fremen in the open desert.
BURHAN: the proofs of life. (Commonly: the ayat and burhan of life. See Ayat.)
BURSEG...ommanding general of the Sardaukar.
BUTLERIAN JIHAD; see Jihad, Butlerian (also Great Revolt).
C
CAID: Sardaukar officer rank given t...ilitary official whose duties call mostly for dealings with civilians...ilitary governorship ove...ull planetary district; above the rank of Bashar but not equal t...urseg.
CALADAN: third planet of Delta Pavonis; birthworld of Paul-Muad'Dib.
CANTO and RESPONDU: an invocation rite, part of the panoplia propheticus of the Missionaria Protectiva.
CARRYALL...lying wing (commonly "wing"), the aerial workhorse of Arrakis, used to transport large spice mining, hunting, and refining equipment.
CATCHPOCKET: any stillsuit pocket where filtered water is caught and stored.
CHAKOBSA: the so-called "magnetic language" derived in part from the ancient Bhotani (Bhotani Ji...ib meaning dialect)...ollection of ancient dialects modified by needs of secrecy, but chiefly the hunting language of the Bhotani, the hired assassins of the first Wars of Assassins.
CHAUMAS (Aumas in some dialects): poison in solid food as distinguished from poison administered in some other way.
CHAUMURKY (Musky or Murky in some dialects): poison administered i...rink.
CHEOPS: pyramid chess; nine-level chess with the double object of putting your queen at the apex and the opponent's king in check.
CHEREM...rotherhood of hate (usually for revenge).
CHOAM: acronym for Combine Honnete Ober Advancer Mercantile...he universal development corporation controlled by the Emperor and Great Houses with the Guild and Bene Gesserit as silent partners.
CHUSUK: fourth planet of Theta Shalish; the so-called "Music Planet" noted for the quality of its musical instruments. (See Varota.)
CIELAGO: any modified Chiroptera of Arrakis adapted to carry distrans messages.
CONE OF SILENCE: the field o...istorter that limits the carrying power of the voice or any other vibrator by damping the vibrations with an image-vibration 180 degrees out of phase.
CORIOLIS STORM: any major sandstorm on Arrakis where winds across the open flatlands are amplified by the planet's own revolutionary motion to reach speeds up to 700 kilometers per hour.
CORRIN, BATTLE OF: the space battle from which the Imperial House Corrino took its name. The battle fought near Sigma Draconis in the year 88 B.G. settled the ascendancy of the ruling House from Salusa Secundus.
COUSINES: blood relations beyond cousins.
CRUSHERS: military space vessels composed of many smaller vessels locked together and designed to fall on an enemy position, crushing it.
CUTTERAY: short-range version of lasgun used mostly a...utting tool and surgeon's scalpel.
CRYSKNIFE: the sacred knife of the Fremen on Arrakis. It is manufactured in two forms from teeth taken from dead sandworms. The two forms are "fixed" and "unfixed." An unfixed knife requires proximity t...uman body's electrical field to prevent disintegration. Fixed knives are treated for storage. All are about 20 centimeters long.
D
DAR AL-HIKMAN: school of religious translation or interpretation.
DARK THINGS: idiomatic for the infectious superstitions taught by the Missionaria Protectiva to susceptible civilizations.
DEATH TRIPOD: originally; the tripod upon which desert executioners hanged their victims. By usage: the three members o...herem sworn to the same revenge.
DERCH: right turn...orm steersman's call.
DEW COLLECTORS or DEW PRECIPITATORS: not to be confused with dew gatherers. Collectors or precipitators are egg-shaped devices about four centimeters on the long axis. They are made of chromoplastic that turn...eflecting white when subjected to light, and reverts to transparency in darkness. The collector form...arkedly cold surface upon which dawn dew will precipitate. They are used by Fremen to line concave planting depressions where they provid...mall but reliable source of water.
DEW GATHERERS: workers who reap dew from the plants of Arrakis, usin...cythelike dew reaper.
DEMIBROTHERS: sons of concubines in the same household and certified as having the same father.
DICTUM FAMILIA: that rule of the Great Convention which prohibits the slaying o...oyal person or member o...reat House by informal treachery. The rule sets up the formal outline and limits the means of assassination.
DISTRANS...evice for producin...emporary neural imprint on the nervous system of Chiroptera or birds. The creature's normal cry then carries the message imprint which can be sorted from that carrier wave by another distrans.
DRUM SAND: impaction of sand in such away that any sudden blow against its surface produce...istinct drum sound.
DOORSEAL...ortable plastic hermetic seal used for moisture security in Fremen overday cave camps.
DUMP BOXES: the general term for any cargo container of irregular shape and equipped with ablation surfaces and suspensor damping system. They are used to dump material from space ont...lanet's surface.
DUNE MEN: idiomatic for open sand workers, spice hunters and the like on Arrakis. Sandworkers. Spiceworkers.
DUST CHA**: any deep crevasse or depression on the desert of Arrakis that has been filled with dust not apparently different from the surrounding surface...eadly trap because human or animal will sink in it and smother. (See Tidal Dust Basin .)
E
ECAZ: fourth planet of Alpha Centauri B; the sculptors' paradise, so called because it is the home of fogwood, the plant growth capable of being shaped in situ solely by the power of human thought.
EGO-LIKENESS: portraiture reproduced throug...higawire projector that is capable of reproducing subtle movements said to convey the ego essence.
ELACCA DRUG: narcotic formed by burning blood-grained elacca wood of Ecas. Its effect is to remove most of the will to self-preservation. Druggee skin show...haracteristic carrot color. Commonly used to prepare slave gladiators for the ring.
EL-SAYAL: the "rain of sand."...all of dust which has been carried to medium altitude (around 2,000 meters) b...oriolis storm. El-sayals frequently bring moisture to ground level.
ERG: an extensive dune area...ea of sand.
F
FAI: the water tribute, chief specie of tax on Arrakis.
FANMETAL: metal formed by the growing of jasmium crystals in duraluminum; noted for extreme tensile strength in relationship to weight. Name derives from its common use in collapsible structures that are opened by "fanning" them out.
FAUFRELUCHES; the rigid rule of class distinction enforced by the Imperium. "A place for every man and every man in his place."
FEDAYKIN: Fremen death commandos; historically...roup formed and pledged to give their lives to righ...rong.
FILMBOOK: any shigawire imprint used in training and carryin...nemonic pulse.
FILT-PLUG...ose filter unit worn wit...tillsuit to capture moisture from the exhaled breath.
FIQH: knowledge, religious law; one of the half-legendary origins of the Zensunni Wanderers' religion.
FIRE, PILLAR OF...imple pyrocket for signaling across the open desert.
FIRST MOON: the major satellite of Arrakis, first to rise in the night; notable fo...istinct human fist pattern on its surface.
FREE TRADERS: idiomatic for smugglers.
FREMEN: the free tribes of Arrakis, dwellers in the desert, remnants of the Zensunni Wanderers. ("Sand Pirates" according to the Imperial Dictionary.)
FREMKIT: desert survival kit of Fremen manufacture.
FRIGATE: largest spaceship that can be grounded o...lanet and taken off in one piece.
G
GALACH: official language of the Imperium. Hybrid Inglo-Slavic with strong traces of cultural-specialization terms adopted during the long chain of human migrations.
GAMONT: third planet of Niushe; noted for its hedonistic culture and exotic sexual practices.
GARE: butte.
GATHERING: distinguished from Council Gathering. It i...ormal convocation of Fremen leaders to witnes...ombat that determines tribal leadership. (A Council Gathering is an assembly to arrive at decisions involving all the tribes.)
GEYRAT: straight ahead...orm steersman's call.
GHAFLA: giving oneself up to gadfly distractions. Thus...hangeable person, one not to be trusted.
GHANIMA: something acquired in battle or single combat. Commonly...emento of combat kept only to stir the memory.
GIEDI PRIME: the planet of Ophiuch...36), homeworld of House Harkonnen...edian-viable planet wit...ow active-photosynthesis range.
GINAZ, HOUSE OF: one-time allies of Duke Leto Atreides. They were defeated in the War of Assassins with Grumman.
GIUDICHAR...oly truth. (Commonly seen in the expression Giudichar mantene: an original and supporting truth.)
GLOWGLOBE: suspensor-buoyed illuminating device, self-powered (usually by organic batteries).
GRABEN...ong geological ditch formed when the ground sinks because of movements in the underlying crustal layers.
GREAT CONVENTION: the universal truce enforced under the power balance maintained by the Guild, the Great Houses, and the Imperium. Its chief rule prohibits the use of atomic weapons against human targets. Each rule of the Great Convention begins: "The forms must be obeye... . "
GREAT MOTHER: the horned goddess, the feminine principle of space (commonly: Mother Space), the feminine face of the male-female-neuter trinity accepted as Supreme Being by many religions within the Imperium.
GREAT REVOLT: common term for the Butlerian Jihad. (See Jihad, Butlerian.)
GRIDEX PLANE...ifferential-charge separator used to remove sand from the melange spice mass...evice of the second stage in spice refining.
GRUMMAN: second planet of Niushe, noted chiefly for the feud of its ruling House (Moritani) with House Ginaz.
GOM JABBAR; the high-handed enemy; that specific poison needle tipped with meta-cyanide used by Bene Gesserit Proctors in the death-alternative test of human awareness.
GUILD: the Spacing Guild, one leg of the political tripod maintaining the Great Convention. The Guild was the second mental-physical training school (see Bene Gesserit) after the Butlerian Jihad. The Guild monopoly on space travel and transport and upon international banking is taken as the beginning point of the Imperial Calendar.
H
HAGAL: the "Jewel Planet" (II Theta Shaowei), mined out in the time of Shaddam I.
HAIIIII-YOH!: command to action; worm steersman's call.
HA**: holy journey.
