A story this complicated deserves a deep dive! Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re explaining the universe of the “Dune” franchise - including its most important events and factions.
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00:00 "The Emperor has spoken. House Atreides shall immediately take control of Arrakis and serve
00:10 as its steward. Do you accept?"
00:16 Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're explaining the universe of the Dune franchise, including
00:21 the most important events and factions. We'll be focusing on the canon of the original Dune
00:26 novels written by Frank Herbert.
00:28 "Why did the Emperor choose this path? And who will our next oppressors be?"
00:37 The Butlerian Jihad
00:38 "Open the pod bay doors, Hal."
00:41 "I'm sorry, Dave. I'm afraid I can't do that."
00:46 A distinguishing feature of Dune is the absence of artificial intelligence. There's a good
00:50 reason for this - a conflict known as the Butlerian Jihad or Great Revolt. In the year
00:55 201 B.G., over 10,000 years before the events of the original Dune, humans revolted against
01:01 the "God of Machine Logic," wiping out thinking machines, computers, and conscious robots.
01:16 The war raged on for almost a hundred years, until the year 108 B.G., with humans emerging
01:22 as the victors. This massive conflict instilled a taboo around building complex computers
01:27 and artificial intelligence. Humanity has adhered to this with a religious celletry
01:32 ever since. In fact, one of the best-known prescripts from the Orange Catholic Bible
01:37 - a fusion of religious thought produced after the Butlerian Jihad - commands, quote, "Thou
01:42 shalt not make a machine in the likeness of the human mind."
01:45 "The machines are gone! The war is over, sir! The war is over!"
01:51 From the ashes of this conflict, many factions arose, including the empire that has ruled
01:56 ever since. The Carino Empire.
02:10 The Imperium, or Carino Empire, spans the entire galaxy. Although composed of countless
02:16 planets and people, power is still concentrated at the top. The imperial family is House Carino,
02:22 and the head of this house has ruled the empire since the Battle of Carino in 88 B.G. during
02:27 the Butlerian Jihad. Known as the Padishah Emperor, he maintains power both militarily
02:32 and politically. House Carino's military force is called the Sardaukar, raised on the harsh
02:38 prison planet Seleucus Secundus - originally House Carino's homeworld - until they moved
02:42 their capital to Kaitain. The Sardaukar are renowned for their utter ruthlessness and
02:47 effectiveness in combat. The Emperor isn't an absolute power, though, since they must
03:01 also balance themselves against the other major factions, including the other Great
03:06 Houses, who are represented by a council called the Landsraad. Luckily enough, the two most
03:29 prominent houses hate each other, and have done for a long, long time.
03:35 Ancient Enemies
03:44 House Atreides and House Harkonnen despise each other. The origin of their feud once
03:49 again goes back to the time of the Butlerian Jihad. After the Battle of Corrin, an Atreides
03:54 had Abelard Harkonnen exiled for cowardice. While the details vary depending on who you
03:59 ask, this event sparked a vendetta that has lasted millennia. Killings and sabotage have
04:24 gone back and forth between the houses until the present day. Currently, House Atreides
04:29 has a reputation for honor and integrity, while the Harkonnens are infamous for underhanded
04:34 tactics and cruelty. If only they could just settle things with a duel.
04:43 Shields, Lase Guns, and Atomics
04:51 Speaking of duels, the Dune universe has some interesting fighting tactics, thanks to the
04:55 use of energy shields. Powered by Holtzman generators, these defensive shields produce
05:00 a negative repelling effect. They can be worn by an individual or projected across vehicles
05:06 or large areas. While they block high-velocity objects, shields can still be penetrated at
05:11 slower speeds. This leads to a peculiar fighting style in close combat that emphasizes slowing
05:17 down to land killing blows. Lasers or Lase Guns do exist, but when they hit a shield,
05:31 the reaction is explosive. There are also atomics or nuclear weapons, but the Great
05:36 Convention prohibits their use against humans, with a punishment of planetary obliteration.
05:42 On the planet Arrakis, shields have a major disadvantage, attracting sand worms. But while
05:56 the technology of Dune has advanced in some ways, the lack of AI has led to incredible
06:01 human specializations. Mentats. A remarkable example of this specialization is found in
06:17 Mentats. Complex calculations were once child's play for any thinking machine. But with these
06:23 being forbidden, specialized training programs have been devised to produce people with superhuman
06:28 recall and analytical abilities. Those trained in this manner are known as Mentats. A high-energy
06:50 liquid called Saffo Juice amplifies their abilities and stains their lips a ruby red.
06:56 Mentats are frequently employed by the Great Houses as aides or strategists. They're also
07:00 instructed to work within strict ethical guidelines, though some have been known to twist Mentats
07:06 to their own views or morality, or lack thereof. However, while
07:26 Mentats are the most obvious replacements for machines, their order is not the most
07:30 famous or impactful to arise after the Great Revolt.
