Curate, connect, and discover
Dune - Blog Posts
I think it’s time to read this again
(via Data Flow by Jae Salavarrieta)
day 13 - dune
Does anyone else have this thing happen where you hear about a movie/show/game/book that is universally praised and beloved by everyone, and then ironically get super intimidated to actually watch it because of that universal praise? Because I noticed that that happens sometimes with me, and it's very confusing but also kinda interesting. Things like Gravity Falls, Breaking Bad, Dune, etc. that everyone likes, and as a result, I almost feel nervous about trying them out. Maybe it's a fear that the thing will never be as amazing as the hype around it/the mental picture I've created for it, maybe I just really want the experience of getting into it to be as amazing as everyone says it is, idk for sure. But I did think this was kinda a funny/interesting thing that I do sometimes, and I'm curious if anyone has ever felt a similar kind of intimidation to try a new series or if i'm just kinda weird like that
My road leads into the desert.
Dune (2021) dir. Denis Villeneuve
wait was kyle maclachlan in inside out 2? 😭😭
If Paul Atreides was born like girl...
This picture is for my fanfic "Kwisatz Haderach" and Paul (Paulin) is not the main character.
I loved dune 2. Best movie I’ve seen in years, but the whole time all I could think of was the Sontarans from doctor who and the Harkonnens
Observe
"Concealed behind strong barriers the heart becomes ice." - Frank Herbert, Heretics of Dune
"Memory never recaptures reality. Memory reconstructs. All reconstructions change the original, becoming external frames of reference that inevitably fall short." - Frank Herbert, Heretics of Dune
Yes. Finally someone gets it. This is one of the reasons why I fell in awe (not love) with Dune, reading it over twenty years ago while studying environmental sciences at university.
what dune is about: a rant
so
dune
that weird giant in the background of modern sci-fi that everyone knows about and nobody seems to get, not really
what is dune?
is it about the epynomous planet, dune, arrakis?
no
it is an epic story about paul atreides' ascent to power through the combined power of a monopoly on the supply of navigator space-cocaine and the boundless light of islam?
also no
dune is not a space opera, dune is not an epic fantasy story set in space
fundamentally dune is about ecology
and the main character of dune is not paul. nor is it leto ii. nor is it sheeana, or odrade, or miles teg, all names that mean nothing to people who only know the setting through adaptations. the main character is not even duncan idaho
it's the bene gesserit
what is the bene gesserit?
well, it's complicated. everyone knows about their "breeding program" but few people actually think about what the implications of it are
the great houses are not in charge, really. they're gene lines. they're in a very real sense different strains of *domesticated human* selected for different traits. they're not "special" for any reason of faith or exceptionalism
they're "special" in the same way a racehorse is special. because it was bred to be fast. the mythologies are all artificial additions, memetic scaffolding to surround the actual project
and then, what traits?
well, the bene gesserit sought a broad prescience. a "leader" like guidedog is a leader, leading a blind humanity through a future without hitting any metaphorical walls
they misunderstood their own mission, and they learn as much, before the end of their relevance
because paul was an ephemeral storm,
and leto is a wolf, a predator in the ecological sense, a selective pressure on the memetics of humanity, driving them out of the forest, driving them out of their spot at the top of the food chain. no longer their own worst enemy
dune is about the prelude and memetic extinction events before the scattering
it's about a domesticated humanity breaking free, becoming feral, becoming everything else
dune is about the endless struggle for humanity to find its niche before it drives itself extinct, and in doing so finding an infinite amount of niches, for an infinite amount of different humanities
it's about ecosystems and predation and diversification and extinction events both biological and memetical, and how it is ruthless, cruel, and most things go extinct without descendants, but as long as something survives it keeps going
about humanity breaking through its last great filter: itself
such is the golden path
AI Search Engines: Why won't you use us? 😭
Me:
There is no escape - we pay for the violence of our ancestors.
me as a kid reading Dune: I appreciate the detailed world-building that justifies why everyone fights with swords and has mental powers, but the idea of a Butlerian Jihad against computers is pretty silly
me in 2025, trying desperately to find the three (3) places you need to go to to disable the latest helpful AI assistant that's inserted itself into my work chat and is advising me to do things that would be a breach of federal law: Oh Now I Get It
Y'all ever wonder how Duke Leto would have been with two children fucked up by Spice, the Water of Life and Prescience. Just sat around at breakfast one morning and...
Paul: One of the planets is dissenting. We will have to intercede.
Jessica: I wouldn't worry, you'll figure something out.
Alia: Grandpa Harkonnen says kill them all :)
Duke Leto: ...
Duke Leto: Sweet Orange Catholic Jesus