HARJ: desert journey, migration.
HAJRA: journey of seeking.
HAL YAWM: "Now! At last!"...remen exclamation.
HARMONTHEP: Ingsley gives this as the planet name for the sixth stop in the Zensunni migration. It is supposed to have bee...o longer existent satellite of Delta Pavonis.
HARVESTER or HARVESTER FACTORY...arge (often 120 meters by 40 meters) spice mining machine commonly employed on rich, uncontaminated melange blows. (Often calle...quot;crawler" because of buglike body on independent tracks.)
HEIGHLINER: major cargo carrier of the Spacing Guild's transportation system.
HIEREG: temporary Fremen desert camp on open sand.
HIGH COUNCIL: the Landsraad inner circle empowered to act as supreme tribunal in House to House disputes.
HOLTZMAN EFFECT: the negative repelling effect o...hield generator.
HOOKMAN: Fremen with Maker hooks prepared to catc...andworm.
HOUSE: idiomatic for Ruling Clan o...lanet or planetary system.
HOUSES MAJOR: holders of planetary fiefs; interplanetary entrepreneurs. (See House above.)
HOUSES MINOR: planet-bound entrepreneur class (Galach: "Richece").
HUNTER-SEEKER...avening sliver of suspensor-buoyed metal guided a...eapon b...ear-by control console; common assassination device.
I
IBAD, EYES OF: characteristic effect o...iet high in melange wherein the whites and pupils of the eyes tur...eep blue (indicative of deep melange addiction).
IBN QIRTAIBA: "Thus go the holy word... ." Formal beginning to Fremen religious incantation (derived from panoplia propheticus).
ICHWAN BEDWINE: the brotherhood of all Fremen on Arrakis.
IJAZ: prophecy that by its very nature cannot be denied; immutable prophecy.
IKHUT-EIGH!: cry of the water-seller on Arrakis (etymology uncertain). See Soo-Soo Sook!
ILM: theology; science of religious tradition; one of the half-legendary origins of the Zensunni Wanderers' faith.
IMPERIAL CONDITIONING...evelopment of the Suk Medical Schools: the highest conditioning against taking human life. Initiates are marked b...iamond tattoo on the forehead and are permitted to wear their hair long and bound b...ilver Suk ring.
INKVINE...reeping plant native to Giedi Prime and frequently used a...hip in the slave cribs. Victims are marked by beet-colored tattoos that cause residual pain for many years.
ISTISLAH...ule for the general welfare; usuall...reface to brutal necessity. IX: see Richese.
J
JIHAD...eligious crusade; fanatical crusade.
JIHAD, BUTLERIAN: (see also Great Revolt...he crusade against computers, thinking machines, and conscious robots begun in 201 B.G. and concluded in 108 B.G. Its chief commandment remains in the O.C. Bible as "Thou shalt not mak...achine in the likeness o...uman mind."
JUBBA CLOAK: the all-purpose cloak (it can beset to reflect or admit radiant heat, converts t...ammock or shelter) commonly worn ove...tillsuit on Arrakis.
JUDGE OF THE CHANGE: an official appointed by the Landsraad High Council and the Emperor to monito...hange of fief...anly negotiation, or formal battle i...ar of Assassins. The Judge's arbitral authority may be challenged only before the High Council with the Emperor present.
K
KANLY: formal feud or vendetta under the rules of the Great Convention carried on according to the strictest limitations. (See Judge of the Change.) Originally the rules were designed to protect innocent bystanders.
KARAMA...iracle; an action initiated by the spirit world.
KHALA: traditional invocation to still the angry spirits o...lace whose name you mention.
KINDJAL: double bladed short sword (or long knife) with about 20 centimeters of slightly curved blade.
KISWA; any figure or design from Fremen mythology.
KITAB AL-IBAR: the combined survival handbook-religious manual developed by the Fremen on Arrakis.
KRIMSKELL FIBER or KRIMSKELL ROPE: the "claw fiber" woven from strands of the hufuf vine from Ecaz. Knots tied in krimskell will claw tighter and tighter to preset limits when the knot-lines are pulled. (Fo...ore detailed study, see Holjance Vohnbrook's "The Strangler Vines of Ecaz.")
KULL WAHAD!: "I am profoundly stirred!"...incere exclamation of surprise common in the Imperium. Strict interpretation depends on context. (It is said of Muad'Dib that once he watche...esert hawk chick emerge from its shell and whispered: "Kull wahad!")
KULON: wild ass of Terra's Asiatic steppes adapted for Arrakis.
KWISATZ HADERACH: "Shortening of the Way." This is the label applied by the Bene Gesserit to the unknown for which they sough...enetic solution...ale Bene Gesserit whose organic mental powers would bridge space and time.
L
LA, LA, LA: Fremen cry of grief. (La translates as ultimate denial...quot;no" from which you cannot appeal.)
LASGUN: continuous-wave laser projector. Its use a...eapon is limited i...ield-generator-shield culture because of the explosive pyrotechnics (technically, subatomic fusion) created when its beam intersect...hield.
LEGION, IMPERIAL: ten brigades (about 30,000 men).
LIBAN: Fremen liban is spice water infused with yucca flour. Originall...our milk drink.
LISAN AL-GAIB: "The Voice from the Outer World." In Fremen messianic legends, an off-world prophet. Sometimes translated as "Giver of Water." (See Mahdi.)
LITERJON...ne-liter container for transporting water on Arrakis; made of high-density, shatterproof plastic with positive seal.
LITTLE MAKER: the half-plant-half-animal deep-sand vector of the Arrakis sandworm. The Little Maker's excretions form the pre-spice mass.
M
MAHDI: in the Fremen messianic legend, "The One Who Will Lead Us to Paradise ."
MAKER: see Shai-hulud.
MAKER HOOKS: the hooks used for capturing, mounting, and steerin...andworm of Arrakis.
MANTENE: underlying wisdom, supporting argument, first principle. (See Giudichar.)
MATING INDEX: the Bene Gesserit master record of its human breeding program aimed at producing the Kwisatz Haderach.
MAULA: slave.
MAULA PISTOL: spring-loaded gun for firing poison darts; range about forty meters.
MELANGE: the "spice of spices," the crop for which Arrakis is the unique source. The spice, chiefly noted for its geriatric qualities, is mildly addictive when taken in small quantities, severely addictive when imbibed in quantities above two grams daily per seventy kilos of body weight. (See Ibad, Water of Life, and Pre-spice Mass.) Muad'Dib claimed the spice a...ey to his prophetic powers. Guild navigators make similar claims. Its price on the Imperial market has ranged as high as 620,000 Solaris the decagram.
MENTAT: that class of Imperial citizens trained for supreme accomplishments of logic. "Human computers."
METAGLASS: glass grown a...igh-temperature gas infusion in sheets of jasmium quartz. Noted for extreme tensile strength (about 450,000 kilos per square centimeter at two centimeters' thickness) and capacity a...elective radiation filter.
MIHNA: the season for testing Fremen youths who wish admittance to manhood.
MINIMIC FILM: shigawire of one-micron diameter often used to transmit espionage and counterespionage data.
MISH-MISH: apricots.
MISR: the historical Zensunni(Fremen) term for themselves: "The People."
MISSIONARIA PROTECTIVA: the arm of the Bene Gesserit order charged with sowing infectious superstitions on primitive worlds, thus opening those regions to exploitation by the Bene Gesserit. (See Panoplia propheticus.)
MONITOR...en-section space warcraft mounting heavy armor and shield protection. It is designed to be separated into its component sections for lift-off after planet-fall.
MUAD'DIB: the adapted kangaroo mouse of Arrakis...reature associated in the Fremen earth-spirit mythology wit...esign visible on the planet's second moon. This creature is admired by Fremen for its ability to survive in the open desert.
MUDIR NAHYA: the Fremen name for Beast Rabban (Count Rabban of Lankiveil), the Harkonnen cousin who was siridar governor on Arrakis for many years. The name is often translated as "Demon Ruler."
MUSHTAMAL...mall garden annex or garden courtyard.
MUSKY: poison i...rink. (See Chaumurky.)
MU ZEIN WALLAH!: Mu zein literally means "nothing good," and wallah i...eflexive terminal exclamation. In this traditional opening fo...remen curse against an enemy, Wallah turns the emphasis back upon the words Mu zein, producing the meaning: "Nothing good, never good, good for nothing."
N
Na-...refix meaning "nominated" or "next in line." Thus: na-Baron means heir apparent t...arony.
NAIB: one who has sworn never to be taken alive by the enemy; traditional oath o...remen leader.
NEZHONI SCARF: the scarf-pad worn at the forehead beneath the stillsuit hood by married or "associated" Fremen women after birth o...on.
NOUKKERS: officers of the Imperial bodyguard who are related to the Emperor by blood. Traditional rank for sons of royal concubines.
O
OIL LENS: hufuf oil held in static tension by an enclosing force field withi...iewing tube as part o...agnifying or other light-manipulation system. Because each lens element can be adjusted individually one micron a...ime, the oil lens is considered the ultimate in accuracy for manipulating visible light.
OPAFIRE: one of the rare opaline jewels of Hagal.
ORANGE CATHOLIC BIBLE: the "Accumulated Book," the religious text produced by the Commission of Ecumenical Translators. It contains elements of most ancient religions, including the Maometh Saari, Mahayana Christianity, Zensunni Catholicism and Buddislamic traditions. Its supreme commandment is considered to be: "Thou shall not disfigure the soul."
ORNITHOPTER (commonly: 'thopter): any aircraft capable of sustained wing-beat flight in the manner of birds.
OUT-FREYN: Galach for "immediately foreign," that is: not of your immediate community, not of the select.
P
PALM LOCK: any lock or seal which may be opened on contact with the palm of the human hand to which it has been keyed.
