101
votes
Accepted
Roughly how large is the population of Sandworms on Dune?
1.6 Million*
The only real information we have to go on is a line by Dr. Kynes about the size of a worm's territory. From Dune:
“Big ones may control three or four hundred square kilometers. Small ...
- 8,533
85
votes
Accepted
How does Arrakis maintain a breathable atmosphere without vegetation?
Pardot Kynes, the Imperial Planetologist noticed that too.
“Water overshadows the other problems,” Kynes said. “This planet has
much oxygen without its usual concomitants—widespread plant life ...
- 676k
78
votes
Accepted
In Dune, how do people cope with the lack of computers?
Mentats don't replace computers. They replace computers that "are made in the likeness of the human mind" - that is, Artificial Intelligences.
So computational devices exist. Just not ...
- 19.6k
68
votes
Accepted
In Dune, what were the benefits of becoming a Guild Navigator?
If we take the Dune Encyclopedia as a source of information, then we learn that the reality is that Navigators (and their accompanying Steersmen) are bred by the Spacing Guild solely for the purpose ...
- 676k
62
votes
Accepted
Why didn't House Atreides stay on Caladan?
In brief, Leto has received a legitimate order from his Emperor. For all that he suspects that this is a trap, he has no good excuse to refuse and his only other option is to declare his House '...
- 676k
58
votes
Accepted
Why "In politics, the tripod is the most unstable of all structures"?
The tripod is truly the weakest political structure
The balance of power in a political tripod is only stable as long as everyone wants to win and all players would rather prefer the status quo to a ...
- 1,033
56
votes
Why didn't they notice the invasion in Dune?
There's a few false assumptions there. First are foremost: the Atreides are not capable of space travel, they just have access to it via the Spacing Guild and their heighliners (those mind bogglingly ...
- 5,168
55
votes
Accepted
Where was the missing spice harvester carryall?
In the source novel, the mystery of the missing carryall was solved later.
“You’ll all be delighted to know,” she said, “that our Duke sends his
reassurances. The matter which called him away has ...
- 676k
55
votes
Accepted
How did the Tleilaxu in Dune master the "Language of God"?
In Heretics of Dune (1984), the Tleilaxu leader Waff thinks to himself:
No other people have mastered the genetic language as well as have the Bene Tleilax, he reassured himself. We are right to call ...
- 1,354
50
votes
Accepted
Why don't the sandworms attack outworlder cities in Arrakis?
The Shield Wall, a large natural mountain feature, protects Arakeen and Carthag, the two major cities on Arrakis from both worms and the storms that make life much more dangerous on the rest of the ...
- 8,264
49
votes
Accepted
Why didn't the Atreides family extensively watch this character in such a period of tension?
In brief, Yueh is a person who is supposedly above any consideration of malice or duplicity toward his patients, the house Atreides, because of the conditioning that Doctors from the Suk School ...
- 676k
49
votes
Why don't stillsuits protect/retain fluid from the wearer's eyes?
From a filmmaking context, it's simple: to allow seeing the actors' faces.
A real stillsuit would kill you faster than dehydration, by cooking you -- unless it has some alternative method of dumping ...
- 22.7k
44
votes
Accepted
Why was Paul expected to kill/challenge Stilgar?
The incident occurred a few pages earlier. Paul, now officially a man, is riding the worm and says they go south. Stilgar asks what will happen if he says otherwise. Paul insists and Stilgar takes ...
- 676k
43
votes
In Dune, how do people cope with the lack of computers?
From the glossary in the original Dune, about the Butlerian Jihad:
Its chief commandment remains in the O.C. Bible as "Thou shalt not make a machine in the likeness of a human mind."
Now, ...
- 1,125
43
votes
What was the official story of the Harkonnen invasion of Dune?
The two houses are ancient enemies. The Baron has recently offered to meet with the Duke to discuss a rapprochement. The Duke fell into the trap of openly snubbing him, which then gives the Baron ...
