Gaius Helen Mohiam
Encyclopedia
Gaius Helen Mohiam is a fictional character
in the Dune universe
created by Frank Herbert
. She is a Bene Gesserit
Reverend Mother, and initially appears in the 1965 novel Dune
and its 1969 sequel, Dune Messiah
. Mohiam also has a major role in the Prelude to Dune
prequel
trilogy
(1999–2001) by Brian Herbert
and Kevin J. Anderson
.
Mohiam is portrayed by Siân Phillips
in David Lynch
's 1984 film Dune
, and by Zuzana Geislerová
in the 2000 miniseries
Frank Herbert's Dune
and its 2003 sequel
Frank Herbert's Children of Dune.
In the novel Dune, the Baron Vladimir Harkonnen
has this impression of Mohiam:
In Dune Messiah, Herbert notes that Mohiam's eyes are "dark with the blue brilliance of her melange addiction."
The non-canon
Dune Encyclopedia (1984) by Willis E. McNelly
invents an extensive, alternate biography for Mohiam.
As Dune begins, the "old crone" Reverend Mother Mohiam comes to Caladan
to "test" young Paul Atreides
before his departure for Arrakis
. Having trained Paul's mother Lady Jessica at the Bene Gesserit school on Wallach IX decades before, Mohiam now holds a lethal gom jabbar
to Paul's neck. If he withdraws his hand from a box that inflicts pain through direct nerve induction, the gom jabbar will kill him instantly. Mohiam explains to Paul that the purpose of the test is to discover whether Paul is "truly human", by requiring him to endure pain and still act rationally. He passes the test, and Mohiam (though still furious over Jessica's choice to disobey the Sisterhood and bear a son instead of a daughter) is somewhat intrigued by the potential she sees in 15-year-old Paul, as she notes he has survived more pain than any other Bene Gesserit inductee.
Later, Mohiam accompanies Emperor Shaddam Corrino IV
to Arrakis in her role as Imperial Truthsayer; there she is faced with Paul's four-year-old sister, the pre-born Alia
, whom she calls an abomination
. Mohiam is further alarmed as she witnesses the ritual battle-to-the-death between Paul and Feyd-Rautha
. Paul calls Feyd "cousin," revealing that Paul is aware of the secret that the Baron Harkonnen is his grandfather. But Mohiam is most concerned with the potential outcome of the duel, which could prove to be "a major catastrophe for the Bene Gesserit breeding scheme." She realizes that "Two end products of this long and costly program faced each other in a fight to the death that might easily claim both of them. If both died here that would leave only Feyd-Rautha's bastard daughter, still a baby, an unknown, an unmeasured factor, and Alia, the abomination."
Paul is victorious; seeing the inevitability of the situation he has orchestrated, Mohiam compels Shaddam to give in to Paul's demands, allowing Paul to depose him and become Emperor in his place.
In Dune Messiah, the Reverend Mother joins the conspiracy
to topple the rule of Paul Atreides after he ascends the Golden Lion Throne and unleashes his Jihad upon the Empire. She, along with the Tleilaxu
Face Dancer Scytale
, the Spacing Guild
Navigator
Edric, and Paul's embittered consort (and Shaddam's daughter) Princess Irulan of House Corrino
, plot to insinuate the Tleilaxu ghola Hayt into the court to weaken Paul's confidence in his prescience and thereby ruin him.
Forbidden to ever return to Arrakis, Mohiam is taken into Paul's custody when it becomes known that she is on a heighliner in orbit above the planet. Aware of the Bene Gesserit desire to acquire his genetic material for their breeding program, Paul seeks to negotiate with Mohiam. In exchange for the guaranteed safety of his concubine
Chani
, and the Sisterhood's acceptance of his decision to father no heirs with the Princess Irulan, Paul offers something of the utmost value: his sperm
. This is a complicated proposition for Mohiam, however, because artificial insemination
is forbidden in the wake of the Butlerian Jihad
.