PAN: on Arrakis, any low-lying region or depression created by the subsiding of the underlying basement complex. (On planets with sufficient water...an indicate...egion once covered by open water. Arrakis is believed to have at least one such area, although this remains open to argument.)
PANOPLIA PROPHETICUS: term covering the infectious superstitions used by the Bene Gesserit to exploit primitive regions. (See Missionaria Protectiva.)
PARACOMPASS: any compass that determines direction by local magnetic anomaly; used where relevant charts are available and wher...lanet's total magnetic field is unstable or subject to masking by severe magnetic storms.
PENTASHIELD...ive-layer shield-generator field suitable for small areas such as doorways or passages (large reinforcing shields become increasingly unstable with each successive layer) and virtually impassable to anyone not wearin...issembler tuned to the shield codes. (See Prudence Door.)
PLASTEEL: steel which has been stabilized with stravidium fibers grown into its crystal structure.
PLENISCENTA: an exotic green bloom of Ecaz noted for its sweet aroma.
POLING THE SAND: the art of placing plastic and fiber poles in the open desert wastes of Arrakis and reading the patterns etched on the poles by sandstorms a...lue to weather prediction.
PORITRIN: third planet of Epsilon Alangue, considered by many Zensunni Wanderers as their planet of origin, although clues in their language and mythology show far more ancient planetary roots.
PORTYGULS: oranges.
PRANA (Prana-musculature): the body's muscles when considered as units for ultimate training. (See Bindu.)
PRE-SPICE MASS: the stage of fungusoid wild growth achieved when water is flooded into the excretions of Little Makers. At this stage, the spice of Arrakis form...haracteristic "blow," exchanging the material from deep underground for the matter on the surface above it. This mass, after exposure to sun and air, becomes melange (See also Melange and Water of Life.)
PROCES VERBAL...emiformal report allegin...rime against the Imperium. Legally: an action falling betwee...oose verbal allegation an...ormal charge of crime.
PROCTOR SUPERIO... Bene Gesserit Reverend Mother who is also regional director o....G. school. (Commonly: Bene Gesserit with the Sight.)
PRUDENCE DOOR or PRUDENCE BARRIER (idiomatically: pru-door or pru-barrier): any pentashield situated for the escape of selected persons under conditions of pursuit. (See Pentashield.)
PUNDI RICE...utated rice whose grains, high in natural sugar, achieve lengths up to four centimeters; chief export of Caladan.
PYONS: planet-bound peasants or laborers, one of the base classes under the Faufreluches. Legally: wards of the planet.
PYRETIC CONSCIENCE: so-called "conscience of fire"; that inhibitory level touched by Imperial conditioning. (See Imperial conditioning.)
Q
QANAT: an open canal for carrying irrigation water under controlled conditions throug...esert.
QIRTAIBA; see Ibn Qirtaiba.
QUIZARA TAFWID: Fremen priests (after Muad'Dib).
R
RACHAG...affeine-type stimulant from the yellow berries of akarso. (See Akarso.)
RAMADHAN: ancient religious period marked by fasting and prayer; traditionally, the ninth month of the solar-lunar calendar. Fremen mark the observance according to the ninth meridian-crossing cycle of the first moon.
RAZZIA...emipiratical guerrilla raid.
RECATHS: body-function tubes linking the human waste disposal system to the cycling filters o...tillsuit.
REPKIT: repair and replacement essentials fo...tillsuit.
RESIDUAL POISON: an innovation attributed to the Mentat Piter de Vries whereby the body is impregnated wit...ubstance for which repeated antidotes must be administered. Withdrawal of the antidote at any time brings death.
REVEREND MOTHER: originally...roctor of the Bene Gesserit, one who has transformed an "illuminating poison" within her body, raising herself t...igher state of awareness. Title adopted by Fremen for their own religious leaders who accomplishe...imilar "illumination." (See also Bene Gesserit and Water of Life.)
RICHESE: fourth planet of Eridani A, classed with Ix as supreme in machine culture. Noted for miniaturization. (Fo...etailed study on how Richese and Ix escaped the more severe effects of the Butlerian Jihad, see The Last Jihad by Sumer and Kautman.)
RIMWALL: second upper Step of the protecting bluffs on the Shield Wall of Arrakis. (See Shield Wall.)
RUH-SPIRIT: in Fremen belief, that part of the individual which is always rooted in (and capable of sensing) the metaphysical world. (See Alam al-Mithal.)
S
SADUS: judges. The Fremen title refers to holy judges, equivalent to saints.
SALUSA SECUNDUS: third planet of Gamma Waiping; designated Imperial Prison Planet after removal of the Royal Court to Kaitain. Salusa Secundus is homeworld of House Corrino, and the second stopping point in migrations of the Wandering Zensunni. Fremen tradition says they were slaves on S.S. for nine generations.
SANDCRAWLER: general term for machinery designed to operate on the Arrakis surface in hunting and collecting melange.
SANDMASTER: general superintendent of spice operations.
SANDRIDER: Fremen term for one who is capable of capturing and ridin...andworm.
SANDSNORK: breathing device for pumping surface air int...andcovered stilltent.
SANDTIDE: idiomatic fo...ust tide: the variation in level within certain dust-filled basins on Arrakis due to gravitational effects of sun and satellites. (See Tidal Dust Basin .)
SANDWALKER: any Fremen trained to survive in the open desert.
SANDWORM: See Shai-Hulud.
SAPHO: high-energy liquid extracted from barrier roots of Ecaz. Commonly used by Mentats who claim it amplifies mental powers. Users develop deep ruby stains on mouth and lips.
SARDAUKAR: the soldier-fanatics of the Padishah Emperor. They were men from an environmental background of such ferocity that it killed six out of thirteen persons before the age of eleven. Their military training emphasized ruthlessness an...ear-suicidal disregard for personal safety. They were taught from infancy to use cruelty a...tandard weapon, weakening opponents with terror. At the apex of their sway over the affairs of the Universe, their swordsmanship was said to match that of the Ginaz tenth level and their cunning abilities at in-fighting were reputed to approach those o...ene Gesserit adept. Any one of them was rate...atch for any ten ordinary Landsraad military conscripts. By the time of Shaddam IV, while they were still formidable, their strength had been sapped by overconfidence, and the sustaining mystique of their warrior religion had been deeply undermined by cynicism.
SARFA: the act of turning away from God.
SAYYADINA: feminine acolyte in the Fremen religious hierarchy.
SCHLAG: animal native to Tupile once hunted almost to extinction for its thin, tough hide.
SECOND MOON: the smaller of the two satellites of Arrakis, noteworthy for the kangaroo mouse figure in its surface markings.
SELAMLIK: Imperial audience chamber.
SEMUTA: the second narcotic derivative (by crystal extraction) from burned residue of elacca wood. The effect (described as timeless, sustained ecstasy) is elicited by certain atonal vibrations referred to as semuta music.
SERVOK: clock-set mechanism to perform simple tasks; one of the limited "automatic" devices permitted after the Butlerian Jihad.
SHAH-NAMA: the half-legendary First Book of the Zensunni Wanderers.
SHAI-HULUD: Sandworm of Arrakis, the "Old Man of the Desert," "Old Father Eternity," and "Grandfather of the Desert." Significantly, this name, when referred to i...ertain tone or written with capital letters, designates the earth deity of Fremen hearth superstitions. Sandworms grow to enormous size (specimens longer than 400 meters have been seen in the deep desert) and live to great age unless slain by one of their fellows or drowned in water, which is poisonous to them. Most of the sand on Arrakis is credited to sandworm action. (See Little Maker.)
SHARI -A: that part of the panoplia propheticus which sets forth the superstitious ritual. (See Missionaria Protectiva.)
SHADOUT: well-dipper...remen honorific.
SHAITAN: Satan.
SHIELD, DEFENSIVE: the protective field produced b...oltzman generator. This field derives from Phase One of the suspensor-nullification effect...hield will permit entry only to objects moving at slow speeds (depending on setting, this speed ranges from six to nine centimeters per second) and can be shorted out only b...hire-sized electric field. (See Lasgun.)
SHIELD WALL...ountainous geographic feature in the northern reaches of Arrakis which protect...mall area from the full force of the planet's coriolis storms.
SHIGAWIRE: metallic extrusion o...round vine. (Narvi narviium) grown only on Salusa Secundus and III Delta Kaising. It is noted for extreme tensile strength.
SIETCH: Fremen: "Place of assembly in time of danger. "Because the Fremen lived so long in peril, the term came by general usage to designate any cave warren inhabited by one of their tribal communities.
SIHAYA: Fremen: the desert springtime with religious overtones implying the time of fruitfulness and "the paradise to come."
SINK...abitable lowland area on Arrakis surrounded by high ground that protects it from the prevailing storms.
SINKCHART: map of the Arrakis surface laid out with reference to the most reliable paracompass routes between places of refuge. (See Paracompass.)
SIRAT: the passage in the O.C. Bible that describes human life a...ourney acros...arrow bridge (the Sirat) with " Paradise on my right. Hell on my left, and the Angel of Death behind."
SLIP-TIP: any thin, short blade (often poison-tipped) for left-hand use in shield fighting.
SNOOPER, POISON: radiation analyzer within the olfactory spectrum and keyed to detect poisonous substances.
SOLARI: official monetary unit of the Imperium, its purchasing power set at quatricentennial negotiations between the Guild, the Landsraad, and the Emperor.
SOLIDO: the three-dimensional image fro...olido projector using 360-degree reference signals imprinted o...higawire reel. Ixian solido projectors are commonly considered the best.
SONDAGI; the fern tulip of Tupali.
SOO-SOO SOOK!: water-seller's cry on Arrakis. Sook i...arket place. (See Ikhut-eigh!)
SPACING GUILD: see Guild.
SPICE: see Melange.