- 676k
42
votes
Accepted
In Dune Messiah, why should blind fremen walk off in the desert?
According to the Dune Encyclopedia, the custom of exposing the blind to the desert was deeply ingrained into their society and was an 'ancient custom'. Blindness was seen as an especially unpleasant ...
- 676k
41
votes
Why "In politics, the tripod is the most unstable of all structures"?
You actually have the answer in your question. Three legs together are very stable, yes, and two sides will act to balance out the third. In Dune, there are three groupings that keep one side from ...
- 4,186
41
votes
Accepted
Why would the Emperor send his personal troops to help the Harkonnen?
There are schemes within schemes going on here. The Emperor fears Duke Leto and his heirs as possible contenders to the Corrino throne, the Harkonnen want their ancient enemy (the Atreides) dead and ...
- 676k
40
votes
Roughly how large is the population of Sandworms on Dune?
To be technically correct, while being not at all helpful, at the time of God Emperor of Dune there was exactly one sandworm on Arrakis.
All other time periods, your mileage may vary.
- 22.5k
40
votes
Accepted
In Dune, how is the spice mélange used for space travel?
The Dune sequel books expands on how the navigators perform their function.
Essentially, the ships have a Holtzmann (the same person behind shields and lasguns) drive which is used to "fold space&...
- 45.5k
38
votes
What did Herbert think of David Lynch's Dune?
This does seem to be the case. Quoting from a 1984 People magazine article (web archive copy):
It's rare to find an author who feels that a director hasn't massacred his work, but after seeing a ...
- 120k
38
votes
Accepted
Why did House Atreides have to give up Caladan, while the Harkonnens were allowed to stay on Geidi Prime while also controlling Arrakis?
The Harkonnen were simply under contract to supervise the mining of the spice on Arrakis whereas the Atreides family were given the planet entire, including the responsibility for mining the spice.
...
- 676k
38
votes
Accepted
Use compact protective field generator to attract sandworms instead of bulky tam-tam device
Thumpers are used to only attract the sandworms, a shield on the other hand attracts the sandworms and drives them into a killing frenzy:
"According to Idaho’s report," Hawat said, "...
- 16k
36
votes
Accepted
Why did the Baron and Piter de Vries fear the Truthsayer?
It's not that the Baron doesn't want to watch them die, it's that he wants plausible deniability as to the reason and manner of their deaths. He wants to be able to stand in the presence of the ...
- 676k
35
votes
Accepted
What was the official story of the Harkonnen invasion of Dune?
Kanly
Houses Atreides and Harkonnen were engaged in a formal feud and the Harkonnen invasion was (except for the Emperor’s involvement) wholly within the rules of the Great Convention.
- 4,869
34
votes
Accepted
How did the Bene Gesserit know how to make a Kwisatz Haderach?
They didn't. They're actually pretty clear about that throughout the text, and it comes up again, in different ways, later in the series, when Leto II is enforcing his Golden Path: they are not ...
- 11.6k
33
votes
Why didn't House Atreides stay on Caladan?
His only alternative would have been to have gone renegade, moving the whole familly beyond the reach of the Imperium.
Leto suspects a trap, yes, but he doesn't know or suspect its true magnitude. ...
- 7,598
33
votes
Accepted
Why doesn't Paul Atreides give an order to stop the jihad?
The Fremen would disobey him or intentionally misunderstand him or kill him. It's all really much of a muchness and doesn't make a lot of difference in the grand scheme.
They’re accustomed to seeing ...
- 676k
31
votes
Accepted
How many different versions of cover art has Frank Herbert's Dune had since 1965?
P.S This answer does not deserve any upvotes! It is very deficient regarding non-English publications. Namely, in my haste, I only searched under the title "Dune" and neglected to search ...
31
votes
Why not settle near the polar caps?
If the Baron is to be believed, his own investigations have revealed that spice isn't merely less at the poles, but entirely absent. That being the case, while situating a city closer to the polar ...
- 676k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible