The average lifespan of Fremen probably isn't terribly long due to the incidental dangers of life on Arrakis. However, outside of that, what is the lifespan of Fremen? On one hand, their diet, water intake, and the routine strain of daily life are very different from most humans; on the other hand, they do ingest a lot of spice.
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2Leto II is a Fremen. Therefore, it seems they have a maximum of approximately 3,500 years.– James SheridanCommented Oct 11, 2014 at 1:40
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1Well, technically, Leto II was only half-Fremen even before he became mostly sandworm :)– Misha RCommented Oct 11, 2014 at 19:26
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I cannot remember anything from the first four books. Also, there is no reason to assume that the life-prolonging effects of spice increase monotonously with the ingested amount. It could be as well that the amounts consumed by your average Fremen are already beyond the optimal dosis regarding life-prolongation.– WrzlprmftCommented Oct 11, 2014 at 20:05
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Right, but seeing as no medical journal gives any reliable analysis of melange's quantity-to-longevity progression, we might just have to go by what's in the Dune series. That said, I'm equally ok with Fremen lifespan being long or short. I'm just curious whether there's any info as to what it is.– Misha RCommented Oct 11, 2014 at 22:08
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Related, not dupe; How much could spice extend a human life in Dune?– ValorumCommented Feb 1, 2018 at 18:30
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2 Answers
AT least as long as the navigators if they choose to undergo the process of spice saturation. It's never brought up per se but inferred that all houses are human and the spacing guild just mutated humans from the spice
answered Oct 11, 2014 at 3:14
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2"the spacing guild just mutated humans from the spice" - that's canon, from the prequels. Assuming you aren't one of those purists who decided to reject the prequels as not canon Commented Oct 11, 2014 at 6:13
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5@DVK: "Purists?" You mean 'loyalists,' you traitorous dog! Also, Frank Herbert certainly had no issue with the idea of Navigators being mutated; he hints at it a few times in the books, and he never objected to the mutated Navigator in the Dune film. Considering the amount of objections to the rest of the film he made, he would have mentioned it if it bothered him. Commented Oct 11, 2014 at 6:17
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2Note, that we have a fish-like navigator in Dune Messiah (which is older than the Lynch movie) and a few statements that he was originally a human, if I recall correctly. So, we do not need the prequels for this. Commented Oct 11, 2014 at 19:54
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It is said by Alia Atreides that...
“without melange and it’s amplification of human immunogenitic system life expectancy of for the very rich degenerated by a factor of at least four”
... so by this I would assume that they can live well over the average life expectancy of normal people if they lived normal lives.
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The full quote is not so much a quote as an internal monologue; "Alia allowed herself a grim smile. The Combine Honnete Ober Advancer Mercantiles! But House Atreides dominated CHOAM with fifty-one percent of its shares. ... Without melange and its amplification of the human immunogenic system, life expectancy for the very rich degenerated by a factor of at least four. Even the vast middle class of the Imperium ate diluted melange in small sprinklings with at least one meal a day."– ValorumCommented Feb 1, 2018 at 18:32
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The Fremen are different from most of the rich in that they are multigenerational natives of Arrakis, and live in a natural environment that is quite harsh, even outside various dangers you may encounter. If it were not for spice, my assumption would be that their natural lifespan on Arrakis is comparatively short. What I want to know is whether we have any solid information on the life expectancy of Fremen, or whether speculation is our only option.– Misha RCommented Feb 1, 2018 at 18:50
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