The Dune Universe

ARRAKIS--DUNE--DESERT PLANET!!

For many devoted sci-fi fans, The Dune Chronicles, a series of novels written by Frank Herbert, are the pinnacle of excellent science fiction. Frank Herbert created a universe placed in a very distant future, the story of which has captured the imagination of many, I included.

I have decided to pay homage to the Dune Chronicles by creating pages which indulges in the background of the Dune Universe, introducing those who are new to the story as well as reacquainting the dedicated fan to the complexities and nuances of the entire scope of the story. No doubt Paul Atreides would have seen this coming, and approved it.

The Time: 24,360 years into the future.

The Primary Place: A planet known as Arrakis, more commonly called DUNE, which has a harsh global desert environment.

The Main Characters: Duke Leto Atreides, his concubine Lady Jessica, and their son, Paul Atreides, as well as the Atreides family's arch rival and enemy, Baron Vladimir Harkonnen.

The Plot: A struggle among the main feudal aristocracy and the emperor for power, honor, revenge, and control over the known universe.

The Books In The Series, The Dune Chronicles by Frank Herbert:

DUNE
DUNE MESSIAH
CHILDREN OF DUNE
GOD EMPEROR OF DUNE
HERETICS OF DUNE
CHAPTERHOUSE: DUNE

Synoptic Background: The events that take place in Dune are at once familiar to our own world yet also foreign to our senses. Here we see a future where space travel is common yet controlled by one organization, while at the same time the level of technology is kept to a simple minimum, and human instinct, awareness and abilities are trained in certain humans to a very high degree that borders on the magical; the known galaxy is controlled by a form of government that is reminiscent of Medieval Europe, and human passions spawn a new religion which ultimately unleashes horrors that are already quite familiar to our own history.

The Imperium

The Known Galaxy is ruled by a feudalistic society that is governed by a three-tiered system: the Padishah Emperor, the Landsraad High Council of Houses Major (through the corporation CHOAM), and the Spacing Guild. Each shares power and checks and balances one another...in theory. Yet under the surface there is always planning and struggling to gain the upper hand among each of the three, especially between the Padishah Emperor and the Houses Major. The Houses Major also struggle among themselves for influence and position. The Spacing Guild controls all travel through space, there is no other organization or body that flies ships among the stars, that area is reserved for Guild pilots alone. The Houses Major are the families that own and operate interplanetary systems. There are also Minor Houses, but those families are the lesser nobility, confined to single planets or areas on planets. At the bottom of all is the peasantry, on whom the backs of which supports a rigid class social system. Rigid but not inflexible: Minor Houses have been known in Imperial history to rise to the status of Houses Major, and peasant families to the status of Houses Minor, but not often.

Planned for later addition: A list of planets and a list of the Houses Major and their emblems

History of the Dune Universe
A Dune Glossary
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