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There seems to be alot of similarity between the Navigator Guilds of both the 40K and Dune universes. Has anyone ever confirmed that one was inspired by the other (my guess would be the 40K version is inspired by Dune), or is there a similar organisation from fiction that could be seen as an earlier influence?

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  • From Fandom-WH40k Wiki article on Navigators: The concept of Navigators in the Warhammer 40,000 universe most likely drew inspiration from the science-fiction novels of Frank Herbert's "Dune" universe, being very similar to the Guild Navigators.
    – Shade
    Oct 23, 2019 at 10:33
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    @Shade that's not proof of anything, other than someone else has noticed the obvious similarity
    – OrangeDog
    Oct 23, 2019 at 11:25
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    @OrangeDog That's why I put it as comment and not answer.
    – Shade
    Oct 23, 2019 at 11:32
  • As they developed 40k we see what looks like clear inspiration for a lot of different things (Judge Dredd, First Council of Nikaea, Margaret Thatcher, etc, etc, etc) but GW has not as of yet (and likely never will) clue us in on the inspiration of where the details were developed from... As obvious as the connections may be I highly doubt we will ever get the confirmation you are looking for!
    – Odin1806
    Oct 23, 2019 at 18:06

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The Wikipedia article states that among others, Dune was a source of inspiration for Warhammer 40,000; though only specifically stating an inspiration for the God Emperor (Emphasis Mine):

Rick Priestley cites J. R. R. Tolkien, H. P. Lovecraft, Dune, Paradise Lost, and 2000 AD as major influences on the setting. [...] The Emperor of Mankind was inspired by various fictional god-kings, such as Leto Atreides II from the novel God Emperor of Dune by Frank Herbert, and King Huon from the Runestaff novels by Michael Moorcock. The Emperor's suffering on the Golden Throne for the sake of humanity mirrors the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

While this does not specifically tie the design of the Navigators in 40K to the Navigators in Dune, the Fandom wikis all link this connection specifically:

The Guild Navigators have found themselves to be the inspiration for several creatures and characters in science fiction, such as the Navigators from Warhammer 40,000, the Advisors from Half-Life 2, the Aurora Unit from Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, quite possibly Melfina from Outlaw Star, the Cylon hybrids who serve as navigators and central computers in the Re-imagined Battlestar Galactica series, and the Tardigrade in Star Trek Discovery.

Dune fandom wiki

The concept of Navigators in the Warhammer 40,000 universe most likely drew inspiration from the science-fiction novels of Frank Herbert's "Dune" universe, being very similar to the Guild Navigators.

40K Fandom Wiki

Unfortunately, outside of this, there is no link between Dune and the Navigators in 40K.

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  • The Aurora Units are clearly based on Mother Brain, but I don't think she's got much to do with Guild Navigators other than living in a tank.
    – OrangeDog
    Nov 19, 2019 at 16:08

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