SPICE DRIVER: any Dune man who controls and directs movable machinery on the desert surface of Arrakis.
SPICE FACTORY: see Sandcrawler.
SPOTTER CONTROL: the light ornithopter i...pice-hunting group charged with control of watch and protection.
STILLSUIT: body-enclosing garment invented on Arrakis. Its fabric i...icro-sandwich performing functions of heat dissipation and filter for bodily wastes. Reclaimed moisture is made available by tube from catchpockets.
STILLTENT: small, scalable enclosure of micro-sandwich fabric designed to reclaim as potable water the ambient moisture discharged within it by the breath of its occupants.
STUNNER: slow-pellet projectile weapon throwin...oison- or drug-tipped dart. Effectiveness limited by variations in shield settings and relative motion between target and projectile.
SUBAKH UL KUHAR: "Are you well?"...remen greeting.
SUBAKH UN NAR: "I am well. And you?": traditional reply.
SUSPENSOR: secondary (low-drain) phase o...oltzman field generator. It nullifies gravity within certain limits prescribed by relative mass and energy consumption.
T
TAHADDI AL-BURHAN: an ultimate test from which there can be no appeal (usually because it brings death or destruction).
TAHADDI CHALLENGE: Fremen challenge to mortal combat, usually to test some primal issue.
TAQWA: literally: "The price of freedom." Something of great value. That whic...eity demands o...ortal (and the fear provoked by the demand).
TAU, THE: in Fremen terminology, that oneness o...ietch community enhanced by spice diet and especially the tau orgy of oneness elicited by drinking the Water of Life.
TEST-MASHAD: any test in which honor (defined as spiritual standing) is at stake.
THUMPER: short stake with spring-driven clapper at one end. The purpose: to be driven into the sand and set "thumping" to summon shai-hulud. (See Maker hooks.)
TIDAL DUST BASI...ny of the extensive depressions in the surface of Arrakis which have been filled with dust over the centuries and in which actual dust tides (see Sandtides) have been measured.
TLEILAX: lone planet of Thalim, noted as renegade training center for Mentats; source of "twisted" Mentats.
T-P: idiomatic for telepathy.
TRAINING: when applied to Bene Gesserit, this otherwise common term assumes special meaning, referring to that conditioning of nerve and muscle (see Bindu and Prana) which is carried to the last possible notch permitted by natural function.
TROOP CARRIER: any Guild ship designed specifically for transport of troops between planets.
TRUTHSAYER...everend Mother qualified to enter truthtrance and detect insincerity or falsehood.
TRUTHTRANCE: semihypnotic trance induced by one of several "awareness spectrum" narcotics in which the petit betrayals of deliberate falsehood are apparent to the truthtrance observer. (Note: "awareness spectrum" narcotics are frequently fatal except to desensitized individuals capable of transforming the poison-configuration within their own bodies.)
TUPILE: so-called "sanctuary planet" (probably several planets) for defeated Houses of the Imperium. Location(s) known only to the Guild and maintained inviolate under the Guild Peace.
U
ULEMA...ensunni doctor of theology.
UMMA: one of the brotherhood of prophets. (A term of scorn in the Imperium, meaning any "wild" person given to fanatical prediction.)
UROSHNOR: one of several sounds empty of general meaning and which Bene Gesserit implant within the psyches of selected victims for purposes of control. The sensitized person, hearing the sound, is temporarily immobilized.
USUL: Fremen: "The base of the pillar."
V
VAROTA: famed maker of balisets...ative of Chusuk.
VERITE: one of the Ecaz will-destroying narcotics. It render...erson incapable of falsehood.
VOICE: that combined training originated by the Bene Gesserit which permits an adept to control others merely by selected tone shadings of the voice.
W
WALI: an untried Fremen youth.
WALLACH IX: ninth planet of Laoujin, site of the Mother School of the Bene Gesserit.
WAR OF ASSASSINS: the limited form of warfare permitted under the Great Convention and the Guild Peace. The aim is to reduce involvement of innocent bystanders. Rules prescribe formal declarations of intent and restrict permissible weapons.
WATER BURDEN: Fremen...ortal obligation.
WATERCOUNTERS: metal rings of different size, each designatin...pecific amount of water payable out of Fremen stores. Watercounters have profound significance (far beyond the idea of money) especially in birth, death, and courtship ritual.
WATER DISCIPLINE: that harsh training which fits the inhabitants of Arrakis for existence there without wasting moisture.
WATERMAN...remen consecrated for and charged with the ritual duties surrounding water and the Water of Life.
WATER OF LIFE: an "illuminating" poison (see Reverend Mother). Specifically, that liquid exhalation o...andworm (see Shai-hulud) produced at the moment of its death from drowning which is changed within the body o...everend Mother to become the narcotic used in the sietch tau orgy. An "awareness spectrum" narcotic.
WATERTUBE: any tube withi...tillsuit or stilltent that carries reclaimed water int...atchpocket or from the catchpocket to the wearer.
WAY, BENE GESSERIT: use of the minutiae of observation.
WEATHER SCANNER...erson trained in the special methods of predicting weather on Arrakis, including ability to pole the sand and read the wind patterns.
WEIRDING: idiomatic: that which partakes of the mystical or of witchcraft.
WINDTRAP...evice placed in the path o...revailing wind and capable of precipitating moisture from the air caught within it, usually b...harp and distinct drop in temperature within the trap.
Y
YA HYA CHOUHADA: "Long live the fighters!" The Fedaykin battle cry. Ya (now) in this cry is augmented by the hya form (the ever-extended now). Chouhada (fighters) carries this added meaning of fighters against injustice. There i...istinction in this word that specifies the fighters are not struggling for anything, but are consecrated agains...pecific thin...hat alone.
YALI...remen's personal quarters within the sietch.
YA! YA! YAWM!: Fremen chanting cadence used in time of deep ritual significance. Ya carries the root meaning of "Now pay attention!" The yawm form i...odified term calling for urgent immediacy. The chant is usually translated as "Now, hear this!"
Z
ZENSUNNI: followers o...chismatic sect that broke away from the teachings of Maometh (the so-called "Third Muhammed") about 1381 B.G. The Zensunni religion is noted chiefly for its emphasis on the mystical an...eversion to "the ways of the fathers." Most scholars name Ali Ben Ohashi as leader of the original schism but there is some evidence that Ohashi may have been merely the male spokesman for his second wife, Nisai.
......
SHADDAM IV (10,134-10,202)
The Padishah Emperor, 81st of his line (House Corrino) to occupy the Golden Lion Throne, reigned from 10,156 (date his father, Elrood IX, succumbed to chaumurky) until replaced by the 10,196 Regency set up in the name of his eldest daughter, Irulan. His reign is noted chiefly for the Arrakis Revolt, blamed by many historians on Shaddam IV's dalliance with Court functions and the pomp of office. The ranks of Bursegs were doubled in the first sixteen years of his reign. Appropriations for Sardaukar training went down steadily in the final thirty years before the Arrakis Revolt. He had five daughters (Irulan, Chalice, Wensicia, Josifa, and Rugi) and no legal sons. Four of the daughters accompanied him into retirement. His wife, Anirul...ene Gesserit of Hidden Rank, died in 10,176.
LETO ATREIDES (10,140-10,191)
A distaff cousin of the Corrinos, he is frequently referred to as the Red Duke. House Atreides ruled Caladan a...iridar-fief for twenty generations until pressured into the move to Arrakis. He is known chiefly as the father of Duke Paul Muad'Dib, the Umma Regent. The remains of Duke Leto occupy the "Skull Tomb" on Arrakis. His death is attributed to the treachery o...uk doctor, and is an act laid to the Siridar-Baron, Vladimir Harkonnen.
LADY JESSICA (Hon. Atreides) (10,154-10,256)
A natural daughter (Bene Gesserit reference) of the Siridar-Baron Vladimir Harkonnen. Mother of Duke Paul Muad'Dib. She graduated from the Wallach IX B.G. School.
LADY ALIA ATREIDES (10,191- )
Legal daughter of Duke Leto-Atreides and his formal concubine, Lady Jessica. Lady Alia was born on Arrakis about eight months after Duke Leto's death. Prenatal exposure to an awareness-spectrum narcotic is the reason generally given for Bene Gesserit references to her as "Accursed One." She is known in popular history as St. Alia or St. Alia-of-the-Knife. (Fo...etailed history, see St. Alia, Huntress o...illion Worlds by Pander Oulson.)
VLADIMIR HARKONNEN (10,110-10,193)
Commonly referred to as Baron Harkonnen, his title is officially Siridar (planetary governor) Baron. Vladimir Harkonnen is the direct-line male descendant of the Bashar Abulurd Harkonnen who was banished for cowardice after the Battle of Corrin. The return of House Harkonnen to power generally is ascribed to adroit manipulation of the whale fur market and later consolidation with melange wealth from Arrakis. The Siridar-Baron died on Arrakis during the Revolt. Title passed briefly to the na-Baron, Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen.
COUNT HASIMIR FENRING (10,133-10,225)
A distaff cousin of House Corrino, he wa...hildhood companion of Shaddam IV. (The frequently discredited Pirate History of Corrino related the curious story that Fenring was responsible for the chaumurky which disposed of Elrood IX.) All accounts agree that Fenring was the closest friend Shaddam IV possessed. The Imperial chores carried out by Count Fenring included that of Imperial Agent on Arrakis during the Harkonnen regime there and later Siridar-Absentia of Caladan. He joined Shaddam IV in retirement on Salusa Secundus.
COUNT GLOSSU RABBAN (10,132-10,193)
Glossu Rabban, Count of Lankiveil, was the eldest nephew of Vladimir Harkonnen. Glossu Rabban and Feyd-Rautha Rabban (who took the name Harkonnen when chosen for the Siridar-Baron's household) were legal sons of the Siridar-Baron's youngest demibrother, Abulurd. Abulurd renounced the Harkonnen name and all rights to the title when given the subdistrict governorship of Rabban-Lankiveil. Rabban wa...istaff name.