When the conspiracy ultimately fails and Scytale is killed, Edric is executed in 10,207 A.G. by Fremen Naib
Stilgar
, on orders from Alia. Stilgar also puts Mohiam to death, despite previous orders from Paul to spare her life.
Mohiam is instructed by the Bene Gesserit to collect the genetic material of Baron Vladimir Harkonnen (through conception) for their breeding program (it had been previously established in Dune that he is secretly Jessica's father). She blackmails the homosexual Baron into fathering a child with her. When that daughter proves genetically undesirable, Mohiam kills it and returns to Harkonnen for a second try; at this point he drugs and viciously rapes her. She exacts her retribution by infecting him with a disease that later causes his obesity. Mohiam's second child with Harkonnen is, of course, Jessica.
It is also revealed in the prequels that the name given for Jessica's mother in the original novels, Tanidia Nerus, is an alias used by Mohiam. This name is presumably the name listed in the "open" records, as the Bene Gesserit commonly hide true parental identity.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
in the Dune universe
Dune universe
Dune is a science fiction franchise which originated with the 1965 novel Dune by Frank Herbert. Considered by many to be the greatest science fiction novel of all time, Dune is frequently cited as the best-selling science fiction novel in history...
created by Frank Herbert
Frank Herbert
Franklin Patrick Herbert, Jr. was a critically acclaimed and commercially successful American science fiction author. Although a short story author, he is best known for his novels, most notably Dune and its five sequels...
. She is a Bene Gesserit
Bene Gesserit
The Bene Gesserit are a key social, religious, and political force in Frank Herbert's science fiction Dune universe. The group is described as an exclusive sisterhood whose members train their bodies and minds through years of physical and mental conditioning to obtain superhuman powers and...
Reverend Mother, and initially appears in the 1965 novel Dune
Dune (novel)
Dune is a science fiction novel written by Frank Herbert, published in 1965. It won the Hugo Award in 1966, and the inaugural Nebula Award for Best Novel...
and its 1969 sequel, Dune Messiah
Dune Messiah
Dune Messiah is a science fiction novel by Frank Herbert, the second in a series of six novels. It was originally serialized in Galaxy magazine in 1969. The American and British editions have different prologues summarizing events in the previous novel...
. Mohiam also has a major role in the Prelude to Dune
Prelude to Dune
Prelude to Dune is a prequel trilogy of novels written by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, set in Frank Herbert's Dune universe....
prequel
Prequel
A prequel is a work that supplements a previously completed one, and has an earlier time setting.The widely recognized term was a 20th-century neologism, and a portmanteau from pre- and sequel...
trilogy
Trilogy
A trilogy is a set of three works of art that are connected, and that can be seen either as a single work or as three individual works. They are commonly found in literature, film, or video games...
(1999–2001) by Brian Herbert
Brian Herbert
Brian Patrick Herbert is an American author who lives in Washington state. He is the elder son of science fiction author Frank Herbert....
and Kevin J. Anderson
Kevin J. Anderson
Kevin J. Anderson is an American science fiction author with over forty bestsellers. He has written spin-off novels for Star Wars, StarCraft, Titan A.E., and The X-Files, and with Brian Herbert is the co-author of the Dune prequels...
.
Mohiam is portrayed by Siân Phillips
Siân Phillips
Jane Elizabeth Ailwên "Siân" Phillips, CBE, is a Welsh actress.-Early life:Phillips was born in Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen, Neath Port Talbot, Wales, the daughter of Sally , a teacher, and David Phillips, a steelworker-turned-policeman...
in David Lynch
David Lynch
David Keith Lynch is an American filmmaker, television director, visual artist, musician and occasional actor. Known for his surrealist films, he has developed his own unique cinematic style, which has been dubbed "Lynchian", and which is characterized by its dream imagery and meticulous sound...
's 1984 film Dune
Dune (film)
Dune is a 1984 science fiction film written and directed by David Lynch, based on the 1965 Frank Herbert novel of the same name. The film stars Kyle MacLachlan as Paul Atreides, and includes an ensemble of well-known American and European actors in supporting roles. It was filmed at the Churubusco...
