Frank Herbert's Lasting Legacy

According to Listverse, “Dune is thought to be the single best-selling sci-fi novel of all time” (Dayton).

Frank Herbert, born October 8, 1920 in Tacoma, Washington, was, according to a web biography, “A journalist, ecologist, conservationist, Science Fiction writer, and fantasist. Herbert lived most of his life in the Pacific Ocean states area of California, Washington, and Hawaii. Frank was a scientist, in fact if not in degree, and studied undersea geology, psychology, navigation, and jungle botany. Herbert's acreage on Olympic Peninsula in Washington State was turned into a self-supporting ecology and demonstration project (Frank Herbert).

Herbert’s opus, the Dune Saga, dealt with the many areas of his very interesting life. There had been epic sagas before Dune, notably The Lord of the Rings series, and there would be epic sagas after, i.e., Star Wars. Dune influenced Star Wars with some of the ongoing themes (religion, class structure, politics, The Force, etc).

But what does it all mean?  How could a world imagined in 1965 possibly hold any relevance to today? The mere fact this world still fascinates us 50 years after it’s inauguration, the fact it IS still relevant today, bestows upon it the undeniable rank of “classic”. And we can learn—even today, we can learn.

Some of the major symbolism used throughout the series is defined below.

“Spice”—melange—could be beneficial or detrimental to humans depending upon its use. In limited use (such as sugar in your morning coffee), it granted the user health, prolonged life and limited prescience. Addiction level use “marked” the addict with fathomless, blue-in-blue eyes; it still prolonged life and granted limited prescience, but it began to exact its own cost upon the user.  At saturation levels, it created Guildsmen—formerly human—who could “fold” space with their minds alone. These former humans were doomed to live in special tanks, constantly surrounded in the spice gas. They were incapable of living a normal life; they had traded that life for the Guild. In women, the purest form of spice transformed a Bene Gesserit trained female into a Reverend Mother—IF the Reverend Mother candidate was able to bodily convert the chemical within her body before it killed her. The odor was unmistakeable-cinnamon.

WHY is spice so symbolic? It can only be mined on one planet in the entire known universe-Arrakis, also known as Dune. A place where there is never a drop of rain and hasn’t been in recorded history. Control of the spice is everything. We’ve all heard the saying, “The spice must flow”. This is where the saying came from.

But what does spice mean to US, here and now, in today’s world? Frank Herbert used spice to illustrate the fragility of ecosystems on a planet-wide basis. Spice could be water or oil in today’s vernacular. It’s not until the end of the third book in the series that we understand the cycle of worm, desert and spice. It’s not until far later in the series, when we are well into the sets of pre-quels written by Herbert’s son Bryan, just exactly what that cycle is.

Arrakis was once a lush, blue water world. The worms adapted to this water world in an unusual way. In its earliest stage, it needed the water to grow; as it grew, water became poison. Each spice blow—harvest—drew a worm to it. Any water, any MOISTURE, was sealed off by the early stage of the worm to protect the adult worm. Over time, this led to a desert planet. The spice itself was the “eggs” of the next generation. Paul Atreides understood this at a rudimentary level. The Fremen wished to turn Arrakis into a lush paradise again and had begun a generations-long plan to do so, not realizing that should this happen, the worm—and the spice—would be gone forever. Purposeful meddling in a planet’s ecology rendered what appeared to be a lifeless, worthless ball of sand—with the exception of spice. Continued purposeful meddling would bring paradise back while killing the creation all mankind needed for its very survival.  Without spice, there would be no Bene Gesserit, no Mentats, no intergalactic travel. It’s a powerful message for those who, even today, wish to meddle with Mother Nature. Spice, then, can be equated with water and/or oil now.

This one substance leads to galaxy wide power struggles, political intrigue, the substitution of logic for love…exactly what we see in today’s world.

Paul is only the beginning…he IS the Kwisatz Haderach the Bene Gesserit is breeding toward. But his son, Leto II, is the Kralizec, the scouring.

Dune’s ultimate impact, it’s ultimate appeal, is the Hero/Messiah story of needing someone to save us from ourselves…and what happens when we’re too late and have followed the wrong leaders, letting loose an uncontrollable bureaucracy. Exactly where we are today.

Let’s hope—and pray—Herbert’s influence and legacy lead us to caution instead of excess overreaction.