source |
My path to reading Dune began with Herbert's 1968 novel, The Santaroga Barrier, which I read in the mid-1970s, and which is not much of a Sci Fi tale. However, The Santaroga Barrier was interesting in a low-tech kind of way, so I was willing to read another Herbert novel. I read Herbert's novel Dune sometime around 1980, in book format, with a cover by Vincent Di Fate. As a Sci Fi fan, I was not favorably impressed by the political machinations that dominate Dune, so it was only after an additional 40 years had passed before I tried reading another story by Herbert: his 1966 story called "Heisenberg's Eyes". That also did not go well.
comment by Spider Robinson |
Dune Trilogy |
December 1963 |
It is always a depressing experience when there are printing errors in a story (including those in "Dune World" as printed in Analog). Maybe "Dune World" was rushed into print at the end of 1963? I suppose that by 1963, in the middle of the Space Race, many science fiction fans were more interested in real world spaceships than fantasy spaceships. Many Sci Fi magazines perished just as real rocket ships were being built and captivating young science nerds like myself in the same way that Sci Fi spaceships had once entertained an earlier pre-space age generation.
1963. Interior art for "Dune World" by John Schoenherr |
When published in Analog, the first part of Dune was called "Dune World", and the "p" word (politics) was right there in chapter 1. Full disclosure: I'm not a fan of political science fiction. Is there anything more mind-numbing that fictional politics?
1981 |
Reality Chains (source) |
Dune 2020 |
The Bible |
The first bit of future technology to appear in Dune is a torture device that is used to inflict pain on the 15-year-old Paul. Paul's mother obediently stands by while Paul is tortured. It is the "reverend" Gaius Helen who tortures Paul and then in her next breath she almost quotes the Bible: "Don't make a machine to counterfeit a human mind". And yet, strangely, the "test" that she administers to Paul seems designed to prove that he can ignore pain, like some sort of robot. First Commandment: destroy all the evil robots, but let's make men who act like robots! WTF?
Patrick's Punishment |
Foundation trilogy |
Shai-Hulud |
1966 |
Asimov used the Roman Empire for inspiration in constructing his imaginary Galactic Empire. To craft his Foundation saga as a science fiction story, Asimov included a silly imaginary science, Psychohistory. The assumed existence of a pseudoscience "collective consciousness" was Herbert's imagined foil for his evil future Interstellar Empire. George Lucas
Shai-Hulud, The Maker by Christopher Balaskas |
Second Foundation |
Ecological Science Fiction
March 1965 |
The Breeding Project
In addition to being reminded of Asimov's Galactic Empire, Dune reminds me of "Doc" Smith's Arisians and their great breeding project for humans. In the December 1963 issue of Analog, there is a long essay about the genetic code. What is Herbert's vision of how to breed humans for telepathy? Herbert gave us a type of telepathy that allows for people to see the past/future by linking into some sort of "genetic memory". I like the idea of a source of information beyond normal space and time, but does Herbert ever provide a scientific backstory or is this magical fantasy?
January 1965 |
I've long been intrigued by the methods used by Isaac Asimov and Jack Vance to create fictional future universes where the technology available to people of the future is little different from what we here on Earth now have. In Herbert's future, Humanity has passed through a phase when there were machines with artificial intelligence and then those machines were abandoned. We are told that humans could not live with their artificial intelligences without becoming slaves to them.
"an advanced future without technology" (source)
From the perspective of 2020, Herbert's vision of the future seems unlikely. In 1963, computers were often viewed as "giant brains" that could not match the efficiency of human brains. Since 1963, the world has gone through a revolution of computer miniaturization. Herbert does allow his future Dukes and Barons the use of ebooks and even what seems to be some form of brain stimulation protocol to enhance learning, but the emphasis is on using trained humans to do tasks rather than robotic assistants. In an era when computerized planes fly us around the globe, it is hard to accept fantasy futures without robots.
Jan. 1965 interior worm art by John Schoenherr |
Fictional Economics
The economy of the galaxy is based on
From near the end of the first published part of "Dune World" |
Isaac Asimov was trained as a chemist, so he could usually have fun with fictional chemistry and not upset fellow nerds who know something about molecules. Herbert knew nothing about chemistry, yet he based his Dune saga on the fictional chemistry of melange.
In order to rescue melange from chemical nonsense, you could say that melange is not composed of conventional matter. For the Exode Saga, I imagine that there are hierions and sedrons, physical substances not yet known to Earthly science. However, if this is science fiction, then our physical substances should not change their physical properties depending on the day of the week. Who knows what Herbert was trying to suggest by "protein digestive balance"? As usual, this is just Herbert stringing together some technical terms with no effort made to provide any sensible semantic content. This same kind of anti-science jargon-patter is found in "Heisenberg's Eyes".
source |
Biophysics and Worm Sex
Gigantic sandworms plowing through desert sands, generating energy by friction? Yes, that is a perpetual motion machine, and I've never understood how it could work. Herbert was no scientist, so it is a waste of time to hope that the imaginary technologies and life forms in one of his stories might make sense. Eventually, Herbert went as far as saying that a human could merge with a sandworm.
Part 2 (January 1964)
interior art by John Schoenherr |
If you start reading Part 2 of "Dune World" in the January 1964 issue of Analog, then you can read the one page summary of Part 1 and save yourself the task of actually reading the first installment.
In Part 2, readers learn that although the entire galactic economy is built around "spice" from Arrakis, the harvesting of this valuable resource is extremely inefficient.
spice harvester |
Giant spice harvesting machines are used, but they cannot be protected by Hi Tek™ "shields" because that would attract sandworms. The sandworms are so gigantic that they can demolish the harvesters. The deepest desert is not even mined for spice because the even gigantickester worms who live there can swallow a harvester whole.
Floating on top of Herbert's implausible science and technology of the future is his imaginary politics. Is feudalism really the future for Humanity as it spreads between the stars? If so, I don't want to know about it.
in the February 1964 issue of Analog |
Part 3 (February 1964)
rising popularity of a concept |
And, after the entire elaborate "trap" has been set up by the Evil Emperor and the trap sprung, there must be the Miraculous Escape™. Fans of Star Wars will not be surprised by the Jedi mind trick that allows Paul to live past the assassination of his father, the Duke.
Race Consciousness
Race Consciousness |
The thrilling conclusion! |
"Bene Gesserit" by Dani Fonseca |
Biology. I find it of interest that by the end of The Prophet of Dune, Herbert reached a very similar place as Asimov had with his "Spacers", lamenting the evolutionary dangers arising from small, inbred populations. I'll award 1 science point for Herbert's coverage of inbreeding.
Fun
in the mirror universe |
Science fiction should never take itself too seriously. My preference is for fiction that is playful and fun, so it will surprise nobody that I found Dune to be impossible to finish 40 years ago and it was hard labor for me to slog through "Dune World" here in 2020.
Related Social Media: #VintageSciFiMonth
More Herbert: Destination: Void
Next: The Currents of Space by Isaac Asimov
visit the Gallery of Book and Magazine Covers |
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