Terminology of the Imperium
In studying the Imperium, Arrakis, and the whole culture which produced Muad'Dib, many unfamiliar terms occur. To increase understanding i...audable goal, hence the definitions and explanations given below.
A
AB...oose robe worn by Fremen women; usually black.
ACH: left turn...orm-steersman's call.
ADAB: the demanding memory that comes upon you of itself.
AKARSO...lant native to Sikun (of 70 Ophiuchi A) characterized by almost oblong leaves. Its green and white stripes indicate the constant multiple, condition of parallel active and dormant chlorophyll regions.
ALAM AL-MITHAL: the mystical world of similitudes where all physical limitations are removed.
AL-LAT: mankind's original sun; by usage: any planet's primary.
AMPOLIROS: the legendary "Flying Dutchman" of space.
AMTAL or AMTAL RULE...ommon rule on primitive worlds under which something is tested to determine its limits or defects. Commonly: testing to destruction.
AQL: the test of reason. Originally, the "Seven Mystic Questions" beginning: "Who is it that thinks?"
ARRAKEEN: first settlement on Arrakis; long-time seat of planetary government.
ARRAKIS: the planet known as Dune; third planet of Canopus .
ASSASSINS' HANDBOOK: Third-century compilation of poisons commonly used i...ar of Assassins. Later expanded to include those deadly devices permitted under the Guild Peace and Great Convention.
AULIYA: In the Zensunni Wanderers' religion, the female at the left hand of God; God's handmaiden.
AUMAS: poison administered in food. (Specifically: poison in solid food.) In some dialects: Chaumas.
AYAT: the signs of life. (See Burhan.)
B
BAKKA: in Fremen legend, the weeper who mourns for all mankind.
BAKLAWA...eavy pastry made with date syrup.
BALISET...ine-stringed musical instrument, lineal descendant of the zither, tuned to the Chusuk scale and played by strumming. Favorite instrument of Imperial troubadours.
BARADYE PISTOL...tatic-charge dust gun developed on Arrakis for laying dow...arge dye marker area on sand.
BARAKA...iving holy man of magical powers.
BASHAR (often Colonel Bashar): an officer of the Sardauka...ractional point above Colonel in the standardized military classification. Rank created for military ruler o...lanetary subdistrict. (Bashar of the Corps i...itle reserved strictly for military use.)
BATTLE LANGUAGE: any special language of restricted etymology developed for clear-speech communication in warfare.
BEDWINE: see Ichwan Bedwine.
BELA TEGEUSE: fifth planet of Kuentsing: third stopping place of the Zensunni (Fremen) forced migration.
BENE GESSERIT: the ancient school of mental and physical training established primarily for female students after the Butlerian Jihad destroyed the so-called "thinking machines" and robots.
B.G.: idiomatic for Bene Gesserit except when used wit...ate. Wit...ate it signifies Before Guild and identifies the Imperial dating system based on the genesis of the Spacing Guild's monopoly.
BHOTANIJIB: See Chakobsa.
BI-LA KAIFA: Amen. (Literally: "Nothing further need be explained.")
BINDU: relating to the human nervous system, especially to nerve training. Often expressed as Bindu-nervature. (See Prana.)
BINDU SUSPENSION...pecial form of catalepsis, self-induced.
BLED: flat, open desert.
BOURKA: insulated mantle worn by Fremen in the open desert.
BURHAN: the proofs of life. (Commonly: the ayat and burhan of life. See Ayat.)
BURSEG...ommanding general of the Sardaukar.
BUTLERIAN JIHAD; see Jihad, Butlerian (also Great Revolt).
C
CAID: Sardaukar officer rank given t...ilitary official whose duties call mostly for dealings with civilians...ilitary governorship ove...ull planetary district; above the rank of Bashar but not equal t...urseg.
CALADAN: third planet of Delta Pavonis; birthworld of Paul-Muad'Dib.
CANTO and RESPONDU: an invocation rite, part of the panoplia propheticus of the Missionaria Protectiva.
CARRYALL...lying wing (commonly "wing"), the aerial workhorse of Arrakis, used to transport large spice mining, hunting, and refining equipment.
CATCHPOCKET: any stillsuit pocket where filtered water is caught and stored.
CHAKOBSA: the so-called "magnetic language" derived in part from the ancient Bhotani (Bhotani Ji...ib meaning dialect)...ollection of ancient dialects modified by needs of secrecy, but chiefly the hunting language of the Bhotani, the hired assassins of the first Wars of Assassins.
CHAUMAS (Aumas in some dialects): poison in solid food as distinguished from poison administered in some other way.
CHAUMURKY (Musky or Murky in some dialects): poison administered i...rink.
CHEOPS: pyramid chess; nine-level chess with the double object of putting your queen at the apex and the opponent's king in check.
CHEREM...rotherhood of hate (usually for revenge).
CHOAM: acronym for Combine Honnete Ober Advancer Mercantile...he universal development corporation controlled by the Emperor and Great Houses with the Guild and Bene Gesserit as silent partners.
CHUSUK: fourth planet of Theta Shalish; the so-called "Music Planet" noted for the quality of its musical instruments. (See Varota.)
CIELAGO: any modified Chiroptera of Arrakis adapted to carry distrans messages.
CONE OF SILENCE: the field o...istorter that limits the carrying power of the voice or any other vibrator by damping the vibrations with an image-vibration 180 degrees out of phase.
CORIOLIS STORM: any major sandstorm on Arrakis where winds across the open flatlands are amplified by the planet's own revolutionary motion to reach speeds up to 700 kilometers per hour.
CORRIN, BATTLE OF: the space battle from which the Imperial House Corrino took its name. The battle fought near Sigma Draconis in the year 88 B.G. settled the ascendancy of the ruling House from Salusa Secundus.
COUSINES: blood relations beyond cousins.
CRUSHERS: military space vessels composed of many smaller vessels locked together and designed to fall on an enemy position, crushing it.
CUTTERAY: short-range version of lasgun used mostly a...utting tool and surgeon's scalpel.
CRYSKNIFE: the sacred knife of the Fremen on Arrakis. It is manufactured in two forms from teeth taken from dead sandworms. The two forms are "fixed" and "unfixed." An unfixed knife requires proximity t...uman body's electrical field to prevent disintegration. Fixed knives are treated for storage. All are about 20 centimeters long.
D
DAR AL-HIKMAN: school of religious translation or interpretation.
DARK THINGS: idiomatic for the infectious superstitions taught by the Missionaria Protectiva to susceptible civilizations.
DEATH TRIPOD: originally; the tripod upon which desert executioners hanged their victims. By usage: the three members o...herem sworn to the same revenge.
DERCH: right turn...orm steersman's call.
DEW COLLECTORS or DEW PRECIPITATORS: not to be confused with dew gatherers. Collectors or precipitators are egg-shaped devices about four centimeters on the long axis. They are made of chromoplastic that turn...eflecting white when subjected to light, and reverts to transparency in darkness. The collector form...arkedly cold surface upon which dawn dew will precipitate. They are used by Fremen to line concave planting depressions where they provid...mall but reliable source of water.
DEW GATHERERS: workers who reap dew from the plants of Arrakis, usin...cythelike dew reaper.
DEMIBROTHERS: sons of concubines in the same household and certified as having the same father.
DICTUM FAMILIA: that rule of the Great Convention which prohibits the slaying o...oyal person or member o...reat House by informal treachery. The rule sets up the formal outline and limits the means of assassination.
DISTRANS...evice for producin...emporary neural imprint on the nervous system of Chiroptera or birds. The creature's normal cry then carries the message imprint which can be sorted from that carrier wave by another distrans.
DRUM SAND: impaction of sand in such away that any sudden blow against its surface produce...istinct drum sound.
DOORSEAL...ortable plastic hermetic seal used for moisture security in Fremen overday cave camps.
DUMP BOXES: the general term for any cargo container of irregular shape and equipped with ablation surfaces and suspensor damping system. They are used to dump material from space ont...lanet's surface.
DUNE MEN: idiomatic for open sand workers, spice hunters and the like on Arrakis. Sandworkers. Spiceworkers.
DUST CHA**: any deep crevasse or depression on the desert of Arrakis that has been filled with dust not apparently different from the surrounding surface...eadly trap because human or animal will sink in it and smother. (See Tidal Dust Basin .)
E
ECAZ: fourth planet of Alpha Centauri B; the sculptors' paradise, so called because it is the home of fogwood, the plant growth capable of being shaped in situ solely by the power of human thought.
EGO-LIKENESS: portraiture reproduced throug...higawire projector that is capable of reproducing subtle movements said to convey the ego essence.
ELACCA DRUG: narcotic formed by burning blood-grained elacca wood of Ecas. Its effect is to remove most of the will to self-preservation. Druggee skin show...haracteristic carrot color. Commonly used to prepare slave gladiators for the ring.
EL-SAYAL: the "rain of sand."...all of dust which has been carried to medium altitude (around 2,000 meters) b...oriolis storm. El-sayals frequently bring moisture to ground level.
ERG: an extensive dune area...ea of sand.
F
FAI: the water tribute, chief specie of tax on Arrakis.
FANMETAL: metal formed by the growing of jasmium crystals in duraluminum; noted for extreme tensile strength in relationship to weight. Name derives from its common use in collapsible structures that are opened by "fanning" them out.
FAUFRELUCHES; the rigid rule of class distinction enforced by the Imperium. "A place for every man and every man in his place."
FEDAYKIN: Fremen death commandos; historically...roup formed and pledged to give their lives to righ...rong.
FILMBOOK: any shigawire imprint used in training and carryin...nemonic pulse.