07:34 The Bene Gesserit. Even more important than the advent of Mentats is the Bene Gesserit
07:42 Order. This sisterhood of mental and physical training, cloaked in ritual mysticism, similarly
07:48 emerged from the Butlerian Jihad. Their dedicated conditioning of nerve and muscle has led to
07:53 abilities that seem superhuman, such as a form of movement known as the Weirding Way,
07:58 and control over others using just their voices. By drinking the Water of Life, the bile of
08:11 a drowned sandworm, Reverend Mothers are able to unlock the genetic memory of their female
08:16 ancestors. Members of the Order are often seen as advisors, but really act as power
08:21 brokers within the Imperium.
08:33 In order to exploit various regions, a Bene Gesserit arm known as Missionaria Protectiva
08:38 sows superstitions and religious prophecies on other worlds. They've also enacted a centuries-long
09:01 selective breeding program, with the aim of creating a super-being known as the Kwisatz
09:06 Haderach. The Kwisatz Haderach would be a male Bene Gesserit with the same abilities,
09:20 able to command others verbally, and possessing the same minute control of his own body. However,
09:43 unlike his female counterparts, the Kwisatz Haderach would be able to view the memories
09:47 of both his male and female ancestors. Additionally, this supposed messiah would see not only into
09:53 the distant past, but also the future. Using these mental powers, the Kwisatz Haderach
09:58 would be able to bridge space and time.
10:17 Within the plot of Dune, it would seem that he has arrived at last in the form of Paul
10:21 Atreides. But, whether he can guide humanity down a golden path or not remains to be seen.
10:44 After all, he isn't the only one who can see the future.
10:48 The Spacing Guild
10:59 You may have wondered how humanity is able to travel the stars without complex computing.
11:04 The answer is the Spacing Guild and its navigators. By immersing themselves in high concentrations
11:09 of a certain substance, which we'll touch on next, Guild navigators can see a short
11:14 way into the future. This allows them to pilot ships safely through space, which the ships
11:19 fold to traverse vast distances, making sure they don't reappear inside a star or something.
11:36 And because only the Guild knows how to create their navigators, they have a total monopoly
11:41 on space travel. It also makes the substance used by navigators the most valuable in the
11:45 universe. The spice. Better known as spice or "the spice," melange is the key to the
12:07 prescience of the navigators, and thus to space travel. However, it's even more important
12:12 than that. While the narcotic has an addictive quality, it extends a person's lifespan.
12:18 Heavy doses can also allow some to expand their awareness, such as in the Bene Gesserit's
12:22 viewing of their ancestral memories. Consume it enough and your eyes turn blue.
12:34 Melange's importance is further emphasized by its rarity. It can only be found on one
12:39 planet in the galaxy, Arrakis. The inhospitable nature of the world is legendary,
12:58 as are its most famous creatures. Sandworms. The sandworms of Dune are perhaps its most
13:12 iconic feature, save the Dunes themselves. These enormous monstrosities carve their way
13:17 through the sands of Arrakis. They're attracted to rhythmic vibrations, making travel on the
13:22 ground incredibly difficult. Their huge maws can devour even large vehicles whole. Tough
13:39 to kill and even tougher to study, the Old Man of the Desert is one of the greatest mysteries
13:44 of Arrakis, particularly its relationship to melange, which is bound up with the sandworm
13:49 life cycle. However, the native population has adapted to live alongside them, even harnessing
13:54 their might for their own ends. Fremen. Plenty of people live in cities and towns
14:10 all over Arrakis. But when talking about the natives of Dune, most people mean the Fremen.
14:16 Deserted from Zensunni wanderers - followers of a religion fusing Sunni Islam and Zen Buddhism
14:21 - the Fremen live in large communal groups called Sietches. Unlike most of the known
14:26 universe, the most valuable substance to the Fremen is not spice, which is everywhere on
14:30 their world, but rather water, which is not. They dream of changing that, however.
14:45 Constant living and constant warring against their imperial occupiers - especially the
14:49 Harkonnens - has honed them into incredible fighters. Their mastery over the sandworms
14:54 - and by extension the spice - has given a seemingly ragtag group of gorillas galactic
14:59 importance. But while the Fremen vie to control the spice, who controls the Fremen?
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15:21 Muad'Dib - the answer to this question is found in the story of Dune, as all of the
15:27 aforementioned faction's plans, schemes and motives become centered on Arrakis.
15:41 History will be made and the universe will never be the same. We don't want to give
15:50 too much away, but the Kwisatz Haderach will arrive, and the legend of Muad'Dib will be
15:55 born. To learn more? Well, you'll just have to check out Dune yourself.
16:11 In whichever medium you choose. Is there something from Dune's past that was swallowed by the
16:15 sands and lost from our video? The comments, like the spice, must flow.
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16:32 See you next time!
16:41 (upbeat music)