, and by Zuzana Geislerová
Zuzana Geislerová
Zuzana Geislerová is an actress best known to U.S. audiences for her role as the Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam in the Sci Fi Channel's 2000 miniseries Frank Herbert's Dune and its 2003 sequel, Frank Herbert's Children of Dune.-External links:...
in the 2000 miniseries
Miniseries
A miniseries , in a serial storytelling medium, is a television show production which tells a story in a limited number of episodes. The exact number is open to interpretation; however, they are usually limited to fewer than a whole season. The term "miniseries" is generally a North American term...
Frank Herbert's Dune
Frank Herbert's Dune
Frank Herbert's Dune is a 2001 3D video game based on the 2000 Sci Fi Channel miniseries of the same name. The game was not a commercial or critical success, and was the last product by Cryo Interactive, which went bankrupt shortly after the game's failure.As Paul, the son of the Duke Atreides's...
and its 2003 sequel
Sequel
A sequel is a narrative, documental, or other work of literature, film, theatre, or music that continues the story of or expands upon issues presented in some previous work...
Frank Herbert's Children of Dune.
In the novel Dune, the Baron Vladimir Harkonnen
Vladimir Harkonnen
The Baron Vladimir Harkonnen is a fictional character from the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. He is primarily featured in the 1965 novel Dune, in which he is the secondary antagonist, and is also a major character in the Prelude to Dune prequel trilogy by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson...
has this impression of Mohiam:
An old woman in a black aba robe with hood drawn down over her forehead detached herself from the EmperorPadishah EmperorPadishah Emperor is the title given to the hereditary rulers of the Old Empire in the science fiction Dune universe created by Frank Herbert.-Original series:...
's suite, took up station behind the throne, one scrawny hand resting on the quartz back. Her face peered out of the hood like a witch caricature — sunken cheeks and eyes, an overlong nose, skin mottled and with protruding veins.
The Baron stilled his trembling at sight of her. The presence of the Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam, the Emperor's Truthsayer, betrayed the importance of this audience.
In Dune Messiah, Herbert notes that Mohiam's eyes are "dark with the blue brilliance of her melange addiction."
The non-canon
Canon (fiction)
In the context of a work of fiction, the term canon denotes the material accepted as "official" in a fictional universe's fan base. It is often contrasted with, or used as the basis for, works of fan fiction, which are not considered canonical...
Dune Encyclopedia (1984) by Willis E. McNelly
Willis E. McNelly
Willis Everett McNelly was a professor and writer best known for The Dune Encyclopedia, the 1984 companion to Frank Herbert's classic Dune series of science fiction novels....
invents an extensive, alternate biography for Mohiam.
Dune
As Dune begins, the "old crone" Reverend Mother Mohiam comes to Caladan
Caladan
Caladan is a fictional planet in the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert, first mentioned in the 1965 novel Dune.-Overview:Caladan, the third planet of Delta Pavonis, is the ancestral fiefdom of House Atreides, who have ruled it for twenty-six generations, from the ancient Castle Caladan...
to "test" young Paul Atreides
Paul Atreides
Paul Atreides is a fictional character in the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. Paul is a prominent character in the first two novels in the series, Dune and Dune Messiah , and returns in Children of Dune . The character is brought back as two different gholas in the Brian Herbert/Kevin J...
before his departure for Arrakis
Arrakis
Arrakis — informally known as Dune and later called Rakis — is a fictional desert planet featured in the Dune series of novels by Frank Herbert. Herbert's first novel in the series, 1965's Dune, is popularly considered one of the greatest science fiction novels of all time, and it is...