FILT-PLUG...ose filter unit worn wit...tillsuit to capture moisture from the exhaled breath.
FIQH: knowledge, religious law; one of the half-legendary origins of the Zensunni Wanderers' religion.
FIRE, PILLAR OF...imple pyrocket for signaling across the open desert.
FIRST MOON: the major satellite of Arrakis, first to rise in the night; notable fo...istinct human fist pattern on its surface.
FREE TRADERS: idiomatic for smugglers.
FREMEN: the free tribes of Arrakis, dwellers in the desert, remnants of the Zensunni Wanderers. ("Sand Pirates" according to the Imperial Dictionary.)
FREMKIT: desert survival kit of Fremen manufacture.
FRIGATE: largest spaceship that can be grounded o...lanet and taken off in one piece.
G
GALACH: official language of the Imperium. Hybrid Inglo-Slavic with strong traces of cultural-specialization terms adopted during the long chain of human migrations.
GAMONT: third planet of Niushe; noted for its hedonistic culture and exotic sexual practices.
GARE: butte.
GATHERING: distinguished from Council Gathering. It i...ormal convocation of Fremen leaders to witnes...ombat that determines tribal leadership. (A Council Gathering is an assembly to arrive at decisions involving all the tribes.)
GEYRAT: straight ahead...orm steersman's call.
GHAFLA: giving oneself up to gadfly distractions. Thus...hangeable person, one not to be trusted.
GHANIMA: something acquired in battle or single combat. Commonly...emento of combat kept only to stir the memory.
GIEDI PRIME: the planet of Ophiuch...36), homeworld of House Harkonnen...edian-viable planet wit...ow active-photosynthesis range.
GINAZ, HOUSE OF: one-time allies of Duke Leto Atreides. They were defeated in the War of Assassins with Grumman.
GIUDICHAR...oly truth. (Commonly seen in the expression Giudichar mantene: an original and supporting truth.)
GLOWGLOBE: suspensor-buoyed illuminating device, self-powered (usually by organic batteries).
GRABEN...ong geological ditch formed when the ground sinks because of movements in the underlying crustal layers.
GREAT CONVENTION: the universal truce enforced under the power balance maintained by the Guild, the Great Houses, and the Imperium. Its chief rule prohibits the use of atomic weapons against human targets. Each rule of the Great Convention begins: "The forms must be obeye... . "
GREAT MOTHER: the horned goddess, the feminine principle of space (commonly: Mother Space), the feminine face of the male-female-neuter trinity accepted as Supreme Being by many religions within the Imperium.
GREAT REVOLT: common term for the Butlerian Jihad. (See Jihad, Butlerian.)
GRIDEX PLANE...ifferential-charge separator used to remove sand from the melange spice mass...evice of the second stage in spice refining.
GRUMMAN: second planet of Niushe, noted chiefly for the feud of its ruling House (Moritani) with House Ginaz.
GOM JABBAR; the high-handed enemy; that specific poison needle tipped with meta-cyanide used by Bene Gesserit Proctors in the death-alternative test of human awareness.
GUILD: the Spacing Guild, one leg of the political tripod maintaining the Great Convention. The Guild was the second mental-physical training school (see Bene Gesserit) after the Butlerian Jihad. The Guild monopoly on space travel and transport and upon international banking is taken as the beginning point of the Imperial Calendar.
H
HAGAL: the "Jewel Planet" (II Theta Shaowei), mined out in the time of Shaddam I.
HAIIIII-YOH!: command to action; worm steersman's call.
HA**: holy journey.
HARJ: desert journey, migration.
HAJRA: journey of seeking.
HAL YAWM: "Now! At last!"...remen exclamation.
HARMONTHEP: Ingsley gives this as the planet name for the sixth stop in the Zensunni migration. It is supposed to have bee...o longer existent satellite of Delta Pavonis.
HARVESTER or HARVESTER FACTORY...arge (often 120 meters by 40 meters) spice mining machine commonly employed on rich, uncontaminated melange blows. (Often calle...quot;crawler" because of buglike body on independent tracks.)
HEIGHLINER: major cargo carrier of the Spacing Guild's transportation system.
HIEREG: temporary Fremen desert camp on open sand.
HIGH COUNCIL: the Landsraad inner circle empowered to act as supreme tribunal in House to House disputes.
HOLTZMAN EFFECT: the negative repelling effect o...hield generator.
HOOKMAN: Fremen with Maker hooks prepared to catc...andworm.
HOUSE: idiomatic for Ruling Clan o...lanet or planetary system.
HOUSES MAJOR: holders of planetary fiefs; interplanetary entrepreneurs. (See House above.)
HOUSES MINOR: planet-bound entrepreneur class (Galach: "Richece").
HUNTER-SEEKER...avening sliver of suspensor-buoyed metal guided a...eapon b...ear-by control console; common assassination device.
I
IBAD, EYES OF: characteristic effect o...iet high in melange wherein the whites and pupils of the eyes tur...eep blue (indicative of deep melange addiction).
IBN QIRTAIBA: "Thus go the holy word... ." Formal beginning to Fremen religious incantation (derived from panoplia propheticus).
ICHWAN BEDWINE: the brotherhood of all Fremen on Arrakis.
IJAZ: prophecy that by its very nature cannot be denied; immutable prophecy.
IKHUT-EIGH!: cry of the water-seller on Arrakis (etymology uncertain). See Soo-Soo Sook!
ILM: theology; science of religious tradition; one of the half-legendary origins of the Zensunni Wanderers' faith.
IMPERIAL CONDITIONING...evelopment of the Suk Medical Schools: the highest conditioning against taking human life. Initiates are marked b...iamond tattoo on the forehead and are permitted to wear their hair long and bound b...ilver Suk ring.
INKVINE...reeping plant native to Giedi Prime and frequently used a...hip in the slave cribs. Victims are marked by beet-colored tattoos that cause residual pain for many years.
ISTISLAH...ule for the general welfare; usuall...reface to brutal necessity. IX: see Richese.
J
JIHAD...eligious crusade; fanatical crusade.
JIHAD, BUTLERIAN: (see also Great Revolt...he crusade against computers, thinking machines, and conscious robots begun in 201 B.G. and concluded in 108 B.G. Its chief commandment remains in the O.C. Bible as "Thou shalt not mak...achine in the likeness o...uman mind."
JUBBA CLOAK: the all-purpose cloak (it can beset to reflect or admit radiant heat, converts t...ammock or shelter) commonly worn ove...tillsuit on Arrakis.
JUDGE OF THE CHANGE: an official appointed by the Landsraad High Council and the Emperor to monito...hange of fief...anly negotiation, or formal battle i...ar of Assassins. The Judge's arbitral authority may be challenged only before the High Council with the Emperor present.
K
KANLY: formal feud or vendetta under the rules of the Great Convention carried on according to the strictest limitations. (See Judge of the Change.) Originally the rules were designed to protect innocent bystanders.
KARAMA...iracle; an action initiated by the spirit world.
KHALA: traditional invocation to still the angry spirits o...lace whose name you mention.
KINDJAL: double bladed short sword (or long knife) with about 20 centimeters of slightly curved blade.
KISWA; any figure or design from Fremen mythology.
KITAB AL-IBAR: the combined survival handbook-religious manual developed by the Fremen on Arrakis.
KRIMSKELL FIBER or KRIMSKELL ROPE: the "claw fiber" woven from strands of the hufuf vine from Ecaz. Knots tied in krimskell will claw tighter and tighter to preset limits when the knot-lines are pulled. (Fo...ore detailed study, see Holjance Vohnbrook's "The Strangler Vines of Ecaz.")
KULL WAHAD!: "I am profoundly stirred!"...incere exclamation of surprise common in the Imperium. Strict interpretation depends on context. (It is said of Muad'Dib that once he watche...esert hawk chick emerge from its shell and whispered: "Kull wahad!")
KULON: wild ass of Terra's Asiatic steppes adapted for Arrakis.
KWISATZ HADERACH: "Shortening of the Way." This is the label applied by the Bene Gesserit to the unknown for which they sough...enetic solution...ale Bene Gesserit whose organic mental powers would bridge space and time.
L
LA, LA, LA: Fremen cry of grief. (La translates as ultimate denial...quot;no" from which you cannot appeal.)
LASGUN: continuous-wave laser projector. Its use a...eapon is limited i...ield-generator-shield culture because of the explosive pyrotechnics (technically, subatomic fusion) created when its beam intersect...hield.
LEGION, IMPERIAL: ten brigades (about 30,000 men).
LIBAN: Fremen liban is spice water infused with yucca flour. Originall...our milk drink.
LISAN AL-GAIB: "The Voice from the Outer World." In Fremen messianic legends, an off-world prophet. Sometimes translated as "Giver of Water." (See Mahdi.)
LITERJON...ne-liter container for transporting water on Arrakis; made of high-density, shatterproof plastic with positive seal.
LITTLE MAKER: the half-plant-half-animal deep-sand vector of the Arrakis sandworm. The Little Maker's excretions form the pre-spice mass.
M
MAHDI: in the Fremen messianic legend, "The One Who Will Lead Us to Paradise ."
MAKER: see Shai-hulud.
MAKER HOOKS: the hooks used for capturing, mounting, and steerin...andworm of Arrakis.
MANTENE: underlying wisdom, supporting argument, first principle. (See Giudichar.)
MATING INDEX: the Bene Gesserit master record of its human breeding program aimed at producing the Kwisatz Haderach.
MAULA: slave.
MAULA PISTOL: spring-loaded gun for firing poison darts; range about forty meters.
MELANGE: the "spice of spices," the crop for which Arrakis is the unique source. The spice, chiefly noted for its geriatric qualities, is mildly addictive when taken in small quantities, severely addictive when imbibed in quantities above two grams daily per seventy kilos of body weight. (See Ibad, Water of Life, and Pre-spice Mass.) Muad'Dib claimed the spice a...ey to his prophetic powers. Guild navigators make similar claims. Its price on the Imperial market has ranged as high as 620,000 Solaris the decagram.
MENTAT: that class of Imperial citizens trained for supreme accomplishments of logic. "Human computers."
METAGLASS: glass grown a...igh-temperature gas infusion in sheets of jasmium quartz. Noted for extreme tensile strength (about 450,000 kilos per square centimeter at two centimeters' thickness) and capacity a...elective radiation filter.
MIHNA: the season for testing Fremen youths who wish admittance to manhood.
MINIMIC FILM: shigawire of one-micron diameter often used to transmit espionage and counterespionage data.
MISH-MISH: apricots.
MISR: the historical Zensunni(Fremen) term for themselves: "The People."
MISSIONARIA PROTECTIVA: the arm of the Bene Gesserit order charged with sowing infectious superstitions on primitive worlds, thus opening those regions to exploitation by the Bene Gesserit. (See Panoplia propheticus.)
MONITOR...en-section space warcraft mounting heavy armor and shield protection. It is designed to be separated into its component sections for lift-off after planet-fall.
MUAD'DIB: the adapted kangaroo mouse of Arrakis...reature associated in the Fremen earth-spirit mythology wit...esign visible on the planet's second moon. This creature is admired by Fremen for its ability to survive in the open desert.
MUDIR NAHYA: the Fremen name for Beast Rabban (Count Rabban of Lankiveil), the Harkonnen cousin who was siridar governor on Arrakis for many years. The name is often translated as "Demon Ruler."
MUSHTAMAL...mall garden annex or garden courtyard.
MUSKY: poison i...rink. (See Chaumurky.)
MU ZEIN WALLAH!: Mu zein literally means "nothing good," and wallah i...eflexive terminal exclamation. In this traditional opening fo...remen curse against an enemy, Wallah turns the emphasis back upon the words Mu zein, producing the meaning: "Nothing good, never good, good for nothing."
N
Na-...refix meaning "nominated" or "next in line." Thus: na-Baron means heir apparent t...arony.
NAIB: one who has sworn never to be taken alive by the enemy; traditional oath o...remen leader.
NEZHONI SCARF: the scarf-pad worn at the forehead beneath the stillsuit hood by married or "associated" Fremen women after birth o...on.
NOUKKERS: officers of the Imperial bodyguard who are related to the Emperor by blood. Traditional rank for sons of royal concubines.
O
OIL LENS: hufuf oil held in static tension by an enclosing force field withi...iewing tube as part o...agnifying or other light-manipulation system. Because each lens element can be adjusted individually one micron a...ime, the oil lens is considered the ultimate in accuracy for manipulating visible light.
OPAFIRE: one of the rare opaline jewels of Hagal.
ORANGE CATHOLIC BIBLE: the "Accumulated Book," the religious text produced by the Commission of Ecumenical Translators. It contains elements of most ancient religions, including the Maometh Saari, Mahayana Christianity, Zensunni Catholicism and Buddislamic traditions. Its supreme commandment is considered to be: "Thou shall not disfigure the soul."
ORNITHOPTER (commonly: 'thopter): any aircraft capable of sustained wing-beat flight in the manner of birds.
OUT-FREYN: Galach for "immediately foreign," that is: not of your immediate community, not of the select.
P
PALM LOCK: any lock or seal which may be opened on contact with the palm of the human hand to which it has been keyed.
PAN: on Arrakis, any low-lying region or depression created by the subsiding of the underlying basement complex. (On planets with sufficient water...an indicate...egion once covered by open water. Arrakis is believed to have at least one such area, although this remains open to argument.)
PANOPLIA PROPHETICUS: term covering the infectious superstitions used by the Bene Gesserit to exploit primitive regions. (See Missionaria Protectiva.)
PARACOMPASS: any compass that determines direction by local magnetic anomaly; used where relevant charts are available and wher...lanet's total magnetic field is unstable or subject to masking by severe magnetic storms.
PENTASHIELD...ive-layer shield-generator field suitable for small areas such as doorways or passages (large reinforcing shields become increasingly unstable with each successive layer) and virtually impassable to anyone not wearin...issembler tuned to the shield codes. (See Prudence Door.)
PLASTEEL: steel which has been stabilized with stravidium fibers grown into its crystal structure.
PLENISCENTA: an exotic green bloom of Ecaz noted for its sweet aroma.
POLING THE SAND: the art of placing plastic and fiber poles in the open desert wastes of Arrakis and reading the patterns etched on the poles by sandstorms a...lue to weather prediction.
PORITRIN: third planet of Epsilon Alangue, considered by many Zensunni Wanderers as their planet of origin, although clues in their language and mythology show far more ancient planetary roots.
PORTYGULS: oranges.
PRANA (Prana-musculature): the body's muscles when considered as units for ultimate training. (See Bindu.)
PRE-SPICE MASS: the stage of fungusoid wild growth achieved when water is flooded into the excretions of Little Makers. At this stage, the spice of Arrakis form...haracteristic "blow," exchanging the material from deep underground for the matter on the surface above it. This mass, after exposure to sun and air, becomes melange (See also Melange and Water of Life.)
PROCES VERBAL...emiformal report allegin...rime against the Imperium. Legally: an action falling betwee...oose verbal allegation an...ormal charge of crime.
PROCTOR SUPERIO... Bene Gesserit Reverend Mother who is also regional director o....G. school. (Commonly: Bene Gesserit with the Sight.)
PRUDENCE DOOR or PRUDENCE BARRIER (idiomatically: pru-door or pru-barrier): any pentashield situated for the escape of selected persons under conditions of pursuit. (See Pentashield.)
PUNDI RICE...utated rice whose grains, high in natural sugar, achieve lengths up to four centimeters; chief export of Caladan.
PYONS: planet-bound peasants or laborers, one of the base classes under the Faufreluches. Legally: wards of the planet.
PYRETIC CONSCIENCE: so-called "conscience of fire"; that inhibitory level touched by Imperial conditioning. (See Imperial conditioning.)
Q
QANAT: an open canal for carrying irrigation water under controlled conditions throug...esert.
QIRTAIBA; see Ibn Qirtaiba.
QUIZARA TAFWID: Fremen priests (after Muad'Dib).
R
RACHAG...affeine-type stimulant from the yellow berries of akarso. (See Akarso.)
RAMADHAN: ancient religious period marked by fasting and prayer; traditionally, the ninth month of the solar-lunar calendar. Fremen mark the observance according to the ninth meridian-crossing cycle of the first moon.
RAZZIA...emipiratical guerrilla raid.
RECATHS: body-function tubes linking the human waste disposal system to the cycling filters o...tillsuit.
REPKIT: repair and replacement essentials fo...tillsuit.
RESIDUAL POISON: an innovation attributed to the Mentat Piter de Vries whereby the body is impregnated wit...ubstance for which repeated antidotes must be administered. Withdrawal of the antidote at any time brings death.
REVEREND MOTHER: originally...roctor of the Bene Gesserit, one who has transformed an "illuminating poison" within her body, raising herself t...igher state of awareness. Title adopted by Fremen for their own religious leaders who accomplishe...imilar "illumination." (See also Bene Gesserit and Water of Life.)
RICHESE: fourth planet of Eridani A, classed with Ix as supreme in machine culture. Noted for miniaturization. (Fo...etailed study on how Richese and Ix escaped the more severe effects of the Butlerian Jihad, see The Last Jihad by Sumer and Kautman.)
RIMWALL: second upper Step of the protecting bluffs on the Shield Wall of Arrakis. (See Shield Wall.)
RUH-SPIRIT: in Fremen belief, that part of the individual which is always rooted in (and capable of sensing) the metaphysical world. (See Alam al-Mithal.)
S
SADUS: judges. The Fremen title refers to holy judges, equivalent to saints.
SALUSA SECUNDUS: third planet of Gamma Waiping; designated Imperial Prison Planet after removal of the Royal Court to Kaitain. Salusa Secundus is homeworld of House Corrino, and the second stopping point in migrations of the Wandering Zensunni. Fremen tradition says they were slaves on S.S. for nine generations.
SANDCRAWLER: general term for machinery designed to operate on the Arrakis surface in hunting and collecting melange.
SANDMASTER: general superintendent of spice operations.
SANDRIDER: Fremen term for one who is capable of capturing and ridin...andworm.
SANDSNORK: breathing device for pumping surface air int...andcovered stilltent.
SANDTIDE: idiomatic fo...ust tide: the variation in level within certain dust-filled basins on Arrakis due to gravitational effects of sun and satellites. (See Tidal Dust Basin .)
SANDWALKER: any Fremen trained to survive in the open desert.
SANDWORM: See Shai-Hulud.
SAPHO: high-energy liquid extracted from barrier roots of Ecaz. Commonly used by Mentats who claim it amplifies mental powers. Users develop deep ruby stains on mouth and lips.
SARDAUKAR: the soldier-fanatics of the Padishah Emperor. They were men from an environmental background of such ferocity that it killed six out of thirteen persons before the age of eleven. Their military training emphasized ruthlessness an...ear-suicidal disregard for personal safety. They were taught from infancy to use cruelty a...tandard weapon, weakening opponents with terror. At the apex of their sway over the affairs of the Universe, their swordsmanship was said to match that of the Ginaz tenth level and their cunning abilities at in-fighting were reputed to approach those o...ene Gesserit adept. Any one of them was rate...atch for any ten ordinary Landsraad military conscripts. By the time of Shaddam IV, while they were still formidable, their strength had been sapped by overconfidence, and the sustaining mystique of their warrior religion had been deeply undermined by cynicism.
SARFA: the act of turning away from God.