. Having trained Paul's mother Lady Jessica at the Bene Gesserit school on Wallach IX decades before, Mohiam now holds a lethal gom jabbar
Gom Jabbar
The gom jabbar is a fictional weapon from the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert, appearing in his 1965 novel Dune and its adaptations...
to Paul's neck. If he withdraws his hand from a box that inflicts pain through direct nerve induction, the gom jabbar will kill him instantly. Mohiam explains to Paul that the purpose of the test is to discover whether Paul is "truly human", by requiring him to endure pain and still act rationally. He passes the test, and Mohiam (though still furious over Jessica's choice to disobey the Sisterhood and bear a son instead of a daughter) is somewhat intrigued by the potential she sees in 15-year-old Paul, as she notes he has survived more pain than any other Bene Gesserit inductee.
Later, Mohiam accompanies Emperor Shaddam Corrino IV
Shaddam Corrino IV
Shaddam Corrino IV is a fictional character in the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. He is Padishah Emperor of the known universe in Herbert's 1965 novel Dune. Shaddam's accession to the throne is chronicled in the Prelude to Dune prequel trilogy by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson.Born...
to Arrakis in her role as Imperial Truthsayer; there she is faced with Paul's four-year-old sister, the pre-born Alia
Alia Atreides
Alia Atreides is a fictional character in the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. Introduced in the first novel of the series, 1965's Dune, the character was originally killed in Herbert's first version of the manuscript. At the suggestion of Analog magazine editor John Campbell, Herbert kept...
, whom she calls an abomination
Abomination (Dune)
Abomination, in the context of the Dune series written by Frank Herbert, refers to one who acquires full consciousness as a fetus as a result of being exposed to the ritual spice agony, gaining all their ancestral memories before birth .The spice agony ritual involves a Bene Gesserit acolyte drinking...
. Mohiam is further alarmed as she witnesses the ritual battle-to-the-death between Paul and Feyd-Rautha
Feyd-Rautha
The na-Baron Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen is a fictional character and the main antagonist in the science fiction novel Dune by Frank Herbert.The younger nephew of the cruel, powerful and cunning Baron Vladimir Harkonnen, the dark-haired, 16-year old Feyd is as lean and muscular as the Baron is morbidly...
. Paul calls Feyd "cousin," revealing that Paul is aware of the secret that the Baron Harkonnen is his grandfather. But Mohiam is most concerned with the potential outcome of the duel, which could prove to be "a major catastrophe for the Bene Gesserit breeding scheme." She realizes that "Two end products of this long and costly program faced each other in a fight to the death that might easily claim both of them. If both died here that would leave only Feyd-Rautha's bastard daughter, still a baby, an unknown, an unmeasured factor, and Alia, the abomination."
Paul is victorious; seeing the inevitability of the situation he has orchestrated, Mohiam compels Shaddam to give in to Paul's demands, allowing Paul to depose him and become Emperor in his place.
Dune Messiah
Conspiracy (political)
In a political sense, conspiracy refers to a group of persons united in the goal of usurping or overthrowing an established political power. Typically, the final goal is to gain power through a revolutionary coup d'état or through assassination....
to topple the rule of Paul Atreides after he ascends the Golden Lion Throne and unleashes his Jihad upon the Empire. She, along with the Tleilaxu
Bene Tleilax
The Bene Tleilax or Tleilaxu are an extremely xenophobic and isolationist society in Frank Herbert's science fiction Dune universe. Genetic manipulators who traffic in biological products such as artificial eyes, gholas, and "twisted" Mentats, the Tleilaxu are a major power in the Imperium...
Face Dancer Scytale
Scytale (Dune)
Scytale is a fictional character in the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. In the novel Dune Messiah , Scytale is a Tleilaxu Face Dancer who participates in the conspiracy to topple the rule of Paul Atreides. He later returns as a ghola and Tleilaxu Master in Heretics of Dune and...
, the Spacing Guild
Spacing Guild
The Spacing Guild is an organization in Frank Herbert's science fiction Dune universe. With its monopoly on interstellar travel and banking, the Guild is a balance of power against the Padishah Emperor and the assembled noble Houses of the Landsraad...
Navigator
Guild Navigator
A Guild Navigator is a fictional humanoid in the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. Humans mutated through the consumption of and exposure to massive amounts of the spice melange, they are able to use a limited form of prescience to safely navigate interstellar space in a starship called a...