SAYYADINA: feminine acolyte in the Fremen religious hierarchy.
SCHLAG: animal native to Tupile once hunted almost to extinction for its thin, tough hide.
SECOND MOON: the smaller of the two satellites of Arrakis, noteworthy for the kangaroo mouse figure in its surface markings.
SELAMLIK: Imperial audience chamber.
SEMUTA: the second narcotic derivative (by crystal extraction) from burned residue of elacca wood. The effect (described as timeless, sustained ecstasy) is elicited by certain atonal vibrations referred to as semuta music.
SERVOK: clock-set mechanism to perform simple tasks; one of the limited "automatic" devices permitted after the Butlerian Jihad.
SHAH-NAMA: the half-legendary First Book of the Zensunni Wanderers.
SHAI-HULUD: Sandworm of Arrakis, the "Old Man of the Desert," "Old Father Eternity," and "Grandfather of the Desert." Significantly, this name, when referred to i...ertain tone or written with capital letters, designates the earth deity of Fremen hearth superstitions. Sandworms grow to enormous size (specimens longer than 400 meters have been seen in the deep desert) and live to great age unless slain by one of their fellows or drowned in water, which is poisonous to them. Most of the sand on Arrakis is credited to sandworm action. (See Little Maker.)
SHARI -A: that part of the panoplia propheticus which sets forth the superstitious ritual. (See Missionaria Protectiva.)
SHADOUT: well-dipper...remen honorific.
SHAITAN: Satan.
SHIELD, DEFENSIVE: the protective field produced b...oltzman generator. This field derives from Phase One of the suspensor-nullification effect...hield will permit entry only to objects moving at slow speeds (depending on setting, this speed ranges from six to nine centimeters per second) and can be shorted out only b...hire-sized electric field. (See Lasgun.)
SHIELD WALL...ountainous geographic feature in the northern reaches of Arrakis which protect...mall area from the full force of the planet's coriolis storms.
SHIGAWIRE: metallic extrusion o...round vine. (Narvi narviium) grown only on Salusa Secundus and III Delta Kaising. It is noted for extreme tensile strength.
SIETCH: Fremen: "Place of assembly in time of danger. "Because the Fremen lived so long in peril, the term came by general usage to designate any cave warren inhabited by one of their tribal communities.
SIHAYA: Fremen: the desert springtime with religious overtones implying the time of fruitfulness and "the paradise to come."
SINK...abitable lowland area on Arrakis surrounded by high ground that protects it from the prevailing storms.
SINKCHART: map of the Arrakis surface laid out with reference to the most reliable paracompass routes between places of refuge. (See Paracompass.)
SIRAT: the passage in the O.C. Bible that describes human life a...ourney acros...arrow bridge (the Sirat) with " Paradise on my right. Hell on my left, and the Angel of Death behind."
SLIP-TIP: any thin, short blade (often poison-tipped) for left-hand use in shield fighting.
SNOOPER, POISON: radiation analyzer within the olfactory spectrum and keyed to detect poisonous substances.
SOLARI: official monetary unit of the Imperium, its purchasing power set at quatricentennial negotiations between the Guild, the Landsraad, and the Emperor.
SOLIDO: the three-dimensional image fro...olido projector using 360-degree reference signals imprinted o...higawire reel. Ixian solido projectors are commonly considered the best.
SONDAGI; the fern tulip of Tupali.
SOO-SOO SOOK!: water-seller's cry on Arrakis. Sook i...arket place. (See Ikhut-eigh!)
SPACING GUILD: see Guild.
SPICE: see Melange.
SPICE DRIVER: any Dune man who controls and directs movable machinery on the desert surface of Arrakis.
SPICE FACTORY: see Sandcrawler.
SPOTTER CONTROL: the light ornithopter i...pice-hunting group charged with control of watch and protection.
STILLSUIT: body-enclosing garment invented on Arrakis. Its fabric i...icro-sandwich performing functions of heat dissipation and filter for bodily wastes. Reclaimed moisture is made available by tube from catchpockets.
STILLTENT: small, scalable enclosure of micro-sandwich fabric designed to reclaim as potable water the ambient moisture discharged within it by the breath of its occupants.
STUNNER: slow-pellet projectile weapon throwin...oison- or drug-tipped dart. Effectiveness limited by variations in shield settings and relative motion between target and projectile.
SUBAKH UL KUHAR: "Are you well?"...remen greeting.
SUBAKH UN NAR: "I am well. And you?": traditional reply.
SUSPENSOR: secondary (low-drain) phase o...oltzman field generator. It nullifies gravity within certain limits prescribed by relative mass and energy consumption.
T
TAHADDI AL-BURHAN: an ultimate test from which there can be no appeal (usually because it brings death or destruction).
TAHADDI CHALLENGE: Fremen challenge to mortal combat, usually to test some primal issue.
TAQWA: literally: "The price of freedom." Something of great value. That whic...eity demands o...ortal (and the fear provoked by the demand).
TAU, THE: in Fremen terminology, that oneness o...ietch community enhanced by spice diet and especially the tau orgy of oneness elicited by drinking the Water of Life.
TEST-MASHAD: any test in which honor (defined as spiritual standing) is at stake.
THUMPER: short stake with spring-driven clapper at one end. The purpose: to be driven into the sand and set "thumping" to summon shai-hulud. (See Maker hooks.)
TIDAL DUST BASI...ny of the extensive depressions in the surface of Arrakis which have been filled with dust over the centuries and in which actual dust tides (see Sandtides) have been measured.
TLEILAX: lone planet of Thalim, noted as renegade training center for Mentats; source of "twisted" Mentats.
T-P: idiomatic for telepathy.
TRAINING: when applied to Bene Gesserit, this otherwise common term assumes special meaning, referring to that conditioning of nerve and muscle (see Bindu and Prana) which is carried to the last possible notch permitted by natural function.
TROOP CARRIER: any Guild ship designed specifically for transport of troops between planets.
TRUTHSAYER...everend Mother qualified to enter truthtrance and detect insincerity or falsehood.
TRUTHTRANCE: semihypnotic trance induced by one of several "awareness spectrum" narcotics in which the petit betrayals of deliberate falsehood are apparent to the truthtrance observer. (Note: "awareness spectrum" narcotics are frequently fatal except to desensitized individuals capable of transforming the poison-configuration within their own bodies.)
TUPILE: so-called "sanctuary planet" (probably several planets) for defeated Houses of the Imperium. Location(s) known only to the Guild and maintained inviolate under the Guild Peace.
U
ULEMA...ensunni doctor of theology.
UMMA: one of the brotherhood of prophets. (A term of scorn in the Imperium, meaning any "wild" person given to fanatical prediction.)
UROSHNOR: one of several sounds empty of general meaning and which Bene Gesserit implant within the psyches of selected victims for purposes of control. The sensitized person, hearing the sound, is temporarily immobilized.
USUL: Fremen: "The base of the pillar."
V
VAROTA: famed maker of balisets...ative of Chusuk.
VERITE: one of the Ecaz will-destroying narcotics. It render...erson incapable of falsehood.
VOICE: that combined training originated by the Bene Gesserit which permits an adept to control others merely by selected tone shadings of the voice.
W
WALI: an untried Fremen youth.
WALLACH IX: ninth planet of Laoujin, site of the Mother School of the Bene Gesserit.
WAR OF ASSASSINS: the limited form of warfare permitted under the Great Convention and the Guild Peace. The aim is to reduce involvement of innocent bystanders. Rules prescribe formal declarations of intent and restrict permissible weapons.
WATER BURDEN: Fremen...ortal obligation.
WATERCOUNTERS: metal rings of different size, each designatin...pecific amount of water payable out of Fremen stores. Watercounters have profound significance (far beyond the idea of money) especially in birth, death, and courtship ritual.
WATER DISCIPLINE: that harsh training which fits the inhabitants of Arrakis for existence there without wasting moisture.
WATERMAN...remen consecrated for and charged with the ritual duties surrounding water and the Water of Life.
WATER OF LIFE: an "illuminating" poison (see Reverend Mother). Specifically, that liquid exhalation o...andworm (see Shai-hulud) produced at the moment of its death from drowning which is changed within the body o...everend Mother to become the narcotic used in the sietch tau orgy. An "awareness spectrum" narcotic.
WATERTUBE: any tube withi...tillsuit or stilltent that carries reclaimed water int...atchpocket or from the catchpocket to the wearer.
WAY, BENE GESSERIT: use of the minutiae of observation.
WEATHER SCANNER...erson trained in the special methods of predicting weather on Arrakis, including ability to pole the sand and read the wind patterns.
WEIRDING: idiomatic: that which partakes of the mystical or of witchcraft.
WINDTRAP...evice placed in the path o...revailing wind and capable of precipitating moisture from the air caught within it, usually b...harp and distinct drop in temperature within the trap.
Y
YA HYA CHOUHADA: "Long live the fighters!" The Fedaykin battle cry. Ya (now) in this cry is augmented by the hya form (the ever-extended now). Chouhada (fighters) carries this added meaning of fighters against injustice. There i...istinction in this word that specifies the fighters are not struggling for anything, but are consecrated agains...pecific thin...hat alone.
YALI...remen's personal quarters within the sietch.
YA! YA! YAWM!: Fremen chanting cadence used in time of deep ritual significance. Ya carries the root meaning of "Now pay attention!" The yawm form i...odified term calling for urgent immediacy. The chant is usually translated as "Now, hear this!"
Z
ZENSUNNI: followers o...chismatic sect that broke away from the teachings of Maometh (the so-called "Third Muhammed") about 1381 B.G. The Zensunni religion is noted chiefly for its emphasis on the mystical an...eversion to "the ways of the fathers." Most scholars name Ali Ben Ohashi as leader of the original schism but there is some evidence that Ohashi may have been merely the male spokesman for his second wife, Nisai.
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