Edric, and Paul's embittered consort (and Shaddam's daughter) Princess Irulan of House Corrino
House Corrino
Imperial House Corrino is a fictional noble family from the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. The Corrinos come to power after mankind's victory against the thinking machines at the Battle of Corrin , and rule until deposed by Paul Atreides approximately 10,000 years later during the events...
, plot to insinuate the Tleilaxu ghola Hayt into the court to weaken Paul's confidence in his prescience and thereby ruin him.
Forbidden to ever return to Arrakis, Mohiam is taken into Paul's custody when it becomes known that she is on a heighliner in orbit above the planet. Aware of the Bene Gesserit desire to acquire his genetic material for their breeding program, Paul seeks to negotiate with Mohiam. In exchange for the guaranteed safety of his concubine
Concubinage
Concubinage is the state of a woman or man in an ongoing, usually matrimonially oriented, relationship with somebody to whom they cannot be married, often because of a difference in social status or economic condition.-Concubinage:...
Chani
Chani
Chani is a fictional character featured in Frank Herbert's novels Dune and Dune Messiah . Known mainly as the Fremen wife and legal concubine of protagonist Paul "Muad'Dib" Atreides, Chani is the daughter of Imperial Planetologist Liet-Kynes and his Fremen wife Faroula, and later the mother of...
, and the Sisterhood's acceptance of his decision to father no heirs with the Princess Irulan, Paul offers something of the utmost value: his sperm
Sperm
The term sperm is derived from the Greek word sperma and refers to the male reproductive cells. In the types of sexual reproduction known as anisogamy and oogamy, there is a marked difference in the size of the gametes with the smaller one being termed the "male" or sperm cell...
. This is a complicated proposition for Mohiam, however, because artificial insemination
Artificial insemination
Artificial insemination, or AI, is the process by which sperm is placed into the reproductive tract of a female for the purpose of impregnating the female by using means other than sexual intercourse or natural insemination...
is forbidden in the wake of the Butlerian Jihad
Butlerian Jihad
The Butlerian Jihad is an event in the back-story of Frank Herbert's fictional Dune universe. Occurring over 10,000 years before the events chronicled in his 1965 novel Dune, this jihad leads to the outlawing of certain technologies, primarily "thinking machines", a collective term for computers...
.
When the conspiracy ultimately fails and Scytale is killed, Edric is executed in 10,207 A.G. by Fremen Naib
Fremen
The Fremen are a group of people in the fictional Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. First appearing in the 1965 novel Dune, the Fremen inhabit the desert planet Arrakis and are based on the desert-dwelling Bedouin and Kalahari Bushmen. In Herbert's novels, Arrakis is the sole known source...
Stilgar
Stilgar
Stilgar is a fictional character in the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. He appears in the first three novels in the series: Dune , Dune Messiah and Children of Dune . His early life is explored in Brian Herbert and Kevin J...
, on orders from Alia. Stilgar also puts Mohiam to death, despite previous orders from Paul to spare her life.
Prelude to Dune
The Prelude to Dune prequel novels reveal that Mohiam is secretly the mother of Jessica and grandmother of Paul. According to the authors, this fact was pulled directly from Frank Herbert's working notes for the original Dune series.Mohiam is instructed by the Bene Gesserit to collect the genetic material of Baron Vladimir Harkonnen (through conception) for their breeding program (it had been previously established in Dune that he is secretly Jessica's father). She blackmails the homosexual Baron into fathering a child with her. When that daughter proves genetically undesirable, Mohiam kills it and returns to Harkonnen for a second try; at this point he drugs and viciously rapes her. She exacts her retribution by infecting him with a disease that later causes his obesity. Mohiam's second child with Harkonnen is, of course, Jessica.
It is also revealed in the prequels that the name given for Jessica's mother in the original novels, Tanidia Nerus, is an alias used by Mohiam. This name is presumably the name listed in the "open" records, as the Bene Gesserit commonly hide true parental identity.